Public Theater Kicks Off 11th Annual UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL Today

The Public Theater presents the 11th annual UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL, running today, January 7-18, 2015. 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 Argentina, Iran, Switzerland, Spain, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. Curated by Co-Directors Mark Russell and Meiyin Wang, this year's UNDER THE RADAR will also mark the launch of the new Devised Theater Working Group which will present eight works-in-process as part of the festival's INCOMING! Series.

Innovative artists Daniel Fish, Toshi Reagon, Mariano Pensotti, Reggie Watts, Mehr Theatre Group, Marie-Caroline Hominal, Ikechukwu Ufomadu, and Stan's Cafe will be performing downtown at The Public Theater at Astor Place as part of UTR 2015, as well as Companhia Hiato and Agrupación Señor Serrano at La MaMa and Taylor Mac at New York Live Arts. The 12-day festival will also include free CULTUREBOT discussions; post-show talkbacks; the UTR Professional Symposium; and a free one-night-only installation performance by UK's Stan's Cafe in The Public's Ford Foundation lobby that is open to the general public.

"The most exciting 12 days in the New York theater season have arrived," said Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "Under the Radar has spent over 10 years bringing cutting-edge work from around the globe to the stages of The Public Theater, and this year promises to be the most surprising set of offerings we have yet seen."

Single tickets to all UTR shows at The Public are only $25 and can be accessed on Thursday, November 20. Member tickets priced at $20 are available now. Tickets for partner venue events at La MaMa and New York Live Arts can be purchased directly from the venues. Single tickets for shows at The Public Theater may accessed online at www.undertheradarfestival.com; The Taub Box Office at The Public at 425 Lafayette Street; or by phone at 212-967-7555. The "UTR Pack" is back by popular demand, granting admission to any five UTR shows (**except The Triumph of Fame, Audio Abramovi?, and the INCOMING! Series) for only $75.

This year, The PubIic's Devised Theater Initiative (DTI) will launch the Devised Theater Working Group, which offers theater-makers a supportive framework in which to develop their work, engage in consistent dialogue, and be challenged by each other's aesthetic practice. In partnership with La MaMa, these artists will be presented as part of the INCOMING! Series, featuring works-in-process by Lucy Alibar; Katherine Brook + Shonni Enelow / TELE-VIOLET; DarkMatter; Deconstructive Theatre Project; Daniel Koren; The Mighty Third Rail and PUBLIQuartet; James Harrison Monaco and Jerome Ellis; and Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble.

"The eight companies of the inaugural Devised Theater Working Group (DTWG) represent a generation of artists that is wildly diverse in their theater practice," said UTR Co-Director/DTI Director Meiyin Wang. "From real-time film to the spoken word, from absurdist comedy to sci-fi concerts, these artists are creating new notions, visions, and rhythms of theater."

Over the last 11 years, The Public's UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL has presented over 181 companies from 39 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, 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.

"This year's Under the Radar Festival leans more toward international works, but will still have some American surprises," said UTR Co-Director Mark Russell. "Many of UTR 2015's offerings are playing with memory -- the stories we tell ourselves to keep sane in an increasingly interconnected and chaotic world. These artists are dissecting the past to comment on today and imagine the future. This is a festival that combines joy, humor, rage, and music into a celebration of new theater today. I am excited to have these artists meet our New York audience."

The Library at The Public will also be open nightly for food and drink, beginning at 5:30 p.m., and Joe's Pub at The Public will continue to offer some of the best music in the city.

