THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents

49th ANNUAL THUNDERBIRD AMERICAN INDIAN DANCERS’ POW-WOW AND DANCE CONCERT

January 12, 2024 – January 21, 2024
Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM,  Saturday and Sunday at 3:00 PM

Tickets $15
MATINEES ARE KIDS’ DAYS: At all matinée performances, children ages five to twelve who are accompanied by a ticket-bearing adult are admitted for $1.00 (adults $15). – Box Office (212) 254-1109
Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
JOHNSON THEATER

PHOTOS AND VIDEO ARE AVAILABLE. See directions at bottom.

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th & 10th Street)

There will be dances, stories and traditional music from Native Peoples of the Northeast, Southwest and Great Plains regions. The event has become a treasured New York tradition for celebrating our diversity by honoring the culture of our first Americans. TNC donates all proceeds from the event to college scholarship funds for Native American students.

A Pow-Wow is more than just a spectator event: it is a joyous reunion for native peoples nationwide and an opportunity for the non-Indian community to voyage into the philosophy and beauty of Native culture. Traditionally a gathering and sharing of events, Pow-Wows have come to include spectacular dance competitions, exhibitions, and enjoyment of traditional foods.

Throughout the performance, all elements are explained in depth through detailed introductions by the troupe’s Director and Emcee Louis Mofsie (Hopi/Winnebago). An educator, Mofsie plays an important part in the show by his ability to present a comprehensive view of native culture.   He was awarded a 2019 Bessie Award for Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance. In 2017, he was honored, along with Garth Fagan and Martha Myers, with a Lifetime Achievement Award from American Dance Guild.

Highlights will also include a Hoop Dance set to guitar and flute music that will be performed on alternating dates by Marie Ponce (Cherokee and Seminole) and Matt Cross (Kiowa); a Deer Dance (from the Yaqui Tribes of Southern Arizona) with Ciaran Tufford (Mayan/Cherokee) and Carlos Ponce (Mayan), and various ensemble dances: a Grass Dance and Jingle Dress Dance (from the Northern Plains people), a Stomp Dance (from the Southeastern tribes), a Shawl Dance (from the Oklahoma tribes), a Fancy Dance (from the Oklahoma tribes) and a Smoke Dance (from the Iroquois). As the audience enters the theater, they will be serenaded by the Heyna Second Son Singers (various tribes).

Pageantry is an important component of the event, and all participants are elaborately dressed. There is a wealth of cultural information encoded in the movements of each dance. More than ten distinct tribes will be represented in the performance. The dozen-or-so dancers are people of all ages, raging from thirteen-year-old Isabel Cespedes (Mayan) to retirees.

Native American crafts and jewelry will be sold in the TNC lobby.

Matinées are kids’ days, when children aged five to twelve accompanied by a ticket-bearing adult are admitted for $1.00 (adults $15). At the conclusion of these matinées, young audience members are invited to pose for pictures with the dancers.

ABOUT THUNDERBIRD AMERICAN INDIAN DANCERS

The Thunderbird American Indian Dancers are the oldest resident Native American dance company in New York. The troupe was founded in 1963 by a group of ten Native American men and women, all New Yorkers, who were descended from Mohawk, Hopi, Winnebago and San Blas tribes. Prominent among the founders were Louis Mofsie (Hopi/Winnebago) and his sister, Josephine Mofsie (deceased), Rosemary Richmond (Mohawk, deceased), Muriel Miguel (Cuna/Rapahannock) and Jack Preston (Seneca, deceased). Some were in school at the time; all were “first generation,” meaning that their parents had been born on reservations. They founded the troupe to keep alive the traditions, songs and dances they had learned from their parents, and added to their repertoire from other Native Americans living in New York and some who were passing through. Jack Preston taught the company its Iroquois dances, including the Robin Dance and Fish Dance. To these were added dances from the plains, including the Hopi Buffalo Dance, and newer dances including the Grass Dance and Jingle Dress Dance. The company was all-volunteer, a tradition that exists to today. Members range in professions from teachers to hospital patient advocates, tree surgeons and computer engineers. Now Louis Mofsie says, “To be going for 60 years is just amazing to me, and to be able to do the work we do.”

