Rambunctious, daring, hilarious, provoking, and fun. Trust us - You've never experienced a night of improvisation quite like this.
Fast and Furious is a variety show about urgency. A handful of artists across mediums—music, theatre, stand-up, etc—make art about what is happening to them RIGHT NOW!
Malapert Love is a queer reimagining of Shakespeare's comedies from award winning 21-year old playwright Siah Berlatsky. Plots are hatched, personas concocted, and paint thinner sniffed – all for unrequited love!
SERIALS is a late-night episodic play competition series. Each weekend of performances, five original, never-before-seen 10 minute works are rehearsed, teched, and fully staged, premiered live in front of our audience. The audience then votes on their favorites, which come back the next week with a brand-new episode, creating long-term overarching storylines and inventive, outside-of-the-box new plays.
On the set of a late night comedy show, sycophants and stars manage the emotions of the violent, volatile Host. An absurd look backstage into the consequences of failing upwards.
Wondering what happened to the first person you were gay with? Maybe they’re still in the woods waiting for you. Better go check—a local cryptid could have taken your place.
When an alien takeover infiltrates our society, stripping people of their identities, citizens must decide what they're willing to give up to be happy...The doctor is in.
A 1970's soap opera taping goes off the rails when a director must rely on non-talent to play the leads after all the regular actors got sick with an STD.
This is a play about a girl who lies about her age on the internet, a boy who can't stop watching Liveleak videos, and a nun who's hiding a secret.
What if the biggest decision of your teenage years happened in secret, while four students and a teacher sat inches away?
A dark comedy that starts at a wake and ends with a cough, Adult Relationships follows two former lovers brought together by the death of a troubled mutual friend.
A metalhead, a wannabe metalhead, and a choir boy stuck in a hunting cabin for the onset of the zombie apocalypse. A new play by Bug Johnson.
One man. One family. A lifetime of unpacking. In his raw, riveting solo show A Cat in a Box, Tom Nemec explores childhood chaos and addiction—with deep vulnerability and biting humor.
Blood may be thicker than water, but that just means it can drown you faster.
Sex. Sin. Swing. Explore suburban stickiness with a night at the local swingers club (or squirrel sanctuary - if anyone asks). Oh, an unexpected guest is on the list!
Mary Ann needs $2,000 and 20 mg of Lexapro. Her new friend, Sean, offers her an opportunity to make quick cash, but at what cost?
A surreal descent into ritual, desire, and the seductive pull of power. At an elite mountain retreat, a desperate couple is drawn into a spiral of ritual, control, and transformation.
She likes him. He likes her. She likes her. People Like Us tells the story of three high-schoolers whose emotional and romantic lives are all-too-closely intertwined and their struggles with honesty, intimacy, and sex.
Follow the rags to riches firsthand account of the world infamous, Black, queer, and heavily politicized superstar Wellington "Isyss" Le Blanc as he navigates the sexy story of his life as a serial monogamist trying to find himself in the reflection of his lovers and the applause of the crowd.
The world will end in 80 years. Just enough time to have a baby!
People are missing. So are the snacks. Evel Knievel died ten years ago. Or will it be tomorrow? A new dark comedy about what it means to mourn the dead, the undead, and the people we used to be.
The LeAb Iteration Lab conducts performance research, creating experiences of silence, repetition, and sustained attention. “An Iteration in Progress" seeks to understand how “routine” shapes our lives and experiences.
Seven slices of life. A dance. A fight. A tattoo session. Before it hurts dissects the intimacy formed around the messiness of grieving.
TENTS
Thursday, November 13th—Friday, November 21st
The production is directed by Taylor Edelle Stuart with scenic design by Molly C. Carroll and lighting design by Heather Crocker.
At the end of the world, Diana has found the perfect spot to lay low. The problem? Elmer has already claimed it. When he asks her to help search for his missing wife, the uneasy alliance between two strangers becomes a high-stakes negotiation where every story could mean the difference between life and death.
Featuring Russ Cusick as Elmer and Rubina Vidal as Diana, Tents is an intimate two-hander that explores trust, myth-making, and the fragile hope that remains when the world has burned away.
When Aussie skater Steven Bradbury summons the Devil for one last shot at gold, he must decide—win it all, or lose his soul trying.
A comic, intimate solo show by Fabiana Mattedi exploring beauty, aging, and identity through sharp storytelling, humor, and reflection—sparked by a subway moment and shaped by lived experience.
Pilau is a cozy variety show blending stand-up and sketch comedy. It features brilliant under-the-radar comedians, leaving you as satisfied as a warm, comforting meal.
