Ars Nova (theater)

Ars Nova

(2007)
Address	511 West 54th Street New York City United States
Designation	New York City Landmark
Type	Off-Broadway
Capacity	99
Opened	2003
Website
www.arsnovanyc.com

Ars Nova is an Off-Broadway, non-profit theater in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. Ars Nova develops and produces theater, comedy and music created by artists in the early stages of their careers.

The theater was founded in 2003 by Jenny Steingart and her husband Jon Steingart, in the memory of Gabe Wiener. The theater's mission is to provide a venue for smart, surprising new work from emerging artists.^[1]

World Premiere Mainstage Productions

Each year, Ars Nova commissions and hosts two large-scale "main stage" productions, often drawing from work originally shown in their development programs. Mainstages vary and flux in genre, the only requirement being that the works be original and innovative.

The 2014 world premiere productions are Charlatan and JACUZZI, along with By The Water, a co-production with Manhattan Theatre Club.^{[2] [3]}

Past mainstage productions

Past Ars Nova productions include Game Play,^[4]Eager to Lose,^[5]Core Values,^[6] The Netflix Plays,^[7]Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,^[8] The Urban Dictionary Plays,^[9]The Lapsburgh Layover, Be a Good LIttle Widow, The Wii Plays, Now Circa Then, Bloodsong of Love, Missed Connections NYC, Sax & Dixon: We Thee Wed, Mel & El: Show & Tell, Two Girls for Five Bucks and the Ten Dollar Heartbreakers, Playlist, Jollyship the Whiz-Bang, Boom, From up Here, Dixie's Tupperware Party, At Least It's Pink, 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother, Holy Cross Sucks!, Freestyle Love Supreme and The Wau Wau Sisters. ^[10]

Programs and series

In addition to its mainstage theatrical productions, the theater produces a number of series, festivals and programs.

ANT Fest

ANT Fest is a four-week annual festival designed to showcase the next generation of theater artists, musicians and comedians. The festival works exclusively with emerging artists, giving them the opportunity to showcase their work in front of a New York audience. Each show is given only one performance in order to allow for greater risk taking and the development of as many new artists as possible over the 30 night period.^[11] In its premiere year (2008), the All New Talent (ANT) Festival ran from October 16 through November 24 and presented the work of 175 new artists.^[12]

In 2012, the festival was moved from fall to summer.^[13]

54/10 Music Marathon In 2013, ANT Fest combined with the 54/10 Concert Series, Ars Nova's celebration of musical innovation, which seeks to introduce young new musical talent to the local and Ars Nova community. During ANT Fest, upcoming bands are featured twice per week in the evenings after regular ANT Fest shows.^[14] Past acts have included Clydesdale Erotic, Justin Levine, Langhorne Slim, Semi Precious Weapons, Jay Brannan, The Woes, The Defibulators, Cynthia Hopkins, and The Spring Standards.^[15]

2013 ANT Fest acts include Trapeze Hero, Those Lost Boys, 1927, Aaron/Marie, Alan Fox, Bridge City Hustle, My Sax life is All Fached Up, SHOWGASM, William Shakespeare's Mom, Blue Kid, Nick Blaemire & The Hustle, Latrell Live Tonight!, andTunes: Edition Six, Yahweh's Follies, Steve: A Docu-Musical, Apollo Run, Not Waving but Drowning, Pod Corkin, Horse Girls, Toys and Tiny Instruments, Swift Technique, Dunkfest '88, The Girl of the Golden West, The Woodsman, The Fearful Earful: Tales of Terror, Lauren Marcus, John Sood, The Nepotist, Dog Eat Dog, Debutante, Boy Girl Party, Late Cambrian, Welcome To The Jungle, The President Plays, Night of the Living Deepwater Horizon, Ludo's Broken Bridge: A Rock Opera, Momma Holler, Small Dream Ada, Matt Macaulay, The Imaginary Menagerie, 5J Barrow and The Molters.^[16]

