Author: HB Studio

HB Public Conversation: THE MOTHER LINE STORY PROJECT

Amplifying Women’s Voices Past & Present

With Eliza Simpson & Lauren Nordvig

Monday, October 29 | 7:30pm

HB Playwrights Theatre | 124 Bank Street
$5-$10 suggested donation

In 2015, The Mother Line Story Project began by building a collective – story by story. It started with an idea to lead women through writing workshops, encouraging them to create short monologues in the voices of their female ancestors. (Think – The Moth meets ancestry.com.) Before long, they had women of all ages & ethnicities performing for diverse audiences Off-Broadway – these previously untold stories were in turns hysterical, heartbreaking, poignant, & slice-of-life. The Mother Line Story Project collaborates with female-identifying performers, designers, directors, activists, students, businesses & communities, presenting these stories all over the world. Fostering connection & providing a safe artistic space for female expression are their proudest accomplishments.

Join us for a conversation about The Mother Line Story Project with Founder/Executive Director Eliza Simpson and President/Director of Education and Development Lauren Nordvig. Also featuring the performance of a Mother Line story.

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HB Public Conversation: SAG-AFTRA Info Session

With Aaron Serotsky and Phoebe Jonas

Moderated by Paige Russo

Monday, September 24 | 7:30pm

HB Playwrights Theatre | 124 Bank Street

FREE | RSVP

Have questions about SAG-AFTRA? Join us for a conversation with SAG-AFTRA representatives and leading commercial performers about the benefits of the union and taking the next step in your career. Learn what it takes to navigate today’s changing media landscape and what SAG-AFTRA is doing to stay ahead of the curve.

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HB Rehearsal Space Residency – YOU CAN’T PLAY BARBIES WHEN SOMEONE HAS STOLEN THEIR HEADS

by Perry Guzzi
directed by Cynthia Granville

with Debra Kay Anderson*, Grace C. Benedetto, Olivia De Salvo, David James, Olivia Jampol, Nico Kiefer*

Saturdays & Sundays, September 16, 22, 23, 29, 30, October 6 & 7 | 8 pm
First Floor Studio | 120 Bank Street, New York
FREE | RSVP

As young Julie reveals in her new doll house story: Once upon a time, a monster came to town and ate all the men except for Julie’s Uncle Sandy who is locked away in a dark little cave. Today, the monster is back for the women — Julie, Mommy, Grammy, and a stranger named Lisa who has suddenly appeared at their door.

*these actors are appearing courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association
Drawing by Laura Benedetto

This program is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and many generous supporters.

TOO CLOSE by Luigi Laraia, directed by Pablo Andrade

Presented in partnership with LAKEARTS FOUNDATION

TOO CLOSE

A new play by Luigi Laraia
With Richard Tanenbaum & Daniel Owen
Directed by Pablo Andrade

September 13, 14, &15 | 7:30 pm | $25*-35
TICKETS
HB Playwrights Theatre
124 Bank Street, New York City

In true Hitchcockian style, the author sets the play in an everyday space and invites the audience to share it with the actors.. Claustrophobic, gripping, relevant.
— Capital Fringe Festival

A parable about climate change and its impact on two unsuspecting individuals trapped in an elevator in a modern-day high rise. At its simplest level, TOO CLOSE is a microcosm of a world in which depletion of resources leads to the inhumanity of man against man.

Each evening will also feature leading scientists, writers, and climate change activists discussing the global impact of climate change on our daily lives and ultimately the relationships within our community. Followed by a complimentary reception.

*$25 Student Tickets are available in limited quantities!

Rehearsal Space Residency: THIS PLAY WAS NOT WRITTEN BY A WOMAN

Saturday & Sunday, June 23 & 24 | 8 pm

First Floor Studio

120 Bank Street

Free! RSVP

Created and Directed by Emilyn Kowaleski and Sarah Stites

This Play Was Not Written by a Woman is a devised performance piece that explores the layered nature of personal identity and self-expression. By creating privilege-wielding alter-egos and aggressively self-positive WWE wrestling personas, our ensemble lampoons society’s expectations of sex, gender, and race in a raucous farce of never-ending reveals.

