Annual PRELUDE FESTIVAL Set for October; Preliminary Artists Announced!

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presents its annual PRELUDE FESTIVAL on October 7, 8, and 9 at The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY).

The Segal Center's PRELUDE FESTIVAL, dedicated to artists at the forefront of contemporary New York City theatre and performance, will be curated by Antje Oegel (Founder, AO International), Tom Sellar (Editor, Theater magazine and Professor at Yale University), and festival founder Frank Hentschker (Executive Director of The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center).

"What moves us today more than anything else is - what will the future look like. Will we be able to produce and present work in a city that has become dominated by commerce? In that spirit, we are looking for artistic trends and will talk with artists about their inspirations and visions for the future," says Oegel.

Artists and companies currently scheduled to participate include: Annie Dorsen, Jim Findlay, Daniel Fish, Sam Goodman, Sarah Hughes, Mike Iveson, David Levine, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Animal Parts, Normandy Sherwood, Mac Wellman, Larissa Valez-Jackson, Andre Zachery, with more to come.

The centerpiece of PRELUDE 2015 will be an investigation of new futures and architectures for performance in New York City. Co-curators Oegel and Sellar have invited a selection of New York theater artists to imagine their ideal platforms, spaces, buildings, or structures for performance in the city. These projects will be exhibited throughout the three-day program, with the artists presenting and discussing their ideas at a live event on Wednesday, October 7 (with Princeton University architect Michael Young responding to the presentations).

"We wanted to hear from the artists themselves about theater's possibilities in a transforming city," said Sellar. "This will be an opportunity for practicing artists to contribute to the discourse about what a performance space can be."

Also on October 7, a panel of the city's artistic leaders will unveil their new building plans, and discuss what they mean for the theater community. Scheduled participants include Susan Feldman (Artistic Director, St. Ann's Warehouse) and Vallejo Gantner (Artistic Director, Performance Space 122), among others.

The final night of PRELUDE will conclude with the presentation of the third annual Franky Award-created to recognize an artist who has made a long-term, extraordinary impact on contemporary theatre and performance in New York City.

Since 2003, the PRELUDE FESTIVAL has given audiences a fast-paced, first look at new work and ideas by groundbreaking New York theatre and performance artists by presenting brief readings, mini-performances, installations, panels, and discussions featuring some of New York City's most thought-provoking performance artists and companies. PRELUDE has presented more than 300 emerging artists, including: Sarah Benson, Big Art Group, Cynthia Hopkins, Young Jean Lee, Nature Theatre of Oklahoma, and 600 HIGHWAYMEN alongside legendary figures like Richard Foreman, Marina Abramovic, Mabou Mines, Charles Mee, and many more.

PRELUDE remains the only festival of its kind in New York City that remains completely free and open to the public.

Full festival schedule to be announced in early September. For updates, please visit www.PreludeNYC.org.