8th Annual CONEY ISLAND RITUAL CABARET to Return in March
Events will run Friday 3/28 - 8pm // Saturday 3/29 - 8pm // Sunday 3/30 - 4pm.
International Culture Lab and Coney Island USA will present the 8th annual Coney Island Ritual Cabaret, featuring over 20 original acts of artistic resistance.
In response to last fall's presidential election results, ICL recognized that while many artists were initially stunned, they would soon seek platforms to express their voices. To that end, ICL once again returned to its origins as Thieves Theatre and its decades-long legacy of provocative performance. Founded in 1980 and named in honor of French playwright and political activist Jean Genet, in 2024, ICL produced Genet's "The Balcony" at Ritual Cabaret. This year again, the company asked themselves in these challenging times … WWJD … What would Jean do — the author whose life and work embodied resistance against social norms, political structures, and artistic conventions.
ICL issued a Call for Proposals to performers across disciplines —actors, musicians, dancers, puppeteers, performers in the variety artists, etc. — to present an original 5-to-15-minute solo or ensemble performance piece:
"Through our theatrical journey, we've come to believe that the performer's body is the primary site of political intervention. The personal IS political," states the call. "We invite creative engagement with current cultural and political challenges, from quiet acts of survival to thunderous, transformative rebellion."
"For Project Ritual Cabaret 2025, we are soliciting original proposals that explore the nature of 'resistance' and 'defiance'... how they facilitate transformation -- on the personal, societal and human level. We ask you to creatively engage with the current (inter)national cultural and political provocations. Art as dissent."
Co-artistic Director Gabriele Schafer explains, “Facts and statistics have never convinced anyone of anything, especially in this era of 'alternative facts.' It comes down who tells the better story—and that's where artists come in."
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Tristan & Yseult St. Ann's Warehouse (11/01-11/22) |
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Return of the Buffalo: Tatanka Owe Akupi St. Ann's Warehouse (9/19-9/20) |
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Light As Air Tenet Vocal Artists (5/08-5/08) |
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KRAMER/FAUCI St. Ann's Warehouse (9/27-10/24) |
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Ectoplasm spit&vigor tiny baby black box theater (9/24-10/31) |
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Brit Floyd The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts (9/18-9/18) |
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Zeju Zheng Trio Jazz On Main (9/03-9/03) |
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Broadway Close Up: Broadway in the 50s Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center (12/07-12/07) |
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Broadway Close Up: William Finn Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center (10/26-10/26) |
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A Night With Mr. Wonderful The Hidden Jewel Box Theater (11/13-11/13) |