Tag: festival

The 30th Anniversary Season RetroFutureSpective Festival
To begin and end the world as we know it…

Performance Space 122’s 30th Anniversary Season RetroFutureSpective Festival will include interactive events, nostalgic experiences and futuristic performances in both spaces at 150 1st Avenue including an All-Day Dance Class with contemporary dance legends, a look back at PS122 on film in a live mix by Charles Dennis, Avant-Garde-Arama Wrecking Ball! and a multi-night old-school-benefit-style grand finale featuring luminary MC’s and 10+ performances nightly from spectacular PS122 Artists.

Beginning on June 17, the downstairs space will be transformed into the LES Lounge where personalities of the past, present, and future can come together to mingle, reminisce, perform and subterfuge with host and Stage Manager to the stars, Lori E. Seid.

Performances from Tim Miller, Kamelle Mills, Brigham Mosley and Katie O
Saturday, June 11 at 7:30PM with a post-performance talk-back
Beginning in December 2010, Tim Miller has worked closely with Kamelle, Brigham and Katie and will present the conclusion of the 7-month mentorship in an evening of original work.
Made possible with support from the National Performance Network Community Fund.
Single Tickets: $20 / $15 (students / seniors)

All Day Dance Class
Sunday, June 12
You don’t have to be a dancer to dance the day away with PS122! 4 back to back classes with Yvonne Meier (for children ages 3+), Yoshiko Chuma, Jack Ferver, and Sarah Michelson culminate in an Open Movement celebration. A free screening of FAME (filmed right here in our spaces!) caps the evening off.
PLUS Carla Peterson will be on hand for some Gilda Radner style life-coaching sessions.
Single Tickets: $10 / Day pass: Valid for all 4 classes PLUS Open Movement: $25

ECHO: 30 Years of PS122:
A Video Installation by Charles Dennis

Tuesday, June 14 at 8PM
PS122 co-founder Charles Dennis presents a 3-channel video installation exploring 30 years of groundbreaking performance at PS122. Featuring rare videos of performances by Danny Hoch, Spalding Gray, Blue Man Group, Ethyl Eichelberger, DanceNoise, Min Tanaka, Eric Bogosian, D.D Dorvillier, Anthony, Quentin Crisp and Penny Arcade, Meredith Monk, John Leguizamo, Radiohole, Reggie Watts, Temporary Distortion, Young Jean Lee, Justin Bond, Neal Medlyn, Adrienne Truscott, NYC Players and many more…
Single Tickets: $20 / $15 (students / seniors)

Avant-Garde-Arama Wrecking Ball!
Friday, June 17 + Saturday, June 18 at 8PM
Performance Space 122’s longest running series kicks it up a notch and presents a demolition derby of theatre, dance, music, and video installation.
Hosted by: Murray Hill & Uncle Jimmy
Confirmed performers include: Koosil-Ja, M Lamar, John Kelly, Edgar Oliver, Urban Bush Women, Tigger, Lisa Kron, Janet Clancy, Peggy Pettitt, Karen Therese and many more TBC

Single Tickets: $25, $20 (students / seniors)

Old School 122 Benefit
Wednesday, June 22 – Saturday, June 25 beginning at 8PM nightly

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.
Luminary MC’s: Julie Atlas-Muz + David White (6/22), DANCENOISE w/ Richard Move + guests (6/23), Sarah Michelson, Neal Medlyn & Carmine Covelli (6/24), Carmelita Tropicana & The Staff of PS122 (6/25).
Confirmed performers include:Thurston Moore, John Zorn, Elevator Repair Service, Penny Arcade, David Leslie, Big Art Group, Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company, Charles Moulton, The Wooster Group, David Levine, Deb Margolin, Holly Hughes, Maria Hassabi, Temporary Distortion, Jennifer Miller, Jack Ferver, NTUSA, Neal Medlyn, Penny Arcade, Peter Rose, Praxis, Philippe Quesne, the TEAM, Sally Silvers, Mabou Mines, Tom Murrin, Sarah Maxfield, and many more.
Single Tickets: $30

June 11 – 25, 2011
THEATRE, DANCE, MULTI-MEDIA, LIVE ART

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.

