Eight theatres – Intar Theatre, Atlantic Theater Company, SITI Company, New Dance Group Arts Center, Hip Hop Theater Festival, Desipina & Company, Alec Duffy, and Duende Arts – will offer a variety of innovative, dynamic and idiosyncratic presentations of weeks 26-33 of this year-long play cycle.
In November 2002 the Pulitzer prize-winning Suzan-Lori Parks sat down and committed to writing a play a day for the next 365 days. What emerged was a cycle called 365 Days/365 Plays. Over 600 theatres have joined a grassroots premiere of the plays in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Colorado, Greater Texas, Los Angeles, Minnesota, New York, The Northeast, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, The Southeast, Universities (365U), Washington D.C. and the Western U.S.
Spearheading the New York component of 365 Days/365 Plays, The Public has gathered together a diverse cross-section of New York City theatre companies to participate in this project. Sixty-five theaters — selected by The Public and the 365 Days/365 Plays National Festival — will perform these "brief, brilliant snapshots from the imagination of one of America's leading playwrights" in numerous locations throughout the city.
Each week one participating theatre will produce one week (seven plays) in the 365 Days/365 Plays cycle. Participants will produce their work in traditional theatre spaces or site-specific locations. They may be staged readings or fully produced — but "all will be in the spirit of celebrating the vibrancy of New York's theatre tradition with audiences and artists from every corner of the city."
Each month, participants will be invited to share their work at First Sundays, a free public performance series at The Public the first Sunday of every month that will showcase the previous month of the play cycle. For the month of July only, each week of the month's plays will be performed by up to five theatres in The July Festival, which will spotlight over 20 up-and-coming theatre companies and artists.
The next dates for 365 First Sundays Series at The Public are May 27 and July 1. Tickets are free and available by reservation at (212) 967-7555 or at The Public Theater box office.
For information on the 365 National Festival, visit www.365days365plays.com.
For the most up-to-date information on the upcoming weekly presentations, call the 365 NYC Hotline at 212-539-8760 or visit www.publictheater.org/365
Diverse Collaborations