The Flea Announces Complete Cast + Design Team for BATHHOUSE.PPTX

New York, NY (February 1, 2024) – The Flea announced today the complete cast and design team for the world premiere production of BATHHOUSE.PPTX, written by Jesús I. Valles (they/them) and directed by Obie Award winner Chay Yew (he/him). BATHHOUSE.PPTX will run at The Flea Theater (20 Thomas Street) from Tuesday, March 19 through Monday, April 22, with opening night set for Saturday, March 23. In line with The Flea’s radical new operating model, BATHHOUSE.PPTX has been developed in partnership with Valles as co-producer on all elements of their production.

When he selected BATHHOUSE.PPTX as the recipient of the 2023 Yale Drama Series Prize, one of the theater world’s most prestigious playwriting prizes, Jeremy O. Harris (he/him) said, “This is one of the most exciting, speculative fictions I’ve encountered in years, using a unique dramaturgy to explore a queer history that is quickly being erased. It brought to mind the works of many heroes like Samuel Delany, Martin Crimp, and Kathy Acker.”

In this deft ensemble driven production, Sam Gonzalez (he/him) performs the role of ‘Presenter,’ a queer latiné student, whose PowerPoint presentation on the history of cleanliness and bathing quickly starts to burst at the seams with appearances from the ghosts of a bathhouse at the end of the world, A Conquistador! Wearing One of Those Hats!, A Very Real Twink, and even Laura Linney.

This bevy of characters from past and present are all inhabited by a shape shifting cast of actors including Claudia Acosta (she/her) as ‘Chela’ and others, Manuel C. Alcazar (he/him) as ‘Daniel’ and others, Esteban Andres Cruz (they/them) as ‘Mx. Vazquez’ and others, Yonatan Gebeyehu (he/him) as ‘Shaun’ and others, and Gilbert Diego Sanchez (he/they) as ‘Carlos’ and others.

The design team includes You-Shin Chen (Scenic Design), Reza Behjat (Lighting Design), Haydee Zelideth Antuñano (Costume Design), John Gasper (Sound Design) Nicholas Hussong (Projection Design), and David Anzuelo (Intimacy and Fight Direction). BATHHOUSE.PPTX’s Production Stage Manager is Bea Perez-Arche and the Assistant Stage Manager is Abi Rowe.

Tickets are $20 – $35, with a pay-what-you-can option available as well. Tickets for Flea Champions go on sale February 1. Tickets for the general public go on sale February 8. Learn more at www.theflea.org.

To view photos of all lead artists as well as the Flea logo, please click here.

Clean & explicit key art are available for download here.

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The Flea was refounded in 2021 with the mission to support and invest in experimental art by Black, brown, and queer artists. The Flea provides space, financial support, producing partnership and other resources so that they may develop and share their vision in community with audiences.

BIOGRAPHIES

SAM GONZALEZ (Presenter, he/him) is an actor and native New Yorker based in NYC. He’s an alum of the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School where he also served on the faculty for 6 years. He is a member of the resident acting company at Mercury Store in Gowanus. Credits include Invasive Species (The Tank); Cuck, Cuck, Bull; Vile Isle (Columbia); Big Green Theater (The Bushwick Starr); Salt Kid Watches Brooklyn Burn (Joe’s Pub), Lulu is Hungry; Blue Plate Special (Ars Nova); and The Velveteen Rabbit (Atlantic Theater Company). thesamgonzalez.com

CLAUDIA ACOSTA (Chela and others, she/her) is a New York based actor, director, producer and teaching artist. As an actor, she has most recently appeared in Boundless Theater Company’s How to Melt ICE. Other credits include: Page 73’s Man Cave, Rattlestick Playwright’s Theater Seven Spots on the Sun, WP Theater Architecture of Becomin), HERE Don Cristobal Billy Club Man, Platforma Internațională de Teatru București in Romania Two Arms and a Noise. She has worked with INTAR, Teatro IATI, Chautauqua Theater Company and many others. Originally from Texas, she has also been in many productions at Hip Pocket Theater, Cara Mia, Artes De la Rosa, and Teatro Dallas. She is a guest narrator for Performing Arts Fort Worth and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in their annual bilingual Children’s Educational Programs at Bass Performance Hall. Claudia is also a guest director at Lehman College for Anna Deveare Smith’s Fires in the Mirror, Luis Alfaro’s Electricidad at Lehman College, and Macbeth SUNY New Paltz. She also directed Teatro Dallas’s Grave is Given Supper in association with New Ohio’s Ice Factory Festival. Claudia is a founding collective member and former producer of readings and workshops for the Obie Grant winner, The Sol Project. Claudia has co-produced and facilitated Echoes Writing Group for Primary Stages. She has been a teaching artist for over fifteen years serving many organizations including MTC, Arts Connection, New York Theater Workshop and Lincoln Center Education. She is thrilled to join The Flea to be part of Jesús’s world.

MANUEL C. ALCAZAR (Daniel and others, he/him) is a proud Mexican-born actor, excited to come back to the stage after a whole P-word. NY Credits: Dream Babies, Love Like a Hun (NY Premiere), Beauty and the Beast, Me and my Girl, Guys and Dolls, Sons and Dogs, 29Lives: The Musical, The Jaguar Woman. Regional: Sister Act (La Comedia Dinner Theatre, OH), Grease (Esperanza Iris, MX). Film: The Amazing Ray. Web series: “New Height” and “29Lives”. He is a graduate of AMDA NY. IG: @manuelcalcazar. Website: www.manuelcalcazar.com

