Artists from Across the U.S. and Around the World Tapped for UNDER THE RADAR 2017
By: BWW News Desk Oct. 25, 2016
The Public Theater has announced the exciting international line-up for the 13th annual UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL, running January 4-15, 2017.
This popular and highly-anticipated program of The Public Theater's winter season will include artists from across the U.S. and around the world including Belarus, France, Germany, Indonesia, Lebanon, and the UK. Curated by UTR Director Mark Russell, this year's UNDER THE RADAR expands to venues throughout New York City in addition to The Public Theater's downtown home at Astor Place.
Work by innovative artists 600 HIGHWAYMEN; Nikki Appino and Saori Tsukada; The Bengsons; Marga Gomez; Manual Cinema; and Keith A. Wallace & Deborah Stein will be featured downtown at The Public Theater as part of UTR 2017. The diverse line-up of UTR 2017 also includes works by Belarus Free Theatre, Tania El Khoury, Eko Nugroho, Philippe Quesne, Rimini Protokoll, and Waterwell at partner venues throughout New York City. The 12-day festival will include the return of Under the Radar + Joe's Pub: In Concert performances; the INCOMING! works-in-process series; post-show discussions; a pop-up library on the Levin Mezzanine; and the UTR Professional Symposium.
"The Under the Radar Festival is like a bonfire burning in January," said Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "In the darkest month of the year, the heat and light generated by Mark Russell and his colleagues are exciting, vivifying and communal. I am so proud that UTR makes its home at The Public Theater, and so looking forward to the combustion in the New Year."
Public Theater Member and Partner tickets, priced at $20, are available now. Single tickets to all UTR shows are only $25. Tickets for performances at The Public, The Robert Moss Theater at Playwrights Downtown, NYU Tisch School of the Arts Abe Burrows and Shop Theatres, and Brooklyn Museum can be accessed online at www.undertheradarfestival.com; The Taub Box Office at The Public at 425 Lafayette Street; or by phone at 212-967-7555, beginning Tuesday, November 15. Tickets for partner venue events at The Kitchen, Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, and Asia Society can be purchased directly from the venues. The "UTR Pack" is back by popular demand, granting admission to any five UTR shows (except Blueprint Specials, In the Name of Semelah, and La Mélancholie des Dragons), for only $100. The "UTR Pack" is available now.
The first show developed through The Public's Devised Theater Initiative (DTI), The Fever by 600 HIGHWAYMEN, will premiere as part of UTR 2017. And the INCOMING! Series returns to the festival, featuring members of DTI's Devised Theater Working Group. This year's line-up includes new works-in-process by Becca Blackwell; Ryan J. Haddad; Ayesha Jordan + Charlotte Brathwaite; New Saloon; and James Allister Sprang as GAZR.
"This year's Under the Radar Festival will have many locations and a wild array of experiences - many of them testing the traditional limits of theater and some using age-old traditions to create new forms," said UTR Director Mark Russell. "There will be theater pieces with no actors at all, joyous concerts with intimate stories, tales told with shadows and film, veterans re-making WWII musicals, lost French rock bands, an interactive trip through the counter-espionage community, and the ever-fierce Belarus Free Theatre."
Over the last 13 years, The Public's UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL has presented over 210 companies from 41 countries. It has grown into a landmark of the New York City theater season and is a vital part of The Public's mission, providing a high-visibility platform to support artists from diverse backgrounds who are redefining the act of making theater. Widely recognized as a premier launching pad for new and cutting-edge performance from the U.S. and abroad, UTR has presented works by such respected artists as Elevator Repair Service, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Gob Squad, Belarus Free Theatre, Guillermo Calderón, and Young Jean Lee. These artists provide a snapshot of contemporary theater: richly distinct in terms of perspectives, aesthetics, and social practice, and pointing to the future of the art form.
Under the Radar + Joe's Pub: In Concert returns to UTR this year with performances by Champagne Jerry featuring Neal Medlyn; Jomama Jones; Erin Markey; and PWR BTTM. This exciting series highlights the multidisciplinary music/theater hybrids emerging from this renowned venue's programming. The Library at The Public will also be open nightly for food and drink, beginning at 5:00 p.m.
Under the Radar is made possible with the generous support of the Ford Foundation. The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation provides support for The Public's access and engagement programming. For a full listing of generous support for Under the Radar and individual productions, visit www.undertheradarfestival.com.