The troupe made a home in the old McBurney YMCA on 23rd Street and Seventh Ave. Within three or four years, they were traveling throughout the continental U.S., expanding and sharing their repertoire and gleaning new dances on the reservations. A number of Thunderbird members are winners of Fancy Dance contests held on reservations, where the standard of competition is unmistakably high.

The Thunderbird-TNC collaboration began in 1975, when Crystal Field directed a play called “The Only Good Indian.” For research, Ms. Field lived on a Hopi reservation for three weeks. In preparation for the project, she met Louis Mofsie, Artistic Director of the dance troupe and a representative of the American Indian Community House. Mofsie suggested a Pow Wow and dance concert to celebrate the winter solstice. Field, who is herself 1% native American, committed herself to bring this to fruition. The event has continued annually to this day.

The troupe’s appearances benefit college scholarship funds for Native American students. The Thunderbird American Indian Dancers Scholarship Fund receives its sole support from events like this concert (it receives no government or corporate contributions), and has bestowed over 350 scholarships to-date. Theater for the New City has been presenting Pow-Wows annually as a two-week event since 1976, with the box office donated to these scholarships.

# # #

CRITICS ARE INVITED to all performances. Press contact Jonathan Slaff (212) 924-0496.

VIDEOS ARE AVAILABLE upon request.

2023 PRODUCTION PHOTOS: https://photos.app.goo.gl/BQefisDJzPgvr7Db9
2019 PRODUCTION PHOTOS: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ebLLGRPPQVHjJsxt8
RECENT YEARS’ PHOTOS: https://goo.gl/photos/tcrxbtPYtF2hdvhV6 and https://goo.gl/photos/SLr4PXEHJrsq34j9A
HISTORICAL PHOTOS of Pow-Wows from 2004 to 2015 are available for download at: https://goo.gl/photos/wUcenp6ZcPDcBCYD7

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents

CONJUNCTION

A circus solo synthesis
by Maia and Medea Ramnath-Christiansen

January 4 – 7, 2024
Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00 PM, Sunday at 3:00 PM

Tickets: $18, Students, Seniors, Children $15
Run Time: 80 minutes including 15 minute intermission
JOHNSON THEATER

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th and 10th Street)

Conjunction is a tale of two travelers, told through a blend of aerial, dance, contortion, text and video.

One is on a quest to find a place in the world through responsibilities to history, moving from alienation to purpose and meaning.

One is on a quest through the wilderness of the psyche, moving from mental health crisis to healing and recovery.

Each traveler becomes a witness to the other’s journey, first from a distance, then closer and closer, until witnesses become participants as the paths converge. Each course changes the other, along with all that we carried with us to that meeting place. Who am I? Where do I fit? Why am I the way I am? Why is it the way it is? The big picture and the inner landscape need each other to be whole. We help each other bear the things we carried. Two stories become one story. The path continues forward, together.

Performed by
Medea Ramnath-Christiansen, Maia Ramnath-Christiansen

Choreography, text and video by
Medea Ramnath-Christiansen, Maia Ramnath-Christiansen

Lighting Design by Michael-Zero Zumbrun

Photo credit:
@pcfwrk (main image), Andrew T. Foster (small images)

This production is funded in part by the DCLA and NYSCA.

This piece was created with the support of the Bindlestiff First of May grant, Dragon’s Egg Studio (Ledyard, CT) residencies, and the Circus Culture/Saltonstall Hupstate Residency (Ithaca, NY).

