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THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY TO PRESENT THE SIXTEENTH
INSTALLMENT
OF "OPEN 'THO SHUT," ITS WALK-BY THEATER SERIES, ON FEBRUARY 27.
Downtown variety show is staged weekly in TNC's set shop for outdoor audiences.
NEW YORK, February 22 -- On Saturday, February 27 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM, Theater
for the New City (TNC), 155 First Ave., will present the sixteenth installment
of "Open 'Tho Shut," its afternoon of "walk-by theater"
that is staged in its set shop and visible from East Tenth Street between First
and Second Avenues.
The program offers a succession of free, live performances in which acts are
staged in the theater's set shop for audiences of socially distanced passers-by,
who watch through an open garage door on East Tenth Street. These live performances
are also live streamed on TNC's website (https://www.theaterforthenewcity.net)
and Facebook page.
LINEUP OF PERFORMANCES
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
"OPEN 'THO SHUT, PART SIXTEEN"
FEBRUARY 27, 2021
Info as of February 22, 2021
* Mistress of Ceremonies: Crystal Field
* Cobu (all-female Japanese Taiko drumming and dance troupe of Yako Miyamoto,
Ayaha Otsuka, Mayu Yamashita, Micro Fukuyama and Kana Matsui)
* Shmully Blesofsky, comic performance artist
* Justin Rodriguez and Natasha Velez in an excerpt from "The Litttle Priest"
* Pablo Raul, singer and leader of Mister Pablo band
BACKGROUND
The series was launched November 14, 2020 as part of "More Ways than Broadway's,"
a city-wide collection of safe and socially distanced pop-up performances to
demonstrate small theaters' readiness and desperate desire to physically reopen
and to counteract the perception, based on formal Broadway, that legitimate
theaters can't reopen safely. The performances were intended to demonstrate
an Off-Off Broadway aesthetic that could allow smaller theaters to open safely
at this time.
TNC pioneered walk-by theater in its 2020 Village Halloween Costume Ball October
31, when it reconfigured its set shop with lighting and sound to make it a venue
for ten-minute plays. The effort was named "Chopshop Theater." Ten
live performances were offered for revelers who might pass by on East Tenth
Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues). They watched through an open garage door
and were separated from the performers by a waist-high, see-through traffic
barricade. Standing spaces for audience members were delineated six feet apart
with chalked pumpkins on the sidewalk. Onlookers were urged to move on between
performances so that the crowd would not become too large, health-wise.
The shop was renamed "The Chopshop Theater" for this series. It is outfitted with an elaborate set by Mark Marcante and Litza Colon, full stage lighting by Alexander Bartenieff and a four-mic sound system.
TNC requires all "Open 'Tho Shut" performers to be tested before
their appearances. Temperatures are taken as they arrive to perform. Hand sanitizer
is provided and microphones are sanitized between performances. Masks are provided
to any audience members who arrive without their own. Emcees have a separate
mic.
Previous editions of "Open 'Tho Shut" are archived here: https://theaterforthenewcity.net/the-chopshop-theater/
# # #
PRODUCTION PHOTOS ARE AVAILABLE:
NOVEMBER 14 SHOW
https://photos.app.goo.gl/UZsWZ9fKuPVqiBAb6
NOVEMBER 21 SHOW
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ry7cvpz4Wv8TvJtD7
NOVEMBER 28 SHOW
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jHDfCjj7oKq7QfVM8
DECEMBER 5 SHOW
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hNsF5yXTHFL1VYf3A