Rashida Jones, Duncan Sheik, Baron Vaughn and More to Take Part in LIFE STUDIES, Benefit Concert from The Civilians

On May 20, Off-Broadway theater company The Civilians will host Life Studies, a livestreamed benefit concert supporting the company and its artistic community. This year's virtual event will celebrate risk-taking artists who look deeply into our world to reveal new truths.

The event will honor "Civilian of the Year" Mimi Brown, creative collaborator and founder of Spring Workshop in Hong Kong, an international cultural initiative fostering innovative exchange between artists, organizations, and audiences. The evening also celebrates the 10th anniversary of The Civilians' R&D Group, a new work laboratory that has supported a diverse community of over 150 writers, directors, and composers engaged in deep inquiries into the vital questions of our world.

The live streamed event, hosted by Jo Lampert and Ada Westfall, features appearances from Rashida Jones, Carly Mensch, Mo Rocca, Baron Vaughn, Kyle Jarrow & Duncan Sheik. With performances by hosts Lampert & Westfall, Courtney Bassett, Andrew R. Butler, Julian Fleisher, Jordan Ho, Kendyl Ito, Florencia Lozano, Gianna Masi, Heath Saunders, Maya Sharpe, Dito Van Reigersberg, Kuhoo Verma and Jill Sobule (list as of 5/4/21). Featuring songs by Michael Friedman and current and former members of The Civilians' R&D Group: Andrew R. Butler, Maggie-Kate Coleman & Erato Kremmyda, Jacinth Greywoode & Rebecca Hart, Jaime Lozano, Grace McLean, Max Vernon, and Zack Zadek.

In addition, The Civilians, in collaboration with the company's creative community, will offer a special Artist Auction comprised of one-of-a-kind experiences audiences can enjoy or give as a gift. Those experiences include a private reading by Tony Award-nominated and four-time Obie-winning actress Kathleen Chalfant, performance of a song of your choosing by Broadway actress Molly Hager, Zoom concert by Jill Sobule, commission an original song from Alison Weller and Andrea Grody, a creative writing experience from playwright Anne Washburn, and artworks by internationally acclaimed artists boychild, Aziz+Cucher, Nina Katchadourian and Alix Lambert among many others.

Artistic Director Steve Cosson shared, "We're delighted that this virtual version of our annual benefit concert will make this one-of-a-kind event accessible to anyone who wants to attend with a completely flexible ticket price and the ability to stream to any location in the world. I am particularly thrilled to honor the extraordinary Mimi Brown who is a fearless and visionary instigator of art, culture, and community. Brown's embrace of creative experimentation resonates with The Civilians' goals for The R&D Group, now celebrating 10 years of supporting artists in their creative inquiries, wherever that may lead them."

Life Studies will take place on Thursday, May 20 with a virtual VIP cocktail hour at 7:00pm followed by the 8pm performance. In order to make Life Studies as accessible as possible, there is no minimum ticket price. Donations of any amount can be made at thecivilians.org/benefit2021, by calling 713 230 3330 or by emailing dan@thecivilians.org.