La MaMa Reveals New Multipurpose 'Downstairs' Venue to Premiere in Sept.

La MaMa just announced the opening of their newest venue The Downstairs. Located in the lower level of 66 East 4th Street, the building that houses The Ellen Stewart Theatre and the La MaMa Archive, The Downstairs is new 6,500 square-foot multi-disciplinary venue that features a 150-seat theater, a large exhibition space, and a classroom.

Artistic Director, Mia Yoo likens The Downstairs to La MaMa Experimental Theatre Company's new experiment: "The Downstairs is an evolving space for new media and multi-disciplinary artists and residencies, as well as a place to network with our local and global communities through art. We are embracing 21st century tools for collaboration and production, and are very excited about making new art for new audiences."

She adds, "Just as La MaMa founder Ellen Stewart created a new vision of theatre that allowed audiences and artists to interact in unprecedented artistic exchanges 54 years ago in the East Village, our vision for The Downstairs is a non-traditional theatre space that will redefine how audiences and artists of the next generation interact and engage with art."

The first production in The Downstairs will be Tom Lee's Shank's Mare, opening on November 6th, which is part of the 2015 La MaMa Puppet Series. John Jesurun's Shadowland, follows on November 27th.

La MaMa will host a "sneak peek" of The Downstairs on Monday, September 28th from 6:30pm to 8pm. For more info go to: www.lamama.org/thedownstairs

Read about The Downstairs in The New York Times.

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