FRIGID New York Unveils Programming For 2025-26 Season

FRIGID New York has revealed the lineup of programming for their 28th season including the 4th annual Days of the Dead Festival, the 13th annual Gotham Storytelling Festival, the 16th Annual The Fire This Time Festival, and the 19th Annual New York City Fringe Festival (formerly FRIGID New YorK Festival). Their upcoming season will also include new productions from resident artists Mark-Eugene Garcia and Rodrigo Bolaños, Padraig Bond, and Something From Abroad. All programming takes place at UNDER St. Marks, unless otherwise noted. Most performances will also be available to stream from home. 

Iris Bahr's Neurotica Festival

September 4-7

Launched by multiple award-winning actor, writer and solo performer, Iris Bahr (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Hacks, Stories from the Brink!), Neurotica is a 4 day festival that brings to NYC fresh perspectives, fascinating life stories, edgy and delightful clown and bouffant shows, plus in-depth conversations with renowned authors from across the US and Canada. In its first year, Bahr is proud to champion artists as yet unseen on the NY stage, and have Neurotica fest be the NYC premiere for such a diverse group of compelling artists.

With Bated Breath

Written by Mark-Eugene Garcia, Directed by Rodrigo Bolaños

Resident Show, October 5th and 12th

When a company that produces a sexual enhancement drug relocates to a religious factory town in northern Minnesota, and its fumes begin to enter the air, the puritanical beliefs of the townspeople begin to waver. Long held inhibitions release and untold secrets spurt forth as the town spills into debaucherous revelry. For the pious Pastor Johnson, it means the arrival of the devil. For the tempting Dr. Corazon De La Fuente, who runs the factory, it is a wonder to be studied. Stuck in the middle is Mayor Frankie, anxiously watching as his town populace begins giving into wildest urges. Fargo meets Dr. Frankenfurter in this wacky comedy that is based on true events until it's not.

Days of the Dead Festival

October 17-November 2

Celebrate Día de los Muertos and Halloween with FRIGID New York at the Days of the Dead Festival curated by FRIGID New York's Resident Artistic Director Martha Lorena Preve in collaboration with Something from Abroad theater company members.This festival is a celebration of independent theatre and performance. A celebration of life and death, Days of the Dead is a festival inspired by the Mexican holiday Día de Muertos. During this time of year the dead return to earth to spend time with their families and enjoy their favorite things. It can be cheerful, sad, nostalgic, ritualistic and mysterious. It's all about the family and the community. The festival will be offering shows that have death and the afterlife as a theme as well as Halloween themed plays. We welcome everyone regardless of their cultural background or religious beliefs to celebrate our muertos together.

Gotham Storytelling Festival

November 3-16

Now a teenager as it turns 13, the Gotham Storytelling Festival brings together a variety of storytellers with a variety of storytelling styles to do what they do best. Whether you're looking to escape into someone else's story, revisit a familiar tale, cry a little or just laugh out loud because It's always the best medicine, Gotham has something for you. Join legendary hitters and new friends for an event that's sure to alleviate some of the year's aches, or at least help to distract, transform, transport or give you some sense of hope, if only for just an hour.

Holiday Spirits

December 6th & 7th

Who knows what lurks in the long, cold nights as we creep through darkness towards the winter solstice? We huddle together around our little lights for safety and warmth and tell each other stories of what might be out there as some sort of charm against the monsters being real. In fact, it was once tradition to tell ghost stories on Christmas Eve, something that has fallen by the wayside with the exception of A Christmas Carol, but the darkness is still out there. After a successful pilot last year, FRIGID New York's Resident Artistic Directors Martha Lorena Preve and Jimmy Lovett will be producing another two-night presentation of curated short play readings on themes of winter, the holidays, and the horrors therein.

Falling Out: A New Musical

Written by Josee Klein

January 3-February 3, 2026

In a downtown New York music bar the ballads of lost loves and missed opportunities float on the air. Worlds collide when a melancholic transplant meets a musician with a past. Together they create a discordant harmony that will uncover the truths they both need to face to reshape their lives. This experiential production marks the WORLD PREMIERE of acclaimed musician and songwriter Josee Klein's musical of heartbreak and redemption.

