Under the Radar 2018 Festival Book

JANUARY 4–15, 2018 undertheradarfestival.com | @publictheaterNY | #UTR18

WELCOME

TO THE 14th EDITION OF UNDER THE RADAR!

The Public Theater has always been a center of downtown theater, fusing the experiments of artists like Mabou Mines and Richard Foreman with adventurous productions of Shakespeare and the most gifted playwrights of our time.

The Public’s Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis, and I both grew up with Joe Papp’s theater. Joe’s vision shaped our ideas of what a theater could be. Now Under the Radar is a core program of The Public Theater. It’s an honor to work with Oskar and to add the voices of the Under the Radar artists to this institution’s inclusive embrace of theater.

Theater, whether it is a classic or an Avant-Garde experiment, is always about the present. It’s all about “the room where it happens”—to quote a famous musical. As an audience we bring ourselves to the theater.

The artists in the festival are bringing their hearts and souls this January. Some of the productions are world premieres, and most are being seen for the first time in New York. There are chances to see works-in-process, a peek at the future, and rare opportunities to see work from Canada, China, Cuba, Japan, Poland, Slovenia and the U.K..

harunalee, MEMORY RETROGRADE. Photo by Sasha Aleksandra Arutyunova.

Under the Radar celebrates theater from the margins. Emerging voices or visions stubbornly on the outside of society. Telling us what they see. Bringing history to new light. Talking to us about where we are today through the lens of the past or pulling us into the now. There is a rich trove of stories embedded in these performances. I can’t wait to see what they have to say to each other as separate voices in a festival, and what they will say as a chorus of songs and stories. I also especially want to hear what you will take away from this celebration.

I look forward to seeing you in the lobby or the Library bar during the Under the Radar Festival 2018.

See you soon!

MARK RUSSELL, Director of the Under the Radar Festival 1

Andrew Schneider, AFTER. Photo by Maria Baranova-Suzuki.

Dear Friends, One of the very first decisions I made when I came to The Public in 2005 was to invite Under the Radar, and Mark Russell, to make a home under our roof.

I’ve made some decisions then that have brought in more money (several, in fact), but I’ve never made a better artistic or programmatic decision.

Every year, Under the Radar helps to renew The Public as it helps to renew the field. Every year, we are exposed to artists we have never heard of, and other artists who are breaking new ground in their long-standing work. At a time when there is a violent global impusle to close borders, Under the Radar insists on kicking down doors, demolishing boundaries, and celebrating the international community of artists. Artists famously don’t respect boundaries, and neither does Under the Radar.

Under the Radar, undeniably, makes The Public a better place.

We are glad you are here and we hope that this festival is as rewarding for you as it is for all of us.

OSKAR EUSTIS, Artistic Director of The Public Theater

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Dickie Beau, RE-MEMBER ME. Photo by Robin Harris.

TABLE OF

CONTENTS 9 Andrew Schneider 11 Janek Turkowski 13 Dickie Beau 15 Adam Gopnik 17 Jessica Blank & Erik Jensen 19 Théâtre Du Rêve Expérimental & Wang Chong 21 Toshi Reagon & Bernice Johnson Reagon 23 Teatro El Público 25 Ayesha Jordan & Charlotte Brathwaite 27 David Cale 29 Roger Guenveur Smith & CalArts Center for New Performance 31 Nature Theater of Oklahoma & EnKnapGroup 33 Motus 35 Split Britches 37 Satoshi Miyagi

42 Nona Hendryx 44 Erin Markey 46 Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes 48 Martha Graham Cracker 50 Choir! Choir! Choir!

56 INCOMING! George & Co. 57 INCOMING! harunalee 58 INCOMING! Modesto Flako Jimenez 59 INCOMING! Annie Saunders with Becca Wolff 60 INCOMING! Kareem M. Lucas 61 INCOMING! Peter Mills Weiss & Julia Mounsey 65 Events 67 Symposium 69 About 70 Ticket Info 72 Schedule

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Teatro El Público, ANTIGONÓN, UN CONTINGENTE Teatro El Público, ANTIGONÓN, UN CONTINGENTE ÉPICO. Photo by Lessy Montes de Oca.

Photo by Andrew Schneider

AFTER U.S.A “Jagged and miraculous” –The New Yorker Created by Andrew Schneider In collaboration with Alessandra Calabi, Bobby McElver, Alicia ayo Ohs and with Kedian Keohan and Peter Musante Andrew Schneider and his team follow up their revolutionary, OBIE award-winning tech-theater masterpiece YOUARENOWHERE with a mindbending examination of what constitutes a single life and the endless possible outcomes at the precise moment of death. Collaborators Alicia ayo Ohs, Alessandra Calabi, and Bobby McElver join Schneider to continue their exploration of hyper-precise trademark design. They command thrilling light and sound effects with deft physical performance alongside a rapid-fire flow of text that blends pathos and humor with intelligence and vulnerability. From the spellbinding chaos of digital machinations and pulsating sensory extremes emerges a poignant, shared consciousness perceiving where we are, how we got here, and what comes AFTER.

AFTER uses haze, strobe, sound spatialization technology, and a prolonged period of total darkness.

ANDRE W SCHNEIDER

VENUE Martinson Hall RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 20 minutes SCHEDULE Thu Jan 4 Sat Jan 6 Sun Jan 7 Sun Jan 7 Mon Jan 8 Thu Jan 11 Thu Jan 11 Sat Jan 13 Sun Jan 14

7PM 9:30PM 2PM 6PM 7PM 5PM 9PM 10PM 1PM

AFTER is a co-commission of EMPAC and Performance Space 122 with support from the Jerome Foundation. AFTER was developed in residence at EMPAC as well as during a residency at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, New York, NY and as part of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Process Space program. Wave Field Synthesis courtesy of EMPAC. AFTER is supported in part/made possible by Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation initiative dedicated to engaging everyone with the process of science.

