terraNOVA Collective Blog

2011 soloNOVA Line Up

2011-05-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

soloNOVA Arts Festival 2011 from terraNOVA Collective on Vimeo.

Check out some of the hottest solo performers in the 2011 line up for soloNOVA. terranovacollective.org

Feeder: A Love Story Post Show Discussions

2011-03-24T18:15:00.000-07:00

During our run of Feeder: A Love Story, some amazing artists and experts came through HERE to share their thoughts about subjects relating to the play.

After the March 14, 2011 performance, Geoffery Jackson Scott (New York Theatre Workshop), August Schulenburg (Flux Theatre Ensemble, Theater Communications Group), Jen Begeal (Ride5 Media) & James Carter (playwright, terraNOVA Collective) discussed transmedia storytelling in theatre, how it assists socialization of theatre, and how it relates to marketing and social media. Arwen Lowbridge moderates.

Following the March 21, 2011 performance, Janie Martinez (Big Moves New York), Golda Poretsky (bodylovewellness.com, Health at Every Size), Jennifer Conley Darling (actor, terraNOVA Collective Artistic Director) & James Carter (playwright, terraNOVA Collective) discussed Fat and Size acceptance in society and entertainment and Health at Every Size (HAES). Arwen Lowbridge moderates.

Thanks to our wonderful panelists and fantastic moderator for being a part of bringing awareness to two relatively new movements. We hope you can enjoy and learn a little bit more about these very important topics.

Feeder Post Show Discussions - March 14 & 21

2011-03-02T10:12:00.000-08:00

TRANSMEDIA STORYTELLING MARCH 14
FAT ACCEPTENCE MARCH 21

terraNOVA Collective will hold post-show discussions with the audience immediately following performances of their mainstage production, FEEDER: A LOVE STORY at HERE (145 6th Avenue – Entrance on Dominick Street, 1 block south of Spring Street) on Monday, March 14 & 21. Admission to these special events is included with the purchase of a ticket to any performance of Feeder: A Love Story.

TRANSMEDIA STORYTELLING IN THEATRE
Monday, March 14Join us after the performance for a discussion about transmedia storytelling - creating a story on multiple media platforms. Panelists will explain what transmedia storytelling is, how it works, what it makes possible or impossible for theatre, and examples of theatre companies currently telling transmedia stories. Geoffery Scott (New York Theatre Workshop Literary Associate; curator of CUNY’s Prelude Festival), Jen Begeal (Social Media Manager for Ride5 Media Group), and August Schulenburg (Social Media Manager for Theatre Communications Group; Artistic Director of Flux Theatre Ensemble) will join playwright James Carter for this examination of theatre’s future.

FAT ACCEPTANCE
Monday, March 21After the show join us for a conversation about Fat Acceptance through the lenses of Health at Every Size (HAES) and fat in entertainment. Performer Janie Martinez, playwright James Carter, actress Jennifer Conley Darling, and Golda Poretsky, founder of Body Love Wellness, will examine society's views on being fat and overcoming prejudices.

FEEDER: A LOVE STORY follows the relationship of Jesse and Noel. Like thousands of other couples, they met online, fell in love, and got married. When Noel and Jesse delve into the fringe lifestyle of feederism they open themselves up to an extraordinary world of passion, love and food. But what happens when one partner outgrows the other?

The production, presented by terraNOVA Collective will play a three week engagement at HERE (145 6th Avenue - entrance on Dominick Street, 1 block south of Spring Street), March 6-26, Thursday through Saturday & Mondays at 8:30pm and Saturday & Sunday at 4pm. Tickets ($20/$15 students & seniors) may be purchased online at www.here.org or by calling 212-352-3101.

Geoffrey Jackson Scott (Transmedia Storytelling) is an artist and researcher dedicated to the exploration, creation and sharing of architectures/platforms around which people can gather. Working in the mode of social practice, at the center of Geoffrey's work is an art object/encounter designed to foster dialogue, interaction and participation between people. Chief among his artistic concerns is a desire to collapse the distance between creator and spectator through these participation-based projects. Currently pursuing a M.A. in Media, Culture and Communication at New York University, his academic work focuses on exploring how the architectures of physical, as well as virtual, space determine and shape our possibilities for interaction/participation. Over the last 6 years, Geoffrey has worked as Literary Associate at New York Theatre Workshop and spent 3 years as co-curator of CUNY's Prelude Festival.

Jen Begeal (Transmedia Storytelling) is a Social Media Manager for Ride5 Media Group, an award-winning strategic marketing and creative services firm. Ride5 believes business survival requires brands to develop mutually beneficial, sustainable relationships with their diverse audiences that enable success through dynamically integrated campaigns, extreme audience engagement and adaptation to cultural trends. Other projects include: Mind Flux, Shoe Power, and Zenith the film.

August Schulenburg (Transmedia Storytelling) is the Artistic Director of Flux Theatre Ensemble and the Social Media Manager of Theatre Communications Group. He is the primary contributor to the Flux blog, which was named one of the top 5 theatre blogs by The Guardian, and has experimented with transmedia, including fictional characters tweeting for The Lesser Seductions of History. For TCG, he runs the TCG Circle blog, Facebook page, and has live tweeted the National Conference, the Fall Forum, and several of Arena Stage's New Play Convenings. August is also a playwright, actor, and director, and will be directing Ellen McLaughlin's Ajax in Iraq for Flux in June.

