15 Shows Announced for Ars Nova's 14th Annual ANT Fest

Ars Nova has announced the lineup for its 14th Annual ANT Fest featuring 15 shows, 13 of which will premiere in-person and online at Ars Nova Supra with the first two shows premiering exclusively online. Running June 2-16, 2022, this festival of all new talent, all the time, showcases new work from New York's most adventurous emerging artists. Tickets go on sale today. A complete lineup follows and can be found at arsnovanyc.com/antfest.

Now in its fourteenth year, ANT Fest offers a wide range of early career artists a point of entry onto the Ars Nova stage and into the greater New York City arts community. Since its inception, ANT Fest has increasingly provided a crucial first step toward an extended artistic relationship with Ars Nova. Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future began as a one-man song cycle, created and performed by Andrew R. Butler, in ANT Fest 2010. Following subsequent concerts and workshops, the 2018 Ars Nova world premiere went on to win the 2019 Lortel Award-winner for "Outstanding Musical." The Underground Railroad Game, created and performed by Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R. Sheppard, was discovered in ANT Fest 2014. Following its 2016 premiere, the Ars Nova production went on to win an OBIE for Best New American Play.

In addition to ANT Fest, The CAMP Bonfire Series returns for its second edition. This five-night festival of new comedy works, running in-person and online May 19-24, is the culmination of six months of peer support and artistic feedback facilitated by Mahayla Laurence and Matt Gehring who co-direct CAMP, Ars Nova's development program for early career comedy artists. More details follow and can be found at arsnovanyc.com/CAMP.

Performances take place at Ars Nova, located at 511 West 54th Street in Manhattan. Single tickets to ANT Fest live in-person shows are $15 online and $20 at door. For the final performance of the festival, Showgasm. The ANT Fest Edition, tickets are $5. Tickets to stream each show on Supra are available for $10. Ars Nova Supra subscriptions are available for $15 per month and allow for live and on-demand access to all shows. Please visit arsnovanyc.com for more information.

ANT Fest 2022 Lineup

June 2 at 7PM (Ars Nova Supra Only)

Catalina La O Presenta: Now With Me

Script & Direction by Jenny Larson

Original Music by khattieQ and Anton Berrios

Catalina La O explores the life of creator khattieQ and of female Puerto Rican singing legends Myrta Silva and Ruth Fernández, among others. In Catalina, the ravages of a storm force her to take shelter in an abandoned studio. None of Catalina's live audience has arrived, but she broadcasts her show to the millions of viewers she hopes are watching. Catalina is a piece for the queer communities, the colonized body, for Puerto Rico, for anyone who has experienced heartbreak. It is a piece for survivors. It is a piece that speaks to resistance.

June 2 at 9PM (Ars Nova Supra Only)

Bill, Bill, Billz

Written & Performed by Mars Wolfe

Directed by Jess Maynard & Mars Wolfe

After discovering she was secretly filmed during her last hookup, Ella Van o'clock must decide: To Post, or Not To Post...the explicit video on OnlyFans. Clinton & Cosby & Eilish & Porter visit the broke, toking drag queen in the 11th hour, hoping to sway her decision with their music, policies & promises.

June 3 at 7PM

Something's in the Water at Abortion Beach!

Written & Directed by Scottie Harvey

Music Written & Performed by Henry Ryeder
How can we talk about what matters to us? When a song from a poorly aged anti-abortion beach musical awakens memories of a faraway life, beatnik Sissy questions her current sense of agency. As time passes and culture shifts, how do we make sense of the past? And do we even care anymore?

June 4 at 7PM

Black and Blue

Created & Performed by Reynaldo Piniella

Directed by Kevin R. Free

Black and Blue is a solo show about a Black boy living in a society that doesn't like it when our Black men show vulnerability, so this sensitive boy learns to bottle up his feelings and internalize his trauma. Over time, his hot pink shirts turn to faded black and his playlist turns from 90s boy bands to the gangsta rap of the early 2000's. But at the end of this dark tunnel is a light that will lead us back to the path of joy, liberation and freedom. Like the Backstreet Boys album, our biracial boy realizes it's ok to be Black and feel Blue.

June 6 at 7PM

I'll be in my Hanukkah palace

Written by Alexa Derman

Directed by Molly Houlahan

Five Jewish nine-year-olds LARP Christianity! Watch as they role-play heterosexual marriage, don flame-throwing mech suits, stab each other to facilitate animal reincarnation and try to cross themselves. I'll be in my Hanukkah palace is a feverish excursion back into the weirdo dreamscape of queer Jewish childhood.