There are a limited number of ghost portraits of Ethyl Eichelberger, Jack Smith, Spalding Gray, Charles Ludlum, Andy Warhol, Charlie Chaplin and Praxis available for sale (online and onsite). All proceeds benefit Performance Space 122 and the 30th Anniversary Season.

soloNOVA ARTS FESTIVAL celebrates innovative individuals who push the boundaries of what it means to be an artist, aims to redefine the solo form and uniquely invigorates the audience through the time-honored tradition of storytelling. This year’s festival features comedy, dance theatre, storytelling, music, multi-character thrillers, musical comedies, bilingual cabaret, animation, multimedia, and puppetry.

terraNOVA Collective honors NILAJA SUN
soloNOVA ARTIST OF THE YEAR
MAY 21 at 8
$30

terraNOVA Collective honors Nilaja Sun as the 2010 soloNOVA Artist of the Year on May 21 at 8pm in the Downstairs Theater at Performance Space 122 as part of the 7th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival. Join us as we celebrate the career of Nilaja Sun as a performer and arts educator, featuring performances by Desmond Child (songwriter and producer of such hits as Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” and Aerosmith’s “Angel”), Daniel Banks (Hip Hop Theater Initiative, DNAWorks), students inspired by her Obie Award winning solo play, No Child…, remarks by the Executive Director of Epic Theatre Ensemble, Theatre Development Fund’s Education Director, David Rothenberg (WBAI), Scott Morfee (Barrow Street Theater), Hal Brooks (director of No Child… and Thom Paine, based on nothing), Quiara Hudes (Tony nominee for book writing, In the Heights) and excerpts of scenes from playwrights Eduardo Machado (INTAR), Carmen Rivera (La Gringa, Under the Mango Tree) and Candido Tirado (Mama’s Boyz). The evening will be directed by Steven Dimenna (MCC Youth Program), followed by a post-show reception sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery & Monsieur Touton Wine.

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MAINSTAGE FESTIVAL SHOWS

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WANTED
storytelling and song
MAY 5, 7, 12, 15 at 7PM
MAY 8 at 2PM
Written and Performed by Shontina Vernon
Directed by Kamilah Forbes
70 minutes

Arrested and locked up for writing hot checks, a ten-year-old Texan girl loses her way in a reality where even the adults themselves are lost. Shontina Vernon merges childhood stories with searing songs of fear and juvenile justice.

Shontina Vernon’s voice is “Blood chilling.”- The Oregonian

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BINDING

dance theatre

MAY 5, 7, 12, 15 at 9:15
MAY 8 at 4:15
EXTENDED: See extension page for more dates

Conceived and Performed by Jesse Zaritt
Directed by Basmat Hazan
Produced by Theatre C
45 minutes

Violent. Tender. Erotic. Submissive. Abandoned. The worlds of pop music, myth and video collide in Jesse Zaritt’s movement-based quest for love, connection and the self.

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REMISSION
verse storytelling

MAY 6, 8, 10, 18 at 7
MAY 15 at 2

Written by Kirk Wood Bromley
Performed by Daniel Berkley
Remission: 75 minutes w. a 15 minute Q & A

For 45 years, Daniel Berkey suffered the ravages of schizophrenia with attendant addictions to sex, heroin and alcohol. At the age of 51, he experienced complete remission. This is his story.

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MONSTER
multi-character thriller
MAY 6, 8, 10, 18 at 9
MAY 15 at 4
EXTENDED: See extension page for more dates

Written by Daniel MacIvor
Directed by Steve Cook
Performed by Avery Pearson
Produced by Really Sketchy
75 minutes

Daniel MacIvor’s celebrated chiller returns to the New York stage with Avery Pearson stepping into the skin of 16 characters. Peeling back psychological layers to reveal the heart of an individual experience, MONSTER dissects the true nature of evil.

