The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Announces Programming for the Tenth Anniversary Edition of its Performance Festival PRELUDE, 10/2-4

PRELUDE allows the public to experience work-in-progress presentations, open rehearsals, and discussions by dozens of NYC's most exciting theater and performance artists, including: Taylor Mac, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Big Dance Theater, Big Art Group, Cesar Alvarez & Sarah Benson, Annie Baker, David Levine, Cynthia Hopkins, 600 HIGHWAYMEN, Jay Scheib & Co., Elastic City, PearlDamour, ANIMALS, Katherine Brook / Tele-Violet, Woodshed Collective, Daniel Fish, Andrew Ondrejcak, James Monaco & Jerome Ellis, and more.

From October 2 through 4, PRELUDE, the festival dedicated to artists at the forefront of contemporary New York City theater and performance, celebrates its 10th anniversary. Over 60 artists working in theatrical and interdisciplinary performance will convene at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at the Graduate Center, CUNY (MESTC) for PRELUDE.13, offering in-process presentations, open rehearsals, and discussions-all for free. Today (MESTC) revealed the complete lineup and schedule of events.

PRELUDE offers a unique opportunity to witness extraordinary artistic process-for audiences as well as industry insiders. PRELUDE.13, subtitled FORWARD, will be a place to discover the voices, ideas, and debates that are colliding to shape the future of contemporary theater and performance in NYC. In celebration of the festival's first decade, PRELUDE.13 will also recognize and reflect on the community of artists, audience, scholars, and other participants who have contributed to a decade of discourse. This year's curator, Caleb Hammons (Associate Producer, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College), in collaboration with Frank Hentschker (Executive Director, Martin E. Segal Theatre Center), invites audiences to join this community again or for the first time, to observe, engage, commune and critique.

Artists showcasing works in progress or open rehearsals include the Institute for Psychogeographic Adventure, Cesar Alvarez and Sarah Benson, Taylor Mac, Daniel Fish, Kippy Winston, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Jim Findlay, Kristine Haruna Lee, Aaron Landsman, United States Department of Arts and Culture, Woodshed Collective, Big Art Group, Andrew Ondrejcak, Elastic City (Featuring Todd Shalom and Niegel Smith), Big Dance Theater, ANIMALS, The Assembly, Andrew Schneider, Mallory Catlett, Pearl Damour, Katherine Brook / Tele-Violet, 600 HIGHWAYMEN, Cynthia Hopkins, Jerome Ellis and James Harrison Monaco, Jay Scheib & Co., Rebecca Patek and Chris Tyler.

Events will occur daily from 4pm - 9pm, organized by the following platforms:

• The Evolutionary Fixtures: featuring the work of theater and performance artists whose practices have contributed to and shaped the discourse and history of the past decade.

• The Deviant Charges: featuring the work of theater and performance artists who are forging the narrative of the next generation of practice.

• The Willing Participants: featuring the work of artists whose works engage the compounded spectator/participant in an amalgamation of liveness, participation, place, and the civic nature of performance.

There will be public discussions throughout the festival, with participants including David Levine, Frank Hentschker, Sarah Benson, Andy Horowitz, Geoffrey Jackson Scott, Morgan von Prelle Pecelli, Claire Bishop, Rob Marcato, Helen Shaw, and Caleb Hammons, Neigel Smith, Todd Shalom, Aaron Landsman, Adam Horowitz, Annie Baker, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Sibyl Kempson, Max Posner and Anne Washburn.

A special kick-off event will be held on Sunday, September 22, 2 - 6pm at The Invisible Dog Art Center in collaboration with The Brooklyn Commune. The Brooklyn Commune is a grassroots initiative organized by Culturebot.org and The Invisible Dog Art Center to educate, activate and unify performing artists of all disciplines to work together towards a more equitable, just and sustainable arts ecology in America. The event will include an open discussion featuring artists and thinkers leading a dialog about the intersection of aesthetics and economics in the performing arts.

The PRELUDE.13 Closing Night Party and 10th Anniversary Celebration will take place October 4, at 10pm at Littlefield Performance + Art Space in Gowanus, Brooklyn. In addition to performances by the Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble, Neal Medlyn (as Champagne Jerry) and Erin Markey, Paul Lazar (Big Dance Theater) will present Kate Valk (The Wooster Group) with the first annual FRANKY Award, named in honor of MESTC Executive Director Dr. Frank Hentschker and created by MESTC to recognize an artist who has made a long-term, extraordinary impact on contemporary theater and performance in New York City.

Most presentations will be held in the Elebash Hall and the Segal Theatre at CUNY Graduate Center, located at 365 Fifth Avenue (at 34th Street). The Invisible Dog Art Center (kick-off event) is located at 51 Bergen Street in Brooklyn. Littlefield Performance + Art Space (location of the Closing Night Party) is located at 622 Degraw Street in Brooklyn. Admission to all events is free, first come, first served. All programs are subject to change.

For the most up-to-date information, visit www.PRELUDEnyc.org.

600 HIGHWAYMEN Photo by Maria Baranova

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