Downtown Alliance and En Garde Arts Present DOWNTOWN STORIES: DREAMS FROM NEW YORK'S OLDEST STREETS

The Alliance for Downtown New York (Jessica Lappin, President), in association with En Garde Arts present Downtown Stories: Dreams from New York´s Oldest Streets.

Put on your walking shoes with Downtown Stories, a series of theatrical pieces by some of New York's most inventive artists as they embark on uncovering the stories embodied by the people that live and work in the oldest neighborhood in New York City. It's art meets anthropological expedition as these artists discover new or little-known facts about downtown that become a springboard for inventive storytelling that provides a fresh perspective on the city that surrounds us.

Downtown Stories brings together award-winning playwright Rogelio Martinez (Born In East Berlin) and director Johanna McKeon (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, American Idiot) for a documentary theatre piece inspired by interviews with small business owners in Lower Manhattan. Their stories are the stories of the United States, immigrants coming to this country to avoid religious persecution, racial prejudice or simply to pursue a better life.

Additionally, the program will include two fictional walking tours that will use the rich history of the neighborhood's landmarks as a springboard for imaginary trips into our past to connect with the people who once lived there. The fictional walking tours are written by Mona Mansour (Vagrant Trilogy, Public Theatre) and Eric Lockley (co-founder Movement Theatre Company), and directed by Jessica Holt (Ironbound, Sense and Sensibility) and Morgan Green (Co-Artistic Director, Wilma Theatre), respectively. Each 45-minute walking tour will be composed of a fictional story juxtaposed against the reality of history and will bring audiences to a series of sites that represent a significant moment from the city's past, transforming into a fictional moment enabling us to imagine the future. The tours will conclude at neighborhood restaurants where audiences can pick up a meal.

En Garde Arts' month-long series Downtown Stories renews their collaboration with the Downtown Alliance, which launched last May for Downtown Live, a festival that brought 36 live performances to three different sites across Lower Manhattan.

Anne Hamburger, En Garde Arts' Artistic Director said, "The impetus for En Garde's partnership with Downtown Alliance sprang from our mutual desire support the neighborhood by doing what the arts do so well...bring people back to our streets, support small businesses and add excitement and vitality to the area. I gathered a group of artists and asked them the question: 'How often do we walk down the street oblivious of our surroundings?' For Downtown Stories, artists are investigating and uncovering the stories of the people and places that make up a neighborhood. In this way, we can look at what surrounds us with fresh eyes."

"Downtown Stories celebrates the immigrants, entrepreneurs and resilient small business owners who have shaped Lower Manhattan and fought hard to keep their doors open throughout the pandemic," said Jessica Lappin, President, Alliance for Downtown New York. "We know that a thriving arts and culture scene is critical to their recovery and creates excitement about being in the neighborhood again. These performances will engage and delight the workers, residents and visitors returning to Lower Manhattan while directly supporting local businesses with every ticket purchased."

Downtown Stories will take place Wednesdays through Saturdays from June 8 - 25, 2022. Tickets for the documentary theater piece will be free and tickets for the walking tours will be combined with the purchase of a food voucher that supports a local restaurant. Reservations are required for all performances and will open on May 4.

Additional details including casting, specific locations & walking tour routes, and COVID Safety Protocols will be announced at a later date.

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