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Photo by Margarete Ruhbe

MARGARETE POLAND “... an empathic experiment in narrative and artifice” –Irish Times Created and performed by Janek Turkowski In 2008, Janek Turkowski discovered a cardboard box containing 64 reels of 8mm film in a North German market close to the Polish border. Each reel consisted of images of the same woman, Margarete Ruhbe. Captivated by the celluloid subject, Turkowski embarked on an artistic reconstruction of the life of a woman he didn’t and possibly couldn’t know.

Set against powerful images of the Communist Bloc, the story of MARGARETE unfolds from Turkowski’s curiosity-driven purchase to his private investigation into the identity of a woman who left only a brief but indelible mark through home movies. Using digital and 8mm projections that he edited from the found footage, this intimate solo performance is a reflection on memory, how it can be recorded and how it can be perceived.

Seating for this performance includes pillows and non-traditional theater seats. Please arrive early if you require a traditional seat.

RUNNING TIME 55 minutes SCHEDULE Thu Jan 4 Fri Jan 5 Fri Jan 5 Sat Jan 6 Sat Jan 6 Sun Jan 7 Sun Jan 7 Mon Jan 8 Mon Jan 8 Wed Jan 10 Thu Jan 11 Thu Jan 11 Fri Jan 12 Fri Jan 12 Sat Jan 13 Sat Jan 13 Sat Jan 13 Sun Jan 14 Sun Jan 14 Sun Jan 14 Mon Jan 15 Mon Jan 15

7:15PM 6PM 8:30PM 3:30PM 6:30PM 2:30PM 5:30PM 5:15PM 7:15PM 7PM 5:30PM 7:30PM 7PM 9:30PM 3PM 5PM 8PM 2:30PM 5:30PM 8PM 5:30PM 8PM

MARGARETE is made possible by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

JANEK

TURKO WSKI

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Photo by Robin Harris

RE-MEMBER ME U.K. “An extraordinary achievement.

Technically a marvel with a wit and love of its subjects that’s incredibly moving” –Benedict Cumberbatch

VENUE Newman Theater

Created and Performed by Dickie Beau Directed by Jan-willem van den Bosch

RUNNING TIME 1 hour

When award-winning lip synch maestro and intrepid drag fabulist Dickie Beau realized that he might never play Shakespeare’s tragic prince, he decided to turn himself into a human Hamlet mix-tape. He would channel audio recordings of great historical performances of theater’s most famous role to “re-member” the ghosts of Hamlet from the past.

SCHEDULE Thu Jan 4 Sat Jan 6 Sun Jan 7 Wed Jan 10 Thu Jan 11 Fri Jan 12 Sat Jan 13 Sun Jan 14

Humorous and haunting, RE-MEMBER ME is part documentary theater, part 21st-century séance adventure through cultural landscapes and a contemporary ghost story. In an ode to the impermanence of personhood and posterity, Beau chronicles the remarkable story behind the greatest Hamlet almost never seen.

RE-MEMBER ME was first presented by the Almeida Theatre and developed with the support of the National Theatre’s New Work Department, Arts Council England Grants for the Arts, and Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre.

Presented with support from with the British Council.

DICKI E BEAU

8PM 9PM 9PM 8PM 3PM 9:30PM 1PM 9:30PM

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Photo by Jason Falchook

THE GATES: AN EVENING OF STORIES WITH ADAM GOPNIK U.S.A. Directed by Catherine Burns, Artistic Director of The Moth With his signature wit and keen observational eye for the manners of everyday life, bestselling author and beloved New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik chronicles his early days in the tumultuous decade of the 1980s–where a life begun in the smallest apartment in Manhattan opened the gate to professional misadventures in the worlds of high fashion, art and public speaking.

Jumping forward 20 years, Gopnik also tells the story of raising two children in the utterly different New York of the aughts and builds a moving portrait where imaginary friends, misunderstood texts and even steam bath sexuality all manage to confound and shape his understanding.

VENUE Newman Theater RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 30 minutes SCHEDULE Fri Jan 5 Wed Jan 10 Fri Jan 12 Sat Jan 13 Sun Jan 14

7:30PM 2PM 6PM 4PM 6PM

ADAM

GOPN IK

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Photo by Craig Schwartz

HOW TO BE A ROCK CRITIC U.S.A. “Fascinating, insightful…a master class in rock rebellion...as cathartic and inspiring as the best rock & roll.” –LA Weekly Based on the Writings of Lester Bangs

By Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen Gonzo journalist, America’s greatest rock critic and inventor of the word “punk,” legendary music writer Lester Bangs was an American icon.

Outsized, manic, chaotic, and impossibly creative, Bangs traveled with some of the most mythologized musical figures of the 20th century: The Clash, Bob Marley, Lou Reed—peeling away the veneer between star and audience and exposing the greats as flawed human beings. As the ragged, rebel ethos of the 70s gave way to the corporate pop of the 80s, Bangs lost the myth he’d built a life around and died of a drug overdose in 1982.

This solo play by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen (award-winning writers of The Exonerated and Aftermath) adapts Bangs’ writing to chart the life, work and death of one of the 20th century’s most ground-breaking, risk-taking, pioneering voices.

JESSICA

BLANK& ERIK JENSEN

VENUE Martinson Hall RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 25 minutes SCHEDULE Fri Jan 5 Sat Jan 6 Sat Jan 6 Sun Jan 7 Fri Jan 12 Fri Jan 12 Sat Jan 13 Sun Jan 14 Mon Jan 15

8PM 2PM 6PM 9:30PM 3PM 6:30PM 5:30PM 5PM 7:30PM

HOW TO BE A ROCK CRITIC was developed with generous support from Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles, CA, and was developed in Association with La Jolla Playhouse’s DNA New Work Series.