June 7 at 7PM

deadbodydeadbodydeadbody

Created & Directed by Marissa Joyce Stamps

There's Johnson #1's clam chowder at 5am and Johnson #2's daily prayer at 7am. There's Johnson #1's hour-long shit and there's Johnson #2's hour-long jog. There's Johnson #2's 2 hours of restless sleep and there's Johnson #1's 5 hours of loneliness. deadbodydeadbodydeadbody is an invitation to voyeur into two unbeknownst rivals as they see sunrise and sunset... and sunrise and sunset... and sunrise and sunset... deadbodydeadbodydeadbody is the 72 hours before the start of the boxing match of the century, the generational death match, that is Blue Fire Burns the Hottest. Can preparation ever be on point?

June 8 at 7PM

The Apostle Peter and His Lover John, Also an Apostle

Written by William Sydney

Directed by Molly Rose Heller

Composed by Xander Browne

This play is about the apostles Peter and John. It takes place in the Bible. There are three songs. We hope they lift you up.

June 9 at 7PM

my saturday night did NOT go as planned :)

Created by evan ray suzuki with performers

A playful send up of your local indie softboi and a reflection on the effects of the social internet and digital culture for us all. Butoh and gestural dance meets Taylor Swift and our iCloud archives. Through an increasingly scrambled collage format of precise choreography and found text, we attempt to re/deconstruct what it means that the thing we wrote over Messenger 10 years ago can still be accessed in about 10 seconds.

June 10 at 7PM

Rip Her To Shreds

Created & Performed by Isabelle Barbier

Directed by Mariana Catalina

Rip Her to Shreds is a funny-terrifying roller coaster ride through girlhood; with all its ups and downs, twists and turns; alliances always shifting, and personalities revealing themselves more and more each second. A dark comedy that combines modern language, witchcraft folklore and sound-scape to explore femme friendships, consent, bullying and inherited trauma.

June 11 at 7PM

untitled Waifu play.

Written by Char Nakashima-Conway

Directed by Jonathan Chang

sixteen-year-old Zavier finds an online community that could quell his longing for intimacy; the platonic, the romantic, the sexual. or not. a play about love, fetishization, loneliness, and the conundrum of dating yourself while hating yourself.

June 13 at 7PM

*keysmash*

Concept & Music by Connor Rohr Driscoll

Additional Text, Story & Props by Noah K Mease

Direction & Video Concept by Ryan Courtney

Characters & narrative rise from a garbage heap of recycled icons and pitch-shifted glitch-pop. New lovers & lingering villains converge in the vortex of an Anything But Clothes party. A staged concept album erupts out of my bedroom floor.

June 14 at 7PM

My Cousin Nelu Is Not Gay

Created by Diana Lobontiu

Performed by Diana Lobontiu & Natalie Rich

Directed by Elissa Goetschius

Wouldn't it be nice if I weren't the only gay person in my family? I wrote this play so I wouldn't have to be. This is a mildly to moderately vengeful two-person show in which Diana (a lightly fictionalized version of myself) spills her guts in a series of solo-show-style confessional monologues about being a lesbian Romanian immigrant in America, while her cousin Nelu (a massively fictionalized version of my real cousin) tells the audience his story about being a raspberry farmer in the Transylvanian countryside whose farm is a front for the mafia. Nelu is NOT gay. Except in this show.

June 15 at 7PM

Tiresias Presents HYPERFANTASIA

Music, Text, Video & Performance by Evan Silver aka Tiresias

HYPERFANTASIA is a sci-fi fantasy drag cabaret about the proliferation of matter in the universe and life on planet Earth. Featuring original music and projections, this miniature epic draws on new evolutionary theories and ancient queer wisdom to dismantle the survival-of-the-fittest paradigm toward an ethic of abundance and extravagance. Hosted by Tiresias, the blind prophet of the Underworld, HYPERFANTASIA includes a reenactment of the Big Bang as a celestial org*sm, a heartfelt ode to our prehistoric unicellular bacterial ancestors, and a dance choreographed using movements of birds-of-paradise during mating rituals.

June 16 at 7PM

Tía Talk

Created & Performed by Amelia Bethel & Karen Loewy Movilla

In Tia Talk, two Latinas, Karen and Amelia, try to prove their Latinidad to themselves and the audience by embodying every stereotype they have been fed by the media, their peers, and even their families. By using the structure of a talk show, they invite the audience to participate in their exploration of identity by building interactive segments, offering advice, and posing unanswerable questions (e.g. how can we acknowledge the inherent racism and settler-colonial status quo of pan-Latinoism while also holding joy and pride in our heritage?). Additionally the performers unabashedly experience joy and pride of their own culture, delving into reggaeton, food and hoops. Drawing from their own unique experiences, as well as the influence of Latiné icons such as Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, Shakira, and Walter Mercado, Karen and Amelia explore issues of identity, including body image, fetishization and assimilation, and attempt to make sense of their place in the world. While they do not find a concrete or simple answer (how could anyone?), they do find connection with each other, and acceptance of the fact that identity is a journey, not a destination.

