Public Theater Sets 12th Annual UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL Lineup

By: Tyler Peterson Oct. 29, 2015

The Public Theater announced the exciting international line-up today for the 12th annual UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL, running January 6-17, 2016. This popular and highly-anticipated program of The Public Theater's winter season will include artists from across the U.S. and around the world, including Belgium, Canada, Chile, France, Japan, and Rwanda. Curated by Co-Directors Mark Russell and Meiyin Wang, this year's UNDER THE RADAR will also launch a new series, Under the Radar + Joe's Pub: In Concert, which highlights artists who are working at the intersection of music and theater.

Innovative artists 600 HIGHWAYMEN, Guillermo Calderón, DarkMatter, Halory Goerger and Antoine Defoort, Lars Jan/Early Morning Opera, Dorothée Munyaneza/Compagnie Kadidi, Ahamefule J. Oluo, pomme is french for apple, Martha Redbone, Aaron Whitby & Roberta Uno, Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble, Tanya Tagaq will be performing downtown at The Public Theater as part of UTR 2016, as well as Toshiki Okada's God Bless Baseball at Japan Society. The 12-day festival will also include free CULTUREBOT discussions; post-show talkbacks; a pop-up library on the Levin Mezzanine, and the UTR Professional Symposium.

"Under the Radar makes January in New York as radiant as the most glorious South Sea Island," said Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "These thrilling artists are reinventing what performance can be, and we are honored to host them."

Member tickets, priced at $20, are available now. Single tickets to all UTR shows at The Public are only $25 and can be accessed on Tuesday, November 10. Tickets for God Bless Baseball at Japan Society, priced at $35 and $28 for Japan Society members, are available now and can be purchased directly from the venue. Single tickets for shows at The Public Theater may be accessed online at www.undertheradarfestival.com; The Taub Box Office at The Public at 425 Lafayette Street; or by phone at 212-967-7555. The "UTR Pack" is back by popular demand, granting admission to any five UTR shows at The Public and a discount for God Bless Baseball at Japan Society, for only $100.

The INCOMING! Series returns to the festival, featuring members of The PubIic's Devised Theater Initiative (DTI)'s Devised Theater Working Group. This year's line-up includes new works-in-process by Nikki Appino & Saori Tsukada; I AM A BOYS CHOIR; Andrew Scoville; David Tennent, & Joe Drymala; Sister Sylvester; Dane Terry; and Wildcat!

"Under the Radar is made to reflect the city it was born in-global in imagination, chaotic and improvisational in energy, made up of joyous and unexpected encounters," said UTR Co-Director/DTI Director Meiyin Wang. "From New York to Chile to Rwanda, this year's artists come from all corners of the world to explode the possibilities of live performance and engage with audiences the urgent questions of our time."

Over the last 12 years, The Public's UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL has presented over 194 companies from 40 countries. It has grown into a landmark of the New York City theater season and is a vital part of The Public's mission, providing a high-visibility platform to support artists from diverse backgrounds who are redefining the act of making theater. Widely recognized as a premier launching pad for new and cutting-edge performance from the U.S. and abroad, UTR has presented works by such respected artists as Elevator Repair Service, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Gob Squad, Belarus Free Theatre, and Young Jean Lee. These artists provide a snapshot of contemporary theater: richly distinct in terms of perspectives, aesthetics, and social practice, and pointing to the future of the art form.

"This is our 12th edition of the Under the Radar Festival," said UTR Co-Director Mark Russell. "From Germinal to Employee of the Year to Tanya Tagaq in Concert with Nanook of the North, this year's festival will be full of music, beauty and unique stories told from the heart. If you want to see what is going on in the world of theater and performance, Under the Radar has over 18 vibrant answers to that question."

The Library at The Public will also be open nightly for food and drink, beginning at 5:00 p.m. and in addition to hosting these Under the Radar + Joe's Pub: In Concert performances, Joe's Pub at The Public will continue to offer some of the best music in the city.

Under the Radar is made possible with the generous support of the Ford Foundation and the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation. For a full listing of generous support for Under the Radar and individual productions, please visit www.undertheradarfestival.com.