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Photo courtesy of Wang Chong

THUNDERSTORM 2.0 CHINA “Aspiring and ambitious, theater director Wang Chong is on a mission to overthrow the dated stage techniques that dominate Chinese theater today.” –Global Times

By Théâtre du Rêve Expérimental Directed by Wang Chong Co-presented by The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival and NYU Skirball Cao Yu’s early 20 -century drama Thunderstorm, regarded as a masterpiece in Chinese theater, is dismantled and reassembled in this new interpretation helmed by internationally acclaimed director Wang Chong. Using real-time video editing and sound mixing from action occurring on stage, a hypnotic, near-silent movie unfolds to tell the explicit story of two female characters discovering that they have been cheated on by the same womanizing playboy. th

RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 15 minutes SCHEDULE Sat Jan 6 7:30PM Sun Jan 7 4PM THUNDERSTORM 2.0 is Presented with support from the Asian Cultural Council.

This tour is supported by the Beijing Culture and Arts Fund.

Updating the story to a Beijing official’s home in the 1990s, Wang and his company of Beijing performers reinvent the classic play to reflect the complexities of contemporary capitalistcommunist society, the ubiquity of technology and the sex-obsessed global landscape. Chong incorporates live Pingtan players, a centuries-old form of traditional Chinese musical storytelling, to create the dialogue and soundtrack onstage.

Performed in Chinese with English supertitles.

THÉÂTRE DU RÊVE EXPÉRIMENTAL

&W ANGCHONG

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Photo by Paul Marotta

OCTAVIA E. BUTLER’S PARABLE OF THE SOWER U.S.A. “Difficult to imagine a performance that could be more filmic, visceral or dramatic” –The National, UAE Created by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon Music and Lyrics by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon Directed by Eric Ting Based on the novels Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler.

Based on the post-apocalyptic novel by the late Afro-futurist and science fiction author Octavia E. Butler, PARABLE OF THE SOWER is a genredefying opera that harnesses two centuries of Black music.

Conceived by Toshi Reagon, whom Vibe Magazine called “one helluva rock’n’roller-coaster ride,” in collaboration with Bernice Johnson Reagon, the iconic singer, scholar and activist, PARABLE chronicles the spiritual awakening of young Lauren Olamina amidst a dystopian America wracked by the violence brought on by climate change, unrelenting greed, and systemic injustice.

PARABLE fuses science fiction, African-American spiritualism, a deep examination of gender, race and environmental activism to construct a mesmerizing work of rare power and beauty that reveals deep insights on the future of human civilization.

TOSHI

VENUE Newman Theater RUNNING TIME 2 hours SCHEDULE Mon Jan 8 Thu Jan 11 Sat Jan 13 Sun Jan 14 Mon Jan 15

Originally commissioned by The Public Theater, and Co-commissioned by The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi. World Premiere at The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi November 9, 2017. It is made possible with funding by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. OCTAVIA E. BUTLER’S PARABLE OF THE SOWER was developed with support by The Public Theater and during a residency at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, New York, NY. Additional support provided by the Apollo’s Salon Series Program. Fiscally sponsored by Cal Shakes.

REAGON & REAGON BERNICE JOHNSON

8PM 8PM 9PM 1PM 7PM

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Photo by Lessy Montes de Oca

ANTIGONÓN, UN CONTINGENTE ÉPICO CUBA “A kaleidoscope of Cuban society... just when the country is turning everything upside down.” –European Cultural News

By Rogelio Orizondo Directed by Carlos Díaz of Teatro El Público Havana’s leading provocateur in the underground counterculture of fashion, spectacle, cabaret, theater and drag confronts the tyrannical themes of Antigone with sharp humor and robust essentiality in this internationally acclaimed production direct from Teatro El Público.

Two myths collide in one epic explosion of poetry and heroics crafted by audacious director Carlos Díaz and inventive young playwright Rogelio Orizondo. Old and new figures from Cuba’s tumultuous history populate this brave work in which icons are reborn and others are abandoned — in particular, the myth of renowned poet José Martí, considered the founder of Cuban revolutionary thought.

VENUE Martinson Hall RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 20 minutes SCHEDULE Wed Jan 10 Thu Jan 11 Fri Jan 12 Sat Jan 13 Sun Jan 14

7:30PM 1PM 10PM 1PM 9:30PM

Five highly physical performers join the echo of the Greek tragedy, embroidered with exotically absurd costumes which move poetically through a series of flashbacks, all set against a backdrop of archival news footage that connects the past with the present in unnerving and profound ways.

Performed in Spanish with English supertitles.

This performance includes nudity and newsreel depictions of violence.

TEATRO EL

PÚB LICO

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Photo by Setty McIntosh

SHASTA GEAUX POP U.S.A. Written and Performed by Ayesha Jordan Directed and co-created by Charlotte Brathwaite Shasta is celebrity. Shasta is the future.

Completely uncensored and outrageously fabulous, this renowned icon brings you her signature brand of basement get-down party.

Opposites collide for an irreverent and uplifting gospel of laughter in a night of Shasta’s free-flowing emcee-style performance. With contagious energy and sexy southern charms, Shasta tackles naughty topics and pays sonic homage to the classic era of Hip-Hop, elevating the listener to new highs.

VENUE FREE performance in The Public Theater lobby RUNNING TIME 45 minutes SCHEDULE Wed Jan 10 10PM Fri Jan 12 11PM SHASTA GEAUX POP was presented in Under The Radar’s Incoming! 2017 and developed and presented with support from The Bushwick Starr 2016-17.

AYESHA

JORDAN JORDAN& & CHA RLOTTE BRATHWAITE

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Photo by Craig Schwartz

WE’RE ONLY ALIVE FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME U.S.A. “David Cale is a double edged rarity among contemporary performance artists.”

–The New York Times Written and Performed by David Cale Songs by David Cale Arrangements and Underscoring Composed

by Matthew Dean Marsh Directed by Tony Speciale Work-in-progress David Cale gives words to escaping the volatility of his parents’ marriage by singing Petula Clark songs, by tending to the tropical birds in the Bird and Animal Hospital he built in a garden shed, by embodying vivid memories and by learning to live when death is suddenly everywhere.

