THEATERLAB PRESENTS
(TIPPING) POINT
a new work by Yoko Murakami
(Tipping) Point is the 3rd and final installment of the 3-part residency project Point ____ (Blank) by Yoko Murakami at Theaterlab.
(Tipping) Point explores Yoko’s continued collaboration with wearable arts, as an essential part of the performance. Since 2018, Yoko has worked with Aileyan Accessories, a multi-generational millinery studio based in Bushwick, NY, in designing headpieces for movement performance. For this new project, she is expanding on her concept of the hat being a living sculpture, and building a multi-part performance for a one-night-only experience. The performance will feature live music by ÉMU aka Maria Takeuchi, and 2 additional movement artists Apollo Bual and Maki Kitahara. The live creation will occur in a 1 week residency that will take place at Theaterlab in December 2025, culminating in a performance installation on December 13, 2025. The audiences will be encouraged to wear their favorite hats or headpieces for the event.
This project is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) through the Support for Artists Grant.
This project was supported, in part, by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant
Main image by Raven Khau
PERFORMANCES
Saturday, December 13th @ 7:00pm – (You are encouraged to wear your favorite hats or headpiece)
Run Time – 60mins (including intermission)
TICKETS
MEET THE ARTISTS
YOKO MURAKAMI (Creator, Performer)
Yoko Murakami is a Tokyo-born and New York City-based artist. She creates movement-based work in forms of site-specific installations and experimental film. Her multi-disciplinary approach to performance spans collaborations in motion-capture technology, installation art, and wearable art where she continues to explore new ways to activate and question the way we interact with our environments. She has presented her creations in spaces like Mabou Mines (New York, NY), Ace Hotel (New York, NY), Triskelion Arts (Brooklyn, NY), Theaterlab (New York, NY), Da Da Da Gallery (Seattle, WA), Eshk Salon / Room Salon (Brooklyn, NY), and Aileyan Accessories (Brooklyn, NY). Her venture into experimental film has led to her works being selected and screened in festivals in Seoul, Moscow, Naples, Belfort, Cyprus, Mexico City, and Lincoln Center in NYC. Yoko is a recipient of the 2025 NYSCA grant and has served as a Bessies Award Selection Committee in 2022-2024. Her solo work BLINK, was nominated for the 2025 Bessie Award for Outstanding Choreographer/Creator.
APOLLO BUAL (Performer)
Apollo Bual is a model, multidisciplinary artist, and creative director whose work bridges movement, visual art, and storytelling. Rooted in fluid expression and guided by the language of the body, Apollo’s channels explore transformation through esoteric, philosophy, theology, and mysticism. Their creative practice blurs the boundaries between meditation and conceptual direction, creating immersive experiences that invite audiences to connect deeply with presence and self-discovery.
MAKI KITAHARA (Performer)
Maki Kitahara is an award-winning dancer from Japan. She began her ballet training at an early age before expanding into contemporary dance, and later earned a degree in Biotechnology from Kindai University in Osaka. She received a nomination for the New Face Award at the Agency for Cultural Affairs Arts Festival in Japan for “bringing a new wave to the field of contemporary dance.” In 2016, Maki moved to New York to refine her choreographic skills at Gibney Dance, where she presented her original works. She obtained her U.S. Artist Visa in 2017 and has since built her professional career in New York City. Her performance highlights include Transmissions at the Whitney Museum of American Art; engagements with Jody Sperling/Time Lapse Dance in Egypt, the North Carolina Museum of Art, Yale University, and performances in California for Cadillac.
Dedicated to education and cultural exchange, she has lectured at Harvard University and more, and works as an assistant for the Youth America Grand Prix. As a certified MELT Method instructor, she integrates somatic practice into her work to promote physical awareness and creative expression.
MARIA TAKEUCHI (Musician)
ÉMU aka Maria Takeuchi is a composer and audiovisual artist who creates sonic and visual poems, merging organismic soundscapes with generative art and illuminating objects inspired by nature.
Maria plays and conducts the sound-objects with a delicate yet intentional focus. The subtle sound, textures created by water, dry leaves, and shells on the handmade primitive instruments, processed with modular synthesizers for added aesthetic atmosphere.
COVID-19 policy: In guidance with the city and state COVID-19 policies, we will no longer be requiring masks, but strongly recommend them.