Author: HB Studio

HB Public Conversation: THE MOTHER LINE STORY PROJECT

Amplifying Women’s Voices Past & PresentHB Public Conversation: The Mother Line Story Project

With Eliza Simpson & Lauren Nordvig

Monday, October 29 | 7:30pm
HB Playwrights Theatre | 124 Bank Street
$5-$10 suggested donation

RSVP

In 2015, The Mother Line Story Project began by building a collective – story by story. It started with an idea to lead women through writing workshops, encouraging them to create short monologues in the voices of their female ancestors. (Think – The Moth meets ancestry.com.) Before long, they had women of all ages & ethnicities performing for diverse audiences Off-Broadway – these previously untold stories were in turns  hysterical, heartbreaking, poignant, & slice-of-life. The Mother Line Story Project collaborates with female-identifying performers, designers, directors, activists, students, businesses & communities, presenting these stories all over the world. Fostering connection & providing a safe artistic space for female expression are their proudest accomplishments.

Join us for a conversation about The Mother Line Story Project with Founder/Executive Director Eliza Simpson and President/Director of Education and Development Lauren Nordvig. Also featuring the performance of a Mother Line story.

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HB Public Conversation: SAG-AFTRA Info Session

With Aaron Serotsky and Phoebe Jonas

Moderated by Paige Russo

Monday, September 24 | 7:30pm
HB Playwrights Theatre | 124 Bank Street

FREE | RSVP

Have questions about SAG-AFTRA? Join us for a conversation with SAG-AFTRA representatives and leading commercial performers about the benefits of the union and taking the next step in your career. Learn what it takes to navigate today’s changing media landscape and what SAG-AFTRA is doing to stay ahead of the curve.

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HB Rehearsal Space Residency – YOU CAN’T PLAY BARBIES WHEN SOMEONE HAS STOLEN THEIR HEADS

by Perry Guzzi 
directed by Cynthia Granville

with Debra Kay Anderson*, Grace C. Benedetto, Olivia De Salvo, David James, Olivia Jampol, Nico Kiefer*

Saturdays & Sundays, September 16, 22, 23, 29, 30, October 6 & 7 | 8 pm
First Floor Studio | 120 Bank Street, New York
FREE | RSVP

As young Julie reveals in her new doll house story: Once upon a time, a monster came to town and ate all the men except for Julie’s Uncle Sandy who is locked away in a dark little cave. Today, the monster is back for the women — Julie, Mommy, Grammy, and a stranger named Lisa who has suddenly appeared at their door.

*these actors are appearing courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association
Drawing by Laura Benedetto

Logos of the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural affairs
This program is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and many generous supporters.

TOO CLOSE by Luigi Laraia, directed by Pablo Andrade

Presented in partnership with LAKEARTS FOUNDATION 

TOO CLOSE

A new play by Luigi Laraia
With Richard Tanenbaum & Daniel Owen
Directed by Pablo Andrade

September 13, 14, &15 | 7:30 pm | $25*-35
TICKETS
HB Playwrights Theatre

124 Bank Street, New York City

In true Hitchcockian style, the author sets the play in an everyday space and invites the audience to share it with the actors.. Claustrophobic, gripping, relevant.
— Capital Fringe Festival

A parable about climate change and its impact on two unsuspecting individuals trapped in an elevator in a modern-day high rise. At its simplest level, TOO CLOSE is a microcosm of a world in which depletion of resources leads to the inhumanity of man against man.

Each evening will also feature leading scientists, writers, and climate change activists discussing the global impact of climate change on our daily lives and ultimately the relationships within our community. Followed by a complimentary reception.

*$25 Student Tickets are available in limited quantities!

Rehearsal Space Residency: THIS PLAY WAS NOT WRITTEN BY A WOMAN

Saturday & Sunday, June 23 & 24 | 8 pm
First Floor Studio
120 Bank Street

Free! RSVP

Created and Directed by Emilyn Kowaleski and Sarah Stites

This Play Was Not Written by a Woman is a devised performance piece that explores the layered nature of personal identity and self-expression. By creating privilege-wielding alter-egos and aggressively self-positive WWE wrestling personas, our ensemble lampoons  society’s expectations of sex, gender, and race in a raucous farce of never-ending reveals.

TRANSGRESSIONS: Six evenings, Six plays-in-process

TRANSGRESSIONS
Six evenings, six plays-in-process: staged readings of new works.

