Perry's Mission

This Spring, The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. continues the celebration of its 50th Anniversary season, in which it is remounting classic plays of the company's past.

Sex, power, institutional failure, human frailty, betrayal, dreams and madness are at the core of celebrated Cuban-American writer Maria Irene Fornes's Pulitzer-Prize nominated play What of the Night?

To launch its 50th anniversary season, The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) will revisit its very first production, 'Day of Absence' (1966) by Douglas Turner Ward, with an eight-performance run December 4-11 at Theatre 80 St. Marks, 80 St. Mark's Place.  The season will include three more productions at Theatre 80 St. Marks and one at La MaMa.

Stage Left Theatre is pleased to announce the programming for its 35th season. The season begins with the world premiere of The Bottle Tree by Beth Kander directed by ensemble member Amy Szerlong. The Bottle Tree was developed through Stage Left's Downstage Left program, at the Ashland New Plays Festival and and has received an Honorable Mention on The Kilroys List for the past two years. Next, in the winter, Stage Left and Cor Theatre present a co-production of What of the Night? by Maria Irene Fornes, directed by Carlos Murillo. This epic meditation on poverty in America was a Pultizer finalist in 1990. Cor Theatre Artistic Director Tosha Fowler says of the partnership, 'With admiration for Stage Left's longevity and the exciting opportunities they provide to artists through their strong commitment to mission, we at Cor are thrilled to announce a collaboration of theatre that is bound to leave you breathless. Combining Stage Left's strength with our fearless aesthetic, Fornes' poetically primal voice, and Carlos Murillo's passionate vision, What of the Night is going to be our biggest leap yet.' Finally, the company will present LeapFest, its annual developmental festival featuring workshop productions of new plays, at a time to be announced later.