PAUL ZALOOM's "White Like Me" at Dixon Place: NYC experimental theatre for artists literary events reading events dance art

Zaloom employs the intimate medium of toy theater to tell the story of the archetypal White-Man: he leaves his planet Caucazoid, travels through space to “civilize” Earth, becomes a philanthropist, a savior, and finally freaks out about his approaching minority status. The puppet cast is drawn from a gigantic collection of bric-a-brac collected over the years: action figures, toy cars, dolls, found objects, weird junk and more. Plus, Zaloom’s creepy dummy sidekick, Butch Manly, drops in to spoil the fun. Don’t miss the rare NYC appearance of this legendary downtown puppeteer!

"One of the most original and talented political satirists working in the theater." — Stephen Holden, The New York Times.

PAUL ZALOOM is a comedic puppeteer, political satirist, filmmaker, and performance artist who lives and works in Los Angeles and tours his work all over the world. Zaloom has written, designed and performed 12 full length solo spectacles, including Fruit of Zaloom, Sick But True, Mother of All Enemies and also with Lynn Jeffries, The Abecedarium.

Zaloom has played the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the Spoleto Festival USA, AND King Tut's Wah-Wah Hut, plus hundreds of other venues in 40 states. Numerous international festivals have featured his work on his 9 tours to Europe, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Scotland; Les Semaines de la Marionette, Paris; and the UNIMA World Congress, Dresden.

Since 1992, Zaloom has also appeared on the science educational TV show Beakman’s World as Beakman, the wacked-out, weirdo scientist who answers viewers’ questions about science, nature, and various bodily functions. Zaloom also tours Beakman Live!, featuring large scale science demonstrations with loads of audience participation and lots of the trademark goofy Beakman humor.

Zaloom co-conceived, co-wrote and was head puppeteer in the feature length puppet film of Dante’s Inferno, based on paintings and drawings by L.A. artist Sandow Birk, directed by Sean Meredith, and starring Dermot Mulroney and James Cromwell. Hell goes animated as apocalyptic artwork and eerie Victorian toy theater converge in this subversively satiric update of a literary classic. An official selection at the Slamdance Film Festival 2007, Dante's Inferno is like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. “Feels like the unholy offspring of Mike Judge and R. Crumb” —Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times. zaloom.com

WHITE LIKE ME is commissioned and presented by Dixon Place with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs. and private funds from The Jim Henson Foundation, The Peg Santvoord Foundation and The Jerome Foundation.

Photos by Howard Wise.