The Tank Unveils Programming For TRASHFEST & DARKFEST 2024

The Tank has revealed programming for their eco-forward festivals, TrashFest and DarkFest, from Monday July 15 – Sunday July 21, 2024. Both festivals will take place at The Tank's 56 Seat Theater.

For 11 years, The Tank has hosted DarkFest - a week of shows that do not use conventional theatrical lighting in an effort to reexamine how we can make theater more sustainable. With the pandemic forcing their physical theater to close, they challenged that idea further with the first annual TrashFest in 2020. It is often difficult to wrestle with the environmental impact our daily lives and our work can have - especially in theater, where so many resources are needed to develop sets, props, and costumes that are only used for a short amount of time. TrashFest centers work that not only produces no waste, but reuses materials discarded as garbage while DarkFest celebrates innovative performance that utilizes self-sufficient and alternative energy sources.

More information about the programming is below. Tickets begin at $15 and are available by visiting https://thetanknyc.org/trashfestdarkfest2024.

CLIMATE CONTROLLED FACILITY WITH ELEVATOR ACCESS AND OTHER AMENITIES

Co-Directed & Co-Written by Kate O'Carroll & Elena Messinger

Monday July 15 at 7pm

Molly, Cam, and Georgia are all moving up and out: back home, a girlfriend's apartment, a goat farm. But first they have to deal with all their shit. Spend one last sweltering day in a storage unit digging through shared memories, deciding what to leave behind, and fighting over that one lamp.

PLANTING DAY

Written & Directed by Claire Marieb

Monday July 15 at 7pm

Planting Day grapples with the inescapable fact that two things can be true at the same time. It follows a couple's moral dilemma of wanting to start a family while facing a world that is slowly burning. We see a young queer individual struggle to find their place in the universe while finding love (or something of the sort) in an unlikely place. We get an intimate view into the world of a young man navigating new love in a post-chivalrous, pre-apocalyptic world. A mom finds herself unsure how to generationally relate to her daughter. And of course, George the dolphin is there to watch it all unfold from his throne in the nightmarescape, falling victim to his meddling habit once or twice along the way. But please, hold the popcorn...plastic's back on the menu.

JÄRNÄGGLUNGA

Written by Nate Hollander

Directed by Charlotte Weinman

Tuesday July 16 at 7pm

This is a story about a mother and a son. This is also a story about an overworked employee who comes bearing news that will forever change the mother and son's relationship. Following Lili, Porky, and Smelt as they search for a missing dowel on a near-apocalyptic afternoon, Järnägglunga, a new dramatic comedy by Nate Hollander, questions if we can move forward with our lives when the world is at a breaking point.

FIGURING IT OUT AS WE GO

Written by Jesse Winton

Directed by Jacquie McCourt

Tuesday July 16 at 9:30pm

In this darkly comedic one-man show, writer/performer Jesse Winton makes his New York City debut by tackling the mundane issues of death, mortality, finding out his Grandpa died on a ferris wheel, and what all of these things have to teach us about the meaning of life.

IN THE DARK TIMES

Curated by Kayla Schwab and Michael Fracentese

Wednesday July 17 at 7pm

A poetry reading series.

PROBLEM FACTORY: TRASHED

By Problem Factory

Wednesday July 17 at 9:30pm

Problem Factory is New York's premiere sketch group (as far as you know)! In honor of Trashfest they look forward to spending even less on the show than usual as we make all our props ourselves! Also presenting things we should've thrown out years ago. See you there!

ASHKENAZI SEANCE

Written and Performed by Sarah Sanders

Directed by Daniel Krane

Musical Direction by Sofia Geck

Thursday July 18th, 7pm

Sarah lives in Brooklyn, her parents moved to Mexico, and now she can't decide what to do with her grandmother's piano, which is in Montana. She's getting desperate for advice – so desperate, she's turning to her dead Latvian Jewish ancestors. Ashkenazi Seance is a solo theatre piece with music and community ritual exploring what it means to search for home and crave connection to your ancestors, even when you're ~pretty sure~ they wouldn't like you.

LITTLE QUEER

Written & Performed by Christopher Ryan Quiroz (he/him)

Directed by Asher Vickers

Thursday July 18 at 9:30pm

If big things come in small packages, little QUEER is no exception. A hilarious and heartfelt pop-culture-soaked journey down the fabulous and traumatic hall of memory through the vibrant world of Queer theatre and pop culture. This is a show for boys who were taught to hide what makes them unique. Being sensitive in this world is hard -being a sensitive, short (5'2”), autistic, Queer boy in this world is a recipe for...experiences.

What does abandonment do to a child? Do you ever recover from a bully's words? Was your Dad ever your best friend? Was he your nightmare? How can you transform trauma into something useful? little QUEER offers a space for all of us to breathe, reflect and gently uncover what lies inside the makeup case we've all kept buried. 

A solo about reclaiming forgotten memories, celebrating fierce identity, and a testament to the healing power of love. An invitation to laugh, cry, and give the middle finger to your bully. For the sensitive boys – the sensitive kids who always felt a little different, this is your story, too.

GORETTI

Written by M. D. Schaffer

Directed by Courtney Campbell

Friday July 19 at 7pm & Sunday July 21 at 3pm

Goretti is a 90-minute play following the 10th anniversary of three friends, Kyle, Molly, and Benji, leaving the Catholic faith. However, when the new friend to the group, Sky, inquires about Kyle's paintings of Saint Maria Goretti, the secrets and trauma that lead to the group's departure are exposed in a new light, testing the strength of their relationships, and asking, "Is forgiveness possible?"