UNDER THE RADAR AT THE PUBLIC (JANUARY 4-15, 2017):
Hundred Days
January 4-15 (Running Time: 90 minutes)
The Bengsons (USA)
Wed. Jan 4th 8:00 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 5th 2:00 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 5th 8:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 7th 8:00 p.m. | Wed. Jan 11th 8:00 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 12th 8:00 p.m. | Fri. Jan 13th 8:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 14th 3:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 15th 3:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 15th 8:00 p.m.
HUNDRED DAYS is the uncensored, exhilarating, and heartrending true story of how Abigail and Shaun Bengson met and fell in love, and how that love unleashed their terror of mortality. With magnetic chemistry and anthemic folk-punk music, the Bengsons explore the fundamental question of how to make the most of the time that we have. HUNDRED DAYS was created by Abigail and Shaun Bengson with their collaborators Anne Kauffman and Sarah Gancher. The Bengsons have performed around the world. Their music was featured in Sonya Tayeh's You'll Still Call Me By Name (New York Live Arts), The National Theater of Scotland and The Team's Anything That Gives Off Light (Edinburgh Theater Festival), Sarah Gancher's The Place We Built (The Flea), and Anne Washburn's Iphigenia in Aulis (Classic Stage Company). They have had three singles featured on "So You Think You Can Dance" (FOX). Abigail Nessen Bengson has toured as a member of tUnE-yArDs, including an appearance on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." Upcoming work includes Sun Down, Yellow Moon (Rachel Bonds, Anne Kauffman) at Women's Project and commissions with Ars Nova and Lincoln Center Theatre.
The Fever
January 4-15 (Running Time: 75 minutes)
600 HIGHWAYMEN (USA)
Wed. Jan 4th 7:30 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 5th 4:00 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 5th 7:00 p.m. | Fri. Jan 6th 8:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 7th 2:30 p.m. | Sat. Jan 7th 7:30 p.m. | Sun. Jan 8th 3:30 p.m. | Sun. Jan 8th 7:30 p.m. | Mon. Jan 9th 7:30 p.m. | Wed. Jan 11th 7:30 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 12th 7:30 p.m. | Fri. Jan 13th 7:30 p.m. | Sat. Jan 14th 3:30 p.m. | Sat. Jan 14th 8:30 p.m. | Sun. Jan 15th 2:30 p.m. | Sun. Jan 15th 7:30 p.m.
With THE FEVER, New York-based theater company 600 HIGHWAYMEN tests the limits of individual and collective responsibility, and our willingness to be there for one another. Performed in complete collaboration with the audience, this world premiere production examines how we assemble, organize and care for the bodies around us. Who will you be when our eyes are on you? What will we see when we all look your way? 600 HIGHWAYMEN is the moniker for theater artists Abigail Browde and Michael Silverstone, who have created seven original works since 2009, including The Record (UTR 2014) and Employee of the Year (UTR 2016). 600 HIGHWAYMEN has received an Obie Award, a Bessie nomination, and Zurich's ZKB Patronage Prize. In 2016, Abigail and Michael were named Fellows of the New York Foundation for the Arts.
Club Diamond
January 5-9 (Running Time: 60 minutes)
Nikki Appino and Saori Tsukada (USA)
Performed in English and Japanese
Thurs. Jan 5th 4:00 p.m. | Fri. Jan 6th 7:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 7th 2:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 7th 7:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 8th 7:00 p.m. | Mon. Jan 9th 7:00 p.m.
1937 Tokyo - An American silent film about a Japanese immigrant is live-narrated by a celebrated Benshi whose existence is being threatened by the impending arrival of the talkies. Ten years later, he will survive under U.S. occupation as a street performer, desperately attempting to finish this story. Admiration and resistance, dreams and survival, CLUB DIAMOND is a modern take on the immigration tale. Nikki Appino is an award-winning theatre and filmmaker. Saori Tsukada has been described as a "charismatic mover" (Backstage) and a "startlingly precise dancer" (New York Times). They developed CLUB DIAMOND together in collaboration with violinist Tim Fain.
Latin Standards
January 11-15 (Running Time: 75 minutes)
Marga Gomez (USA)
Wed. Jan 11th 8:30 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 12th 7:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 14th 10:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 15th 2:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 15th 7:00 p.m.
