Karen Brooks News

After reopening its Brooklyn waterfront theater last fall, St. Ann’s Warehouse is launching its second post-shutdown season with a continuation of large-scale outdoor performance and public art presentations that address urgent humanitarian issues.

Bryant Park has announced the 2022 June Reading Room lineup as part of the annual return of the Bryant Park Reading Room during a monumental year celebrating Bryant Park’s 30th anniversary.

A spirited conversation with Karen Brooks Hopkins, president emerita of BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), author, and senior advisor to the Onassis Foundation, will take place on Thursday, June 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Modern Theatre, 525 Washington St., Boston, MA.

Materials for the Arts (MFTA), a program of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), The Joyce Theater, and Karen Brooks Hopkins, President Emerita of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and author of the new memoir, “BAM…And Then It Hit Me,” today announced The Great Dance Shoe Giveaway.

On Tuesday, February 22 at 11:00AM, Materials for the Arts (a program of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs), The Joyce Theater, and Karen Brooks Hopkins (President Emerita of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and author of the new memoir “BAM…And Then It Hit Me”), and local dancers will kick off “The Great Dance Shoe Giveaway.”

Today's top stories: James Snyder fired from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child following misconduct investigation, Slave Play and Girl From the North Country close, and more!

Karen Brooks Hopkins’ memoir BAM. . . and Then It Hit Me (powerHouse Books and Audible, January 2022) is an exhilarating romp through the evolution of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the renowned cultural institution, and an inside look at how it grew to exert considerable influence on theater, opera, dance, and film worldwide.

BAM has announced A New York Season, a celebratory homecoming that brings together a league of artists who have made, and continue to make, New York City the culture capital of the world.

Theatre Aspen will present its second annual one-person show festival, Solo Flights, as the third act of this year’s 38th summer season, launching next Wednesday, August 25 and running through Tuesday, August 31, 2021 at the Hurst Theatre in Aspen, Colorado. 

Ahead of the start of the 38th Season, Theatre Aspen announced today that after a successful first flight, the organization will present its second annual one-person show festival, Solo Flights, as the third act of this year’s summer season, August 25 – 31, 2021 at the Hurst Theatre in Aspen, Colorado.

The Onassis Foundation and the TRAX podcast network for tweens from public media organization PRX today announced Live from Mount Olympus, a new podcast produced in partnership with theatre ensemble the TEAM, combining the magic of audio and contemporary theatre with the power of Greek myth.

The Brooklyn Academy of Music is deeply saddened by the loss of its esteemed board chair, Adam E. Max (1958-2020), who died on July 27 of cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer), diagnosed last September. BAM chair since 2017, Max joined the board in 2003 and became co-vice chair in 2008. He led the institution with energy, humility, warmth, and humor.

The directors of The Jerome Robbins Foundation today announced that Theodore S. Chapin, President and Chief Creative Officer of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization: A Concord Company, will be honored with the Floria V. Lasky Award in recognition of his invaluable contributions to the cultural landscape of New York City.

ALL ARTS will premiere House Seats: In Conversation with Peter Brook, an interview of the legendary artist by the Tony Award-nominated playwright (Choir Boy) and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight), in primetime on Sunday, February 23, at 8pm. ALL ARTS recorded the conversation at Polonsky Shakespeare Center following a performance of Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne's Why?, whose American Premiere Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) presented as part of Peter Brook/NY, a citywide recognition of Brook and Estienne's work in theatre, opera, film, television, literature, and the development of the next generation of theatre artists.

In anticipation of the BAM Karen-the organization's new venue within 300 Ashland Place-BAM will redefine and elevate programming roles to reflect a broader vision for the organization. BAM Karen will include three new cinemas, a permanent home for the BAM Hamm Archives-including the Shelby White & Leon Levy Reading Room-and the Samuel H. Scripps Education Center. The new spaces are named in honor of longtime BAM president, Karen Brooks Hopkins, and are slated to open in 2021.

The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) and NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today celebrated the start of construction on a new cultural center at the 32-story mixed-use tower, located at 300 Ashland Place in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. The L10 Arts and Cultural Center will be home to several noteworthy cultural institutions including the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Brooklyn Public Library, the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) and 651 ARTS.

Peter Brook/NY today announces that Tarell Alvin McCraney will interview Peter Brook following the Thursday, September 26, performance of Why?, written and directed by Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne; featuring Hayley Carmichael, Kathryn Hunter, and Marcello Magni; and presented by Theatre for a New Audience. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be filmed by partner organization WNET/ALL ARTS for future broadcast. For complete Peter Brook/NY programming information, please visit tfana.org/pbny.

Today a consortium of New York City cultural, educational, and media institutions announce Peter Brook/NY (Karen Brooks Hopkins, Executive Producer), a citywide recognition of Brook's work and his collaborations with Marie-Hélène Estienne from 1953 to the present. In addition to the U.S. Premiere of Brook and Estienne's Why? which Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) presents September 21 a?" October 6 at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, Peter Brook/NY features programing from BAM, The Center for Fiction, Columbia University, French Institute Alliance Française's Crossing the Line Festival, Hunter College, The Juilliard School, TFANA, and WNET.  A booklet produced by BAM Hamm Archivesa?"featuring historic photographs, a timeline of Brook's productions and New York presence, an essay by writer Violaine Huisman, and information about Peter Brook/NY eventsa?"will be available to all attendees and online at BAM.org and TFANA.org.

Theatre Aspen announced today the addition of a special panel series to the organization's inaugural one-person show festival Solo Flights which takes off this week in Aspen, CO, September 18 through 21.

Today a consortium of New York City cultural, educational, and media institutions announce Peter Brook/NY (Karen Brooks Hopkins, Executive Producer), a citywide recognition of Brook's work and his collaborations with Marie-Hélène Estienne from 1953 to the present. In addition to the U.S. Premiere of Brook and Estienne's Why? which Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) presents September 21 a?" October 6 at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, Peter Brook/NY features programing from BAM, The Center for Fiction, Columbia University, French Institute Alliance Française's Crossing the Line Festival, Hunter College, The Juilliard School, TFANA, and WNET.  A booklet produced by BAM Hamm Archivesa?"featuring historic photographs, a timeline of Brook's productions and New York presence, an essay by writer Violaine Huisman, and information about Peter Brook/NY eventsa?"will be available to all attendees and online at BAM.org and TFANA.org.