My Immortal: A Fanfiction of A Fanfiction is a play in development about the most infamous Harry Potter fanfiction and the elusive author(s) who wrote it.
Your guess is correct! It's the Merchant of Venice, but about an hour shorter, and Shylock is... more specific in his demands. That's really all there is. WHAT WILL HAPPEN???
"half infinity" is a semi-verbatim play about your QAnon relatives.
Set in a prestigious MFA Drama program in NYC, The Pigeon, a queer riff on Chekhov’s The Seagull, is a love letter to queer drama kids that didn’t fit it.
A frenzied dance through the untamed wilderness of sex, vulnerability, and obsession, Le Blaireau is a theatrical study into what the hell happens when we lose ourselves in the woods.
A seminar on career paths on Broadway beyond acting.
Get ready to laugh your Face Tape off! Come see our newest sketch comedy team, led by director Emily Claypoole and head writer Kali Doyle. They’re serving chaos, camp, and deeply funny nonsense. See you there!
Molly joined a Hollywood celebrity's cult. Do you want to hear about it?
Dream Team: A new dark comedy pop-punk performance
What happens when an assassin and a pirate get stuck on a ship together? Things get moody, spicy and hilarious. Salt Life a new pirate romance for the modern lovers
"Shringarik Lavani" is an immersive dance show that travels back to Maharashtra in the 1600s with fast rhythms, energetic dancing, powerful poetry, and storytelling that spans from comedic to contemplative.
An institutionalized femme on suicide watch impersonates trans activist Sylvia Rivera in order to hide who she is, as she grapples with self-love and an unmet need to belong. Written and performed by Summer Minerva.
The world will end in 80 years. Just enough time to have a baby! With doomsday just outside of their natural lifespans, four friends navigate the personal and existential implications of living as the final generation.
After yet another heartbreak, Felipe dives headfirst into Grindr. Inspired by Lana Del Rey, he simultaneously obsesses over his latest situationship while trying to hook up his pain away.
Drama of Works presents PUNCH Puppet Slam: UNIVERSAL MONSTERS! A diverse group of puppet artists use a wide variety of puppet styles to collaborate to tell the tales of Dracula, Frankenstein and all their friends - extend the spooky vibes into November!
Traveling alone to a Cranberries concert, Jen gets trapped in a crumbling hotel bathroom for 5 hours—IMGONNAWANNA: a darkly funny, raw story of resilience and escape.
Three New Yorkers dealing with their relationships and their mental health.
The long lost story of an American actress turned Civil War spy.
The Poinciana Woman
November 25th @ 9:30 PM
Writer, Performer, Producer — Libby Yowell
The Poinciana Woman is a hauntingly intimate one-woman play that reimagines an Australian urban legend through a modern lens. Written and performed by Libby Yowell, the piece weaves folklore and memory to explore womanhood, inherited trauma, and the stories that shape us. Set beneath the vivid canopy of the poinciana tree, this striking debut invites audiences to confront the blurry line between myth and truth, asking what happens when the ghosts of our past come creeping into our present.
Four actors perform a live, shot-for-shot parody of Home Alone in “one breathless hour” (NY Times). Recent Cutbacks returns with their hilarious holiday blend of puppetry and 90s nostalgia.
In a retirement community, three women reflect on their pasts, reenact scenes and confront the absurdities of aging.
MY FRIEND SHERRY transforms real voice memos from Sherry (LA) to Brett (NYC) into a live lip-sync performance—equal parts comedy, confession, and celebration of enduring friendship.
IHRAF is presented by The International Human Rights Art Movement, whose values are; Beauty as a fundamental creative principle; Sincerity and Vulnerability of presentation; Celebrating Diversity and opening doorways of Engagement!
IHRAF 25: Celebration of Women’s Power
Tuesday, December 9th @ 7pm
Desire Path
Solo Dance Performance
Valkyrie Yao - Choreographer
Miaotian Sun - Lead Artist
Rutong Lin - Lead Dancer
Desire Paths takes the historical practice of foot binding among Chinese women as an entry point to interrogate the objectification of women across time. Through the symbolic use of water sleeves from traditional Chinese attire, the work reveals how the “male gaze” shapes and restricts women’s roles, much like desire paths, those worn shortcuts created by repeated passage, that enforce convenience over autonomy. This performance asks how women can resist the weight of inherited expectations and carve new routes toward agency, resilience, and self-definition.
Content Advisory: Contains references to gender-based oppression and historical bodily harm.
Father, I'm Not a Sinner
Short Play
Alyssa Borelli - Playwright
Abby Collins - Laurie
El Raiford - Devil
Megan Metivier - Angel
Mario Borelli - Father Michael
When 15-year-old Laurie sings a solo at her church’s Sunday mass, she’s suddenly visited by her own Devil and Angel. As the two clash over her past sins, Laurie is compelled to confront her faith and reconsider her relationship with religion.