Janie Martinez (Fat Acceptance) is an artistic chimera. Janie is a college graduate in the performing arts and plied her skills in NYC for such Off-Broadway shows as the Pulitzer Prize winning show How I Learned to Drive (NYC-LA), De La Guarda's Villa Villa (NYC-London) as costume supervisor/designer to being a featured actress in John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus and Steven Shainberg's Fur alongside Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr. Ms. Martinez is active in the NYC performing arts scene, performing alongside her mentor, Ms. Penny Arcade for such acts as the Globesity Festival and the 365 Plays at the Public Theatre. She performs avant-garde cabaret acts sharing the bill alongside Justin Bond (of Kiki and Herb) and Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons) and drag legend Sweetie. Ms. Martinez is the artistic director for Big Moves NYC, a dance company that promotes size acceptance thru dancing and has toured with several shows across the US, Canada and Europe actively dispelling negative images for persons of size thru her one woman show Fat Chicks Go to Hell. She has also appeared as a model for publications such as Details Magazine, Time Out NY, The New York Times, Anthem Magazine, and Next Magazine and has been photographed by noted photogs Mick Rock, Mary Ellen Mark and Christian Weber

Golda Poretsky (Fat Acceptance) After spending nearly her entire life dieting, Golda decided in 2007 to stop dieting and start listening to her body. In 2008, she founded Body Love Wellness, a wellness company that provides individual and group counseling from a Health At Every Size perspective. Using her background in nutrition and holistic health, she now counsels women and men on how to get off the dieting roller coaster, give their bodies what they really crave, and love their bodies and themselves. In addition to counseling clients throughout the country, Golda teaches workshops on healthy eating without dieting, intuitive eating, and radical body love. She is also a featured weekly columnist on the web site More of Me to Love, has written articles for Jezebel.com and Daily Venus Diva, and has a popular podcast on body acceptance and intuitive eating as well. Golda’s counseling programs and activism work have been featured on CBS’s The Early Show, ABC’s Nightline, NBC’s LX New York, Psychology Today and Time Out New York, among others. In June 2010, Golda’s book on healing from dieting, Stop Dieting Now: 25 Reasons To Stop, 25 Ways To Heal was published in paperback and kindle editions. Golda has a degree in health counseling and integrative nutrition from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, as well as B.A. in history from New York University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.

terraNOVA Announces Feeder: A Love Story

2011-01-21T13:04:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Emily Owens PR | emily@emilyowenspr.com | 972.743.3746

TERRANOVA COLLECTIVE
presents
FEEDER: A LOVE STORY
WRITTEN BY JAMES CARTER
DIRECTED BY JOSÉ ZAYAS

What happens when one partner outgrows the other?

MARCH 6-26 @ HERE

TWO PRESS PREVIEWS MARCH 6

OPENING NIGHT MARCH 7

terraNOVA Collective will present a transmedia theatrical event, incorporating live video from a web camera and computer on stage, and internet video blogging (vloging) that engages the audience online before and after the play. In a unique departure from traditional theatre storytelling, this production parallels social networking and personal interaction, sharing a very human story. This production is being presented through HEREstay, HERE’s curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical and administrative support.

FEEDER: A LOVE STORY follows the relationship of Jesse and Noel. Like thousands of other couples, they met online, fell in love, and got married. When Noel and Jesse delve into the fringe lifestyle of feederism they open themselves up to an extraordinary world of passion, love and food. But what happens when one partner outgrows the other?

The production, presented by terraNOVA Collective will play a three week engagement at HERE (145 6^th Ave - entrance on Dominick Street, 1 block south of Spring Street), March 6-26, Thursday through Saturday & Mondays at 8:30pm and Saturday & Sunday at 4pm. Tickets ($20/$15 students & seniors) may be purchased online at www.here.org or by calling 212-352-3101.

JAMES CARTER (Playwright) is a dramatist and producer. Full-length plays include: Baby Steps (The Lion, Theatre Row), Reaching Outpost (commissioned by Kaneland High School, Elburn, IL), FEEDER: A Love Story (Center Stage, NY – terraNOVA’s 3rd Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival & Collective: Unconscious’ undergroundzero Festival 2008), and Family Wayward (terraNOVA’s Groundbreakers Reading Series). One acts include: Billy’s Bad Behavior (part 1) and Number Four (part 2) with Impetuous Theater Group’s 2006 47:59 Festival; The Christmas Card for Center Stage, NY’s ‘Open 24 Hours’ hosted by John Patrick Shanley. Producer - Artists’ Night, dancelikeforever (CSNY), Baby Steps, Buck Fever (Blue Heron Arts Center), Lead Curator on terraNOVA’s soloNOVA Arts Festival (2004-2010 – DR2 Theatre & D-Lounge, Performance Space 122, Mo Pitkin’s, Center Stage, NY and People’s Improv Theater), Curator and Producer on SUBTERRANEAN, a monthly performance party (D-Lounge). James also served as Season Producer for The Ensemble Studio Theatre’s 2007/2008 season, including: Going to the River 2007, Lucy (William Carden, dir.), and On The Way To Timbuktu (written & performed by Petronia Paley; Talvin Wilks, dir.), Thicker Than Water 2008 (Youngblood), Marathon 2008 (playwrights – Auburn, Black, LaBute, Mac, Rivera) and Close Ties (Pamela Berlin, dir).

