(North Adams, Mass.) Groundbreaking theater, a Mad Science of Film Festival, dance with a geological bent, cooking as science, and even a weekend focusing on the controversial world of multi-user domain games will all take center stage at MASS MoCA this coming summer and fall.

Unnatural Science, the title of MASS MoCA's major visual and performing arts exhibitions will begin with The Big Bang, an opening party on Saturday, June 3 that includes a performance of Robert Lepage's visually stunning theatrical work Geometry of Miracles and a first look at the works in the galleries. Geometry of Miracles will also play on Friday, June 2.

Cybernations on the weekend of June 24 will explore the many aspects of the often controversial world of multi-user domain games (MUDs) bringing together some of the leading scholars, social critics, and artists who are experimenting with game technology.

A highlight of the summer will be Bang on a Can's Carbon Copy Building on August 4 and 5. This contemporary opera is based on a strip by cult cartoonist Ben Katchor and delves into the strange and often hilarious parallel worlds of two identical buildings. Katchor will also give a slide presentation, Carfare City, on the evening of August 3.

On August 19, the fearless all-woman troupe LAVA will perform their acclaimed work Lava Love in which they dive through hoops balance in dizzying human ziggurats, and expand dance language to include cartwheels, rollovers, handwalking, even wrestling. Film clips of primal movement, from volcanic explosions to the scuttling of crabs, serve as entr'actes.

On October 21, Reno, will pay MASS MoCA a visit. From HBO's Reno in Rage and Rehab specials to NPR's The Infinite Mind, critically acclaimed iconoclast Reno has voiced an always-hysterical, often-scorching social commentary. Here she'll turn her hilarious microscope to the human genome project.

On October 27 and 28, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and MASS MoCA welcome Merce Cunningham and welcome back Paul Kaiser and Shelley Eshkar, creators of Ghostcatching, for the New England premiere of their exciting collaboration, BIPED. This innovative piece features dancers from the Merce Cunningham Company dancing with virtual dancers created by Kaiser and Eshkar in a fascinating interaction. The weekend will include additional presentations by both Cunningham and Kaiser.

The Mad Science of Film Festival which takes place in MASS MoCA's beautiful outdoor cinema courtyard with its super wide screen starts July 1 with the classic silent, Metropolis accompanied live with original score by the Alloy Orchestra. Additional silent moonlit movies with live music are The Golem accompanied by Gary Lucas on July 15 and When the Clouds Roll By featuring Ben Model playing his score on the organ on July 22. Additional Mad Science "talking pictures" include: Microcosmos, a documentary on the secret life of bugs on July 14; the Ed Wood classic cult film Plan Nine from Outerspace on July 21; Dr. Seuss's only live action film, The 5000 Fingers of Dr. Terwilliker on August 25; and the blockbuster, Men In Black on August 26. All movies start at 8:30 with doors opening at 7:30 for dinner al fresco before the film.

Almost every weekend throughout the summer, MASS MoCA will hold a Kids Lab event. The series kicks off with a visit from Paul Zaloom of Beakman Live on Saturday, June 10. Other invents include Saturday morning cartoons on June 17 and July 1 and visits from the Dirtmeister and Annie Lavender (aka the Berkshires' Laurie McLeod). Kids Lab events are co-sponsored by radio stations WNAW/WMNB in North Adams and WSBS in Great Barrington.

The Feast series will bring culinary artists and authorities to MASS MoCA to demonstrate and discuss different ethnic cuisines and provide a taste of their wares. Feast events include: Soul Food Picnic with Sylvia Woods, proprietor of Sylvia's, the premier soul food restaurant in New York City and celebrated cookbook author on June 17; Taste of Africa on July 8 with culinary historian and author of South of the Sahara Elizabeth Jackson; and The Origin of the Bagel on July 16 with acclaimed author Joan Nathan, host of PBS's Jewish Cooking in America. MASS MoCA's Feast series is sponsored by Philip Morris Companies, Inc.

MASS MoCA's very popular courtyard dance parties will return this summer with exceptional bands along with dance instructors arranged by Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Dance parties include: Rhythm & Blues with the Uptown Horns on June 17, African with Valerie Naranjo and Mandara on July 8, Salsa with Jovennes del Barrio on July 29, Klezmer with Klezperanto on August 12, and Bossa Nova with Pery Ribiero on October 14. All dance parties (with the exception of October's Bossa Nova) are held under the stars in MASS MoCA's dramatic Courtyard D but are moved inside in the unlikely event of rain. Each dance party this year will also feature special cultural dinner offerings before the show starting at 6:30.

Finally MASS MoCA will offer a variety of talks and demonstrations with cultural scientists like Natalie Jeremijenko, Matthew Ritchie, David George Gordon, Seth Rogovoy and more.

General support for the 2000 season is provided in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Economic Development/Office of Travel and Tourism.

MASS MoCA, the country's largest center for contemporary arts, is housed on a 13-acre campus of restored factory buildings at 87 Marshall St. in North Adams, Mass. In the summer and fall the galleries are open daily from 10 am until 6 pm. Directions and additional information are available at www.massmoca.org. Tickets for all performing arts events are on sale now by calling 413.662.2111 or visiting the MASS MoCA Box Office during museum hours or on line at www.massmoca.org.

MASS MoCA's Summer/Fall Season

Engineers of Artistry
Robert Lepage - Geometry of Miracles 6/2-3
Bang on a Can - Carbon Copy Building 8/4-5
LAVA - Lava Love 8/19
Reno Does Science 10/21
Merce Cunningham- BIPED & Summer Space 10/27-28

Cultural Scientists
Cybernations: The Game Domain 6/24
Cybernations: Designers of Cyberscapes 6/24
Soup to Gnats 7/23
Carfare City 8/3
Rocking the Shtetl 8/12
Lifestyle Guru for the 22nd Century 8/24
Tracing the Steps 10/27

Courtyard Dance Parties
Rhythm and Blues - Uptown Horns 6/17
Pan African - Mandara 7/8
Salsa - Jovenes del Barrio 7/29
Klezmer - Klezperanto 8/12
Bossa Nova - Pery Riberio 10/14
Mad Science of Film
Metropolis with the Alloy Orchestra 7/1
Microcosmos 7/14
The Golem with Gary Lucas 7/15
Plan Nine from Outerspace 7/21
When the Clouds Roll By with Ben Model 7/22
5000 Fingers of Dr. Terwilliker 8/25
Men in Black 8/26

Feasts
(sponsored by Philip Morris Companies, Inc.)
Soul Food Picnic with Sylvia Woods 6/17
Taste of Africa 7/8
The Origin of the Bagel 7/16

Kids Lab
(co-sponsored by WNAW/WMNB North Adams and WSBS in Great Barrington)
Beakman Live 6/10
Bedrock Blasts Off 6/17
James and the Giant Peach 7/1
Dirtmeister 7/29
Carbon Copy Kids 8/5
Leap and Learn 8/19

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org