Content Advisory: Mentions of Sexual Assault and Abortion
Sundara Natarajam
Indian Dance
Arohi Dandawate and the Kritya Ensemble
Sundara Natarajam is a Kuchipudi piece choreographed by Yamini Kalluri and the Kritya Ensemble, on a reflection of women’s lived experiences today. The piece begins with the Hindu Lord Shiva’s ecstatic dance, where his beauty in divine frenzy is revealed through movement. From there, the focus shifts to Shakthi, his consort, who attempts meditation but is drawn instead into a profound awareness of her love for Shiva. Her distraction is not weakness, but instead it is recognition that true yoga lies in union, in a love that transcends even the deepest meditation. Through this journey, Sundara Natarajam challenges the narrative that women must sacrifice ambition for love, or independence for companionship. Instead, it envisions a world where women can embrace both power and intimacy, thriving in ambition and partnership without compromise of self. Ultimately, the piece is a celebration of universal love, feminine strength, and the freedom to live fully as both lover and leader.
The Sad Woman
Performance
Molly Shayna Cohen - Artist
Three Sad Greek Women walk into a pond. One says it’s too cold and jumps out - and gets turned into an apple. Another says it’s too hot and leaves - then gets sucked into hell. The other says it’s just right - but transforms into a swan. Will it ever be enough?
Content Advisory : Language about sexual assault
IHRAF 25: Celebration of LGBTQIA+
Wednesday, December 10th @ 7PM
By Chance
Short Play
Teatro Oscuro
Vincent Marano - Writer/Director
Tod Engle - Victor
Joe Cronin - Serge
Lauren Arneson - Asst. Director
At a long-term care facility, two former lovers find each other again. After all the compromises, pain and loss, are there still any sparks left in the ashes of their grief.
Het Crimes
Short Play
Leif Larson - Playwright
Matthew Pezzulich - Director
Joey Massa - Intimacy Director
After committing a serious crime, Dave finds himself at the mercy of an old school friend.
Content Advisory - This play deals with themes of sexual assault.
Permission
Dance
Margeaux Pernin - Choreographer
Phoebe Amory, Joye Giuffre, Jessica Kohl, Indigo Coar, Haylei Libran, Annie Mallamaci, Lo Abel, Kelsey Kushnir - Performers
Margaux Pernin presents a contemporary fusion dance piece titled “Permission”. I've created a piece that tells a diverse story of moments that queer people have experienced that allowed them permission to exist authentically as themselves. You will watch a few of the different experiences that shape the LGBTQ+ journey of radical self-acceptance within ourselves and community. Then witness how that permission creates a ripple effect to the people who get to experience our joy, normalizing the LGBTQ+ experience for future generations to grow up knowing their community is there for them. We don't need anyone's permission to exist as ourselves. We give ourselves permission to exist daily, by showing up for ourselves we give the rest of society permission to be their most authentic self.
The Body of Christ
Short Play
Colleen Morgen - Director
Jo Ratnik - Writer, Actor
Arissa Collymore - Actor
Bennie Trel
Lily and Lena are two young nuns in training (as well as closeted lesbians) who have snuck into the chapel at night to practice their audition for the nativity play. Lena is anxious to win the part of Mary to impress the intimidating Mother Superior, and Lily has discovered that she quite enjoys embodying the male characters. The Body of Christ is an energetic and physical comedic piece inspired by drag, lesbian comedians and Catholicism.
IHRAF 25: We Wear the Sky, Curated by WADE Dance
Wednesday, December 10th @ 8:30 PM
Giada Matteini - WADE Artistic Director
Jay Beardsley, Rylan Joenk, Maggie Joy & Corinne Lohner, Dylan Richmond - Choreographers
We Wear the Sky is a vibrant celebration of boundless identity, personal freedom, and collective pride. It features choreographic works that explore the limitless spectrum of self-expression, where every individual is invited to wear their identity like the sky—expansive, beautiful, and deeply personal. As the sky connects us all, so too does this evening of movement invite us to honor our truth, stand in community, and reflect the radiant diversity of who we are and who we are becoming.
IHRAF 25: Celebration of Immigration
Thursday, December 11th @ 7 pm
In the Same World
Short Play
VoxArt Lab Productions
Gaston Leguizamon - Playwright/Actor/Producer
Matthew B. Cullen - Director
Agustina Garcia Ramirez - Producer
A tense night unravels in a Los Angeles garage when Carlos attempts to stop his undocumented brother from joining a new self-deportation program. As they unearth old wounds of privilege and belonging, their confrontation reveals how immigration policy fractures not only nations, but families, while questioning the moral comfort of inaction.