“Monster is Mr. MacIvor’s suggestion that the dark side is as intrinsic to our natures as consciousness itself. It not only aspires to creeping you out, it also wants you to examine your own voyeuristic impulse to keep staring after the ax falls”- The New York Times

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IT OR HER
a dark comedy

MAY 13, 17, 19, 22 at 7
MAY 16 at 2
*Tickets for IT OR HER $18

Written by Alena Smith
Directed by Jessi D. Hill
Featuring Brian McManamon

45 minutes

Somewhere between Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure and The Tell-Tale Heart,
Alena Smith’s provocative dark comedy IT OR HER explores the
basement of a suburban home where Andrew (Brian McManamon) has devoted himself
unconditionally to his incredible collection of figurines. Suffering
the loss of The Red One, he seeks to uncover The Ultimate Arrangement
before his hideout is invaded, and his dark secret is revealed.

Selected by soloNOVA as the Best Solo Performance of FRIGID NY Festival 2010
Winner of the Audience Choice Award, FRIGID NY Festival 2010

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ROOTLESS: La No-Nostalgia
bi-lingual theatrical cabaret

MAY 11, 14, 16, 20 at 7
MAY 22 at 2

Written and Performed by Karina Casiano
60 minutes

Sexy. Bold. Bilingual. Take a journey through the emotional life of migrants with songs ranging from tango to rock. Unraveling the psychological toll of displacement, Casiano ferociously and personally criticizes the role of newcomers and probes their responsibility toward their own countries.

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THE W. KAMAU BELL CURVE: ENDING RACISM IN ABOUT AN HOUR
comedy

MAY 11, 14, 16, 20 at 9
MAY 22 at 4
EXTENDED: See extension page for more dates

Written & Performed by W. Kamau Bell
Directed by Paul Stein
75 minutes

Black President or not, racism continues to make a comeback. And W. Kamau Bell is here to make (non)sense of it all. Irreverent and thoughtful, The W. Kamau Bell Curve skewers pop culture, news pundits and the man himself, Barack Obama. According to Comedy Central, Kamau told the very first Obama joke way back in 2005

“Smart, stylish, and very much in the mold of politically outspoken comedians like Dave Chappelle and Margaret Cho.”- San Francisco Weekly (though he was more excited that they called him “handsome.”)

“W. Kamau Bell is the most important guy doing comedy right now. Do yourself a favor and go see him. He’s got the most astute, hilarious and completely righteous material going and he’s going to be a legend in his own lifetime like Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce. Think Bill Hicks but slightly taller.” – Margaret Cho

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PUPPY LOVE: A STRIPPER’S TAIL

musical multi-character comedy

MAY 13, 17, 19, 22 at 9
MAY 16 at 4
EXTENDED: See extension page for more dates

Written and Performed by Erin Markey

60 minutes

Attempting to enter the “real world,” new college graduate Bridget is rejected from employment at Chuck E. Cheese and hired as a stripper at DejaVu in Ypsilanti, MI. Everything seems trashy, unfair and exciting until she falls for a co-stripper named Sky. The irreverent and poetically charged Bridget learns to sell her body while buying what her irresistibly midwestern competitors have to offer. And there’s pole dancing.

“Bizarre, character-shifting performance artist Erin Markey is so totally out there that she fits in perfectly with the OHP (Our Hit Parade) aesthetic. Key song: A funny-creepy version of Jeremiah’s ‘Birthday Sex,’ performed in the diaper, bonnet, bib and voice of a newborn baby.” – Adam Feldman, Time Out NY

May 5-22, 2010

The undergroundzero festival is an experimental theater festival curated by Paul Bargetto and produced by East River Commedia in association with Collective:Unconscious. Now in its third year, the undergroundzero festival has given producing artists a flying laboratory outside the usual curatorial system where risk is encouraged and innovation can flourish.

At the heart of the festival is a question asked of every artist: What would you make if you could make anything you wanted? Our mandate is to select artists, not projects. We trust the artist to make his or her own creative choices. In exchange for this trust we expect radical experimentation and the courage to risk everything. This year undergroundzero will present fifteen full productions and five staged readings on both stages of Performance Space 122.

