Benjamin Ross Nicholson - Portfolio
Performances
Consultation with the Corpse
a traveling consultation practice (2023-)
I’m dying. You’re dying. Let’s consult!
Consultation with the Corpse allows clients to explore their unceasing decay with care, camaraderie, and clandestinity.
Schedule a consultation here.
My Friend Kyle (Has a Brain Tumor)
an original play for the theatre (Denver Fringe Festival 2022)
I have a friend named Kyle, who has a tumor between his brain and his skull. Kyle is an artist. I would like to tell you about Kyle and his art, how both are mutating. He’s not so different from us, after all; he’s also concerned with work and love.
Deathless and Taxless: A Corporate Exorcism
an original play for Zoom (Hollywood Fringe Festival 2021)
We are dying and paying taxes while doing so; this is certain. The corporation believes that it is beyond death and taxation; the corporation would have us sacrifice ourselves, offer ourselves to its engorgement, for the sake its immortality. What’s worse, the corporation possesses us, has possessed us; we are possessed.
Let’s perform a corporate exorcism!
Join Benjamin Ross Nicholson, PhD (pending) live on Zoom as he guides you through both a didactic lecture concerning the mysterious figure of “Man in Business Suit Levitating”, an avatar of the corporation, and a collaborative ritual exorcism to remove the corporation from the cavity of your corpse. By accepting your death and your debt, you will discover that the quest for profit can be replaced with a desire for the well-being of others; this feels very nice.
To watch the full performance, visit: http://www.brnart.com/#/deathless-and-taxless/
The Last PowerPoint
an original play for the theatre (Hollywood Fringe Festival 2019)
‘Prospective’ Ben, CEO of a new venture called disIncorporated, delivers a persuasive PowerPoint presentation concerning his latest product offering: Mail-Order Seed Potato Death Clock.
The Last PowerPoint combines professional salesmanship, potatoes, original nu-folk music, and, of course, PowerPoint to perform experimental economic maneuvers, encouraging the audience to dissolve the corporation from within and give rise to life in the corpse.
This excerpt includes a collaborative singalong of a classic American folk tune.
To watch the full performance, visit: http://www.brnart.com/#/the-last-powerpoint/
Mr. Boare Industries Presents: Term Life Assurance™
an original play for the theatre (UChicago MFA Thesis Performance 2017)
Mr. Boare was the CEO and Brand Champion of Mr. Boare Industries.
He is presently dead.
BR Nicholson, an alternate self of mine, was originally selected to serve as Mr. Boare's assistant and manager, likely due to his and Mr. Boare's remarkable physical resemblance and shared blood type.
BR Nicholson is now Interim CEO and Brand Champion of Mr. Boare Industries; these are excerpts from MBI's product launch event for Term Life Assurance™.
To watch the full performance, visit: http://www.brnart.com/#/mrboare/
love_me
an original play for the theatre (Brown Honors Thesis Performance 2011)
love_me is a one-man musical play that demonstrates the shortcomings of communication, particularly in context of artistic performance. The play combines custom-built software/hardware and tropes of musical theatre to propose a system of information exchange that ultimately proves futile. There are three acts, each culminating in the performance of popular song.
To watch the full performance, visit: https://www.brnart.com/#/loveme/
Digital Works
BRN: The Qualifying
a PhD qualifying exam via Google (2021)
During the week of January 18th, 2021, I attempted to qualify.
You can observe my collaborative journey here:
https://sites.google.com/view/thequalifying
Sue Is Fine
narrated PowerPoint (2016)
Sue Is Fine is a narrated PowerPoint presentation.
Sue is a straight white male. He does not worry so much. Things typically go well for Sue (though not always).
The Main Thing was there.
The Main Thing was good.
The Main Thing was in the sack.
The Main Thing was good in the sack (as they say).
You hate it, but you understand.
And sue is dead (which is fine).
to begin
CAVE play (2010)
to begin is an adaptation and literary response to Samuel Beckett's final novel, How It Is. Designed specifically for Brown University's 3D immersive CAVE, to begin implicates a two-person viewing audience in the intimacies of mutual torture and possible solipsism.
A sample of to begin can be viewed below, including crawling through the mud, the torture of Pim, and the final darkness (with voice work by John Cayley and Robert Coover). Because of the difficulties with capturing video footage within the CAVE itself, this sample was recorded using the CAVE Writing desktop previewer.
Installations
The Institute for Recurrent Progress's Occupation of Apartment 2 (with Kyle Hossli)
immersive installation (2016-2017)
Introductory Statement
I am [REDACTED], Grand Admiral of [REDACTED] and your primary interface for the Institute of Recurrent Progress, or "IRP"
IRP has populated this apartment with a variety of sensual art objects to encourage your acquisition of growth and self-enhancement
*Because at the Institute, your recurrent progress is our primary motive!*
For example, here you see the Bare Bull and Babe, or Barebnb, under which you may leave tithes (American cash currency) to improve your self-reliance
Or observe the designators attached to each object: one black dot indicates that you may take the object home with you (with the understanding that the listed monetary value will be automatically added to your [REDACTED] bill); two black dots indicate that you should contact me if you would like to take the object into your homestead after your stay at Apartment 2
*IF YOU TAKE AN OBJECT WITH A SINGLE DOT DESIGNATOR, LEAVE THE DESIGNATOR ITSELF BENEATH THE BAREBNB; THIS WILL NOTIFY US THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN AN OBJECT AND THUS WISH TO MAKE A CHARITABLE PRODUCT TRANSACTION*
Or even the Intercontinental Communications Terminal in the Master Bedscape, through which you can speak with a representative of the Institute, or IRP-Rep™
Deeper details will be revealed at your leisure as you read through the official Institute literature (provided here)
Ultimately, the Institute for Recurrent Progress invites you to explore the space and discover the synergistic insights that we have developed specifically for your pleasure and longitudinal fulfillment
Note: if you happen to encounter any other non-Institute entities in Apartment 2, we advise that you ignore them as we have for years
installation overview and images: https://www.brnart.com/#/the-institute-for-recurrent-progress/
blackPixel on whiteEmptiness
installation (2016)
installation overview and images: https://www.brnart.com/#/blackpixel/
Music
Songs for Corpses
a collection of songs for corpses (2021)