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Theater beyond the theater – let's get OUTSIDE!
Last month we celebrated one year of Live Cultures at the Vineyard Theater for BOWL EP. Thank you to all thirty of you who came out to see the show and stayed for the reception with cast and crew – I could not have asked for a better way to celebrate! Peep the recap on IG :)
For everyone else, the show is a MUST SEE. You saw it on Live Cultures first, but BOWL EP was also named a New York Times Critic’s Pick and has just been extend from a SECOND time, now running until June 22.
I also had a chance to sit down with the play’s writer and director Nazareth Hassan for a new Live Cultures interview series called Supplements. We talked relationship, theater, Tyler The Creator amongst many other things. Make sure you’re subscribed on Substack and following @livecultures.art on IG to read it first.
LIVE CULTURES JUNE RECOMMENDATIONS
As theaters begin to reach the end of their seasons and wind down for the summer, independent theater is just getting started crafting stories for unconventional stages be it a park, or a night club! There is so much goodness happening in New York right now, get out there!
CORTEX @ Performance Space NY
June 5th & 6th
I’m excited by work that bridges disciplines and formats. Kianì del Valle who has a background in painting and sculpture, has cultivated a practice that sets dance at the centre of an interdisciplinary ecosystem of art – in which movement, film, photography, architecture, cinema, installation, technology and sound work in symbiosis. Her semi-narrative, four-act performance CORTEX explores the psychological states of mortality, afterlife and grief in relation to the human brain. Performed by her interdisciplinary movement ensemble, KDV Performance Group, CORTEX makes its New York debut at Performance Space NY.
Pioneers Go East presents Crossroads @ Socrates Sculpture Park
June 6th-8th
If you’re looking for a great way to spend a summer evening this weekend, head up to LIC’s socrates Sculpture Park for Crossroads. Crossroads is a radical queer art series championing the voices of LGBTQ+ and Feminist artists. The weekend of outdoor performances, will engage performers spectators adn their surroundings. I’m particularly excited to experience Dominica Greene’s latest iteration of ‘openings’, which had it’s first viewing at Danspace for their DraftWork program in April. The work explores intervention, communal support; when we choose to intervene and when we choose to abandon. Admission is Free and sliding scale with an RSVP.
Soap Impressions and TAQ Dance present Two Threes @ 255 McKibbin Lofts
June 14th
Lucia Flexer-Marshall (Soap Impressions) and Sasha Marlan-Librett (TAQ Dance) are frequent collaborators whose work spans film, theater and dance. I had the pleasure of previewing on of the pieces, I Feel Like You Don’t Trust Me, earlier this year – it’s a piece that thinks and speaks out loud.
The Messenger @ National Sawdust
June 19th
Helga Davis can do it all. She is a critically-acclaimed artist, curator and cultural convener. As a National Sawdust Artist-In-Residence, she presents a work-in-progress creation, The Messenger, following a community of seekers whose leader has gone missing. In a fusion of classical, jazz and new music, the community sets out to figure out their existence without a leader.
BOWL EP @ Vineyard Theatre
EXTENDED until June 22nd
This play! Bowl EP is one of the most exciting pieces of theater I have seen this year from set to script – I cannot recommend it enough! With all the absurdity of Atlanta Season 3, BOWL EP is a real trip! This chaotic, tender yet devastating exploration of love and self unfolds between two friends in a skate park in the middle of a galaxy. You now have until June 22nd – Skate don’t walk!!
PVMNT presents Precipice @ 3 Dollar Bill
June 25th
I’m a sucker for theater outside of the theater and Precipice is just that. Exploring identity and self-discovery, Brooklyn-based queer performance art collective, PVMNT continues to challenge what performance can be with an immersive performance at Bushwick’s 3 Dollar Bill. The show will be bookended by DJ sets from @atomheartmommy & @xskincontact. Discount for artists (PVMNT25).
The Tin Angel @ La Mama Experimental Theater Club
June 28-29th
I don’t remember how I stumbled upon this performance, but I was intrigued by the premise of an opera written about the beating heart of 1970s New York’s jazz scene, the legendary Tin Palace. Opera merges with poetry, surrealism and live jazz, to tell the story of a cast of musicians, misfits, and ghosts navigating grief, addiction, and the hunger for meaning.
FIELD TRIP 008 LOADING
In other news, I’m working on our July Field Trip! Stay tuned on @livecultures.art (IG) for further announcements and RSVP…I’m really excited for what’s to come!
Until then, stay cultured x