Content Advisory - Includes a brief moment of staged physical conflict.
Excavating My Family
Solo Show
Theatre Beyond Broadway
Excavating My Family, is a work-in-progress that explores identity, legacy, and resilience through the lens of Trinidadian history and ancestral DNA research. This project is deeply personal and continues to evolve with each step of its development.
Token
Short Play
Dacyl Acevedo - Playwright
Ana Luz Zambrana - Director
A gifted young poet struggles to fit in as the "token" minority, scholarship student at an elite private school and is ready to throw it all away, but a tyrannical English Teacher and former token, won't let them throw it all away.
Groove With Me
Dance
Angie Agudo - Co-choreographer
Aracely Isidoro, Ariana Arriaga, Halimah Carela, Inspire Wells, Juliette Castillo, Kaistin Ross, Madison Rivera, Malaika Holder, Melanie Umana Galeana, Mia Rodriguez, Nana Kone, Tylynn Wheeler - Dancer, Co-Choreographer
Groove with Me is a non-profit that utilizes FREE after-school and summer dance classes to promote and encourage positive youth development among girls, ages 5-18. The piece that will be presented at IHRAF has been created in collaboration with the students to begin developing their choreographic and performer journeys. With themes specific to the experience of having an immigrant background in the midst of our current political environment, and the fears associated with being a youth without power.
IHRAF 25: Beneath the Baobab: Seeds of Sankofa
Curated event by Taiwo Aloba
Thursday, December 11th @ 8.30 pm
“Beneath the Baobab: Seeds of Sankofa” unites four acts in a celebration of heritage and defiance. The curtain rises on “Jaja of Opobo” a sweeping theatrical saga of King Jaja of Opobo’s fiery resistance against colonial forces, Congo’s rhythm follows as the troupe MFOUAMBILA erupts into "Makinu Ma Kongo" (Dance of Congo), their bodies a blur of hypnotic footwork and polyrhythmic mastery. South Africa’s musical virtuoso, PitsiRa YaMabala, then electrifies the air with his settlor-tinged ballads. Finally, Beninois poet Justin Lokossou mesmerizes with "Mother Tongue", a searing ode to linguistic reclamation, his words resurrecting silenced histories. Together, they gather beneath the Baobab's ancient shade; a testament to Africa’s enduring boldness and brilliance, where art is both memory and revolution.
JAJA of OPOBO
Taiwo Aloba + African Theater Troupe
Short Play
Makinu Ma Kongo
Andoche Loubaki & the Mfouambila Kongo Dance Company
Dance of Congo
Son of the Soil of Alkebulan
PitsiRa YaMabala
Music
Mother Tongue
Justin Lokossou
Spoken Word
IHRAF 25: Climate Change Action
Friday, December 12th @ 7 pm
Pando
DoubleTake Dance
Dance
Vanessa Martínez de Baños and Ashley Carter - Co- Artistic Directors
Contemporary dance exploring the connection between beings, and how it affects our ability to thrive on Earth. Pando is Latin for spread out, and also is a clonal colony of a single male quaking aspen. An intricate kaleidoscope, using the dancers bodies and timing as a never ending thread based on the quaking aspen forest being a single living organism connected by one massive underground root system. The environment is reaching a point of no return but... we are all one connected entity.
Using the means of contemporary athletic and technical movement set to beautiful music we want to bring awareness to the environment and how our actions have a direct effect on us as we are all one system.
High Water Line
Victoria Z Daily/ Lorenza Bernasconi
Short Play
Fabiola Arias - Director
Victoria Z. Daily - Writer
Fantasy/absurdist comedy where teenage Abby and her mother Elise — stuck in a room together after the ice caps have melted — must either escape or drown. A short climate-change apocalyptic black comedy, maybe impossible to stage. Or maybe not.
Plastick
Henry Alper & Din Klein
Dance/Visual Art piece
Henry Alper - Dancer
Din Klein - Dancer
A dance with plastic.
Nature's Secret
Ongama Mhlontlo
Music and Poetry
Marieke De Koker - Voice
Lamis Shams - Piano
Ongama Mhlontlo - Music and Lyrics
Nature’s Secret is a song cycle exploring serenity, loss, and the cost of corruption on the natural world. The work imagines a future rooted in restorative justice, one where environmental revitalization is intertwined with social healing and a just energy transition. Through Marieke de Koker (voice) and Lamis Shams (piano), With Nature’s Secret, composer Ongama Mhlontlo evokes the beauty of nature and the resilience of communities seeking healing and environmental justice.
