Performance Space Offers Private Theater Experience in Times Square, Available 5/14-23

In the center of the New York City Theater District, acclaimed Broadway set designer Christine Jones publicly debuts "Theatre for One", a four foot by nine foot portable theater with one performer playing to one audience member. The uniquely intimate theatrical experience will be available to anyone on a first-come, first-served basis between May 14 and 23, 2010 in Times Square.

Theatre for One may be very small, but it is fully operational with computer controlled lights and sound, stage and audience doors and solid sliding "curtain" in a proscenium to start and end the performances. A stage manager runs the show while a house manager guides the guests into the red velvet interior which includes an actual peep booth seat.

Jones was inspired by peep show booths of Times Square's past in development of this new type of theatrical space to intensify the audience and performer relationship that is being lost in the new digital Times Square. Collaborating with Jones, Lot-ek Architects utilized the pebbled black walls and steel edged construction of the theatrical roadshow boxes for a new architectural expression. The theater was built for a workshop at Princeton University in 2007.

"We are thrilled to provide Theatre for One with its Broadway debut," said Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance. "This installation marks not only the public and world premiere of Theatre for One, but also a number of new commissions for this unique performance space."
Artists of different disciplines, including theater, dance, poetry, magic, and music, will create and perform five- to ten minute pieces that will be presented in rotation for six hours a day, (including breaks), during a ten day residency in Times Square. Each of the days will be devoted to a specific medium: a day of dance, a day of new plays, a day of magic, etc.

Christine Jones, Artistic Director
As a set designer, Ms. Jones has been exploring the relationship between actors and audience, and in the manipulation of space to maximize the dramatic potential of a text. Theatre for One was conceived as a way of distilling to its essence the interconnectedness between performer, perceiver, and play.

On Broadway Ms. Jones designed the sets for AMERICAN IDIOT, (2010 Tony Nomination )the punk rock opera by Green Day; EVERYDAY RAPTURE, featuring Sherie Renee Scott; SPRING AWAKENING, (Tony Nomination); and THE GREEN BIRD, directed by Julie Taymor. Other New York credits include CORALINE, adapted from Neil Gaman's book with music by Stephen Merritt; Leonard Cohen's THE BOOK OF LONGING, with music composed by Philip Glass; MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, Shakespeare in the Park, BURN THIS and MR. FOX at the Signature Theatre. She has been on the cover of Entertainment Design Magazine and is a professor at NYU's, Tisch School of the Arts. www.theatreforone.com

LOT-EK, Architects
Lot-ek is a design studio based in New York and Naples that was founded in 1993 by Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano. Lot-ek is well-known for its re-use of shipping containers such as "Puma City" and the Governor Island shelters and its exhibition design and site-specific installations for MoMA, the Whitney Museum and the Guggenheim. www.lot-ek.com

A Few of the Performers and Writers

Steve Cuiffo (Magician and Actor). A few of his theater credits include Radiohole's Fluke; Major Bang (Foundry Theater), Steve Cuiffo Is Lenny Bruce at Joe's Pub/Public Theater; and Rinne Groff's Orange, Lemon, Egg, Canary at P.S. 122.

Courtney Baron (Playwright). Her plays have been has been produced at many theaters across the country including MCC, the Guthrie and Actors Theater of Louisville.

Phyllis Chen (Toy Piano Musician). She was the featured solo musician for the world premiere of Stephen Merritt's Off-Broadway production, Coraline, in May 2009, and Nathan Davis's work for toy piano and clock chimes that premiered at Symphony Space.

Dallas Roberts (Actor). He is a film and off-Broadway actor with roles in Michael Cunningham's A Home at the End of the World, Walk the Line and The Notorious Bettie Page, and the Showtime drama The L Word.

Frank Wood (Actor). He won a Tony Award in 1999 for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Side Man and is currently known for his role as Greg on the HBO series Flight Of The Conchords.

Theatre for One is presented by the Times Square Alliance Public Art Program. The Public Art Program is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Theatre for One is made possible in part with public funds from the Manhattan Community Arts Fund, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Theatre for One is additionally supported by True Love Productions.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!