All the Indifferent Children of the Earth
One of the things I love about Eric Bland’s plays is their titles: Emancipatory Politics: A Romantic Tragedy; Jeanine’s Abortion: A Play in Three Trimesters; Death at Film Forum — all so provocative and challenging and tantalizing. So call me a slob, but I hadn’t realized that Eric had lifted the title of his newest piece from Hamlet:
Hamlet: My excellent good friends! How dost thou, / Guildenstern? Ah, Rosencrantz! Good lads, how do ye both?
Rosencrantz: As the indifferent children of the earth.
Guildenstern: Happy, in that we are not over-happy; / On fortune’s cap we are not the very button.
Shakespeare or no, the title is great, and absolutely right: All the Indifferent Children of the Earth is about four young people, about 30 years old, who have become aware, as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern finally do, of their non-essential-ness; who are not the very button on fortune’s cap and certainly not over-happy.
I have said before that Eric Bland is the theatrical voice of his generation and ATICOTE reinforces that notion. Here we have Sarah, Kat, Daniel, and Hollis–characters that share the same first names as the actors who play them (Sarah Dahlen, Kathleen Heverin, Daniel Piper Kublick, and Hollis Witherspoon)–contemplating and discussing the colliding spheres of their existence and trying to find something meaningful and fulfilling in either the explosions or the detritus. Big weighty subjects like politics and the global economy and the environment share space with trivial ones like Sex and the City and Microsoft Word, and underlying all is the business of daily survival in New York City in 2012, viewed on a spectrum running from vain hope to bleak dread.
Kat says:
Sometimes I just want to have a tattoo…and play the drums well enough in a rock-band…and design ear-rings, and occasionally work for my uncle, and have pleasant Christmases, and be Facebook friends with my family but not share all of my albums with them, and drink too much bourbon off and on again, and write blog-posts about whimsy, and eat vegan food with a lover from Argentina, and be sexually experiential but not dangerous, and visit an after-school program’s website, and donate money to Obama’s Kickstarter campaign, and stop someone from littering, and only waste water when putting on eye-liner, and contemplate sustainable fisheries, and read books by Miranda Sedaris, and have some alternative piercings I just got through removing, and not shout too loud about anything, and have a nice apartment with a view that is decent, and walk down the streets of London or New York or Paris, Berlin even, with a big broom and a white tank-top that reads, in bold lettering, “Go Home Scum,” and clean up the streets of my city, the streets that the scum of the earth have made filthy. They do not get us—we are quirky and sassy but we are not going to destroy…anything…violence is the last refuge, of the scumbag. We, we are like doctors, because we, our first rule is, and this is why you can invite us to dinner anywhere in the city, the Upper East Side or your penthouse in Tribeca, and lay out the nice china, because our first rule is: “Do no harm.” Which we have simplified into: “Do no thing.”
(This is as good a time as any to note clearly that All the Indifferent Children of the Earth is published on Indie Theater Now; please view what I’ve written here as a publisher’s commentary on a piece he’s proud of but not strictly speaking a review.)
ATICOTE is more movement-based and less word-bound than earlier works by Eric, something reflected in Daniel’s very first speech in the play (“I am starting to think that words are not beautiful, that they are not, cannot be, sublime.”) I’ m here to tell you that the words Eric gives all his characters are sublime–brilliant stage poetry–but the movement sequences and the musical backdrops add dimension and depth and that intangible emotive quality that words never quite capture the way that a more sensual thing–a sound, a smell, an image–can.
Kudos to the four excellent cast members who grace the current world premiere production at the Brick, and to Eric’s collaborators Morgan Anne Zipf (light design), Gavin Starr Kendall (technical guru), Asa Gauen (video), and Abernathy Bland (scultpture, arts, and illustration). Eric himself is responsible for the text and the direction and choreography.
All the Indifferent Children of the Earth is awesomely eloquent. It’s also much funnier than I’ve probably made it sound. I urge you to check it out live at the Brick and savor it by exploring the script of Indie Theater Now.
Info about the Brick production
All the Indifferent Children of the Earth on Indie Theater Now
Getting to Know Eddie Antar
Eddie Antar’s play The Navigator–in which an ordinary Joe discovers one day that the GPS device mounted on his car’s dashboard has started talking to him–has journeyed from a developmental production at WorkShop Theatre’s Jewel Box space in 2010 to a full production, running through March 4th, at WorkShop’s larger mainstage space. Actor/director Charles Gerber–one of WorkShop’s mainstays since the beginning and a guy who knows his way around the theatre–says that The Navigator is the most commercially viable project that WorkShop has ever come up with; he means it in a “good way,” he says, and I completely concur. Some off- (or on-) Broadway producer needs to see this show and give it the long run it deserves. Regional theaters need to know about it too.
