FRIGID Festival 2019 Announces Lineup
By: Stephi Wild Jan. 18, 2019
Now in its thirteenth year, FRIGID is an open and uncensored theatre festival that gives artists an opportunity to let their ingenuity thrive in a venue that values freedom of expression and artistic determination. In true support of our Indie Theater Community, 100% of box office proceeds will go directly to the artists whose work is being presented. FRIGID is here to chill out the New York independent theatre scene's ideas of what a theatre festival can be!
Check out this year's lineup:
Am I a Man
Written by Dazie Grego
A story of PRIDE and the violence that transforms sissies into men. This original work is Dazié's protest response to the brutal slaying of Jorge Steven Mercado, a Puerto Rican teenager whose killer solicited him for sex, believing him to be a female. When it was discovered that Mercado was, in fact male, he was murdered, decapitated, dismembered and burned.
Oakland, California
Kraine Theater, 60 minutes, $20
Booger Red
Written by Jim Loucks
Jim Loucks's new solo performance, loosely based on stories from his childhood as a Preacher's Kid, focuses on his relationship with his father, a Hellfire and Brimstone Southern Baptist preacher, and his struggle to come out from under the shadow of his larger-than-life persona. It is the story of someone finding their own unique voice, resisting the pressures of society's ideas of who they should be, and forging their own way.
Venice, California
Under St. Mark's, 50 minutes, $15
Borderline A**hole
Written by Julie Gieseke
After years of chasing unavailable women, Julie meets Monica. Monica is not Julie's type. She's ... well; she doesn't look like someone Julie would date. Isn't Monica straight? Monica is flirting with Julie, which is usually something that makes Julie run. But Julie just hired a lesbian dating coach and Monica is everything that Julie just said she wanted in an ideal girlfriend. Julie decides to test her assumptions, so she sleeps with Monica. Instant relationship. It's only been two months and Julie wants Monica to meet her mother. Why? Because her mother is dying or because this is finally the right relationship? It seems like the right relationship. They just can't agree on one thing, that Julie is the problem. Or that Julie has a problem. Monica thinks Julie is a Borderline. Julie is willing to consider it.
San Fransisco, California
Under St. Mark's, 60 minutes, $15
CC: You In Hell!
Written by Mark Levy, Hub Theatricals
"Send this to 7 people and you live" is a normal Chain Letter and things normally don't happen but, what happens if you don't respond and the letter is possessed with the soul of a Professor who loved the 90s?...nah that can't happen (lol). From the Mind of Mark Levy (Lenny Bruce is Not Afraid (Frigid 2018) and "All is Fine in Sunny Florida! (Frigid 2016)) comes this absurd dark comedy where the only thing that kills you more than silly references is well, death. Just make sure you send the letter to 7 people....please.
Brooklyn, New York
Kraine Theater, 60 minutes, $20
Cocky
Written by Beth McLaughlin
I believe in the redeeming power of theater. Meaning I have sought redemption there. I believe art heals, that there are basically two ways of entering the community, of being a force for change, and one is political, and one is through art. I have carefully avoided getting enough of an education or being morally upstanding enough for politics, yet there are things -- feelings, expressions of being in the world - that I believe are vital, hopeful, and necessary. I love rhythm and movement and force of words, and the silence of the body in a state of stillness. I think that to move into the heart and stand or scream there -- or to ache there, just a little -- can be transformative. And I believe in passion, certainty and need. The willingness to listen, to support, to laugh, and to shamelessly fail, with big ideas and small moments. And the hope, the hope, the hope.
San Francisco, California
Under St. Mark's, 60 minutes, $16
Comfort Zones
Written by Richard Alleman, The Poked Bear
Two short plays by Richard Alleman examine Comfort Zones.
Quiet Car: Two strangers - one craving peace, the other attention - are forced to share the last two seats in the Quiet Car of an Amtrak train. Adrift: A wealthy WASP couple try to escape the horrors of a dystopian world by living full-time aboard a luxury cruise ship.
New York, New York
Kraine Theater, 60 minutes, $20
Daughter Of A Garbageman
Written by Maureen Langan
Maureen Langan's Irish mother and Bronx-born father, a NYC sanitation worker, told her an education was the path to success. Is that true?
In DOGM, Langan lambasts today's "reality culture," while revealing her parents' strengths, struggles and secrets and how that made her who she is today.