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UNDER THE RADAR AT THE PUBLIC THEATER (JANUARY 7-18, 2015):

The Cardinals

January 12-18 (Running Time: 100 minutes)

Stan's Cafe (UK); $25 Tickets

Mon. Jan 12th 7:30 p.m. | Tues. Jan 13th 8:00 p.m. | Wed. Jan 14th 8:00 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 15th 8:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 17th 8:30 p.m. | Sun. Jan 18th 2:30 p.m. |

Three cardinals are on an evangelical mission to broaden knowledge of the Bible -- through their traveling puppet theater. But when their puppets go missing, they must take to the stage themselves. With the assistance of their ever-tolerant female Muslim stage manager, they race through key scenes from the Bible, famous incidents from the Crusades, and finally bring us to the contemporary Middle East. With their trademark humor and ingenious approach to form, Stan's Cafe brings us a hilarious and strangely moving reflection on faith, belief, and theater. Stan's Cafe collaboratively devise shows that playfully twist theatre out of shape in order to help people see their world in a new way. Formed in Birmingham, UK in 1991, the company has produced a dizzying range of shows in a wild range of settings.

Cineastas

January 7-11 (Running Time: 100 minutes; Performed in Spanish with English supertitles)

Mariano Pensotti (Argentina); $25 Tickets

Wed. Jan 7th 7:30 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 8th 8:00 p.m. | Fri. Jan 9th 7:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 10th 7:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 11th 2:00 p.m. |

Mariano Pensotti's "filmic drama" threads together the lives of four filmmakers over the course of a year in Buenos Aires. In this intricate portrait of a city and its inhabitants, a handful of actors fluidly shift between the characters' real lives and their films on an elaborate split-screen set. By adapting cinematic techniques -- voice-over, cross-fades, long takes -- Pensotti crafts an epic tale of love, money, work, and art. Do our fictions reflect the world, or is the world a distorted projection of our fictions? Mariano Pensotti is an Argentine author and theater director who has been heralded as one of Latin America's brightest theater talents. He has created more than 15 performances in the past 10 years, including El Pasado Es Un Animal Grotesco (UTR 2012).

Timeloss

January 16-18 (Running Time: 60 minutes; Performed in Farsi with English supertitles)

Mehr Theatre Group/Amir Reza Koohestani (Iran); $25 Tickets

Fri. Jan 16th 7:30 p.m. | Sat. Jan 17th 1:30 p.m. | Sat. Jan 17th 5:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 18th 7:30 p.m. |

2004: The young Iranian theatermaker Amir Reza Koohestani makes his international debut with Dance on Glasses, a subtle and candid portrayal of the end of young love. 2014: Koohestani creates a fictionalized reunion of the actors from Dance on Glasses. Having separated in the intervening years, they must confront the distance between their personal biographies and collective histories in this intimate portrait of Iranian life. Amir Reza Koohestani is one of Iran's most successful and prolific playwright-directors. His 2004 play Dance on Glasses won international acclaim and toured for four years. He is the first director to win two consecutive awards for the "Best theatre production of the year" in Iran (Ivanov, 2011 and The Fourth Wall, 2012).

The Triumph of Fame

January 9-18 (Running Time: 15 minutes, Adult Content)

Marie-Caroline Hominal (Switzerland); $25 Tickets

Fri. Jan 9th 1:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 11th 1:00 p.m. | Mon. Jan 12th 1:00 p.m. | Fri. Jan 16th 1:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 17th 1:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 18th 1:00 p.m. |

In a one-on-one performance inspired by the Italian poet Petrarch's "i Trionfi," Swiss choreographer Marie-Caroline Hominal welcomes her guest backstage in a hidden corner of The Public Theater, where she creates a vulnerable moment of intimacy between spectator and performer. Marie-Caroline Hominal is a Swiss choreographer and dancer. She makes work that incorporates dance, text, songwriting, music, and video. Her pieces have been seen in Europe and South America, and she has danced with the Tanztheater Basel, Gisèle Vienne, La Ribot, Gilles Jobin, and Marco Berrettini.

