The Hangar Theatre Announces FutureNow Festival 2022

The Drama League and Hangar Theatre jointly announced today the First Annual FutureNow Festival, a new iteration of the Hangar's Wedge Series that centers directors, actors, and designers on the rise, presented by the Hangar Theatre. This inaugural year, the FutureNow Festival will feature the work of The Drama League 2022-23 FutureNow Directing Fellows Emily Hartford, Andrew Coopman, and Logan Gabrielle Schulman along with theatre workshops, artist receptions, and community discussions throughout the festival weekend, August 11-13.

Highlights of the festival include the regional premiere of Susan Sontag's rarely produced play, A Parsifal paired with Jordan Tannahill's Sunday in Sodom, a modernist reimagining of Jean Giraudoux's Apollo of Bellac, and a devised staging of Anne Carson's Antigonick.

Established in 1983, The Hangar Wedge Series has been the proving ground for some of the most innovative and dynamic theatre artists working today, including Lisa Peterson, Sam Gold, Rachel Chavkin, Pirronne Yousefzadeh, Kevin Moriarty, and Joe Calarco. For almost 40 years, The Wedge has produced provocative, cutting-edge theatre.

"After more than three decades of showcasing the finest new directors in America with our partners at the Hangar Theatre, I'm thrilled to be expanding this experience with the FutureNow Festival," said the Artistic Director of The Drama League in New York City, Gabriel Stelian-Shanks. "Andrew, Emily and Logan join an illustrious line of talents -- including acclaimed directors working on Broadway and Hollywood right now -- who began their journey in Ithaca. I can't wait for them to dazzle and delight audiences this August."

Hangar Theatre Artistic Director Shirley Serotsky is excited about the expansion and reimagining of the Wedge programming: "At a time when so much is changing in the world and in the American Theatre, we see the emergence of the FutureNow Festival as an opportunity to engage more meaningfully with our community," Serotsky asserts. "We are thrilled to provide a space for nationally-recognized rising directors to discover and define their artistic identities while offering a unique, engaging, and highly accessible programming stream for Hangar audiences. Introducing free workshops for all ages into the mix connects the programming to the Hangar's commitment to education and learning in a wonderful and organic way."

The Artistic Mission of the FutureNow Festival is to provide a theatrical laboratory for artists experimenting with creative identity, artistic leadership, and art in relation to systems of power in our precarious time.

Groundbreaking in form and function by reimagining the relationship between artist and institution, this director-produced festival exists to embrace risk-taking in artmaking and to catalyze collaboration among rising directors, designers, and performers.

The FutureNow Festival will take place August 11-13, 2022, at the Hangar's Outdoor Performance space (801 Taughannock Blvd.). During the weekend festivities, Mx. Coopman, Ms. Hartford, and Mx. Schulman will present their productions, to be performed in repertory over the weekend. The directors will also facilitate creative workshops for audience members and the broader community. Festival programming will include receptions with the Hangar Lab Company Design Fellows: Samantha Mastrati (Scenic Design), Hannah S Wolland (Lighting Design), Johnna Presby (Costume Design), and Abby Coppock (Sound Design), along with Performance Fellows from the Lab Company. Additionally, the three directing fellows will host a Partnership Panel to platform community organizations doing significant work in Ithaca related to the content and themes of the artists' works. Tickets will be general festival seating with a suggested donation of $10. Tickets will go on sale at the end of July.

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