FRIGID New York and Manhattan Theatre Source will present the 2023 EstroGenius Festival: BAN(NED) TOGETHER, a festival celebrating femme artists, March 15 - April 2. Performances will take place at The Kraine Theater (85 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003), UNDER St. Marks (94 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10009), Arts On Site (12 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003) and the 721 Decatur Street Community Garden in Bushwick (721 Decatur St, Brooklyn, NY 11207). Tickets are sliding scale ($20) and are available for advance purchase at www.frigid.nyc and estrogenius.nyc. Most performances will also be available to livestream from home.

 

2022 saw both physical and legislative violence against femme and trans bodies, the disappearance of basic privacy protections, the overturning of Roe v Wade creating more dangers for a pregnant body and an arcane roll back to controls on what a femme body should be wearing (we see you Missouri State Assembly). EstroGenius is the longest running festival of its kind. Now in its 22 year, this powerful platform continues to celebrate and proclaim the importance of femme, trans, and non-binary artists.

 

With maura nguyễn donohue and Melissa Riker at its helm as co-producers and curators they've brought together curator John C. Robinson, a panel of Theatre Source writers and the team at FRIGID New York - building EstroGenius into a dynamic range of voices. From the historic Kraine Theater to a newly rebuilt garden in Brooklyn, the festival exists to present the voices of dance-makers, playwrights, experimental performers, teens, musicians, burlesque performers, noise artists, filmmakers, dj's and anyone else looking to break molds and crack gender codes to the stage, street and forefront of public attention. Riker and donohue do this through a wide variety of dance, music, theatre and comedic artists crossing the stages, building community and performing their hearts and stories out to EstroGenius's fab audiences.

 

EstroGenius 2023, BANN(ED) TOGETHER proudly announces the full festival line up:

 

Funny Women of A Certain Age

Wed March 15 at 7pm @ The Kraine Theater

For Carole Montgomery what began as a way to work with her friends has exploded on the comedy scene. When Carole (a veteran of the stand up scene for over 40 years) started, you would never see two female comics on the same show. Fast forward to today's comedy scene and nothing has changed, even though there are way more women in comedy. Carole decided to do something about it. Her first Showtime special made history as the only comedy special to feature 6 female comics over the age of 50. In fact it was the network's highest rated comedy special of 2019. Two more have followed with more in the works! For EstroGenius, Funny Women of a Certain Age will feature Amanda Cohen, Jessie Baade, Laura Patton, and Carole Montgomery. 60 min

 

PROPHECY FOR 22ND CENTURY INSTEAD OF MANIFESTO

Created & Performed by Petra Zanki

Sat March 18 & 25 at 1pm @ 721 Decatur Community Garden, Brooklyn (or via streaming)

Find and play with something that is common to us all, that we do not know the meaning of quite well, a mystery, a ritual, a game, as simple and intricate as friendship, a cat's cradle, an ancient game, that does not colonize, a vessel, a starting point, and a basis, thought the sense of ecofeminism, and use alternative theories (rather than white androtheories) that include BIPOC+ and LGBTQIA stand points towards adductive and alternative epistemologies that always include various contexts, towards the ecology of mind and denouement of double bind, to heal and enjoy. A dance piece for eleven humans, in a community garden, for the future. 45 min

 

Who We Are | Ban(ned) Together

Featuring Mango Season by Joya Powell and A.K.A. Ka Inoa (excerpt) by Pele Bauch

Sat March 18 at 6:30pm & 8:30pm (performances); Sun March 19 at 3:30pm (Special Dialog only) & 6pm (Performance) @ Arts on Site

EstroGenius is thrilled to bring together thoughtful and pointed artists Joya Powell and Pele Bauch. Join these two incredible artists in an evening of performance grounded in story, movement and excavation of lineage. Sun March 19 at 3:30pm will be a one time, 50 minute dialog and open conversation between these two stellar artists. Tickets ($30) available through www.artsonsite.org/events Curated by Melissa Riker and John C. Robinson 50 min

 

Mango Season by Joya Powell

Mango Season is a multidisciplinary journey through stories of choreographer Joya Powell's maternal roots in Jamaica. It combines dance, video, song, and audience participation as the nutrients to cultivate this performative garden. Mango Season was created as a part of Angela's Pulse's: Dancing While Black Fellowship 2016-2017.

