Ellen Stewart News

La MaMa kicks off 2014 with two offerings by Split Britches, New York's premiere lesbian performance troupe: 'Ruff,' Peggy Shaw's performance about life and art following her 2011 stroke, and 'Desperate Archives,' a gallery show of installations made from remnants of the company's last 20 years of work. 'Ruff' is performed by Peggy Shaw; it is written by Shaw and Lois Weaver and directed by Weaver. 'Desperate Archives' features contributions by Vivian Stoll, Stormy Brandenberger, Susan Young, Lori E Seid, Matt Delbridge, Helaine Gawlica, Eva Weiss, Saskia Scheffer, Jo Palmer and the Man Meat Collective.

During rehearsals for The Underpants by Steve Martin, Hartford Stage administrators learned of plans for an "accidental" wardrobe malfunction. Horrified, the administrators noted that Hartford Stage does not condone wardrobe malfunctions of any kind.

Horse Trade Theater Group will present Spookfish Theatre Company's critically acclaimed theatrical documentary, The ABC's Guide to Getting Famous written by Ming Peiffer, directed by Kat Yen, and featuring Sai Samboon (Sleep No More). The show will play The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery) for a limited engagement, Thursday, December 16, Friday, December 17, Saturday, December 18, and Sunday, December 19 at 8pm. Tickets ($18; $15 students & seniors) are available online at www.horseTRADE.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444.

Presenters La MaMa and St. Ann's Warehouse, and producers piece by piece productions, Mabou Mines and Dovetail Productions-all ardent and longtime supporters of the 'bad boy of avant-garde theater' (Village Voice) Lee Breuer-unite for the World Premiere of Breuer's epic magnum opus, La Divina Caricatura. Breuer wrote and directs the work, a mixed-media pop-opera with Bunraku puppets, a cast of singers and live music composed by Lincoln Schleifer that ranges from Motown to Broadway and reggae to raga. La Divina Caricatura, a metaphorical send-up of Dante's classic, concerns Rose the Dog, who makes a pilgrimage through love to Paradiso. Rose thinks she's a woman and fantasizes a mad love affair with her master John, an East Village independent filmmaker. The show, Part 1 of a trilogy, draws on material that stretches all the way back to Breuer's doo-wop opera Sister Suzie Cinema (1975).

The Carol Tambor Theatrical Foundation is thrilled to announce the U.S. premiere of the stage adaptation of Toni Bentley's groundbreaking erotic memoir THE SURRENDER, directed by Zishan Ugurlu and starring Laura Campbell. THE SURRENDER will have its U.S. debut following critically acclaimed productions by the Spanish National Theatre (Centro Dramatico Nacional) in Madrid and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2013. Performances begin on Wednesday, January 8 for a limited engagement through Sunday, February 2 at The Clurman Theatre on Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues). Opening Night is Wednesday, January 15 at 8 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday at 7 PM; Wednesday - Friday at 8 PM; Saturday at 2 PM and 8 PM; Sunday at 3 PM. Tickets are $45 ($31.50 for preview performances from January 8-January 14). For tickets, which go one sale on Friday, December 6 at 12:30 PM, please call Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or visit at www.telecharge.com. For more information, visit www.thesurrendertheplay.com.

Since its founding in 1961, La MaMa Experimental Arts Club has been a hub for risk-taking theater artists from around the globe. La MaMa will celebrate their 2013 season of performances with a gala honoring two pillars of arts journalism: former Village Voice critic Michael Feingold, and publisher Patsy Tarr of 2wice. Throughout their long careers, these two individuals have carved out a voice for the arts, championing countless artists working across platforms.

Presenters La MaMa and St. Ann's Warehouse, and producers piece by piece productions, Mabou Mines and Dovetail Productions-all ardent and longtime supporters of the "bad boy of avant-garde theater" (Village Voice) Lee Breuer-unite for the World Premiere of Breuer's epic magnum opus, La Divina Caricatura. Breuer wrote and directs the work, a mixed-media pop-opera with Bunraku puppets, a cast of singers and live music composed by Lincoln Schleifer that ranges from Motown to Broadway and reggae to raga. La Divina Caricatura, a metaphorical send-up of Dante's classic, concerns Rose the Dog, who makes a pilgrimage through love to Paradiso. Rose thinks she's a woman and fantasizes a mad love affair with her master John, an East Village independent filmmaker. The show, Part 1 of a trilogy, draws on material that stretches all the way back to Breuer's doo-wop opera Sister Suzie Cinema (1975).

Since its founding in 1961, La MaMa Experimental Arts Club has been a hub for risk-taking theater artists from around the globe. La MaMa will celebrate their 2013 season of performances with a gala honoring two pillars of arts journalism: former Village Voice critic Michael Feingold, and publisher Patsy Tarr of 2wice. Throughout their long careers, these two individuals have carved out a voice for the arts, championing countless artists working across platforms.

Like nearly all of Williams's later, more experimental plays, The Mutilated was met with stinging reviews, disappointment and even anger when it premiered on Broadway in 1966 (with The Gnadiges Fraulein, under the collective title Slapstick Tragedy). "I know Mr. Williams is trying to do something ambitious and ambiguous but, gee, I wish he would just give something old and square like A Streetcar Named Desire," wrote John McClain in the New York Journal-American. Directed by Cosmin Chivu, legendary avant-garde performers Mink Stoleand Penny Arcade will star in the first New York revival of The Mutilated in 38 years. The production features original music composed byJesse Selengut, performed by the three-piece combo Tin Pan.