The Fire This Time Festival

January 2026 (Venue TBA)

The Fire This Time Festival was founded in 2009 by playwright Kelley Nicole Girod to provide a platform for early career playwrights of African and African American descent. Since its founding, the Festival has produced the plays of dozens of emerging writers whose works explore a wide range of themes and perspectives. The Festival also supports actors, directors, and technical personnel to help seed the pipeline with diverse talent and amplify underrepresented voices in theater in New York and beyond. The Fire This Time playwrights have gone on to have their plays produced in cities across the United States and work as writers in film and television. The Fire This Time Festival has evolved into an annual January event and continues to grow, expanding upon its core short play presentations to offer panel discussions, staged readings, a playwright's lab and other programs. The Festival has become a destination for diverse audiences, producers, and artists seeking new possibilities and opportunities in contemporary theater. Learn more about the Fire This Time Festival at www.firethistimefestival.com.

New York City Fringe Festival

April 1-19, 2026, East Village @ UNDER St. Marks and wild project, Midtown @ The Chain, Dumbo, BK @ The Rat

New York City Fringe (formally the FRIGID Fringe Festival) is our flagship festival and something we all look forward to! It is an open, lottery-based theater festival that gives artists an opportunity to let their ingenuity thrive in an environment that values freedom of expression and artistic determination. In true support of the Indie Theater Community, 100% of box office proceeds go directly to the artists whose work is being presented. Fringe applications are taken through our website and are open from Labor Day through Halloween. New York City Fringe is a proud member of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals.

Queerly Festival

June 2026

Founded in 2014, Queerly is FRIGID's annual celebration of all things artistic and LGBTQIA2S+. Queerly strives for diversity on and off stage, seeking out queer teams and artists of all kinds as well as a wide range of shows and performances. Our goal is to provide a space for queer artists who've rarely or never seen their identities portrayed on stage to be able to represent themselves and tell their stories their way, as well as to provide a space for queer celebration, pride, and strength. Queerly is curated by FRIGID co-artistic director Jimmy Lovett, a trans, non-binary, bisexual marker and theater artist.

Little Shakespeare Festival

August 2026

Welcome to The Little Shakespeare Festival at Frigid New York! This festival is a celebration of independent theater and performance that takes inspiration from the immortal bard, William Shakespeare. Each year, companies are offered a different theme or idea to help guide their work. Join our community and remember that Shakespeare doesn't just live on when performed in giant, open air amphitheaters or big, Broadway houses; he also lives in these most humble of places, where I think he would have felt quite at home. Here, with you and me, at The Little Shakespeare Festival. Little Shakespeare is curated by artist and educator Conor Mullen of As You Will.

Resident Artists

Padraig Bond's Climate Fables

The Climate Fables are a 12-play environmental epic by resident playwright Padraig Bond, about the future of humanity in climate change over one thousand years. These plays were rated 5 stars at the 2023 Edinburgh International Festival Fringe, won Best Play at the 2024 NYC Fringe, and have been described as "a masterpiece" by The Theatre Times. Completed works at FRIGID include The Trash Garden, Debating Extinction, The Collapse of the Hubbard Glacier, Ogallala, The (Green Apple) Play, and Coyote Oughta Eat That Salesman!. With 6 plays finished, FRIGID is halfway to developing the full canon of 12. Expect more coming soon!

Something From Abroad

Something from Abroad produces material from a variety of cultural backgrounds to bring stories from abroad and give them a voice in today's America. We are a theater company started by a couple of "broads" from abroad. We are proud to promote original art created by women.

Playwright Mark-Eugene Garcia & Director Rodrigo Bolaños

Mark-Eugene Garcia and Rodrigo Bolaños are a married creative team whose artistic partnership is rooted in a shared passion for bringing Latine voices and stories to life onstage. Their first collaboration began in 2004, when Rodrigo performed in the workshop of With Bated Breath (then titled Up in the Air), written by Mark-Eugene. That early connection launched a creative relationship that has grown alongside their marriage-merging storytelling, direction, music, and performance.

