Citing issues with their Church Street home – including plumbing difficulties that have made much of Collective: Unconscious' backstage storage area and lower levels unusable – the company will not renew its lease when it expires on July 31.
There are currently no plans to relocate the experimental company founded in 1995 that has served as an incubator and launching pad for emerging artists in New York City.
Due to the inability to utilize much of the Church Street location, Collective: Unconscious is relocating many of its UndergroundZero Festival productions to performance spaces around Manhattan, including the Flea and Manhattan Children's Theatre, as well as Grace Bar & Restaurant.
The UndergroundZero Festival gets underway July 8 and will continue through Aug. 2. Curated by Paul Bargetto, the festival is designed to feature successful works that, rather than being limited to brief runs, could be incorporated into a rotating repertory company, thus extending their theatrical lives and exposing them to a broader audience.
A selection of UndergroundZero Festival titles follows:
Live performance documentary.
Written by Don Nigro; directed and performed by John Clancy and Nancy Walsh.
Written by Saviana Stanescu; directed by Vasile Nedelcu and featuring Erika Blaxland-de Lange.
Written by James Carter; directed by David Anzuelo and featuring Jennifer Conley Darling.
Written and directed by John Clancy; performed by Matt Oberg.
Created by Performance Lab 115.
Featuring Nasty Canasta, Jonny Porkpie, Amber Ray, Anita Cookie, Bastard Keith, Clams Casino, Dirty Martini, Doctor Lukki, Naughtia Nice, Pookie Patootie, Scott Rayow and Tigger.
Featuring Daniel Irizarry.
Written by Steven Gaultney; directed by Onur Karaoglu and featuring Meera Kumbhani and Jason Martin.
Written and directed by Freddi Price.
Presented by Kendall Cornell.
Conceived, written, directed and performed by Eric Dean Scott. All tickets for plays are $15 (except CVR, which is $25). For tickets and detailed scheduling information phone (212) 352-3101. Schedule and online ticketing are available at www.weird.org
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The Mission of Collective: Unconscious is to foster an inclusive, creative community in Lower Manhattan. Founded in 1995 by a group of multi-disciplined artists, Collective:Unconscious was conceived both to perform unique experimental theatre and to administer a space that would serve as a community resource and laboratory for the performing arts.