 

A.K.A. Ka Inoa (excerpt) by Pele Bauch

A.K.A. Ka Inoa weaves together supple movement, vivid characters, and personal story with 300 ft of rope. This dance-theater work mines Bauch's experience as a multiracial New Yorker and Native Hawaiian who carries the weight of being named after Hawaii's most significant and beloved deity, the goddess of volcanoes, Pele.

 

The Tale Of An-Noor

Written and performed by Marina Celander

Sun March 19 & 26 at 11am @ The Kraine Theater

Intended for young audiences

The Tale of An-Noor is the tale of a magic bird who flies great distances to visit her friends the Old Tree and the Old River. An-Noor listens to her friends and they share tales of epic migrations, sorrows and loss, of overcoming huge odds, and feeling joy in everyday life at the edge of the river. Told through dance, puppetry and light An-Noor lets children know that there is magic all around us as long as we keep on dreaming and following the stars. Curated by Melissa Riker. 35 min

 

Develop(ing) Together: BEAR

Created by c/s movement projects

Sun March 19 at 2pm @ The Kraine Theater (or via streaming)

A duet. BEAR is a work of thresholds. It is built on the question of what one can bear, what I can bear, what we can bear together. It is about finding an edge in ourselves and living there. This can be the edge of balance, the edge of exhaustion; the edge of tolerance. It is about experiencing the edge or end of something in oneself and not running from it – rather moving within it. BEAR is an exploration of the revocation of the ideal – we do not strive in pursuit of unattainable perfection. We work to better lay ourselves bare for one another. This dance work by two incredible artists is not to be missed. Curated by Melissa Riker. 45 min

 

Solo Voce: Grace Period by Audrey di Mola

Wed March 22 at 9:00pm & Fri March 24 at 7:30pm @ UNDER St. Marks (or via streaming)

A storyteller and adult child of a dysfunctional family is inspired by the myth of Ariadne to trace threads back through the labyrinthine complexity of her intergenerational trauma. In familial narratives and patterns of pain that feel so inextricable, what happens when we venture into the darkness in an attempt to individuate, to heal, to Change? An autobiographical solo show offering an honest glimpse into the tangles of what tracing the secrets and "reasons Why" is actually like, examining the inter- and inner-weavings of love, shame, violence, and unprocessed grief. 45 min

 

Listen(ing) Together

Featuring Core/Us by Vanessa Goodman/Action at a Distance

and #wildflower by Donna Costello

Thu March 23 at 7:00pm @ The Kraine Theater 70 min

 

#wildflower by Donna Costello

#wildflower is a solo study unearthed from practices and designs developed during the making of almost, a multi-year collaborative project aiming to elevate the feminist narrative while embracing, negotiating and transforming the complexities of one's identity. This new work distills simple tasks of opening and closing allowing images of femininity, cycles and age to reveal themselves through time and repetition. Teamed up again with longtime collaborator and costume designer Jennifer Paar, a white tent dress that sheds when shaken is made to look like seeds scattered in the wind hoping to find footing where they land; resilient and belonging.

 

Core/Us by Action at a Distance

Core/Us is a new group work from Action at a Distance. Choreographed by Artistic Director Vanessa Goodman, four dancers transverse our perception of how we hear movement and see sound with intensity and dedication. The live score sculpts an ever-evolving atmosphere that builds gravity for the body. Patiently shifting states and layers of momentum define this unique piece marked by its immersive world-building. Curated by Melissa Riker and John C. Robinson

 

Solo Voce: FURIOUS by Emily Fury Daly

Thu March 23 at 7:30pm & Fri March 24 at 9pm @ UNDER St. Marks (or via streaming)

Emily's solo show explores her experience as a Planned Parenthood volunteer, a special ed kid, and a young woman in early recovery from alcohol addiction. Furious is funny, unique, ridiculous, bold, and heartfelt. 50 min

 

Solo Voce: I Need A Hero by Kayla Engeman

Thu March 23 at 9pm & Sat March 25 at 7:30pm @ UNDER St. Marks (or via streaming)

