Performances & Events

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 ProjectGross 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.

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

Race, Casting and Representation – A Panel Discussion & Live Podcast

PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEATER

Curated by Peter J. Kuo
Hosted by Peter J. Kuo, Melissa Slaughter, and Alex Chester.
Recorded live for the podcast We’re Not All Ninjas.
Featuring a panel of industry pros, including Annie Henk and Tonilyn Sideco.

Monday, April 30 | 3:30pm | FREE | RSVP
HB Studio, The Speech Room, 3rd Floor, 120 Bank Street

Join us for a panel discussion and live podcast recording about race, casting and representation in the theater, film and TV industry. This will be an intimate roundtable forum, with a Q&A with an invited audience.

Sound Engineering by Alexandra Chludzinska

About the participants: Continue reading →

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.

People Who Make Theater: Seeing Rape – Using Creativity to Analyze and Re-Imagine Our World

A conversation with 
Barbara Cassidy and Shonna Trinch

Monday, March 26, 7:30PM
HB Playwrights Theater | 124 Bank Street
Suggested donation: $5-$10
RSVP at hbstudio.eventbrite.com

“Seeing Rape” is a course at John Jay College of Criminal Justice taught by Shonna Trinch (a linguist) and Barbara Cassidy (a playwright) examining sexual violence across various disciplines. The students’ final projects are original short plays, from which Trinch and Cassidy choose 5-10 to be performed in the spring by professional actors.

Join Shonna and Barbara for a conversation about the work they do to foster an awareness of the power of creative visions both to analyze and re-imagine the world.

Moderated talk will be followed by a Q&A.

Continue reading →

People Who Make Theater: Intimacy on Stage, March 19

A conversation with 

Alicia Rodis, Co-Founder of Intimacy Directors International

For years Intimacy Directors have been choreographing intimate moments & advocating for consensual workspaces in the rehearsal room. In this shifting culture, Intimacy Direction is now becoming a new standard practice. Chat with Alicia Rodis, co-founder of Intimacy Directors International, whose company is at the forefront of this shift. From intimate tension to a tender embrace to full on simulated sex, a conversation of how to tell these stories safely and dynamically.


Monday, March 19 | 7:30pm
HB Playwrights Theater | 124 Bank Street
Suggested donation: $5-$10
RSVP at hbstudio.eventbrite.com

HB Celebrates Leonard Bernstein at 100


 HB CELEBRATES

An evening of songs from the musical theater works of Leonard Bernstein during the worldwide #Bernsteinat100 celebration

MONDAY, MARCH 5th at 7:00 PM

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS

Leonard Bernstein – composer, conductor, educator, musician, cultural ambassador, and humanitarian – is one of the most iconic artists of the 20th century. Bernstein’s steadfast belief in the power of art to lift, transform, delight and educate was his antidote to a world full of violence and unpredictability. A charter member of HB’s Playwrights Foundation and a longtime friend to HB’s founders, HB Studio is thrilled to present this benefit evening with Broadway stars in a tribute to his work, during the worldwide #Bernsteinat100 celebration.

Featuring remarks by ALEXANDER BERNSTEIN, LONNY PRICE and the talents of Broadway stars STEPHEN DEROSA (BWAY: On the Town, Betrayal, The Nance, Hairspray, Into the Woods), STEVEN ENG (OFF BWAY: Pacific Overtures, Chee-Chee; WEST END: The King and I), MELISSA ERRICO (BWAY: Anna Karenina, My Fair Lady, High Society, Dracula, White Christmas, Amour), ALI EWOLDT  (BWAY: Phantom of the Opera, The King and I, Les Misérables), CHILINA KENNEDY (BWAY: Beautiful, Jesus Christ Superstar), TRACEY MICHAILIDIS (BWAY: Beauty and the Beast; OFF-BWAY: Ethel Sings; NAT’L TOUR: Fun Home), CARL-MICHAEL OGLE (Regional: Showboat (Citi Performing Arts Center), The Wiz (Fiddlehead Theatre Company), West Side Story(FTC), ELIZA SIMPSON (Off-Broadway: The Woodsman (59E59 Theaters), NY: The Mysteries (The Flea Theater), Kapowi Gogo (The PIT, Time Out NY Critics Pick), Three Sisters (HIT)), CHRISTINE TOY JOHNSON (BWAY: The Music Man (Revival), Grease! (Revival), Chu Chem),  and TONY YAZBECK (BWAY: Prince of Broadway, Finding Neverland, On the Town, Chicago, White Christmas, Gypsy, A Chorus Line), with musical directors MICHAEL DANSICKER (BWAY: The Times They Are A-Changin’, Piaf, Good, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Iceman Cometh, Singin’ in the Rain) and Grammy Award-winning JOHN MCDANIEL (BWAY: Bonnie and Clyde, Catch Me If You Can, Brooklyn, Annie Get Your Gun ,Taboo, Chicago, Grease, Patti LuPone on Broadway, Company). Directed by ROBERT MCQUEEN, esteemed HB faculty and Director of New Musical Development for Toronto’s Musical Stage Company. McQueen’s many directing credits include Man of La Mancha (Startford Festival), Forest Boy (NYMF), The Wild Party, Falsettos, Caroline, Or ChangeThe Light in the Piazza, The Magic Flute (Vancouver Opera), Hair and Pal Joey. 

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS

Continue reading →

First Floor Studio Residency – THE SECRET LIFE OF SEAWEED

By Julie McKee 
Directed by Jean Randich

A Staged Reading

Saturday & Sunday, January 27 & 28 | 7 pm
First Floor Studio | 120 Bank Street, New York
Free | RSVP at eventbrite.com

1942.  New Zealand is under threat of a Japanese invasion.  Louise MacGregor,  formidable scientist, is sent in search of  Pterocladia Lucida, a simple seaweed to aid the war effort.  May Smith, an untried youngster, is plucked to assist the prickly botanist as a sketch artist. But having only recently discovered her Maori heritage, May has other questions and struggles to meet Louise’s rigorous demands.  Inspired by Lucy B. Moore’s wartime mission to scour the wilds of New Zealand’s coast for the weed, “The Secret Life of Seaweed” tells the story of two women who learn to feel deeply about each other in a time when expressing feelings of unbearable emotional sadness was forbidden for the good of all.

Featuring James Hallett*, Siw Laurent, Johanna Leister*, Donna Svennevik, with stage directions by Andrew Plimpton.

The Secret Life of Seaweed is a commission by The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation of Science and Technology and The Ensemble Studio Theatre.

*Appearing courtesy of Actors Equity/Aftra.

*Photo credit Donna Svennevik