Andrew W. Mellon News

BRIC has announced its Spring 2020 programming showcasing live concerts and performances, family events, community discussions, contemporary art exhibitions, documentaries, series, podcasts, and more. 

Baruch Performing Arts Center presents the New York premiere of Abdul Latif's EYESPOT from March 26-28, 2020 at 7:30pm at Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue (25th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues), NYC. Tickets are $11-$26 and can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/ALatifEyespot.

In the mountains of Turkey, the residents of a village spend winters in near-silence to avoid triggering an avalanche. This year, their survival rests on the shoulders of Yashar, a pregnant woman whose impending due date threatens the safety of generations. Compassion and the common good clash in the English-language premiere of this stunner by Iranian playwrights Jaber Ramezani and Payam Saeedi.

a??a??a??a??a??a??a??The American Opera Project (AOP), shaping the identity of American Opera through original works that foster diverse narratives, announces five grants that generate momentum for its new vision. They are: a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for opera training and development programs; a second grant from the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation in support of new development positions; an OPERA America Repertoire grant to support Repertoire Development; a General Operating support grant from the Howard Gilman Foundation; and support for community outreach and training from the The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.  

Black Like Me is a multidisciplinary evening length work explores the reverb of a single word in a global community. It considers the effects of the word ni a?'a?'a?' er, all its permutations, its history and its casual use in Hip Hop culture. Comprised of 5 sections created in collaboration with two of America's leading Black media-design technologists, original sound composition and local activists; it asks if it is possible to redefine a word that was intended to belittle a people.

National New Play Network, the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that collaborate in innovative ways to develop, produce, and extend the life of new plays, is thrilled and grateful to announce it will receive a three-year, $550,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in support of upcoming innovations for the field-altering New Play Exchange.

The American Opera Project (AOP), shaping the identity of American Opera through original works that foster diverse narratives, announces five grants that generate momentum for its new vision. They are: a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for opera training and development programs; a second grant from the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation in support of new development positions; an OPERA America Repertoire grant to support Repertoire Development; a General Operating support grant from the Howard Gilman Foundation; and support for community outreach and training from the The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

ODC, a cultural, creative, and community hub comprised of a world class dance company, a presenting theater, and a dance school, has announced the Chitresh Das Institute is joining the roster of Home Companies on the dance campus, effective immediately.

The Drama League (Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Director Bevin Ross) announced today the acting company for the 36th annual DirectorFest, the only festival in the United States dedicated to the art of contemporary stage directing. Directorfest will take place January 10 - February 4, 2020 at various locations around NYC: The New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street), The Drama League Theater Center (32 Avenue of the Americas), LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (31-10 Thomson Avenue), and Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street). For festival details and tickets, visit directorfest.org or call (212) 244-9494 x102.

OPERA America has awarded $220,000 in Repertoire Development Grants to The American Opera Project (New York, NY) in consortium with Seagle Music Colony (Schroon Lake, NY), Beth Morrison Projects (New York, NY), Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Diego Opera and The Dallas Opera. The grants provide technical and financial support to OPERA America Professional Company Members and their producing partners to enhance the quality, quantity and creativity of new American opera and music theater.

Dixon Place presents Concrete Temple Theater's next multi-media puppet-theater creation PACKRAT, written and directed by Renee Philippi with puppetry design and construction by Carlo Adinolfi and an original score by Lewis Flinn. PACKRAT begins performances on Friday, January 31 for a limited engagement through Friday, February 14. Performances are at Dixon Place (161A Chrystie Street, between Rivington & Delancey). The performance schedule is Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $19 in advance; $22 at the door. (For Students/Seniors/ID NYC: $17 in advance and $20 at-the-door.) To purchase tickets, visit www.dixonplace.org. The running time is 60 minutes with no intermission; recommended for ages 7 and up.

The Old Globe's 2020 Summer Season brings to Balboa Park an extraordinarily talented group of artists who will delight audiences with their unique takes on four great works of theatre. The season incudes a classic American musical, a new adaptation of a 20th century thriller, and two of Shakespeare's masterworks on our outdoor stage.

CPR - Center for Performance Research, which supports the development of new works in contemporary dance, performance and related forms, presents Sunday Salon on January 12, 2020 at 2pm (APAP Weekend). Sunday Salon functions as an extension of CPR's Artist-in-Residence program, and will feature performative work, research materials, and ephemera from CPR's 2019 AiRs, culminating their year in residence. Featured artists are Ivy Baldwin, Leslie Cuyjet, Deborah Conton, Mee Jung, Jordan Demetrius Lloyd, jess pretty, and Katie Workum. CPR's Sunday Salons occur once or twice a year, featuring an afternoon of conversation, mingling, and light refreshments punctuated by performances and artist interventions.

The Victory Gardens Theater Board of Directors and Artistic Director Chay Yew today announce plans for Yew's departure from Victory Gardens at the end of the 2019-20 Season. An internationally renowned stage director and playwright, Yew has been the Artistic Director of Victory Gardens since July 2011. Yew will finish his ninth and final season through June 2020, and will pursue personal projects upon leaving the theater.

Kimberly Bartosik, former dancer with Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and her company Kimberly Bartosik/daela make their Chicago debut with her collaborative work I hunger for you January 30-February 1, presented by the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Avenue.

Carnegie Hall Presents the International Contemporary Ensemble and Clarinetist and Composer Jörg Widmann in All-Widmann Program, January 28

Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre presents a Winter Open Rehearsal, a preview of their upcoming World Premiere of Hindsight, on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 at 6:30pm at The Ailey Studios, 405 W. 55th Street, NYC. This free, behind-the-scenes view into the creative process will be followed by a wine and cheese reception. For more information, visit https://amandaselwyndance.org/openrehearsal-winter2020/.

KultureCity has partnered with the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University to make all of the programs and events that the museum organizes to be sensory inclusive. This new initiative promotes an accommodating and positive experience for all guests with a sensory issue who visit the Zimmerli.

Opera Philadelphia welcomes Tyshawn Sorey, “a composer of radical and seemingly boundless ideas” (Wall Street Journal), as the company's next Composer in Residence. Sorey, whose residency begins in November 2019, is the first resident in a new phase of the company's renowned program that will give composers more opportunities to explore the opera medium.

Opera Philadelphia welcomes Tyshawn Sorey, 'a composer of radical and seemingly boundless ideas' (The Wall Street Journal), as the company's next Composer in Residence. Sorey, whose residency begins in November 2019, is the first resident in a new phase of the company's renowned program that will give composers more opportunities to explore the opera medium.