Dance Heginbotham’s You Look Like a Fun Guy - Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Dance Heginbotham’s You Look Like a Fun Guy

Dance Heginbotham’s You Look Like a Fun Guy

Art in the Garden | Performances

August 1–3, 2024 | 7 p.m. doors;
performances begin at 7:45 p.m.
Cherry Esplanade
Ticketed Event

Saturday's performance is canceled due to rain. Mycology & Mingle is on! Ticketholders, please look for an email with details.

Dance Heginbotham’s You Look Like a Fun Guy is an outdoor performance event inspired by John Cage’s interest in mycology and his methods of composing music. With live rebroadcasting and heightening the natural sonic environment, Omar Zubair’s audio installation plays with the audience’s perception of reality. Audiences will be transported from dusk to an illuminated spatial installation. Costume design by Maile Okamura.

Directed and choreographed by John Heginbotham, You Look Like a Fun Guy celebrates Cage’s rigorous and playful concerns as well as the astonishing nature and behavior of fungi. This performance event is shaped and informed by the venue’s singular setting, responding to the natural environment it inhabits.

Make a night of it! Performance attendees may also reserve tickets for a pre-event party featuring mushroom-inspired drinks and cuisine. See below for details.

Performance tickets: $44 ($39 for members)
Mycology & Mingle pre-event: $78 (10% discount for members); separate reservation required

Get Performance Tickets

Information for Performance Attendees

  • Advance tickets required. To attend the pre-event Mycology & Mingle cocktail party, purchase both a performance ticket and a party reservation for the same evening.
  • Enter at 990 Washington Avenue. Nearest subways: 2/3 to Eastern Parkway—Brooklyn Museum or 4/5 to Franklin Avenue (no elevator).
  • Doors open at 7 p.m. and the performance begins at 7:45 p.m. The event takes place on Cherry Esplanade and other areas of the Garden are closed. Drinks and snacks will be sold on site.
  • You may bring a blanket or stadium chair (no folding chairs, please). There will be a small section reserved for wheelchairs and people who require a seat. If you require an accessibility accommodation, please contact [email protected].
  • Please observe all Garden rules, including:
    • Please do not lean on tree trunks or hang items from trees.
    • No outside food or beverages. (Baby bottles and pocket snacks for individuals with dietary restrictions are allowed.)
    • Please properly dispose of your trash and do not pour liquids or ice on the lawn.
  • In the event we must cancel the performance due to weather, we will notify you by 4 p.m. Unless we have to cancel, there are no refunds. The indoor Mycology & Mingle event takes place rain or shine.

Mycology & Mingle Cocktail Party

Exclusively for performance ticketholders | 6–7:30 p.m.
Lillian and Amy Goldman Atrium at the Steinberg Visitor Center

Indulge in a delightful cocktail party of mushroom-inspired drinks and cuisine before the performance of You Look Like a Fun Guy! Enjoy passed mushroom bites, a mushroom station featuring four different mushroom sliders, mushroom-inspired cocktails, and wine and beer (open bar). The event wraps up just before the performance begins.

While savoring your drinks and bites, don’t miss the chance to chat with choreographer John Heginbotham and experts from the New York Mycological Society (see bios below), who will be on hand to discuss topics including composer John Cage (founder of the New York Mycological Society), mushroom identification, and performance art.

$78 prepaid (10% discount for members). Be sure to select the same night as your performance tickets.

Get Mycology & Mingle Tickets

Information for Party Attendees

  • Mycology & Mingle is a supplemental experience for ticketholders for the Dance Heginbotham performance of You Look Like a Fun Guy. You must purchase performance tickets for the same evening.
  • Mycology & Mingle will happen rain or shine! In the event the outdoor performance is canceled due to inclement weather, the cocktail party with choreographer John Heginbotham and the New York Mycological Society will still go on.
  • Reservations for Mycology & Mingle are final; there are no refunds.
  • If you select the member price, you will be required to show proof of membership at the event.
  • Contact [email protected] with any questions.

Mycology & Mingle Menus

Passed Mushroom Canapés

Wild mushroom taleggio Wellington

Mushroom beggars purse

Italian mushroom bruschetta

Mushroom smoked gouda tartlets

Porcini truffle tiramisu

Chef’s Mushroom Slider Station

Balsamic-glazed portobello on ciabatta

Tempura maitake on steamed bun with sriracha mayo

Mushroom Milanese with mozzarella and spiced tomato on focaccia

Mushroom patties with cheddar, lettuce, and pickled shimeji on a bun

Beverages

Mushroom Manhattan
Porcini-Infused syrup, bourbon, sweet vermouth, sweet & sour pickled button mushrooms

Reishi Berry Fizz (Mocktail)
Reishi iced tea, blueberry, raspberry, mint, club soda

Beer, Wine & Mixed Drinks

New York Mycological Society Experts

August 1 & 2: Andrew Cannon

Andrew Cannon is an artist and amateur mycologist who has led many forays for NYMS. He has had work exhibited at the Santa Monica Museum, White Columns, and Page Gallery, among others. He became interested in fungi while taking a botany course in 2008 and has participated in mycological societies in Los Angeles and New York ever since. He also enjoys identifying and foraging plants, and cooking meals with wild ingredients.

August 3: Wilton Rao

Wilton Rao is an engineer, naturalist, and walk leader at NYMS. He loves fungi and is especially fond of lichens. Passionate about urbanism, ecology, and their intersection, he spends a lot of time exploring NYC, looking for wildlife in every park, sidewalk, lawn, and train platform. His other interests include drawing, foraging, and reading about social, cultural, and economic history.

Support

Art in the Garden is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Logo for New York State Council on the Arts

Image, top of page: WhitneyBrowne