JOSÉ ZAYAS (Director) was born in Puerto Rico and graduated from Harvard and Carnegie Mellon Universities. He is co-Founder and Artistic Director of The Immediate Theater Company. Zayas has held residencies at numerous theaters including the Ensemble Studio Theater and INTAR, where he served as co-producer of the 2006 New Works Theater. In 2007 he was selected as one of nytheater.com’s People of the Year. He is also a Drama League Fellow and an alumnus of Lincoln Center’s Director's Lab and Soho Rep Writer/Director's Lab and has received numerous fellowships including the Phil Killian, Kenneth Frankel, John Pasquin and Van Lier. He is a current participant of the 2009-2011 NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. His credits include: Caridad Svich's In the Time of the Butterflies (Repertorio Espanol) and The House of the Spirits (Denver, 5 Ovation awards including best direction; Repertorio Espanol multiple ACE and HOLA awards, including best production and director; Teatro Mori, Chile), Madre, el drama padre, (ACE and HOLA awards, Repertorio Espanol) Nowhere on the Border (ACE and HOLA awards, Repertorio Espanol), Letters to a Mother, (ACE and HOLA awards, Repertorio Espanol), Father of Lies (PS122), MilkMilkLemonade (Astoria Performing Arts Center), The Wizard of Oz (TheatreworksUSA), Babes in Toyland (Ice Factory), Southern Promises by Thomas Bradshaw (PS122), Ghost Light by Desi Moreno-Penson (59e59), Lies I Wish I'd Told You... by Mallery Avidon (Dixon Place), Are Women Human? by Nanna Mwaluko (Fresh Fruit Festival), Okay by Taylor Mac (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Vengeance Can Wait by Yukiko Motoya (PS122), The Strangest (HERE), Again and Against by Betty Shamieh (The Lark), The Past Is Not a Foreign Country (Very) Personal Maps of Seattle by Mallery Avidon (Soho Rep), The Wasps and Tecmessa by Ken Urban (Target Margin), Strom Thurmond is Not a Racist by Thomas Bradshaw (Brick Theater, 4 New York Innovative Theater Award Nominations), Devil Land by Desi Moreno-Penson (Summer Play Festival/Cherry Lane Theatre), Crowns by Regina Taylor (Virginia Stage Company). His Assistant Director credits include Talk Radio directed by Robert Falls and starring Liev Schreiber; Regrets Only directed by Christopher Ashley; Come Back Little Sheba directed by Michael Pressman.

TERRANOVA COLLECTIVE is a vibrant playground for artists devoted to innovative new and original theatrical works. Its multi-layered development process, solo arts festivals, and productions serve to nurture and liberate our community.

# # # #

www.terranovacollective.org

www.here.org

Alot of Announcements!

2010-03-10T15:57:00.000-08:00

What an eventful day! terraNOVA announced today our artist of the year is Nilaja Sun, who will be honored during a special evening celebration on May 21st during our soloNOVA arts festival. Tickets went on sale today for the festival which is running from May 5-22nd at PS122.

It's been an exciting time for the Collective. We just finished our three week Monday night presentations of our Groundbreakers readings, and are looking forward to announcing open call for next year's program in the coming months.

Also in a little over a month we are hosting our annual terraNOVA gala benefit which is sure to be a mix of eclectic performances and overall great time to come "play" with the Collective team and show support for our programming. This year's benefit is Tuesday, April 13th at PS122 so make sure to save the date, if you want to hang out with us, your favorite people of course.

And while I'm writing all of this I wonder if maybe this is too much to throw out there at once without enough detail, and perhaps that's because I feel like I am overwhelming most people with information on all of our other online outlets. So if you feel like this is perhaps a little more of a side order and not enough of an entree, I say check out more information on all of the above on our website and Facebook page.

...and yeah, get your soloNOVA Arts Festival tix HERE!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-03-03T07:04:00.000-08:00

There's a lot going on this week for terraNOVA. The week kicked off on Monday with the 2^nd installment of the Groundbreakers Reading Series showcasing SITA/SATI by Snehal Desai. Good house – great audience feedback – and then a special shout out to Artistic Director Jennifer Conley Darling who was celebrating her birthday. We had a post-reading wrap up with drinks at Lunasa to celebrate terraNOVA’s fabulous artists and celebrate Jen’s birthday. We all had a really great time … and I highly recommend checking out Lunasa – they have an amazing selection of board games at the bar!!! I can see a lot of after party happening here during soloNOVA 2010. Conveniently located right by PS 122.

Mid-week is filled with meetings galore. We have all kinds of planning to figure out for our annual fundraiser, the soloNOVA Festival coming up in May and our final Subterranean of the season - stay tuned for updates!!

And speaking of Subterranean – that’s how us terraNOVA folks will be wrapping up the week. We'll be at the D-Lounge for Subterranean. It’s our monthly performance party. A fantastic event with a great following. Succinctly explained by our beloved Jennifer Conley Darling – “If you can put it on a stage, it’s in Subterranean.” Enough said. Here are the details:

SUBTERRANEAN
Friday, March 5
10pm $10
D-Lounge 101 East 15th Street
beneath the Daryl Roth Theatre
Just off Union Square
http://www.terranovacollective.org

HOSTED BY
MICIA MOSELY
http://miciamosely.com/micia-the-performer/

FEATURING
CAROLYN CASTIGLIA
http://carolyncastiglia.blogspot.com/
RED SUMMER
http://nurshaproject.com/our-artists/red-summer-author-poet-vocalist-host-educator
ROGER BONAIR-AGARD
http://www.rogerbonair.blogspot.com/

TO PURCHASE TICKETS VISIT
http://www.smarrttix.com or call 212-868-4444

Hope to see you on Friday night!! Performance, drinks, merriment, and continuing birthday celebrations.

soloNOVA NY Times Shout Out

2010-03-01T12:30:00.001-08:00

It's always fun to get mentioned in the New York Times, and this past weekend, soloNOVA Arts Festival received a little shout out in the Arts & Leisure section in an article heralding solo performance as an important part of the current theatrical landscape. It emphasized those helping to cultivate new solo work and featured some of our favorites, including last year's soloNOVA Artist of the Year, Mike Daisey, teachers Jen Nails, Cheryl King and Margo Leitman.

