Presented by East River Commedia and Collective: Unconscious, the annual festival of innovative downtown works runs July 7-26. The work of over 20 experimental companies will be offered in the event, which is curated by Paul Bargetto.
Fifteen mainstage productions and five new play readings will be presented from companies including East River Commedia, terraNOVA Collective, The South Wing, Dangerous Ground, Collective: Unconscious, Pinchbottom Burlesque, Blessed Unrest, Wax Factory & Eric Dean Scott, Coffee Cup (a theater co.), NU Classic Theater, Pace University’s Musical Theater Program, Columbia University School of the Arts, Nora Woolley & Christine Witmer, Thinking Persons Theater, Saviana Stanescu & playgroundzero, Hoi Polloi and Wolf 359.
A selection of undergroundzero festival titles follows:
Adapted by Eliza Bent from Hari Kunzru and directed by José Zayas
"What's the difference between a wise fool and crazy neighbour? Magda Mandela’s fellow citizens ponder this and more in an adaptation of award winning author Hari Kunzru’s free-wheeling exploration of human fellowship." (July 7-10)
Presented by Wax Factory
Written and performed by Eric Dean Scott
Directed and designed by Erika Latta
"Let's get lost. Downtown performer Eric Dean Scott follows a trail of dreams, poetry, jazz recollection, lost roads, New Orleans and the razor's edge…past shore, past time, past place….into bordertown." (July 7-10)
Presented by The South Wing Theater Company
Written by Yukio Mishima and directed by Kameron Steele
"A tale of passion that survives the grave, when nothing is left but an empty desire to possess and destroy." (July 8-12)
Presented by East River Commedia
Written by Emily Conbere and directed by Paul Bargetto
"The Jamal Lullabies is a musical tribute and lament to Jamal Slims Hall, a beloved gang member, a soft-spoken lover, and a beautiful tired out addict." (July 8-12)
Written and performed by Nora Woolley and Christine Witmer
"TV shopping hosts Kath and Cheryl Marissa hawk specialty products for divorced families. Go from denial to acceptance in three easy installments of $19.99." (July 11-12, 18-19)
Presented by Hoi Polloi
Written and directed by Alec Duffy
"Hoi Polloi Artistic Director Alec Duffy probes his father's lifelong obsession with Schubert's late masterwork, the 'Winterreise' song cycle." (July 14-19)
Presented by Wolf 359
Written and performed by Michael Yates Crowley
Directed by Michael Rau
"A teenage girl disappears in deepest suburbia, and a meeting of the Evanston Women’s Book Club ends in blood." (July14-17)
Presented by Pinchbottom Burlesque
"Step into the world of Pinchbottom’s Pretençión: un cirque de burlesque, un burlesque de cirque — but be careful not to trip on the magic." (July 15-19)
Presented by Blessed Unrest
Written by Laura Wickens and directed by Jessica Burr
"Blessed Unrest, 2008 Innovative Theatre Award winner for Outstanding Play, presents an electrifying, contemporary adaptation of Chekhov's Ivanov." (July 15-19)
Presented by Columbia University School of the Arts
Written by Moliere and directed by Anna Brenner
"An ensemble-created contemporary revisiting of Moliere’s classic social comedy told with austere passion and ecstatic frustration in music, movement, and verse." (July 16-19)
Presented by NU Classic Theater
Written by Jerzy Grotowski and directed by Niky Wolcz
"NU Classic Theater presents Apocalypsis Cum Figuris and The Constant Prince, to commemorate Grotowski and his actors work; with poetry, a state of crisis, a biomechanics etude, and intense physicality." (July 21-23)
Presented by terraNOVA Collective and Pace University
Book by Kyle Jarrow, music and lyrics by Kyle Jarrow and Nathan Leigh
"A new indie-rock musical from Kyle Jarrow and Nathan Leigh, the team behind Love Kills (NYMF), Big Money (Williamstown Theater Festival), and the rock band Super Mirage." (July 22-26)
Presented by Dangerous Ground
Conceived, designed and directed by Doris Mirescu
"3! is a multimedia experiment inspired by Fassbinder’s 1979 film 'The Third Generation.' Hybrid forms of performance subvert reality in an attempt to interrogate violence." (July 22-26)
Presented by Coffee Cup (a theatre co.)
Written by Delaney Britt Brewer and directed by Brad Krumholz
"Awakened without his memory on the subway, one man’s past is conjured by two seemingly innocuous passengers who begin to unravel with him." (July 23-26) Tickets are available by phoning (212) 352-3101 or by visiting PS122. PS 122 is located in Manhattan at 150 1st Avenue at East 9th Street.
For further information visit UGZ