Play Group

The Play Group is a coalition of emerging playwrights, who meet on a biweekly basis to develop and discuss their works-in-progress. If accepted into the two-year program, the writers are given a chance to develop their plays with peer support and input, culminating in a public reading of their completed works. In addition to receiving support from the other Play Group members and Ars Nova staff, participants gain access to Ars Nova's network of artists, tickets to Ars Nova productions and the opportunity to participate in the Out Loud reading series and annual Play Group project.^[17]

Joshua Allen, Annie Baker, Rachel Bonds, Mike Batistick, Chad Beckim, Bekah Brunstetter, Sarah Burgess, Evan Cabnet, Jenny Connell, Kara Lee Corthron, Dylan Dawson, Kristoffer Diaz, Zayd Dohrn, Ron Fitzgerald, Liz Flahive, Sam Forman, Etan Frankel, Sarah Gancher, Nick Gandiello, Tasha Gordon-Solmon, Dipika Guha, Amy Herzog, Samuel D. Hunter, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Kyle Jarrow, Jake Jeppson, Nick Jones, Stephen Karam, Jon Kern, Josh Koenigsberg, Steven Levenson, Barry Levey, Matthew Lopez, Liz Meriwether, Carly Mensch, Molly Smith Metzler, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Michael Mitnick, Gregory Moss, Janine Nabers, Rachel Shukert, Mat Smart, Aurin Squire, Adam Szymkowicz, Kim Rosenstock, Sharyn Rothstein, Joe Tracz, Samuel Brett Williams, A. Zell Williams, Beau Willimon and Bess Wohl.^[18]

Out Loud

The Out Loud series is a play-reading program dedicated to supporting full-length new work from the second-year Play Group playwrights. Participating playwrights are granted a public reading forum, where their plays are presented with the help of leading directors and actors. Following the readings, the work is offered feedback and support from the Ars Nova artistic staff.^[17]

Uncharted

The Uncharted series is a forum to workshop and develop new musicals, connecting rising composers and writers to create original works. In 2013, the program expanded, modeling after the "Play Group" series. In this new development, Uncharted members take part in a two-year residency, meeting on a monthly basis to present their work and receive peer support and feedback. During the second year of their residency, Uncharted members are given the chance to workshop their musicals in a live concert and reading, supported with professional directors and performers.

2014 Uncharted artists include Cesar Alvarez, Charles Vincent Burwell & James D. Sasser, Andrew Butler & Andrew Farmer, Ella Rose Chary & Brandon James Gwinn, Cory Finley & Jeremy Lloyd, Anna K. Jacobs & Michael R. Jackson, Landon Marcus & Chas LiBretto and Julia Meinwald & Gordon Leary.

Previous artists in the series include: Joe Iconis, Justin Levine, Daniel Zaitchik, Andrew Lippa, Chester Gregory, Debra Barsha, Gavin Creel, Scott Mebus, Bob Stillman, David Clement, Daniel Cartier, GrooveLily, Johnny Hancock, Janice Lowe, Michael Longoria, Ben Birney, Rob Seitelman, Alan Zachary, Michael Wiener, Chris Miller, Nathan Tysen, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Pale Horse and Rider, Lori Michaels, The Davenports and Nick Blaemire.^[19]

Showgasm

Showgasm is a rowdy monthly variety show, designed to showcase fresh music, comedy, theater, burlesque, vaudeville and other independent acts. It showcases short works (five minutes or less) by young artists who have not yet developed a full-length show, as well providing a venue for veteran Ars Nova artists to showcase new material.^[20]

The Writer's Room

In 2012, the Manhattan Theatre Club launched The Studio at Stage II, a 150-seat Off-Broadway theater, with the intention of producing new works at the New York City Center. As a part of this program, the Manhattan Theatre Club teamed up with Ars Nova to create the Writer's Room. Together, the two theater groups jointly select four playwrights per year to receive Writer’s Room Commissions. The commissioned writers come together to participate in a program designed to encourage artistic risk taking and provide developmental support, ultimately aiming to have their work put up at MTC's Studio at Stage II.^[21]

