New York Theatre Workshop has unveiled its fall slate of Artistic Instigator projects as part of its 2020–2021 season, including new works by Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar, Tony winner Denis O'Hare and Lisa Peterson, Celine Song, and Victor I. Cazares. In the COVID-era, the Off-Broadway theatre is asking a cohort of artists to create new work unbound by content, form, or medium. As previously announced, some events will be exclusively virtual experiences while others may take place in person when safety possible to do so.
First up is What the Hell Is a Republic, Anyway? by O'Hare and Peterson, beginning September 22 at 7 PM online and continuing October 6 and 20 and November 2. As they dive deep into the history of the Roman Republic, O'Hare and Peterson expose their own process, demonstrating the difficulties around collaboration.
Martha Redbone and Aaron Whitby then present a song cycle set during the pandemic summers of 1920 and 2020. Redbone and Whitby will share their work-in-progress The Talking Circles October 3.
In The Seagull on Sims 4, Endlings playwright Celine Song attempts to reenact the Chekhov play on the game via Twitch October 27–28.
In late October, Victor I. Cazares presents Pinching Pennies with Penny Marshall, a limited series of financial advice Zoom webinars. The work is directed by Borna Barzin and features Jesús I. Valles.
Later in the season, Ayad Akhtar debuts his new solo piece, Trump Is Just the Name of His Story. Slated for November is The Cooking Project by members of the Dominican Artists Collective and directed by Melissa Crespo. Also in November is </remnant>, conceived and created by Theater Mitu, and directed by Rubén Polendo.
For more information about the upcoming season, visit NYTW.org.