UNDER THE RADAR AT THE PUBLIC THEATER (JANUARY 6-17, 2016):

Employee of the Year

January 7-17 (Running Time: 70 minutes)

600 HIGHWAYMEN (USA)

A play with children for adults. Five young girls tell the story of J., whose house burns down, taking with it everyone and everything she has ever known. From this moment, a singular journey begins. Performed in 600 HIGHWAYMEN's arresting theatrical style and featuring the original songs of David Cale, Employee of the Year asks what it is to find your own way through life. 600 HIGHWAYMEN is an Obie Award-winning theater company creating works by Abigail Browde and Michael Silverstone. They have made six critically acclaimed works since 2009, including The Record (UTR 2014).

Escuela
January 13-17 (Running Time: 90 minutes)

Guillermo Calderón (Chile)

Chile, 1987. A group of young left-wing activists gather in a drab living room to receive paramilitary instruction aimed at overthrowing the Pinochet dictatorship. Wearing ski masks to conceal their identity from each other, they teach their respective skills: using a gun, political theory, clandestine organizational methods. With subtle humor and penetrating insight, Escuela illustrates the struggle and yearning of a generation prepared to use any means necessary to achieve justice and freedom. Writer/director Guillermo Calderón's award-winning productions have been presented in over 25 countries. Diciembre was presented at UTR 2011, and the English-language version of his play Neva premiered at The Public in 2013. Performed in Spanish with English surtitles.

Germinal

January 6-9 (Running Time: 80 minutes)
Halory Goerger and Antoine Defoort (France/Belgium)

Wed. Jan 6th 7:30 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 7th 7:30 p.m. | Fri. Jan 8th 7:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 9th 3:00 p.m.

On an empty stage, four intrepid performers begin to construct the world from scratch. With ingenious theater magic, they gleefully invent laws of physics, philosophy, music, language, and social interaction. One of the most talked-about pieces in the international performance circuit in recent years, Germinal uses the theater as a whimsical metaphor for human civilization. Defoort and Goerger are musicians, actors, philosophers, pranksters, artists, and inventors who meld genres and upend social codes. Their mix of visual art, theater, music, and sociology marked them as rising stars at the 2013 Avignon Festival. Performed in French with English surtitles.

The Institute of Memory (TIMe)
January 8-17 (Running Time: 80 minutes)

Lars Jan / Early Morning Opera (USA)

Two men play with the past in the glow of a kinetic light sculpture signaling keystrokes from a hacked 50s typewriter. Featuring archival wire-tap transcriptions, the missives of communist spies, and MRI brain scans, The Institute of Memory (TIMe) conjures a portrait of director Lars Jan's enigmatic father - a Cold War operative whose fascinating story prompts questions about privacy, memory, and fatherhood. Directed by Lars Jan, Early Morning Opera is a performance and art lab integrating emerging technologies, live audiences, and unclassifiable experience. EMO has presented its original works at the Whitney Museum, BAM Next Wave Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and more.

Samedi Détente

January 14-17 (Running Time: 75 minutes)

Dorothée Munyaneza / Compagnie Kadidi (France/Rwanda)

Thurs. Jan. 14th 4:30 p.m. | Fri. Jan 15th 7:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 16th 6:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 17th 7:00 p.m.

"Samedi détente was a Saturday radio program. In Rwanda, it was the main event of the week. We danced, we sang, we memorized the songs." How do you speak about the unspeakable? Dorothée Munyaneza was 12 when blood turned Rwanda red in 1994. Twenty years later, she invents her own Samedi détente. Accompanied by Ivorian dancer Nadia Beugré and French musician Alain Mahé, she returns to the memories of her childhood with potent music, electrifying movement, and dispassionate testimony. Rwanda-born Dorothée Munyaneza is a singer, dancer, actor, and choreographer who currently lives in France. She formed Compagnie Kadidi in 2013 to develop her original work. Performed in French with English surtitles.