IHRAF 25: Conjuring Mythologies
Curated Event by ArteEast
Friday, December 12th @ 8.30 pm
Ginou Choueiri - (ArteEast) Executive Director
Zeina Abedrabo - (ArteEast) Curator and Communications Coordinator
Levon Kafafian - Performance Artist
Shiraz Fazli - Performance Artist
Hind Shoufani - Performance Artist
Timothy Cleary - Performance Artist
Niki Afsar - Performance Artist
"Conjuring Mythologies" is the third program of performances within ArteEast’s HIKAYAT series, presented in collaboration with IHRAF. The show brings together artists Niki Afsar, Shiraz Fazli, Levon Kafafian, Hind Shoufany and Timothy Cleary with performances rooted in conjuring mythologies of historical, contemporary, and speculative figures from the SWANA region. Afsar’s baraye nika, is a sound piece dedicated to Nika Shakarami, in solidarity with the people of Iran and revolutionaries around the globe. Fazli’s piece is an ode to the wisdom and humor of Mullah Nasruddin, a beloved character in Muslim folklore. Kafafian will be embodying a spirit being from their ongoing speculative world building project, Azadistan. Shoufani and Cleary’s hybrid performance Like Wind With An H is a reflection on the horrific story of Hind Rajab and commemorates the lives of all Palestinian children lost to the violence imposed upon them.
IHRAF 25: Gender, Sexuality, and Queerness through the Dancing Body
Curated by Mare Nostrum Elements
Saturday, December 13th @ 3 pm
This performance features three diverse works by choreographers Emory Ferra Campbell, Heather Dutton, and Ke'Ron Wilson. All three artists are alumni of MNE's Emerging Choreographer Series (ECS) program which provides funding, rehearsal space, mentorship, professional development, and presentation opportunities to up-and-coming dance makers in NYC. Join us for a visceral and thought-provoking exploration of gender expression, sexuality, and queerness. The performance will be followed by a short Q&A with the artists and a reception celebrating MNE's upcoming 25th Anniversary.
I'm Not Wrong & Neither Am I
Heather Dutton, Middle Child Dance Theatre
Heather Dutton - Choreographer, performer
Abigail Linnemeyer - Performer
Wilder Troxell - Sound designer
I'm not wrong & neither am I is a dance theatre piece that explores themes of gender performance, fluidity, conflict and liberation in the context of gender-queer identities. The work is informed by comedic and theatrical practices, and underscores the tension between public and private queer experiences. How do gender-queer individuals learn to hide inside of our bodies? How do we learn to fully inhabit them - and what might that look like?
Velvet Pistol
Emily Tarrier and Emory Ferra Campbell
Emily Tarrier- Choreographer and Performer
"Velvet Pistol" is a sapphic high femme duet drawing from the Classic American Western. We use cinematic imagery to illustrate the push and pull longing of two women and their forbidden love, as they navigate sex, death, revenge, victimhood, antagonism, and the power of their femininity.
in small steps (with courage)
Ke’Ron Williams
“in small steps (with courage)” is an abstract manifestation of the underlying suspense felt from being transfeminine in public and the effects of that suspense on the body and the psyche. It is an attempt to show how the anticipation of ridicule and/or violence for being trans in public stifles self-expression and encourages trans (and gender queer folx) to disappear themselves. In the same vein, it is also a piece about the courage it takes to examine and then dispose of the opinions we trans people are given about ourselves and our identity. In small steps (with courage) seeks to reconcile the trans capacity for courage with our very real need for safety.
IHRAF 25: Celebration of Human Rights
Saturday, December 13th @ 7 pm
Tales & Tunes of Tamazgha
Live Music + Storytelling
Nora Gharyeni
"Tales & Tunes of Tamazgha" takes audiences on a soulful journey through North Africa, celebrating the spirit and resilience of the Amazigh people through music and storytelling. The performance honors indigenous voices while inviting reflection and dialogue on cultural preservation, human dignity, and cross-cultural understanding.
I Got The Role
Short Play
Rachel Jones & Jessica W Bonds
I Got the Role tells the story of Martha, a talented actress who finally lands the part she’s worked so hard for—only to face bias, microaggressions, and double standards that threaten to dim her shine. With honesty, wit, and resilience, Martha confronts the barriers stacked against her and redefines what it means to truly own the stage.
Good Women
Short Play
Cate Wiley
Kelly O'Donnell - Director
Kim Yancey - Actor
Laura Fois Bosley - Actor
Abortion-rights activists in graduate school, Tracie and Louise have not seen each other in decades. Tracie raised kids; Louise works in international development. They meet before Louise’s controversial speech on women’s health care at the UN and discover the current crisis may bring these two "Good Women" back together.
