Photo Flash: 2013 BEAT Festival Kicks Off Today
By: BWW News Desk Sep. 12, 2013
The BEAT Festival second annual lineup announcement took place this summer, featuring Stephen Shelley, BEAT Festival Artistic Director, countertenor Nicholas Tamagna, who sang at the event, and members of the Brooklyn 63 team. Scroll down for photos and the festival lineup!
"This year, the BEAT Festival is taking Brooklyn on a journey. Our cutting-edge artistswill be invading four Brooklyn neighborhoods, bringing the best of the borough's theater, voice and dance performance to unique and exciting venues," said BEAT Festival Artistic Director Stephen Shelley. "As always, BEAT is by Brooklyn, for Brooklyn and in Brooklyn, and we can't wait to treat the borough to another great slate of talent in their own backyard."
The all-star lineup includes: in theater, Odyssey Works, the Institute for Psychogeographic Adventure from Brooklyn College, Ping Chong+Company/651 ARTS and Brave New World Repertory Theater; in dance, a canary torsi, Third Rail Projects, LeeSaar The Company and Storyboard P; and in voice, Freestyle Mondays and Nicholas Tamagna. The performances were all chosen and designed to move and engage audiences in new and different ways, with some acts actually leading audience members throughout the streets of Brooklyn. Highlights include:
· BEAT Opening Night - TONIGHT, September 12th at 7 p.m. - will turn the Brooklyn Museum into the Brooklyn Museum for the Performing Arts for one spectacular night. All the artists in this year's festival will be positioned throughout the museum for audience members to discover.
· Odyssey Works' immersive journey for one person involves hundreds of volunteers and performers, leading them throughout Brooklyn. RSVP atwww.BEATBrooklyn.com if you want to participate in this incredible theatrical event.
· Brooklyn-based choreographer Yanira Castro, whose work has been performed all over the world, will premiere her new work, "Nancy" at Museum MashUp #1 on Sept 13th at the Brooklyn Museum. This new work has been created specifically for the BEAT Festival.
· Brooklyn 63 brings residents' real stories from the civil rights movement to life with internationally renowned theatre director, choreographer and visual installation artist Ping Chong.
· From the incredible minds of the Institute for Psychogeographic Adventure (IPA), which grew out of Brooklyn College's Performance and Interactive Media Arts program, performers will take over the Brooklyn Museum, transforming a traditional museum tour into unexpected, personalized journeys.
· A special performance in the synagogue atCongregation Beth Elohim (CBE) will recount the stories of Hurricane Sandy relief volunteers to raise awareness about the continued need in the hardest-hit communities. All proceeds from this event will go to CBE Feeds, which has been helping victims since the storm hit.
"Bravo to the BEAT Festival and artistic director Stephen Shelley for organizing thismulti-genre, site-specific performance series-and what 'site' could be better suited than Brooklyn, the Creative Capital of America?" said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. "Our 'heart of art' in a 'city of stages' has more artists, dancers, singers, writers and other 'creative types' per inch than just about anywhere! This festival, now in its second innovative year, continues to prove that when it comes to a thriving arts scene, Brooklyn simply can't be 'beat.'"
Because the festival is dedicated to ensuring that contemporary art is open and accessible to everyone, it includes many free events and ticketed performances range from just $5 to $20, with festival passes and VIP packages also available at www.BEATBrooklyn.com. Other deals and offers will be available at the neighborhood hubs. The venues span four neighborhoods with multiple locations in each community.
"I am thrilled to welcome the BEAT Festival back to MetroTech Commons," said MaryAnne Gilmartin, President and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies. "Downtown Brooklyn is a world-class destination for arts and culture, and the BEAT Festival showcases our own Brooklyn-based artists at local venues. MetroTech Commons has become a growing neighborhood arts hub, and our Summer@MetroTech season continues with thesefree BEAT Festival performances from extraordinary talents in dance, theaterand voice."
"The Brooklyn Museum is delighted to be a venue for this exciting project that is yet another way of our continuing our long tradition of support for the many extremely talented young performing and visual artists in the Borough," said Arnold L. Lehman, Director of the Brooklyn Museum.
"Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration's Center for Arts and Culture is pleased to participate in this second year of the BEAT Festival. Presenting BEAT events at Restoration extends our ability to bring the community diverse, cutting edge programming as part our exciting summer and fall season," said Tracey Capers, Executive Vice President for Programs at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration.
THE ARTISTS:
Odyssey Works
"Odyssey Works: Brooklyn"
"Odyssey Works: Brooklyn" is a day-long performance created for a one-person audience. Encompassing theater, classical composition, installation art, writing, thespectacular and the intimate, Odyssey Works: Brooklyn invites anyone to become extras in scenes designed to change the life of a single Brooklynite. Otherthan the one person, there is no audience, and the extras, instead, become collaborators and witnesses to the transformation of that person's life. Participation is limited so please RSVP as soon as possible to be part of this very special event.
