Public Theatre 'Under the Radar' Festival Returns Jan.9-20

The Public Theater is pleased to announce the provocative line up for "Under the Radar" 2008, a twelve-day festival tracking new theater from across the U.S. and around the world.  $15 single tickets to UTR shows at The Public will go on-sale on Friday, December 7.

Now in its fourth year, "Under the Radar" is an explosively diverse kaleidoscope of new theater—examples from around the world and the U.S. that spotlight artists ranging from emerging talents to masters in the field.  Located at The Public Theater as well as partner venues, "Under the Radar" will offer a crash course in theater that is exciting, independent, and experimental, created by some of the most dynamic artists working today.

UNDER THE RADAR 2008 at The Public Theater (January 9-20):

CHURCH
January 9 - 19 (Running time: 70 minutes)
Young Jean Lee's Theater Company
Written and Directed by Young Jean Lee

Wed. Jan 9th 8pm | Thurs. Jan 10th 3:30pm | Fri. Jan. 11th 7pm | Sat. Jan 12th 4pm | Sun. Jan 13th 7pm | Mon. Jan 14th 9:30pm | Wed. Jan. 16th 9:30pm | Thurs. Jan. 17th 7pm | Fri. Jan 18th 9:30pm | Sat. Jan 19th 7pm

Playwright and director Young Jean Lee transforms her life-long struggle with Christianity into an exuberant church service designed to test the expectations of the religious and non-religious alike.

DISINFORMATION
January 10 – 20 (Running Time: 55 minutes)
Performed by Reggie Watts
Directed by Tommy Smith

Thurs. Jan 10th 8pm | Fri. Jan 11th 9:30pm | Sat. Jan. 12th 4:30pm | Sun. Jan 13th 9:30pm | Wed. Jan 16th 7pm | Fri. Jan 18th 9:30pm | Sat. Jan. 19th 10:30pm | Sun. Jan. 20th 4:30pm

Anthropological humorist Reggie Watts utilizes absurdist storytelling, improvisational movement and sound to comment on humanity's refusal to accept an eventual global shift towards unimaginable destruction. 

GENERATION JEANS
January 11 – 20 (Running Time: 90 minutes)
Belarus Free Theatre

Fri. Jan 11th 7pm | Sat. Jan 12th 9:30pm | Sun. Jan. 13th 4pm | Mon. Jan 14th 7pm | Tues. Jan 15th 9pm | Thurs. Jan 17th 9:30pm | Fri. Jan. 18th 7pm | Sat. Jan. 19th 7pm |  Sun. Jan 20th 4:30pm

Driven 'underground' for their outspokenness against their government, the Free Theatre is welcomed by UTR for their American debut of this semi-autobiographical story about living under a repressive political system.

HOW THEATER FAILED AMERICA
One performance Only!
Sunday, January 13 at 2 pm (Running Time: 80 minutes)
Created and performed by Mike Daisey
Directed by Jean-Michele Gregory

Master storyteller Mike Daisey returns to UTR, sinking his razor-sharp wit into a subject he knows well: the American theater, from the sublimely crass to the genuinely ugly.

IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING
Jan 10 – Jan 20 (Running Time: 80 minutes)
The Suicide Kings
Directed by Marc Bamuthi Joseph

Thurs. Jan 10th 5pm | Sat. Jan 12th 4:30pm | Sun. Jan. 13th 9:30pm | Mon. Jan 14th 9:30pm | Thurs. Jan 17th 7pm | Fri. Jan 18th 9:30pm | Sat. Jan. 19th 9:30pm | Sun. Jan. 20th 2pm

The Bay Area's most dynamic spoken word collective pushes the boundaries of hip-hop theater, with this raw, electrifying story about school violence and their own journey from the streets to teaching in the public school system.

LOW: Meditations Trilogy Part 1
January 10-20 (Running Time: 75 minutes)
Conceived, Written and Performed by Rha Goddess
Directed and Developed by Chay Yew

Thurs. Jan 10th 5pm | Sat. Jan 12th 7pm | Sun. Jan. 13th 2pm | Mon. Jan 14th 9:30pm | Tues Jan 15th 7pm | Wed. Jan 16th 9:30pm | Thurs. Jan. 17th 7pm | Sat. Jan. 19th 8:30pm | Sun. Jan 20th 2pm

Fusing hip-hop punch and poetic flow, Goddess gives a riveting portrayal of one woman's struggle with mental illness that is at once furious, funny, dark and hopeful.