TRANSGRESSIONS: Six evenings, Six plays-in-process

TRANSGRESSIONS
Six evenings, six plays-in-process: staged readings of new works.

June 26 – July 1, 2018 | 7pm
HB Playwrights Theatre
124 Bank Street, NYC
RSVP

June 26 – LOVE, ROSE by Reneé Flemings
Set during the Age of Jazz, “Love,Rose” is one woman’s story of overcoming challenges of loving who you love and how the truth becomes malleable when race is at the heart of the matter.

June 27 – HARLEM NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS by Arthur W. French, III
Six people’s lives collide while looking at Art at a Museum in Harlem.

June 28 – NIGHT SHADOWS by Lynda Crawford
Russian poet Anna Akhmatova is keeping her promise to tell of the “true twentieth century”—of lives disrupted, her poetry banned, and so many loved ones lost under Stalin’s brutal regime.

June 29 – MR. WAHEEB by David Loughlin
A young black man has been picked-up by Federal agents and taken to an interrogation room in lower Manhattan. He is suspected of being connected to a massive terror strike against the United States. He is young, naive, and very possibly innocent.

June 30 – HOT AND HOLY by Susan Eve Haar
Sex in a coma, a love story.

July 1 – WHAT’S NEXT MAX? A LOVE STORY by William Shuman
For more than fifty years, Max and Maxine shared their lives and more often than not the stage; now comes the hard part.

All shows at 7PM

HB Playwrights Theatre
124 Bank Street, NYC

Featuring plays selected from the 2018 Rehearsal Space Residency Applicants.

People Who Make Theater – Tectonic Theater POSTPONED

POSTPONED: PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEATER

Tectonic Theater (The Laramie Project)

A conversation with Jimmy Maize

Moderated by Pablo Andrade

This event has been postponed until further notice.

RSVP at hbstudio.eventbrite.com

TECTONIC THEATER PROJECT is an award-winning company whose plays have been performed around the world. The company is dedicated to developing innovative works that explore theatrical language and form, fostering an artistic dialogue with audiences on the social, political, and human issues that affect us all. In service to this goal, Tectonic supports readings, workshops, and full theatrical productions, as well as training for students around the country in their play-making techniques.

Tectonic Theater Project was founded in 1991 by Moisés Kaufman and Jeffrey LaHoste. Tectonic refers to the art and science of structure and was chosen to emphasize the company’s interest in construction — how things are made, and how they might be made differently.

Its groundbreaking plays, The Laramie Project, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, and I Am My Own Wife among others have sparked national discourse and have inspired artists and audiences worldwide.

Continue reading →

BEE – June 2018

Presented in partnership with The LES Shakespeare Company
BEE
Created & Directed by Melody Erfani
Written by Sean Michael Welch

June 8-9, 15-16, 22-23 | 7pm
June 10, 17, 24 | 3pm
HB Playwrights Theatre
124 Bank Street, New York City

RSVP – Free!

BEE is the story of Izat, a young Iranian girl trapped in an abusive marriage in the 1940s. After years of suffering both physically and mentally at the hands of her spouse she knows the only way she will survive is if she is able to leave him. In an unprecedented move her father is able to use his influence to secure a divorce for her. Moving back and forth in time from 1940 to 2009, the story weaves together Izat’s struggles with her path to a happier life. Based on a true story and inspired by a collection of interviews from Middle Eastern immigrants and refugees.

www.lesshakespeareco.org

PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEATER: The Immigrant Arts Coalition- May 7, 2018

A Conversation with Co-Chairs 

Ayse Eldek Richardson & Christopher Massimine

Monday, May 7 | 7:30pm

HB Playwrights Theatre, 124 Bank Street

Suggested donation $5-$10

RSVP

The Immigrant Arts Coalition is a network of multi-disciplinary arts organizations and artists united to empower immigrant arts, advocate for diversity and fair representation of all cultures, and celebrate the immigrant arts contributions to American culture. Formed in July 2017, The Immigrant Arts Coalition recognizes the importance and ongoing contribution of artists and arts organizations, who represent America’s diverse cultural mosaic. Members – represented by artists and organizations – will serve as the united front for advocacy, audience development, and work to collaborate with ongoing and continuous shared programs.