Which is why it’s published on Indie Theater Now, so that folks can learn more about it and peruse it.
And it’s also why I wanted to get to know the playwright a little better…and share what I learned with all of you. So here’s a quick but informative mini-interview that I did with Eddie a few days ago.
Q. THE NAVIGATOR is the first of your plays that I’ve seen, but I know you’ve been writing for a while. How did you become a playwright in the first place?
A. When I was a kid and people would tell me how they told someone off (“I told him to kiss my ass!”), I always wanted to know what the other guy said back. “Well, he said something stupid like ‘Oh yeah!’” I would follow that with “And what did you say back?” I was always more interested in the interaction and the dialogue than championing my friend’s cause. Playwriting is dialogue driven. It’s about telling a story through “What did he say” and “What did she say back.” Very Jewish (or Italian, or Latino…). Specifically, in 2000, I told a mom at my son’s school bus stop about a children’s story that would make a great play. She said “Why don’t you write it?” I did. I’ve been writing since.
Q. Did you study theater and/or writing in college? Who were your teachers/mentors? And who taught you how to write plays: I’m curious as to who has influenced you as an artist?
A. My first “real” acting teacher was Gene Frankel. He was stickler for truth on stage. He used to ask the question “Where is the effort?” Once I had kids and realized I was never going to give that Tony Award speech for best actor in a lead role, I carried that maniacal obsession with “truth in the moment” that I learned from Gene into writing plays. I had no writing teacher… other than Woody Allen, David Mamet, Larry David and Neil Simon. These guys really understand that humor is ALWAYS, ALWAYS a matter of circumstance, not just punch lines. They understand that a pinch of “um…” can simulate life in way that makes a watcher believe that something real is going on.
Q. THE NAVIGATOR had a successful, award-winning run at the WorkShop in 2010 and is now back as their mainstage show. Are there differences between the 2010 production and this one?
A. The script is pretty much the same. Some references where changed to fit the times. But the biggest change is what my director, Leslie Kincaid Burby, and her design team brought to the larger space.
Q. What was your reaction when you learned you had been nominated for the NYIT Award for full-length script for THE NAVIGATOR?
A. We had a $300 budget for the original production. There was no press. Kelly Anne Burns (the actress in the title role), in a WTF moment, decided to register us with the New York Innovative Theatre Awards. We weren’t sure anyone had even showed up. Then, sometime in July I get a call from a screaming WorkShop staff member telling me we were nominated. It was pretty awesome.
Q. In the WorkShop production, the title role of the GPS device is played (brilliantly!) by Kelly Anne Burns. Would you ever consider casting an actual computer/GPS/device in the title role of this play, rather than a human actor?
A. No. Some people have talked about The Navigator as a film. Even in film I would want the Navigator to be an actual person. It’s important because it depicts how we develop real relationships with our gadgets.
Q. What have audiences told you they’ve learned or reflected upon after seeing THE NAVIGATOR? What did you learn about man vs machine during the creation process?
A. I’ve heard from many about their hour-long conversations on the pros and cons of always having the answers available. In the film Inherit the Wind, the character of Henry Drummond says “Mister, you may conquer the air but the birds will lose their wonder and the clouds will smell of gasoline.” He’s pro science and technology but I believe he’s asking us to just ask the question: Do we lose anything? Do we lose something by not having to add or spell or research at the library or keep an eye out for highway signs or use a paintbrush… My day job is as a database programmer, so I’m obviously not anti-technology. I just think that the question needs to be asked. And maybe use a pencil every once in a while.
Talking with Matthew Ethan Davis: Here Comes the Night
On Tuesday, February 28, I’ll be moderating a talkback with playwright Matthew Ethan Davis following a staged reading of his play Here Comes the Night. (Details here, at Facebook.)
Here Comes the Night is a one-man comedy based on Matthew’s own experiences, as an adult, with sleepwalking. I’m looking forward to seeing the play for the first time (it will be performed by Nick Neglia)–and I’m looking forward to chatting afterward with Matthew and audience members about the work.
To whet everybody’s appetite, here’s a brief cyber-conversation between Matthew and myself.
Martin: Matthew, one of the reasons you wrote Here Comes the Night is because you want to bring attention to sleepwalking in the popular culture. I can’t think of a single play or movie that deals with this subject (except maybe as a plot detail). Are there any?