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field

Is Pleased to present

The 24th Annual Holiday Performance of

TIMES SQUARE ANGEL

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents

BREAD + PUPPET

The Idiots of the World Unite Against the Idiot System Circus and The Mother Dirt Mass

December 6 – 17, 2023
Tickets $18, Students, Seniors, Children $15
JOHNSON THEATER

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th & 10th Street)

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents

Enough Vo5 for the Universe

November 9 – November 26, 2023
Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00 PM, Sunday at 3:00 PM
Added Saturday matinee, November 25th at 3:00 PM
No performance Thanksgiving, November 23rd

Tickets: $20
Run Time: 1 hour 50 minutes with one intermission
CINO THEATER

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th and 10th Street)

Enough Vo5 for the Universe by Melanie Maria Goodreaux, is a science fiction dark comedy that takes place in the year 2097.

Three African-American female survivors of an unnamed worldwide cataclysm strive to exercise control in a dystopian environment where there is no control.  Mona Machine, Dr. Dorinda, and Ann Tenna McCloud engage in a death-dealing battle amongst each other over love, the last remaining White Man, fried chicken, and the mysterious whereabouts of the last Black Man left in the world.  The drama ensues with the derailing of Mona Machine’s 130th Birthday Party, genocide, and the digital manipulations of an unseen force.

Originally mounted in 2018, the play was way ahead of its time– and features a powerhouse performance by Aixa Kendrick (The Walking Dead- Dead City) as the tyrannical Mona Machine, returning for her role. Audiences will get to see Malik Yoba‘s controversial portrayal as the gender fluid God, named “Oprah-Obama-Omama.”

The Cast features
Aixa Kendrick (Mona Machine)
Malik Yoba (Oprah Obama Omama)
Le’Asha Julius (Dr. Dorinda)
Linda Greene (Anna Tenna McCloud)
Anthony Harper (Charles Donovan)
Jonathan Duran (Manny St. Nicholas The Wise Man)
Mark Ashin (Daniel, the White Man)

The Creative Team includes:
Animations and Graphics by Tim Fielder
Cinematography and Sound Design by Boston Fielder
Video and Sound by Anthony Harper
Lighting Design by Alexander Bartenieff
Set Design, Props, and Costumes by Lytza Colon, Sara Jane Munford, Diane Sullivan and Devyn Mackey

Production Team:
Co-Producers: Bruce Morrow, Mark Holloway
Associate Producer: Norah Lawlor
Stage Manager is Christopher Bello
Directed by Melanie Maria Goodreaux

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents

FLAWLESS

November 9 – November 26, 2023
Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00 PM, Sunday at 3:00 PM
Added performance Wednesday, November 22 at 8:00 PM
No performance Thanksgiving, November 23rd

Tickets: $18 General, $15 Seniors and Students
Run Time: 2 hours with one intermission
COMMUNITY SPACE

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th and 10th Street)

A family’s youngest daughter takes center stage as her father cares for his wife of over 50 years, who now has Alzheimer’s. Witnessing the relentless repetition of the disease and the extraordinary patience and unwavering commitment of her father’s love, Estella struggles to accept her mother as she is now. While recalling her mother’s former vitality, a world view emanates, and we see the same couple in their first year of marriage, filled with light and hope for the future. She moves through time and space to learn the flickering power of memory, and to remember what is important when the mother she loves cannot.

CAST
David L Carson*
Page Clements*
John Lampe*
Hana Lauer
Deanna Henson*
Hannah Dillenbeck
Ricardo Gomez
Patricia Santos (Cellist)

PRODUCTION
Playwright – Robin Goldfin
Director – Ed Chemaly
Composer – Oren Neimen
Choreographer – Laurie DeVito
Set Designer – Lytza Colon
Costume Designer – Anthony Paul-Cavaretta
Lighting Designer – Heather Crocker
Production Stage Manager – Aaron A Watson*
Assistant Stage Manager – Danielle Nahil Mullen
Poster Design – Janice Davis
Publicity – Paul Siebold, OFF OFF PR

*Appears courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY’S VILLAGE HALLOWEEN COSTUME BALL OCTOBER 31

WILL HAUNT YOU OUTDOORS AND INDOORS.