LATIN STANDARDS, directed by David Schweizer, is Marga Gomez's new solo piece about fathers, entertainment, gentrification, drag, and cafe Cubano. Marga revisits the triumphs and demons of her father Willy Chevalier: comedian, producer, songwriter, Cafe El Pico spokesperson, and prominent figure in the golden era of New York's Latino variety shows. His victories spurred Marga on a quest for laughter from strangers. His demise drove her to produce a hipster comedy night in a struggling Latino drag club in San Francisco. It's an energetic, funny, and poignant story of perseverance and creative addiction passed down from immigrant father to lesbian daughter.Marga Gomez is a GLAAD award-winning writer and performer of 12 solo plays, which have been presented at The Public Theater, La MaMa Experimental Theater Club, Dixon Place, and more. Stand-up comedy appearances include LOGO's "One Night Stand," Comedy Central's "Out There," and HBO's "Comic Relief."
Lula del Ray
January 4-14 (Running Time: 75 minutes)
Manual Cinema (USA)
Wed. Jan 4th 7:30 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 5th 7:30 p.m. | Fri. Jan 6th 9:30 p.m. | Sat. Jan 7th 9:30 p.m. | Sun. Jan 8th 2:30 p.m. | Mon. Jan 9th 9:30 p.m. | Fri. Jan 13th 7:00 p.m. | Fri. Jan 13th 10:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 14th 2:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 14th 7:00 p.m.
A lonely adolescent girl living on the outskirts of a vast satellite field runs away from home and into a world of danger, deception, and disappointment. Set in the mid-century American Southwest and inspired by the music of Hank Williams, Roy Orbison, and Patsy Cline, LULA DEL RAY is a mythic reinvention of the classic coming-of-age story. Manual Cinema combines handmade shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and live music to create a stunning visual landscape. Manual Cinema is a Chicago-based performance collective, design studio, and film/video Production Company founded in 2010 by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller, and Kyle Vegter. Using vintage overhead projectors, multiple screens, puppets, actors, live feed cameras, multi-channel sound design, and a live music ensemble, Manual Cinema transforms the experience of attending the cinema and imbues it with liveness, ingenuity, and theatricality.
The Bitter Game
January 6-9 (Running Time: 55 minutes)
Keith A. Wallace & Deborah Stein (USA)
Fri. Jan 6th 8:30 p.m. | Sat. Jan 7th 3:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 8th 3:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 8th 8:00 p.m. | Mon. Jan 9th 8:00 p.m.
A solo performance charged with pain, poetry, and laughter, THE BITTER GAME blends verse, prose, and "shit-talkin'" into a stirring commentary that begs the question: what does it mean to survive while Black in America? Wallace explores the question of police agency and excessive force, the ripple effects of trauma in communities of color, and the value of Black lives in this country. Keith A. Wallace is an actor, playwright, director, and self-proclaimed "actorvist." He has appeared in Junk, Blueprints to Freedom, Movers + Shakers, Death of a Driver, Venus, In the Crowding Darkness, and more. His directing credits include The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and The Brothers Size (Theatre Bay Area Award for Outstanding Production). He holds an M.F.A. in Acting from UCSD and is recipient of the 2016 Princess Grace Theater Award. Deborah Stein's play Chimera was seen in UTR 2012; other plays include Marginal Loss, The Wholehearted, and God Save Gertrude. She is Co-Artistic Director of Stein | Holum Projects, an alumna of New Dramatists, and teaches at UCSD, where her collaboration with Wallace began.
UNDER THE RADAR + JOE'S PUB: IN CONCERT:
Re-engineering the intersection of music and theater
This exciting series highlights the multidisciplinary music/theater hybrids emerging from this renowned venue's programming. These artists are exploring the intersection of music and theater to bring their unique stories to the stage. These performances are not open for review.
In the Champagne Room
January 8 at 9:30 p.m. (Running Time: 65 minutes)
Champagne Jerry featuring Neal Medlyn (USA)
The Champagne Room is a magical room that has been secretly hidden for years. Inside lives Champagne Jerry and his entourage, the Champagne Club, with enough cheap gold, dance, effervescence, and memories to last a lifetime. Semi-retired performance artist Neal Medlyn returns with songs from his notorious career to help open the Champagne Room for a performance and event that will change everyone's life. Named one of the top ten best performers in New York by Time Out, profiled in Rolling Stone, Brooklyn Vegan and Interview Magazine, Champagne Jerry is a project of Neal Medlyn alongside collaborators Max Tannone, Adam Ad-Rock Horovitz and his onstage entourage of Tannone, Sophia Cleary, Farris Craddock and the Ghost of Champagne Past. Champagne Jerry continues Medlyn's work in his Pop Star Series.