June 26 – July 1, 2018 | 7pm
HB Playwrights Theatre
124 Bank Street, NYC
RSVP

June 26 – LOVE, ROSE by Reneé Flemings
Set during the Age of Jazz, “Love,Rose” is one woman’s story of overcoming challenges of loving who you love and how the truth becomes malleable when race is at the heart of the matter.

June 27 – HARLEM NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS by Arthur W. French, III
Six people’s lives collide while looking at Art at a Museum in Harlem.

June 28 – NIGHT SHADOWS by Lynda Crawford
Russian poet Anna Akhmatova is keeping her promise to tell of the “true twentieth century”—of lives disrupted, her poetry banned, and so many loved ones lost under Stalin’s brutal regime.

June 29 – MR. WAHEEB by David Loughlin
A young black man has been picked-up by Federal agents and taken to an interrogation room in lower Manhattan. He is suspected of being connected to a massive terror strike against the United States. He is young, naive, and very possibly innocent.

June 30 – HOT AND HOLY by Susan Eve Haar
Sex in a coma, a love story.

July 1 – WHAT’S NEXT MAX? A LOVE STORY by William Shuman
For more than fifty years, Max and Maxine shared their lives and more often than not the stage; now comes the hard part.

All shows at 7PM

HB Playwrights Theatre
124 Bank Street, NYC

Featuring plays selected from the 2018 Rehearsal Space Residency Applicants.

People Who Make Theater – Tectonic Theater POSTPONED

POSTPONED: PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEATER 
Tectonic Theater (The Laramie Project)
A conversation with Jimmy Maize

Moderated by Pablo Andrade

This event has been postponed until further notice. 

RSVP at hbstudio.eventbrite.com

TECTONIC THEATER PROJECT is an award-winning company whose plays have been performed around the world.  The company is dedicated to developing innovative works that explore theatrical language and form, fostering an artistic dialogue with audiences on the social, political, and human issues that affect us all.  In service to this goal, Tectonic supports readings, workshops, and full theatrical productions, as well as training for students around the country in their play-making techniques.

Tectonic Theater Project was founded in 1991 by Moisés Kaufman and Jeffrey LaHoste. Tectonic refers to the art and science of structure and was chosen to emphasize the company’s interest in construction — how things are made, and how they might be made differently.

Its groundbreaking plays, The Laramie ProjectGross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, and I Am My Own Wife among others have sparked national discourse and have inspired artists and audiences worldwide.

BEE – June 2018

Presented in partnership with The LES Shakespeare Company 
BEE
Created & Directed by Melody Erfani
Written by Sean Michael Welch

June 8-9, 15-16, 22-23 | 7pm
June 10, 17, 24 | 3pm
HB Playwrights Theatre
124 Bank Street, New York City

RSVP – Free!

BEE is the story of Izat, a young Iranian girl trapped in an abusive marriage in the 1940s. After years of suffering both physically and mentally at the hands of her spouse she knows the only way she will survive is if she is able to leave him. In an unprecedented move her father is able to use his influence to secure a divorce for her. Moving back and forth in time from 1940 to 2009, the story weaves together Izat’s struggles with her path to a happier life. Based on a true story and inspired by a collection of interviews from Middle Eastern immigrants and refugees.

www.lesshakespeareco.org

PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEATER: The Immigrant Arts Coalition- May 7, 2018

A Conversation with Co-Chairs
Ayse Eldek Richardson & Christopher Massimine
Monday, May 7 | 7:30pm
HB Playwrights Theatre, 124 Bank Street
Suggested donation $5-$10
RSVP
The Immigrant Arts Coalition is a network of multi-disciplinary arts organizations and artists united to empower immigrant arts, advocate for diversity and fair representation of all cultures, and celebrate the immigrant arts contributions to American culture. Formed in July 2017, The Immigrant Arts Coalition recognizes the importance and ongoing contribution of artists and arts organizations, who represent America’s diverse cultural mosaic. Members – represented by artists and organizations – will serve as the united front for advocacy, audience development, and work to collaborate with ongoing and continuous shared programs.

Weekly Notice

Classes | Workshops | Calendar | DONATE

A summer at HB Studio is a summer you will never forget. We have a wide range of classes for actors and playwrights at every level of experience and a variety of scheduling options that will work with your schedule. We are here to help you decide which summer program is right for you. No matter what you decide, find your future onstage at HB Studio.