A (radically condensed and expanded) Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again

January 7-16 (Running Time: 90 minutes)

Daniel Fish (USA); $25 Tickets

Produced with the permission of the David Foster Wallace Literary Trust

Wed. Jan 7th 8:00 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 8th 8:30 p.m. | Fri. Jan 9th 9:00 p.m. | Mon. Jan 12th 8:00 p.m. | Wed. Jan 14th 7:30 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 15th 8:00 p.m. | Fri. Jan 16th 8:00 p.m. |

Tennis balls fly as four actors wrestle with the relentless rush of words streaming from their headphones. Part sporting event, part theatrical séance, A SUPPOSEDLY FUN THING... draws exclusively from audio recordings of writer David Foster Wallace, mixed live during each performance. Director Daniel Fish and a small ensemble of actors seek to recreate the amazing presence Wallace brought to everything he wrote about, be it a luxury cruise, a boy's 13th birthday, or America's obsession with entertainment. Daniel Fish is a director who works in theater, opera, and film. Recent work includes The Source (BAM Next Wave) and ETERNAL (Noorderzon Festival, Incubator Arts Project, and Under the Radar).

Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower: The Concert Version

January 10-18 (Running Time: 120 minutes; Not open for review)

Toshi Reagon (USA); $25 Tickets

Presented in association with Joe's Pub at The Public

Sat. Jan 10th 9:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 11th 8:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 17th 8:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 18th 8:00 p.m. |

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Toshi Reagon brings her genre-bending music and irresistible performance style to Under the Radar with a work-in-progress concert of her new opera, written in collaboration with Bernice Johnson Reagon. OCTAVIA E. BUTLER'S PARABLE OF THE SOWER, adapted from Octavia Butler's post-apocalyptic novel, follows a young woman fleeing the violence of a futuristic Los Angeles in this fable that blends science fiction with African-American spiritualism and deep insights on gender, race, and the future of human civilization. Described by Vibe magazine as "one helluva rock'n'roller-coaster ride" and by Pop Matters as "a treasure waiting to be found," Toshi Reagon is a one-woman celebration of all that's dynamic, progressive, and uplifting in American music.

Audio Abramovi?

January 14-18 (Running Time: 5 minutes)

Reggie Watts (USA); Tickets will be distributed on the day of the performance on a first-come, first-served basis. The line will begin one hour prior to the performance. Visit www.undertheradarfestival.com for further details.

Wed. Jan 14th 8:00 p.m. | Fri. Jan 16th 7:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 17th 7:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 18th 7:00 p.m. |

The performer is present. In an attempt to channel the illusory presence of the artist, avowed disinformationist Reggie Watts invites you to sit across from him. But just for five minutes. Reggie Watts is an internationally renowned vocalist/beatboxer/musician/comedian/improviser who amazes audiences with his unpredictable performances, which are created on the spot using only his formidable voice and looping pedals.

Ike at Night

January 9-18 (Running Time: 80 minutes)

Ikechukwu Ufomadu / A JACK Production (USA); $25 Tickets

Fri. Jan 9th 10:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 10th 10:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 11th 10:00 p.m. | Fri. Jan 16th 10:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 17th 10:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 18th 10:00 p.m. |

In IKE AT NIGHT, remarkable performer Ikechukwu Ufomadu, described as the son that Woody Allen and Frank Sinatra never had, hosts a late-night talk show of comedy, interviews, and music in front of a live studio audience - you. The show, fresh from an extended, sold-out run at Brooklyn venue JACK, features Jonathan Jacobs, aka The Vintage DJ, as the "bandleader," and B. Brian Argotsinger as Ike's side-kick. Ikechukwu Ufomadu is an actor, comedian, and entertainer. He has performed with Young Jean Lee's Theater Company, 600 Highwaymen, Hoi Polloi, John Jesurun, and others. His original projects include A Special Christmas (The Mansion), Reflection Night (JACK), Ike at Night (JACK) and Ike Night (Ars Nova, JACK, Sidewalk Cafe).