PWR BTTM
January 7 and 12 (Running Time: 75 minutes)
PWR BTTM (USA)
Sat. Jan 7th Midnight | Thurs. Jan 12th 9:30 p.m.
PWR BTTM is a queer punk band consisting of Ben Hopkins and Liv Bruce. Formed at Bard College, Bruce and Hopkins bonded over a mutual interest in bringing elements of performance and drag artistry into DIY culture, and recorded a demo, Cinderella Beauty Shop, and the Republican National Convention Split EP with Jawbreaker Reunion. PWR BTTM's debut LP, Ugly Cherries, documents the duo's experiences with queerness, gender, and adulthood over the course of a year of living in upstate New York. Ugly Cherries was recorded by Christopher Daly at Salvation Recording Company in New Paltz, NY and mastered by Jamal Ruhe at West West Side Music. Since recording the album, the band has toured alongside Ra Ra Riot, Mitski, and Car Seat Headrest as they spread their infectious live show across the USA and beyond.
Black Light
January 5 and 8 (Running Time: 90 minutes)
Jomama Jones (USA)
Thurs. Jan 5th 7:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 8th 7:00 p.m.
Beyond what we can see, can we be? Jomama Jones returns with celebrated pianist Samora Pinderhughes, a stellar band, vocalists, and a few special guests to investigate the heart of our matter. Singing original songs, Jomama explores the signs and signifiers found in the darkest part of the night that send us toward the blush of dawn. Pinderhughes's searching and emotive arrangements will call the flowers to blooming. This night? Black Light! Daniel Alexander Jones' work, best described as Afromysticism, has been explored through 20 years of dynamic interdisciplinary practice, and is a significant contributor to the development of The Theatrical Jazz Aesthetic. Jomama Jones, Jones' alter-ego created in collaboration with Dr. Bobby Halvorson, performs the show Radiate, which premiered at Soho Rep and has played in Minneapolis, Austin, Los Angeles and Boston. Radiate was a critics' pick of the New York Times, Time Out New York, and The New Yorker. Jones was named a recipient of the Doris Duke Artist Award in 2015, received the prestigious Alpert Award in the Arts, and was an inaugural Creative Capital Artist. BLACK LIGHT is a part of the Joe's Pub commissioning program New York Voices.
Erin Markey: Boner Killer
January 4, 6 and 10 (Running Time: 75 minutes)
Erin Markey (USA)
Wed. Jan 4th 9:30 p.m. | Fri. Jan 6th Midnight | Tues. Jan 10th 9:30 p.m.
Comprised of her signature story-driven stand-up and scored by sensual home-made pop, Erin Markey: BONER KILLER is an intimate musical conversation between what Markey thinks she can't have and how she'd have it if she could. Driven by Whitney Houston's lesbian mythologies, Europe™, and a Pretty Womanaccident, Markey sacrifices her own life to transform personal humiliations into naked feminist hope. She is accompanied by a small music outfit and directed by Ellie Heyman. Recently named one of "Brooklyn's 50 Funniest People" (Brooklyn Magazine), Erin Markey makes music, shows and videos. She has shown work at the Under the Radar Festival, New Museum, PS 122, New York City Comedy Festival, Ars Nova, Lincoln Center Director's Lab, UCBeast, Bard Spiegeltent, Tasmania's Festival of Voices, San Francisco Film Society and at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater. She is the recipient of a 2014 Franklin Furnace Grant, the 2012 NYFA Cutting Edge Artist Award, and the Eliot Norton Award for Outstanding Performance in 2013. She is a company member of Obie Award-winning Half Straddle. Her most recent work, A Ride On The Irish Cream (co-composed with Emily Bate and Kenny Mellman), will tour to A.R.T. (Boston), PhillyFringe (Philadelphia), and the OnEdge Festival (Chicago) in February/March of 2017.
