News & Events

Audition Now for the Winter Term!

Sign up for your audition today for the Winter Term! The Winter Term runs 10 weeks, January 11 – March 20. Registration is currently in progress.

New students wishing to study above our Level 1 class offerings are asked to audition before a faculty panel.
For audition schedule, details and sign up info, visit the Auditions & Prerequisites page.

Upcoming Auditions Dates:
Wednesday | 1/6/16 | 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Wednesday | 1/6/16 | 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Thursday | 1/7/16 | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

Level 1 offerings are open to all without prerequisite or audition.

For working professionals, if you would like to submit a resume and work sample instead of auditioning, you may do so here.

People Who Make Theatre: John Jesurun

PWMT_John Jesurun_EblastPeople Who Make Theatre
A Conversation with John Jesurun

Moderated by Asta Hansen

Monday, October 26 | 7:30pm
HB Playwrights Theatre | 124 Bank Street
$10 suggested donation | $5 HB students/staff
RSVP Online

John Jesurun is a writer, director and media artist based in New York. His presentations integrate elements of language, film, architectural space and media. Continue reading →

2016 First Floor Studio Residency: Request for Proposals

HB STUDIO ARTISTIC COUNCIL
2016 PROPOSAL GUIDELINES AND CALL FOR PROPOSALS
HB STUDIO FIRST FLOOR STUDIO PERFORMANCE RESIDENCIES

Deadline for Proposals: Monday, November 23, 2015
Selected Projects will be announced by: December 31, 2015

HB Studio is dedicated to training and practice for the theatre. The Studio will, at intervals throughout the year, make workshop performance space available in our First Floor Studio, for the development of creative projects that further the training and artistic practices fostered at HB. The Studio is not a producing organization, nor should these presentations be construed as “showcases.” Rather, we offer an opportunity for practicing theatre artists to collaborate on experimental projects, to be shared among peers and colleagues, for constructive critical feedback and mutual growth.

Eligible Projects may include, but are not limited to, the following: Continue reading →

Enroll Now in Five Week Classes for the Fall!

Sign up now for a class the second half of Fall! Check out these 5-week offerings:

Singing Voice 1 with Martha Bernard
Tuesdays | 1:00pm-3:00pm | Oct 20 – Nov 17 | $205

Singing Voice 1 with Martha Bernard
Thurdays | 5:30pm-7:30pm | Oct 22 – Nov 19 | $205

Singing Voice 1 with John Bowen
Wednesdays | 7:00pm-9:00pm | Oct 21 – Nov 18 | $205

Singing Voice 2 with Martha Bernard
Mondays |  5:30pm-7:30pm | Oct 19 – Nov 16 | $205

Singing Voice- Studio Practice with Helen Gallagher
Tuesdays | 3:15pm-5:45pm | Oct 20 – Nov 17 | $225

Alexander Technique with Martha Bernard
Thurdays | Oct 22 – Nov 19 | 3:30-5:00pm | $155

Alexander Technique with Stephanie Proessl
Wednesdays | Oct 21 – Nov 18 | 10am-11:30am | $155

Union Discount: AEA and SAG/AFTRA members receive 10% off Fall Term enrollment when registering by October 30. Please present your membership card in the registration office, or email a copy to registration@hbstudio.org and contact to enroll.
(Discounts not valid for workshop offerings, cannot be combined, and cannot be applied retroactively)

The World of Agnes de Mille: A Conversation with Gemze de Lappe and Helen Gallagher

PWMT_demillePeople Who Make Theater

The World of Agnes de Mille: A Conversation with Gemze de Lappe and Helen Gallagher

Moderated by Mindy Aloff


Monday, October 19 | 7:30pm

HB Playwrights Theatre | 124 Bank Street
$10 suggested donation | $5 HB students & staff

RSVP Online

HB is exploring the canon of the American musical theater this year, with support from the Frederick Loewe Foundation.