Black in the First Degree
Short Play
Reginald T Jackson - Playwright
Kubbi - Director
Anthony Wills Jr.* - Black Male
Brain Patterson* - White Police Officer
Miriam Kulick* - Actor #3
*Member of Actors Equity
Black in the First Degree is a provocative look at police violence and racial identity. How quickly a cop can flip from a public servant to a murderer just because of the race of the “perp.” This play also explores the “Magic Negro” syndrome whereby the Officer claims his life was in danger even though he has a gun, taser, stick, baton, and pepper spray. Somehow the “Magic Negro” is still going to overcome the Officer and take his gun and kill the Officer with it. The audience is left to decide what is the real truth in this situation.
Untitled
Music, Interdisciplinary
Sepehr Pirasteh
Giancarlo Latta - Performer, Violin
This piece is an interdisciplinary performance that explores the cyclical trauma of exile through the intersecting lenses of a queer artist and an immigrant artist. Merging the intensity of a concert with the intimacy of a theatrical experience, the piece uses live violin performance, electronic sounds, lighting, and visuals to champion freedom of expression in an era of rising authoritarianism.
IHRAF 25: Protest, Passion, Power
Sunday, December 14th @ 3pm
Pause
Music
Songs, Dances, and Poetry of Social Consciousness
Owen Valentine- Vocals, Composer, Producer,Instrumental
Ayana Wild - Vocals, Dancer, Songwriter
ALALA AND THE SCARMAN
Short Play
Vick Liu
Silma Sierra Berrada - Playwright
Emilio Maxwell Cerci - Director
Alala & The Scarman follows a student activist and her immortal lover as protest politics collide with intimacy, asking how trauma and desire shape what it means to survive and love in a hostile world.
Content Advisory: references to racialized violence and lynching, frank sexual language (including masturbation and pornography), protest-related danger, drug use, and strong language.
A Troubling State
SOLO Spoken Words
Oscar Sanders
Theatrical Social Justice Spoken Word Poetry Performed In Thirteen Different Characters
Say Something
Short Play
Nicholas Bompart/ Bompart Productions
Chole Pellicano - Stage-manager
Marco Lando - Photographer
Lorenza Bernasconi - Rae
James Murphy - James
Rick Reid - Carl
Tal Shashoua - Nina
Mindy Skates - Mara
In a near-future world where surveillance drones police “Civic Harmony” and even emotion is regulated, five ordinary people find themselves tangled in a web of loyalty, resistance, and silence. When a fugitive activist seeks refuge in a civil servant’s apartment, old friendships collide with new fears, exposing the thin line between safety and conscience. Blending poetic realism and political tension, "Say Something" explores how truth survives in an age where speaking out can erase who you are...and where saying nothing might cost even more.
Content Advisory: Themes of authoritarian surveillance, state violence, psychological manipulation, and oppression. Contains scenes of emotional distress, implied detention, and moral betrayal.
PRECIOUS BODILY FLUIDS: "Ode to Eno Peeing in Duchamps Urinal," "Mother's Milk," and "Licking the Wound."
Musical Spoken Word
Screaming Mimes Theater Company
Mark Blickley, he/him - Writer
Joe John Battista - Director
Zoe Anastassiou - Actress
Claudio Paciocco - Musician
Alex Notkin, he/him - Musician, Actor
Screaming Mime Theater Company's production of PRECIOUS BODILY FLUIDS consists of three short performance pieces with music, "Ode to Eno Peeing in Duchamp's Urinal," "Mother's Milk," and "Licking the Wound." All three works are ekphrasis collaborations---each text is based on a visual image created by three international artists that are displayed on stage. Come take a quick plunge into a Liquid Life of intimate secrets and secretions.
Jesus and George Michael
Interdisciplinary
Poppy Louise Miller
Madison Moser - Dancer
The piece is born out of a response to the political erasure and fragmentation of one's national identity. It is about how being from somewhere can become a liability. How the state can shrink your voice into something barely audible. How resistance can take many forms—subtle, chaotic, ritualistic—and still remain unanswered.
Content Advisory: Blood, Noise
IHRAF 25: Short Performance Festival
Sunday December 14th @ 7 pm
I Am Ophelia
Solo Show
Shyla Idris
I Am Ophelia (Psychiatry, Shakespeare and an Actor's Journey), a solo play by Shyla Idris. Inspired by Shakespeare, this show combines classical and contemporary language to tell an autobiographical multi-character story of mental health and a life in the arts.