VENUE Shiva Theater RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 30 minutes SCHEDULE Thu Jan 11 7:30PM Fri Jan 12 5PM Fri Jan 12 8PM WE’RE ONLY ALIVE FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME was developed, in part, at SPACE on Ryder Farm and developed, in part, at a retreat at the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, Weston, Vermont.

Weaving together family portraits, narrative storytelling and original songs lushly arranged

by Matthew Dean Marsh, Cale tells his harrowing autobiographical story of growing up in an industrial English town with an intimate authenticity and lays bare the violent act which changed everything and the surreality of being propelled out.

DAVID CALE

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Photo by Nicolas Savignano

THE HENDRIX PROJECT U.S.A. “Roger Guenveur Smith gets it all and gets it brilliantly.” –The New York Times Conceived and Directed by Roger Guenveur Smith Developed in cooperation with Experience Hendrix, LLC Co-presented by The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival, CalArts Center for New Performance, and BRIC On New Year’s Eve 1969, Jimi Hendrix’s electronic blues trio, Band of Gypsys, played a legendarily funky concert at New York City’s Fillmore East Auditorium. Twelve disciples have gathered in the upper balcony to bear witness, as heat is brought to a nation caught in mid-winter chill. As “bullets fly like rain,” at home and abroad, the ensemble movingly reimagines an iconic moment in rock and roll history through the timeless power of Hendrix’s music. It’s the end of the Sixties.

And Jimi Hendrix’s final New Year’s Eve.

ROGER GUENVEUR

SMITH & Cal Arts

RUNNING TIME 1 hour SCHEDULE Thu Jan 11 Fri Jan 12 Fri Jan 12 Sat Jan 13 Sat Jan 13 Sun Jan 14 Sun Jan 14

CENTER FOR NEW PERFORMANCE

7:30PM 7PM 9:30PM 7PM 9:30PM 4:30PM 7:30PM

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Photo by Andrej Lamut

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS U.S.A./Slovenia “Trump and Chekov joined together in a bizarre fusion of thriller and comedy.”

–Theaterkrant

By Nature Theater of Oklahoma and EnKnapGroup An EN-KNAP Production Co-presented by The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival and NYU Skirball PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS is co-produced by Théâtre de la Ville and steirischer herbst OBIE-Award winning, New York-based performance group Nature Theater of Oklahoma takes on the American Dream and the bleak desert of its aspirational aftermath. Created in collaboration with six dancers of the highly acclaimed Slovenian dance company EnKnapGroup, the piece charges through a rough-and-tumble, endlessly morphing myth of the Wild West, where whiskey pours, fists fly, and bullets ultimately settle the score.

Through hyper-masculine high jinks and disruptions of submissive stereotypes this fastpaced, entertaining and affecting piece careens towards a shocking and unseemly Hollywood end. With a brief detour to Baghdad, this raucous dance-theater performance hybrid travels from the dark corners into which we collectively chase our wildest dreams to the anarchic frontiers of lust, greed and violent means to examine the “unalienable right” to happiness.

RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 55 minutes SCHEDULE Fri Jan 12 7:30PM Sat Jan 13 7:30PM Sun Jan 14 2PM The programme of EN-KNAP Productions is financially supported by: City of Ljubljana Department of Culture and Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia. The project is supported by U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana.

International travel expenses of the project participants are supported by the Trust for Mutual Understanding.

Kelly Copper and Pavol Liska’s work on this production is made possible in part by the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award.

Performed in English with English supertitles.

NATURE THEATER OF

OKLAHOMA & EnKnapGroup

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Photo by ENDDNA

PANORAMA ITALY/U.S.A. “The Motus Theater Company of Italy is the most truly revolutionary troupe in town.”

– The New York Times Devised and Directed by Enrico Casagrande and Daniela Nicolò Dramaturgy by Erik Ehn and Daniela Nicolò With the actors of La MaMa’s Great Jones Repertory Company A La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club co-production with Motus Italy’s Motus returns to direct and devise PANORAMA, a new work in collaboration with La MaMa’s Great Jones Repertory Company.

Contemporary philosopher and feminist, Rosi Braidotti wrote about a “belonging open to Multiplicities” proposing a post-nationalistic identity for all the populations of the world, focusing on the concept of fluid identity and nomad identity. Motus and Great Jones Repertory Company delve into the heart of this issue, interweaving their personal histories of identity, departure, and remembrance to create new existential panoramas in which migration is actually an intrinsic existential condition.

SCHEDULE Wed Jan 3 Thu Jan 4 Fri Jan 5 Sat Jan 6 Sun Jan 7 Thu Jan 11 Fri Jan 12 Sat Jan 13 Sun Jan 14 Thu Jan 18 Fri Jan 19 Sat Jan 20 Sun Jan 21

7PM 7PM 7PM 7PM 2PM 7PM 7PM 7PM 2PM 7PM 7PM 7PM 2PM

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club co-production with Motus, in partnership with CultureHub, Seoul Institute of the Arts, Vooruit, Gent, Triennale Teatro dell’Arte, Milano, ERT Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione, Grec Festival, Barcelona, L’arboreto – Teatro Dimora, Mondaino with support from MiBACT, Regione Emilia Romagna.

The companies have devised this work together from the present on out, building performance up from interviews, improvisations, and associated research in pursuit of an answer to the core question: how can we move from the dominant force - we the people - to the process of perpetually becoming - we are the other?

PANORAMA is a dynamic and open exploration upon the human need to be in movement, in flux.

MO TUS

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Photo by Carolina Restrepo

UNEXPLODED ORDNANCES (UXO) U.S.A./U.K. “Lois Weaver is a playful pixie of performance art.” –The New York Times

By Split Britches Performed by Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw A La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club production in association with Split Britches UNEXPLODED ORDNANCES (UXO) by Split Britches is a new exploration of ageing, anxiety and ‘doomsday’ created through conversation and collaboration with an array of elders and artists. Developed between the U.K. and U.S., Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw have created a unique production, combining a darkly playful Dr. Strangelove-inspired performance with a daring new protocol for public discussion – the Situation Room.

