WELCOME TO CLOWNTOWN to be Presented at The Tank in April

The Tank will present an additional Core Production for their spring season. Welcome to Clowntown, written and performed by Tanya Perez (Honor & Fidelity) and directed by Lorca Peress (Temple of the Souls), will run April 21-May13, 2023 The Tank's 56 Seat Theater (312 West 36th Street). For tickets and more information, visit www.thetanknyc.org.

Picture this: the audience rolls into a seemingly delightful birthday party filled with bright colors and balloons. The sounds of children laughing with glee are heard as Pixie the Clown rolls onto center stage. With her sweet smile beaming, she pops a balloon with a hint of murderous rage: "Awwww, may it rest in pieces." This begins the rock 'n' roll ride through outlandish personal stories of working as a party clown in NYC and Hollywood.

Join Pixie the Clown/Tanya in Welcome to Clowntown, an adult immersive experience, as she spits stories (like the time she was run down by gang members) while playing fun party games that consenting audience members can participate in! This mad-capped adventure blends oral storytelling about a Latina just trying to make ends meet with Pixie the Clown's irascible inner monologues about how to change the world.

Welcome to Clowntown will feature lighting design by Katie Whittemore (A Burning Church), set design by Jennifer Varbalow (Mark Twain's Blues), and costume design by Lisa Renee Jordan (Lovesong Imperfect). Welcome to Clowntown is produced in partnership with Ryan Basham.

Tickets are available beginning at $25 at www.thetanknyc.org. The performance schedule for Welcome to Clowntown is Friday April 21 at 7pm, Saturday April 22 at 7pm, Sunday April 23 at 3pm, Thursday April 27 at 7pm, Saturday April 29 at 7pm, Sunday April 30 at 3pm, Thursday May 4 at 7pm, Saturday May 6 at 7pm, Sunday May 7 at 3pm, Thursday May 11 at 7pm, Friday May 12 at 7pm, and Saturday May 13 at 7pm.

Please note that this production is for 18+ audiences and includes sexual situations, potty mouth language, and clowns.

Welcome to Clowntown is a Tank Core Production. The Tank's Core Production series serves companies and solo artists as they create new works for performance. Core Productions are central to the mission of The Tank to give emerging artists resources to build their careers and artistic voices. These productions receive institutional support in the form of financial assistance, performance and rehearsal space, press, marketing and more, culminating in a world premiere production run. Alongside our Presented Works model, which provides free performance space and fifteen free hours of rehearsal and tech time, our Core Production series offers a way for emerging artists to fully realize their artistic vision in partnership with The Tank.

All attendees and artists of an in-person performance at The Tank NYC will be required to have two doses of an approved covid vaccination. Patrons will also be required to wear medical grade masks while indoors, unless eating or drinking.

ABOUT THE TANK

Founded in 2003, The Tank is an Obie Award-winning, multi-disciplinary non-profit arts presenter and producer, which provides a home to emerging artists working across all disciplines, including theater, comedy, dance, film, music, puppetry, and storytelling. Led by Artistic Director Meghan Finn, Managing Producer Molly FitzMaurice and Director of Artistic Development Johnny G. Lloyd, The Tank champions emerging artists engaged in the pursuit of new ideas and forms of expression. In doing so the company removes the economic barriers from the creation of new work for artists launching their careers and experimenting within their art form. From the company's home with two theaters on 36th Street, The Tank serves over 2,500 artists every year, presents over 1,000 performances, and welcomes 36,000 audience members annually. The company fully produces a curated season of 8-12 theatrical World or New York premieres each season.

Recent Tank-produced work includes The New York Times Critics' Picks Taxilandia by Flako Jimenez (2021), OPEN by Crystal Skillman, directed by Jessi D. Hill (2019); Red Emma & The Mad Monk by Alexis Roblan, directed by Katie Lindsay (2018); and The Offending Gesture by Mac Wellman, directed by Meghan Finn (2016), as well as Drama Desk Award-nominated productions The Hunger Artist (2018), The Paper Hat Game (2017), the ephemera trilogy (2017), Ada/Ava (2016) and youarenowhere (2016).

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

www.TheTankNYC.org

TANYA PEREZ

Born in NYC, and raised in the South, Tanya Perez is a performer, writer & filmmaker specializing in comedy. Perez has excelled as a creator on both stage and screen and her stand-out work has received many awards and mentions globally. She has appeared on several networks and streaming series like Paramount+'s "Evil," "Orange Is the New Black" & "Jessica Jones." Stage credits include performances at Laguna Playhouse, Seattle Rep, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and touring throughout Italy. Her first solo show, Honor & Fidelity, premiered to a sold-out audience at the Cherry Lane Theater for the Downtown Urban Arts Festival. Awards and Fellowships include an Audioverse Award nomination for her audio play, Rincon. Winner of the New Circle Theater's LB Williams Playwriting Award 2022. Her comedy film, Peep Show, was a finalist at the Women in Comedy HBO Insider Competition. With over 22 screenings around the world, her film, Veronica, won 'Best Actress' at Story Mode Shorts Festival, 'Best Screenplay' and 'Best Actress' at Outlanta Con, and 'Best Latinx Short' at IndieFest. She is a featured writer for The Light Ahead podcast, a Greenhouse Lab artist with The Orchard Project, and a spotlight artist with Conch Shell Productions. Proud member of AEA, SAG/AFTRA, and the Latinx Playwrights Circle. Forever a clown.

Lorca Peress

is a freelance theatre, opera and musical theatre director, and the Founder and Artistic Director of MultiStages in NYC. She is an advocate for women in theatre and an equity diversity activist. Peress is a Union member of SAG-AFTRA, AEA, and SDC; a member of The National Theatre Conference, Women in Arts and Media Coalition, NYWA (New York Women Agenda), and the League of Professional Theatre Women (past co-president 2011-14). She identifies as a multicultural woman with a Puerto Rican, Sephardic Iraqi and Polish background.

​

Peress has directed new works at Joe's Pub at The Public Theatre, The Acorn at Theatre Row, HERE, International NY Fringe Festival at the Soho Playhouse, Hudson Guild Theatre, Theatre for the New City, NJ Repertory, La MaMa, Repertorio Español, Urban Stages, and others. She directed a special music event for the Lincoln Bicentennial at Riverside Church with Ruby Dee and Sam Waterston, and a concert of the Aids Quilt Song Book at Cooper Union. She has directed university theatre for NYU Tisch, Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, and operas at Queens College for the Aaron Copland School of Music and Drama/Dance Depts. She has also directed three 24-hour plays for her alma mater, Bennington College for the Spencer Cox Memorial Fund and Nicolas Martin Scholarship Fund at the Signature Theatre, Lucille Lortel, and The Public Theatre. Recipient of a 2023 League of Professional Theatre Women Special Award for Meritorious Service to the theatre community and LPTW.

To post a comment, you must register and login.