Now I'm Fine
January 12-17 (Running Time: 100 minutes)

Ahamefule J. Oluo (USA)

Comedian/musician/storyteller Ahamefule J. Oluo leads a team of talented musicians in a grand-scale experimental pop opera about keeping it together. Drawing from darkly funny personal stories about illness, despair, and regeneration, Now I'm Fine ranges from intimate to epic, featuring a 17-piece orchestra and a spectacular cast of performers. Ahamefule J. Oluo is a Seattle-based musician, composer, and comedian, whose storytelling was recently featured on This American Life. He co-founded the Stranger Genius, award-winning hard-jazz quartet Industrial Revelation, and has collaborated with Macklemore, Das Racist, Hey Marseilles, and many others.

The Art of Luv (Part 1): Elliot
January 8-17 (Running Time: 60 minutes)

Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble (USA)

On May 23, 2014, Elliot Rodger killed 6 people and injured 13 in a rampage motivated by his lack of success with women. Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble responds with a ritual-performance based on a cycle of found love stories - a meditation on masculinity, love and longing that confronts humanity's common search for love as we misunderstand it. Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble creates multimedia installation-performances that explore the metaphysics and mythologies of love, desire, and courtship. ROKE was a member of The Public Theater's Devised Theater Working Group, and has performed at FringeArts Philadelphia, UTR's INCOMING! Series, Gibney Dance Center, and more.

Tanya Tagaq in Concert with Nanook of the North

January 15-17 (Running Time: 70 minutes)
Tanya Tagaq (Canada)

Fri. Jan 15th 8:30 p.m. | Sat. Jan 16th 8:30 p.m. | Sun. Jan 17th 8:00 p.m.

In this live concert with film, Inuit throat singer and tour-de-force vocalist Tanya Tagaq creates a mesmerizing soundscape for the controversial 1922 silent film Nanook of the North. Along with percussionist Jean Martin and violinist Jesse Zubot, Tagaq reclaims-through explosive sound-this portrayal of an early 20th century Inuit community in Northern Quebec. Polaris Prize-winning Tanya Tagaq, known for her work with Björk and the Kronos Quartet, is a genre unto herself. Rooted in tradition, her unique vocal style also aligns with avant-garde improvisation, metal, and electronica influences.

UNDER THE RADAR + JOE'S PUB: IN CONCERT

Re-engineering the intersection of music and theater

This new series highlights the multidisciplinary music/theater hybrids emerging from this venue's trendsetting programming. These artists are re-engineering storytelling in this intimate space in a way that expands the audience and definition of theater. These performances are not open for review.

#ItGetsBitter

January 12 and 14 (Running Time: 70 minutes)

DarkMatter (USA)

Tues. Jan 12th 9:30 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 14th 9:30 p.m.

In a queer apocalypse where assimilation and white supremacy reign supreme, DarkMatter imagines alternatives. This trans spoken word duo speaks from beyond the gender binary in an explosion of queer rage, nursery rhymes, and unforgettable instagrammable fashions. #ItGetsBitter is their latest collage of camp, critique, and fluorescent lipstick created in collaboration with stage director Charlotte Brathwaite. DarkMatter is a trans South Asian performance art duo comprised of Alok Vaid-Menon and Janani Balasubramanian. DarkMatter regularly performs to sold-out houses at venues such as La MaMa Experimental Theater, Nuyorican Poets Café, and the Brooklyn Museum, and was a member of The Public Theater's Devised Theater Working Group and presented in UTR's INCOMING! Series.

pomme is french for apple
January 10 and 17 (Running Time: 60 Minutes)

pomme is french for apple (Canada)

Sun. Jan 10th 9:30 p.m. | Sun. Jan 17th 9:30 p.m.

Pum (n): West Indian for a woman's private parts. Comprised of a series of fast-paced vignettes, pomme is french for apple features a dizzying cast of charming and outlandish characters, in settings as diverse as the Caribbean, downtown Toronto, southeast London, and the too-tight crotch of the pants. pomme (sounds like...) is a fresh, funny and irreverent look at womanhood in all its glory: its perils, its pleasures and all kinds of madness in between. Liza Paul and Bahia Watson's two-woman show earned a Best of Fringe award at the 2012 Toronto Fringe Festival, and has since won critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Joe's Pub.

