Performance Space 122 Honors Stellar Individuals 5/15

Performance Space 122 will honor, celebrate and salute stellar individuals who work at every level critical to live performance, who epitomize the vital roles played onstage: performer Tom Murrin; backstage: producer Lori E. Seid; and offstage: our members at the Spring Gala 2008 to be held on Thursday, May 15th at the Angel Orensanz Center (172 Norfolk Street, Manhattan).  The star-studded evening begins at 5.30pm and will feature live performances by Blue Man Group, Justin Bond, Steve Buscemi, David Cale, Mimi Goese, Lisa Kron, David Leslie, Rosie O'Donnell, Johanna Went; plus special video performances by Cyndi Lauper as well as Antony and the Johnsons (directed by Charles Atlas); Hosted by Jonathan Ames; Awards presentation by Johanna Went.

The honorees this year are integral to the story of Performance Space 122, each contributing over the past quarter-century to build Performance Space 122 into a home to the most inventive and creative performance work in the country.  Tom Murrin, aka Alien Comic, has worked in the space since the mid-80s, both performing his own shows and curating variety nights that introduced hundreds of new artists over the past two decades.  Lori E. Seid began stage managing shows when that meant stringing clip lamps with extension cords, and went on to win Obie, Bessie, and Theatre Craft awards for her technical achievements behind the scenes.  Off stage we are grateful to our members whose generosity supports a where theater can be reinvented, ideas can take flight, and new voices can be heard.

The evening is being chaired by Stephen Daldry, Claire Danes, Teri Garr, and Jane Friedman.  The gala will begin with cocktails at 5.30pm and include a seated dinner.  At 11.30pm, the festivities will continue at an after-party at The Vault at Element (directly across from the gala venue) with The Vintage D.J..  Sponsors include Paper Magazine, MediabistroCircus.com, Element, TwentyTwo NYC, myopenbar.com, Centerra Wine Company, Mouton Cadet, Nottage Hill, Kronenbourg 1664, Newcastle Brown Ale, and Highland Park.

The always popular silent and live auctions will include art by Renate Aller, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Robert Flynt, Philip Glass, Bob Gruen, Dona Ann McAdams, Michelle Vaughan.  The auctions will also feature jewelry by Jill Platner; and a Highland Park Single Malt Whisky Masterclass valued at $10,000, which involves a private tasting of the entire line of whiskies, ages 12, 15, 18, 25 and 30 years old, accompanied by Highland Park Brand Ambassador Martin Daraz as well as a bottle of the 30 year old Scotch for the winning bidder, of course.

Evening Overview:

5:30   Cocktails and Silent Auction

7:00   Dinner

8:00   Live Art Auction

8:30   Performances and Tributes

10:00 Dessert

11:30 After-Party

Location: Angel Orensanz Center, 172 Norfolk Street (between East Houston and Stanton Streets) in Manhattan. 

Tickets and tables must be purchased in advance.  Single tickets are $250 and $500; tables are available at $5000 (includes 8 tickets) and $10,000 (includes 10 tickets).  Tickets and tables are still currently available, both online at www.ps122.org and by phone at 212-352-3101.

Platinum Sponsor: $25,000 Reserved table for 10, plus premium placement of a full-page ad in the Gala program

Gold Table Sponsor: $10,000 Reserved table for 10, plus full-page ad in the Gala program

Silver Sponsor: $5,000 Reserved table for 8, plus half-page ad in the Gala program

Bronze Sponsor: $1,000 Includes 4 individual tickets, plus sponsorship listing in the Gala program

Individual Sponsor: $500 Includes individual ticket, plus sponsorship listing in the Gala program

Individual Patron: $250 Includes individual ticket for cocktail party, dinner, live performance and after-party

Gala ticket and table contributions are tax-deductible in the amount they exceed $75.

Performance Space 122 is dedicated to supporting and presenting artists whose work challenges the traditional boundaries of dance, theatre, music, and performance.  Committed to exploring innovative form as well as material, P.S. 122 is steadfast in its search for pioneering artists from a diversity of cultures and points of view.  www.ps122.org

 More about Tom Murrin, Alien Comic

Tom Murrin has been a leading figure on the international performance art scene and is a recent recipient of a fellowship for the New York Foundation for the Arts. His many appearances this year have included NY stints at PS 122, The Club at La Mama, King Tut's Wah-Wah Hut and out of town at Hallwalls, Buffalo and the Ramada Inn, Hollywood.

Born and raised in L.A., Tom Murrin graduated from local Universities, and practiced law in Beverly Hills. In the mid 60s, he moved to N.Y. and received his Masters of Law at N.Y.U. and began writing plays for off-off-Broadway theaters.  There, he became a member of the first generation of La Mama playwrights and wrote four plays performed through La Mama: "Hung," and "Roommates;" and "Cock-Strong" and "Son of Cock-Strong," produced by John Vacarro's Playhouse of the Ridiculous. In the early 70s, Murrin relocated to Paris, where he began acting in plays at The American Center and, in 1973, moved to Seattle where he became a full-time performer and was invited to join Para-Troupe. Murrin also produced "Dwarf Theater" ("theater that doesn't get in your way"); and created "Trash Theater," which entailed choosing a location, putting on make-up, and doing a completely different show each time. He returned to New York in the fall of 1978 where Tom has been living and performing in New York ever since.

He has been the "Holiday Host" at La Mama for ten years, producing and performing in holiday shows. In 1993, Murrin toured the U.S. covering twenty cities with Pere Ubu, Gun Club, and Orangutang, for Virago Records. In the mid-90s, during an Alien Comic show at Dixon Place, the character "Jack Bump" made his debut and became the Alien Comic's "alter libido and evil twin." Between 1999 and 2004, under the name of Jack Bump, Murrin has penned five "bad taste sex comedies," at various downtown venues, all directed by David Soul. Murrin continues to perform, and teaches two-week workshops at La Mama, after which there is a night of performance in The Club at La Mama.  He has written for PAPER magazine for the past 16 years, covering the performance and stage scenes, writing about actors, dancers, playwrights and directors, and upcoming performance and theater works.

More about Lori E. Seid

Lori E. Seid has worked as a lighting designer, stage manager and tech director since 1984.
She has worked extensively with artists such as:  DANCENOISE, Charles Atlas, Antony, Split Britches, Karen Finley, David Rouseeve, Penny Arcade, Blueman Group, Julie Tolentino Wood, Meredith Monk, Diamanda Galas, John Bernd, Yoshiko Chuma, Ann Carlson and John Kelly, to name but a few.

Seid is a recipient of The Obie, The Bessie, and an International Theater Craft Award all for sustained excellence in the theater.

As a producer, Seid has produced a large range of work, including: independent films such as; HIGH ART, For The Love of Dolly, The Lunchroom ; The Rosie O'Donnell TV Show (for which Seid won an emmy) and Boy George's legendary and scandalous broadway musical Taboo, nominated for 4 Tony awards.

Currently Seid is the producer and creative manager for Rosie O'Donnell's production company, Kidro, as well as overseeing the many philanthropic events produced for Rosie's charities.

For more information please visit www.ps122.org