O Jardim

January 7-11 (Running Time: 100 minutes; Performed in Portuguese with English supertitles)

Companhia Hiato/Leonardo Moreira (Brazil)

La MaMa: 66 East 4th Street; $25 Tickets: lamama.org or 646-430-5374

Wed. Jan 7th 7:30 p.m. | Fri. Jan 9th 7:30 p.m. | Sat. Jan 10th 3:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 10th 7:30 p.m. | Sun. Jan 11th 3:00 p.m. |

On a stage filled with moving boxes, stories from three generations of the same family unfold simultaneously. Two sisters celebrate a father's birthday; a granddaughter tries to recover an abandoned house; a husband and wife divide up their photographs when their marriage ends. Invoking their own personal and imagined histories, Companhia Hiato crafts a love letter to the memories we collect, recreate, and invent. Companhia Hiato, founded by director and playwright Leonardo Moreira, is considered one of the most promising and talented theater collectives in Brazil. The award-winning company has toured to Holland, Germany, Chile, and Colombia.

Brickman Brando Bubble Boom

January 13-18 (Running Time: 60 minutes; Performed in English and Spanish with English supertitles)

Agrupación Señor Serrano (Spain)

La MaMa: 66 East 4th Street; $25 Tickets: lamama.org or 646-430-5374

Tues. Jan 13th 7:30 p.m. | Wed. Jan 14th 7:30 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 15th 7:30 p.m. | Fri. Jan 16th 7:30 p.m. | Sat. Jan 17th 3:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 17th 7:30 p.m. | Sun. Jan 18th 3:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 18th 7:30 p.m. |

A shantytown on fire. Funky music blaring. The crisis in the mortgage system. Victorian England. Nests, burrows, caves, and mansions. 150,000 foreclosures in Spain in 2012. The horror. A banker smiling. A builder smiling. Homesickness. Video. More live video. Tahitian paradises. The right to housing. The right to have air conditioning. The right to have a plasma TV. And Marlon Brando performing John Brickman. No more, no less. Founded in 2006, Agrupación Señor Serrano is a Barcelona-based performing arts company that combines theater, dance, video art, and interactive technologies to explore human inspiration and the abuse of power.

A 24-Decade History of Popular Music: 1900-1950's

January 13-17 (Running Time: 120 minutes)

Taylor Mac (USA)

New York Live Arts: 219 West 19th Street; Tickets start at $40: newyorklivearts.org

Tues. Jan 13th 7:30 p.m. | Wed. Jan 14th 7:30 p.m. | Fri. Jan 16th 7:30 p.m. | Sat. Jan 17th 7:30 p.m. |

Taylor Mac's performances extend to January 25th. For more information, visit newyorklivearts.org.

Taylor Mac is accompanied by a live band, dancing beauties, and special guests in his unique mash-up of music, history, performance, and art. As part of the Under the Radar Festival, Mac will cover the first three decades of the 20th century in one evening. These performances are part of Mac's A 24-Decade History of Popular Music: 1900-1950s, culminating in a six-hour, six-decade marathon performance on January 25. Eventually, this work will become a 24-hour spectacle celebrating the last 240 years of popular music in America. An Obie Award-winner, Taylor Mac is a playwright, actor, singer-songwriter, cabaret performer, performance artist, director and producer. He has performed at The Public Theater and Joe's Pub at The Public, Lincoln Center, The Sydney Opera House, and more.

ADDITIONAL UNDER THE RADAR PROGRAMMING:

THE COMMENTATORS

One-Night-Only, January 16 | 6:30pm (Running Time: 240 minutes)

Stan's Cafe (UK) in the Ford Foundation Lobby at The Public Theater at Astor Place; Free

Once stalwarts of the radio, whose voices brought major sporting events into the nation's living rooms, The Commentators have fallen on hard times. Now commentating on anything and everything, they say it as they see it - all the world as sport. They now bring their very special skills to the lobby of The Public Theater, where they will carefully relay all the evening's events to live and online audiences around the world. THE COMMENTATORS have brought their undying passion for words and life to a range of events now including a gallery opening, the World Gurning Championship, 12 hours in the life of Broad Street, a primary school sports day, and the opening days of the new Library of Birmingham.