I Need A Hero is a one woman show which features dancing, projection, singing, power points, voice over, and embarrassing home videos from 1998 to show the audience all the ways in which Kayla needs to be rescued: whether it's from living at home with a loud Italian mother, going to endless weddings of her girlfriends, trying to walk home from a bar down a dark street, or losing a friend in a sudden accident. The show progresses through a list of trivial and serious grievances while using multimedia to hit on themes of grief, anxiety, death, dating, family, friendship, childhood dreams, and trauma. 70 min

 

Sound(ing) Together

Core/Us by Vanessa Goodman/Action at a Distance and Resonant Body by slowdanger

Fri March 24 & Sat March 25 at 7:00pm @ The Kraine Theater 90 min

 

Core/Us by Action at a Distance

Core/Us is a new group work from Action at a Distance. Choreographed by Artistic Director Vanessa Goodman, four dancers transverse our perception of how we hear movement and see sound with intensity and dedication. The live score sculpts an ever-evolving atmosphere that builds gravity for the body. Patiently shifting states and layers of momentum define this unique piece marked by its immersive world-building.

 

Resonant Body by slowdanger

slowdanger's co-artistic directors taylor knight (they/he) and anna thompson (they/them) re-examine ocular-centricity in dance performance in Resonant Body, a duet performance and extended research-based project. Theorizing that every movement we make, in some form, is sound, Resonant Body examines how our impact resonates physically in space through sonic memory. Research includes impacting the body against structures such as thunder sheets and utilizing technology to record, loop and amplify the sonic remnants of the body's impact within space, and is furthered by continually questioning how we define sustainability and resilience within capitalist mechanization. Curated by Melissa Riker and John C. Robinson.

 

all in between|a 3rd space to be by sj swilley

Sat March 25 & Sun March 26 at 5pm @ The Kraine Theater

all in between|a 3rd space to be is a storytelling and abstract narration of the space in between wholeness and withdrawal, humanity and spirit. It is a reckoning with an ever shifting gender performance, and a spiritual investigation of queerness as a portal to existing as something "other". The artist invites audiences to be in conversation after the show. Curated by Melissa Riker and John C. Robinson. 50 min

 

HOME-WARMING: A short collection of works by Rachel DeForrest Repinz, Black Enough by Muriel "Murri-Lynette" Peterson & Inside Flesh Mountain by Portia Wells

Sun March 26 at 2pm @ The Kraine Theater 60 min

Muriel "Murri-Lynette" Peterson, Rachel Repinz and Portia Wells share a program in an afternoon of dance and film, curated by maura nguyễn donohue.

 

HOME-WARMING, by Rachel Repinz. The collection of works will include 2 short dance films, along with one live solo work-in-progress, and one live group dance piece. All 4 works center around the idea of "home" specifically from the perspective of the "homemaker."

 

 

Black Enough, by Muriel "Murri-Lynette" Peterson is based on her experiences growing up in both NYC and Long Island, and discusses the tensions between African Americans and other groups within the African Diaspora.

 

 

Inside Flesh Mountain by Portia Wells returns to the festival as a solo.

 

Solo Voce: The Night You Stopped Acting, by Anabella Lenzu

Wed March 29 at 7pm @ UNDER St. Marks (or via streaming)

The night that you stopped acting/ La noche que dejaste de actuar, confronts the absurdity and irony of life, while being an artist and a spectator in today's world. The work reflects Anabella Lenzu's experience as a Latina artist living in New York and comes from a deep examination of her motivations as a woman, mother, and immigrant. 20 min

 

Solo Voce: I Learned it From Watching You (working title) by Leslie Goshko

Wed March 29 at 8pm @ UNDER St. Marks

A brand new solo show from comedian Leslie Goshko. 45 min

 

Dominguez, Jacobs & Jones/Redding

Thu March 30 at 7pm @ The Kraine Theater (or via streaming)

Dance works by Hunter College Dance MFAs Francesca Dominguez '22, Eve Jacobs '23 and a solo performed by Maiya Redding '22, choreographed by Darvejon Jones '23. Curated by maura nguyễn donohue. 60 min

 

Excavating the Rising Star

Presented by Infinite Variety Productions 100 min

Thu March 30, Fri March 31 & Sat April 1 at 8pm @ UNDER St. Marks (or via streaming)

The exploits of real life paleoanthropologists and archaeologists are on display in a futuristic museum constructed with AI technology in Infinite Variety Productions' workshop presentation of a new documentary theatre play, Excavating the Rising Star. Sapere Aude (our AI host) uses interviews of the women scientists who ventured to South Africa in 2013 to examine what it is like to pursue a career in the sciences, explore spaces deep inside the Earth, discover a previously unknown human ancestor and sit in wonder about what it means to be human.

