FRIGID New York to Present Iris Bahr's NEUROTICA FESTIVAL

FRIGID New York will present Iris Bahr's Neurotica Festival at UNDER St. Marks and Parkside Lounge, September 4-7. Tickets ($10-$25) are available for advance purchase now.

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.

IN CONVERSATION WITH SUSAN MORRISON & KURT ANDERSEN

Comedian and actor Iris Bahr chats with Kurt Andersen, NY Times Bestselling author and former host of Studio360, about his upcoming novel The Breakup and Susan Morrison, Articles Editor of The New Yorker, about her NY Times best-selling biography, "Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live."

Kurt Andersen is the author of five novels, writes for the theater and television as well, most recently Command Z, a streaming series created with Steven Soderbergh. He also contributes regularly to The Atlantic and New York Times.

Susan Morrison is the author of the New York Times-bestselling biography "Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live" and the Articles Editor of The New Yorker. Formerly, she was the editor-in-chief of the New York Observer and an original editor of SPY magazine.

Thursday September 4 at 7pm 55 minutes (USM) & Streaming

Double Bill: Unapologetically Rocky & Clear Cane Chronicles

Written & Performed by Rahkie Mateen and Cynthia Overton

30-minute back-to-back stand-up comedy/storytelling sets from Rahkie Mateen and Cynthia Overton.

In Unapologetically Rocky, comedian, educator, and professional bad-decision maker Rahkie "Rocky" Mateen takes center stage to deliver a no-holds-barred, side-splitting journey through love, lust, teaching failures, and midlife mayhem. At 50 and fully in her "IDGAF" era she's embracing her messy, magical life with raw truth, big laughs, and zero apologies.

Armed with her clear cane and clean jokes, Cynthia Overton takes audiences on a wild ride through medical mysteries, job market misadventures, and her reputation for not being mom material-proving that joy and resilience can coexist, even when your legs (and your parenting instincts) have a mind of their own.

Thu September 4 at 8:30pm (USM) & Fri September 5 at 8:30pm (USM) 60 minutes

MANIC!

Written & Performed by Roya Hamadani

This comedy solo show tells the story of two manic episodes, both of which lasted 3 months each and both resulting in husbands. Stand-up comic and sketch writer Roya Hamadani will take you on her bizarre journey from being diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 33, transforming into Manic Roya, diligently questing for peen, and eventually finding her happy ending, mostly. Sometimes shocking, a little heart-breaking, and always entertaining, this is a unique story of how a few months in a completely altered state of mind can make all the difference in where and how and with whom you end up. Also, a nerd goes dick hunting.

Fri September 5 at 7pm (USM), Sat September 6 at 5pm (USM), Sunday September 7th at 4:30pm (USM) 60 minutes Streaming

The Heterosexuals

Written & Performed by Johnnie Mcnamara

A deep-dive into the shocking world of Heterosexuality! THEY WALK AMONG US! But where did they come from? And what do they think they're wearing? Find out in this explosive solo show based on undercover research gathered while posing as one of their own! Combining elements of storytelling, satire, comedy, and deep personal humiliation, The Heterosexuals is here to spill the T on what The Queers really think about The Straights. The latest solo show from tour-de-force writer/performer Johnnie McNamara Walker has wowed audiences and sold out houses across Canada as well as touring internationally to Ireland and the US.

Sat September 6 at 10:30pm (USM) & Sun September 7 at 6:30pm (Parkside Lounge) 60 minutes

Double Bill: Latchkey Larky & Gifted

Written and Performed by Sofia Javed & Becca Rothman

Sofia drinks chai with her Pakistani family in Chicago; Becca has Shabbat dinners with her Jewish family in Baltimore. These two GenX comedians and storytellers come from different backgrounds, but their stories share universal themes. Join us for an evening of hilarious adventures in growing up, fitting in, and grappling with who we really are.

IPhones still might be 30 years in the future, but growing up in early 90s Chicago still meant plenty of screen time. Sofia Javed's new comedy show Latchkey Larky is about being a child of hard-working immigrant parents, a student of teachers who don't understand her culture, and a devotee of television sitcoms... that provide her real education.

In a lot of ways, Becca Rothman is like her family. And in a lot of other ways, not so much. Whenever she is "too much" (which is often) they call out "RebeccAgenda!!!" as a kind of shorthand for how she moves through the world: always with some sort of scheme, always a messy tornado, and always, always in motion. At what point do we begin to realize that some things we get from our families, and some things are just who we are? Join Becca on a spellbinding journey about growing up, a surprise gift that changed the way she sees the world, and the mysteries that we discover - and sometimes solve - along the way.

Saturday September 6th at 9pm (USM) Sun September 7 at 6pm (USM) 60 minutes

Poems for God

Written & Performed by Victoria Watson

In order to get their wings, an Angel has been asked to do the impossible.The task: save all women, everywhere, in just 60 minutes. Join certified freak/Toronto based comedian Victoria Watson Sepejak in theatrical madhouse which explores parenthood, death, and the existential gendered experience through dreamlike physical comedy and pure silliness.

Sun September 7 at 7:30pm (USM) 60 minutes Streaming

Homecoming

Written & Performed by Dara Kosberg

Dara is on the adventure of her life studying art in Australia when she gets that call-- her mom is dying, and she has to come home. How inconvenient! Their mother/daughter relationship was already difficult and now she's dead. Well played, mom. You win. What follows is a winding journey through the awkward, painful, unexpectedly hilarious process of finding yourself again after loss. Homecoming is a darkly funny solo show about complicated grief, identity, and how losing your mom can really mess with your study abroad year (and the next 20 years after that). So please: laugh, cry, or just sit there silently questioning your own life choices.

Sat September 6 at 7:30pm (USM) & Sunday September 7th at 3pm (USM) 60 minutes

CLOSING NIGHT: Iris Bahr & FRIENDS

Sunday September 7th at 8pm (Parkside Lounge)

Iris Bahr premieres new material in a festive evening of stand-up with some of her favorite comics.

Iris Bahr (Producer & Curator) is an award winning actor, writer, comic and director. With over 50 TV and film credits to her name, Iris is best known for her recurring role on Curb your Enthusiasm as Rachel Heineman (the ski lift episode to name just one), Hacks as Nurse Perla, and her series Svetlana, which she wrote, starred in and directed all two seasons, (executive produced by MARK CUBAN). Her debut solo show DAI (enough) won the Lortel Award, 2 Drama Desk nominations and had an extensive run Off- Broadway and a world tour including sold out runs in London, Edinburgh, and across South America in Spanish, as well as a command performance at the United Nations for over 100 ambassadors and delegates. Her sixth solo show See You Tomorrow, about caregiving for her mother with dementia, was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award and has also toured across the globe.

She is currently on tour with her newest solo show, Stories from the Brink! My Festive Near-Death Adventures. The show won the Montreal Frankie Award and will have a month-long run at the Soho Playhouse in NYC this December.