Summer Term 2025 (running from June 12 – August 22)

Our Summer Term is perfect for new and continuing students that need flexibility and crave ongoing instruction. These 5 week and 10 week classes and special workshops  are taught by some of the world’s finest instructors. Register now with an Early Bird discount of 5% off all classes with code SUMMER25N, valid through May 31. As a SAG or AFTRA Union member, you can save 15% by registering before May 31, and 10% thereafter. Find your next class now and register today!

The Hagen Summer Intensive (June 23 – August 1)

Looking to supercharge your training? Our Monday to Friday 40-hour-a-week acting bootcamp is a rigorous expansion of your talent that applies Uta Hagen’s acting techniques to make you a more complete artist by the beginning of August. At $3600 all-inclusive for the full six week program, HB Studio training offers incredible value and represents a worthwhile investment for the actor looking to advance their craft with world-class faculty.

If you’re ready, if you’re serious, if this is the year you plan to emerge a stronger, more confident actor, this is the program for you.

The Hagen Teacher’s Lab (August 10-15)

This five-day program is designed to serve professional teachers and actors who want to expand their understanding and capability in sharing the proven benefits of Hagen’s method of instruction. Participants will learn the depth and value of Hagen’s teaching process. Apply now.

Class Spotlight

Scene Study – Studio Practice (Invitational) with Jessica Hecht: Led by HB instructor Jessica Hecht (2025 Tony Award nominee for her role in Eureka Day), this invitational class is for experienced, professional performers who want to return to – or maintain – their state of continual learning. Register via application.

Scene Study – Studio Practice (Invitational) with Mercedes Ruehl: This application-only Scene Study class is for professional performers who want to deepen their relationship with a dynamic and fertile state of learning, and students will be encouraged to push boundaries with the aim of building ever more complex characters and situations, led by accomplished instructor, stage actor (Tony Award, Lost in Yonkers) and film actor (Academy Award, The Fisher King) Mercedes Ruehl.

Acting Intensive (Online) with Vincent Pastore: One of our most popular returning workshops, Acting Intensive with Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos) teaches you the ins and outs of honing your natural presentational skills to get more attention on the casting stage. As one of our online workshops, actors anywhere in the world will have the chance to study directly with Pastore, even if they can’t get to New York.

Online Auditions & Self Taping (Online) with Magaly Colimon: Magaly Colimon (Law and Order on NBC, Grand Army on Netflix) offers the working actor practical knowledge with self-taping, acting remotely in scenes, and translating live theater skills to an online medium.

Live at HB Studio

American Scoreboard Workshop Reading
Wednesday, May 14 at 7:30pm
at Basement Studio, 120 Bank Street, NY
Pay-What-You-Wish, $30 Recommended

Storyweaving Workshop with Spiderwoman Theater Showcase
Friday, May 16 at 7pm & Saturday, May 17 at 7pm
at HB Playwrights Theatre, 124 Bank Street, NY
Pay-What-You-Wish, $30 Recommended

Community News

HB Studio News

“HB Studio was founded and is sustained by immigrants, seekers, and dreamers. Creative minds are the lifeblood of the culture that has shaped this nation. As federal support for the arts is slashed for our partners-in-arms’ programs across the artistic spectrum, we say this plainly: the NEA is not disposable. America needs systems that recognize the vital role of performers and theater makers, especially those whose stories rise from the margins. It’s time to imagine new cultural systems—regenerative, rooted in care and reciprocity—where artists don’t just survive, but shape the future with bold, collective vision.”

— Christopher Hibma, Interim COO

Faculty News

Jessica Hecht was nominated for a 2025 Tony Award in the Best Featured Actress in a Play category for her role as Suzanne in Eureka Day.

Janice Orlandi will serve as Movement Director for The Other Mozart at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival from August 1-25.

Peter Francis James directs, and Charlotte Bydwell assistant directs, All’s Well That End’s Well at the Old Globe in San Diego from June 8 – July 6.

Daniel Pearce performs as Brabantio in Othello on Broadway (starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal) at the Barrymore Theatre through June 8.

Lisa Pelikan performs in Cracked Open at Theatre Row through June 28.

Alumni & Student News

Amanda Peet stars in Your Friends & Neighbors, now streaming on Apple TV.

Chris Jaymes is a recurring character on Season 5 of Law & Order: Organized Crime, out now on NBC and Peacock.