CAFFE CINO: THE ROOM AND THE WRITERS Announced This Month

On March 24 at 6pm at the Jefferson Market Library, and on April 30at St. John's Church in the Village, writer, archivist and Caffe Cino actress Maggie Dominic will share documentation and stories about the landmark space and the historic Caffe Cino.

The Caffé Cino, at 31 Cornelia Street, was not originally conceived as a theatrical venue but between 1958 and 1968 a group of unknown playwrights emerged and used the tiny stage to experiment with new theatrical work and to use the free venue Joe offered. The Broadway hit Dames at Sea, premiered at the Caffe Cino in 1966, as was other groundbreaking work by Sam Shepard, Doric Wilson, John Guare, Tom Eyen, Diane Di Prima and Lanford Wilson, among many others. Experimental work that functioned outside of Broadway's commercial interests and legal restrictions was presented there and came to be known as Off-Off Broadway.

Awards received by those who began their careers at the Caffe Cino include the Pulitzer, Emmy, Grammy, Tony, Obie, The New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, The Robert Chesley Award and The IT Award.

The Caffe Cino was recently listed on The National Register of Historic Places and in 2019 it was designated an official New York City Landmark. The Caffe Cino brought theatre into the modern era, created Off-Off Broadway, and from its humble beginning, on an eight foot wooden stage, forever altered the performing arts worldwide.

The March 24th program is at 6pm at Jefferson Market Library, 425 6th Ave. NYC.

The April 30th program is at 7:30pm at St. John's Church in the Village, 218 W 11th St. NYC

Magie Dominic will be conducting a four day retreat for writers from April 2-5, 2020.

Details are here

 

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