LITTLE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL to Return to UNDER St. Marks with 'ShakesPUNK' Theme

FRIGID New York will present the 6th Annual Little Shakespeare Festival (winner of the 2024 Young-Howze Theatre Award for Festival of The Year) at UNDER St. Marks Theater, August 6-23. Most performances will also be available to livestream from home.

The Little Shakespeare Festival at FRIGID New York, curated by Conor Mullen, is a celebration of independent theatre and performance that takes inspiration from the immortal bard, William Shakespeare. This year's theme is “ShakesPUNK.”

Like it or not, Shakespearean theatre has become part of the establishment: easy, predictable, and safe. But we don't think that's how Shakespeare should be. That's not what we're here for. We're here for Shakespeare that challenges, that shocks, that's loud and grimy and angry. That's punk! That's ShakesPUNK. We're challenging the Shakespearean status quo with the punkest, weirdest, queerest, angriest Shakespeare-adjacent theater you've ever seen!

As You Will

Created by Conor Mullen, David Brummer & George Hider

Friends, foes, fools! Do you ever bemoan the fact that the 884,647 words William Shakespeare wrote have been performed already? Do you yearn for the experience of seeing The Bard's works for the first time? Then celebrate the glad tidings of As You Will and our Unscripted Shakespeare Show!

These Shakespearean Scholars are here to present all the monumental works the immortal Bard would've written if he hadn't gone and died. With just the title given by the audience, the players of As You Will bring a Shakespearean comedy to life complete with Shakespeare's themes, language, poetic verse, and some scholarly footnotes thrown in for good measure.

As You Will has performed such classics as Eight Merry Spiders, That Doth Not Go There, and 1601: A Space Odyssey. Though those shows will never be seen again, there's always a Shakespearean world premiere in our makeshift Globe Theatre at Under St. Marks.

Tue. Aug. 6 at 7 p.m., Sun. Aug. 9 at 5 p.m., Sun. Aug. 16 at 5 p.m. & Sun. Aug. 23 at 9 p.m. 60 min

UNREHEARSED: A Midsummer Night's Dream

Written by William Shakespeare

Presented by Barefoot Shakespeare Company

UNREHEARSED!: Shakespeare for Sports Fans

What happens when a group of actors get one month to learn A Midsummer Night's Dream, are forbidden from ever rehearsing together, and then have to perform it live in front of an audience armed with betting cards and a burning desire to see them fail?

Barefoot Shakespeare Company's UNREHEARSED! is one part live theatre, one part spectator sport, and entirely unpredictable. Each performer arrives onstage having built their character, gathered their props, and made their boldest choices entirely in isolation.

What unfolds is something no polished production can offer: raw, unscripted, gloriously chaotic Shakespeare. Referees stand by to throw flags on missed cues and flubbed lines. Mini challenges get hurled at actors mid-scene. A countdown clock keeps everyone honest. And as the clock winds down, the audience votes on how the whole thing ends.

Come cheer, come heckle, come bet on your favorite actor to forget the most lines. Whatever happens onstage, one thing is guaranteed: it won't be boring.

Thu. Aug. 6 at 9 p.m., Sat. Aug. 8 at 5 p.m. & Tue. Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. 60 min

A Midsummer Night's Dreamier

Written by Alise Morales

Comedian and writer Alise Morales reimagines Shakespeare's classic comedy in a chaotic, irreverent new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream that blends the Bard's original text with sharp modern punch-ups.

Featuring a diverse, gender-bent cast of some of NYC's funniest character performers, the show lovingly satirizes the original while keeping its heart intact. This production asks important questions like: What if Puck was an aging twink trying to turn his life around, Titania was a washed-up Regina George played by a drag queen, and actual comedians were handed the keys to one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies?

The result is a fast-paced, joke-a-minute take on the fairy-filled classic that sends Shakespeare careening into the present.

Fri. Aug. 7 at 9 p.m., Thu. Aug. 13 at 6:30 p.m. & Sat. Aug. 15 at 2 p.m. 90 min

A Man Called Paris

Written by Hannah Rae

Presented by Kulturkanonen

In A Man Called Paris, we get to follow Paris, a 40-year-old gay man and professor of classical literature, who is being forced to marry the ruthless Capulet's teenage daughter Juliet, or they will out him to the world and destroy his life and reputation.

Paris has just about come to terms with his fate when a dashing stranger, as if straight out of a Nora Ephron movie, crosses his path and suddenly he knows he has to take action.

Stylistically, A Man Called Paris draws inspiration from romcoms and classical farce. Marquis de Sade would tremble at the language, but the story will tug at your heartstrings.

Sat. Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. & Sun. Aug. 9 at 2 p.m. 90 min

Gigi in Punk

Written by Gigi Moacdieh

Presented by No Exit Theatre Collective

Where does man meet woman, past meet present, will meet to be, and fantasy meet reality? What happens when one kid tries to be it all?

Gigi Moacdieh, gender fluid, the queen and the knight, is up to face the duel. Let's take a one-person journey through Shakespeare's famous words and see what fluids come up.

Sat. Aug. 8 at 9:30 p.m. & Sat. Aug. 22 at 5 p.m. 50 min

Ghostcreator

Written by Karina & James Majewski

Presented by Studio Child

Ghostcreator is the newest theatrical work developed by Studio Child. Directed by James T. Majewski and written by Karina Pooran Majewski, the work is presented as a poetic and physical exploration that seeks to push the boundaries of theatrical form and invite contemplation.