We're happy to be a part of this very important sector of the theatre community. It's always been our feeling that solo performance is important because it harkens back to original entertainment. People told stories. More importantly, a person would tell stories, either from the tribe's past or from personal experience. Often these stories would help people in their daily lives, sustain tradition and explain the unexplainable. Through myths and truths, dance and song, storytelling and poetry, one person can have a deep and lasting effect on many.

terraNOVA's aim is to take this base and build on it. We seek innovators in this form. The typical one-person show about growing up with hardships won't cut it. Performers need to be a cut above the rest, and the storytelling techniques should push the boundaries of how they tell the tale. In this day and age when the Interweb is moving so fast most of us can't hang on, we're looking for the one person who can command the attention in a unique and remarkable fashion.

This year's soloNOVA Arts Festival features eight such remarkable performers. Over the next couple months leading up to the festival in May, the 2010 artists will be sharing a bit about their process here on the terraNOVA blog. Some will share about their rehearsal experiences, and some may share anecdotes about how they came to develop and create their shows. All will be sharing stories.

Hope you're excited. I am.

Suicide & Frigid

2010-02-26T20:59:00.000-08:00

I'm lucky to have the opportunity to direct a staged reading of one of the plays that came up through the 2009 Groundbreakers - Suicide of Pennsylvania Avenue by Susan Ferrara. As of a few days ago, we are fully cast with an incredible bunch of actors. Susan and I are meeting again tomorrow to comb through the script before we send if off to the cast to prepare for the staged reading on March 8th.

I can hardly believe the 2010 Groundbreakers application deadline is just around the corner! Just as we're showcasing staged readings from our 2009 Groundbreakers writers group at PS122, we're already gearing up to receive applications for the following year's writer group. Time's flying! 2009 was a big year for terraNOVA renewing and redefining our dedication to nurturing playwrights in all stages of their process. I hope that the new Groundbreakers writer's group format is giving talented writers the time, deadlines, feedback and community they need to realize their new works to their fullest potential.

In addition to directing Susan's play for terraNOVA and a handful of other new plays, I've been busy independently producing and directing a solo play by Alena Smith - IT OR HER - which just opened in Horse Trade's Frigid Festival. We're nearly sold out for the run and the audience response has been fantastic! Please come! Also, if you crave more solo fare- Check out Kimleigh Smith's TOTALLY! and Martin Dockery's THE BIKE TRIP - all solo shows, all different, all Frigid Fest, all awesome. All these solo plays will wet your palette for the unbelievable line up in our soloNOVA Festival this year!

Groundbreakers Overhaul

2010-02-18T10:19:00.000-08:00

Last summer, terraNOVA set out to overhaul our five year old Groundbreakers Playwrights Program. We'd been working with the idea that we were developing plays for our main stage productions. All our main stage plays grew out of Groundbeakers, and it seemed like a pretty good way to develop new scripts.

We had a couple problems, though. The main issue facing us was the same one facing most companies and playwrights: workshopping plays to death. Plays would come in time and time again, receiving table reads, public readings, workshops, but we couldn't produce them. Partly, this was due to the fact that we just couldn't produce every play that came through the program. It's financially impossible. The other shortfall in the previous structure was plays were being developed, but the playwrights weren't receiving any attention. They'd just come in, read the play, get notes and either return with rewrites or never return. It was a frustrating conundrum we realized needed attention paid.

Enter Jessi D. Hill, director and former artistic director of Stage Left in Chicago. I'd worked with Jessi when she was a director in resident at The Ensemble Studio Theatre when I served as Season Producer. She was looking for a theatre home in New York, and we sought someone to head up Groundbreakers and give it an overhaul. The aim by the beginning of last summer was to form a group dedicated to developing not only plays but the playwright, too.

Through submissions to the program, we assembled seven playwrights from diverse backgrounds and styles, and we offered a 21 week writer's group. During this time, each playwright had the opportunity to bring a script to the table three times with about five weeks between each rewrite. The intention was to give the playwrights an opportunity to each walk away with a completed script that could be submitted to any theatre in the world. Like every new incarnation of a program, there were some great discoveries and a few speed bumps along the way. In the end, the group truly came away with plays of merit.

At the close of the 21 weeks, we had the daunting decision of choosing three plays to receive public readings. We wish we could publicly read all three plays, but times being what they are, we just couldn't afford it. We're working toward affording all participants a final reading next season. I think we chose three diamonds in the rough that will be in production somewhere in the not to distant future. They're all timely, provocative, funny and disturbing. We're very proud of the playwrights, and hope you'll join us for the next stage of development - introducing them to an audience.

Tonight, I'm very psyched we're sharing a piece by playwright Lucy Gillespie, THE ATWATER PROJECT. She's the youngest of our first playwrights group, but her talent is unbelievable. She's tackled a tough topic and a bear of a personality in Lee Atwater. It's about the birth of the political smear campaign and the downfall of its creator.

Hope you'll come out to discover this bright, new playwright. And if you're busy tonight, we have two more readings over the next couple weeks. All the information's below.

terraNOVA COLLECTIVE presents
GROUNDBREAKERS READING SERIES
play readings from the 2009 Groundbreakers Playwrights Program

Performance Space 122
150 First Avenue at 9th Street
All readings begin at 7pm

Monday, February 22, 7pm
THE ATWATER PROJECT
By Lucy Gillespie
Directed by Megan Carter

Monday, March 1, 7pm
SITA/SATI Apu A-sleep
a dream and some play
By Snehal Desai
Directed by Tea Alagic

Monday, March 8, 7pm
SUICIDE ON PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE
By Susan Ferrara
Directed by Jessi D. Hill

A day in the life...