New York, New York
Under St. Mark's, 60 minutes, $20
David and Katie Get Re-Married
Written by David Carl and Katie Hartman, Project Y Theatre
David and Katie Get Re-Married pairs David Carl (Gary Busey's One-Man Hamlet, Trump Lear) and Katie Hartman (Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting, Netflix's The Week Of) in a real time sweet and sour wedding betwixt a star-crossed couple who has broken up and re-united more frequently than Spiderman has been rebooted.
New York, New York
Kraine Theater, 60 minutes, $20
GAY BOY
Written by JD Stewart
Gay Boy is the provocative account of some sort of gay man living some sort of life as an English Teacher in South Korea. On the surface, Gay Boy may seem like a typical gay boy: highly sexed, sassy, and reveling in both. But when his vulnerability surfaces after a one-night stand, truths about his past are finally revealed.
New York, New York
Kraine Theater, 60 minutes, $20
The Gay Card
Written by Logan Martin-Arcand, SexualSpaceWalk Theatre
Fuck boys and cold pizza slices. The Gay Card is the story of three gay men and the issues they face regarding love, consent, and the hyper-sexualization of the queer community in this modern snapshot of online dating and hookup culture.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Under St. Mark's, 60 minutes, $20
Hard-Core CORN
Written by Kelly Haramis
Kelly Haramis' popcorn-jonesing life is about to get flipped when she meets a nutrition guru in this one-woman show. Find out what happens when Kelly navigates a maze of maize - through hilarious newscasts, cooking shows & personal confessions.
Chicago, Illinois
Under St. Mark's, 60 minutes, $16
The Howie Hypnotize Comedy Hypnosis Show
Written by Howie Hypnotize
Howie is an entertainer that brings the best out of his volunteers on stage. You will be amazed at the fun time you will have. Make sure to bring a friend so someone can take pictures. Miss out and you will have to hear about the show at the water cooler.
Rochester, New York
Under St. Mark's, 60 minutes, $15
I Favor My Daddy
Written by Jamie Brickhouse, redBrick Agency
Is Jamie (4-time Moth champ and "natural raconteur" -Washington Post) the full-blown version of Daddy Poo-not the Catholic, conservative part, but the gay, alcoholic part? "Jamie lights up the stage...a riveting, thoroughly polished performance...comedic perfection." (Theater Is Easy "Best Bet")
New York, New York
Kraine Theater, 60 minutes, $20
I'm Just Kidneying
Written by Amanda Nicastro
When Amanda shares that she is a living kidney donor, folks are quick to proclaim that she's a hero. But how heroic is it to carry your own urine on the subway? "I'm Just Kidneying" takes a whimsical look into the process of living kidney donation and pokes holes into the idea of what it takes to be "hero material."
New York, New York
Under St. Mark's, 60 minutes, $20
The Immaculate Big Bang
Written by Bill Santiago
Sparked by the death of his father and birth of his daughter, Comedy Central Comedian Bill Santiago goes in search of answers and laughs at the border of science and religion, exploring the comic nature of the cosmic quest for understanding existence, life, death and the number 33 (not necessarily in that order).
New York, New York
Kraine Theater, 60 minutes, $20
Indefinite Articles: A Libertarian Rage
Written by Phillip Low, Maximum Verbosity
It's just the time for an irreverent collection of classic jokes, stories, and rants by libertarian activist and internationally touring storyteller phillip andrew bennett low! Pull up a chair, down some whiskey, laugh, get angry, and tip your servers. He'll be here six nights.
Boston, Massachusetts
Under St. Mark's, 55 minutes, $10
Invisibility: A Journey of Pasta, Prayer, Protest, and Peru
Written by Richard Cardillo
Richard Cardillo takes us on a magical, mystical and multicultural ride through his childhood in a large Italian-American family, his young-adulthood as a celibate monk in a Catholic monastery, and his 10 years living in Peru. With equal measures of celebration, self-discovery, and sex antics, Invisibility will be an unforgettable journey.
New York, New York
Kraine Theater, 60 minutes, $20
IVANKAPLAY
Written by Charles Gershman, Snowy Owl
IVANKAPLAY stars Ivanka Trump. Rich kid. Daddy's girl. First daughter. Her father is systematically destroying American democracy. But Jared offers her a kind of solace. Her children empower her. A wild and provocative new play about America's first daughter on the most fateful day of her life.
New York, New York
Kraine Theater, 60 minutes, $15
Loud Blond Bald Kid
Written by Kevin James Doyle
Growing up was difficult for everyone: first kisses, weird hairs, the cool group, summer camp, the lunchroom. Take a ride down the painfully hilarious memory lane of adolescence with comedian with Kevin James Doyle and feel thankful you never have to go back - and surprised to realize we actually all made it out ok. At the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival his previous hour of stand up The 30 Year Old Virgin was praised for its "brutal honesty and awkward hilarity" and called "one of the funniest and most intimate comedy shows you'll ever see", his new show promises to be no different.