Rising Circle Theater Collective kicks off its 2013-14 Season with The Refinery today, a workshop production of Matthew Paul Olmos' new play 'nobody rides a locomotive no'mo', directed by Mariana Carreno King. The cast includes Dacyl Acevedo (Will work for Food), Bernardo Cubria (so go the ghosts of mexico), Heather Velazquez (Pinkolandia).

La MaMa presents Maureen Fleming in the New York premiere of B. MADONNA. Created, choreographed, and performed by Fleming, it features text by David Henry Hwang, music by Philip Glass performed live by pianist Bruce Brubaker, original accordion by Guy Klucevsek, Taiko drumming by Kaoru Watanabe and three-dimensional video projections by longtime collaborator Christopher Odo. Performances continue through November 3 at The Ellen Stewart Theater at La MaMa. Please note: This performance contains nudity.

Rising Circle Theater Collective kicks off its 2013-14 Season with The Refinery – a workshop production of Matthew Paul Olmos' new play 'nobody rides a locomotive no'mo', directed by Mariana Carreno King. The cast includes Dacyl Acevedo (Will work for Food), Bernardo Cubria (so go the ghosts of mexico), Heather Velazquez (Pinkolandia)

La MaMa presents Maureen Fleming in the New York premiere of B. MADONNA. Created, choreographed, and performed by Fleming, it features text by Tony Award winner David Henry Hwang, music by Philip Glass performed live by pianist Bruce Brubaker, original accordion by Guy Klucevsek, Taiko drumming by Kaoru Watanabe and three-dimensional video projections by longtime collaborator Christopher Odo. Performances begin tonight, October 17 at The Ellen Stewart Theater at La MaMa. Please note: This performance contains nudity.

Long Wharf Theatre, in association with Hartford Stage, presents The Underpants by Steve Martin, adapted from the play by Carl Sternheim, directed by Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein.

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) recently launched their 2013-2014 season which includes the world premiere of The Wong Kids in The Secret of the Space Chupacabra Go! by Lloyd Suh. The play is co-produced by the Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning, Ma-Yi Theater Company after four years of collaboration. The process demanded a commitment by two theatres to produce a wildly inventive interplanetary odyssey complete with space creatures and levitating rocks. Ma-Yi's Artistic Director Ralph Pena directs the production this October on CTC's Cargill Stage before taking the show to New York. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

La MaMa Experimental Theater Club, which for over 50 years has produced a uniquely global array of experimental theater, dance, performance art, and music, launched CultureHub in 2009 with its longtime partner the Seoul Institute of the Arts. La MaMa founder Ellen Stewart was a pioneering force in the movement behind the now-commonplace black box theater, an architectural shift that revolutionized the performing arts. CultureHub builds upon Stewart's legacy of innovation, implementing state-of-the-art telepresence technology to transform the black box for a new century and bring artists and audiences from various international locations together in performance, without having to be in the same physical space.

WaterTower Theatre Producing Artistic Director Terry Martin previously announced the directors for the Company's 2013-2014 Main Stage season at the Addison Theatre Centre. Directing the season opener, Hank Williams: Lost Highway (tonight, October 11-November 3, 2013) will be Michael Serrecchia.

On Monday, July 30, 2013, The New York Innovative Theatre Awards (IT Awards), the organization dedicated to celebrating Off-Off-Broadway, announced the 2013 award recipients at the ninth Annual IT Awards Ceremony at Mason Hall at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in New York. The Dramatists Guild Fund was awarded the 2013 Ellen Stewart Award, presented to an individual or organization demonstrating a significant contribution to the Off-Off-Broadway community through service, support and leadership. Playwright Tina Howe presented the award to both Gretchen Cryer, President of the Dramatists Guild Fund, and Rachel Routh, Executive Director of the Dramatists Guild Fund.

In 1962, when Ellen Stewart invited puppet artists from Korea, La MaMa began a long love affair with all things puppetry. The form has been an integral part of La MaMa's artistic vision for more than a half-century. The institution demonstrates the depth and breadth of its commitment with the La MaMa Puppet Series 2013, which, for three weeks (November 7 - 24), fills all three La MaMa theaters with a wide array of productions-both emerging and established artists, from countries around the world, offering something for theatergoers of all ages.

On Monday, September 30, 2013, The New York Innovative Theatre Awards (IT Awards), the organization dedicated to celebrating Off-Off-Broadway,and host comedian and Andy Kauffman Award winner, Harrison Greenbaum, announced the 2013 award recipients at the ninth Annual IT Awards Ceremony atMason Hall @ Baruch Performing Arts Center, 17 Lexingont Avenue, NYC. The ceremony was directed by Tim Butterfield, Artistic Director of the Straphanger Collective, and written by playwright Donnetta Lavinia Grays, 2013 Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award recipient. Those unable to attend joined the OOB theatre community's biggest night virtually by following Molly Marinik of TheatreIsEasy and TravSD (OOBR writer, producer, actor) at nyitawards.com/live