POETICS:  A BALLET BRUT
January 10 – 20 (Running time: 65 minutes)
Conceived and Directed by Kelly Copper and Pavol Liska
Created and Performed by Nature Theater of Oklahoma

Thurs. Jan 10th 1pm and 8pm | Fri. Jan 11th 9:30pm | Sat. Jan.12th 7pm | Sun. Jan. 13th 9:30pm | Wed. Jan 16th 7pm | Thurs. Jan 17th 9:30pm | Sat. Jan 19th 9:30pm | Sun. Jan. 20th 4:30pm

Nature Theater of Oklahoma returns to UTR with this awesome and awkward dance manifesto that grows exponentially through to the piece's final takeover of the entire performance space.

REGURGITOPHAGY
January 10– 20 (Running Time: 60 minutes)
Conceived, Written and Performed by Michel Melamed
Directed by Alessandra Colasanti, Marco Abujamra and Michel Melamed, Executive Producer Bianca de Felippes.

Thurs. Jan 10th 5pm | Sat. Jan 12th 9:30pm | Sun. Jan. 13th 5pm | Mon. Jan 14th 7pm | Tues Jan 15th 7pm | Fri. Jan 18th 7pm | Sat. Jan. 19th 5pm | Sun. Jan. 20th 7pm

Demolishing the fourth wall, audience reactions are captured and transformed into electric shocks to the performer's body, as he presents a poetic and painful protest against a culture that hammers us with torrents of excess information.

STOOP STORIES
January 10– 19 (Running Time: 75 minutes)
Written and Performed by Dael Orlandersmith
Work in progress (not open for review)

Thurs. Jan 10th 8pm | Sat. Jan 12th 7pm | Tues. Jan. 15th 7pm | Wed. Jan 16th 9:30pm | Sat. Jan 19th 1pm |

Weaving new tales, with the best from her Obie Award-winning acclaimed solo work, Stoop Stories offers a glimpse into the lives of people from Dael Orlandersmith's past, present and imagination.

TERMINUS
January 9– 20 (Running Time: 90 minutes)
Written and directed by Mark O'Rowe
Abbey Theatre, Ireland

Wed. Jan 9th 8pm | Thurs. Jan 10th 1pm | Fri. Jan. 11th 7pm | Sat. Jan 12th 2pm and 9:30pm | Sun. Jan 13th 7pm | Mon. Jan 14th 7pm | Wed. Jan. 16th 3pm | Thurs. Jan. 17th 9:30pm | Fri. Jan 18th 7pm | Sat. Jan. 19th 2pm and 6 PM | Sun. Jan 20th 7pm

The ordinary turns extraordinary when three people are thrown into a fantastical world of singing serial killers, avenging angels and love-sick demons in this thrilling and vivid play from the writer of Howie the Rookie.

THIS PLACE IS A DESERT
January 9– 20 (Running Time: 110 minutes)
Conceived and directed by Jay Scheib
In collaboration with media artist Leah Gelpe
Produced by Shoshana Polanco

Wed. Jan 9th 8pm | Thurs. Jan 10th 1pm | Fri. Jan. 11th 9:30pm | Sat. Jan 12th 2pm | Sun. Jan 13th 7pm | Wed. Jan 16th 7pm | Sat. Jan. 19th 4pm | Sun. Jan 20th 7pm

Partially seen and partially screened, this Antonioni inspired piece follows four lovers as they destroy each other in an attempt to defy their irreparable loneliness.

UNDER THE RADAR 2008 PARTNER VENUES:

OF ALL THE PEOPLE IN ALL THE WORLD: USA
January 9 – 20
Stan's Cafe
World Financial Center, Courtyard Gallery
220 Vesey Street, Lobby Level of Courtyard and Winter Garden
Co-produced by arts>World Financial Center

Noon-6pm | no performances Mon., Jan 14th and Tues. Jan 15th | Free admission

One Grain Of Rice = One Person. Powerful and emotive stories emerge in this beautifully simple performance installation as population statistics are transformed into sculptural piles of rice.

small metal objects (North American Premiere)
Jan 11 – Jan 14 (Running time: 50 minutes)
Back to Back Theatre
Whitehall Ferry Terminal Manhattan

Free tickets: To ensure a reservation call 212-967-7555 by 5pm the day before the show. Unclaimed reservations will be released 15 min before the show. Limit 2 reservations per person. This show contains coarse language and sexual references.