ESTEBAN ANDRES CRUZ (Mx. Vazquez and others, they/them) was born in Berwyn, raised in Cicero, IL and grew up on Chicago’s stages. They are thrilled to be making their debut at The Flea in this poem of healing by fellow LPC member, Jesús I. Valles. In addition to acting, Esteban is also a dancer, improviser, writer, jazz musician, choreographer, poet, playwright and playwright doula. NY credits: Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven (Drama Desk Nomination Best Featured Actor), Cornelia Street, world premiere by Simon Stephens directed by Neil Pepe and featuring Mary Beth Piel and Norbert Leo Butts. Selected Regional credits: St Louis Shakes, La Jolla Playhouse, Milwaukee Rep, Theatre at the Center (IN), Cygnet Theatre (SD), NYSF, Celebration (LA), Pasadena Playhouse, Peninsula Players (WI), St Louis Rep, Miami New Drama, Williamstown. In Chicago: Steppenwolf, Writers, Victory Gardens (w/ Chay Yew), About Face, The Factory, Urban Theatre, Teatro Vista, Jackalope, Raven plus many more. Esteban is an ensemble member with A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago and a part of the Latinx Playwrights Circle (LPC), in NYC. Esteban is a 2019 TCG National Fox Fellow Acting Award Winner, 2009 Jeff Award Winner for Best Actor and the 1994 After Dark Award for Best Choreography. Film: Spa Night (Spirit Award’s Cassavetti Award winner), Rattled, Valley of Bones (starring Alexandra Billings), The Thin Line (with Lily Gladstone), A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. TV: “Chicago Fire,” “Awkward,” “Easy,” “Idiot Sitter,” “The Bridge,” “You’re The Worst” and “South Side.” @estebanandrescruz.actor www.estebanandrescruz.com Love to Jimmy & Tes & all the familia, chosen and bloody.

YONATAN GEBEYEHU (Shaun and others, he/him). Off-Broadway: TFANA: Merchant of Venice, Timon of Athens. Moliere in the Park: Tartuffe. BEDLAM: Persuasion; New Georges/The Thank. I Thought I Would Die, But I Didn’t. MTC: Where the Mountain Meets the Sea (u/s). Regional: Shakespeare Theater of DC, Portland Stage Company, Montana Rep. TV: “Prodigal Son” (FOX), “Elementary,” “Madame Secretary” (CBS). Digital: Lessons in Survival (Vineyard), 86’d (Bric Arts). Training: University of California San Diego: MFA in Acting. Columbia University, B.A. in English.

GILBERT D. SANCHEZ (Carlos and others, he/him/they) is an actor and cabaret singer based in Brooklyn, New York. His cabaret persona, Ms. Zilbert, has produced multiple original shows including Cats: The Other Cats Musical, Mother Disco: I am the Mother of Disco, and Me & My Good Judys at Good Judy. Theatre: Ritchie Valens in Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Bucks County Playhouse), Showgirls the Musical (off Broadway). TV: “Law and Order: Organized Crime,” “New Amsterdam,” “Bull and The Path.” @gilbertwithaz “for the boys.”

BEA PEREZ-ARCHE (Production Stage Manager, she/her/they) is a Cuban American theatre artist focused on creating community through her work in the arts. She has primarily worked at the Public Theater on Shakespeare in the Park, the Under the Radar Festival, and the Public Shakespeare Initiative. She is an Associate Artist at Sanguine Theatre Company and has collaborated with a range of institutions including The Flea, The Civilians, Tectonic Theater Project, One Whale’s Tale, Women’s Project, La Mama, Little Island, Chelsea Factory, and Ballet Collective. She received her BFA in Theater Arts from Boston University and currently freelances as a stage manager, director, and dramaturg.

ABI ROWE (Assistant Stage Manager, she/her) is so excited to be at the Flea for this incredible show! Off Broadway credits include: Islander, Jersey Boys, Sleep No More, Is There Still Sex in the City, Wolf Play (MCC Theatre), A Bright New Boise, My Broken Language (Signature Theatre), As You Like It (The Public), Cyrano (The New Group). Regional: Fiddler on the Roof (Papermill Playhouse), Candide (Skylight Music Theatre), Cinderella (Geva Theatre), A View From the Bridge, Yasmina’s Necklace (Goodman Theater). International: West Side Story (IHI Stage Around Tokyo).

YOU-SHIN CHEN (Scenic Design) is a USA-based Taiwanese scenic designer. As a theatre collaborator, she is committed to diversity and humanity. You-Shin centers humans, both the characters and the viewers, and their experiences in her process of creating a three-dimensional space. Her design works have been seen across the continental US and Europe. Some of her favorite credits include: How To Defend Yourself (NYTW); Wolf Play (SohoRep & MCC, Lortel Awards); Red Velvet (STC, DC); Dragon King’s Daughter (Kennedy Center, DC); Mlima’s Tale (St. Louis Rep); Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie (ArsNova, Lortel Awards); Troy Anthony’s The Revival: It Is Our Duty (The Shed, NYC); Walden (TheaterWorks Hartford, Connecticut Critics Circle Awards). Collaborator with the feath3r theory. Assistant professor at Muhlenberg College. Local USA829, IASTE. www.youshinchen.com

REZA BEHJAT (Lighting Design) is an Obie Award-winning lighting designer for live performances based in New York. Off-Broadway: The Ally (Public Theater), Pool Project (59E59), Bees & Honey (MCC Theater), Hang Time (Flea), Arden of Faversham (Redbull Theater), Good Enemy (Audible), Vagrant Trilogy (Public Theater), Wish You Were Here (Playwrights Horizons), English (Atlantic Theater), Out of Time (NAATCO), P.S (Ars Nova), Henry VI (NAATCO), Hamlet (Waterwell), etc. Regional: Milwaukee Rep, Seattle Rep, Steppenwolf Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Guthrie Theater, Hudson Valey Shakespeare, Wilma Theater, Arizona Theater Company, Actor Theater of Louisville, Geva Theater, Long Warf, Alabama Shakespeare, etc. Awards: Obie Award in Design category for English and Wish You Were Here (2022), Knight of Illumination Award for Nina Simone: Four Women (2019).

