Flying V’s 14th season draws from the art of animation to bring bold expressions, vibrant visions, and colorful characters to life! With this year’s theme, ANIMATE REALITY, Flying V sketches out a world of possibilities, full of experiences that defy expectations and moments that inspire the imagination!
To illustrate this, Flying V is bookending the 2024 season in graphic fashion! In January, flip to Flying V v Super Art Fight II – a sequel to last year’s ‘Live Art meets Pro Wrestling’ sold out sensation! And in the fall, the resurgence of a homegrown multimedia manga masterpiece!
Along the way, thumb through volumes of panels, one-shots, and crossover events, each lovingly rendered in Flying V’s signature style! Sharpen the tools for imagination with workshops on stage combat, immersive technologies, digital collaboration, and more. Relive the joys of childhood with live action Saturday Morning Cartoons. And join a community of highly animated individuals, all bound by a love for groundbreaking storytelling!
2024 also marks the exit of Katherine Offutt in her role as Flying V’s Executive Director. “Being a part of the leadership team of Flying V for nearly 4 years has been such a humbling experience. I’m so so proud of us!” Katherine says. “As we look for a new ED, it doesn’t feel like we’re looking for a replacement. That’s not how our team works. Every person who enters leadership here is a whole, remarkable human with their own background, identity and skills, and so every time we hire a new leader – it’s a new organization. The team dynamics, strengths and weaknesses all change. That’s so exciting to me, because it means there are so many things Flying V can continue to improve and pursue. I’m honored to have something I’m so proud of to welcome a new ED into, and I look forward to seeing what a new leader will bring to Flying V.” Flying V is currently underway with hiring the company’s incoming Executive Director.
While she’s rotating off staff and onto the Board, Katherine will work closely with Flying V’s incoming board chair, Myra Cruz, to continue work at the FV drafting table in support of the company.
What will animating reality look like for Flying V’s three wings in 2024?
“To animate reality means offering bold, whimsical, and diverse new worlds for our audiences to geek out about,” says Kelly Colburn, lead of Flying V’s theatre wing.
Orange Grove Dance (Baltimore, MD) and Flying V reunite in 2024 to bring you 1/1000, a one night improv jam that merges dance, music, and technology to create an unforgettable and ephemeral event, made in real time. One space, one thousand possibilities. “The event is somewhere between Sleep No More and ARTECHOUSE – but richer than that. We are inviting artists and audiences to open themselves up to the possibility of what ‘instruments’ you can partner with, be it humans, music, architecture, technology.” Leading up to the jam, drop-in workshop classes in dance technique, projections, and lighting design will be offered to empower artists and audiences to think of how they can incorporate technology to enliven their own work.
The yet-to-be-announced fall mainstage will feature a blend of puppetry, live drawing, and multimedia to translate a beloved manga character from page to stage. More details in 2024!
For Joey Ibanez and Tim German, the Co-Artistic leads of the Fights wing, animating reality is about blending reality with the imagination. “We want to continue to push our heightened, fictional worlds so our audiences can dream about how to live like our favorite heroes, whether they be from comic books, Saturday morning cartoons, or anime.” In 2024, Fights brings three action-packed and electrifying stories to the stage this season and is launching a Pro-Wrestling training program. Kicking off the year is Flying V v Super Art Fight II!
“We loved the collaboration with Super Art Fight last year. It gave us a chance to really explore the intersection between art, storytelling, conflict, and violence,” say Tim and Joey.
This year, the clash is a two-night event: on Friday night, Flying V favorites Killian McMurphy and Erica Leigh step into the ring to join cutting-edge Super Art Fighters in a battle against each other in the art of creative combat on a giant canvas. Saturday night turns the tables as the fight for the Fighterverse rages on with Flying V Fighters AND Super Art Fighters taking the ring in a body-slamming, back-breaking, event of a lifetime.
In Technical Difficulties, the Shonen Tournament jumps from manga page to wrestling stage as Fighters Stake their claims as the BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER this spring. A single elimination tournament that focuses on the three p’s: painful submissions, punishing holds, and inescapable pins.
This Summer, the Fight for the FighterVerse heats up! Heroes KAMEN MK, EEL O’NEAL, ERICA LEIGH, and more clash against the evil forces of TJAY SYKES, JORDAN BLADE and a mysterious new evil ally! Catch all the high-flying, pile-driving, comic-book action in another larger-than-life Pro Wrestling extravanganza and get in a Flying V Fight!
Launching in the new year is a brand new Pro Wrestling Training Program led by Flying V and Renaissance Rumble. “With our wrestling training program and SAFD workshops, Fights continues to create opportunities for audiences to actively participate with stage combat and conflict in safe, curated spaces.” The emphasis is on the art of professional wrestling: performance skills, physical storytelling, as well as technique. Jon Rubin will continue to lead Society of American Fight Directors Stage Combat Certification classes throughout the year.
The R&D Department would like the general public to know that any instances of animated reality experienced in the region this year are byproducts of a Flying V Event, and you may experience residual symptoms of youthful joy, renewed inspiration, and unhinged mindbogglery.
After years of scrutinous data scouring, their findings suggest that exposure to Flying V Events regularly contributes to this enhanced state of animated reality, and the R&D Department seeks to better understand this emerging phenomenon.
R&D mouthpiece navi asks: “When in a state of animated reality, do we discover agency in our creativity; value in our distinct voice; and a renewed trust in our imagination?” As of right now, Flying V can neither confirm nor deny the veracity of this hypothesis, but expect opportunities for rigorous R&D field testing this season.
Ruben Vellekoop and Carlotta Capuano will lead FAMILY V, a continued venture in exploring Flying V values for family friendly audiences. Vellekoop and Capuano will lead a summer project that partners with Libraries in Maryland to share theater with young audiences.
Rounding out the season is the company’s bi-annual Gala that will celebrate the work of the organization with dinner, drinks, and live entertainment.
navi says, “There are times where someone says ‘this could only happen at Flying V!’ It happens when we create spaces/experiences for multiple niche nerdy pastimes to fuse together in a unique and unforgettable explosively theatrical moment.”
FLYING V SEASON SCHEDULE 2024
WINTER
Flying V vs. Super Art Fight II – January 26 – 28
Orange Grove Dance & Flying V: 1/1000 – March 2
SPRING
SAFD Workshop with Fire & Ice Movement Arts – March 4 – May 20
Flying V Fights: Technical Difficulties – June 1
SUMMER
Fights Summer Show – July 27
Family V with Carlotta Capuano and Ruben Vellekoop – Dates TBA
FALL
SAFD Workshop with Fire & Ice Movement Arts – Dates TBA
Mainstage Theatre Production – Dates TBA
Flying V Bi-Annual Gala – November 15
ABOUT FLYING V
Flying V is a performing arts nonprofit in Montgomery County, Maryland specializing in pop culture-infused works that span theater, digital media, and stage combat/professional wrestling. They are known for larger-than-life moments on small stages, and immersive worldbuilding that connect audiences, regardless of medium, with the stories they tell as well as each other.