Saturday, September 21st, all day, borough-wide. Free
Institute for Psychogeographic Adventure
"Experiment #23b (BROOKLYN MUSEUM)"
Fresh from their epic one-on-one performance adventure in DUMBO last spring, the Institute for Psychogeographic Adventure (IPA) takes on another New York City landmark with Experiment #23b (BROOKLYN MUSEUM). Founded by four recent graduates of Brooklyn College's Performance and Interactive Media Arts M.F.A. program, the IPA creates performances exploring the intersection of site and individual psychology. Experiment #23b (BROOKLYN MUSEUM) transforms the traditional museum tour into a personalized journey of the unexpected. Join the adventure. Tours by appointment only.
Thursday, September 19th, 6:30p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum. $20
Saturday, September 21st, 12 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum. $20
Third Rail Projects
"Roadside Attraction"
Third Rail Projects presents "Roadside Attraction," a family vacation that steps back in time to when Supertramp was on the radio, Connect Four was on the folding table and frisky business was in the bunks. Exploring expectations, acceptance, and the excruciating but illuminating identification with family role models, Roadside Attraction is a slice of nostalgic Americana, replete with lawn chairs, a picnic table, and all the trappings of a family that has been together on a road trip for far, far too long.
Wednesday, September 18th, 12 p.m. at Marcy Plaza/Bed-Stuy Restoration. Free
Wednesday, September 18th, 7 p.m. at Grand Army Plaza. Free
Thursday, September 19th, 7 p.m. at MetroTech Commons. Free
Ping Chong+Company/651 ARTS
"Brooklyn 63"
Presented in partnership with 651 ARTS, Brooklyn '63 is a theater performance that features the true stories of Brooklyn-based activists, witnesses and those who inherited the legacy of a generation of civic action. Ping Chong + Company used the interview-based Undesirable Elements process to create this new work, featuring stories from members of African American, Puerto Rican and Jewish communities about the pivotal year 1963, when community activism crossed racial, religious and ethnic lines to bring social change.
Tuesday, September 17th, 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Elohim $20
Thursday, September 19th, 7:30 p.m. at Billie Holiday Theatre/Bed-Stuy Restoration $20
Friday, September 20th, 7:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Historical Society $20
Brave New World Repertory Theater
"Dispatches from Sandy"
In this BEAT-hosted benefit for Congregation Beth Elohim, Brave New World RepertoryTheater will read through email correspondences from relief volunteers at the front lines of Hurricane Sandy plus hear accounts of people directly involved in the relief effort. Meant to both raise awareness on the continuing efforts to repair the city and to raise funds for "CBE Feeds," this event will help us consider the nature of giving and receiving service, while reminding us that we still have much work to do to help those affected by the storm.
Sunday, September 15th, 2 p.m. at Congregation Beth Elohim. $20 suggested donation
a canary torsi
"Nancy"
Witness the world premier of "Nancy," created specifically for the BEAT Festival. "Nancy" is a dance installation by a canary torsi. It is the third in a line of performer portraits by choreographer Yanira Castro of former long-standing collaborators--Pamela in 2007 and Heather O in 2012. Each dance in exploring the representation of a performer, delves into questions of performativity:What is it to perform? Nancy operates as a site-adaptable portrait of performer Nancy Ellis. Framed by a 12x12 raised platform and surrounded by fluorescent pillars, four unique performers take on the challenge of representation through the performance of a solo, revealing their individual qualities in response to a series of tasks and movement phrases, begging the question, who is Nancy a portrait of?
Tuesday, September 17th, 12 p.m. at Lobby of 1 MetroTech. Free
Friday, September 20th, 6 p.m. at West Plaza/Bed-Stuy Restoration. Free
Also:
The work receives its world premiere in the Pavilion of the Brooklyn Museum as part of Museum MashUp #1 on Friday, September 13th, 7 p.m. $20
LeeSaar The Company
Join thechoreographers and dancers of LeeSaar The Company for a Gaga/people class followed by an open rehearsal within its Brooklyn home, Congregation Beth Elohim, on the final day of the festival. (Gaga/people class is open to all - no experience necessary!)
Saturday, September 21st, 1 p.m. at Congregation Beth Elohim. $15.
Also:
Museum MashUp with other artists: Friday,September 13th, 7 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum. $20
Storyboard P
"Magna Carta Story"
Brooklyn's finest street dancer, Storyboard P, performs. See every step, slide, turn and otherworldly twist in "Story's" deep and magical repertoire.