HAYDEE ZELIDETH ANTUÑANO (Costume Design) is a Chicana artist and costume designer. Clothes carry on public conversations with others and share stories about who we are, who we are not, and who we wish to be. They are a means of exploring how image can open up perceptions of race, class, socioeconomic status, and more – all of which is what most interests her. She grew up on both sides of the Mexican border and these experiences inform her point of view and how she approaches her work, giving depth, dimension and color to the specificities of someone’s life. www.haydeezelideth.com

JOHN GASPER (Sound Design) is a sound designer, musician and performer. He has made sounds and performed with Elevator Repair Service, Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble, Advanced Beginner Group, Bailey Williams, Sarah Blush, Sibyl Kempson, New Saloon, Lisa Clair Group, Karinne Keithly Syers, Salon Seance, and more. His work has been seen and heard at Playwrights Horizons, The Bushwick Starr, Abrons Arts Center, NYU Skirball, The Chocolate Factory, JACK, The Brick, and theaters around the country. His music for theater is available on cassette via Kapha Selections. MFA: PIMA at Brooklyn College.

NICHOLAS HUSSONG (Projection Design) is a designer for live and digital performance and events. Creative Producer at Dwight Street Book Club. Broadway: Skeleton Crew (Tony Nomination). Off-Broadway: Skeleton Crew, These Paper Bullets (Atlantic, Drama Desk Nom), Wet Brain (Playwrights Horizons), On That Day in Amsterdam (Primary Stages, Drama Desk Nom), White Guy on the Bus (59E59), Chick 6 (LaMama), Until the Flood (Rattlestick). Other credits include: The Wizard of Oz (Geva), RENT! (Paper Mill Playhouse), Vietgone (The Guthrie), To the Yellow House (Lajolla), Kleptocracy (Arena), Until the Flood (15 regional and international locations); Haint Blu, Hair & Other Stories (Urban Bush Women); Woman’s Party (Clubbed Thumb); Grounded (Alley); Arden Theater, Playmakers Rep, Berkshires Theatre Group, Other work includes; Atlanta Opera, Virginia Museum of Art, David Zwirner Gallery, Marc Jacobs, Mass MoCA, Complex Magazine, AMC+, San Diego Shell, San Diego Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Hartford Symphony, Tony Awards (CBS), Ask Ronna Podcast. He also designed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, China, Canada and Vienna. Co-Creator of FEAST, an immersive dining experience with Listen&Breathe (Nantucket & Ireland). Yale MFA. UAW & USA829 www.nickhussong.com

The Flea announces World Premiere Production of Bathhouse.PPTX

 

New York, NY (January 23, 2024) –The Flea announced today the world-premiere production BATHHOUSE.PPTX, by Jesús I. Valles (they/them), directed by Obie Award-winner Chay Yew (he/him) will run at The Flea Theater (20 Thomas Street) from Tuesday, March 19 through Monday, April 22. In line with The Flea’s radical new operating model, BATHHOUSE.PPTX has been developed in partnership with Valles as co-producer on all elements of their production.

BATHHOUSE.PPTX is an epic new play that follows Presenter, a gay Latiné student, whose PowerPoint presentation on the history of cleanliness and bathing quickly starts to burst at the seams with appearances from the ghosts of a bathhouse at the end of the world, A Conquistador! Wearing One of Those Hats!, A Very Real Twink, and even Laura Linney. Valles describes it as, “a group project for perverts. Somewhere between lecture, re-enactment, and cruising ground. A meditation on queer longing, queer grief, and all our queer worlds that will come to pass, that will come to be.”

BATHHOUSE.PPTX was selected as the 2023 recipient of the Yale Drama Series Prize judged by Jeremy O. Harris and is the first recipient of The Flea’s production commission, an open call program that provides finishing funds and a full production to an experimental new work by a Black, brown, and/or queer artist. 

The Flea’s Artistic Director, Niegel Smith (he/him) says, “Every so often you come across a play that is epic in scale, written with delicious language and yet deeply personal, with characters that seize you as they careen toward their desires. Jesús’ play grabbed the attention of the entire Flea staff. As soon as we read it, we knew we had to bring it to production.”

“This is one of the most exciting, speculative fictions I’ve encountered in years, using a unique dramaturgy to explore a queer history that is quickly being erased,” said Jeremy O. Harris (he/him). “It brought to mind the works of many heroes like Samuel Delany, Martin Crimp, and Kathy Acker.”

Tickets for Flea Champions will go on sale Thursday, February 1. Tickets for the general public will go on sale Thursday, February 8. To learn more, please visit www.theflea.org

Thanks to the generous support of The Tow Foundation, Jesús will be the Tow Playwright-in-Residence at The Flea. During this appointment, in addition to premiering BATHHOUSE.PPTX, they will play an integral role in the ongoing expansion of The Flea’s artistic programs and initiatives. Valles will be a member of the artistic staff, attend board meetings, represent The Flea across the city and regionally, and serve on The Flea’s new artistic advisory committee. 

The Tow Foundation promotes expanded access to opportunities that improve people’s lives and strengthen society. Grounded in its decades of work in Connecticut and New York, the Foundation supports nonprofit organizations and visionary leaders to find and enact innovative solutions to persistent inequality. It works to ensure people can become full participants in their communities, achieve transformative and lasting progress, and develop approaches that allow everyone to reach their full potential.

To view photos of all lead artists as well as the Flea logo, please click HERE.

The Flea was refounded in 2021 with the mission to support and invest in experimental art by Black, brown, and queer artists. The Flea provides space, financial support, producing partnership and other resources so that they may develop and share their vision in community with audiences.

 

ABOUT THE ARTISTS 

Download artist photos HERE.