 Continue reading →

Performance Lab: PAL JOEY

PAL JOEYPalJoey2
Music and Lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart

Directed by Robert McQueen

7pm | September 26 & 27, 2015
First Floor Studio, 120 Bank Street
Click here to RSVP

Using scenes from the musical PAL JOEY this lab will focus on strengthening each participants’ rehearsal process, beginning with score preparation, table work and will then move into staging and choreographic rehearsals. Open performances will be a mix of staged and choreographed scenes and table readings.

This project is made possible through the generous support of the Frederick Loewe Foundation.  Continue reading →

In Memoriam: Jeanne Kaplan

Jeanne KaplanIt is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Jeanne Kaplan this past weekend.  Jeanne taught Acting Technique and Scene Study at HB from 1986 to 2014 and was a student of Herbert Berghof, Michael Howard, Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Julie Bovasso, and others. She began her professional career as Beatrice in Ulu Grosbard’s Sheridan Square Playhouse production of Arthur Miller’s A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE with Robert Duvall as husband Eddie Carbone and Jon Voight as cousin Rudolfo. On Broadway she did Jack Gelber’s THE CUBAN THING with Raul Julia, Rip Torn and Maria Tucci. A marvelous actress, teacher, and soul — generous, loving, funny, wise and true — she will be greatly missed.

Her memorial will be held on Sunday, September 20th @ 3:00 pm at the Riverside Memorial Chapel, 180 W 76th Street, entrance just east of Amsterdam Avenue.

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered: Playing PAL JOEY – A Conversation with Helen Gallagher & Rita Gardner

PWMT_BBB_Playing Pal Joey_eblastPeople Who Make Theatre
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered: Playing Pal Joey
A Conversation with Helen Gallagher & Rita Gardner

Moderated by Robert McQueen

Helen Gallagher (No, No, Nanette, Sweet Charity, Ryan’s Hope) won her first Tony as Gladys Bumps in the 1952 revival of Rodgers & Hart’s Pal Joey. This production also starred Elaine Stritch, as Melba, Harold Lang as Joey with Bob Fosse as Lang’s understudy. Rita Gardner (Luisa in the original cast of The Fantastics, Ben Franklin in Paris, The Wedding Singer) played the role of Linda English in the 1963 revival which featured Bob Fosse as Joey along with Viveca Lindfors. Robert McQueen, director of HB’s fall performance lab of Pal Joey, will join Helen and Rita in conversation about playing in this provocative Rodgers & Hart gem, which was based on a series of short stories by John O’Hara and scandalized audiences at its 1940 premiere. This evening is made possible with support from the Frederick Loewe Foundation and is part of HB Studio’s series celebrating the American Musical Theater canon.

Monday, September 21 @ 7:30pm
HB Playwrights Theatre, 124 Bank Street
$10 suggested donation, $5 HB Students & Faculty
RSVP online

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation presents “The HB Playwrights Theatre: A West Village Haven for Theatre”

124bankgarageA LECTURE WITH DRAMATIC READINGS

Thursday, September 10, 6:30 P.M.
HB Playwrights Theatre, 124 Bank Street
Hosted by Alan Pally (HB Board Member and former Manager of Public Programs at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center)
With readings by Rochelle Oliver & Fritz Weaver.
RSVP

This event will provide the general public with an introduction to and overview of the history of the HB Playwrights Theatre. Geared towards newcomers interested in becoming acquainted with HB and its history.

The HB Studio was already a thriving fixture in New York City’s cultural landscape when in 1965 founders Herbert Berghof and Uta Hagen realized their dream of establishing a theater. From his work on the film Cleopatra, Berghof earned the money to purchase the one-story garage they would convert to a 73-seat performance space.

For 50 years HB has presented productions, readings, panels, talks, and other theatrical events in this West Village gem. Now in its 70th year, HB Studio continues to provide a nurturing space for theater artists to work and practice, free from pressures related to commercial success.

Join us for a talk about the history of HB and its theater with short readings by HB notables from a few of the many plays performed there.