“We have been experimenting, with our master costume designer Machine Dazzle, about how to make alien bodies, how to portray entire planets as characters, and in general how to capture this madcap, freewheeling comic spirit.” Dito Van Reigersberg, co-creator and performer

“One of the few groups successfully taking theatre in new directions.” The New York Times

An absurdist sci-fi epic and wild allegory about gayness in 2015.

Follow the adventures of Tim, an earthling trolling for a good time who falls through a portal to outer space where he is thrust in the middle of the Battle for the Holy Gay Flame. On the one side: a planet of kindly nuns dedicated to virgin birthing of Homosexuals. On the other: the straightest planet in the known universe, Argoshaunia. Watch an evil Bishop enlist the hapless Tim to help win the race to find the Flame. If the Flame goes out, it spells the end of Homosexuals, everywhere. Will Tim retrieve the Flame in time to save Homosexuals and restore the balance of power in the universe?

I Promised Myself to Live Faster is inspired by the life and works of theater legend Charles Ludlam, and builds on the Obie Award winning Pig Iron Theatre Company’s love of stylistic collisions and unusual anti-heroes. Conceived by Dito van Reigersberg; text by playwright Greg Moss; directed by Dan Rothenberg; featuring Mikeah Jennings, Jenn Kidwell, Dito Van Reigersberg, Michele Tauber, and Mary McCool.

120 minutes

$29–$36
Members save 30% / Join now!

*From Scratch: Show and Food Pairing
$50 / includes three-course meal and ticket
(does not include drinks and gratuity)
Reservations required for From Scratch tickets. Available for May 27 and May 28 performances only.

I Promised Myself to Live Faster has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

Director Dan Rothenberg
Text by Gregory S Moss and Pig Iron Theatre Company
Conceived and Created by Pig Iron Theatre Company

Performers/Creators
Mikeah Ernest Jennings, Jennifer Kidwell, Mary McCool, Dito van Reigersberg, Michele Tauber

Scenic Design William Boles
Costume Design Machine Dazzle
Lighting Design Ji-youn Chang
Sound Design, Composition and additional Music Rob Kaplowitz
Choreography Sam Pinkleton
Associate Costume Designer/Costume Supervisor Jill Keys
Dramaturgs Eric Hoff, Robert O’Hara
Provocateur  Dito van Reigersberg
Creative Producer Alex Torra
Casting Judy Henderson CSA and Pig Iron Theatre Company
Assistant Director Olivia Jorgensen
Production Manager Nathan Renner Johnson
Interim Production Manager Katie Naka
Assistant Production Manager Lauren Tracy, Jess Feder
Stage Manager E Sara Barnes*
Assistant Stage Manager Anne Ketcham
Production Assistant Sean Ravitz
Technical Director Rajiv Shah
Assistant Technical Director Seth Schmitt-Hall
Props Masters Joe Cunningham, Emily Schuman, Seth Schmitt-Hall
Scenic Charge Danielle Ferguson
Wardrobe/Stitchers Natalia de la Torre, Katie Foster, Najee Haynes-Follins
Swarthmore Production Assistant Michelle Johnson

“You could call it an intergalactic, picaresque, fish-out-of-water, buddy story about a reluctant hero who falls through a glory hole and winds up on an Arthurian quest for what amounts to the Gay Holy Grail” –Leo Weekly

“Pig Iron Launches a Gay Space Opera” – American Theatre