Child of the Church Productions, co-founded by director and vocalist Lucia della Paolera and composer Gobby, presents Idiot Plot:
Invented in the 1860s, the lever handcar is a pump-action mechanical railway system that only propels itself if everyone keeps pumping.
At the recital, the teacher tells the children the show must go on, no matter what.
The train may fall in love with the station, but it has to go and it goes.
In the 1990s, a little girl butchered The Little White Ass. In this tale, she sets the wheels back in motion.
If somebody tells you you have ears like a donkey, pay no attention. But if two people tell you, buy yourself a saddle.
In a second-order idiot plot, not just the principals, but everybody in the whole society has to be a grade-A idiot, or the story couldn’t happen.
An idiot plot is kept in motion solely by virtue of the fact that everybody involved is an idiot.
Created & Directed by Lucia della Paolera & Gobby
Costumes Designed & Produced by Justine Lugli
Movement Direction & Staging by Monica Mirabile
Lasers by Michael Guidetti
Illustrations by Gobby
Lighting by Vittoria Orlando
Makeup by Nina Carelli
Camera by Nicole Fernandez & Jacqueline Kramer
Featuring
Lucia della Paolera piano & vocals
Jake Dester saxophone
Gobby tablas
Valerie Keane bass
Justine Lugli viola
Tommy Martinez guitar & live processing
Esther Sibiude harp
A livestream will be available free of charge at 8pm on the day of the performance and archived for future viewing.
Child of the Church Productions makes site-specific music performances. Past performances include “Organ Grinder” on Jane’s Carousel (August 2025), “The Long Last Day” at Yale Law School Library and Luhring Augustine Gallery (April 2025), “Spirit & Soul Become Confused” at Saint Peter’s Church (2023) and Roulette Intermedium (2024), “Song of Dirt Stammers Our Tongue,” at The Kitchen (June 2023), “Esra” on Robert Moses’ Panoramic Model of the City of New York at the Queens Museum (2021), and “My Heart Swims in Blood” at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church (2019). www.