BIOGRAPHIES

JESÚS I. VALLES they/them (Playwright) is a queer Mexican immigrant, educator, storyteller, and performer from Cd. Juarez/El Paso. Valles is a 2023 Princess Grace Award recipient and a 2024 Tow Playwright in Residence at The Flea. Jesús is a 2021 CantoMundo fellowship recipient at the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, a 2019 Lambda Literary fellow, a 2019 Walter E. Dakin Playwriting Fellow of the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, a recipient of the 2019 Letras Latinas Scholarship from the Community of Writers’ Poetry Workshop, and a poetry fellow at Idyllwild Arts Writers Week. Jesús is also a 2018 Undocupoets Fellow, a 2018 Tin House Scholar, a fellow of The 2018 Poetry Incubator, and the runner-up in the 2017 Button Poetry Chapbook Contest. Their work has been published in The Shade Journal, The Texas Review, The New Republic, Palabritas, The Acentos Review, Quarterly West, The Mississippi Review, Palette, The Adroit Journal, BOAAT, The McNeese Review, and PANK. Their poetry has also been featured on NPR’s Code Switch, The Slowdown, The BreakBeat Poets’ LatiNext Anthology, and the Best New Poets 2020 anthology. As an actor, they are the recipient of four B. Iden Payne Awards, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama (2018), and Outstanding Original Script (2018) and they were nominated for the Mark David Cohen New Play Award for their play, (Un)Documents. They most recently starred as Penny Marshall in Victor I. Cazares’ Pinching Pennies with Penny Marshall: Death Rituals for Penny Marshall for New York Theatre Workshop. Jesús was the OUTSider festival’s OUTsider-in-residence and holds an MFA in playwriting from Brown University.

CHAY YEW he/him (Director) is a multi-award-winning theater director, playwright and producer. As a director, Chay Yew’s New York credits include Mojada, Oedipus el Rey, Durango (OBIE, Outstanding Direction), Universes’ Ameriville and Low (Public Theater); Cambodian Rock Band (Signature); The Architecture of Loss (New York Theatre Workshop); A Cool Dip in the Barren Saharan Crick (Playwrights Horizon); Draw The Circle (Rattlestick, Mosaic Theater Company, InterAct and Playmakers Rep); My Manana Comes (Playwrights Realm); Where Do We Sit On The Bus? (Ensemble Studio Theatre, Playmakers Rep, Boise Contemporary Theater, Teatro Vista, City Theatre and Victory Gardens); The House of Bernarda Alba (National Asian American Theatre Company); and Last of the Suns (Ma-Yi Theatre Company). Chay served as the Artistic Director of Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago from 2011 to 2020.

THE FLEA APPOINTS DR. LAUREN BRITT-ELMORE AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

THE FLEA APPOINTS LAUREN BRITT-ELMORE AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO JOIN THE FLEA’S NEW SHARED LEADERSHIP MODEL AND CHAMPION THE FLEA’S MISSION AND STRATEGY TO INVEST IN AND SUPPORT EXPERIMENTAL ART BY BLACK, BROWN, AND QUEER ARTISTS.

New York, NY (November 13, 2023) The Flea has appointed Dr. Lauren Britt-Elmore as Executive Director to co-lead the Tribeca theater dedicated to the works of Black, brown, and queer artists. She will work alongside Flea Executive Artistic Director Niegel Smith and Board Co-Chairs Nona Hendryx & Tony Tramontin in shared leadership with staff and stakeholders including Resident Company Members on the Board. 

The search was led by values-driven firm ALJP Consulting and included participation from all levels of the organization, including staff, consultants, artists, and funders. 

Dr. Elmore is an arts management practitioner with more than 20 years experience leading artistic teams. Trained as a dramaturg, Dr. Elmore has worked as a manager and coalition builder, crafting policy, implementing strategic plans, and leading programs in leadership roles at New School for Drama, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and most recently as the Director of Academic Administration of the Theatre Program at Columbia University School of the Arts.

“Words cannot express how thrilled I am to join this amazing artistic institution at this exciting time. I was drawn to The Flea from the very beginning primarily because it is a rare example of an organization living its values. I am looking forward to helping provide the necessary support and resources so The Flea can change the face of American live performance.”

In 2021, The Flea was refounded with a new mission and vision supported by a new leadership model centering the core values of transparency and collaboration. This is exemplified by: the shift from a Board of donors to a working Board of stakeholders, which includes early career artists and resident company members, including our Key Resident Company, The Fled; staff is invited into all decision-making discussions, Board committees and enjoy full budget transparency; and lead artists integrated as co-producers of their work with full authority and buy-in on all elements of their productions.

“With a new Mission and now with Lauren Britt-Elmore, our New Executive Director, the Flea Staff and Board are energized and excited for the future.  Welcome Lauren, we’re stronger together.” – Board Co-Chair Nona Hendryx

“Over the past two years, it’s been thrilling to see the resident companies in action and how the Flea has evolved into its current model. I am so thrilled to have Dr Lauren Britt-Elmore join the Flea after an expansive search and excited to see how her contributions will further develop the Flea’s mission!” – Founding Member of The Fled and Resident Company Board Member, Rebecca Aparicio

Since its refounding the Flea has invested over $450,000 in over 150 artists. These artists have been paid above industry standard and in 2023 reached the benchmark of 42% above union scale. Their season is marked by world premiere productions, an annual slate of Juneteenth Public Performance Commissions, a festival of experimental performances WERK!, support for Resident Companies, the commissioning of new plays, the throwing of an annual House Party and as a hub for dozens of theater, dance and performance companies presenting new works at the Tribeca Theater. 

“Lauren brings the right stuff at just the right moment to The Flea leadership team. She is passionate about the art, unwavering about our values, and inspires everyone she meets with her ability to communicate a bold vision and create the conditions for great art to be developed and shared,” said Executive Artistic Director, Niegel Smith. “I’m looking forward to beginning our work together.”