2010-02-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

terraNOVA sure does alot. That's what I hear from so many people in my life. I think to myself - do we? Then I look at my schedule for the week and realize every day and night is booked with meetings, shows, and events. So, yes, terraNOVA sure does alot.

Sometimes I wonder how we keep up the pace. For me, I recognize I have an uncanny capacity for work, for multi-tasking, and for keeping the ball rolling. I thrive on it. I'm so proud of what terraNOVA has become and the fact that we give opportunity to so many artists to be in front of an audience, at least once a month, if not more.

Yes, I'm exhausted - particularly today when I am sitting home after two days of fighting off a head cold. As a matter of fact, I stepped away from my computer for one minute and came back to 8 emails - in one minute! But if I stop and think about it - our Groundbreakers writers program has a reading series coming up starting next Monday - our soloNOVA line-up has been announced - plus our March Subterranean has been finalized. I may be exhausted, but I'm still smiling.

It is worth it. My dream is coming true. And I'm able to help artists' dreams come true as well. I work with some of the most dedicated, smart and talented people I know. I wouldn't trade what we've built for anything.

And now I'm taking a nap...seriously.

New Blog Direction

2010-02-16T08:01:00.000-08:00

As is the case with all of the new media, it can sometimes be difficult to figure out how to use each tool the Interweb hath given us. This blog (as many blogs do) sits here for weeks, months at a time without much new content. We're gonna change that. I'll be sharing a thought or two a week each Monday, and on Wednesdays a staff member or artist from a current show will share thoughts on what it takes to keep terraNOVA ticking, how they are wrestling with a role or how rehearsals are shaping a new play. Here and there other artists will share their thoughts, too, so keep coming back. You never know who might be blogging.

This Wednesday, we're kicking it off with our Artistic Director, Jennifer Conley Darling, an actor and producer who founded terraNOVA Collective with me and several fellow students from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Years later, we're still here, and our mission couldn't be more firm: We develop new plays through our Groundbreakers Playwrights Program and present the very best in solo performance with our annual soloNOVA Arts Festival. Both readings for Groundbreakers and soloNOVA are fast approaching, and this season's offerings are some of the best ever.

We're super psyched about this new blog direction, and we hope it gives you a little insight into what we're doing here at terraNOVA.

soloNOVA 2010 Mainstage Line Up

2010-02-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

TERRANOVA COLLECTIVE PRESENTS THE 7TH ANNUAL
SOLONOVA ARTS FESTIVAL

MAY 5-22 @
PERFORMANCE SPACE 122

We are proud to announce the mainstage line up for this year's festival. For the seventh consecutive season, we present our annual celebration of solo performers in the soloNOVA Arts Festival. The soloNOVA Arts Festival is the premier festival for solo performers in New York City. The 7TH Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival will feature comedy, dance theatre, storytelling, music, multi-character thrillers, musical comedies, bilingual cabaret, animation, multimedia, and puppetry.

soloNOVA celebrates innovative individuals who push the boundaries of what it means to be an artist, aims to redefine the solo form and uniquely invigorates the audience through the time-honored tradition of storytelling. This year, eight performers round out the mainstage offerings.

7th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival
May 5-22

Performance Space 122
(150 1st Ave at 9th Street)
Tickets on sale in March

BINDING
Conceived & Performed by Jesse Zaritt
Directed by Basmat Hazan
Produced by Theatre C

Violent. Tender. Erotic. Submissive. Abandoned. The worlds of pop music, myth and video collide in Jesse Zaritt’s movement-based quest for love, connection and the self.

MONSTER
Written by Daniel MacIvor
Directed by Steve Cook
Performed by Avery Pearson
Produced by Really Sketchy

Daniel MacIvor’s celebrated chiller returns to the New York stage with Avery Pearson stepping into the skin of 16 characters. Peeling back psychological layers to reveal the heart of an individual experience, MONSTER dissects the true nature of evil.

''Monster is Mr. MacIvor's suggestion that the dark side is as intrinsic to our natures as consciousness itself. It not only aspires to creeping you out, it also wants you to examine your own voyeuristic impulse to keep staring after the ax falls."
- The New York Times

PUPPY LOVE: A STRIPPER’S TAIL
Written & Performed by Erin Markey

Attempting to enter the “real world,” new college graduate Bridget is rejected from employment at Chuck E. Cheese and hired as a stripper at DejaVu in Ypsilanti, MI. Everything seems trashy, unfair and exciting until she falls for a co-stripper named Sky. The irreverent and poetically charged Bridget learns to sell her body while buying what her irresistibly midwestern competitors have to offer. And there’s pole dancing.

"Bizarre, character-shifting performance artist Erin Markey is so totally out there that she fits in perfectly with the OHP (Our Hit Parade) aesthetic. Key song: A funny-creepy version of Jeremiah’s ‘Birthday Sex,’ performed in the diaper, bonnet, bib and voice of a newborn baby."
- Adam Feldman, Time Out NY

REMISSION
Written by Kirk Wood Bromley
Performed by Daniel Berkey

For 45 years, Daniel Berkey suffered the ravages of schizophrenia with attendant addictions to sex, heroin and alcohol. At the age of 51, he experienced complete remission. This is his story.

ROOTLESS: La No-Nostalgia
Written & Performed by Karina Casiano

Sexy. Bold. Bilingual. Take a journey through the emotional life of migrants with songs ranging from tango to rock. Unraveling the psychological toll of displacement, Casiano ferociously and personally criticizes the role of newcomers and probes their responsibility toward their own countries.