Sun. Aug. 9 at 7 p.m., Sat. Aug. 15 at 9 p.m. & Sun. Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. 65 min

Ophelia: A Prism

Written and Performed by Mieko Gavia

Directed by H. Harvey

Assistant Directed by Tim Craig

Presented by Black Revolutionary Theatre Workshop

In this solo performance, OPHELIA: A PRISM shifts the focus from Shakespeare's Hamlet to the ingénue Ophelia—or rather, three aspects of herself. These contrasting Sister Selves (Green, Brass, and Orange) take control of the original narrative to tell their own story of Black Femme joy, oppression, and resilience.

Sun. Aug. 9 at 9 p.m. & Sun. Aug. 16 at 2 p.m. 100 min

The Hex Pistols!

Written by Sam Siberini

The Hex Pistols! is a rock opera starring the witches from Macbeth as the titular punk band. This alternative perspective of the Shakespearean tragedy follows the witches as they taunt the characters and mock their misfortunes through song and spooky hijinks.

Wed. Aug. 12 at 9:15 p.m. & Sun. Aug. 16 at 9 p.m. 40 min

The Taming of the Shrew: A Kinky Retelling

Written by Zak Rosen & Paige Hann

Presented by Society of Strangers Theatre Company

What if he's the shrew, and he enjoys the taming?

Thu. Aug. 13 at 9 p.m. & Fri. Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. 60 min

Raging of the Shrews: A Revenge Play

Written by Tessa Flannery

Verily! 'Tis the revisionist horror romp every wench hath dreamt of: Shakespeare's two-timing, slut-shaming men finally get their comeuppance from the very women they slandered, scorned, and dishonor'd.

Why marry the guy who took your virginity, when you can kill him instead? Nary a wedding shall grace the end of this comedy, but Queer community, separatist living, and the peace of mind that only fierce and bloody feminine revenge doth bring.

Fri. Aug. 14 at 9 p.m., Sat. Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. & Sun. Aug. 23 at 3 p.m. 60 min

Sisters Hand in Hand

Written by Lenny Hort

Sisterhood is powerful, but it isn't always pretty in this triple bill of savage comedies inspired by Shakespeare. Meet Cleopatra's asps, vengeful cross-dressing twins Violenta and Vendetta, and the three weird daughters of a witch who tempted Macbeth.

Sat. Aug. 15 at 4:30 p.m., Thu. Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. & Sun. Aug. 23 at 1 p.m. 50 min

Model ShakesParody: A Comedy Night of Errors

Created by Model Majority

Join Model Majority and friends for a night of Shakespeare-inspired sketch comedy, music, and more. Think SNL meets Shakespeare (you have never seen before) performed by a diverse cast.

MODEL MAJORITY is NYC's premier all-Asian American Pacific Islander sketch comedy team featured on Good Morning America, CBS, NBC, and NY1. They bring new comedy sketches and laughs to every show while fighting stereotypes.

Created by Veronica Dang in 2018 to increase positive Asian representation in comedy, their sold-out performances have been on Time Out New York's list of "Best Comedy Shows in NYC" and The New York Times' "8 Things to Do This Weekend."

You may have seen team members on TV and film (SNL, Comedy Central, The Last O.G., Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Blue Bloods, Step Up 3, Hocus Pocus 2, The Blacklist, Ray Donovan, New Amsterdam, Law & Order: SVU), in Broadway shows, national commercials, top comedy clubs, and comedy festivals around the world.

www.ModelMajority.com Sun. Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. 45 min

Lupercalia; or The Queer Aftermath of Twelfth Night

(Twelfth Night 2: Rumble in the Jungle)

Written by Anna Margevich

Following the events of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Olivia and Viola find themselves unhappy in their marriage arrangements, despite what you have been made to think.

In this queer and trans-only piece, follow Liv and Vi as they navigate what their relationship means now that they are both married to twinks. Alliances will be broken, villains will be made, and everyone will be gay.

Fri. Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. 60 min

JUSTICE FOR A PUNK: NEITHER MAID, WIDOW, NOR WIFE

Written by Liana Giangiulio

In this adaptation of Measure for Measure, Isa, a Christian adult content creator, takes on the responsibility of supporting her brother's legal battle while struggling through his disapproval for her work.

This thought-provoking and introspective piece dissects modern American culture's relationship between sex, religion, and individuality and also makes us question how we form our own opinions amidst so much indoctrination.

To what extent would we extend ourselves to seek the justice we, or our loved ones, deserve? Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.

Fri. Aug. 21 at 9 p.m. & Sun. Aug. 23 at 5 p.m. 45 min

Brave Sons of England

Created by Ann Patricia and Francesca Negron

Presented by Tea Time for Mad Girls Productions

Brave Sons of England is a new musical with a classic sound. It follows the story of Shakespeare's Henriad plays—Richard II, Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V—telling the story of a series of rebellions and trying to answer the age-old question of what gives a man the right to rule.

Sat. Aug. 22 at 2 p.m. 60 min

Poor Hanging Fool

Written by Maura Pelczynski

King Lear is a puppet. His daughter is his fool. They each have nothing but each other.

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