SoHo Rep Celebrates 35th Anniversary With FEED35

Soho Rep celebrates its 35th anniversary season with FEED35, a yearlong series of post-performance talks produced by FEED, the theater's Literary and Humanities program.

Comprised of live events, print publications and online content, FEED is designed to enrich audiences' and artists' experience of Soho Rep's plays. This season, FEED focuses on the history of the theater, beginning with Founding Co-Artistic Director Marlene Swartz in conversation with the theater's Literary & Humanities Manager and FEED program founder, Raphael Martin, on Wednesday, February 15.

The series continues with former Artistic Director Daniel Aukin on Thursday, February 16, who will be in conversation with Time Out New York Theater Editor David Cote. Aukin has returned to Soho Rep to direct The Ugly One, a one-act play by German playwright Marius Von Mayenburg (running through February 26). On Wednesday, February 22, members of the production team for 1994's Dracula, including playwright Mac Wellman, will gather for a Production reViewed talk to revisit the play.

To coincide with the run of Uncle Vanya, adapted by Annie Baker and directed by Sam Gold, FEED35 continues to celebrate the theater's rich artistic history by inviting playwright Ken Urban to discuss the new edition of Sarah Kane's BLASTED he has edited on Tuesday, June 12 (book signing to follow). Later in the month, current Soho Rep Artistic Director Sarah Benson will be featured in a talk on Thursday, June 21 focusing on the future of the theater. In July, the team from the 2001 production of Melissa James Gibson's [sic] will reunite for their own Production reViewed. For a full list of FEED35 events, please see below or click here.

Soho Rep published The Soho Rep Book: Thirty-Five Years of New York City's Big Small Theater on December 12, 2011 to mark the anniversary. A kaleidoscopic look at the theater's past, the book is an index of plays and contributions by Soho Rep writers, actors, directors and more including Aukin, Benson, Michael John LaChiusa, Young Jean Lee, Tim Blake Nelson, Kathleen Turner, Wellman and more. David Adjmi's Elective Affinities, the wildly successful site-specific play starring Tony Award-winning actress Zoe Caldwell and directed by Benson, which ran Fall 2011, is included as well.

FEED35 Anniversary Events

Artistic Director Talk: February 15, 2012
Marlene Swartz (Founding co-Artistic Director) in conversation with Raphael Martin (Literary & Humanities Manager, Soho Rep).

Artistic Director Talk: February 16, 2012
Daniel Aukin (Former Artistic Director) in conversation with David Cote (Theater Editor, Time Out NY).

Production reViewed: Dracula: February 22, 2012
Join members of the original production team alongside playwright Mac Wellman as they recollect this wonderful production. Moderated by freelance stage director Anne Kauffman, Director of Soho Rep's The Thugs and Sixty Miles to Silver Lake and member of the theater's Artistic Council.

Sarah Kane in New York: June 12, 2012
Celebrate a new book edition of Blasted. Talk with Ken Urban, Editor, about Kane's influence in New York City, and Raphael Martin, Literary Manager. Signing to follow.

Artistic Director Talk: June 21, 2012
Sarah Benson (Artistic Director) talks about her current and future vision for New York's big small theater.

Production reViewed: [SIC]: July 2012
Playwright Melissa James Gibson, director Daniel Aukin, set designer Louisa Thompson, lighting designer Matt Frey and others come together to speak about this 2001 production – a Soho Rep fan-favorite.

History of Soho Rep

Founded in 1975, and in our theater on Walker Street since 1991, Soho Rep has built an outstanding reputation for being at the forefront of new and innovative theatre, serving as a vital center for Contemporary Theatre artists. We also successfully attract one of the youngest adult theater-going audiences in New York City with over 62% under the age of 40.

Actors Kathleen Turner, Ed O'Neill, Allison Janney, John C. Reilly and Kevin Spacey made their professional debuts at Soho Rep, and the long list of illustrious Soho Rep acting alumni includes Steve Buscemi, Jonathan Frakes, Steve Mellor, Will Patton, Bill Sadler, John Seitz, Tim Blake Nelson, Margaret Whitton and Frank Wood. Many of our Mainstage productions have emerged from our new play development and commissioning programs, often resulting in artistically lauded productions. Since 2000, Soho Rep and our productions have garnered 13 OBIE Awards, six Drama Desk Nominations, the Oppenheimer Award, Kesselring Prize, and The New York Times Outstanding Playwrighting Award.

Jerry Engelbach and Marlene Swartz founded Soho Rep in July 1975. As co-artistic directors they produced over a hundred plays. After Engelbach left to pursue other projects, Swartz ran the theater solo before handing the reins to English director Julian Webber. Soho Rep's founding mission was to present relatively rare classical plays. After several years producing works from Shakespeare to Shaw, the theater – under Webber – evolved its mission to include rarely seen modern plays and completely new works, the latter of which still holds as the theater's singular mission.

In 1998 Daniel Aukin became Artistic Director alongside Executive Director Alexandra Conley. The two produced new work by artists including Adam Bock, Young Jean Lee, Richard Maxwell, Melissa James Gibson, Quincy Long, The Flying Machine and Maria Irene Fornes. In 2006, Sarah Benson became the fourth Artistic Director of the company. She directed the New York premiere of Sarah Kane's BLASTED to critical acclaim in fall 2008, and has produced work by other writers and groups including John Jesurun, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Dan LeFranc, Young Jean Lee and debbie tucker green. The artistic journey continues…

About FEED

Audience engagement is a core component of Soho Rep's work. FEED, the theater's Literary and Humanities Program, created by Literary & Humanities Manager Raphael Martin, is a hub for all ancillary activities surrounding Soho Rep's programming. An eclectic series of live events, publishing and on-line content, FEED aims to enrich the artist/audience experience beyond people simply watching the plays we produce. FEED invites artists and audiences further into the process of theater making in an effort to expand the vocabulary and context around Contemporary Theatre. Soho Rep is a very big small theatre. We are committed to developing, and producing pioneering Contemporary Theatre with the highest artistic standards possible.

About Soho Rep

Soho Rep is now in its 35th Anniversary year. Soho Rep is dedicated to cultivating and producing visionary, uncompromising, and exuberant new plays. They perform to one of the youngest adult audiences in New York City, with over three-quarters aged 18-40.

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