Bone Hill

January 13-16 (Running Time: 90 minutes)
Martha Redbone, Aaron Whitby & Roberta Uno (USA)

Wed. Jan 13th 7:00 p.m. | Thurs. Jan 14th 7:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 16th 7:00 p.m.

Renowned blues and soul singer Martha Redbone - with her all-star band - explores her Appalachian family's history in an epic that spans generations and a breadth of music genres, revealing a great American story that has remained untold until now. A New York Voices commission with Joe's Pub, this piece is written in collaboration with Aaron Whitby and director Roberta Uno. Singer-songwriter Martha Redbone's music flows equally from her own unique, award-winning blend of Native American elements and her deep roots in Appalachian folk and Piedmont blues.

INCOMING! SERIES

A Festival within a Festival. Rapid Response. Controlled Chaos. New Work.

This year, The PubIic Theater's Devised Theater Initiative (DTI) hosts the second cohort of the Devised Theater Working Group. These artists will be presented as part of the 2016 Under the Radar Festival's INCOMING! Series, a platform that features in-process works of formal investigation and artistic ambition. Works-in-Process are not open for review.

Club Diamond
Nikki Appino & Saori Tsukada
Wed. Jan 13th 7:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 17th 1:00 p.m. (Running Time: 35 minutes)

A young woman travels alone from Tokyo to New York City to be a star. Using a 16mm silent film, live music and traditional Japanese performance techniques-including Benshi film narration-Club Diamond explores how truth gets manipulated into story and the gap between perception and reality. Nikki Appino is an award-winning theater artist and filmmaker. Saori Tsukada has been described as a "charismatic mover" (Backstage) and "startlingly precise dancer" (New York Times). The two strive to examine identity and "telling the truth," with the theme of East meets West.

demonstrating the imaginary body or how i became an ice princess
I AM A BOYS CHOIR
Sun. Jan 10th 7:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 16th 1:00 p.m. (Running Time: 75 minutes)

A trio of ice princesses-in-training search for answers about the myth of the female athlete, and the process of earning institutional validation. Featuring trampolines, blood feuds, sequins, and a lot of Tonya Harding. I AM A BOYS CHOIR is a queer-identified interdisciplinary performance collective making work that straddles performance, video, music, and installation. Their work has been seen at REDCAT, La MaMa ETC, Movement Research @ Judson Church, Dixon Place, Mount Tremper Arts, JACK, and BAM.

People Doing Math Live!
Andrew Scoville, David Tennent, & Joe Drymala

Fri. Jan 8th 8:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 10th 9:00 p.m. (Running Time: 45 minutes)

A live recording of a serialized podcast about math, art, and everyday life. People Doing Math Live! is an unabashed celebration of the beauty, uncertainty, and wonder of exploring a world expressed in numbers. People Doing Math is a Brooklyn-based group of composers, political speechwriters, technologists, video designers, directors and writers, united by a common belief that math is an innately human experience and everyone is good at math.

They Are Gone But Here Must I Remain
Sister Sylvester

Sat. Jan 9th 8:00 p.m.| Sat. Jan 16th 5:00 p.m. (Running Time: 70 minutes)

What is the relationship between image and action? In their performance-lecture, Sister Sylvester looks for an answer in Peter Whitehead's 1969 film The Fall-and the student occupations in Athens (and subsequent collapse of the Greek junta) that film may have inspired. Sister Sylvester is a New York-based company whose work combines documentary with fiction to explore the fault-lines of power in the contemporary world. Formed in 2008, they have created work in both site-specific venues as well as in theaters, including JACK, Abrons Art Center, Park Avenue Armory, and Sing Sing Karaoke.

Bird in the House

Dane Terry
Fri. Jan 15th 8:00 p.m. | Sat. Jan 16th 9:00 p.m. (Running Time: 65 minutes)

Strange lights in the sky, missing dogs, living rooms full of static. Somewhere in America, a boy's bedroom ceiling is slowly falling on him. Composer/performer Dane Terry paints eerie scenes of queer American boyhood and adolescence. Dane Terry's "modular musical theater" compositions draw on a wide range of styles, assembling musical-narratives from seemingly disparate songs and moments. His works have been seen at La Mama and Dixon Place.

