ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

For years, The Tank has hosted DarkFest - a week of shows that does not use conventional theatrical lighting in an effort to reexamine how we can make theater more sustainable. This year, we challenge that idea further with TrashFest. It is often difficult to wrestle with the environmental impact our daily lives and our work can have - especially in theater, where so many resources are needed to develop sets, props, and costumes that are only used for a short amount of time. Trashfest centers work that not only produces no waste, but reuses materials discarded as garbage. The festival consists of live-streamed performances, art installations, and community events throughout NYC.

VISUAL ART

CAN I Be Art | Gerardo Sustaeta

A textile fabric using only found aluminum cans that acts as a functional privacy screen.

An exploration of possible uses for discarded aluminum cans in public art and their potential value and current role as currency in our society through a collaborative crowd sourced community effort (coming soon!)

Learn more at www.canibeart.com or follow the project progress on Instagram @canibeart
Contact info@thetanknyc.org for the Brooklyn location to view the piece in person

This project is sponsored  by www.idogaf.me 

Gerardo Sustaeta was born in Mexico City and grew up in San Diego, California. For the past 10+ years he has lived in New York City and worked as freelance carpenter and architectural model maker. The impact of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown restrictions has severely impacted his employment opportunities and he is now turning to “making art” in attempt to create new opportunities for not just himself, but hopefully for others who want to participate in this project as well. 

Childhood Blankets, Adult Clothes | Melon Wong

A micro upcycled fashion collection using old blankets from my family home dated from the 80s to 90s. The collection will explore racial and national intersectionality (Asian American culture) and the culture of domestic repair skills.

Melon is an apparel designer and circus artist currently based in New York City. In her independent work, she tends to lean towards themes of social commentary and draws visual inspiration from Asian folk art, camp, vintage clothing and pop art.

Her current visual work creates dynamic relationships with kitsch aesthetics by commenting on the modern second generation immigrant identity. By weaving the lowbrow as a representation of the standard "home" with her personal understanding of motherland and identity, she is able to identify this culture in limbo as a third space. By focusing specifically on this generation, she hopes to amplify the feelings of cultural insecurity by defining a space that legitimizes and verbalizes the state of confusion.Through a series of visual responses, she continues to identify this third space as a constant negotiation rather than a physical and singular act of displacement. 
Melon can be reached at https://pckjm5.wixsite.com/melwong as well as through Instagram @mel0nmelon.

Photo// Ryan Scullin: @ryanscullin, ryanscullin.com
Model// Yebecca: @yebeccababy

Sacred Image In Everything | Sequoah Glaster

Sequoah is a Full Spectrum NYC Artist with a focus on Environmentalism, Sustainability and Humanitarianism. "Sacred Image In Everything" was an independent project started by them to teach others about hydroponic farming, upcycling plastic bottles and paper bags. Each peice is uniquely designed with Mindfullness and Passion to inspire all to rethink their habits of recycling.
Instagram: @Sequoah

Howard’s Holistic Hues | Shaley Howard

This project uses hollowed orange peels donated from a neighbors tree to create tea and other healing treatments.

PERFORMING ART

The Handmade Theater | Mariko Iwasa

A short story told using trash for costume, sets and puppetry.

Mariko is a NY-based clown and physical comedian. She has been awarded the Syracuse Area Live Theater award for her role as SNOOPY in the RedHouse Theater production of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Mariko spent about four years delighting crowds nationwide as a clown for the world-renowned Ringling Brothers Circus. She continues to perform in theater, orchestra or music live, children’s events etc... both New York and Tokyo, creating original featurettes melding classical tap, juggling and slapstick comedy. She hopes to spread the joy of circus art and vaudeville to contemporary audiences of all ages.

Lanka in the Clouds | Kanishk Pandey

"Lanka in the Clouds" is a show that plays with puppetry and storytelling to parallel issues of environmentalism and immigration. The puppets will be made from trash, as to further emphasize the various parallels throughout the show.

kanishk pandey is a writer, born in Davis, CA. He graduated from NYU’s Department of Dramatic Writing with a focus in playwriting in 2019. At 19, He was a finalist for the O’Neill National Playwright’s Conference for his play COLONY. His play GLENN had a staged reading at the Broke People Play Festival of 2019. He is the founder of AdoptAPlay.com.

Mery Cheung (she/her) is a puppeteer, puppetsmith, and co-producer of Puppet Spread (The Tank) with The Ladies of Mischief. Most recently she performed the Jukebox in Funhouse Philosopher's Bloody Brains in a Jukebox: A Rock Opera (Coney Island USA) and has puppeteered for the screen in Nora from Queens (TV series), Ratso (webseries), and the 2020 L.A. Puppetry Guild's 48 Hour Puppet Film Festival with her duo The Flatulent Friends.

House of Trash | Sam Kaseta

A curated cabaret featuring drag and burlesque performers with acts made entirely out of trash.

Sam Bam Thankyoumaam (he/they) is a drag king, burlesque artist, and clown, dedicated to irreverence and the parodying of masculinity/machismo. Mr. Thankyoumaam's brand of performance focuses on blurring the lines between sexy and ridiculous. He has performed at House of Yes and The Tank, and you can follow him on Instagram @mrsambamthankyoumaam. Sam Bam Thankyoumaam is the alternate artistic persona of Sam Kaseta (they/them), who is a composer, musician, music director, and sound designer. Sam Kaseta recently received their M.M. in concert composition at NYU Steinhardt, where they studied with Joan La Barbara and Caroline Shaw. Hear their music at samkaseta.com.

Tune in at 8pm on July 25th for this piece.

Abundance | Sarah Neides

Abundance is an installation piece composed of discarded fruits, vegetables, and floral waste in acceptable condition arranged to become an Eden of excess, beauty from waste. Related dance performance by Natalie Deryn will occur within the installation featuring costumes created from found compostable/recycled materials.

“While environmental discussions are often limited to matters of energy, a major issue exacerbated by COVID-19 is the environmental injustice impacting the physical surroundings of already disenfranchised communities. Hopefully this festival will bring a sense of awareness to how we interact with trash, the factors that lead to unjust environmental impacts, and how we can embrace and transform our surroundings for the betterment of our community.” - Anthony Sertel Dean, TrashFest curator