Ma-Yi Theater Company has opened a physical live capture studio and, in conjunction, a digital streaming platform that will produce the Off-Broadway organization's upcoming 2020–2021 season. Ma-Yi Studios will also be available to outside artists looking to present new digital theatrical works.
Equipped with recording devices and following social distancing guidelines, the set-up allows playwrights, directors, and actors to envision and produce a new kind of online theatre. Check out a virtual tour of the space above.
“When the government shut down on March 12 forcing Ma-Yi to cancel two-thirds of our 30th anniversary season… I began to think of ways we could continue to work,” says Ma-Yi Producing Artistic Director Ralph B. Peña. “Our instinct to secure the means of production and distribution comes from knowing that artists and communities of color are historically left out of institutional responses to crises. We want to return the power to create and disseminate back into the hands of artists.”
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Rental packages include a complete audio, visual, and lighting package, a complete suite of editing tools and computers with a technician, personal protective equipment, and the ability to both digitally capture or live-stream events. In addition, Ma-Yi’s safety protocols include overnight UV air scrubbers, commercial-grade air purifiers, and activated carbon filtered air conditioning. The space was supported by lead funding from The New York Community Trust.
Among the artists who have already signed up to use the service is Obie winner and Ma-Yi affiliated artist Ron Domingo, who will present Sophocles in Staten Island. The lineup for Ma-Yi's upcoming season will be announced at a later date.
For more information, visit Ma-YiStudios.com.
