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


HB Studio

Weekly Notice
JuLY 22–28



Summer Term Weekly Classes — In–Person & Online

Summer Term Part-B runs 5-weeks, July 19 – August 22


*Discounts valid for studio classes only; not valid for workshops, programs or merchandise. Discounts cannot be combined nor applied retroactively. Union discount applies for classes taken by cardholders only and cannot be used to enroll family or friends. Union discount available to AEA, AGVA, AGMA, SAG/AFTRA, WGA, UFT, and Dramatist Guild Union Members or international equivalent.


Class & Workshop Highlights












HAGEN INSTITUTE




Events



STUDENT RESOURCES





COMMUNITY NEWS


Faculty News

Fred Weller performs in the upcoming Amazon Prime series, Better Sisters with Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel. 

Jessica Hecht will be back on Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club in Eureka Day by Jonathan Spector, directed by Anna D. Shapiro. Coming Fall 2024.

Jack Vincent Moran performs in Zero Day, streaming soon on Netflix.

Magaly Colimon-Christopher's company Conch Shell Productions' is now distributing short films previously screened at Conch Shell International Film Fest via www.Hoopladigital.com on their new channel – CSIFF CHANNEL. Hoopladigital is a FREE digital library service that offers movies & more to public library patrons. HooplaBingepass is available to library card holders in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

Paul Pryce is invited as a special guest to attend the inaugural Cross Continental Co-Production Forum (CFF) in Barbados and Trinidad. This forum brings together media executives and high level producers from Canada, UK, South Africa, and several Caribbean countries, aiming to encourage collaboration, business development, and co-productions. This year’s focus will be ‘Decolonizing the co-production process for the benefit of the Global South.’

Executive & Artistic Director, Edith Meeks and Ilse Pfeifer gave a presentation on the actor’s art of embodying a role, as part of Yale University’s International Symposium on Embodied Cognition, hosted by the Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health, April 13.

Stephen DeRosa performs in the blockbuster Off-Broadway production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS.

In conjunction with Coward 125, a celebration of the 125th birthday of Noël Coward, HB Board Member Alan Pally has curated MEN ABOUT TOWN: AL HIRSCHFELD DRAWS NOËL COWARD, an online exhibition presented by the Al Hirschfeld Foundation.

Maria Fontanals and her creative team in RADOJKA at Repertorio was nominated as Best NY Hispanic Production at Talia Premios Gala in Madrid, Spain.

Nehassaiu deGannes performs in the THE HOUSE THAT WILL NOT STAND at Shaw Festival in Ontario, Canada. Runs June 12–Oct 12.

Christopher Abbott plays Alfie Blessington in The Oscar-winning film, POOR THINGS.

David Maurice Sharp's A BELL FOR MAURY'S BICYCLE won a 2024 First Place Book Award in the Children's Books category from BooksShelf.

Theresa Buchheister and Ryan William Downey received an OBIE AWARD for their work with The Brick Theatre.


Alumni & Student News

Krit McClean performs in in the first English translation of the widely-acclaimed classical Korean play King & The Clown, also known as, Yi written by Kim Tae-Woong

Nancy Redman performs in You Can't Teach a Fish to Whistle at The Secret Theatre. Performances run July 19–Aug 3.

J.B. Alexander performs in Cymbeline at Quest Players. Performances run July 11–21.

Elise Hansen performs in Macbeth at American Theater of Actors. Performances run July 24–Aug 11.

Tim O'Reilly performs in his play, Pop and Sons at New York Theater Festival. Featuring HB Alumni: Tim O’Reilly, Lauren Dudley, Noah Kleinberg, Ted Phillips and Director John Druzba. Three Performances only: July 17, 19 and 21. 

Jonah Scott Mendelsohn performs in Sunday in the Park with George at Santa Fe Playhouse. Runs June 27–July 28. Following his performance in What the Constitution Means to Me with them.

David R. Nash, student of Michael Beckett, appeared as a recurring guest star on the last two seasons of the hit CBS police drama series, Blue Bloods playing serial killer, Sam Evans. David also recently appeared as a guest star on another popular CBS drama series, FBI: Most Wanted.

Mai Ozeki performs in Voice, a new play by Momo Akashi and directed by Kevin Cheng. Other performers include: Sudip Ulak, and Raymond Xavier. Performance is on July 5 at 3:00pm at The Chain Theatre as part of The Factory Series. 

Max Casella, who studied with Michael Beckett, is a series regular on Sylvester Stallone's Tulsa King. Season 1 premiered on Paramount Plus and will be broadcast on CBS on July 14 at 7 pm. Season 2 is expected to be released Fall 2024.

Moshe Henderson's play Velvet Rage is performing at The Tank's Pridefest on June 27. The creative team includes: Allie Posner (Production Manager), Michael Dale (Performer), Amy Finkbeiner (Scenic Designer) Kiara Luna (Stage Manager), Mariya Chekmarova (Casting), ASH (Sound Designer), Kyle J. Artone (Costume Designer), Randy McHaney (Producer), Benjamin Lang (Understudy).

Time Capsule Project, a week-long Theatre Festival at Chain Theatre runs July 1–7. This festival is produced by a collective HB Studio artists with Ai Toyoshima, Producer & Executive Director. Their mission is to empower our participating artists to become the next generation of creative leaders in the theatrical industry both in New York and Japan. They provide an intimate, supportive network and a creative space that will serve to inspire and entertain our audiences. Our program includes a range of genres from a new play, dancing and music.

Nick Thomas performs in A Man Among Ye at The Player's Theater. A raucous, rollicking, and quite unbelievable (semi) true story of pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Sword fights, sea shanties and mythical creatures help set the tone in this highly stylized and carnivalesque outrageous dark comedy. Performances run June 13–July 14.

Kevin Cheng performs in A Midsummer Night's Dream with Script Club NYC at ART/NY Brooklyn Location. Only two performances July 5 & 6 at 7:00pm.

John L Payne is featured in the indie film, On Purple.

Leonard J. Altamura, Esquire, an attorney and philanthropist whose advocacy touched lives all over the world, died Tuesday, March 19 in New York City. He was 85.

Donna McKechnie is playing Madame Morrible in Broadway's Wicked.


HB Studio’s programs are supported in part by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and many generous supporters.