UNDER THE RADAR AT PARTNER VENUES:
Time of Women
January 12-15 (Running Time: 85 minutes)
Belarus Free Theatre (Belarus/UK)
NYU Tisch School of the Arts Shop Theatre | 721 Broadway, New York, NY
Performed in Russian with English supertitles
Thurs. Jan 12th 7:30 p.m. Fri. Jan 13th 7:30 p.m. | Sat. Jan 14th 2:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 14th 7:30 p.m. | Sun. Jan 15th 2:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 15th 7:30 p.m.
A story of three women at the forefront of the movement for a democratic Belarus with an unflinching dedication to the truth. Iryna Khalip, the PEN Pinter Prize-winning journalist, Natalya Radina, editor of the pro-human rights news site Charter 97, and political activist Nasta Palazhanka were all imprisoned at the time of the fraudulent presidential elections of 2010. TIME OF WOMEN celebrates their refusal to be silenced, reminding us that when freedoms are curtailed, survival comes at a price. Belarus Free Theatre was founded in 2005 in response to the censorship of freedom of expression in Belarus. As some of the most outspoken critics of Belarus's repressive regime, its founding members had to be smuggled out of the country and have been in exile as political refugees in the UK since 2011. The cast remains in Minsk and continues to create theater underground, directed over Skype.
Gardens Speak
January 6-9 (Running Time: 40 minutes)
Tania El Khoury (UK/Lebanon)
NYU Tisch School of the Arts Abe Burrows Theatre | 721 Broadway, New York, NY
For performance times, visit www.undertheradarfestival.com
Across Syria, many gardens conceal the dead bodies of activists and protesters who adorned the streets during the early periods of the uprising. These domestic burials play out a continuing collaboration between the living and the dead. The dead protect the living by not exposing them to further danger at the hands of the regime. The living protect the dead by conserving their identities, telling their stories, and not allowing their deaths to become instruments of the regime. GARDENS SPEAK is an interactive sound installation containing the oral histories of 10 ordinary people. Each narrative has been carefully constructed with the friends and family members of the deceased to retell their stories as they themselves may have recounted them. London and Beirut-based artist Tania El Khoury creates installations and performances in which the audience is an active collaborator. El Khoury's work has been shown on five continents, in spaces ranging from museums to cable cars. She is the recipient of the Total Theatre Innovation Award and the Arches Brick Award.
In the Name of Semelah
January 12-14 (Running Time: 90 minutes)
Eko Nugroho and Wayang Bocor (Indonesia)
Asia Society, 725 Park Ave, New York, NY 10021
Tickets: $25 | www.asiasociety.org
Performed in Javanese and Indonesian with English supertitles
Thurs. Jan 12th 8:00 p.m. | Fri. Jan 13th 7:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 14th 2:00 p.m.
IN THE NAME OF SEMELAH tells the story of how Islam came to Java, and became absorbed as a part of Javanese culture that included elements of Hinduism, Buddhism and animism. Street art, comic characters, folk art, traditional culture and video game culture collide to create a multimedia meditation on the issues of everyday life. Simultaneously playful and penetrating, this insightful work cuts across disciplines and cultures. Eko Nugroho is one of Indonesia's most provocative and original young artists whose style is a unique mix of Indonesia's rich traditions and popular culture tinged with dark humor. Using a distinctive blend of high and low art, Nugroho's Wayang Bocor is a contemporary form of theater in which puppets and actors weave together traditional elements of Indonesian wayang (shadow puppets) with live theater and scripts that cast a satiric view on contemporary subjects. Presented by Asia Society.
La Mélancolie des Dragons
January 10-14 (Running Time: 80 minutes)
Philippe Quesne (France)
The Kitchen, 512 West 19th Street, New York, NY 10011
Tickets: $25 | www.thekitchen.org
Tues. Jan 10th 8:00 p.m. | Wed. Jan 11th 8:00 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 12th 8:00 p.m. | Fri. Jan 13th 8:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 14th 8:00 p.m.
A band of longhaired metalheads decide that the snowy forest where their hatchback has stalled might be the perfect location for a new heavy metal-themed amusement park. A helpful stranger is invited into their world of classic rock, medieval recorders, and large inflatable sculptures. An international audience favorite, this three-dimensional poem is full of visual wonder, joy and melancholy, and sincere delight in human existence. Originally a visual artist, Philippe Quesne studied visual arts and graphic design at L'École Estienne and set design at L'École des Arts Décoratifs de Paris. In 2003, he founded Vivarium Studio, a laboratory for theatrical innovation that features painters, actors, dancers, musicians, and animals. Quesne is currently artistic director of the Nanterre-Amandiers Theatre in Paris. Presented by The Kitchen.