Tuesday, September 17th, 5 p.m. at Daily News Plaza at the Barclays Center. Free
Also:
MetroTech Lunchtime MashUp with other artists: Friday, September 13th, 12 p.m. at MetroTech Commons. Free
Museum MashUp with other artists: Saturday, September 14th, 2 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum. $20
Freestyle Mondays
"The Freestyle Mondays Gameshow Battle"
An 11-year tradition comes to Brooklyn in this one night only event in the ballroom atCongregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope. "The Freestyle Mondays Gameshow Battle" brings the city's brightest emerging hip-hop stars head-to-head in the unexpected world of freestyle. Come compete, or just admire, as these lyricists improv the night away, revealing one champion in the end. Not for the faint of heart.
Monday, September 16th, 7 p.m. at Congregation Beth Elohim. $5
Also:
Museum MashUp with other artists: Friday,September 13th, 7 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum. $20
"Sacred Sounds"
Hear thebreathtaking vocals of countertenor Nicholas Tamagna within the hallowed walls of Downtown Brooklyn's St. Boniface Church. This evening will feature new compositions as well as older, classicarias delivered by one of the city's finest performers in a style so rarely seen, or heard.
Wednesday, September 18th, 7:30 p.m. at St. Boniface Church. $20
Also:
MetroTech Lunchtime MashUp with other artists: Friday, September 13th, 12 p.m. at MetroTech Commons. Free.
Museum MashUp with other artists: Saturday, September 14th, 2 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum. $20.
THE SCHEDULE: BEAT performances take place every day from Thursday, September 12th to Saturday, September 21st.
September 12th - Thursday
BEAT Opening Night: all artists. 7 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum. Free.
September 13th - Friday
MetroTech Lunchtime MashUp: Storyboard P, Nicholas Tamagna. 12 p.m. at MetroTech Commons. Free.
Museum MashUp: Yanira Castro (world premier of "Nancy"), LeeSaar The Company, Freestyle Mondays. 7 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum. $20.
September 14th - Saturday
Museum MashUp: Storyboard P, Nicholas Tamagna. 2 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum. $20.
September 15th - Sunday
Dispatches From Sandy: Brave New World Repertory Theater. 2 p.m. at Congregation Beth Elohim. $20 minimum donation, funds raised will go to CBE Feeds Sandy relief efforts.
September 16th - Monday
Freestyle Mondays Gameshow Battle. 7 p.m. at Congregation Beth Elohim. $5.
September 17th - Tuesday
Nancy: Yanira Castro. 12 p.m. at Lobby of 1 MetroTech. Free.
Magna Carta Story: Storyboard P. 5 p.m. at the Daily News Plaza at the Barclays Center.Free.
Brooklyn 63: Ping Chong + Company/651 ARTS. 7:30 at Congregation Beth Elohim. $20.
September 18th - Wednesday
RoadsideAttraction: Third Rail Projects. 12 p.m. at Marcy Plaza & 7 p.m. at Grand Army Plaza. Free.
Sacred Sounds: Nicholas Tamagna. 7:30 p.m. at St. Boniface Church. $20.
September 19th - Thursday
Experiment #23b: Institute for Psychogeographic Adventure. 6:30 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum. $20.
RoadsideAttraction: Third Rail Projects. 7 p.m. at MetroTech Commons. Free.
Brooklyn 63: Ping Chong + Company/651 ARTS. 7:30 p.m. at Billie Holiday Theatre/Bed-StuyRestoration. $20.
September 20th - Friday
Nancy: Yanira Castro. 6 p.m. at West Plaza/Bed-Stuy Restoration. Free.
Brooklyn 63: Ping Chong + Company/651 ARTS. 7:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Historical Society. $20.
September 21st - Saturday
Odyssey Works: Brooklyn. All day, borough-wide. Free.
Experiment #23b: Institute for Psychogeographic Adventure. 12 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum. $20.
A Session With LeeSaar The Company. TIME TBA at Congregation Beth Elohim. $15.
BEAT Closing Party. 7 p.m. at Congregation Beth Elohim, sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery. $20.
BEAT (Brooklyn Emerging Artists in Theater) is a performing arts initiative for the community of Brooklyn. BEAT seeks to present performance events that express our profound diversity, celebrate our finest spaces and unify our broad, expansive community. BEAT is wholly dedicated to fostering and creating newaudiences for Brooklyn's finest performing artists. Ultimately, BEAT is committed to supporting and presenting performing artists who are offering tremendous innovation in the art of performance, and connecting these artists to each other in the hopes of birthing new work and new forms.
The BEATFestival is a yearly fall festival showcasing the greatest works of Brooklyn's finest performing artists. It is a borough-wide festival, with shows in traditional theaters and unusual spaces. Through the events of the festival, new collaborations and performance experiences will be created.
For tickets, schedule, and more information, visit www.BEATBrooklyn.com.
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