Founded in New York in 1980 with Deb Margolin, Split Britches continues with the duo and solo work of Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw which spans satirical, gender-bending performance, methods for public engagement, videography, digital and print media, explorations of ageing and wellbeing, and iconic lesbian-feminist theater.

RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 20 minutes SCHEDULE Thu Jan 4 Fri Jan 5 Sat Jan 6 Sun Jan 7 Thu Jan 11 Fri Jan 12 Sat Jan 13 Sun Jan 14 Thu Jan 18 Fri Jan 19 Sat Jan 20 Sun Jan 21

8PM 8PM 8PM 4PM 8PM 8PM 8PM 4PM 8PM 8PM 8PM 4PM

UNEXPLODED ORDNANCES (UXO) was created and developed from 2016-2018 through a series of residencies with elders and artists in London, New York, Los Angeles and beyond.

Produced & Developed by In Company Collective with support from Arts Council England, the Barbican, Doris Duke Foundation, Richmond University (Virginia) & Queen Mary University of London.

SPLIT

BRITC HES

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Photo by Takuma Uchida

MUGEN NOH OTHELLO JAPAN Performed by Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC) Directed by Satoshi Miyagi Presented by Japan Society Following a sold-out run of Medea in 2011, Satoshi Miyagi and his company SPAC return to New York with another literary masterpiece, Othello. Miyagi re-tells Shakespeare’s famed tragedy through noh theater’s most distinct storytelling structure, mugen noh, or a play that features a spirit. Told from the perspective of Othello’s wife Desdemona, who comes back as a ghost after her death, Miyagi’s production is replete with stunning masks and costumes as well as powerful live music and chanting.

Performed in Japanese with English supertitles.

SATOS HI

RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 30 minutes SCHEDULE Thu Jan 11 Fri Jan 12 Sat Jan 13 Sun Jan 14

7:30PM 7:30PM 7:30PM 4PM

MUGEN NOH OTHELLO is supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan in the fiscal year 2017.

MUGEN NOH OTHELLO is part of the Medieval Japan’s Influence on the World and Today series supported by The Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and Toshiba International Foundation.

MIYAGI 37

Jessica Blank & Erik Jensen, HOW TO BE A ROCK CRITIC. Photo by Craig Schwartz.

UTR +

IN CONCERT

Martha Graham Cracker, LASHED BUT NOT LEASHED. Photo by Gustavo Garcia.

RE-ENGINEERING THE INTERSECTION OF MUSIC & THEATER. The Under the Radar + Joe’s Pub: In Concert series highlights the multidisciplinary music/theater hybrids that emerge from the renowned venue’s programming.

These artists are exploring the intersection of music and theater to bring their unique stories to the stage.

Photo by Alaric Campbell

PARALLEL LIVES: BILLIE HOLIDAY & EDITH PIAF U.S.A. Created and directed by Nona Hendryx Featuring Joey Arias, Tamar Kali, Liza Jesse Peterson, and Etienne Stadwjck In many ways, Billie Holiday and Edith Piaf lived parallel lives: the two women, whose heartrending loves and lives fed the soulful, singularity of their voices, were born during the same year on opposite shores and became two of the signature voices of their generation.

RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 30 minutes SCHEDULE Fri Jan 5 7PM Sat Jan 6 7PM

Curated by revolutionary funk, art-rock, new-wave goddess Nona Hendryx, and an international roster of contemporary vocalists, PARALLEL LIVES is an exploration of the lives and music of these two legends — and a global celebration of ‘Lady Day’ and the ‘Little Sparrow.’

Nona Hendryx is the inaugural recipient of the Joe’s Pub Vanguard Residency.

NONA 42

HEN DRYX

Photo by Sin Bozkurt

ERIN MARKEY’S RAINBOW CAVERNS: GREATEST HITS OF ALL TIME INCLUDING THE FUTURE U.S.A. “Erin Markey has laser-beam eyes, a hair-raising singing voice, and an intense, almost predatory sexuality” –The New Yorker Written and Created by Erin Markey Music* by Emily Bate and Erin Markey Lyrics by Erin Markey Directed by Jordan Fein and Ellie Heyman *Kenny Mellman is also a co-composer for songs from A Ride On The Irish Cream

RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 15 minutes SCHEDULE Sat Jan 6 9:30PM Sun Jan 7 9:30PM Sun Jan 14 7PM

Judge Judy once said: “Don’t Pee On My Leg and Tell Me It’s Raining.” But Erin Markey is not sure that that isn’t rain. Because in her world, her flower laden open casket service is a theme park, and all the rides are about how confusing sexuality, desire and identity are.

What we’re trying to say is that Erin Markey and co-composer Emily Bate will present musical excerpts from their critically acclaimed musical A Ride On The Irish Cream (2016), slow-jam cabaret funeral Boner Killer (2017), and indevelopment Beach Boys/Spice Girls inspired energy concert Little Surfer (2019). They wouldn’t dare do it by themselves, though. With them is a rock band, a girl group, infamous schmerm/lover Becca Blackwell and many disgusting exceptions to Markey’s no-sequins rule in the costume department. The audience is invited to watch as Erin’s comedic storytelling melts into gorgeous harmony driven music, but guaranteed: Erin will turn her wild eye on you and give you a slumber party command you don’t dare disobey.

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ERIN

MARKEY

Photo by Deneka Peniston

THE TRANSFORMATIONS SUITE U.S.A. “An intensely thoughtful young pianist and composer” –The New York Times Created by Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes’s THE TRANSFORMATIONS SUITE combines music, theatre, film and poetry to examine the radical history of resistance within the communities of the African Diaspora.

RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 15 minutes SCHEDULE Sun Jan 7 7PM Tue Jan 9 9:30PM Sun Jan 14 9:30PM

Continuing the tradition of artists such as Bob Marley, Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye, Billie Holiday, and Tupac Shakur, the SUITE paints a musical picture of the current state of social inequality and injustice in the United States and beyond. THE TRANSFORMATIONS SUITE connects contemporary issues, such as the prison industrial complex and the Movement for Black Lives, with the history of revolutionary movements of color. It asks probing questions and builds an urgent case for rebellion in the present moment.

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SAMO RA

ABAYOMI PINDERHUGHES

Photo by Gustavo Garcia

LASHED BUT NOT LEASHED U.S.A. “The drag queen king of Philadelphia” –Philadelphia Inquirer Songs by Dito van Reigersberg, David Sweeny, Eliza Hardy Jones, and Vince Federici with Andrew Nelson on bass and Charlie Heim on drums Directed by Joanna Settle From the frenzied mind, body and spirit of Pig Iron Theatre Company cofounder Dito van Reigersberg comes Martha Graham Cracker.

Backed by a live band, Martha croons this music-driven fever-dream of a performance about a life of hard living and even harder loving.

RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 20 minutes SCHEDULE Mon Jan 8 7PM Wed Jan 10 9:30PM Fri Jan 12 9:30PM Commissioned and originally produced by the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The dazzling drag-cabaret darling excavates her distorted past, belting out original tunes and dishing ridiculous stories and side-splitting asides.

Roughed up and worked over, Martha comes up with an unusual plan to barricade herself from loves lost, but not forgotten: tonight is the night she will bury her heart.

MARTHA 48

GRAHAM CRACKER

Photo by Vanessa Heins

CHOIR! CHOIR! CHOIR! CANADA Audience becomes choir in this live, powerful pop music mass sing-along!

Singers and non-singers alike are invited to The Public Theater’s historic lobby to take part in an interactive musical collaboration at this year’s Under the Radar Festival.

Pushing the boundaries between practice and performance, artist and audience, Choir! Choir!

Choir! brings soul lifting atonement to the plague of contemporary disconnection: a community brought together through the common language of music. You don’t need to know how to read music. Just show up, you’ll get lyrics, and they’ll teach you everything you need to sound great.

VENUE FREE performance in The Public Theater lobby SCHEDULE Sat Jan 13 10PM-MIDNIGHT

With Choir! Choir! Choir!, directors Nobu Adilman and Daveed Goldman have amassed a dedicated and passionate community of singers in their native Toronto, as well as around the world, and have performed with renowned artists such as Patti Smith, Tegan and Sara, Rufus Wainwright, Colin Hay (Men At Work), and shared the stage with The Flaming Lips, Polyphonic Spree, Rickie Lee Jones and Debbie Harry.

CHOIR! CHOIR! 50

CH OIR!

Nature Theater of Oklahoma & EnKnapGroup, PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. Photo by Andrej Lamut.

Modesto Flako Jimenez, INCOMING! ¡OYE! FOR MY DEAR BROOKLYN. Photo by Shun Takino.

RAPID RESPONSE. CONTROLLED CHAOS. NEW WORK.

INCOMING! INCOMING! Is UTR’s festival within a festival, featuring in-process works by the wildly diverse artists of the Devised Theater Working Group.

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Photo by Sasha Arutyunova

Photo by Anisa George

GEORGE & CO. MISSION HAMLET

VENUE Shiva Theater

“Compelling ... the entire production holds you in a disturbing grip.”

–The New York Times on Holden

By George & Co. Directed by Anisa George Do the clouds sit heavy upon you? Do you harbor violent thoughts? Is that a skull you’re talking to?

MISSION HAMLET is no faithful recreation, but a live and unruly reconstruction of Shakespeare’s work. Armed with only an inky cloak and an iPhone, this Hamlet catapults into New York City and uses live feed between the streets and the theater, to battle existential melancholy and political woe, while creating radical opportunities for civic participation.

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harunalee MEMORY RETROGRADE

VENUE Shiva Theater

RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 15 minutes

“Full of impulses and ideas and splendid, fractious energy” –The New York Times on War Lesbian

RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 15 minutes

SCHEDULE Thu Jan 4 6:30PM Sat Jan 13 12PM

By harunalee Written by Kristine Haruna Lee Directed by Andrew J. Scoville

SCHEDULE Fri Jan 5 6:30PM Sat Jan 13 4:30PM

GEORGE & CO. is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, Inc. and this project is made possible by a grant from Wyncote Foundation.

The discovery of a pocket watch in a timeworn attic catapults a pair of old lovers through an epic expanse of generations and landscapes—the Venetian Renaissance, an Egyptian burial, a 1970s doctor’s office, and a virtual reality forest in the near future. In this dioramic triptych of realism, post-modern historic farce, and media performance, harunalee confronts the ways memory and trauma are racialized and gendered across time. MEMORY RETROGRADE negotiates the inextricable relationship between personal and cultural memory, and transforms the English language into an emotional territory.

This work was developed in part by Ars Nova’s Makers Lab Residency 2016-2017 and BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange Artist-in-Residence Program 2015-2017 with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Jerome Robbins Foundation and the Jerome Foundation. Additional funding for development provided

by The Lotos Foundation, Indie Theater Fund, Mental Insight Foundation, and support from our individual donors.

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Photo by Jonathan Potter

Photo by Shun Takino

MODESTO FLAKO JIMENEZ ¡OYE! FOR MY DEAR BROOKLYN “The work creates a chance for audience members to ask hard questions and talk with each other.” –TDF Stages

By Modesto Flako Jimenez Directed by Artem Yatsunov “Listen to the beats / The rhythm of my Bushwick streets.” Brooklyn impresario Modesto Flako Jimenez conjures his beloved borough in this bilingual elegy, told through poems, projections, and music. With lyrical brilliance and irreverent play, ¡OYE! FOR MY DEAR BROOKLYN complicates our perceptions of race, language, and gentrification and calls us to be truly present.

With savage lyricism, Flako populates the stage with immigrants, drug dealers, condoritos, tiguerasos, mothers and sons, all asking the same question: “What is my moral worth?”