Vermillion

Vermillion is an independent performer, writer and artist born in Transylvania who has been active in the New York City cultural community since 2001. Her work has been presented at the Immigrant Theater Festival, Galapagos Art Space, Manhattan Theater Source, IWAS, The Field, Theater for the New City, The Moth, Stage Left, Bowery Poetry Club, and Chashama. Her current solo storytelling show, On Cats and Dogs and Other Family Revelations successfully premiered at the 2024 NYC Fringe Festival and its various iterations are monthly performed at UNDER St. Marks. Starting this season, Vermillion and her Lovely Shoes improv team will host the monthly Side-Coached show. During the first part of her residency, she will also be developing an evening of inventive monologues, some soulful, some naughty, under the Working Title Book Spines Broken By My Purring Cat. Vermillion is honored to be the new resident of this OBIE award winning theater, and she will give her all "boot camp" style and hopefully manifest another OBIE!

Recurring Shows at UNDER St. Marks

Odd Salon

Last Show at Parkside Lounge in December

Odd Salon curates cocktail hour lectures highlighting strange-but-true stories from history, science, art, and adventure, live on stage, over cocktails. We bring experts and enthusiastic amateurs together to explore history's overlooked and under-told stories, from legends of lost cities to masters of art forgery, engineering failures to murderous sideshow performers, daring heists, questionable taxidermy, and tales of epic revenge. Odd Salon is inspired by the salonnières of the Enlightenment, the illustrated lectures of the Victorian period, and a strong desire to tell weird stories in good company.

Hottie Bop

Last Show in October

Hottie Bop is a kick-ass variety show with comedy, music and dance, and the perfect way to kick off your weekend. With a different line-up every month, there's always something you've never seen before so see you there, hotties!

The Open Mic Downstairs

Every Tuesday at 9:30pm

At The Open Mic at FRIGID New York the focus is the stage! Sign-ups get 7 minutes to try anything in one of the most supportive rooms in New York City. Whether it's a performance art piece, comedy, music, storytelling, dance, or something entirely off the top of your head, you'll find a home in the attentive welcoming community.

Living Radio

First Monday of the Month @ 7pm

Every month, we remix current events to imagine what a slightly altered world could look like. Five brand-new radio plays, written with inspiration from the news, featuring a rotating cast and creative team, exploring alternate presents. The results range from the absurdly wacky to the poignantly reflective, from apocalyptic to aspirational-but they're always clever, fun, and inspired. It's the news-only better.

It's Getting Tired Mildred

Second Saturday of the Month @ 8pm

Welcome to Mildred Springs! A quaint city in the vague Northeastern United States. A city not unlike other cities. Join us while the bold and the beautiful citizens of Mildred Springs live the days of their lives. Some might be young and restless. Some might be doctors working at Sacred Corpuscle Memorial, a general hospital. But they've all got one life to live. Join us as their world turns. Join us as their guiding light leads them on their constant search for tomorrow. Join us as they hang on to the edge of night and you will be transported to another world. The world of It's Getting Tired Mildred. Set in the 1980's, known for riding the line between camp and loving homage to the soap opera genre, and featuring a dynamic cast of the indie theatre pros, It's Getting Tired Mildred hooks audience members to come back month after month to see what happens next.

Side-Coached Improv Show

Third Tuesday of the Month @ 7pm

Side-Coached is an improv show in which performers improvise live based on an audience prompt, all along being side-coached by our experienced improv teacher Ian Herrin.

In this first season, they aim to experiment: at times with one large team, at times two smaller teams, will perform in the first part of the show, then they will jam with audience members who put their names in the hat.

Adam Wade, Live in New York

Third Wednesday of the Month @ 7pm

Adam Wade, the 20-time Moth Story Slam winner, creator of the #1 Best Selling Audible Original 'You Ought To Know Adam Wade' and from TV's 'Inside Amy Schumer' and 'Girls' returns to UNDER St. Marks! This monthly storytelling show will feature three to four different stories from Adam's extensive catalog. No two shows will be the same. Come and see this New York Times, Time Out New York, and CBS critics' pick LIVE on stage in New York! A different special guest storyteller will begin each show.

Comediumship

Third Sunday of the Month @ 7pm

Psychic medium and stand up comedian Nelly Reznik will be performing Comediumship, an experimental combination of stand up comedy and audience readings. Readings may consist of connecting with loved ones who have passed, and receiving life guidance for audience members, all in a lighthearted way. Not everyone will receive a reading, but all in attendance should be open to it.