UPSTAIRS AT PERFORMANCE SPACE 122:

The South Wing – AOI!

Wed, Jul 8 7p | Thu, Jul 9 9p | Fri, Jul 10 7p | Sat, Jul 11 9p | Sun, Jul 12 5p

“A remarkable young company determined to carve a niche for itself in 21st century avant-garde theater.” – Frank Episale, Off-off online (for DiVL!)
A tale of passion that survives the grave, when nothing is left but an
empty desire to possess and destroy. (60 Minutes)

East River Commedia – The Jamal Lullabies
Wed, Jul 8 9p | Thu, Jul 9 7p | Fri, Jul 10 9p | Sat, Jul 11 7p | Sun, Jul 12 2p
Four young, white women sing about Jamal, a beloved black student at their school who was killed at a gang shooting during a party. As the women unfold their stories it
becomes clear that each of them loved him in profound ways that altered the course of their lives. Scored by Emily Conbere and directed by Paul Bargetto. (50 Minutes)

Blessed Unrest – Nick
Wed, Jul 15 9:30p | Thu, Jul 16 7p | Fri, Jul 17 7p | Sat, Jul 18 7p | Sun, Jul 19 5p

“…emotional intensity…. sheer originality… delightful surprises.” – Pamela Newton, Time Out New York (For Doruntine)
Blessed Unrest, 2008 Innovative Theatre Award winner for Outstanding Play, presents an electrifying, contemporary adaptation of Chekhov’s Ivanov. (95 Minutes)

Pinchbottom Burlesque – Pretencion
Wed, Jul 15 7p | Thu, Jul 16 10p | Fri, Jul 17 10p | Sat, July 18 10p | Sun, Jul 19 7p

“The best burlesque show in town” -The Village Voice
Step into the world of Pinchbottom’s Pretencion: un cirque de burlesque, un burlesque de cirque — but be careful not to trip on the magic. (90 Minutes)

Dangerous Ground – 3!
Wed, Jul 22 9p | Thu, Jul 23 7p | Fri, Jul 24 9p | Sat, Jul 25 7p | Sun, Jul 26 5p

3! is a multimedia experiment inspired by Fassbinder’s 1979 film The Third Generation. Hybrid forms of performance subvert reality in an attempt to interrogate violence. (120 Minutes)

Jack Ferver – I Am Trying To Hear Myself and Vandam Goodbar
Wed Jul 22 7p | Fri Jul 24 7p | Sat Jul 25 9p | Sun Jul 26 2p

Two works about desire, longing, and humiliation. “I Am Trying To Hear Myself” concerns the elusive quality of romance and the disappointment of viewing one’s current life through the idealization of one’s past. “Vandam Goodbar” is a new piece about the humorous, disturbing, and unfortunate violent excursions that can happen in the restless search for a connection.

Richard Maxwell and The Reena Spaulings Band
Thu Jul 23 9p

The Reena Spaulings Band is a country music band, a rag-tag outfit, with ever-changing personnel exploring the ever-expanding kingdom of Country music. Imagine being alone, perusing the rows of your local library branch on a Friday night. Maybe you’re trying to better yourself, get cultured, when you happen upon a kind of music all but forgotten. This band provides a night of Country unlike any other-a musical template of possibilities, potential energy upon which you wander. Featuring: Bob Feldman (saxophone), Jim Fletcher (vocals, harmonica, recorder), Mike Iveson (vocals, piano), Rich Maxwell (vocals, guitar) and Brian Mendes (vocals, guitar, bass).