Matthew: There was a play, Come Sleepwalk With Me, but I have never seen another one.
Martin: Why do you think sleepwalking and, more broadly, sleep disorders, are not part of any cultural conversation?
Matthew: I have no idea why sleep disorders, especially sleepwalking, is so rarely talked about. The only thing I can think of is it must be shame, shame of being different, and maybe fear of being the only one. The first three years I was going through this, I had a nervous breakdown. It was like life turned completely upside down, and the constant knowledge that, once I fell asleep, I turned into someone I didn’t know, someone violent, terrified me. It turned my whole conception of Reality inversely on itself. It’s one of the reasons I love theatre of the Absurd so much. Life just didn’t make any sense to me. It still doesn’t.
However, I was, am, lucky, blessed, because even though I had fallen off the planet of sanity, I live with the most beautiful man, who I adore with all my heart and he feels the same for me. It is a love that has healed me, that has inspired me, for the last twenty-two years, and eventually he filled even my darkest moments, full of light. I have also, recently, started to make some friends, some extremely special friends, who are also changing my life.
Martin: Here Comes the Night is autobiographical, but you are not choosing to perform it yourself. Why is that?
Matthew: Well, originally I wrote it just to make myself laugh. I wondered one day why everyone I talked to, I would make laugh, except myself. I had lost my sense of humor about myself. Dangerous! So, I wrote the play as it was happening to me and, because I’m very funny on paper, events that used to traumatize me, started to make me laugh. I thought it would be a very healing experience for me to perform it myself and experience the laughter and identification directly, especially after the years of such complete alienation. However, the playwright in me took over, and I realized that, for now, I needed to be able to sit back and craft the script itself, instead of worrying about acting it. Also, I really love collaborating with a director and actors. I still want to perform it myself someday.
Martin: How did you come to be a playwright in the first place?
Matthew: When I was in elementary school, one Jewish, Christmas morning, there was a light blue typewriter under the tree for me. I didn’t know what it was for. However, I ran up to my room and wrote a play about a couple, like my parents, on the verge of divorce, using their names, to implicate the guilty. They loved it and then my elementary school had me start performing it myself for classes all over the school. Anyway, I really wanted to be an actor, but I kept writing plays, and smoking inordinate amounts of pot, 24/7, and the two went hand in hand. Then one day, a friend asked me if I had a one-act play he could perform for his theatre company. I told him I had something ridiculous but he was welcome to use it. The next thing I knew, the company produced it as a full production, as the opener for an Arthur Miller play, which was kind of like being the opening act for Elvis. It got all kinds of wonderful reviews and I thought, “Wow, if I become a playwright instead of an actor, I can drink and drug day and night,” and that was that. When I got sober, obviously, my writing became a lot more coherent.
Martin: I feel like these past couple of years have been a kind of rebirth for you as a practicing playwright here in NYC – so much interesting activity after a quieter period. What has brought about this renewed energy on your part?
Matthew: Adyana De La Torre changed my life. I was in a theatre group “Oasis” created by Albert Insinia, that I joined so it would look like I was socializing, but really sit in the back and not talk to anyone. To my horror, Albert made me Playwright In Residence. You gave me a stunning review for Oasis’s production of 9 of my one-act plays, called Pieces of a Playwright.
Ady was one of the members of the group and I fell in gay love with her. When the group broke up, she created a theatre group, Ticket 2 Eternity Productions, based on my play Ticket 2 Eternity, making me the Playwright In Residence. She dragged me into it kicking and screaming. All I wanted to do was suffer. But she insisted. And then I started writing plays for the company members, because I love writing specifically for people, and all these plays started pouring out of me. They’ve produced 18 plays of mine at this point.
Shannon Lower, another member of the original group, and who was my ring bearer when I married Michael, joined our group and is now directing Here Comes the Night, staring Nick Neglia. Other company members, like Brendan Whalers and Jay Rivera, have turned into cherished friends, and their belief in me changed me. This magical group of people are the ones bringing this play to life, and my Mission to bring this play to people everywhere, bringing this hidden disorder out in the open. Let the healing begin.
*****
I hope lots of folks reading this will check out info about Here Comes the Night on Indie Theater Now, and also come to the reading on Feb 28!