THE ADVENTURES OF ALVIN SPUTNIK: DEEP SEA EXPLORER
Created and Performed by Tim Watts

Alvin Sputnik is Earth’s last hope. He must venture to the bottom of the ocean to find his wife’s lost soul and save humanity.

“An endearing Australian solo show…A seamless blend of live drawing projected on a round screen accompanying simple animation, Mr. Watts creates a vivid new theatrical world on a slim budget.”
- Jason Zinoman, The New York Times

THE W. KAMAU BELL CURVE: ENDING RACISM IN ABOUT AN HOUR
Written & Performed by W. Kamau Bell
Directed by Paul Stein

Black President or not, racism continues to make a comeback. And W. Kamau Bell is here to make (non)sense of it all. Irreverent and thoughtful, The W. Kamau Bell Curve skewers pop culture, news pundits and the man himself, Barack Obama. According to Comedy Central, Kamau told the very first Obama joke way back in 2005

“Smart, stylish, and very much in the mold of politically outspoken comedians like Dave Chappelle and Margaret Cho.”
- San Francisco Weekly (though he was more excited that they called him “handsome.”)

“W. Kamau Bell is the most important guy doing comedy right now. Do yourself a favor and go see him. He’s got the most astute, hilarious and completely righteous material going and he’s going to be a legend in his own lifetime like Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce. Think Bill Hicks but slightly taller.”
- Margaret Cho

WANTED
Written & Performed by Shontina Vernon
Directed by Kamilah Forbes

Arrested and locked up for writing hot checks, a ten-year-old Texan girl loses her way in a reality where even the adults themselves are lost. Shontina Vernon merges childhood stories with searing songs of fear and juvenile justice.

Shontina Vernon’s voice is “Blood chilling.”
- The Oregonian

Press Contact:
EMILY OWENS PR
emily [at] emilyowenspr.com | 972.743.3746

fringe nyc 2009

2009-08-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give a quick big up to the New York International Fringe Festival. I've seen 15 solo shows in Fringe NYC this year. I think it's my way of coping with not being able to to go to Edinburgh. In the past, I've scouted for the soloNOVA Arts Festival at the Fringe NYC, but I've never seen so many in one year. Generally a mixed bag (as are most fringe festivals around the world), this year's Fringe NYC solo shows have been good to very good on the whole. It's exciting for me, as a curator of solo shows, to see so many people attending. I have been to multiple sold out performances for solo shows, and it encourages me that there is an audience out there.

Moreover, the old misnomer that every solo show is about the author and therapy on one's own life has generally been disproved. I've seen puppets, stand-up, music and character pieces, and out of the 15, I'd say 2 were great, 3 were bad and the other 10 pretty entertaining. I'm very happy, too, to see Time Out NY and NYTheatre.com reviewing all 201 shows in this year's festival. While it may not be the most scientific way of reviewing such a behemoth, it's gotten the word out in a great way. I'm certain these reviews helped bring in audience to shows (especially out-of-towners) that deserved to be seen.

Looking forward to the final 3 shows - 2 of which I'm off to right...now!

long haul

2009-05-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

I'm looking to be a little sloppier on the blog. Grammar's gonna be worse and spellings probably not always going to be great. I'm just looking to get stuff out there.

soloNOVA's coming to a close, and it's been a Looooong haul this year. It's longer than we've ever done (almost 5 full weeks of programming). We've produced more shows than ever before - 60, when all's said and done (including the Breakthrough Performer week with Martin Dockery next week), as opposed to 32 last year. We're in residence at one of the most wonderful places you could be in residence - the DR2 Theatre and D-Lounge. So many publications have given us great reviews - from The New York Times to NYTheatre.com, there has been great praise for the festival's participants. And Mike Daisey opened the festival with a rousing speech on "Why Solo Performance Matters."

The other day, someone was asking me how the festival is going, and I said to them, "You know some day's you have 20 people in the house, and the next day you have 80. It's like life - you can freak out and beat your chest on the bad days and cheer the good days, but in the end...all I want to be able to do is say 'I'm proud of what I did.' That's how I feel about the festival. We've had downs, but we've certainly had more ups than downs."

It means so much that so many people are excited about what we do. I know there's still those out there who aren't on the solo band wagon. And that's fine, for it's not for everybody. However, when the craft of solo performance is done well - and I have to say how well I think it was done this year - there's nothing like it.

Many blessings...and if anyone's reading this before we close on Friday, come through and check it out. They're great shows, and I'm not just saying that because I'm producing it. I'm very proud of it.

new york amsterdam news review of TRACES & WHERE MY GIRLS AT?

2009-05-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

This is the review from the
NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
of TRACES & WHERE MY GIRLS AT
By DAMASO REYES
Special to the AmNews

Published: Thursday, May 21, 2009 1:11 PM EDT
Much of the art we see today is collaborative, but there is a special place for those pieces created and performed by the individual artist. That is what the sixth annual soloNOVA Arts Festival, now playing at the DR2 Theatre through the end of the month, celebrates. Two shows in this year’s festival—“Traces” and “Where My Girls At?”—give the viewer a great sense of the depth and breadth of contemporary solo performance.

“Traces,” conceived and performed by Leigh Evans, is an evocative piece that combines dance, movement, poetry and sounds to create a unique theater experience. The performer, who is also a yogi, begins on stage surrounded by posters of anatomical diagrams, pieces of the body if you will, and the performance proceeds to mirror those pieces. We see small, disconnected movements, as well as short, disconnected sounds, something like scatting but very different at the same time.