Fri. Jan 11th 2:45pm and 6:45pm | Sat. Jan 12th 2:45pm and 6:45pm | Sun. Jan. 13th 1:45pm and 4:45pm | Mon. Jan 14th 2:45pm and 6:45pm

An ingenious and breathtaking theatrical gem unfolds amidst the pedestrian traffic of Whitehall Ferry Terminal.  With individual headsets, the audience is wired in to an intensely personal drama being played out in the crowd.

BIG, 3rd Episode (happy/ end) (U.S. Premiere)
January 10- 13 (Running time:60 minutes)
Superamas
The Kitchen, 512 West 19th Street

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at 212-555-5793 ext. 11

Thurs. Jan 10th 8pm | Fri. Jan 11th 8pm | Sat. Jan. 12th 8pm | Sun. Jan 13th 4pm

Superamas spins another seductive façade of slick perfection under which lurks the bitter reality of disappointment and failure in this multi-media investigation of consumerism, pop culture and the quest for happiness.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
January 9-27 (Running time: 55 minutes)
1927
Performance Space 122, 150 First Avenue

Tickets are $15 tickets (mention code UTR) and can be purchased at ps122.org or call 212-352-3101

Wed. Jan 9th 7pm | Fri. Jan 11th 7pm | Sat. Jan. 12th 10pm | Mon. Jan 14th 9pm | Thurs. Jan 17th 8pm | Fri. Jan. 18th 8pm | Sat. Jan. 19th 5pm and 8pm | Sun. Jan. 20th 5pm

Additional shows at PS 122 following the Festival through Jan 27: Tue- Sat at 8pm, Sat & Sun at 5pm

1927's multiple award-winning theatrical cabaret combines film, animation, storytelling, live music and performance. The runaway hit of the Edinburgh Fringe 2007 and winner of The Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award.

Etiquette
January 9 – 20 (Running time: 30 minutes)
Presented by The Foundry Theatre and Rotozaza
Created by Anton Hampton and Silvia Mercuriali
Performed by You
Veselka, 144 Second Ave

Tickets are $20 (for pair of two) and can be purchased at the foundrytheatre.org or 1-866-811-4111

Showtimes: Noon to Midnight at 1/2 hour intervals at Veselka.

A half-hour experience for two people sitting at a table in a public restaurant where headphones tell you what to say and do. Etiquette exposes human communication at its most delicate.

Classical Theatre of Harlem's Trojan Women
January 10-February 10 (Running Time: 90 minutes)
Adapted and Directed by Alfred Preisser
Presented by Harlem Stage and Classical Theatre of Harlem
Harlem Stage Gatehouse, 150 Convent Avenue (W.135th Street)

Tickets are $25 (mention code UTR) and can be purchased at harlemstage.org or 212-281-9240

Showtimes: Wed-Sat at 7:30 pm and Sun at 3 pm

Trojan Women is a radical re-envisioning of the Greek classic set in the imagined wreckage of Penn Station, integrating testimony from survivors of recent civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

FREE Under The Radar Events At The Public Theater:

The public is invited to attend the following series of artist panels and discussions at The Public Theater. Space s limited and not guaranteed. Please show up early.

Friday January 11th at 6pm
Artist Talk
Theater of Resistance: A Conversation with Belarus Free Theatre

Sunday January 13th at 3:30pm
Artist Talk
Words and music - Hip Hop and spoken word in today's theater
With Reggie Watts, Rha Goddess and The Suicide Kings. Moderated by Clyde Valentin (Executive Director of Hip Hop Theater Festival)

Saturday January 19th at 11am
Artist Talk
New Theater - Back to the Future
With Young Jean Lee, Jay Scheib and Nature Theater of Oklahoma

Sunday January 13th at 11:30am-1pm
How to bring your show to Edinburgh Fringe
A breakfast with Jon Morgan, Director, Eileen O'Reilly, Promoter Liaison and Leroy Harris, Press and Marketing Manager as they discuss how to bring your show to Edinburgh, the benefits of performing and tips to make the most out of your Fringe show.

$15 single tickets for UNDER THE RADAR shows at The Public will go on sale on Friday, December 7 at The Public Theater box office, 425 Lafayette Street; on-line at www.publictheater.org or by phone at 212-967-7555.  Seating for all shows at UTR at The Public is general admission.  Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

All Access Passes can be purchased for $99 and include tickets to all UTR shows at The Public, discounts to shows at partner venues and an invite to brunch with the artists.  All Access Passes can be purchased at (212) 260-2400.

Box office hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 1:00 pm to 7:30 pm, and Sunday and Monday from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Fr more information, visit www.publictheater.org

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