Nosedive’s Apocalypse Gala: Major Indie Theater Now Playwright Confab
We’re excited about Nosedive Productions annual gala, which is being held on March 14 at the Kraine Theater. This “Apocalypse Gala” features host Bastard Keith, burlesque, comedy, poetry, plus four short new plays, three of them written by ITN playwrights. Yep, you get to pal around with ITN playwright James Comtois (The Adventures of Nervous-Boy) AND see new short work by August Schulenburg (Dream Walker, Riding the Bull, Other Bodies), Mac Rogers (Hail Satan) and Qui Nguyen (Vampire Cowboy Trilogy).
Last year, I was actually one of the guest actors in Gus Schulenburg’s play at the Nosedive Gala. Who knows what will happen this year…
Here’s the complete details, from James:
Nosedive Productions Presents
NOSEDIVE’S APOCALYPSE GALA
The End of the World Starts Here
Wednesday, March 14th @8pm
At the Kraine Theater
The Mayans have predicted that the world will end December of this year. We here at Nosedive Productions figure: why not bring about the apocalypse ahead of schedule?
On Wednesday, March 14, Nosedive Productions will be partying and performing like there’s no tomorrow at the Kraine Theater.
So get some front-row seats to the carnage!
Tickets are $20 at the door. Proceeds go towards financing our 12th season, including the remounting of our maiden play that started it all, Monkeys.
NOSEDIVE’S APOCALYPSE GALA
Hosted by Bastard Keith
Featuring New Short Works By
Jeff Lewonczyk
Qui Nguyen
Mac Rogers
August Schulenburg
Comedy by New Hampshire’s Own
Adam Wade
The Epic Poetry from the Inimitable
Brian Silliman
Burlesque by the Ravishing
Mme. Renee Rosebud
And (as all the kids are saying these days) MORE!
Wednesday, March 14th
At the Kraine Theater
8pm!
85 East 4th Street in NYC
(Between Second Avenue and Bowery)
6 train to Bleeker Street; or F train to Second Avenue
Doors at 7:30, Show at 8
$20
Fabulous Darshan Industry Reading on February 27
Fabulous Darshan, Bob Stewart’s wise and wonderful play about the relationship between a middle-aged man who has been appearing in a long-running Broadway show for a very long time and a much younger just-arrived-in-NYC actor, is receiving a pair of industry readings on February 27th.
Fabulous Darshan is part of Indie Theater Now’s Best of 2011 Collection, and indeed ranks among the very finest productions I saw last year. Go here to learn more about it (my review can be found at that link, along with info about the show, playwright Bob Stewart, and an excerpt from the script). I am excited that Bob and his collaborators (including Mike Roderick of Small Pond Entertainment) are working hard to bring extended life to this excellent work.
There are some spaces available at the reading on February 27 at 3pm. It’s being held in Chelsea. Contact Bob at thefabulousdarshanshow@gmail.com to reserve a slot if you’d be interested in attending.
The original cast from the WorkShop Theatre production I saw will all be there — Tim Cain, Evan Bernardin, Spencer Scott Barros, and Mike Smith Rivera. I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll have a great time. And–fingers crossed!–maybe you’ll be able to say you were there when Fabulous Darshan started its leap to the success it deserves (off Broadway, or on Broadway, or in regional theaters all over the place)!
Eddie Antar’s THE NAVIGATOR: Now Playing at WorkShop Theatre
WorkShop Theatre Company–rapidly becoming one of NYC’s premiere development spots for new indie plays–is presenting a full production of Eddie Antar’s delightful play The Navigator through March 3. All sorts of punning catchphrases suggest themselves, like “Find your way to The Navigator!” or “Set your compass for The Navigator“–all true, but maybe just a bit corny. I’ll leave the humor to Eddie, and instead just give you some info about why I like this play so much that I published it on Indie Theater Now–and recommend wholeheartedly that you take advantage of the opportunity to see it for $18 at the WorkShop (before, as one hopes, it gets picked up for an off-Broadway or Broadway run).
The play takes place almost completely in a car–one that belongs to a guy named Dave, our protagonist, who never leaves the stage for the entire 85 minute running time. Dave is a regular guy, with a wife and kids and a house that he, at the moment, can barely afford–because like too many others these days, Dave is unemployed; has been for a long time. So one day, driving in his car back home from a job interview, down-and-almost-out Dave has a surprising experience: his navigator–the GPS on his dashboard–starts telling him what to do. Not just “turn left at intersection” but really making decisions: Buy such-and-such a stock. Have chicken instead of fish for dinner. Say “I love you” to your wife.
The thing is, the Navigator, is never wrong. And so before long, Dave finds his circumstances completely turned around, if also entirely topsy-turvy. What the Navigator ultimately teaches Dave, and whether Dave regains control of his chaotic life, I leave for you to discover, either by seeing the play or reading it on Indie Theater Now (or both!)
