With gratitude to the patrons supporting the ATOMIC war:

Producers Circle
Karen Sullivan

Visionary
Wayne Maugans & Michael Ngo
Natalia and Brian Toro

Champion
Sue Bailey
Steven Dietz
Neil Fitzgerald
Brittany Flurry
Betty Landis
Joey LePage
Melanie Martinez
Jennifer Skura Boutell
Michael Smith
Georgia Tegou
Chad Vanlandingham

Advocate
Sarah Gardner
Margaret Harper
Annalisa Loeffler
Melissa Rainey
Mary Round
Liliya Roys

Friend
Susanna Beacom
Dongxiao Cheng
Elizabeth Inserra
Mahalia Le
Eric Nightengale
Judd Silverman

Supporter
Jessica Applebaum
Hunter Gause
John Harlacher
Elizabeth Hickey
Joanne Hudson
Josh Landis
Natalia Melnikova
Ben Musselman
Rani O’Brien
Dakota Silvey
Irina Simakovskaya
Mark von Sternberg

To join this circle of support, please consider making a contribution at the link below:
Help carry the ATOMIC war from workshop to premiere.
Support the ATOMIC Fund and join the ATOMIC Patron Circle.

the ATOMIC war: a cloud is best measured when it is up — an image-based, sound-centered performance work exploring ritual, media spectacle, and the machinery of complicity.

Structure & Form
Across seven modular scenes, ATOMIC war merges bilingual English/Korean text, commissioned music, advanced projection, and a formalist visual dramaturgy into a politically urgent, multi-sensory event that asks: How much power will we surrender—and at what cost?

Legacy & Inquiry
Inspired by Robert Wilson’s masterwork the CIVIL warS: a tree is best measured when it is down—a work fully conceived but never realized in its intended entirety—the ATOMIC war picks up that inquiry for a new generation. Where the CIVIL warS sought to reconcile history through a global opera for the 1984 Olympics, the ATOMIC war responds to today’s fractured media landscape. It is not a story about battles, but a meditation on collapse—spiritual, cultural, and psychological; an elegy for our uncharted era and a call to reimagine what global performance can mean today.

Drawing inspiration from the Book of Enoch, internet iconography, and the Doomsday Clock, it follows a fallen Angel whose union with a human woman gives rise to a monstrous figure (part cult leader, part man-child) who spirals through spectacle, violence, and extinction.

*Confirmed early support from the Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation towards the 2027 New York premiere. Additional NYC grants pending.

*Confirmed support from the All Arts 31 Gyeonggi Arts Activity Support via the Ansan Cultural Council towards the 2026 developmental phase in Ansan, South Korea.

Timeline:
Development in Korea 2026 → NYC premiere → Touring 2027–28.

the ATOMIC war is being developed by playwright, director, and designer Luke Landric and Monk Parrots Performance (NYC), in collaboration with Crossroads Theater Company (Korea) and artists from the Seoul Institute of the Arts (Korea), with the Seoul Institute of the Arts as a developmental partner, toward a developmental presentation in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, and a premiere in New York, NY, USA.

Team:

  • Conceiver/Writer/Director/Production Designer: Luke Landric

  • Composers: Jeonghyeon Joo, Jin In-hwa, Gates Leonard

  • Costume: Alison Heryer

  • Dramaturgy/Translation/Contributions: Kang Changmin

  • Projection Design: Kim Yunhyung

  • AI Video Design: Hong Seong-won

  • Interactive Media Design: Hwang Sujong

  • Advisors/Endorsements: Ann-Christin Rommen, Andrea Paciotto, Seung Ho Jeong

  • Producer: Kiyeong Jang

Materials:

  • Artist bios (PDF) — link

Context & Press:

  • Brooklyn Rail tribute by Luke Landric — Change Change Chance: Remembering Robert Wilson (1941–2025) (link)

  • Robert Wilson Tribute | Vision Forward (Dec 18, La MaMa): (link)

Contact: info@monkparrots.org