“We are at a milestone moment here at The Flea, as we embrace and lift up Lauren! Her spirit to champion The Flea’s unique creativity and commitment to our artist community is so refreshing and we’re so incredibly lucky to have such a dynamic and aspiring leader like Lauren. Lauren’s spirit will allow us to push boundaries further in experimental art, be more confident in our artistic expertise and build our scaffolding, as she puts it, and our home welcomes her with support and gratitude.”  Maimouna Camara, Associate General Manager

To view a photos of Dr. Lauren Britt-Elmore click here. Photo Credit: Jonathan Barbee

 

BIOS

Dr. Lauren Britt-Elmore (Executive Director) has been fortunate to spend her entire career working in and with the theatre. Most recently, she has served as the Director of Academic Administration of the Theatre Program at the prestigious Columbia University School of the Arts since 2017. Prior to her tenure at Columbia, she worked in academic administration at the New School for Drama, helped produce the first online course from Harvard’s Education School, served as a Literary Associate at Helen Merrill, Ltd., and earned a distinguished Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship at Arena Stage. She has dramaturged work in various settings, including the Cherry Lane Theater (The View from Tall by Caitlin Montanye Parrish), and directed plays in New York and Boston by Kirsten Greenidge, Catherine Filloux, and Angela Tucker. She is currently researching the relationship between the Algonquin Round Table and the writers of the Harlem Renaissance during the early 20th century. Dr. Elmore is a graduate of Wesleyan University (BA with Honors, Theatre & African-American Studies), Columbia University School of the Arts (MFA, Dramaturgy), and Harvard Graduate School of Education (EdD, Higher Education).

 

Niegel Smith (Executive Artistic Director) is a Bessie Award winning theater director and performance artist. He is the Executive Artistic Director of NYC’s Obie Award winning theater, The Flea guiding the organization through its refounding as a hub for experimental art by Black, brown and queer artists. He is also a board member of A.R.T./New York and was a ringleader of Willing Participant, an artistic activist organization that whips up urgent poetic responses to crazy shit that happens.

 

His current directing projects include The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, a multi-media opera and community ritual commissioned and produced by Hopkins Center for the Arts and Suzan-Lori Park’s Plays for The Plague Year produced by The Public Theater. His theater work has been produced at The Alley Theater, The Barbican, Classical Theatre of Harlem, The Flea, The Goodman Theatre, HERE Arts Center, Hip Hop Theatre Festival, The Invisible Dog, Luna Stage, The Melbourne Festival, Magic Theatre, Mixed Blood, the National Black Theatre, New York Fringe Festival, New York Live Arts, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, Playwrights Horizons, Pomegranate Arts, The Public Theater, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Summer Play Festival, and Under the Radar, and his participatory walks and performances have been produced by Abrons Arts Center, American Realness, The Brooklyn Museum, Dartmouth College, Elastic City, The Flea, The Invisible Dog, Jack, The New Museum, Prelude Festival, PS 122, the Van Alen Institute and Visual AIDS. He often collaborates with playwright/performer Taylor Mac.

 

Niegel most recently directed the wildly popular and critically-acclaimed jazz opera The Hang. For this work, he was nominated for a Drama League Award in best direction. He has also collaborated with some of the world’s most celebrated musicians including En Vogue and Jon Batiste at New York City’s Park Avenue Armory. Smith is co-director of the critically acclaimed ‘A 24-Decade History of Popular Music’, winner of the Kennedy Prize in Drama, Bessie Award, the Edwin Booth Award and a Pulitzer Prize finalist. He associate directed the Tony Award winning musical FELA! – restaging that production in London, Lagos and its world tour, assistant directed the original Broadway and off-Broadway productions of Tony Kushner’s Caroline, or Change.  He has worked on the artistic staffs of The Public Theater, Trinity Repertory Company and Providence Black Rep.

 

A graduate of Dartmouth College, Smith has received residencies, grants and/or fellowships from Brooklyn Arts Council, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the MAP Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, New York Stage and Film, Sundance Theatre Lab, Theater Communications Group, Tucker Foundation, Van Lier Fund and VoxFest.

 

Nona Hendryx (Co-Chair of the Board)

Revolutionary art-rock, new-wave goddess Nona Hendryx is a celebrated vocalist, record producer, songwriter,musician, and author, Ambassador of Artistry in Music for Berklee College of Music. Hendryx’s legendary career spans six decades of sound and style evolution, tackling social issues, love, and politics. Longtime Nona Hendryx fans know her as one of the founding members of the “girl group,” Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles. In 1970, Patti, Sarah Dash, and Nona morphed into the groundbreaking group Labelle, delivering a No.1 worldwide hit with “Lady Marmalade” (Voulez Vous Coucher Avec Moi C’est Soir?) Hendryx emerged as the chief songwriter of socially-conscious and illuminating message songs. Nona’s solo career includes an impressive lineup of collaborators (George Clinton, Prince, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson, Bono), top ten hits, and a Grammy nomination for “Rock This House” with The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards on guitar.

 

ALJP Consulting is a black-owned, woman-owned, mission-driven firm specializing in executive search, strategic planning, board coaching and development, and facilitation. ALJP was founded in the Summer of 2019 to fill a need in the arts and culture field for consulting firms dedicated to creating an industry ecosystem that looks like the world in which we live. We put inclusion and equity at the heart of our consulting practice. For more information, please visit aljpconsulting.com

The Flea Presents a Staged Reading of Yale Drama Series Prize Winner BATHHOUSE.PPTX

THE FLEA in association with the YALE DRAMA PRIZE

THE FLEA
IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE
YALE DRAMA SERIES
TO PRESENT A STAGED READING AND
PRESENTATION OF THE YALE DRAMA SERIES PRIZE TO
BATHHOUSE.PPTX
BY JESÚS VALLES
DIRECTED BY CHAY YEW

TAKING PLACE MONDAY, OCTOBER 30 AT 3:00 PM
AT THE FLEA

New York, NY (October 19, 2023)

The Flea in association with the Yale Drama Series is presenting a staged reading of BATHHOUSE.PPTX by Jesús Valles. BATHHOUSE.PPTX was selected as the 2023 recipient of the Yale Drama Series Prize judged by Jeremy O. Harris, and it is the first recipient of The Flea’s production commission program, an open call program that provides a finishing commission and full production to an experimental new work by a Black, brown or queer artist.