UTR and CULTURE BOT

Scanning the Landscape

January 10 and 11

1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. at The Public Theater at Astor Place; Free

A series of roundtable conversations on the most current and compelling ideas at work in the field of contemporary theater and the conditions in which it is being made. Leading practitioners, thinkers, and supporters of cutting-edge theater offer lively discussions on the state of the field and what the future might hold.

POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS: JANUARY 9-17:

A lively discussion with the artists, moderated by UTR staff, in the theater immediately following these performances:

O Jardim: Fri. Jan 9th 7:30 p.m.

Cineastas: Sat. Jan 10th 7:00 p.m.

A (radically condensed and expanded) Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Mon. Jan 12th 8:00 p.m.

Cardinals: Wed. Jan 14th 8:00 p.m.

Brickman Brando Bubble Boom: Thurs. Jan 15th 7:30 p.m.

Timeloss: Fri. Jan 16th 7:30 p.m.

Octavia E. Butler's The Parable of the Sower: The Concert Version: Sat. Jan 17th 8:00 p.m.

Co-presented by The Public's Under the Radar Festival and La MaMa

2015 INCOMING! SERIES:

La MaMa: 66 East 4th Street; $20 Tickets: lamama.org or 646-430-5374

(Works-in-Process are not open for review)

Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up

Fri. Jan 9th | 5:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. (Running Time: 60 minutes)

Lucy Alibar

Stories of a man, his family, his guns, and his burnpile. Lucy Alibar reads pieces of her new work, THROW ME ON THE BURNPILE AND LIGHT ME UP. Her work has been published in Zoetrope, Oxford American, and The Wall Street Journal. Her movie, Beasts of the Southern Wild (an adaptation with Benh Zeitlin of her stage play, Juicy and Delicious) received the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and the Cannes Camera D'Or. For her work on Beasts, she was nominated for the Scripter, BAFTA, and Academy Award. Her upcoming works include Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up for Scribner and The Secret Garden for Guillermo del Toro/Universal.

The Power of Emotion

Sun. Jan 11th | 4:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (Running Time: 50 minutes)

Katherine Brook + Shonni Enelow / TELE-VIOLET

Inspired by theories of acting, opera divas, and the emotional grammar of performance, THE POWER OF EMOTION is a new work about the form and force of affects and emotions on the stage. TELE-VIOLET, a theater company led by director Katherine Brook, creates performances that experiment with acting and dramatic form.

#ItGetsBitter

Thurs. Jan 8th | 5:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. (Running Time: 75 minutes)

DarkMatter

#ITGETSBITTER is a creative interruption to contemporary queer performance. Join us for poetry, politics, and panache! DarkMatter is a trans-South Asian art and activist collaboration comprised of Janani Balasubramanian and Alok Vaid-Menon. Using poetry and polemic, tweet and tirade, DarkMatter is committed to an art practice of gender self(ie) determination, social justice, and catharsis. They have been invited to perform across the world.

The Orpheus Variations

Sat. Jan 10th | 4:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (Running Time: 50 minutes)

Deconstructive Theatre Project

Inspired by the Orpheus myth and neuroscience of memory, The Deconstructive Theatre Project collides cinema, radio play, and theater vocabularies into an art-house film created and screened in real time. The Deconstructive Theatre Project is a Brooklyn-based ensemble creative laboratory that makes hybrid media performance work. The company is currently creating a series of works at the intersection of live performance, neuroscience, and interactive technology.

The Most Important Thing

Sun. Jan 11th | 5:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. (Running Time: 55 minutes)

Daniel Koren

Comedian Daniel Koren is in search of THE MOST IMPORTANT THING in this eccentric presentation of odd-ball stream-of-consciousness observations, virtuosic piano, and a virtual choir of alter egos. Koren is an Emmy-nominated comedian/composer originally from Israel and now based in New York. With over a million views for his innovative videos, Koren translated his online success into a live performance. Koren graduated from Berklee College of music and his work has appeared on Comedy Central's "Tosh.O," The Huffington Post, and Ryan Seacrest.