If seeing it is an option, then your really ought to. Because as smart and funny as Eddie’s script is on the page/screen, the excellent production at WorkShop really brings it to life. The director, Leslie Kincaid Burby (who won a NYIT Award for her staging last year; The Navigator had its first production in 2010), does a splendid job keeping the play moving speedily and surprisingly, neatly balancing the outsized humor and the serious insights and ideas that give the piece real heft. Joseph Franchini plays Dave with great verve and compassion, delivering a performance that’s funny and human. Nicole Taylor plays Dave’s put-upon wife Lilly (and a travel agant in a fun cameo) and Michael Gnat has three roles as Dave’s broker, bookie, and possible new boss. Both do exemplary work. Perhaps most impressive of all, though, is Kelly Anne Burns, who plays the title character, an omniscient if not entirely beneficent electronic device that (who?) is at once relentless and perfect and absolutely maddening. Burns gets the eerie AI-style voice exactly right, but it’s her physicality–hyper-limited and hyper-detailed–that really turns this inanimate object into a worthy co-star for our hero Dave. The tiniest movements of her eyes, her neck, and her face resonate eloquently, and often hilariously.
Burby’s design team is superlative too, especially sound designer Quentin Chiappetta/mediaNoise, who provides all the needed beeps and buzzes and other assorted noises that signify our mobile, connected age. They get right to the heart of Eddie Antar’s message in The Navigator, which he explains in this excerpt from his author’s note for the play:
We live in a world where much of what we need to know is a click away. And I think that we need to at least explore how that may be changing us. I’m not saying technology is bad. I’m just asking the question: Do we lose anything when we no longer have to add or figure out the tip or worry about spelling and grammar or conduct research at the library or keep a close eye on road signs or use a paint brush or a pencil?
The Navigator is as timely as it is entertaining. It deserves a long and successful life beyond this WorkShop run, which is one of the reasons I am proud to have it on Indie Theater Now, where folks from all over the USA and the world can learn more about it and sample it.
The Navigator on nytheatre.com
The Navigator on Indie Theater Now
Eddie Antar on Indie Theater Now
Indie Theater Now LIVE: Talkback at John Clancy’s PIANO STORE PLAYS
On Sunday, January 29, I will be hosting a talkback and discussion following a performance of The Piano Store Plays at Barrow Street Theatre. The show begins at 5pm and the talkback will commence right afterward, at about 6:15pm.
I’ll be chatting with playwright John Clancy and his collaborator/co-star Nancy Walsh, as well as some possible additional surprise guests. We’ll be talking about The Piano Store Plays, which is a compendium of three one-act plays that John wrote in the early ’90s, pre-Present Company, pre-New York International Fringe Festival; seminal work, this.
AND we’ll be talking about Indie Theater Now, where The Piano Store Plays will be published in the very near future, joining three other John Clancy plays (The Event, Captain Overlord’s Folly, and Notice of Default and Opportunity to Cure).
AND we’ll be giving folks their very first taste of a new project that John and I are developing called Indie Theater Now 101.
Admission to the play–which features John in his first NYC stage appearance in more than a decade, along with Nancy and fine actor Kevin Pariseau–is just 15 bucks. See the show and stay for the talkback. An informal meet-and-greet will follow the discussion. Get more info and tickets here.
Find out more about John Clancy on Indie Theater Now.
And P.S.: Barrow Street Theatre is also hosting, as part of their Fortnight 0.5 series, appearances by two other Indie Theater Now playwrights! These are all great shows, I highly recommend them.
On Monday, January 23, Jeffrey Sweet will perform his wonderful solo show You Only Shoot the Ones You Love at 8pm. Get info and tickets here and learn more about the play on Indie Theater Now.
On Tuesday, January 24, Martin Dockery will perform his wonderful solo show The Bike Trip at 8pm. Get info and tickets here. Martin’s play Oh, That Wily Snake! comes to Indie Theater Now very soon!
United Solo Collection on Indie Theater Now
Today I am pleased to announce the official launch of the newest play collection on Indie Theater Now — the United Solo Collection. Curated by United Solo Theatre Festival artistic director Omar Sangare, this collection features outstanding and award-winning work from this annual festival that spotlights solo performance from all over the world.
Here’s yours truly with Omar at the 2011 United Solo awards program; I’m about to present the award for Best Script to Hal Ackerman for his play Prick (which is one of the 14 plays included in the United Solo Collection launch on Indie Theater Now).