BATHHOUSE.PPTX is an epic new play following The Presenter, a “young,” queer, Mexican-American public-speaking student, who is thrust into the landscapes of queer intimacy, colonialism and communal spaces for pleasure when his presentation on the history of cleanliness and bathing starts to burst at the seams with the ghosts of a bathhouse at the end of the world including A Conquistador! Wearing One of Those Hats!, A Very Real Twink, and even the appearance of Laura Linney. Valles describes it as, “A group project for perverts. Somewhere between lecture, re-enactment, and cruising ground. A meditation on queer longing, queer grief, and all our queer worlds that will come to pass, that will come to be.”

The reading at The Flea (20 Thomas Street), staged by Chay Yew, will take place on Monday, October 30 at 3:00 PM and is free and open to the public by RSVP only.

The Flea’s Executive Artistic Director, Niegel Smith says, “Every so often you come across a play that is epic in scale, written with delicious language and yet deeply personal, with characters that seize you as they careen toward their desires. Jesús’ play grabbed the attention of the entire Flea staff. As soon as we read it, we knew we had to bring it to production!”

“This is one of the most exciting speculative fictions I’ve encountered in years, using a unique dramaturgy to explore a queer history that is quickly being erased,” said Jeremy O. Harris. “It brought to mind the works of many heroes like Samuel Delany, Martin Crimp, and Kathy Acker.”

To view photos of all lead artists click here.

Learn more at www.theflea.org.

The Flea was refounded in 2021 with the mission to support and invest in experimental art by Black, brown, and queer artists. The Flea provides space, financial support, producing partnership and other resources so that they may develop and share their vision in community with audiences.

A targeted incident at The Flea

Dear Flea Community,

The week of July 10th, a targeted act of homophobia took place when a person unfamiliar with The Flea smashed the screens on the front of our building after threatening a staff member to take them down. This individual explicitly expressed homophobic views and attempted to destroy content that celebrated the diverse expressions of love and identity within our artistic community which were displayed as part of our fundraising campaign titled ”Support the Hub. Fund the culture.”

While we are deeply saddened and disturbed by this act of violence and hatred, we are not deterred. As anti-queer sentiments continue to be bolstered, it is imperative that our home on Thomas Street remain a place where staff can collaborate, where artists can experiment boldly, and audiences can see themselves reflected and celebrated in our work. Since the incident, a police report has been filed and there is currently an open investigation. We are also connecting with local community outreach organizations to ensure a path forward in line with our values. Additionally, the staff and board are collectively working together to address this specific situation, everyone’s individual needs, safety protocol & training, and our responsibility to our community.

Although this incident has been deeply upsetting, it has only reinforced our resolve to support and invest in experimental art by Black, brown, and queer artists. Our mission remains clear: to create a culture where artists and audiences can commune, express themselves freely, and live in their truth without fear. We will always continue to provide space, financial support, producing partnerships, and other resources to help these artists develop and share their vision with our beloved community.

We know that while we do our best to cultivate a safe space for our community, rising vitriol towards the LGBTQIA+ community continues to fuel targeted violence and hate crimes carried out by hateful individuals, even at our front door. In the coming days, we will be sharing a compiled list of resources with our staff, artists, and audiences to use as needed.

In the strength of community,

The Flea Staff

Our mission

The Flea was refounded in 2021 with the mission to support and invest in experimental art by Black, brown, and queer artists. The Flea provides space, financial support, producing partnership, and other resources so that they may develop and share their vision in community with audiences.

We work to create a culture where Black, brown and queer artists and their audiences can commune, create art on their own terms and live in their full expression and cultural truths. We will support work that is not strictly defined by traditional designations like “off-off-Broadway” or “theater”. While we are a NYC based company, we encourage artists to be unbound by geography or physical buildings. We also create opportunities for audiences to deepen their knowledge, practice and interest in experimental art by Black, brown and queer artists

The Flea Theater seeks a visionary and collaborative leader to execute the NYC based company’s vision and operating model as Executive Director.

About The Flea Theater

Mission

We support and invest in experimental art by Black, brown, and queer artists. We provide space, financial support, producing partnership and other resources so that they may develop and share their vision in community with audiences.

Mission Amplifier

We work to create a culture where Black, brown and queer artists and their audiences can commune, create art on their own terms and live in their full expression and cultural truths. We will support work that is not strictly defined by traditional designations like “off-off-Broadway” or “theater”. While we are a NYC based company, we encourage artists to be unbound by geography or physical buildings. We also create opportunities for audiences to deepen their knowledge, practice and interest in experimental art by Black, brown and queer artists

 

Core Values

Human centered

We invest in people before things. We recognize that people are at the core of our work and will create opportunities that are equitable, fair and promote open access. When making decisions, we will consider everyone’s humanity, unique life experiences and circumstances.

Anti-racism & Anti-oppression

We actively work to dismantle structures that reinforce systemic racism and we replace them with structures that empower all of our community members and stakeholders. We are pro-Black, pro-brown, pro-woman/femme and pro-queer, at a minimum. We acknowledge this list is not exhaustive, and embrace the multitude of ever-evolving identities and intersections.

Collaboration

We work together and we are not siloed. We value when artists, staff and stakeholders participate in the development of the organization. We invite heterogeneity and differences of opinion.

Innovation

We believe in pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo, on stages and in our operations.

Sustainability

We are accountable for our impact on the environment. We will do our part to sustain our planet for future generations.

Transparency

We communicate clearly and don’t speak in coded language. We are honest about what we can and cannot provide, and about how resources are divided. We invite our community to hold us accountable to our expressed values and mission.

Who’s who on The Flea Team

Niegel Smith, Executive Artistic Director, is a Bessie Award winning theater director and performance artist. His work for the stage has been produced at The Alley Theater, The Barbican, Classical Theatre of Harlem, The Flea Theater, The Goodman Theatre, HERE Arts Center, Hip Hop Theatre Festival, The Invisible Dog, Luna Stage, The Melbourne Festival, Magic Theatre, Mixed Blood, New York Fringe Festival, New York Live Arts, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, Playwrights Horizons, Pomegranate Arts, The Public Theater, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Summer Play Festival, Todd Theatre and Under the Radar, and his participatory walks and performances have been produced by Abrons Arts Center, American Realness, Dartmouth College, Elastic City, The Invisible Dog, Jack, The New Museum, Prelude Festival, PS 122, the Van Alen Institute and Visual AIDS.

