UNLABELED to Make Stage Debut at Culture Lab LIC During Pride Month

In celebration of Pride Month, UNLABELED will be presented on Thursday, June 25, 2026, at Culture Lab LIC. Curated and produced by Penelope Deen and co-produced with Culture Lab LIC, UNLABELED features a multidisciplinary lineup of artists sharing original stories and performances exploring identity, race, gender, sexuality, culture, faith, family, disability, survival, healing, and everything in between.

Doors open at 7:00 PM for a 7:30 PM performance. Inspired by the spirit of Eve Ensler (V)'s The Vagina Monologues and originally developed in the Hunter College Women and Gender Studies Department in 2020, UNLABELED finally reaches the stage after its original presentation was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic.The performance will take place at Culture Lab LIC, 5-25 46th Avenue, Long Island City, NY.

Inspired by the spirit of Eve Ensler (V)'s The Vagina Monologues, UNLABELED is an evening of original stories, performances, music, and lived experiences exploring identity, race, gender, sexuality, culture, faith, family, disability, survival, healing, and everything in between.

Curated and produced by Penelope Deen and co-produced with Culture Lab LIC, UNLABELED convenes a multidisciplinary lineup of artists, performers, writers, musicians, and storytellers presenting original works grounded in personal truth. Through monologues, spoken word, music, movement, and personal testimony, the evening foregrounds candid, vulnerable, and deeply resonant reflections on identity, belonging, resilience, and self-expression.

At its core, UNLABELED is an exploration of the narratives that shape our identities and communities. By amplifying voices that are too often marginalized, misunderstood, or unheard, the event invites audiences into experiences that are deeply personal yet universally resonant.

Presented during Pride Month, UNLABELED recognizes identity not as a fixed label but as an evolving and deeply personal experience. While many of the pieces draw from queer perspectives, the event welcomes stories reflecting the full spectrum of human experience.

Speaking on the Stage Whisper Podcast, curator and producer Penelope Deen reflected on the project's six-year journey from classroom project to live performance:

'This project has been pent up and sitting on a shelf for six years and waiting, waiting to come out. And obviously, just like the voices in this project, bursting ready and waiting and deserving to be heard.'

UNLABELED features a multidisciplinary lineup of artists sharing original work, including Penelope Deen, ANGEL, Yanniv Frank, KANTHARI, Corrie Farbstein, Kristen Kelso, Déxter Phillip, Osimiri Sprowal, Daniel-José / Azabache, and Megan Tomei. Through original monologues, song, drag, slam poetry, comedy, and personal storytelling, the artists offer distinct perspectives and lived experiences in an evening dedicated to connection, visibility, and community. Penelope Deen's original piece, The Dream Weaver and The Moon, is directed by Sydney Dennison, while Corrie Farbstein's piece, severe/d, is directed by Tobi Oladipo.

In the spirit of community collaboration, UNLABELED is made possible by a team of artists, organizers, and volunteers working both onstage and behind the scenes. Ximena Morellón Millanés leads the production as Stage Manager, supported by Brie Underwood, Jimm Platto, Naomi Eason, and Chloé Le Breton as members of the event's production team and crew.

Special thanks to Tess Howsam, Artistic Director of Culture Lab LIC, for championing this project and helping bring it to life, and to the entire Culture Lab team for their support, partnership, and commitment to accessible, community-centered arts programming.

Special thanks also to the Hunter College Women and Gender Studies Department and Professor Carmelina Cartei, whose classroom provided the foundation for UNLABELED. Their encouragement of critical inquiry, creative expression, and student-led work helped inspire a project that continues to grow six years later.

The event is co-produced with Culture Lab LIC, Long Island City's vibrant arts hub dedicated to supporting artists and fostering community through accessible cultural programming. Located one stop into Queens on the 7 train, Culture Lab LIC is home to performances, exhibitions, and public programs that celebrate creativity and community. Visitors are encouraged to arrive when doors open at 7:00 PM to explore the venue's gallery spaces, which are currently featuring queer artists and queer-centered visual art exhibitions. UNLABELED itself will take place in Culture Lab's intimate burlesque room beneath the venue's immersive Under the Moon installation, creating a uniquely multidisciplinary Pride Month experience that integrates visual art, performance, storytelling, and community.

Curator and producer Penelope Deen is an award-winning New York City-based queer theatre artist and cultural organizer whose work has been presented across the United States and internationally, including in Bogotá, Colombia, and throughout India with the internationally acclaimed Darpana Academy of Performing Arts. A Hunter College graduate honored with Special Recognition, Deen serves as Program Manager of the Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Forum (GCITF) and Program Manager - Producing at New Perspectives Theatre Company.

Inspired by The Vagina Monologues, UNLABELED began as a student project developed in Hunter College's Women and Gender Studies Department in 2020. Originally intended to be the first full-scale project Deen would produce, the work was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic before it could be realized. Six years later, the project finally reaches the stage, fulfilling the work that first inspired Deen's journey as a producer.

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