Top Secret International (State 1)
January 5-15 (Running Time: 90 minutes)
Rimini Protokoll (Germany)
Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Pkwy, Brooklyn, NY 11238
For performance times, visit www.undertheradarfestival.com
Renowned theater-makers Rimini Protokoll bring the U.S. premiere of TOP SECRET INTERNATIONAL (STATE 1), an algorithmic-based interactive theater experience. In the Egyptian Wing of the Brooklyn Museum, participants uncover international intelligence networks. Where will their mission take them? Who can be trusted? And what happens when the game is over? Is it a game? Rimini Protokoll is the label of the theater-makers Helgard Kim Haug, Stefan Kaegi, and Daniel Wetzel, who have been working collaboratively since 2000. Their groundbreaking stage productions, sound and radio plays, films, and installations deal with the theatrical elements of our reality, placing experts instead of actors at the center. A production by Rimini Protokoll and Münchner Kammerspiele, coproduced by the Goethe-Institut and Haus der Kulturen der Welt. Presented by Under the Radar in association with the Goethe-Institut and the Brooklyn Museum.
Blueprint Specials
January 6-11 (Running Time: 90 minutes)
Waterwell (USA)
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Pier 86, W 46th St & 12th Ave, New York, NY
Tickets: $25 | www.intrepidmuseum.org/blueprintspecials
Fri. Jan 6th 7:30 p.m. | Sat. Jan 7th 8:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 8th 3:00 p.m. | Mon. Jan 9th 7:00 p.m. | Wed. Jan 11th 7:30 p.m. |
In the summer of 1944, engulfed by a war spread across three continents, the U.S. Army made a foray into some unlikely territory: producing Broadway-style musicals. Created by a Who's Who of 20th century American entertainers, including composer Frank Loesser and choreographer José Limón, these remarkable artifacts were designed for soldiers to put on in the field as a way to boost morale. Now, Waterwell is excavating and reviving them as a collaboration between civilian artists and Veterans. Tuneful, subversive, and disarmingly witty, the BLUEPRINT SPECIALS offer a fresh and surprising look at the intersection of conflict and culture. Starring Tony nominees Laura Osnes (Cinderella, Bonnie & Clyde) and Will Swenson (Hair). The BLUEPRINT SPECIALS will be seen for the first time since World War II on the hangar deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. The Museum is centered on Intrepid, a US Navy aircraft carrier that served during World War II, the Cold War and the Vietnam War. Waterwell is a critically-acclaimed theater company dedicated to the creation of new work and the bold reinterpretation of classics. Founded by Arian Moayed and Tom Ridgely, its special blend of music, theater and social dialogue has been nominated for three IT awards, a Drama Desk, a New York Magazine Culture Award and Village Voice Best of NYC. Presented in association with the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
INCOMING! SERIES:
A Festival within a Festival. Rapid Response. Controlled Chaos. New Work.
The Robert Moss Theater at Playwrights Downtown | 440 Lafayette St, New York, NY
This year, The PubIic Theater's Devised Theater Initiative (DTI) hosts the fourth cohort of the Devised Theater Working Group. These artists will be presented as part of the 2016 Under the Radar Festival's INCOMING! Series, a platform that features in-process works of formal investigation and artistic ambition. Works-in-process are not open for review.
They, Themself and Schmerm
Mon. Jan 9th 5:00 p.m. | Mon. Jan 9th 8:30 p.m. (Running Time: 70 minutes)
Part classic standup comedy special, part teen zine vomit confessional, THEY, THEMSELF AND SCHMERM is Becca's disturbingly hilarious personal tale of being adopted into a Midwestern religious family, trained to be a girl, molested, and plagued by the question, "How do I become a man and do I even want that?" Becca engages in loving confrontation with the audience, asking what it truly means to be authentic in these meat carcasses. Developed and directed by Ellie Heyman. Becca is an NYC based trans actor, performer and writer. Existing between genders, and preferring the pronoun "they," Blackwell works collaboratively with playwrights and directors to expand our sense of personhood and the body through performance.
Hi, Are You Single?