NEW YORK — To delight its community and celebrate the creativity that comes with the season, Theater for the New City (TNC), 155 First Ave., will present its 47th annual Village Halloween Costume Ball October 31.   A large outdoor festivity will be held from 3:15 PM to 8:00 PM outside the Theater on East Tenth Street between First and Second Avenues (or if it rains, in a big tent), featuring performances, a costume competition and dancing to swing and Latin bands. This will be followed by indoor performances from 8:00 PM to midnight in TNC’s large Johnson Theater, and from 9:00 PM to 11:30 PM in the adjacent Community Space. Admission is free for the outdoor program and $20 for the indoor festivities. Costumes or formal wear are requested.

TNC has presented a Village Halloween Costume Ball annually since 1976. Traditionally, the celebration has taken up the entirety of TNC’s multi-theater complex at 155 First Avenue (the former First Avenue Retail Market building) and adjoining outdoor spaces. In 2020, due to the Covid shutdown, TNC maintained its Halloween tradition by presenting the entire event virtually. In 2021, with safety paramount, it was mounted entirely outdoors. Last year, TNC made the event hybrid, bringing some of it back inside while offering an impressive set of offerings outside in the fresh air. The aim was to capture the event’s intensity and traditional magic while facilitating Covid safety for both performers and attendees. It was so successful that the hybrid format will be repeated this year.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
(as of September 27)

OUTDOOR EVENTS

FREE
3:30 – 8:00 PM

Variety Acts:

• Yip Harburg Rainbow Troupe, Matt Angel & Rob Varcony, Whimsical Hips Belly Dance led by Carol Tandva, John Grimaldi (juggling with fire), Elizabeth Ruf, stilt walking by Bond Street Theatre. Emceed by Mary Tierney.

Dancing in the Street:

• Art Lillard’s Heavenly Big Band, a 17 piece swing orchestra performing an extensive repertoire of songs from swing to samba to jazz ballad to Bossa Nova with a swinging singing soloist
• Mr. Pablo’s Latin Dance Band, a five-piece fusion band mixing Salsa, Samba and Flamenco with Rock, Reggae and Funk.

Costume Judging and Prizes:

• “Monsters and Miracles Costume Parade.” All costumed attendees are invited to march past a panel of celebrity judges. Adult winners will receive one-year passes to TNC and a bottle of Proseco; children get candy. Attendees will be judged in such categories as “Most Booster-Shot,” “Most Testosteroned,” and “Most Inflationed.” Emceed by T. Scott Lilly, David Willinger, Emily Pezzella and Crystal Field.

Giveaway Table:

• Free gifts and racks of giveaway clothing.

The Red and Black Masque:

• An annual Medieval ritual show written by Arthur Sainer, scored by David Tice and directed by Crystal Field which is performed by torchlight with audience participation.

INDOOR EVENTS

Admission $20

8:00 PM TO MIDNIGHT

• A succession of free, live, 10-minute performances staged in TNC’s Johnson Theater. The growing list of performers includes Phoebe Legere, Penny Arcade, Austin Pendleton, Cobu (all-female Japanese Taiko drumming and dance troupe), Peter Dizzoza, The Witcherly Sisters, Zero Boy, Constellation Dance, Bina Sharif, Flamenco singer/dancer Inma Heredia, Danielle Aziza (performance artist), TNC Street Theater Company in “Mermaid Song” performed by Terry Lee King & J.C. Augustin, Rome Neal, Hollie Harper, Carol Tandava (Belly Dance), Star 69, Wise Guise, Ellen Steier, William Electric Black, Lei Zhou, Lissa Moira Scream Contest, Richard West, Alberto Ferraras, Talento Davis, Bryce Payne, Tim Moss. Special Aerial Dance performance at 10:00 PM.