I Do Mind Dying - Danse Précarité
Wildcat!
Thurs. Jan 14th 7:00 p.m. | Sun. Jan 17th 5:00 p.m. (Running Time: 70 minutes)

I Do Mind Dying is an experimental labor ballet filled with sweat and bubble wrap, an attempt to reflect the exhaustive, repetitive, and at times harsh circumstances endured throughout our precarious existence. Wildcat! was formed in September 2013 by interdisciplinary artists Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste, Eleni Zaharopoulos, and André M. Zachery, who share an interest in exploring how people organize and support each other in an unstable and imbalanced world.

UNDER THE RADAR PARTNER VENUE

God Bless Baseball
January 14-17 (Running Time: 100 minutes)

Toshiki Okada (Japan)
Presented by Japan Society
333 East 47th Street (Between 1st and 2nd Ave.)

$35/$28 for Japan Society members
Tickets: japansociety.org or 212-715-1258

Thurs. Jan 14th 8:00 p.m. | Fri. Jan 15th 7:30 p.m. | Sat. Jan 16th 7:30 p.m. | Sun. Jan 17th 2:30 p.m.

What does the sport of baseball mean to you? Visionary playwright/director Toshiki Okada explores this iconic American symbol and its popularity in Korea and Japan. Incorporating Okada's distinctive style of hyper-colloquial speech and exaggerated commonplace gestures, the play examines influence and cultural assimilation on a global scale. Toshiki Okada is a Japanese playwright, director, and founder of the theater company chelfitsch. His work has been presented around the world and in the U.S. with Under the Radar, Japan Society, and the Play Company. Performed in Japanese and Korean with English surtitles.

ADDITIONAL UNDER THE RADAR PROGRAMMING

UTR and CULTUREBOT

Scanning the Landscape

January 16 and 17

12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. at The Public Theater; FREE

A series of panel conversations on the most current and compelling ideas at work in the field of contemporary theater and the conditions in which it is being made. Leading practitioners, thinkers, and supporters of cutting-edge theater offer lively discussions on the state of the field and what the future might hold.

POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS: JANUARY 6-17

A lively discussion with the artists, moderated by UTR staff, in the theater immediately following these performances:

Germinal: Fri. Jan 8th 7:00 p.m.
The Institute of Memory (TIMe): Sat. Jan 9th 2:00 p.m.
Employee of the Year: Sun. Jan 10th 3:00 p.m.
Now I'm Fine: Sat. Jan 16th 3:30 p.m.
Tanya Tagaq in Concert with Nanook of the North: Sat. Jan 16th 8:30 p.m.
Escuela: Sun. Jan 17th 3:00 p.m.
Samedi Détente: Sun. Jan 17th 7:00 p.m.

THE READING ROOM ON THE LEVIN MEZZANINE

Under the Radar partners with legendary Strand Book Store to create a pop-up library, filled with book collections curated by this year's festival artists. With drink specials and small plates by The Library's Chef Andrew Carmellini, this is the perfect place to pass the time between shows. Located on the Levin Mezzanine at The Public, food and drink service is available 6:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. nightly and 3:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. on January 16-17.

UNDER THE RADAR PROFESSIONAL SYMPOSIUM: JANUARY 14-15

The Under the Radar Professional Symposium is a two-day event on January 14 and 15, featuring a chance to see full productions of the festival shows as well as keynote speakers and expert panel discussions. Attendance at the Symposium is strictly limited to presenting and producing professionals in the field.

The Under the Radar Professional Symposium is a pre-conference event of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (Arts Presenters) and is held in conjunction with the APAP|NYC 2016 conference. For more information on this year's APAP conference and Arts Presenters, visit www.apapnyc.org. The Under the Radar Festival is part of "January in NYC is the Place to Be for the Performing Arts," the annual convergence of 12 major performing arts industry forums and public festivals. For more information, visit www.JanuaryinNYC.org.

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