*
This evolves into more fluid, yoga-like movements, which themselves are echoed by the sounds we hear that then evolve into poetry: “Did you know that the blackbirds flew/the moment I last touched you?/Up the canal and across your lake,/hundreds of them took over the sky,/as your dust sifted through my fingertips.”

Writing about dance is a bit like describing the sea to someone who has only seen water in a bathtub. Nevertheless, “Traces” gives us an insight into what sounds and movement can accomplish together.

On the other end of the spectrum, “Where My Girls At?” written and performed by the talented Micia Mosely, is a laugh-out-loud comedy that pushes the envelope in too many ways to describe. The forth wall is eliminated and the audience is invited to help select the last participant of a new reality show, “Black Beauty: America’s Next Top Negress.” In a nod to diversity, the producers of the show have left a slot open for a lesbian and it is our job to help choose between Playa, an Oakland homegirl; Zigawella, a.k.a. Ziggy, an earnest women’s studies-type; Sistah, a drum-beating African “by way of Washington, D.C.”; and Lady D, a femme who wants to help bring out your fabluosity.

Each character (all performed by the energetic Mosely) takes their turn on stage, letting us know exactly why their version of Black womanhood should grace America’s screens. Playa (who isn’t a playa but does in fact crush a lot) keeps it very real and very street, challenging us to recognize that although different, she too is a Black beauty. Ziggy is so sweet she gives you a toothache. She is also so verbose and intellectual she gives you a headache, albeit an endearing one. She keeps trying to over explain everything and by doing so, manages to explain very little. But she has an earnest charm that the audience can’t help but enjoy, or at least laugh at.

Sistah loves to say the word “yoni.” That pretty much sums up her character. She is a real roots woman who loves all the flowers in her garden. She is also a big proponent of “yoni power” and even manages to create a song around it so disturbingly compelling you may find yourself signing “yoni power” on the way home.

Lady D is so fabulous she can’t even pronounce the word properly! She is as bubbly as a glass of champagne and about as filling. But she has a lot of attitude and isn’t afraid to put it out there.

After we have met each one, the audience is divided into groups that must judge each on their Blackness, femininity and lesbianism, and the character with the highest total score wins! “Where My Girls At?” is a great night out and a shining example of what a talented and flexible mind can do when given the freedom. The soloNOVA Festival runs through the end of May. Call (917) 639-3166 to reserve tickets or visit www.terranovacollective.org.

reviews of shows in soloNOVA

2009-05-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some links to reviews of shows in soloNOVA. We're coming up on the final few days, and it's been a long one. It's gonna continue a bit next week with Martin Dockery as the soloNOVA Breakthrough Artist of the Year. More info soon!

Review for Haerry Kim's FACE

All of NYTheatre.com's soloNOVA reviews

New Amsterdam News reviewed TRACES & WHERE MY GIRLS AT

Thanks to all who have made this season such a roaring success!

JDC

ALAS... only 2 more shows. : (

2009-05-11T22:35:00.000-07:00

Wow... I'm so totally overwhelmed. Seriously. So, I've done three of my five days of performances. And it's been really great. Seriously. The first two shows we had amazing crowds. Totally. And we had a nice (but small crowd) and Sunday. And, well, we had a critic in the house that day and I would have really liked to have had some hard core laughers in the house. You know? People who can just get everyone else laughing and clapping. That can be hard.

But we have had a lot of great people come to see the show. I must say, I have the BEST friends in the world. Seriously. This group of people who have come and have supported and have shared their time (and some cash) to spend an hour with me... they're literally the coolest people ever. All of my friends ARE, INDEED, ROCKSTARS. A huge, HUGE shout of thanks to them. Seriously.

Fun photo! Fun photo!

SHOWTIME! (this makes me think of Pippin!)

Today I saw two of the other shows in the festival, Martin Dockery's The Surprise and Preston Martin's Fun Design With Svelte (Can You Believe How Fun This Is?!). Great, great, great shows. It is such a great festival. Seriously. These are very talented, very dedicated and very hard working people. Also, can I say how much I love the folks at terraNOVA. Talk about engaging and supportive and kind. SUPER! Big hugs to JD and Jennifer and all of y'all at terraNOVA!

Okay, I know the show is quickly to end (this go round... gotta cross our fingers and pray to Jesus for a future) but there's still lots of excitement in these two upcoming shows!

Thanks again to all who've come out to support and a big pre-thanks to those who will be out to see the last two performances. Get your tickets today. Go with God! xoxo Maddy

the vera wang of fun design

2009-05-11T07:35:00.001-07:00

Fun Design with Svelte [can you believe how fun this is?!] got a great review in NYTheatre.com. They called Preston Martin:

"Hilarious...the Vera Wang of Fun Design."
- NYTheatre.com

We have to agree...he's pretty fantabulous. READ the whole review HERE.

dockery in the ny times

2009-05-08T23:21:00.000-07:00

THE SURPRISE by Martin Dockery got a nice review in The NY Times today.

"Deftly constructed...tight structure and quiet thematic echoes, bursts of spontaneity and metaphorical flourishes...a lanky and likable performer. Truly vivid." - Jason Zinoman, NY TIMES

Come and check him out. He's truly a storyteller at the top of his art form. Very proud to be presenting his work in soloNOVA this year. Go check out the REVIEW.

daisey opens soloNOVA with manifesto

2009-05-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

Mike Daisey rocked the DR2 last night, opening soloNOVA with his manifesto on why solo performance matters. He's very generously posted it on his website all to hear HERE .

