Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Kicks Off PRELUDE 2015 Today

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at The Graduate Center, CUNY presents its twelfth annual PRELUDE Festival this week, October 7, 8, 9. Dedicated to artists at the forefront of contemporary New York City theatre and performance, PRELUDE 2015 features an array of artists working in theatrical and interdisciplinary performance. The festival gives audiences and artists a survey of the current New York moment via in-process presentations, installations, and discussions -- all completely free to the public.

Helmed by curators Antje Oegel and Tom Sellar, with festival founder Frank Hentschker (Executive Director, Martin E. Segal Theatre Center), PRELUDE 2015 provides a unique preview of new work being created by groundbreaking New York theatre and performance artists working in theatrical, interdisciplinary, and mixed media performance. The festival is a public lab for sharing new ideas through brief workshop performances, readings, installations, participatory events, panels, and discussions featuring some of the most exciting artists working today. PRELUDE is the only festival of its kind in New York that remains completely free and open to the public.

Beginning Wednesday October 7, PRELUDE 2015 will feature more than 25 artists. In addition, PRELUDE 2015 has invited a handful of theatermakers to conceive original visions for performance architecture. The results will be exhibited throughout PRELUDE.

The final performance of PRELUDE 2015, Heavy Jennies by Erin Markey, Emily Bate, Becca Blackwell, Ana Fabrega, and James Allister Sprang, will take place at Pioneer Works in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Following the performance will be the PRELUDE 2015 Closing Night Party, featuring the presentation of the 3rd annual FRANKY Award to Jay Wegman of the Abrons Art Center for his long-term and extraordinary impact on contemporary theater and performance in New York City.

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PRELUDE 2014 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE:
For most up-to-date festival information, go to www.PreludeNYC.org.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7

5:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Segal Theatre Lobby

IMAGINING ARCHITECTURES FOR PERFORMANCE EXHIBITIONS

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Segal Theatre

WHAT COULD WE BUILD? Part I: New Theaters For New York

with Susan Feldman (St. Anne's Warehouse) and Vallejo Gantner (PS 122)

8:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Segal Theatre

WHAT COULD WE BUILD? Part II: Imagining Architectures for Performance

with Annie Dorsen, David Levine, Caden Manson and Jemma Nelson, Ryan McNamara, and Mac Wellman.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8

4:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Elebash Recital Hall Lobby

IMAGINING ARCHITECTURES FOR PERFORMANCE EXHIBITIONS

4:00 pm - 5:30 pm - Performance Block
Segal Theatre

THE FOUNDRY THEATRE

Pripyat

ANNIE DORSEN

Youtube 1-4

NATURE THEATER OF OKLAHOMA

Report from the Field: The Nibelungen Cycle

5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Elebash Recital Hall

MARIANNE WEEMS/THE BUILDERS ASSOCIATION

The Builders Association in Conversation

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm - Performance Block
Segal Theatre

SARAH HUGHES + MCFEELY SAM GOODMAN

Afterward

NORMANDY SHERWOOD

Mending

KATHERINE BROOK + LIZA BIRKENMEIER / TELE-VIOLET

Tragedy in Spades: A Crime Documentary

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm - Performance Block
Elebash Recital Hall

MAC WELLMAN

The Offending Gesture

MINOR THEATER

The Terrifying

R. B. SCHLATHER

DON'T CALL ME CRUEL, BABY

8:00 pm - 9:30 pm - Performance Block
Segal Theatre

EN GARDE ARTS

Wilderness

MALLORY CATLETT / RESTLESS NYC

Dead Time of Plenty

ASA HORVITZ

Theban Plays

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9

3:45 pm - 9:30 pm
Elebash Recital Hall Lobby

IMAGINING ARCHITECTURES FOR PERFORMANCE EXHIBITIONS

3:45 pm-5:30 pm - Performance Block
Segal Theatre

PHILLIP HOWZE

Self-Portrait #7

LIZA JESSIE PETERSON

The Peculiar Patriot

LARISSA VELEZ-JACKSON

Star Crap Method solo with Illogical Jazz Ballet

BEN GASSMAN

Sam's Tea Shack

5:00 pm - 7:00 pm - Performance Block
Elebash Recital Hall

MIKE IVESON

The Tear Drinkers

JULIANA FRANCIS KELLY

My Sh*tty Memory

ANIMALPARTS (ANTHONY JOHNSTON & NATHAN SCHWARTZ)

He's Built A f-ing Time Machine

COLIN GEE

Frontier

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm - Performance Block
Segal Theatre

RENEGADE PERFORMANCE GROUP

Power Source III

MONSTAH BLACK

Cotton + HYPERBOLIC! [Excerpt]

ERIN MARKEY, EMILY BATE, BECCA BLACKWELL, ANA FABREGA, & JAMES ALLISTER SPRANG

Heavy Jennies

CLOSING NIGHT PARTY

The 3rd annual FRANKY award presented to JAY WEGMAN of the Abrons Art Center

Followed by an exclusive DJ set by THE ILLUSTRIOUS BLACKS

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All programs are first-come, first-served, and open to the public. For the most up-to-date festival schedule, please visit www.PreludeNYC.org.

Since 2003, The Segal Center's PRELUDE FESTIVAL has presented more than 300 emerging artists, including: Sarah Benson, Big Art Group, Cynthia Hopkins, Young Jean Lee, Nature Theatre of Oklahoma, 600 HIGHWAYMEN, alongside legendary figures like Richard Foreman, Marina Abramovic, Mabou Mines, Charles Mee, and many more.

Curator Antje Oegel is the founder of AOInternational (AOI), a NYC-based agency that represents American and international artists, including Young Jean Lee, Thomas Bradshaw, Lisa D'Amour, Sibyl Kempson, Guillermo Calderon, Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig and David Levine for both theater and TV & film. Originally from Germany, Antje worked at the Euro-Scene Leipzig, an international theater and dance festival and then became the co-artistic director of the theatre Schaubühne Leipzig. Antje came to NYC in 2002 and worked at MCC Theater before becoming a theater agent at Bret Adams, Ltd. In addition to her work at AOI, Antje co-runs 53rd State Press along with founder, Karinne Keithley Syers. 53rd State Press is dedicated to publishing performance texts and new plays, including works by Pig Iron, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Miguel Gutierrez and the upcoming Rude Mechanicals' anthology. She is also the co-founder of Drama Panorama, a Berlin-based forum for international theater translation.

Curator Tom Sellar is editor of Yale's international performance journal Theater. Under his editorship since 2003, Theater has published plays, criticism, reportage and creative dossiers by leading global artists and authors. Tom is professor of Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism at Yale University, where he teaches courses in contemporary global performance and theater, critical practice, and performance curating. He currently serves as chief theater critic of the Village Voice, where he has written about New York performing arts since 2001. Tom curates public programs at Yale and for organizations including Philadelphia Fringe Arts and the Prague Quadrennial. A New York City native, he is a proud resident of Brooklyn.

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center (MESTC) is a non-profit center for theatre, dance, and film affiliated with CUNY's Ph.D. Program in Theatre. The Center's mission is to bridge the gap between academia and the professional performing arts communities both within the United States and internationally. For more, visit www.theSegalCenter.org.