9:00 PM TO 11:30 PM

• Cabaret and Vaudeville in Community Space Theater, emceed by Melanie Maria Goodreaux. Performers include Star 69, Lei Zhou, Yip Harburg Rainbow Troupe, Willie Ann Gissendanner, Elizabeth Ruf, Sabura Rashid, Toby Armour, Stan Baker, Larry Litt, Thomas Baker, JC Augustin, Peter Dizzoza, Schuyler Robinson, Textile, Maude Laudner Burke, Ellen Steier, Billy Little, Stephan Morrow.

LOBBY EVENTS

• Hellsouls, Tap Dancing with Laraine Goodman and The Mad Tappers, Fish Pond (casting for gifts) from 8:00 – 9:00 PM. Fortune Teller Penny Diora and Astrologer Maurisabel Santiago (free readings) from 8:00 – 9:00 PM. Musician/composer Peter Dizzoza, Rocco (Swing Singer). Champagne Bar served over a coffin with a live vampire inside.

BACKGROUND

Since its beginning in 1976, TNC’s Halloween extravaganza has been a point of origin for many of the City’s most original entertainers. Six full-length plays have grown out of playlets written for the fest and it is probable that the theatrical movement in Performance Art began there. It has been a launching pad for such formative artists as Paul Zaloom, Alice Farley, Bloolips, The Red Mole, Penny Arcade, Basil Twist and Alien Comic Tom Murrin. Each year, many acts, skits, sketches, and skadoodles go on to become the basis of larger theater works. It is also interesting to note that TNC originated the Village Halloween Parade as part of its annual Halloween Ball. The procession wound its way through the Village from TNC’s second home at the corner of Jane and West Streets to Washington Square Park.

Theater for the New City (www.theaterforthenewcity.net) is located at 155 First Avenue, at the corner of East Tenth Street. Reservations are optional. The TNC box office number is (212) 254-1109.

PHOTO ATTACHED: Terry Lee King and JC Augustin as Coney Island Mermaids in “Mermaid Song,” to be performed in the Johnson Theater during Theater for the New City’s Village Halloween Costume Ball 2023. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

MORE PHOTOS:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/prEwwsQct9R5SC9G7

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022 , we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents

A Tale of Love and Perimenopause –

from the East Village and Beyond

A Seriocomic Theater Fable

September 28 – October 1, 2023
Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00PM, Sunday at 3:00 PM
Run Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes with no Intermission
Tickets: $18, Students and Seniors $12

LIMITED RUN – 4 PERFORMANCES

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th and 10th Streets)
COMMUNITY SPACE

A Tale of Love and Perimenopause – from the East Village and Beyond written and directed by Joanne Schultz is a seriocomic theater fable about the ups and downs of a woman’s romantic relationships during perimenopause.

“It’s one woman’s unpredictable journey through perimenopause during two romantic relationships,” said Schultz, who has gone from working in The Bread and Puppet Theater to a career directing, devising and writing theater. “Perimenopause is the time leading up to a woman’s menopause that can last from two to fourteen years.”

Following one relationship, we watch the lead character The Woman Without a Clue pursue a romance with The Desperate Artist. With The Man in the Blue Blazer, we see her and those around her cope with symptoms of perimenopause including mood swings, fatigue and much more.

“Can her intimate relationships survive the strain?” Schultz asked. “Expect desire, anxiety, humor, pathos, whimsical use of props and information about women’s health in a playful theater show.”

The production seeks to weave together drama and humor as we follow one woman, her relationships and life as well as those around her in a story complete with laughter, love and struggle.

“The goal of the production is to create a seriously fun and accessible theater show to highlight women’s changes and challenges during perimenopause in their intimate partnerships,” Schultz added, “I hope to shift public perception so that women and all people who experience menopause can be fully accepted as themselves as they age. There’s no way an aging woman can remain forever 39. And why should she?”

The production will also include post-show talkbacks designed to promote dialogue, raise awareness and normalize these changes in public discourse.