Content Advisory: Profanity, Mental Illness, Suicide, Immigration, Gun Violence, Sexual abuse, AI (artificial intelligence), Holocaust, Politics, Healthcare, Race and Culture Wars.
Live Birth in the Cactus Farm: Featuring Nicholas Cage
Short Play
Trans Agenda Presents
Feliz Felix - Director
Eka Savajol - Button
Aviva Pearl Ocean Creation - Writer, Tali
Live Birth in the Cactus Farm: Featuring Nicholas Cage follows a spiraling trans girl as she tries to find solace from her troubles by talking to a cactus that wants to consume her flesh so it can re-transform into renowned actor Nicholas Cage.
These Words
Dance/Spoken
Liv Butowsky and Laura Coe
How can we address issues of civil and human rights without the words to describe what we’re experiencing? In March 2025 the New York Times published “These Words Are Disappearing in the New Trump Administration,” a compiled list of 198 words the authors found the new administration had consistently deleted across government websites. In six months we’ve witnessed the dissolution of major laws protecting civil and human rights connected with many of the words that were erased. Our duet for dance and spoken word invites viewers to reflect on the relationship between language (loss) and power through current U.S. politics. Our piece is not primarily a protest, but rather a celebration of these words/people, their continuing diversity and self-expression, and the power of movement as a resource to continue speaking.
Saturday's Child
Short Play
Brynn Hambley - Playwright
Anne Karyna Bakan - Director
Kayla Kaszycki-Martin - Poster/Marketing Materials Designer
Sasha Aronson - Actor, ONE
Addy Jenkins - Actor, TWO
Molly Kate Babos - Actor, THREE
Three workers toil at pointless busywork under the threat of death-- until tragedy strikes, and they must decide if complacency is worth the cost of someone's life.
Content Advisory: Discussions of death, discussions of burn out, depictions/discussions of wrist injury
Love Life
Short Play
Gabriella Arianna - Producer/Playwright/Co-Director
Mattie Parker - Co-Director, Actor [Donatello]
Peyton Strong - Actor [Florence]
Chase Erwin - Actor [Max]
Rachel Muñoz - Actor [Bobby]
Sebastian Kim - Actor [Billy]
Michael Longo - Actor [Clifton]
Love Life is a comedy about Florence, a recently deceased New York socialite looking forward to reuniting with the love of her life. There’s only one problem: five men claim to be Florence’s soulmate, all of whom have been patiently waiting on the other side for her to join them for eternity. There’s Billy, Florence’s high school sweetheart who was drafted and killed in WWII; Donatello, Florence’s secret Italian lover; Maximilian, Florence’s first husband who died unexpectedly of a heart-attack; Bobby, Florence’s second husband killed by the mob; and Clifton, Florence's patient. As Florence and her lovers reminisce on the lusts of their past lives, the question becomes why God/the universe has allowed this fluke in the system—if there is to be only one true love?
Content Advisory: Depictions of death or terminal illness, physical violence or abuse, LGBTQ+ discrimination
Singing Through Space
Musical Comedy
Redshirts Musical Improv
Improvisers: Susan O'Doherty, Julia Lunetta, Melissa Parker Caron, Sarah Mucek, all she/her. Accompanist: Avery Bargar
Based on a suggestion from the audience, we create a musical comedy version of an imagined Star Trek episode. The entire performance, including the songs, is made up on the spot--never before seen and never to be seen again!
A crack spreads through Plainview Tower. Neighbors argue, the walls crumble, and no one acts. Condominium turns collapse into comedy and exposes the cost of doing nothing.
From the legally degenerate minds behind Golem Owned a Tropical Smoothie, Ethan, Garrett, and the gang bring you GOLEM’S CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA!!! It’s hand-crafted, and almost a hundred years old!!
A historical-ish new comedy about the literal lengths women must go to be recognized in their time!
A surreal two-act, one-woman multimedia musical that fuses performance art, poetry, photography, noir film, neo-burlesque and circus art into a confessional cabaret about a teen addict's true tale of escape.
Experience the most poetic story of one New York City public school teacher’s miraculous and sometimes hilarious journey that will serve humanity as a simple but profound remedy for disconnection.
An evening of horror stories, monsters, and scariest of all: your relationship with your parents! Grown Up Bedtime Stories is a one woman show and sensory experience that invites you to relive the horrors of growing up, through the deranged horror writings of a 17-year-old Cassidy. Complemented by original illustrations and animations, jump scares and music, don’t miss this horrifying night to remember.
Get ready for a night of pure, unfiltered silly! Come for the laughs, stay for the absurdity!