Ryan J. Haddad
Thurs. Jan 5th 5:00 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 5th 8:30 p.m. (Running Time: 45 minutes)
Do you have a high sex drive? Ryan does. He also has cerebral palsy. No, those things are not mutually exclusive. Join writer/performer Ryan J. Haddad on a roller coaster through New York's gay dating scene, where the highs are high and the lows are lonely. Directed by Laura Savia, HI, ARE YOU SINGLE? is an examination of intimacy, rejection, and judgment. But also Grindr, fabulous drag queens, and go-go dancers. Please bring an attractive male friend with you. Ryan J. Haddad is an actor and writer who has performed at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, La MaMa E.T.C, Dixon Place, and the New Museum. His recent credits include The Maids, Orpheus in the Berkshires, and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."
Shasta Geaux Pop
Ayesha Jordan + Charlotte Brathwaite
Sun. Jan 8th 5:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 8th 8:30 p.m. (Running Time: 80 minutes)
Shasta is celebrity. Shasta is the future. Completely uncensored and outrageously fabulous, this world-renowned icon brings you her signature brand of basement get-down party. With contagious energy and sexy southern charms, Shasta tackles naughty topics and pays sonic homage to the classic era of Hip-Hop, elevating the listener to new highs. Director Charlotte Brathwaite and writer/actor Ayesha Jordan met back in 2001 and became friends while living and making art in the Netherlands. Fast forward to present day New York City, and the stars aligned for Charlotte and Ayesha to meet again and finally continue collaborating.
Minor Character
New Saloon
Fri. Jan 6th 5:00 p.m. | Fri. Jan 6th 8:30 p.m. (Running Time: 80 minutes)
New Saloon's irreverent mashup of English-language translations of Uncle Vanya - from the dusty 1916 edition to Google Translate's whack results - is a kaleidoscopic amplification of Chekhov's depressing comedy. Each character is interpreted by multiple actors and through multiple translations, in an athletic attempt to say one true thing. "I've been made a complete fool," Vanya says, "foolishly betrayed," Vanya agrees, "stupidly cheated," Vanya clarifies. New Saloon handcrafts original performances - from evening-length dramas to two-minute dance videos. They celebrate the unique and enduring aspects of live performance and the dramatic canon; putting ancient traditions in dialogue with contemporary aesthetics, politics, and new media.
Life Does Not Live
James Allister Sprang as GAZR
Sat. Jan 7th 5:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 7th 8:30 p.m. (Running Time: 90 minutes)
Poet-turned-rapper GAZR reaches through digital space, through the metastasizing web of mediation, and pulls the audience into his imagination. With the assistance of a small orchestra, he live-composes a rap mixtape-a digital document of the poet's relationship to language, race, and technology. James Allister Sprang is a multi-disciplinary artist and graduate of The Cooper Union. Currently based in Philadelphia, Sprang has performed in venues such as the Apollo Theater, The Brooklyn Museum, The Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, The Miami Art Museum and Abrons Arts Center.
ADDITIONAL UNDER THE RADAR PROGRAMMING:
POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS: JANUARY 7-14
A lively post-show discussion with the artists in the theater immediately following these performances:
The Bitter Game: Sat. Jan 7th 3:00 p.m. and Mon. Jan 9th 8:00 p.m.
Club Diamond: Sun. Jan 8th 7:00 p.m.
The Fever: Wed. Jan 11th 7:30 p.m.
Latin Standards: Thurs. Jan 12th 7:00 p.m.
Hundred Days: Sat. Jan 14th 3:00 p.m.
THE READING ROOM ON THE LEVIN MEZZANINE
Under the Radar partners with legendary Strand Book Store to create a pop-up library, filled with book collections curated by this year's festival artists. With drink specials and food by The Library's Chef Andrew Carmellini, this is the perfect place to pass the time between shows. Located on the Levin Mezzanine at The Public, food and drink service is available 5:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. nightly.
UNDER THE RADAR PROFESSIONAL SYMPOSIUM: JANUARY 5-6
The Under the Radar Professional Symposium is a two-day event on January 5 and 6, featuring a chance to see full productions of the festival shows as well as keynote speakers and expert panel discussions. Attendance at the Symposium is strictly limited to presenting and producing professionals in the field. For more information on the Symposium, email utrsymposium@publictheater.org.
The Under the Radar Professional Symposium is a pre-conference event of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (Arts Presenters) and is held in conjunction with the APAP|NYC 2017 conference. APAP is the national service, advocacy and membership organization for the performing arts presenting industry and the convener of APAP|NYC, the world's leading gathering of performing arts professionals, held every January in New York City. For more information on this year's APAP conference and Arts Presenters, visit www.apapnyc.org.