Ralph Denzer and Susan Hwang add to the atmosphere by playing live their original incidental music influenced by jazz, samba, tango, pop and electronic music on trumpet, piano, accordion, synthesizer and percussion to create an array of musical textures and sound effects.

To learn more about this production visit: https://www.nyfa.org/fiscal-sponsorship/project-directory/view-project/?id=JS1449

The production is made possible in part by funds from Creative Engagement, a re-grant program supported by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) in partnership with the City Council.

CAST
Isabelle Garbani – The Woman Without a Clue
Peter Welch* – The Desperate Artist, The Man in the Blue Blazer, Glamorous Death

*Appears courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association

PRODUCTION
Written and directed by Joanne Schultz
Music composed and performed by Ralph Denzer and Susan Hwang
Set design by Isabelle Garbani
Lighting design by Alexander Bartenieff
Costume Design by Billy Little
Stage Management by Ellery Cordes
Poster design by Claude Solnik
Photos by Nina Galicheva
Set Design Assistant – Isaac Woon

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents

Infinity Dance Theater – Kitty Lunn, Artistic Director

Frida Kahlo and the Dance with Death

September 15 & 16, 2023
Friday & Saturday at 8:00 PM
Run Time: One hour, no intermission
(a talkback with the artists will follow each performance)
Tickets: $15
$10 for students, seniors, people with disabilities and their personal care attendants
Box Office: 212-254-1109

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th and 10th Streets)
JOHNSON THEATER

General Event Inquiries: info@infinitydance.com

Join Infinity Dance Theater in September for the world premiere of Kitty Lunn’s Frida Kahlo and the Dance with Death at Theater for the New City. The engagement is Infinity’s first major concert presentation at the East Village venue since 2013. Infinity’s  performances will debut a new dance floor by Showfab that strengthens the accessibility of Theater for the New City, making the venue a much-needed new resource for the New York City dance  community – especially for small-to-midsize dance companies and performing artists with disabilities.

Frida Kahlo and the Dance with Death is performed by Artistic Director Kitty Lunn, who choreographed the work, and Artistic Associate and company member Luísa Righeto, with narration by Jim Trainor. The piece, about one-hour in length without an intermission, features an original score composed by Music Director William Catanzaro.

Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) was a woman of extreme magnetism and originality. Her sensual vibrancy grew from her own personal history and experiences: her childhood near Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution; a devastating accident at age 18 that left her disabled, in terrible lifelong pain, and unable to bear children; and her tempestuous marriage to Diego Rivera, the famous muralist. Frida Kahlo knew intense passion and loss throughout her life.

Through Frida Kahlo and the Dance with Death, Kitty Lunn will explore the latter part of the artist’s life, and four movements comprise the work. At first blush, one would think that Frida Kahlo and Kitty Lunn, a Scottish-American born in New Orleans, have nothing in common. Lunn was just four years old when the artist died in 1954; however, they have more in common than meets the eye. Both suffered life-altering spinal cord injuries from accidents that rendered them unable to bear children. Both endured years of painful treatments with very little result. Above all, they share resilience and a dedication to the art that kept them going – Kahlo through painting and Lunn through dance. Through their art, they have thrived.

William Catanzaro has collaborated with Kitty Lunn for years by composing scores for several of her dance works over Infinity’s history, with themes as varied as Stardust and Ghosts in the Machine. For the creation of this new score, the affinity between Kitty Lunn and Frida Kahlo became a source of inspiration, yet also an immense challenge. Catanzaro shares, “Months of research and several sketches later, I was able to move the choreography musically in the direction Kitty envisions. Of all the scores I’ve created for Kitty, this has proven to be one of the most heartbreaking and heartwarming of all.”

Founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Kitty Lunn, INFINITY DANCE THEATER is committed to expanding the boundaries of dance by featuring dancers with and without disabilities and changing perceptions of what a dancer can be. Infinity’s ensemble performs throughout the New York City metropolitan area and New York State, across the country, and around the world. Notable Infinity performance appearances include, among others, New York City’s Riverside Theatre (2019), Gibney (2016), Theater for the New City (2013), Judson Memorial Church (2012), and Joyce SoHo (2004, 2006, 2009); the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Green Show (2015); the Kennedy Center (2000, 2004); 1999 VSA arts International Art & Soul Festival in Los Angeles, CA and 2004 International Festival in Washington, D.C.; Festival of Wheelchair Dance in Boston, MA (1997); the 1st Cultural Paralympiad at the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta, GA; and overseas programs in Italy (1999-2001, 2010) and Scotland (1996, 2002).

Since 2007, Infinity Dance Theater has led tuition-free weekly dance classes, choreography workshops, and private lessons for adult dance students with physical disabilities. Infinity also provides professional development opportunities for dance educators and other dance professionals. Rather than introducing a separate system, Infinity’s renowned curriculum enables participants to begin transposing work they are already covering in class. The 2022 National Dance Education Organization’s Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia presented an Infinity workshop titled, “Transposition of Classical and Modern Dance Techniques for Students with Disabilities.”

KITTY LUNN began her study of ballet at an early age, and at 15 she was dancing principal roles with the New Orleans Civic Ballet, where she made her professional debut as Swanilda in Coppélia. Her work in New Orleans led to a scholarship to the Washington Ballet, where she studied and worked with both Mary Day and the great ballet master Edward Caton. Numerous ballets in which Lunn danced include Swan Lake, Giselle, Les Sylphides, and The Nutcracker. In Washington, she worked with such dance legends as Martha Graham, Agnes de Mille, José Limón, and Erik Bruhn. While preparing for her first Broadway show, Lunn slipped on ice, fell down a flight of stairs, and broke her back. Now a paraplegic using a wheelchair, she works diligently on behalf of performing artists with disabilities. She is a Registered Dance Educator and a frequent guest teacher at New York University among other institutions.

Kitty Lunn was described by Phyllis Goldman, writing in Backstage, as “a marvelous creature, an exquisite dancer with an upper body of seamless fluidity, a touching emotional tone in her movement quality, and a complete mastery of her instrument. Did I mention that she performs from a wheelchair? … She has made a friend and partner of her wheelchair, and the results are both creative and gratifying.” Jennifer Dunning of the New York Times has described her as “radiant.”

Facebook and Instagram
infinitydanceny

Web
www.infinitydance.com

Infinity Dance Theater is supported by generous contributions from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and through the CreateNYC Disability Forward Fund;
National Endowment for the Arts;
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation; and
Jody and John Arnhold | Arnhold Foundation among other supporters

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field

Presents

THE CHESAPEAKE CHICKS

A one act play written and directed by Peter Zachari

October 5-22, 2023
Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00PM, Sunday at 3:00 PM
Running Time: 90 minutes (no intermission)
Tickets: $18, Students and Seniors $15

Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th and 10th Streets)
COMMUNITY SPACE

“If I die tomorrow, know that someone here killed me.”

Roommates Ann, Rita, Gertrude, Alice and Carrie are former players of the all-female baseball team, The Chesapeake Chicks. When they return from Ann’s funeral, their caretaker Matthew presents them with Ann’s found journal, with that cryptic final message.

The entire house is turned upside down as everyone tries to figure out who did it – will they discover the truth before the killer strikes again?

Come join the madness in this new rollicking comedy written and directed by Peter Zachari.

CAST
Peter Coleman*
Andrew Cuccaro
Nora Falk
Karen Lynn Gorney*
Rebecca Hoodwin*
Margo Singaliese*

PRODUCTION
Writer – Peter Zachari
Director – Peter Zachari
Set Design – Mark Marcante
Lighting Design – Michael Clark Wonson
Set Decorator and Props – Lytza Colon
Stage Manager – Hollyanna Mathews*
Assistant Stage Managers – Michelle Pomponio, Antonio Manto

*Actors appear courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association

COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.