Old School Benefit
To begin and end the world as we know it…
A veritable who’s who of NYC performance promises to be on parade for 4 action-packed nights in the style of the original PS122 Benefits.
Expect the unexpected as the LES Lounge comes alive at 6pm nightly in the downstairs space, providing a cozy atmosphere for personalities of the past, present, and future to come together to mingle, reminisce, perform and subterfuge with Lounge host, legendary Stage Manager to the stars, Lori E. Seid. The lounge will feature a slideshow of 20 years of performance photography by the renowned Dona Ann McAdams as well as signature refreshments, music and more!
As a pre-show activity, Praxis offers exclusive tours through PS122 history and unseen spaces and Sarah Maxfield harvests memories after the shows and the party continues in the lounge til it’s past everyone’s bedtime.
Wednesday, June 22
MCs: Julie Atlas Muz & David White
- Performances by John Fleck, the TEAM, Temporary Distortion, LeeSaar The Company, Yoshiko Chuma, Yvonne Meier, Penny Arcade, Okwui Okpokwawasili, Nicky Paraiso, Jeff McMahon
Music by Thurston Moore & John Zorn
Thursday, June 23
MCs: DANCENOISE with Richard Move & Friends
- Performances by Forced Entertainment, Alien Comic, NTUSA, Vivarium Studio, Tamar Rogoff, Sally Silvers, Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company, Maria Hassabi, Eric Bogosian, Reggie Watts, and a Special Spalding Gray Award announcement
Friday, June 24
MCs: Sarah Michelson, Carmine Covelli and Neal Medlyn
- Performances by Every House Has A Door & Goat Island, Jack Ferver, Deb Margolin, Jennifer Miller, Sarah Maxfield, Banana Bag & Bodice, Mabou Mines, Jonathan Ames, Neal Medlyn, THEM by Ishmael Houston-Jones, Chris Cochrane, and Dennis Cooper (excerpt), Ain Gordon, Meredith Monk
Music by DJ Duo Team Company LLC
Saturday, June 25
MCs: Carmelita Tropicana & The Staff of Performance Space 122
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Performances by Amanda Palmer, David Leslie, New York City Players, The Wooster Group, Elevator Repair Service, Big Art Group, Split Britches, Big Dance Theater, Carmelita Tropicana
Music by Bob Wonder & the Future Ex-Wives
Wednesday, June 22 – Saturday, June 25
Lounge opens at 6pm / Performances begin at 8PM
Ghost Tour by PRAXIS
June 22 – 25
6pm – 8pm, tours on the half hour
And now for something completely different… as a preshow experience on each night of the Old School Benefit, conceptual live art and installation specialists PRAXIS will lead small groups, just like a traditional museum guide would, into a typically off-limits room in PS122 to view the portraits of ghosts. The art however is not visible, but rather a description of the ghost.
Tours are FREE – Reservations recommended