January in NYC is the Place to Be for the Performing Arts
Under the Radar is part of "January in NYC is the Place to Be for the Performing Arts." Every January in New York City, more than 45,000 industry professionals and enthusiasts come together to experience the most comprehensive celebration of the performing arts around the globe. A dozen events organized by leading arts organizations spotlight the best and newest in theater, dance, opera and music. With more than 1,500 world-class showcases and full-length performances, concerts and public programs, conferences, keynote speakers, professional development and networking opportunities, the partnership of public festivals and industry events,January In NYC, demonstrates how rich, vibrant, vast and diverse the performing arts are. For more information, visit JanuaryInNYC.org.
Mark Russell (UTR Director) created the Under the Radar Festival in 2005. The Festival moved to The Public in 2006 and became an integral part of its season. From 1983-2004, Russell was the Executive Artistic Director of Performance Space 122 (P.S. 122).
The Public Theater'S DEVISED THEATER INITIATIVE (DTI) is one of the first of its kind in the U.S., providing support and resources to the next generation of independent artists and ensembles. The Public Theater has been a strong supporter of the devised theater movement and has helped promote the work of prominent and emerging devised theater-makers. Through The Public's annual Under the Radar Festival and year-round downtown season at Astor Place, many examples of this inventive art form have been brought to the attention of audiences in New York and around the world.
Named for Public Theater founder Joe Papp, Joe's Pub at The Public opened in 1998 and plays a vital role in The Public's mission of supporting young artists while providing established artists with an intimate space to perform and develop new work. Joe's Pub presents the best in live music and performance nightly, continuing its commitment to diversity, production values, community and artistic freedom. The organization also offers unique opportunities like New York Voices, an artist commissioning program that provides musicians the resources and tools needed to develop original theater works. Commissioned artists have included Ethan Lipton, Toshi Reagon, Bridget Everett, Allen Toussaint and more. In 2011, the Pub received a top-to-bottom renovation, leading to improved sightlines, expanded seating capacity and a new menu from acclaimed Chef Andrew Carmellini. With its intimate atmosphere and superior acoustics, Joe's Pub presents talent from all over the world as part of The Public's programming downtown at its Astor Place home, hosting approximately 800 shows and serving over 100,000 audience members annually.
The Public Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, is the only theater in New York that produces Shakespeare, the classics, musicals, contemporary and experimental pieces in equal measure. Celebrating his 10th anniversary season at The Public, Eustis has created new community-based initiatives designed to engage audiences like Public Lab, Public Studio, Public Forum, Public Works, and a remount of the Mobile Unit. The Public continues the work of its visionary founder, Joe Papp, by acting as an advocate for the theater as an essential cultural force, and leading and framing dialogue on some of the most important issues of our day. Creating theater for one of the largest and most diverse audience bases in New York City for nearly 60 years, today the Company engages audiences in a variety of venues-including its landmark downtown home at Astor Place, which houses five theaters and Joe's Pub; the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home to free Shakespeare in the Park; and the Mobile Unit, which tours Shakespearean productions for underserved audiences throughout New York City's five boroughs. The Public's wide range of programming includes free Shakespeare in the Park, the bedrock of the Company's dedication to making theater accessible to all; Public Works, an expanding initiative that is designed to cultivate new connections and new models of engagement with artists, audiences and the community each year; and audience and artist development initiatives that range from Emerging Writers Group to the Public Forum series. The Public is located on property owned by the City of New York and receives annual support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; and in October 2012, the landmark building downtown at Astor Place was revitalized to physically manifest the Company's core mission of sparking new dialogues and increasing accessibility for artists and audiences, by dramatically opening up the building to the street and community, and transforming the lobby into a public piazza for artists, students, and audiences. The Public is currently represented on Broadway by the Tony Award-winning acclaimed American musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Public has received 59 Tony Awards, 168 Obie Awards, 53 Drama Desk Awards, 54 Lortel Awards, 32 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 13 New York Drama Critics Awards, and five Pulitzer Prizes.
For more information, visit www.publictheater.org or www.undertheradarfestival.com.
Pictured: A scene from Club Diamond, running January 5-9 at The Public Theater as part of The Public's 13th Annual Under the Radar Festival. Photo by Kathryn Raines.
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