2014 Artist's include: Adam Bock & Justin Levine, Rachel Bonds, Thomas Bradshaw, Frances, Ya-Chu Cowhig, Sibblies Drury, Samuel D. Hunter, PigPen Theatre Co. and Sharyn Rothstein.^[22]

Artists-In-Residence

The Artist in Residence program provides emerging directors, designers, composers, and playwrights with an artistic home for one year. Each resident has access to the Ars Nova staff and resources, in return for providing expertise and assistance with artistic planning and production. Residents are also often commissioned to develop new work for the Ars Nova stage.^[23] Ars Nova's 2014 Director-in-Residence is Andrew Neisler.

Past artists-in-residence include John Early, Isaac Oliver, The Debate Society, Portia Krieger, Shaina Taub, The Berserker Residents, Dave Malloy, Kim Rosenstock, Stephen Brackett, Amy Herzog, Steven Levenson, Bekah Brunstetter, Kerry Whigham, Geo Wyeth, Joe Iconis, Carly Mensch and Shira Milikowsky.^[24]

Project Residencies

In Project Residencies, veteran Ars Nova writers are invited to develop original works-in-progress over a three-month period. These residencies culminate in a series of workshop performances with live audience feedback and response. Through the support and resources from the Ars Nova staff, this residency aims to foster artistic experimentation and creativity in new collaborative or independent works.

Summer retreat

Each summer, the theater funds a group of artists to attend a week-long retreat outside of New York City. The retreat is divided into focused work sessions, group discussions and social activities.^[17]

Awards and honors

In 2008, the Village Voice awarded Ars Nova its "Best Theater Concessions" honor, commenting that "Ars Nova satisfies those few disconsolate [theater concession consumers] among us: In addition to reasonably priced cocktails, it features snacks thematically linked with the play on offer."^[25]

Ars Nova's commissioned production of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 won several awards and nominations, including the Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater, a Special Citation from the OBIE awards, and five Drama Desk nominations.^[26][27][28]

Notable alumni

• Annie Baker
• Jesse Eisenberg
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson
• John Gallagher Jr.
• Amy Herzog
• Joe Iconis
• Michael Patrick King
• Dave Malloy
• Jack McBrayer
• Liz Meriwether
• Lin-Manuel Miranda
• Semi Precious Weapons
• Alex Timbers
• Reggie Watts
• Beau Willimon^[29][30]

References

External links

• Official website

Off-Broadway theatres Active 47th Street Theatre 59E59 Theaters 777 Theatre Acorn Theatre The Actors' Temple Astor Place Theatre Barrow Street Theatre Baryshnikov Arts Center Chernuchin Theater Cherry Lane Theatre Claire Tow Theater Classic Stage Company Daryl Roth Theatre Davenport Theatre The Duke on 42nd Street Elektra Theatre Irish Repertory Theatre Julia Miles Theatre Laura Pels Theatre Linda Gross Theatre Little Shubert Theatre Lucille Lortel Theatre Lynn Redgrave Theatre Manhattan Movement & Arts Center Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater McGinn/Cazale Theatre Minetta Lane Theatre Mint Theater Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater New York City Center-Stages I & II New York Theatre Workshop New World Stages Orpheum Theatre Pearl Theatre Company Pershing Square Signature Center Players Theatre Playwrights Horizons The Public Theater St. Luke's Theatre Snapple Theater Center SoHo Playhouse Soho Repertory Theatre Stage 72 Theatre 80 Theatre at St. Clement's Tony Kiser Theatre Union Square Theatre Vineyard Theatre Westside Theatre York Theatre Defunct or repurposed Gate Theatre Gramercy Theatre Jane Street Theatre Lamb's Theatre Manhattan Ensemble Theatre New Theatre Sheridan Square Playhouse Village South Theatre

Coordinates: 40°46′03″N 73°59′26″W / 40.76757°N 73.99055°W / 40.76757; -73.99055