WHERE AND WHEN
May 23 to 25, 2025
In and around Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. (at E. 10th Street)
Free (donations accepted)
Info: www.theaterforthenewcity.net, (212) 254-1109
Lineup of performances: http://www.jsnyc.com/season/LES-2025.htm
Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZJr7E9TYzd615RPv8

NEW YORK, April 19 -- As of April 18, with the roster still building, Theater for the New City has currently scheduled over 200 performing arts organizations, independent artists, poets, puppeteers and film makers for its 30th annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, which will be mounted May 23 to 25 in and around Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. (at E. 10th Street). Admission is free but donations will be gratefully accepted.

The festival has been presented annually since 1996, although in 2020 it was produced online due to pandemic concerns. A cohort of theater, dance, performance, music, film, literary and visual artists are participating on all three days. Multidisciplinary indoor performances will take stage from 6:00 PM to midnight each evening, utilizing two of TNC's four theaters. From 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Saturday, vendors and food sellers, including booths from nearby restaurants, will line the closed-off block of East Tenth Street between First and Second Avenues. On Saturday afternoon inside in the Johnson Theater, there will be performances by and for children, curated by T. Scott Lilly, Danielle Hauser and Miguel Loyola, emceed by John Grimaldi. A fine art show, curated by Carolyn Ratcliffe, will be hanging throughout the fest in the theater's lobby gallery. A film program will be presented Saturday from noon to 10:00 PM in the Cabaret Theater, featuring works by auteurs from the Lower East Side/East Village along with works that reflect the essence of the neighborhood. Over 25 films curated by Burak Tatar will be screened, accompanied by talkbacks with a number of the film makers. On Saturday from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, an Outdoor Stage adjoining the theater will offer music and multi-discipline performances curated by Richard West, assisted by Didi Champagne. On Sunday from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM in TNC's Community Theater, there will be a "Poetry Jam with Prose on the Side" curated by Lissa Moira.

This year, the festival is mounted with the theme "We will not be silenced, speak up for democracy." The subject will be addressed in some of the playlets and acts written for the festival.

As of this writing, the performers' roster includes such luminaries as David Amram, Austin Pendleton and Penny Arcade. City council member Carlina Rivera will speak on Saturday, May 24 at 6:30 PM.

Performing ensembles participating will include Bond Street Theater, Chinese Theatre Works, Cobu, The Drilling Company, Ego Actus, Folksbiene National Yiddish Theater, Kinding Sindaw, Le Squeezebox Cabaret, New Yiddish Rep, Textile Theater Company, Wise Guise, Tilted Axes, Oyu Oro and many more.

There will be original writings (many penned exclusively for the festival) by Anne Lucas, Barbara Kahn, David Willinger, Douglas Lackey, Eduardo Machado, Elizabeth Ruf, Ishmael Reed, Lissa Moira, Larry Littany Litt, Miguel Loyola, Pamela Enz, Toby Armour, Tom Diriwachter, and Victor Vauban Jr.

Excerpts of plays performed will include works by Toby Armour, Briana Bartenieff, Stephan Morrow; Peter Welch, and Roman Primitivo, Stephan Morrow, projects of Mary Tierney's TNC Theater Workshop, and songs from TNC's 2024 Street Theater.

Individual performers appearing will include Austin Pendleton, Bryce Payne, Jeff Davis, John Grimaldi, Lei Zhou, Stan Baker, Terry Lee King (Amazin' Grace), Thomas Baker, Tym Moss, Zero Boy, Ed Malin and JC Augustin.

Dance performances will include works by Ashley Liang Dance Company, Carol Tandava, Charly Wenzel, Infinity Dance Theater, Rastro Dance Company (Julieta Valero), Rod Rodgers Dance Company and Thunderbird American Indian Dancers. Aerial dance will be performed by Constellation Moving Co.

Musical performers appearing will include Alessandra Belloni, Art Lillard Quartet, Citizens United Protest Band, David Amram, Ejyp Johnson, Joe Bendik, Judy Gorman, Louisa Bradshaw, Maude Lardner Burke, Michael A Green, Michael David Gordon, Mimi Block, Mister Pablo, Noam Finegold: Burning City Orchestra, Peter Dizozza, Rew Starr, Richard West, Robert Gonzales Jr. and Yip Harburg Rainbow Troupe.