Your Unemployed Friend

Last Tuesday of the Month @ 2pm

A show for you and your unemployed friends at 2pm on a Tuesday. Hosted by Jaboukie Young-White.

Paper Kraine

Last Wednesday of the Month @ 7:30pm

Paper Kraine was created in 2016 to bring together works in development, artists, and audiences in support of nonprofits. Monthly, the PK team curates a new works sample platter around a theme and donates all proceeds to a selected nonprofit. Try something new, delicious and strange. Come for the art. Stay for the community. We encourage risk-taking, question-asking, and the development of a supportive community of artists seeing, encouraging, and challenging each other's work with the ultimate goal of enriching the artistic community through cross-pollination and meeting new people. Learn more at www.paperkraine.com.

FRIGID Nightcap

Last Friday of the Month @ 10:30pm

Come get weird after dark! The East Village's riotously unpredictable late-night spectacle is a wondrously offbeat collision of comedy, music, burlesque, arts, and more. It's the most unique destination for anyone who just isn't ready to call it a night quite yet.

Awkward Teenage Years

Schedule Varies

True stories about the most gloriously awkward times in our lives - our teenage years! Awkward Teenage Years brings you the best storytellers in NYC to relive their joys and traumas for your entertainment - let's laugh and reminisce together! Enjoy tales of first loves gone wrong, failing the big test, finding your tribe, learning hard lessons, and most importantly - coming of age.

On Cats and Dogs and Other Family Revelations

Schedule Varies

On Cats and Dogs and Other Family Revelations wraps big ideas in focused stories about Ella's pets, offering glimpses of her human family and life in her place of birth, Transylvania, Romania. With her dark humor and heart, Ella takes audiences from her childhood under communist rule, to her present quirky experiences in East Harlem, using her dog and cat as reference points.

Daniel Simonsen Free to Fail

Schedule Varies

A night of experimental comedy with New York's Funniest Stand-Up 2022 winner Daniel Simonsen. Come watch the Norwegian build material as he works both scripted and completely unscripted. As seen on Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

[Peter BD Presents...]

Schedule Varies

A changing show about connection, kinship, fellowship, transition, correspondence, altercation, relation, exchange, consociation, bond, communication, and more.

Secret City

Schedule Varies

Step into a world of Music, Dance, Comedy, Burlesque. The cool. wild and wonderful. Dress Up, dress Downtown or come as you are for a slice of NYC nightlife like no other. Co-Hosted by dazzling Dara Jemmott (crowned Winner, NJ Statewide Funniest Fest) and gregarious Gregory Levine (Travel Channel & Emcee - Guilty Pleasures) since June 2023.

Electric Moon Cabaret

Schedule Varies

Welcome to Electric Moon Cabaret, where sultry meets edgy in a provocative fusion of glamour and grit. Our cabaret is your playground for the night, where every performance is a bold blend of seductive allure and rebellious energy. A place where the performers are hotter than your last Tinder date and you can slip into something that says, "I'm here to play," get ready for a night that's as unpredictable as it is unforgettable. Electric Moon Cabaret is quite the adventure-and yes, we have been known to break a few hearts along the way.

Spanglish Affair

Schedule Varies

We are excited to provide a safe space for artists to explore and share their art in front of a live audience. If there's something you've always wanted to do, this is a space for you to do it! While our company focuses on Spanish and Spanglish content, this is not a requirement for your piece-if you're someone with art to share, this space is for you. Here are some ideas for types of performers we're looking for: singers, dancers, comedians, performance art, burlesque, actors, visual artists, clowning, spoken word, poetry. THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!

As You Mic It

Schedule Varies

As You Mic It: An Open Shakespeare Slam - Join us for a one-of-a-kind slam where you can compete to be crowned Best of the Bards! If you are slamming, come prepared to perform up to two of any Shakespeare monologue or sonnet of your choice (within 3 and a half minutes, memorization not required but encouraged). If you don't want to slam, come join us for some merriment, libations, and maybe even become a judge (no experience necessary)!

Burnt Toast

Schedule Varies

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