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Weekly Notice

Register for Winter 2025 Term.

Winter Term runs 10 weeks, January 6 – March 17

In-person Classes and Online Classes are available
Most classes run for 10 weeks, while some classes are offered in two 5-week parts (Part A & Part B) which can be taken independently or together:
- Winter Part A: Jan 6 – Feb 10 (no class Jan 20)
- Winter Part B: Feb 11 – Mar 17
  - A $15 discount will apply when registering for both parts. Sign up for either Part independently (5 weeks each), or join both for the full 10-week term. You may join Part B without taking Part A.
Browse Classes and Register Online. Classes are available in:

*Discounts valid for studio classes only; not valid for workshops, programs or merchandise. Discounts cannot be combined nor applied retroactively. Union discount applies for classes taken by cardholders only and cannot be used to enroll family or friends. Union discount available to AEA, AGVA, AGMA, SAG/AFTRA, WGA, UFT, and Dramatist Guild Union Members or international equivalent.

Winter Classes & Workshops

BROWSE CLASSES

STUDENT RESOURCES

COMMUNITY NEWS

Faculty News

Snezhana Chernova performs (in Russian) in the play, At The Limit of Feelings, based on a letters and diaries of Elena Bulgakova Friday, Dec 13 at 6pm at HB Playwright Theater.

David Maurice Sharp received the 2024 Independent Author Network Book of the Year Award for his book, A Bell for Maury’s Bicycle.

Peter Francis James returns to Broadway in Left on Tenth at James Earl Jones Theatre. Performances run Nov 5–Feb 2.

Rachel Christopher join the cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway, playing Hermione Granger.

Jean-Marc Berne won the Earphones Award for the audiobook narration of House of Bone And Rain, written by Gabino Iglesias.

Christopher Abbott stars in the feature Wolf Man, a reimagined take on the 1941 classic gothic horror film. Expected to release in 2025.

Fred Weller performs in the upcoming Amazon Prime series, Better Sisters with Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel.

Jessica Hecht returns to Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club in Eureka Day. Runs Nov 25–Jan 19.

Jack Vincent Moran performs in Zero Day, streaming soon on Netflix.

Alumni & Student News

Alexander Pennecke guest stars in Brilliant Minds on NBC/Peacock.

Shyla Idris plays Banquo/Hecate/Seyton in Macbeth at Bentley Theatre, Episcopal Church of the Resurrection. Performances run Dec 13–15.

Eric Roffman speaks in a dive about eXtended Reality and an introduction into what AI can do (and should not be allowed to do), XR (& AI) Today & for The Next Four Years. The emphasis is on aspects of story-making and story-telling, for actors, directors, writers, producers, and other creative artists.

Renée Stork, who studies with Michael Beckett, recently appeared in a recurring role as Judge Whitney on the season finale of NBC’s Law & Order. She guest starred as Rachel Picaggli in the 4th season finale of FBI: Most Wanted on CBS. Renée will also appear as Ruth Hill in the highly anticipated mini series, The Penguin which begins streaming on Max in September 2024.

Ted Brunetti co-stars in Law & Order: Organized Crime.

Adele Batchelder is featured in The Girl Who Cried Her Eyes Out, can be rented on Amazon Prime.

Youlim Nam along with Sophia Treanor and Deborah Black collaborate on a new podcast, In The Particles, exploring postmodernism in performance and beyond.

Jane Kotlyar is featured in the short film, Strays, which will be screening at Newport Beach Film Festival.

Chris Jaymes just completed shooting the upcoming FOX series Rescue Hi Surf and has a recurring role on season 5 of Law & Order: Organized Crime.

Katharine Cullison is co-stars in Fantasmas, Season 1, Episode 6: The Void, now streaming on HBO Max.

Send us News!

HB Studio’s programs are supported in part by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and many generous supporters.