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“There’s no denying that what the experimental playwright and University of Texas at Dallas professor brings to the table is unique, necessary, and refreshingly off-the-wall.”
Press Conference, Hunan. China
“I find myself increasingly applauding artists whose work succeeds in creating a vibrant experience that isn’t easy to categorize, those responsible for creating art which happens in between a specific medium or practice. I also gravitate towards an artist who is capable of creating a self-contained world, a feat not to be undervalued. That being said, I have a great admiration for the work of Thomas Riccio, a cross-disciplinary artist who, recently, has become more well-known for his work in the world of performance and theater, although he is equally at home in the gallery. His avant-garde acting troupe the Dead White Zombies have been expanding Dallas’ experience with theater since he launched the project several years ago, and KaRaoKe MoTeL, his latest creation, is no different.”
“Human-to-human interaction, isn’t that what life and happiness are all about? Reward and success are understood in terms of emotional, physical, and mental effort. And that’s exhausting, fulfilling, and rewarding. That is what is lacking, what humanity is losing, and what is being taken from us by technology, consumerism, materialism, and urbanization. People sharing with other people. Very simple, and in that lies beauty and hope. Conversing, sharing, caring, and working together to create something that leaves the world better than we found it. The more you give, the more you receive. Sharing and giving to others, to your part of the earth, to elders, ancestors, animals, and to the needs of the present. A thought, a word, a feeling, or an action is an interaction with the world, which is simple and constant rewards and happiness. My belief in the world’s goodness keeps me going and makes me a lucky guy.”
Press conference, Siberia
“I see my work like that of a diviner. When I meet a group of people that I am going to work with, it is thier needs that I must discover and respond to. The confluence of the inner and outer world is the center and what dictes the work. It guides the work and tells what needs to be evaluated, affirmed, and balanced. This is the practical function of theatre. ”
“There is something in what I do, what I try to express through the Dead White Zombies, the meta narrative that underlying says: you can’t have unlimited growth on a finite planet. White culture is a death machine. Dead, but like a zombie, somehow still walking around, still causing all sorts of destruction, cannibalizing what little remains until there is nothing left. We are delusional, placated, pacified, willfully ignorant, numbed by the immensity of our predicament. Everything seems fine because we are no longer autonomous. It’s like slitting our wrists in a warm bath. We are all Dead White Zombies.”
Press Conference, Frankfurt, Germany