Changing Night

Thurs. Jan 8th | 4:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (Running Time: 30 minutes)

The Mighty Third Rail and PUBLIQuartet

Hip-hop poetry trio, The Mighty Third Rail, and the innovative PUBLIQuartet join forces in a mash­up of strings, verses, and beat­boxing. The worlds of classical music and hip-hop collide in a sci-fi narrative that reimagines the Garden of Eden story and questions the nature of change and the survival of humanity in a world consumed by technology. The Mighty Third Rail is a New York-based trio that mixes the elements of hip-hop poetry, beat­boxing, violin and upright bass. PUBLIQuartet is expanding the stylistic norms of the traditional string quartet.

AARON/MARIE

Sat. Jan 10th | 5:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. (Running Time: 80 minutes)

James Harrison Monaco and Jerome Ellis

AARON/MARIE is a high-speed literary and live music spectacle-part novella, part contemporary opera. A narrator and a musician lead the audience through an ongoing saga of connected stories that follows a missing roommate, an exile, and various ghosts of the Northeastern United States. Monaco and Ellis make theater that feels like reading a modern novel. They perform live music that evokes narrative action. They do all this at the same time, in such a way that the audience sees spectacles in their mind.

The Art of Luv (Part 1)

Fri. Jan 9th | 4:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (Running Time: 30 minutes)

Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble

On May 23, 2014, Elliot Rodger killed six people and injured 13 in a rampage motivated by his lack of success with women. Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble's newest work is a group meditation on masculinity, insecurity, and longing. It attempts to treat this wound to the body of Love, performing humanity's common search for love as we misunderstand it. Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble (Tei Blow and Sean McElroy) [ROKE] is a musical priesthood that explores the metaphysics and mythologies of love, desire and courtship at the end of the 20th century.

UNDER THE RADAR PROFESSIONAL SYMPOSIUM: JANUARY 8-9:

The Under the Radar Professional Symposium is a two-day event on January 8 and 9, 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.

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 2015 conference. For more information on this year's APAP conference and Arts Presenters, visit www.apapnyc.org. The Under the Radar Festival is part of "January in NYC is the Place to Be for the Performing Arts." For more information, visit www.JanuaryinNYC.org.

BIOS:

MARK RUSSELL (UTR Co-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).

MEIYIN WANG (UTR Co-Director/Director of the Devised Theater Initiative) has been with Under the Radar since 2006. She serves on the board of Theatre Communications Group and was the 2014 recipient of the Josephine Abady Award from the League of Professional Theatre Women. Born and raised in Singapore, Wang served as resident playwright and director with Singapore Repertory Theatre before moving to New York.

ABOUT THE PUBLIC THEATER AT ASTOR PLACE: Under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, The Public Theater is the only theater in New York that produces Shakespeare, the classics, musicals, contemporary and experimental pieces in equal measure. 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 its beloved, 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, a new initiative that is designed to cultivate new connections and new models of engagement with artists, audiences and the community each year; new and experimental stagings at The Public at Astor Place, including Public Lab; and a range of artist and audience development initiatives including its Public Forum series, which brings together theater artists and professionals from a variety of disciplines for discussions that shed light on social issues explored in Public productions. The Public Theater 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. Key elements of the revitalization an expanded and refurbished lobby; the addition of a mezzanine level with a new restaurant lounge, The Library, designed by the Rockwell Group. www.publictheater.org

Member tickets for The Public's 2015 UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL at The Public are $20 and available now. Tickets for the general public are $25 and can be accessed on Thursday, November 20. Single tickets for shows at The Public Theater may be accessed online at www.undertheradarfestival.com; The Taub Box Office at The Public Theater at 425 Lafayette.

Pictured: Taylor Mac, creator and performer of A 24-Decade History of Popular Music: 1900-1950's, running January 13-17 at New York Live Arts as part of The Public's Under the Radar Festival. Photo Credit: Ves Pitts.

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