CATSmas+

About

This residency session was part of the CATS+ program and ran from October to December 2023. The CATSmas+ residents were Rose Ott, Serena Zam, Celine Lassus, Jess Bee, Stephanie Page, Emily Jean Gilardi.

It’s Holiday Play season at MoHA! This year we’re combining it with CATS+ for a very CATSmas+ residency.

If you don’t know, we put on an over-the-top, joyful, goofy, and very popular theatrical production each year during the holiday season - typically based on a beloved movie and always using vast quantities of cardboard. If you don’t know CATS+, it’s our Collaborative Art + Technology Situation to foster critical, creative use of technology through collaborative learning and making.

This residency round supports artists who are interested in learning, contributing to, and incorporating a technological twist in one or more of the following departments: AV production (lights, video, sound) Set design Set building Practical effects Costumes Props

CATS+ alumni Andie Flores, Sam Mayer, and Itai Almor will be joining us as playwrights and actors.

Edward Normalhands Process

Writer and artist Bucky Miller was asked to document the CATSmas+ residents on their journey. He turned in the following report:

• Edward Normalhands Process Documentation

Events

Edward Normalhands

12.14.23–12.17.23

Once upon a time in this very town, the true meaning of Christmas disappeared. 

Oh, my divas, it was not slay, it was not boots, it was not mama. 

A long time ago, a mysterious stranger with a big, huge, sack full of In-App deals and affiliate codes came along. He kept asking people to sit on his lap to share their deepest, darkest gift wishes. But the townspeople only wanted to sing songs and bake cookies!  Make cute little macaroni noodle ornaments with their HANDS! Ick! The mysterious, sacked-up stranger looked upon the town with disgust. He hated all this hand-made, warm and fuzzy merriment! And so he fled to the tippy toppy top of the highest hill in town.  And something happened - something wretched.

Resident Bios

Jess Bee

Jess Bee is a mixed-media artist who works primarily in fiber arts. In her fabric collages she employs re-purposed fabric scraps, and frequently uses bright colors, varied textures, and repeated geometric shapes and patterns to create landscapes and figures. She also extends her practice to explore incorporation of other techniques and practices such as surface design, embroidery, printmaking, weaving, sewing, costume design, puppet-building, and stop-motion animation. She fell in love with making things as a child, and enjoys sharing her love of artistic experimentation with the next generation of creatives; teaching sewing and fiber arts lessons to youth and adults. She currently works in the costume department at ZACH Theatre in Austin, TX.

Emily Jean Gilardi

Emily Jean Gilardi is a multi-disciplinary artist and maker based in Austin, Texas. Emily's practices include costume design, construction, and coordinating as well as soap making. Her work frequently makes use of repurposed, repaired, and recycled materials. Emily creates from a maximalist perspective and loves to involve mixed materials, textures, colors, and patterns to inspire joy in her community.

Celine Lassus

Celine Lassus (b. 1999, Tampa, FL) (she/they) is a digital native first, artist second. Based in Austin, TX, they work across new media, performance, video and installation. Her practice reflects on the promise of a technological utopia and how terribly they’ve been let down. celinelassus.com

Stephanie Page

Stephanie Page is an artist who is curious about the ways our clothing choices shape the world and our interactions with others. Born in Houston, Stephanie’s relationship with fashion and clothing goes way back, being a lifelong fashion lover and eco-conscious artist, in addition to having a professional background as an international fashion model and buyer in NYC. Stephanie has without a doubt seen the in’s and out’s of the retail manufacturing world, and they often find joy in making the old new again. You can usually find Stephanie in the studio creating costumes for stage or everyday life, concocting kitchen magic, or scooting around town or to the greenbelt. You can also connect with them on Instagram at @vividvoltage. (update: Stephanie is also a full stack software developer these days)

Rose Ott

Rose Ott is a programmer, game designer and pastels kinda gal. She is fascinated with surreality, unreality, and liminality; focusing on those aspects of “strange yet eerily familiar”. She usually makes first person video games, but is excited to get to experiment with physical space and how it interacts with the virtual one. rosette.dev

Serena Zam

Serena Zam is an artist and technologist based in Austin, TX. She makes paintings, collages, and tech-based art to explore how technology and internet culture shape people and their rituals. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and shares her life with her dog, Darcy, and cat, Bennet.