Comedy performers will include Hollie Harper, Joan Reinmuth and others TBA.

"Poetry Jam with Prose on the Side," curated and hosted by Lissa Moira, will take stage Sunday, May 26 from 4-7pm in TNC's Community Space Theater. Wordslingers are TBA. An open mic will follow as time permits.

Submissions for the film program will be accepted until April 23 via email to tncfilmfestival@gmail.com and via Via FilmFreeWay at: https://filmfreeway.com/LEStheLowerEastSideFestivaloftheArts

Throughout the festival, an art show curated by Carolyn Ratcliffe will grace the TNC lobby spaces. This art show will have its own free, special opening Wednesday, May 21 from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM. Participating artists are TBA.

Emcees will be Crystal Field, Robert Gonzales Jr., Danielle Aziza, Melanie Goodreaux and Sabura Rashid (in the Johnson Theater) and David F. Slone Esq. and Joan Kane (in the Cabaret Theater). The film program will be emceed by Burak Tatar.

Specialty curators of the festival include Lissa Moira (poetry), Burak Tatar (film), T. Scott Lilly and Danielle Hauser (kids' performances), Carolyn Ratcliffe (visual art) and Richard West and Didi Chmpagne (outdoor theater-dance-music). The whole festival is run by the LES committee (see below) and chaired by Crystal Field.

The performers' roster is still building as of this writing and the number of applicants exceeds any previous year.

BACKGROUND
The first festival, presented June 14 to 16, 1996, was a three-day, indoor and outdoor multi-arts festival, organized by TNC and a coalition of civic, cultural and business leaders. The aim was to demonstrate the creative explosion of the Lower East Side and the area's importance to culture and tourism for New York City. It employed two theater spaces at TNC plus the block of East Tenth Street between First and Second Avenues, featured over 100 attractions, drew favorable press and attracted crowds from all around the City. Its success prompted TNC to continue the festival annually on Memorial Day Weekend. For 28 years it has been presented free each year to an average attendance of over 4,000. (In 2020 it was held online due to pandemic concerns).

The concept of the festival was developed by Crystal Field, Executive Artistic Director of TNC, and Esther Cartegena, President of Loisaida, Inc., to portray the Lower East Side (LES) as a haven for artists and artistic creation. The region is a unique multi-ethnic community with an unusually high level of artistic vitality. Large populations with differing languages and cultures coexist there successfully and a large artistic population helps glue the neighborhood together. Its theaters are also an unprecedented source of tourism. Sam Shepard's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Buried Child," was commissioned and first produced by TNC. The committee envisioned an event that would demonstrate the region's cultural fervor, its large artistic population and its multiplicity of ethnic influences to contradict the neighborhood's stereotype as a dangerous refuge for drug dealers and criminal activity. The Village Halloween Parade was also first conceived and produced by TNC.

Disciplines presented have always included theater, music, dance, poetry, puppetry, cabaret, visual art, film and children's programming.

SPECIAL CREDITS
Festival Director is Crystal Field. Assistant Directors are Nicolette Brun, Jasmine Hyman and Audrey Shon.

The LES Committee for 2025 is: Crystal Field, JC Augustin, Joe John Batista, Alex Bartenieff, Briana Bartenieff, Asher Cohen, Walter Corwin, Eva Dorrepaal, Myrna Duarte, Renee Edelman, Alberto Ferreras, Andrea Fulton, Robert Gonzales Jr., Willie Ann Gissendammer, Melanie Goodreaux, Robert Greer, Susan Hemley, Barbara Kahn, Dan Kelly, Miguel Loyola, Anne Lucas, David Mandelbaum, Lissa Moira, Stephan Morrow, Rome Neal, Emily Pezzella, Roman Primitivo, Carolyn Ratcliffe, Devorah Shubowitz, Jonathan Slaff, David F. Slone Esq., Claude Solnick, Mary Tierney, Jenne Vath, Robert Varcony, Jimmy Walker, Richard Weber, Jonathan Weber, Peter Welch, Richard West, and Lewis Widoff.  Press Representative is Jonathan Slaff.

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PHOTOS ARE AVAILABLE at https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZJr7E9TYzd615RPv8.
THE COMPLETE LINEUP OF PERFORMANCES will be available after MAY 19 at http://www.jsnyc.com/season/LES-2025.htm.