Nicky Paraiso News

Following site-specific productions in Italy, Germany and Austria, Abrons Arts Center will present the New York premiere of Big Art Group's The People L.E.S., an outdoor spectacle that combines live theater with large-scale, real-time video projection. Free performances will take place at 8 pm on May 9 and 10 in the outdoor amphitheater at Abrons (466 Grand Street). The People L.E.S. is created with 36 Lower East Side community members and the Abrons' Urban Youth Theater. Participants include "stage manager to the stars" (New York Times) Lori E. Seid; artist and grandson of award winning performers' Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver, Ian Antoni aka Grize; singer and songwriter Jesse Malin; curator and PARTICIPANT INC founder Lia Gangitano, performance artist and La Mama curator Nicky Paraiso, actress Heather Litteer, playwright Jessica Goldschmidt, director Katherine Cooper, Iman M'Fah, Emily Mun, Christina Moore, Norrin Martinez, Christopher Angelosanto, Theather Huggins, Reginald Mitchell and Sonia Geliga, among others.

A French accent will resonate through La MaMa Moves! this spring when four Gallic dance troupes, along with 11 other experimentalists from around the world, commandeer all three theaters at La MaMa for three and a half dance-packed weeks, May 2-25.

Dixon Place has announced the recipient of the 2014 (second annual) Tom Murrin Performance Award, a.k.a. 'The Tommy.' Intended to a transformative career opportunity to an early career NYC-based artistic or company, this year's award will be presented to Andrew Schneider, a performance / interactive-electronics artist who was previously a seven-year member of the Wooster Group. The second annual Tommy Award presentation will take place at Dixon Place (161a Chrystie Street, New York City) on Sunday, April 27th at 7:30PM. The awards celebration - featuring a special appearance by the 2013 Tommy Award winner, talk-of-the-town performance company ANIMALS, as well as Tom Murrin's wife, Patricia Sullivan -- will be the final stop of a parade of spontaneous outdoor performances, which will commence at closing of the Tom Murrin Full Moon Performance Festival at La Mama. The parade will begin approximately at 6:45pm and travel from East 4th Street to Dixon Place. The Tommy Award party at Dixon Place is FREE, with a cash bar all night.

The Village Voice, the nation's largest alternative weekly newspaper, announced today that tickets will go on sale April 9, 2014 for the 59th Annual Obie Awards on Monday, May 19, 2014, at Webster Hall in the East Village, 125 East 11th Street.

La MaMa, in association with Monk Parrots, presents the World Premiere of Bum Phillips All-American Opera, a new contemporary opera conceptualized and directed by Luke Leonard, composed and conducted by Peter Stopschinski, with a libretto by Kirk Lynn. Bum Phillips All-American Opera runs from March 12 - 30, 2014 in a limited engagement at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre, located at 66 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue & the Bowery in New York City. BroadwayWorld has photos from the show's special benefit performance!

The Village Voice, the nation's first and largest alternative weekly newspaper, announced today that esteemed critic and longtime judge of the awards, Michael Feingold, will serve as Obie Chairman for the 59th Annual Village Voice OBIE Awards, to be presented Monday, May 19, at Webster Hall.

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

The William & Eva Fox Foundation and Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, have announced the eighth round of Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship recipients. The program is designed to support actors' professional and artistic development, to enrich relationships between actors and nonprofit theatres and to ensure continued professional commitment to live theatre. Funded by the Fox Foundation and administered by TCG, the fellowship is one of only a few programs of its kind for actors in the country.

Two years into its second half-century, La MaMa, under the artistic direction of Mia Yoo, continues the omnivorous work of its founder, the late Ellen Stewart. The institution's fall 2013 season is a mixture of established artists and forms La MaMa has long supported (Lee Breuer, Dario D'Ambrosi, puppetry) and celebrated artists and programs new to La MaMa (Irina Brook, Chiori Miyagawa and Alice Reagan, Pascal Rambert, Maureen Fleming, Dan Fishback and Max Steele, and many others). Show-by-show descriptions are below.

The New York Dance and Performance Awards (The Bessies), NYC's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, announced today the 40 nominees for the 2012-13 season. Announced at a press conference by members of The Bessies Selection Committee, the nominations (listed below) were made by an independent committee of 38 dance industry professionals. Produced in partnership with Dance/NYC, Bessie Award categories include Outstanding Production, Outstanding Performer, Outstanding Visual Design, Outstanding Composition or Sound Design and Outstanding Revived Work.

The Oscar-winning and Tony-nominated actress Estelle Parsons was honored at La Mama's annual benefit fundraiser, along with longtime La MaMa board member Peter Swords on last night, February 27, 2013 at the Ellen Stewart Theatre (66 E. 4 St.). Ms. Parsons, who appeared last fall at La MaMa in Marco Calvani's play THINGS OF THIS WORLD directed by Neil LaBute, and Mr. Swords, who served as a member of the La MaMa Board for 25 years, wascelebrated at the event by personal and video tributes from playwrights Warren Leight and Mr. LaBute. BroadwayWorld was there for the special night and you can check out full coverage below!

Ellie Covan, Founder & Artistic Director of Dixon Place, announced today that the NYC performance company ANIMALS will be awarded the First Annual Tom Murrin Performance Award on Friday, February 8th at 9pm at Dixon Place (161A Chrystie Street). The award has been created to honor and celebrate the life and work of Tom Murrin (aka the Alien Comic) by providing a transformative career opportunity to an emerging artist, selected by a distinguished panel of producers, artistic directors and artists.

La MaMa ETC presents SQUIRTS: New Voices in Queer Performance, curated and hosted by Dan Fishback, tonight, January 4 - 13, 2013, at The Club at La MaMa ETC, 74 East 4th Street, NYC.

La MaMa ETC presents SQUIRTS: New Voices in Queer Performance, curated and hosted by Dan Fishback, January 4 - 13, 2013, at The Club at La MaMa ETC, 74 East 4th Street, NYC.

The 2012 BAX Arts & Artists in Progress Awards is being held tonight, May 5th @ 7:30pm. BAX will be honoring Arts Manager, Nicky Paraiso, Arts Educator Pat Hall, and Artist, Jon Kinzel. They in turn will be honoring Pamela Patrick, Todd Richmond & Paz Tanjuaquio, and Mark Robison. These individuals in the arts have revealed and transformed our creative world. By instigating and enduring change they have deepened the definition of their field and paved the way for others.

The OBIE Award-winning NAATCO, The National Asian American Theater Company, is kicking off their 22nd season with Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter.

The OBIE Award-winning NAATCO, The National Asian American Theater Company, is kicking off their 22nd season with Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter.

The recipient of the first-ever ELLEN STEWART AWARD -- the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sam Shepard -- has chosen young playwright Matthew Paul Olmos as the initial participant in the new award being presented this season by La MaMa, it was announced at La MaMa 50th Gala celebrating the start of the internationally-renowned theatre's 50th anniversary season, held on Monday, October 17 at the Ellen Stewart Theatre (66 E. 4 St.) in Manhattan.

The OBIE Award-winning NAATCO, The National Asian American Theater Company, presents Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter, which will kick off their 22nd season.

The OBIE Award-winning NAATCO, The National Asian American Theater Company, presents Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter, which will kick off their 22nd season.