MEASURE THE LOT (FORMERLY OUT, OUT)

Written by Shelley Brooks

Directed by Matt Saltzberg

Friday July 19 at 7pm & Saturday July 20 at 9:30pm

In this ghost story lit entirely by flashlights, a newly blind man confronts his relationships with the women in his life and his own impulse for self-destruction.

LET THERE BE LIGHT

Written by Erin Proctor (she/her)

Directed by Rose Kortrey

Friday July 19 at 9:30pm & Sunday July 21 at 9:30pm

An infant deity bursts into existence and, with its birth, splits chaos in two, creating darkness and light. And they saw the light, and that it was good. Now they can see that there was much more work to be done.

GOOD ART FRIENDS PRESENTS: TRASH TRAWL

Performed & Created by Wanda Noonan & Hero Magnus

Friday July 19 at 9:30pm

While walking the riverbank in New Orleans, Wanda and Hero come upon Trash Mountain: heaping carcasses of each briefly famous and soon-to-be-scorned internet article ever devised. Do Wanda and Hero recycle the remnants and leave things better than they found them? Or, do they set it all on fire, in front of everyone, at The Tank?

For TrashFest, Good Art Friends presents Trash Trawl: a theatrical challenge to the boom-bust-discard-move-on cycle inherent to internet discourse. Join the duo for songs and prose, grunge and flair, excerpts from their musical, and questions like: “Could Wanda date a horse, if she really tried?”

GOOD ART FRIENDS is Gen Z musician Hero Magnus and millennial essayist Wanda Noonan. Wanda, a 2D animator turned writer, is a big-city lesbian often accused of extraversion – now on tour for her in-progress nonfiction essay collection. Hero is a princess and a bitch and also a bit sensitive and spent the past year recording her debut album in New Orleans and Brooklyn with the support of the Gordon Grand fellowship from Yale.

LOVE IN TIMES OF CRISIS

Written by Marjorie Conn and Joe Quattro

Saturday July 20 at 3pm

Emma and Carrie are finding a way through a romantic relationship. Historic events, like the new ruling on Roe vs. Wade and The Human Rights Campaign issuing a State of Emergency travel warning for those considering short or long-term travel to Florida, set the tone that underscores their struggles. Their love keeps them from overturning their apartment and keeps their lives moving forward.

PISS PRINCESS: A SHITTY MUSICAL FABLE

Directed by Annaleise Loxton

Book & Lyrics by Easton Michaels & AJ Smith

Composed by Jonathon Michael Osgood

Saturday July 20 at 3pm

When Princess Frankie of Sewer City is flushed away by The Evil Clog, she must rediscover who she truly is and find her path to destroy the evil plaguing her kingdom. Along the way she makes some new friends, learns what's truly important in life, and gets into some nasty shit! Follow along this unconventional musical adventure written by Easton Michaels, Jonathon Michael Osgood, and AJ Smith.

UNCOLLECTED TRASH COLLECTION

Written by Kate Kremer

Co-Directed by Kate Kremer & Jonathan Crimmins

Saturday July 20 at 7pm & Sunday July 21 at 9:30pm

uncollected trash collection draws on a 3-month record Kremer kept of everything she threw away, along with the refuse of earlier writing projects. It's a two-volume essay-in-dross about the relationship between art, trash, love, death, and transformation.

THE PRODIGAL SUN

Composed by Josh Brown

Libretto by Lauren D'Errico

Directed by Matthew Pezzulich

Sunday July 21 at 3pm

It's tough being the center of the universe, and SUN is tired of being the sun. When SUN chooses to quit the solar system in pursuit of greener pastures, their choice plunges the earth into impermeable darkness. Believing their unsatisfactory Sun Pageant, the cause of SUN's departure, a tiny farming community devoutly reproduces the pageant year after year, grappling with their guilt as they learn how to survive the impermeable darkness — and each other.

RACCOON PRINCESS

Written and Directed by Liza Jane Richey & Thalia Sablon

Sunday July 21 at 7pm

Step into a dystopian future where all artmaking is banned. Raccoon Princess follows the journey of Ava, a resourceful bartender who transforms trash from the bar into art in her secret sanctuary. Known as the Raccoon Princess for her ability to find beauty in what others see as trash, Ava's creations challenge an oppressive regime and inspire a rebellion.

Guided by visions of an enigmatic goddess, Ava navigates the dangerous line between destruction and creation. As she battles to protect her sanctuary, a chance encounter with an intruder forces her to confront the limits of her resolve and the power of her art.

Join us for an immersive, zero-waste performance that celebrates resilience, transformation, and the unyielding spirit of creativity. Raccoon Princess is a testament to the enduring power of art to inspire change, even if it's gone underground.

THE MUNCHIES: AN EVENING OF BITE-SIZE WEIRDNESS

Written by Martin Murry

Directed by Brennan Urbi

Sunday July 21 at 7pm & Saturday July 27 at 9:30pm

The Munchies: An Evening of Bite-Size Weirdness, a triple-feature of darkly comedic short plays, delves into the bizarre and the supernatural. First, in Menu Missile, witness a food delivery app's eerie corporate announcement that spirals into the uncanny. Next, Belinda is Psychic offers a hilariously odd cover letter from a clairvoyant medium applying for a retail job, blending the mundane with the otherworldly. Finally, Y2K Fever explores a father's apocalyptic preparations as the new millennium approaches, filled with paranoia and unsettling revelations. Each play serves a bite-size portion of weirdness, ensuring an unforgettable night of twisted humor and spine-chilling surprises.

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