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VENUE Shiva Theater RUNNING TIME 1 hour 10 minutes SCHEDULE Sat Jan 6 6:30PM Sat Jan 13 9PM

ANNIE SAUNDERS WITH BECCA WOLFF OUR COUNTRY Created and Directed by Annie Saunders and Becca Wolff “Who do you think decides what is a big deal and what isn’t?” Sophocles’ Antigone acts as a provocation for this autobiographical unearthing, based on recorded conversations between the artist and her younger brother—a citizen of the still-Wild West, California’s marijuana country. Recalling a time when we were little—as siblings, as a nation, as a democratic system—OUR COUNTRY interlaces origin mythologies from the Wild West and Ancient Greece with psychoanalytic theory and childhood memories.

VENUE Shiva Theater RUNNING TIME 1 hour and 15 minutes SCHEDULE Sun Jan 7 6:30PM Sun Jan 14 12PM Created with crucial early commissions from The Getty Villa and the San Francisco Playhouse, and ongoing development support from piece by piece productions.

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Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk

Photo by Stan Demidoff Photography

KAREEM M. LUCAS BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT IT AIN’T ALWAYS PRETTY

VENUE Shiva Theater

A New Epic Poem Written and Performed by Kareem M. Lucas

RUNNING TIME 1 hour

Sometimes the best way to deal with your biggest problem is to avoid it. Kareem M. Lucas reanimates the memory of a never-ending night—a wild rollercoaster ride through alcohol, drugs, sex, joy, loss, and self-discovery. He weaves together his past and present to interrogate our desperate need for significance, in life and after death, and mythologizes the everyday experience of a common Black man in America. BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT IT AIN’T ALWAYS PRETTY is an epic poem about fulfilling one’s purpose—if there is any—before time runs out. The clock is ticking.

SCHEDULE Mon Jan 8 6:30PM Sun Jan 14 4:30PM

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This solo piece was previously developed at IRT Theater, Jimmy’s No. 43, Studio Tisch at NYU Grad Acting, and Magic Time at Judson Arts Wednesdays.

PETER MILLS WEISS & JULIA MOUNSEY [50/50] old school animation Created by Peter Mills Weiss and Julia Mounsey In under an hour, what seems utterly innocuous becomes outrageously ultra-violent. A classical ghost story for our contemporary moment, this deceptively simple examination of misogyny, cruelty, and memes is equal parts long-form confessional monologue and serial teen drama.

Exploring female friendship, the restlessness of youth, and the romanticization of the brutalized female body, [50/50] OLD SCHOOL ANIMATION flirts with the horrific and dips into the surreal.

VENUE Shiva Theater RUNNING TIME 50 minutes SCHEDULE Wed Jan 10 6:30PM Sun Jan 14 9PM This project was developed with the support of an HB Studio Residency

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Roger Guenveur Smith & CalArts Center for New Performance,THE HENDRIX PROJECT. Photo by Nicolas Savignano.

Teatro El Público, ANTIGONÓN, UN CONTINGENTE ÉPICO. Photo by Lessy Montes de Oca.

POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS

A lively post-show discussion with the artists, guided by UTR staff, in the theater immediately following these performances: HOW TO BE A ROCK CRITIC Jessica Blank & Erik Jensen Saturday, January 6, 2PM MARGARETE Janek Turkowski Saturday, January 6, 6:30PM RE-MEMBER ME Dickie Beau Saturday, January 6, 9PM

EVENTS

AFTER Andrew Schneider Sunday, January 7, 2PM THUNDERSTORM 2.0 Théâtre du Rêve Expérimental & Wang Chong Sunday, January 7, 4PM

PANEL DISCUSSIONS

A free and open to the public discussion moderated by Andrew Kircher, Director of the Devised Theater Initiative and Associate Dramaturg, Devised Theater, featuring artists from the festival.

Audience members are encouraged to come with questions—the more practical the better.

PANEL 1: HOW DID YOU MAKE THAT? Saturday, January 13, 11AM Newman Theater at The Public Details to be announced at a later date PANEL 2: HOW DID YOU MAKE THAT? Sunday, January 14, 11AM Martinson Hall at The Public Details to be announced at a later date 65

David Cale, WE’RE ONLY ALIVE FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME. Photo by Craig Schwartz.

The Under the Radar Professional Symposium is a two-day event on January 11 and 12, featuring a chance to see full productions of the festival shows as well as keynote speakers and expert panel discussions. Attendance at the Symposium is strictly limited to presenting and producing professionals in the field. For more information on the Symposium, please email utrsymposium@publictheater.org.

The Under the Radar Professional Symposium is a pre-conference event of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (formerly the Association of Performing Arts Presenters) and is held in conjunction with the APAP | NYC 2018 conference.

APAP is the national service, advocacy and membership organization for the performing arts presenting industry and the convener of APAP | NYC, the world’s leading gathering of performing arts professionals, held every January in New York City. For more information on this year’s APAP conference and Arts Presenters, visit APAPNYC.org.

PROFESSIONAL

SYMPOSIUM

Every January in New York City, more than 45,000 performing arts leaders, artists, and enthusiasts from across the globe converge for JanArtsNYC. A partnership among eleven independent multidisciplinary festivals, indispensable industry convenings and international marketplaces, JanArtsNYC is one of the largest and most influential gatherings of its kind.

For more info visit, www.janartsnyc.org.

Promotional support provided by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.

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Ayesha Jordan & Charlotte Brathwaite, SHASTA GEAUX POP. Photo by Setty McIntosh.

Over the last 14 years, The Public’s UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL has presented over 229 companies from 42 countries. It has grown into a landmark of the New York City theater season and is a vital part of The Public’s mission, providing a high-visibility platform to support artists from diverse backgrounds who are redefining the act of making theater. Widely recognized as a premier launching pad for new and cutting-edge performance from the U.S. and abroad, Under the Radar has presented works by such respected artists as Elevator Repair Service, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Gob Squad, Belarus Free Theatre, Guillermo Calderón, and Young Jean Lee. These artists provide a snapshot of contemporary theater: richly distinct in terms of perspectives, aesthetics, social practice, and pointing to the future of the art form.