DOWNSTAIRS AT PERFORMANCE SPACE 122:

Thinking Person’s Theater – She of the Voice
Tue, Jul 7 7:30p | Wed, Jul 8 7:30p | Thu, Jul 9 7:30p | Fri, Jul 10 7:30p

“Delectable, sweeping… audaciously playful…Kunzru writes with wry certitude and cinematic precision.”-The New York Times
What’s the difference between a wise fool and crazy neighbor? Magda Mandela’s fellow citizens ponder this and more in an adaptation of award-winning author Hari Kunzru’s free-wheeling exploration of human fellowship. (60 Minutes)

WaxFactory & Eric Dean Scott – Tales from Bordertown (prologue)
Tue, Jul 7 9:30p | Wed, Jul 8 9:30p | Thu, Jul 9 9:30p | Fri, Jul 10 9:30p

Let’s get lost. Downtown performer Eric Dean Scott follows a trail of dreams, poetry, jazz recollection, lost roads, New Orleans and the razor’s edge…past shore, past time, past place….into bordertown. (90 Minutes)

Nora Woolley & Christine Witmer – Selling Splitsville
Sat, Jul 11 7 :30p | Sun, Jul 12 5:30p | Sat, Jul 18 5:30p | Sun, Jul 19 5:30p

TV shopping hosts Kath and Cheryl Marissa hawk speciality products for divorced families. Go from denial to acceptance in three easy instalments of $19.99. Directed by Raquel Cion. (75 Minutes)

Hoi Polloi – Winter Journey
Tue, Jul 14 7:30p | Wed, Jul 15 7:30p | Sat, Jul 18 7:30p | Sun, Jul 19 2:30p
“Pitch-perfect. . . this is a chance to watch an already impressive director as he modulates into a higher key.” – Time Out New York (The Less We Talk)
Hoi Polloi Artistic Director Alec Duffy explores his father’s lifelong obsession with Schubert’s late masterwork, the “Winterreise” song cycle. (55 minutes)

Wolf 359 – Evanston: A Rare Comedy
Tue, Jul 14 9:30p | Wed, Jul 15 9:30p | Thu, Jul 16 9:30p | Fri, Jul 17 7:30p

“A very gifted group of young artists” – Andy Horowitz, Culturebot
A teenage girl disappears in deepest suburbia, and a meeting of the Evanston Women’s Book Club ends in blood. (90 minutes)

Columbia University School of the Arts – The Misanthrope
An ensemble-created contemporary revisiting of Moliere’s classic social comedy told with austere passion and ecstatic frustration in music, movement, and verse.
Thu, Jul 16 7:30p | Fri, Jul 17 9:30p | Sat, Jul 18 9:30p | Sun, Jul 19 7:30p

NU Classic Theater – Apocalypsis Cum Figuris and The Constant Prince
Tue, Jul 21 7:30p | Wed, Jul 22 7:30p | Wed, Jul 22 9:30p | Thu, Jul 23 9:30p | Fri, Jul 24 7:30p NU Classic Theater presents Apocalypsis Cum Figuris and The Constant Prince, to commemorate Grotowski and his actors work; with poetry, a state of crisis, a biomechanics etude, and intense physicality. (60 minutes)

Coffee Cup (a theatre co.) – We Are Being Held
Thu, Jul 23 7:30p | Fri, Jul 24 9:30p | Sat, Jul 25 5:30p | Sat, Jul 25 7:30p | Sun, Jul 26 7:30p
A highly physical original show rooted in the minute and momentary connections that pass between us on the subway. (75 minutes)

playgroundzero (staged readings) created/curated by Saviana Stanescu
playgroundzero aims to offer a chance to exposure to plays that are highly original, risk-taking, innovative, bold and provocative.

• Me You Us Them by Andrea Lepcio Sat, Jul 11 3:30p
  
• Incomplete and Beautiful by Nathaniel Kressen Sun, Jul 12 2:30p The hilarious coming-of-age story of a group of artists in the gentrified East Village of NYC. (90 Minutes)
• For a Barbarian Woman by Saviana Stanescu Sat, Jul 18 2:30p
  
• Vattago by Ian Cohen Sat, Jul 25 2:30p The demon, Vattago, infiltrates the home and workplace of Matt Ross, resulting in chaos and death. A comedy.
  
• Torrents by Robert Attenweiler Sun, Jul 26 3:30p
  
  The story of two sisters battling the divide of one’s rural militia agenda and the other’s fundamentalist religious hope. (75 Minutes)

July 7 – 26, 2009