Photo Flash: First Look At Peculiar Works Project's AFTERPARTY: THE ROTHKO STUDIO

The OBIE and New York Innovative Theatre Award-winning Peculiar Works Project, under the co-artistic direction of Ralph Lewis, Catherine Porter, and Barry Rowell, is pleased to announce Afterparty: The Rothko Studio, a site-specific immersive performance in and around the former studio of legendary painter Mark Rothko.

Built in 1884 for the YMCA as the Young Men's Institute, 222 Bowery is renowned for the many now-famous artists who lived, worked, and played in this landmarked gem. Afterparty will explore downtown artists, peeling back their stories to reveal multiple layers of NYC history before the former studio is converted into commercial space later this summer.

Lured by cheap rents and vast lofts, artists began populating the Bowery in the late 1950s. By 1965, there were over one hundred painters living along the Bowery, among them Cy Twom! bly, Robert Indiana, Al Loving, and Elizabeth Murray. While the lofts themselves remained the primary attraction, with each new artist's arrival, a second draw emerged: a growing artistic community. This unplanned, creative network impacted hundreds of artists, accelerating the exchange of ideas, generating systems for sharing resources, and staving off the isolation and self-doubt of a studio practice.

The building's former gymnasium is significant for having been Rothko's studio, where he painted the infamous "Seagram Murals" commissioned by The Four Seasons Restaurant in 1957.

Peculiar Works Project's creative team is designing an intimate, promenade journey through the historic architecture and artistic legacy of the building. Along the way, multi-disciplinary performances will reinterpret the legendary art parties attended by artworld luminaries-Jasper Johns, John Giorno, William S. Burroughs, Eve Hesse, Jonas Mek! as, Roy Lichtenstein, LeRoi Jones, Diane DiPrima, Sol LeWitt, Andy Warhol, and more-against the backdrop of Rothko's struggle between achieving success and selling out. Audiences and performers will sit around a table together in the paint-splattered space and experience a theatrical conjuring of artistic ghosts whose impact echoes till this day.

Afterparty: The Rothko Studio is directed by Ralph Lewis, choreographed by Rachel Cohen, composed by Maria Dessena, adapted by Barry Rowell, story by S.M. Dale, concept by Kim Depole & Catherine Porter, creative consultant Barbara Pitts McAdams. Produced by Peculiar Works Project.

The cast features Toby Billowitz, Glen Feinstein, Aidan Feldman, Jason Howard, Irina Kaplan, Nathan Keiller, Caiti Lattimer, Catherine Porter,Isabella Schiller, Despina Stamos, and Jenna Zhu.

The creative/production team includes lighting design by David Castaneda, costume design by Grace Martin, projection design by Jane Parisi, dramaturg Barbara Yoshida, stage management by Heather Olmstead, assistant stage manager Elliott Karliner.

Tickets are $25 (balcony standing includes a beverage), $50 (table seating includes lite fare), $20/$40 (seniors & students), $100 (VIP seating includes a themed gift), and are available at www.peculiarworks.org/afterparty_2019.php - Due to limited seating, advanced tickets are required. Running time: 75 minutes.

 

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