In the spirit of two fisted political singer songwriters such as Nina Simone and Joni Mitchell, Nona Hendryx, Board Co-Chair tackles social issues, love and politics with a smoky vocal tessitura somewhere between funk and the end of the stratosphere. Hendryx’s legendary career spans six decades of sound and style evolution. Fans know her as a founding member of the girl group, Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles (with Sarah Dash, Cindy Birdsong and Patti LaBelle) known as “the Sweethearts of the Apollo Theatre” and inducted into the R&B Hall of Fame in 1999. In the 70s, the group morphed into the Rock & Funk Glam Diva’s ‘Labelle’ with the #1 record, Lady Marmalade.  Nona Hendryx emerged as the chief songwriter of the group’s socially conscious and illuminating message songs. An activist and vocal supporter for women’s rights, social, political and criminal justice.  Helping to raise funds and awareness of HIV/AIDS from the outbreak of the epidemic and still involved today.  Dreaming of being an educator because of her English Teacher and mentor Mrs. Lottie Dinkins, Nona worked with education organizations supporting women in prison, a school in Chicago founded by Monica Haslip, Little Black Pearl, taught Stage Craft at The Clive Davis Recording Academy and founded in 2016 her own Non Profit, SisterSMATR.org to bridge the gap in Science, Math, Art, Technology and Robotics for young women of color.

Tony Tramontin, Board Co-Chair, is the Chief of Operations and Strategy at Holmusk; a healthcare company working to help patients who live with poor mental health. Before Holmusk, Tony was the Chief Scientific Officer at Axcella Health, a Boston biotechnology company focused on metabolic modulation. Prior to Axcella, Tony was a Partner in McKinsey & Company’s Global Healthcare Practice.

For more information about our staff and board, please this webpage.

Who are we looking for?

We are seeking someone who is excited about envisioning and actualizing innovative models and methods to support our new mission, who is excited to work in deep collaboration with our staff, board, artists, and community, and who is deeply committed to the advancement of black, brown, and queer people. This person should work in an entrepreneurial way, suited to the daily operations of a small organization. The Flea Theater is excited to welcome candidates with a diverse array of backgrounds and skills, and we are excited to invest in your growth and professional development.

While not all required, we encourage candidates to apply who have the following:

  • Experience with human-centered and collaborative leadership
  • A foundation in people-centered institutions, particularly in the arts, humanities and/or cultural sectors
  • Experience leading an innovative or “turnaround” cultural institution
  • Success developing and executing major fundraising strategies through all funding segments – individuals, foundations, corporations, and government
  • Financial management acumen in budget design and implementation, accounting, and regulatory controls and reporting
  • Expertise in developing and implementing a strategic plan that aligns with the mission and combines internal expertise with external resources and support
  • Political savvy and comfort with broad-based constituencies including artists, legislators, business and community leaders, and others of influence; the ability to generate excitement that leads to buy-in from diverse sectors
  • Outstanding oral and written communications, and negotiation skills
  • Entrepreneurial experience and/or work in a start-up environment
  • Familiarity with the historical and contemporary work of black, brown and queer artists

What will you do?

In full partnership with the Artistic Director, Board of Directors and staff, The Executive Director will help resource and operationalize The Flea’s mission as it continues to deepen the impact of its new vision and focus.

Areas of Responsibility

Fundraising:

  • Serve as chief advancement officer managing an existing grants writer and community development assistant
  • Build and manage development infrastructure and fundraising capacity
  • Design and lead fundraising strategies in collaboration with the Board of Directors, staff, and consultants
  • In partnership with the Artistic Director, cultivate and steward relationships with funders and key individual donors
  • Expand, contributed revenue streams, especially grants and individual donors
  • Lead upcoming Capital Campaign

Organizational Infrastructure & Business Administrative Management:

  • Serve as chief financial officer and chief operations officer, working in collaboration with the General Manager
  • Build, lead and continually develop a committed team with the expertise and networks to opportunistically realize artistic and operating goals and efficiencies
  • Ensure organizational financial sustainability through financing operations and programs and strong financial management

Marketing, Communications, Branding:

  • Serve as chief marketing officer managing a marketing consultant, social media and marketing associate and a graphic design consultant.
  • Build and manage marketing, messaging, communications, and branding infrastructure and capacity
  • Design and lead marketing, messaging, communications and branding strategies in collaboration with the Board of Directors, staff, and consultants
  • Lead rebranding efforts
  • Identify, develop,  and pursue new earned income opportunities (ticket sales, rentals, etc.), including leveraging nontraditional opportunities

Cultural Leadership:

  • With Artistic Director:
    • co-lead the execution of the Mission, Vision and Strategies of The Flea.
    • deepen and expand services to black, brown, and queer communities (hub for activism, professional development, community parties, etc.)
    • develop mission aligned and sustainable programming model
  • Build and manage operations (HR, finance, facilities, IT) infrastructure and capacity
  • Foster generative relationships with the Board of Directors via productive communications and responsiveness to issues affecting The Flea’s strategic direction, governance, and operating health
  • Identify and cultivate new Board members whose talents and resources will advance the Flea’s mission and artistic development
  • Lead strategic planning process

How much are we paying?

Annual Salary: $95,000 – $110,000

Benefits:

  • You will be entitled to participate in The Flea’s health and dental insurance plans, with eligibility upon date of hire.
  • At The Flea, we take pride in our employees’ incredible work ethic, and we want to reward and recognize that by offering an unlimited vacation policy. Instead of a traditional vacation or sick day policy, you can request time off as you see fit. No vacation days will accrue, no time off will expire, and you won’t see any mention of vacation time on your pay stubs.
  • Professional development support will be provided during your first year on the job, including trainings, continuing education and workshops.