Martin Denton and Omar Sangare
And here are some thoughts from Omar about United Solo and Indie Theater Now:
The United Solo Theatre Festival has been established with a mission of searching for solo shows that could inspire a broad community of theatre enthusiasts. Based in New York City, the festival offers a worldwide selection of performances that targets local audiences. Today, we can reach even further by presenting our collection of solo plays available on Indie Theater Now. These plays have been chosen from over a hundred productions presented during our most recent two seasons at Theatre ROW on 42nd Street.
The festival has featured solo artists from four continents, representing eleven US states as well as Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, Botswana, Canada, Ireland, Israel, The Netherlands, Poland, and Serbia. In shows with a variety of themes, our playwrights explored cultural values, racial issues, and political matters, as well as topics related to sexual identity, immigration, health, family, women’s interests, and spiritual adventures. Through the form of the one-person show we have the opportunity to focus on the importance of an individual human being. As we explore each solo show, we may take a pause to reflect upon the life of each character, in order to discover our own uniqueness. Such reflection brings us closer as we develop our awareness and inspire our empathy.
Each year, from openly solicited submissions, we stage solo shows that fall into a vast range of categories, from drama, storytelling, and multimedia shows to stand-up, magic, improv, and dance. Established as the world’s largest solo theatre festival, United Solo embraces theatre creators and their stories, diverse in content and style. This diversity unites us at the festival. Submission is open in spring, and selected participants are announced in summer each year. Visit our website at www.unitedsolo.org to find more about our initiatives.
Watch for additional United Solo shows, coming to the Collection soon!
Indie Theater Now on TDF Stages
Mark Blankenship, the online content editor for TDF, has written a nice piece about e-plays that features Indie Theater Now for TDF Stages:
http://wp.tdf.org/index.php/2011/12/plays-finally-become-ebooks/
It also talks about the recent initiative by Samuel French to move some of their plays to the Apple iBookstore.
New York Innovative Theatre Awards Collection, by Shay Gines
Today, guest blogger Shay Gines, of the New York Innovative Theater Foundation, writes about her organization and why they’re working with us to create a play collection on Indie Theater Now.
The Innovative Theatre Foundation was founded in 2004 to help bring recognition to the amazing work that is happening in New York City’s independent theatre, to honor its artistic heritage, and to provide a meeting ground for the extensive Off-Off-Broadway (OOB) community.
The OOB community formed during the 1950s when artists performing outside of the mainstream found artistic homes in tiny performance venues like the Caffé Cino or the Café LaMaMa. Pioneers of this arts movement such as Ellen Stewart, Lanford Wilson, Maria Irene Fornes, Judith Malina, Doric Wilson, Edward Albee, Bob Heide, Marshall Mason, Tom O’Horgan and so many others created a canon of work that broke barriers and expectations and challenged traditional ideals not only about theatre but about politics and civil rights and the human condition. These artists infused the burgeoning alternative theatre community with a tenacious and enthusiastic spirit that is still a hallmark of the community today.
What started as a tiny underground theatre movement has now grown to be one of the largest arts communities in the world. Each year OOB produces an estimated 1,800 productions that includes everything from Shakespeare to world premieres from new or established playwrights, troupes from around the world, to groundbreaking avant-garde theatre, revived American classics and new musicals. They all have a place in the OOB arena. From 30-seat black box solo performances to huge outdoor amphitheatres presenting Gilbert and Sullivan; from one-night readings to productions that have been running for years, OOB provides a home for them all.
While OOB is a hotbed of creative energy and a cornerstone of the theatrical scene in NYC, it is often overlooked when it comes to funding, media attention and audience members. The Innovative Theatre Foundation endeavors to help shine a light on the activities of this community and the unique and essential role it plays in contributing to American and global culture.
Each year the foundation presents the New York Innovative Theatre Awards which recognizes some of the most outstanding work of the season and provides national media opportunities for many of the artists and companies being recognized. Additionally the foundation participates in community board meetings, town hall discussions and work groups where the needs of the community are being addressed. The foundation conducts research and reporting projects that provide important statistics about the community and supports advocacy efforts. It is a founding member of the World Theatre Day NYC Coalition, curates a popular community based blog and organizes several events during the Indie Theatre Week celebrations each year.
The New York Innovative Theatre Awards Collection at Indie Theatre Now is such a great way to help promote the current generation of OOB artists and some of the amazing playwrights currently working OOB. We are honored to be included in this important resource.