ABOUT

Invest in the future of Under the Radar! If you love Under the Radar and want to help advance the work of dynamic, exciting, and independent artists from around the world, join our Partners Program! Public Theater Partners are a devoted group of individuals dedicated to supporting diverse work on our stages year-round and receive insider access to our productions and programs. For more information, contact the Partners Desk at 212.539.8734 or partners@publictheater.org.

FESTIVAL PARTNERS

UNDER THE RADAR Horizontal logo

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THE PHILIP AND JANICE LEVIN FOUNDATION provides support for The Public’s access and engagement programming.

THE LUESTHER T. MERTZ CHARITABLE TRUST provides leadership support for The Public Theater’s year-round activities.

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TICKET INFO TICKETS STARTING AT $25

Under the Radar is The Public’s annual festival of new theater from around the world and the U.S., featuring artists re-imagining performance for our time.

UTR PACK: 5 OR MORE SHOWS STARTING AT $100

undertheradarfestival.com

VENUES

THE PUBLIC THEATER & JOE’S PUB 425 Lafayette Street Box Office 212.967.7555 Mon-Sat 10AM-7PM, Sun NOON-6PM In Person Mon-Sun 2PM- 6PM

Save at least $25 on the cost of your tickets and save on ticket fees.*

NYU SKIRBALL CENTER 566 LaGuardia Pl Box Office 212.998.4941 Tue-Sat NOON-6PM

The UTR Pack entitles the buyer admission to five or more UTR shows, good for all Under the Radar shows at The Public Theater, Joe’s Pub and BRIC.

BRIC 647 Fulton Street, Brooklyn Box Office 212.967.7555

*All orders subject to $3 per ticket service fee and $1.50 per ticket facility fee. There is a $1 per ticket package fee per performance for UTR Packs. Limited number of Packs available.

All Packs must be purchased by 1.3.18. Service fees for single tickets are waived at the Box Office window. All fees are waived for Public Theater Members and Partners. Plays, titles, actors, directors, and performance dates and times are subject to change. All sales are final, no refunds or cancellations.

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ONLINE

JAPAN SOCIETY 333 East 47th Street Box Office 212.715.1258 Mon-Fri 11AM-7PM LA MAMA 66 East 4th Street Box Office 212.352.3101

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FIRST CLASS PRESORT US POSTAGE

PAID

NY Shakespeare Festival 425 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10003

Dickie Beau, RE-MEMBER ME. Photo by Robin Harris.

NEW YORK, N.Y. PERMIT NO. 2377

SCHEDULE

DATES & TIMES

MONDAY JANUARY 8 2

3

4

5

6

10

5

6

7 8 9 After Margarete Parable of the Sower Lashed But Not Leashed Black is Beautiful

3

4

TUESDAY JANUARY 9 3

4

5

6

7

8

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 10 2

4

3

4

5

6

7 8 9 Margarete Re-Member

5

6 7 Margarete

8

9 Margarete

10

3

4

5

Margarete

6

7

8

Margarete

9

10 After

Margarete

Re-Member The Gates Rock Critic

10

11

Hendrix

Hendrix Pursuit of Happiness Panorama UXO Mugen Noh Othello

Choir! Choir!

Mission Hamlet Memory ¡Oye!

Shasta Lashed But Not Leashed [50/50]

THURSDAY JANUARY 11 2

3

4

5

6

7

8

6

7

8

Margarete

FRIDAY JANUARY 12 2

3

4

Margarete

8

9

10

Re-Member Rock Critic Thunderstorm 2.0 Panorama UXO Erin Markey Transformations Our Country

11

7

8

9

10

Margarete

Margarete Re-Member

The Gates Rock Critic

Margarete

Parable of the Sower Antigonon Hendrix

Hendrix

Pursuit of Happiness Panorama UXO Mugen Noh Othello Erin Markey Transformations Black is Beautiful

5

6

7

8

9

Margarete

SUNDAY JANUARY 7

6

Our Country

Erin Markey Rock Critic

5

11

We’re Only Alive Hendrix Panorama UXO Mugen Noh Othello

¡Oye!

7

10

Parable of the Sower

11

Thunderstorm 2.0 Panorama UXO Parallel Lives

4

After

Rock Critic

6 After Margarete

9

Re-Member 10 After

3

Margarete 5 After

9

2

After

Margarete

5

SUNDAY JANUARY 14 1

Antigonon

Rock Critic

4

2

10 11 Transformations

11

Re-Member

3

1

Antigonon

Margarete

2 After

SATURDAY JANUARY 13

The Gates

SATURDAY JANUARY 6 3

9

11

The Gates Rock Critic Panorama UXO Parallel Lives Memory

2

11

Antigonon

FRIDAY JANUARY 5 2

10

Parable of the Sower 2

7 8 9 After Margarete Re-Member Panorama UXO Mission Hamlet

4

Margarete

THURSDAY JANUARY 4 2

3

The Gates Rock Critic We’re Only Alive

We’re Only Alive Hendrix Pursuit of Happiness Panorama UXO Mugen Noh Othello

10 Margarete Re-Member

[50/50]

11

Antigonon

MONDAY JANUARY 15 1

2

3

4

5

Hendrix

Lashed But Not Leashed Shasta *Play titles have been abbreviated. Plays, titles, actors, directors, and performance dates and times are subject to change.

THE PUBLIC THEATER / JOE’S PUB BRIC NYU SKIRBALL LA MAMA JAPAN SOCIETY

6 Margarete

7

8 9 Margarete Rock Critic Parable of the Sower

FREE PANEL DISCUSSION HOW DID YOU MAKE THAT? Saturday, January 13, 11AM Sunday, January 14, 11AM

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