New York, New York
Under St. Mark's , 60 minutes, $20
Persephone's Cave
Written by Beau Han Bridge, Midtwenties Theatre Society
In 2018 New York City, two lower-class Millennials - the aspiring filmmaker-student Sephy; and aspiring musician-boyfriend Hayden - live and work together above an old independent movie theatre. One evening, a tragic circumstance leads them to make a decision and lock themselves in the projector room below, holding the hope of escaping their world by never coming out again. The question is: Can they escape?
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Kraine Theater, 60 minutes, $20
Radio COTE
Written by Various Authors, Co-Op Theatre East
Co-Op Theatre East's series of new radio plays written & performed within 24 hours, tweaking the news of today to imagine a different world of tomorrow, will present five evenings of four new radio plays each. The results range from the absurdly wacky to the poignantly reflective, but they're always clever, fun, and inspired. Join us for a live recording of four brand-new, immediately-topical radio plays - each performance is different, written from the most immediately topical news of the day!
New York, New York
Kraine Theater, 50 minutes, $10
River of Fire
Written by David Lee Morgan
A computer wakes up in year 2035 on the eve of a worldwide socialist revolution. Fighting has broken out all over the globe. Suddenly, all communication stops. Spoken word musical theatre by David Lee Morgan, a UK and BBC Poetry Slam champion.
London, England
Under St. Mark's, 60 minutes, $15
Runaway Princess: A Hopeful Tale of Heroin, Hooking & Happiness
Written by Mary Goggin
One woman's dark comic journey to the other side of the overpass. Mary Goggin shares stories of sex, drugs and Irish Catholicism. As a massive reaction to sexual repression, Mary takes us from the Irish Famine to 1970s pimps and eventual joy.
New York, New York
Under St. Mark's, 60 minutes, $20
Sally, Hank, and Their Son Harry
Written by Manning Jordan
Sally, Hank and their Son Harry is an exploration of sex, love and nurture that takes place over two time periods, the first in 1968 at a dinner party, and the second at a present day sex panel at the 92nd Street Y.
New York, New York
Kraine Theater , 45 minutes, $20
Strays
Written by Brad Lawrence, Nefarious Laboratory
Renowned Storyteller Brad Lawrence wrestles with the complicated legacy of his step-father and the hodge podge family of eight kids that came together to sometimes disastrous, sometimes hilarious, and occasionally touching results.
New York, New York
Under St. Mark's, 55 minutes, $12
Sleep Depraved
Written by Killy Dwyer, Killer Killy Prods
Full of nocturnal admissions, this comedic multimedia musical is a playful yet poignant exploration of some truly deep sheeted issues. Dwyer is tired but wired and invites you into her bed and her head for this intimate "insomaniac" experience in the city that never sleeps. *PJ's, pillows and blankets encouraged!
Brooklyn, New York
Under St Mark's , 60 minutes, $15
Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me but Banjos Saved My Life
Written by Keith Alessi, Quivering Dendrites
Always wanted to learn how to play the Banjo but your meteoric rise to success in the business world running public companies and out-performing Yahoo keeps holding you back? So you keep squirrelling away banjos like acorns in closets and putting off your banjo dreams? Me too. Let's talk.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Under St. Mark's, 60 minutes, $12
Toto Talks
Written by Randall David Cook, Not in Kansas Productions
Dorothy got a movie, the ever-green witch stars in a Broadway musical, and Toto gets... A downtown show with practically no budget. So she's ready to spill the tea. (And yes, Toto's a she. Steel yourself.) The perfect show for friends of Dorothy, dog lovers, and hypersensitive theater critics.
New York, New York
Kraine Theater, 55 minutes, $20
Voice of Authority
Written by Dean Temple
The US Dept of Justice is suing Dean for $19 million. What he needs is a lawyer. What he gets is a ballet dancer. A true story about turning your worst catastrophe into a pretty damn good musical number.
New York, New York
Kraine Theater, 50 minutes, $15
FRIGID New York's continuing mission is to seek out new art, new artists, and new audiences. We do this by creating an accessible community of varied voices that value collaboration, resourcefulness, diversity, and innovation. We provide a home for independent theater artists, with a focus on voices that require amplification. We nurture their development, and we help to establish their careers by promoting their work to local, national, and international audiences.
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