ALUMNI EXTRAORDINAIRE // Mike Rugnetta Writes a Book

The MemeFactory guys in a minimalist rendering

Can you imagine seeing Goatse in a college textbook? Mike Rugnetta sure can. Composer--and former 3^rd Ward education coordinator--is writing a book about the internet with his performance group, What We Know So Far. You may be familiar with WWKSF as they collectively produce the MemeFactory lecture series. The book’s Kickstarter page promises that it will be a usable classroom text, but may also feature an appearance by the internet’s earliest gross-out meme. 

MemeFactory is what Rugnetta calls a “really fast-paced multimedia lecture-based performance,” dealing with internet media trends and culture in a pretty funny way. MemeFactory performances have been going on since 2009, so the guys have come up with a lot of ideas about how people interact with the internet--though some seemed a bit too serious for the show. Not sure what to do with the heavier content, a friend finally suggested, “Dudes, you should write a book.”

So far, the book's Kickstarter campaign has raised $17,493--$1,493 over their initial goal.  WWKSF's giving the extra funds to a charity; with one possible cause that includes providing internet access to disadvantaged kids and defending net neutrality.

Roughly? The book's about internet memes, internet culture and the internet famous. Rugnetta explains that it’s not just for 4chan habitués, but anyone who uses or is even remotely interested in the internet: “My mom doesn't know what a 'lolcat' is, but would easily follow the stories we're trying to tell and ideas we're trying to develop. And (she'd) definitely laugh at all the funny pictures... of which there will be MANY.”

Regarding his tenure at 3rd Ward, Rugnetta says, “3rd Ward was my introduction to the Brooklyn—and, by extension, NYC—arts community. 90% of everyone working there is extremely friendly and interested in what they are doing in an earnest and un-self conscious way. Really simply: there are no suckas.”

In addition to working on the MemeFactory book, Rugnetta is working overtime as a composer. You can hear his pieces at CPR (Center for Performance Research) on May 13^th, with choreography by Benn Rasmussen; and at the Chocolate Factory in Queens on May 17^th, with performer Madeline Best. He's also working on pieces with choreographer Aynsley Vandenbroucke, and director Brian Rogers, and has written music for two pieces which will have their outdoor premieres this summer: “Light and Shade” by Hilary Easton, and “H to Oh” by Pele Bauch.

Sounds like Mike's doin' A-OK out there.

-- Anastasia Friscia