 

Peterson, Savarino & Wells

Thu March 30 at 9pm @ The Kraine Theater (or via streaming)

A shared program of Black Enough by Muriel Peterson, Three Pure Ones by Kim Savarino, and Inside Flesh Mountainby Portia Wells. Curated by maura nguyễn donohue. 60 min

 

Noche de Baile by Soul Dance Co

Fri March 31 at 7pm @ The Kraine Theater (or via streaming)

Noche de Baile promises to bring back the heat and the fire of festival fave Soul Dance Co. led by choreographer and Hunter College Dance faculty & MFA candidate Cory "Nova" Villegas, with co-artistic direction by Kevin Williams, to The Kraine stage. The night's program will include new and repertory works showcasing the company's contemporary Afro-Latin flair, as well as a new work by Ntrinsik Movement's Freyani Patrice. Curated by maura nguyễn donohue (she/they/mom/bruh). 45 min

 

Paradox Parachute

Fri March 31 & Sat April 1 at 8:30pm @ The Kraine Theater (or via streaming)

Paradox Parachute by Zhen Heinemann is a brand new work in development by an artist who has been performative with the public since 2001, and offering EstroGenius audiences experiences to make their minds swirl since 2018. Curated by John C. Robinson and Melissa Riker. 30 min

 

Bache, Campbell, Jones, Williams

Sat April 1 at 5pm @ The Kraine Theater (or via streaming)

Works by Valentina Bache, Sheree V Campbell, Darvejon Jones and Ashlyn Williams. Curated by maura nguyễn donohue. 60 min

 

#UnapologeticallyAsian & PRN (an excerpt)

Sat April 1 at 7pm @ The Kraine Theater

H+ | House of Chow presents #UnapologeticallyAsian, a dance homage in four acts dedicated to our ancestors' dreams, to our parents' dreams, and to our dreams. This Hip-Hop Dance repertory piece elucidates the complex conversation on establishing a legacy that honors our past, is relevant to the present, and sustains into the future for all Asians. Join us on an emotional journey that explores cultural traumas both experienced and inherited, their effect on the current generation of Asians, and the paving of a bold path towards a life unapologetically lived.

 

PRN examines a personal lens on the healthcare disparities that have been further exposed through a pandemic. A unique perspective is shared by a Registered Nurse/Dance Artist to explore the systemic, physical, emotional, and spiritual repercussions enhanced from such strife. Curated by maura nguyễn donohue. 50 min

 

Kinding Sindaw: Philippine Melayu Heritage

Sun April 2 at 2pm @ The Kraine Theater (or via streaming)

Estrogenius brings Kinding Sindaw to the stage of the Kraine. "Kinding Sindaw created magic" - The New York Times. Mindanao Indigenous and Sultanate Genre Dance and Kulintang Music Ensemble. Curated by maura nguyễn donohue. 60 min

 

EstroGenius Festival is an annual celebration of the artistry of femme, non-binary, non-conforming and trans womxn artists produced by Melissa Riker and maura nguyễn donohue. Founded as a short play festival in 2000 at Manhattan Theatre Source by Fiona Jones, EstroGenius exists to present the voices of dance-makers, playwrights, experimental performers, teens, musicians, burlesque performers, noise artists, filmmakers, dj's and anyone else looking to break molds and crack gender codes to the stage, street and forefront of public attention. EstroGenius 2023 is possible in part to generous funding via a 2023 Regrowth and Capacity grant and 2023 NYSCA Support for Organizations through New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, along with the generosity of John C. Robinson and our individual donors. www.estrogenius.nyc

 

FRIGID New York's mission is to provide both emerging and established artists the opportunity to create and produce original work of varied content, form, and style, and to amplify their diverse voices. We do this by presenting an array of monthly programming, mainstage productions, an artist residency, and eight annual theater festivals that create an environment of collaboration, resourcefulness, and innovation. Founded in 1998, the aim was and is to form a structure, allowing multiple artists to focus on creating and staging new work and providing affordable rental space to scores of independent artists. Now in our third decade we have produced a massive quantity of stimulating downtown theater. www.frigid.nyc