Let’s go, Scouts! Skippy, Rascal, Tiny, and Pup are off on their scout hiking weekend. Led by Scoutmaster Waldo, these next 36-48 hours will contain tests of courage, trust, and brotherhood that will change them forever. But there's something watching them in the woods. Are any of them prepared?
A powerful new play about a Black mother’s fight to protect her sons while navigating poverty and systemic injustice. Raw, urgent and deeply moving, Mama’s Boy is a story of survival.
Midnight palace party. You’re Invited. Protests surge outside, the Baptist imprisoned below. Salomé is an absurd after-hours ritual of power, desire, and queer transcendence. Dance or Die.
Rachel, a 20-something trans girl, invites Crystal, a "scene girl" stuck in the 2000s emo aesthetic, into her apartment after she accidentally bumps into her and gives her a nosebleed. But despite Crystal's small stature and bubbly personality, Rachel slowly discovers she the person she invited in is not as harmless as she seems.
With the help of his supportive mother, Frankie prepares for his first-ever performance as a Drag Queen — but they must keep it a secret from his conservative, disapproving father.
Gi60 NYC One Minute Theatre Festival! An hour of tiny plays performed by 9 actors in one evening. Join us for this exhilarating smorgasbord of stories!
Tensions are running high on an annual family camping trip — and the onset of the zombie apocalypse sure doesn’t help. In hereditary horror grease my chin, disputes over parenting, pronouns, and privacy give way to a fight for survival as a family wrestles with its own monstrosity.
Get ready for a night of pure, unfiltered silly! This sketch show has it all—parties, un-parties, oddball thieves, and the kind of embarrassing wins that make you laugh, cringe, and cheer all at once. Fast-paced, wildly funny, and just the right amount of weird, this is the comedy escape you didn’t know you needed. Come for the laughs, stay for the absurdity!
Three world premiere micro-operas about love, loss, truth, and transformation.
Four friends meet for a holiday week in the Poconos. When one announces they plan to commit a murder, all hell breaks loose. Inspired by the SCUM manifesto by Valerie Solanas.
National Youth Poet Laureate Stephanie Pacheco’s urgent, poetic new play exposing how schools are tied to systems of punishment and imagining what it takes to break free.
In this all-Black adaptation of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, nine long-term friends, trapped in a villa in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, try to survive a serial killer who looks to take vengeance for the skeletons in their closets.
A prison chef has made 217 last meals for death row inmates. But his 218th wants to eat dirt. . Can he be saved? Can anyone on death row be saved? Inspired by real events, Huntsville asks: what is the value of a last meal, when everyone gets "Texacuted" anyway?
An afternoon of music, theatre, and dance, resourcing Southern Black brilliance—featuring David H. Parker, Diovanna Obafunmilayo Frazier, Kyra Shaw-Davis, Jessica Charles, and Jonathan Lykes.
The editor-in-chief of a college newspaper tries to keep the status quo intact as the 2016 presidential election looms large over the United States in this 80 minute political dramedy.
As two best friends grapple with an earth-shattering revelation, they learn about faith, friendship, and how hard it is to keep old of either.
LaRouge, a drag queen, is perfomring her cabaret act. Through stories and songs, she recalls her life's journey being eerily similar to a short story she read in high school.
Patient, dynamic improvisation from some of he city's best performers.
Five modern-day men climb a mountain to roleplay as Dionysus-worshipping women and break free of the prison of masculinity.
New folk-pop musical Last Song on Earth: An offbeat, heartfelt take on post-apocalyptic survival by Danielle Llevada, Kyu Park, & Riley Glick
"Ritual: Red" is more than a play; it is a ritual of liberation, offering audiences a cathartic and immersive experience that resonates with anyone who has struggled to find their voice in a world that often silences it.
An antique dealer helps her hoarder friend to not lose her apartment. While they work their way through thousands of objects, the complexity of their relationship rises, in the same pace that one of them realises she is not where or when she thought she was.
You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll get a yeast infection.
Stan Zimmerman’s suicide awareness play, Right before I go runs this September. The Golden Girls/Gilmore Girls writer will appear on stage alongside a casts of all-star actors.
A makeshift family is united by their shared body odor, which has isolated them from polite society. When Sapphire finds a cure, the family begins to fall apart.
A lyrical one-man play about boys becoming men, Holes in the Shape of My Father blends poetry and pain to confront fatherhood, masculinity, and the meaning of absence.
Four friends meet for a holiday week in the Poconos. When one announces they plan to commit a murder, all hell breaks loose. Inspired by the SCUM manifesto by Valerie Solanas
A magical comedy about grief and the consequences of living truthfully, with a crow fued, ghosts, and little german boy.
