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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

Prototype

Jan 9–19, 2025

Remember what the Dormouse said! Feed your head! Feed your head! No, that’s not the official come-on for Prototype, the downtown festival of visionary music theater, but maybe it should be. In its 12th season, a septet of puzzlements is on offer. Inspirations include the mythologies of William S. Burroughs and Tibetan Buddhism, wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, time travel back to the present from the year 3050, constituent world musics of what the composer–performer Arooj Aftab calls “global soul,” and so on. An “immersive salon” invites patrons to soak up an “art bath.” A “digital hip-hopera” called Telekinetik streams on demand. “see something new,” the Prototype website urges, but in our mind’s ear, we’re still hearing Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane wailing the coda of “White Rabbit.” (Feed your head! Feed your head!) —Matthew Gurewitsch