2009-05-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, this is so super exciting. Hello world. Okay, okay, I have my own semi blog already at www.MaddyMann.com but nonetheless, this is super cool 'cause there's like a community involved in this. I like community. It's very Christian. Which is like me. And I like me. But that's not to say that I don't like you either. I don't know why you would think that I don't like you. Of course I like you. I like everyone. I'm Christian. Okay, okay, I don't like EVERY-one. I try to like everyone. I really do. But some people really seem quite unlikeable. Seriously. And I don't know if that's bad of me, but, I don't have to be perfect. Thankfully. 'Cause I know I'm not. I'm close. But no, not perfect.

Wow. Stream of consciousness can really fill up a paragraph. I had to write a paper today on the "crime of the century" back in the early 1900's (when Stanford White was killed in 1906 by Harry K Thaw all 'cause of a girl - Evelyn Nesbit.) What I find really annoying about the whole thing was the fact that it was only 1906 and someone had the audacity to term it "the crime of the century." Hello! 94 more years to go! Worse things will most likely happen!

It wasn't my best paper, I admit that fully. Just don't tell Sister Theresa. But I've been a little distracted. I mean, after all I am putting up a solo show THIS WEEK as part of the soloNOVA festival (Mann Seeking Man: Jesus-Lovin' Schoolgirl Seeks Soulmate,) and I had to make the promo vid that I posted up there. It's way fun. I hope you like it. (The show AND the promotional video.)

Okay, now I feel like I should edit that paper. Jesus likes people who give 100%... okay, big hugs and go with God. AND come see my show this coming weekend! xox Maddy

our community

2009-05-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

Growing up in Canton, IL, I started my career in the theatre at the Fulton County Playhouse. A small community theatre. I started off doing children's theatre in a musical called Hotel Hollywood, and I soon graduated to adult musicals like Joesph…, Annie and classics like Romeo & Juliet and The Imaginary Invalid. Ultimately, I moved to a larger community theatre, Eastlight, in nearby East Peoria, IL in shows like Big River, Lucky Stiff and Metropolis. Unlike New York City where you can throw a rock and hit a theatre, there were only a few outlets for me, and they were the bedrock on which I’ve built my entire career. Here I am, 20 years later, still working in the theatre. Along the way, I became a playwright, curator and arts administrator (something I never imagined I’d be doing), and I still find joy in creating show and sharing it with audience as I did when I was 15.

Six years ago, Jennifer Conley Darling, terraNOVA Collective’s artistic director, and I set out to grow a company that creates new work and celebrates solo artists. I’ve always held special affinity for solo artists. Along with theatre, my high school years included competitive speech team, or forensics (not CSI, but DI…or Dramatic Interpretation, for which I won 1st place in Illinois my senior year with a scene from David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly). I have always been fascinated with the power of one person to captivate an audience. I remember the first time I saw Mike Daisey, Danny Hoch, Nilaja Sun, Lily Tomlin and John Leguizamo each perform live, feeling the electricity of their magnetism flow through my soul. I also ran a salon in my loft apartment in Williamsburg, focusing on diverse performers from various artistic genres. Usually, solo artists. When I left the loft in Brooklyn, I wanted to continue celebrating solo performers of all disciplines. I approached Jennifer about the idea of a solo arts festival, and she supported me in creating the first soloNOVA Arts Festival.

Recently, we’ve had intensive discussions about terraNOVA’s mission. Until a few weeks ago it read thus:

terraNOVA Collective is a vibrant playground for artists devoted to innovative new and original theatrical works. Our multi-layered development process, solo arts festivals, and productions serve to nurture and liberate our community.

Make no mistake, terraNOVA Collective and other Off-Off Broadway theatre companies are not community theatre. We are professional theatre companies supporting the community. However, the debate over “who” terraNOVA’s community “is” persisted. We want to support artists. That’s why we founded terraNOVA. We want to create a nurturing environment for performers to try new things and stretch their artistic wings. At the same time, it is extremely important to cultivate audience. Most of the time that means, “How do we get more people to see this show?” And, while we (as does every company) struggle with the questions of marketing, public relations and getting butts in the seats, we are becoming increasingly intent on how we can bring people together for unique theatrical experiences.

Both Jennifer and I have lived in New York City for almost 16 years. This is our home. I read the New York Times every day not just because it is still the best newspaper in America, but I read it because it is my paper. I get news about my city from it. It tells me what the mayor said in his speech yesterday afternoon, or how the schmuck MTA board who doesn’t listen to the everyday straphanger and are raising the rates…again. New York City is our home, and it became very apparent to us that, “Our multi-layered development process, solo arts festivals, and productions serve to nurture and liberate New York City.”

In this day and age of Youtube, “reality” television and other forms of entertainment, the prevailing question amongst many of my colleagues is, “How do we become more interactive?” I’m finding it essential to integrate new technology into the theatrical experience. Part of this evolution are social networking sites and blogs, so as we near the kick off of the 6th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival, terraNOVA Collective is launching a blog and adding videos to Youtube of performers from this year’s festival.

It seems like a “duh” idea. Why didn’t we do this before? “You’re so behind the times.” I think that before this, there really just weren’t enough people interested, honestly. The theatre community is now in cyberspace in full force, and terraNOVA must continue to cultivate the dialogue amongst its artists and audiences so we can nurture and liberate New York City. It’s what people are demanding, so we must supply.

I hope people will come back to the blog throughout the next month as soloNOVA Artists share their experiences about developing, rehearsing and performing their work. These solo artists are the cream of the crop, and they are unlike typical solo artists. How they prepare for this festival may surprise you. Some may blog as characters they portray. It’s solo. It’s collective. It’s terraNOVA. It’s why we exist, and I hope you can make it through so we can nurture and liberate you, too!

James Carter
terraNOVA Collective
Associate Artistic Director
Lead Curator soloNOVA Arts Festival