Zora Howard and Bill T. Jones to Join in Conversation at Benefit Performance of HANG TIME at The Flea

Tickets are on sale now to support The Flea's mission and get exclusive access to a cocktail reception, special benefit performance, and an intimate conversation between playwright and director of HANG TIME, Pulitzer-Prize Finalist Zora Howard and National Arts Award and Tony Award Winner Bill T. Jones on Thursday, March 23, 2023.

The Flea's Benefit Performance of HANG TIME is generously co-sponsored by CJAM Consulting.

The evening will begin with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at 7:00pm, followed by a performance of HANG TIME at 8:00pm, and concluding with an intimate conversation at 9:15pm.

March 23rd will be a singular Flea moment where attendees will connect in community, witness the incredible artistry of the world-premiere production HANG TIME and get up close and intimate with two of our culture's most significant creators as they discuss HANG TIME, portraits of Black life, and experimental performance.

To share in this festive occasion and support The Flea in their mission to invest in experimental art by Black, brown, and queer artists, click here to purchase tickets now.

HANG TIME is the new play written and directed by Pulitzer Prize finalist Zora Howard. The strictly limited engagement, which marks Ms. Howard's directorial debut, will begin performances at The Flea (20 Thomas Street) on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, and run through Monday, April 3.

In line with The Flea's radical new operating model, HANG TIME has been developed in partnership with Zora Howard as co-producer on all elements of her production, including budget partnership. HANG TIME is also produced in partnership with WACO (Where Art Can Occur) Theater Center in Los Angeles, where its 2024 West Coast premiere will take place.

Three men chew the fat under an old, wide tree. In HANG TIME, we peek into the interiority - the great loves and bitter blues - of Black men in America. Setting the romantic and the macabre in sharp relief, HANG TIME invites the viewer to envisage the living Black body triumphant over the legacy of violence that it holds.

The Flea was refounded in 2021 with the mission to support and invest in experimental art by Black, brown, and queer artists. The Flea provides space, financial support, producing partnership and other resources so that they may develop and share their vision in community with audiences.

BIOGRAPHIES

Zora Howard

(Playwright, Director, Producer of HANG TIME) is a Harlem-bred writer and performer. Plays include STEW (2021 Pulitzer Prize Finalist; P73), THE MASTER'S TOOLS (WTF), BUST (2022 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalist), HANG TIME (2022 Creative Capital Award Finalist) and GOOD FAITH. In 2020, her film Premature (2020 Film Independent John Cassavetes Award nominee), which she co-wrote with director Rashaad Ernesto Green, opened in theaters following its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Zora is the inaugural Judith Champion Fellow at MTC, a 2022 Lilly Award, and Helen Merrill Award recipient and is currently under commission from Seattle Rep, MTC, and Wessex Grove.

Bill T. Jones

(Artistic Director of New York Live Arts) was the Associate Artist of the 2020 Holland Festival and recipient of the 2014 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award; the 2013 National Medal of Arts; the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors; a 2010 Tony Award for Best Choreography; a 2007 Tony Award, among many other awards and recognitions. In 2010, Mr. Jones was recognized as Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, and in 2000, The Dance Heritage Coalition named Mr. Jones "An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure." Mr. Jones choreographed and performed worldwide with his late partner, Arnie Zane, before forming the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in 1982. He has created more than 140 works for his company. Mr. Jones is the Artistic Director of New York Live Arts.

The Flea Theater

is a prolific NYC-based company founded in 1996 by three downtown artists. In 2021, The Flea refounded itself with a new mission and core values through collaborative efforts with CJAM. Its new operational model exemplifies our investment in artists and social equity and embraces our experimental, downtown NYC artistic heritage. Its work with CJAM included a restorative partnership design process with 13 of The Flea's former resident artists; DEI training for our Board of Directors, Executive Leadership and Board development; and a visioning process that helped to collaboratively design The Flea's new organizational model and mission. The Flea's new mission is: To invest in experimental art by Black, Brown, and queer folks. It provide space, financial support and producing partnership so that they may develop and share their vision in community with audiences. The Flea is committed to programs and operations that are Human centered; Anti-Racist & Anti-oppressive; Collaborative; Innovative; Sustainable; and Transparent. The Flea has produced more than 160 world premieres in its 25-year history, earning many awards including two Obies and a Special Drama Desk. Previous Flea productions that have become part of the theatrical canon include Ellen McLaughlin's The Trojan Women, Will Eno's Oh, the Humanity, Thomas Bradshaw's Fulfillment, Edward Iskandar's The Mysteries and NSangou Njikam's Syncing Ink.

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