June 16 at 9PM

Showgasm. ANT Fest Edition

Hosted by Chris Murphy

As a grand finale to ANT Fest, Chris Murphy hosts our untamed variety show-meets party, introducing us to the who's-who of the weird and wonderful - from comedy to burlesque and everything (and anything) in between.

The CAMP Bonfire Series

May 19 at 7PM

Lack History: You know, like Black History? Like, we don't get enough of it? Did you get it? If you got it, email me at samuelkebede216@gmail.com. In the subject line put, "I got it".

Created & Performed by Sam Kebede

Directed by Kari Barclay

My name's Sam and I have an obsessive affection with history and facts and the things we aren't told. This show is my attempt to dispense as much information along with as much comedy as possible. There will be games, there will be jokes, and there will be a fundamental shift in how you view the American education system. It'll be fun!

May 20 at 7PM

Heart Mind Energy

Created by Sabrina Wang
After being named after 2 white women, growing up in a cultural wasteland (the upper east side), and earning an English Lit degree from a PWI, Sabrina Wang doesn't really know who she is outside of a white gaze. Following the insight of her therapist that "genuine" is when your "heart," "mind," and "energy" align, "Sabrina" does 3 different stand-up sets modeled after each element to find something that feels true and real. Come watch Sabrina try to joke her way out of existential imposter syndrome.

May 21 at 7PM

Journey to the Joniverse!

Created & Performed by Jonathan Cohall
Journey to the Joniverse! is a voyage to the multiverse of one man's personality. It will see me hurdling through space and time to find my true identity. Will I finally learn who I am or will I continue to be a lost soul? Join me on an Afro-absurdist exploration of self, full of characters you won't soon forget!

May 23 at 7PM

Live, Laugh, Love, Learn, Let Go... and Live Again

Created & Performed by Emily Olcott
Renowned wellness expert, spiritual teacher, and best-selling author Elaine Chrysalis returns to her hometown of Pittsville, New Jersey after twenty years to deliver her famous workshop, Live, Laugh, Love, Learn, Let Go... and Live Again. But as the night progresses, secrets from Elaine's past float to the surface, threatening to unravel the evening. Join Elaine on this interactive journey that tackles the absurdity of the healing process and dares to ask if a little bit of dark chocolate at the end of the night as a little treat is really enough for any of us.

May 24 at 7PM

Chicken Soup With Stars

Created, Filmed & Performed by Preston Martin
Preston just wants to play the piano in front of people. But will Preston let Preston fulfill this dream? And will Preston be able to get Preston into the shower? How will Preston react when Preston finds out Preston locked Preston in the bathroom? Spanning stage and screen, Chicken Soup With Stars is an almost musical about walls and the many Prestons found within them.

About Ars Nova

Ars Nova exists to discover, develop, and launch singular theater, music and comedy artists in the early stages of their professional careers. Our dynamic slate of programs supports outside-the-box thinking and encourages innovative, genre-bending new work. Ars Nova blurs genres and subverts the status quo. With our feverish bounty of programming, we are the stomping ground and launching pad for visionary, adventurous artists of all stripes. By providing a protective environment where risk-taking and collaboration are paramount, Ars Nova gives voice to a new generation of diverse artists and audiences, pushing the boundaries of live entertainment by nurturing creative ideas into smart, surprising new work.

Ars Nova has been honored with an Obie Award and a Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics' Circle for sustained quality and commitment to the development and production of new work. Notable past productions include: The New York Times critic's pick Dr. Ride's American Beach House by Liza Birkenmeier, directed by KATIE BROOK; "Outstanding Musical" Lortel Award-winner and The New York Times' "Best of 2018," Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future, created by Andrew R. Butler and directed by Jordan Fein; "Outstanding Musical" Lortel Award-winner KPOP, created by Jason Kim, Max Vernon, Helen Park, and Woodshed Collective, directed by Teddy Bergman; "Best New American Theatre Work," Obie Award-winner and "one of the best new plays in the last 25 years" (The New York Times), Underground Railroad Game by Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R. Sheppard, directed by Taibi Magar (now on international tour); "Outstanding Musical" Lortel Award-winner FUTURITY, by César Alvarez with The Lisps, directed by Sarah Benson; The New York Times' and New York Post's "Best of 2015," Small Mouth Sounds by Bess Wohl, directed by Rachel Chavkin; the Tony Award-winning smash-hit Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 by Dave Malloy, directed by Rachel Chavkin; Jollyship the Whiz-Bang by Nick Jones and Raja Azar, directed by Sam Gold; the world premiere of the 2009 season's most-produced play boom by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, directed by Alex Timbers; the show that put Bridget Everett on the map, At Least It's Pink by Everett, Michael Patrick King, and Kenny Mellman, directed by King; and Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail's first New York production, Freestyle Love Supreme by Anthony Veneziale and Miranda, directed by Thomas Kail (Broadway 2019). www.arsnovanyc.com

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