Start Date:

October 2023

How do I apply?

Visit aljpconsulting.com/apply-for-jobs to submit your application. Application deadline is Saturday, July 15, 2023 by 5 pm PST/5 PM MST/6 PM CST/7 PM EST.

EEO Commitment

Equal employment opportunity and an inclusive and representative staff are fundamental at The Flea Theater. Our employment and promotional opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/preference, political position, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as established under law.

The Flea to Launch New Leadership Model & Community Building Projects With $1.2M Grant From The Mellon Foundation

The theater’s mission is to support and invest in experimental art by Black, brown and queer artists.

The Flea has announced The Mellon Foundation has become a new funding partner supporting the theater’s mission to support and invest in experimental art by Black, brown and queer artists. The Mellon Foundation has gifted The Flea a $1.2M grant to be dispersed over 36 months to support the launch of a new shared leadership structure with resident theater makers and the establishment of a new community building project.

As The Flea continues to embody its new mission it is simultaneously building its capacity to serve a community of artists and audiences with productions, residencies, commissions and community programs to enhance and uplift experimental art by Black, brown and queer artists. Since its refounding in 2021, The Flea has added resident artists and community members to its Board, hired critical new staff positions and supported over 150 artists, as well as offering capacity building support for Resident Companies, renters and community organizations. The support from The Mellon Foundation will ensure The Flea’s ability to continue building out its operations and filling key staff positions in partnership with its Resident Companies and key community partners.

“This is an incredible investment in our organization and points to the deep work we’ve done over the last two years to center Black, brown and queer artists and their communities and audiences. We are grateful to Emil Kang, Program Director for Arts and Culture, and Isabel Quinzaños Alonso, Program Associate, for being fierce advocates and unwavering partners during this process. This investment will stabilize our operations and afford us the time and resources to grow a unique operational model that embodies our mission and values,” said Niegel Smith, Artistic Director of The Flea.

As The Flea prepares for their 2023 season which includes two world premieres, Hang Time, written and directed by Pulitzer finalist, Zora Howard and cheeky little brown, written and starring, Nkenna Akunna, its annual Juneteenth commissions, performances from its resident companies, The Fled and Emerge 125 and its annual house party, The Flea is grateful for funding partners who continue to invest their time and financial support in its vision.

For all information, please visit www.theflea.org.

ABOUT THE FLEA
The Flea Theater is a prolific NYC-based company founded in 1996 by three downtown artists who set out to “raise a joyful hell in a small space.” In 2021, The Flea refounded itself with a new mission and core values through collaborative efforts with CJAM. Our new operational model exemplifies our investment in artists and social equity and embraces our experimental, downtown NYC artistic heritage.

Our work with CJAM included a restorative partnership design process with The Flea’s former resident artists; DEI training for our Board of Directors, Executive Leadership and Board development; and a visioning process that helped to collaboratively design The Flea’s new organizational model and mission. The Flea’s new mission is: To invest in experimental art by Black, Brown, and queer folks. We provide space, financial support and producing partnership so that they may develop and share their vision in community with audiences.

The Flea is committed to programs and operations that are Human Centered; Anti-Racist & Anti-Oppressive; Collaborative; Innovative; Sustainable; and Transparent.

The Flea has produced more than 160 world premieres in its 25-year history, earning many awards including two Obies and a Special Drama Desk. Previous Flea productions that have become part of the theatrical canon include Ellen McLaughlin’s The Trojan Women, Will Eno’s Oh, the Humanity, Thomas Bradshaw’s Fulfillment, Edward Iskandar’s The Mysteries and NSangou Njikam’s Syncing Ink.

Learn more about The Flea and Flea Leadership at https://theflea.org/about/leadership/

The Flea Announces their 2nd Season

THE FLEA
ANNOUNCES 2ND SEASON
UNDER NEW MISSION, VISION & MOVEMENT, CENTERING BLACK, BROWN & QUEER ARTISTS

SPRING 2023
THE FLEA PARTNERS WITH PLAYWRIGHT + PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST
ZORA HOWARD
& WACO (WHERE ART CAN OCCUR) THEATER TO PRODUCE
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
HANG TIME, WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY ZORA HOWARD

JUNE 2023
THE FLEA PARTNERS WITH
5 BLACK PERFORMANCE ARTISTS
TO BRING DISTINCT, ENGAGING, AND FREE
JUNETEENTH PERFORMANCES INTO THE STREETS OF NYC

FALL 2023
THE FLEA PARTNERS WITH PLAYWRIGHT NKENNA AKUNNA TO PRODUCE
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
CHEEKY LITTLE BROWN WRITTEN & STARRING NKENNA AKUNNA

FALL 2023
THE FLEA HOSTS ITS 3RD ANNUAL HOUSE PARTY
CELEBRATING ITS MISSION TO SUPPORT
EXPERIMENTAL ART BY BLACK, BROWN AND QUEER ARTISTS

THE FLED AND EMERGE125
RETURN AS RESIDENT COMPANIES

New York, NY (November 17, 2022) The Flea announced today its 2023 season featuring the world-premiere new play HANG TIME, by Zora Howard in her directorial debut, its annual Juneteenth Performance Commissions featuring new works and a symposium by five Black artists, the world premiere play with original music cheeky little brown, written and starring Nkenna Akunna in her New York City debut, and closing it all out with a shebang with their 3rd Annual House Party celebrating experimental art by Black, brown and queer artists at The Flea’s home at 20 Thomas St. Throughout the season, The Flea also welcomes back missioned aligned companies in theater and dance, The Fled and Emerge125 who are Resident Companies at The Flea receiving space and producing support for their seasons.

In line with The Flea’s radical new operating model, all of these works have been developed in partnership with the lead artists as co-producer on all elements of their productions, including budget partnership.

“This season showcases the bold, wide ranging works of Black, brown and queer artists who are taking impressive leaps in their disciplines. They uniquely capture the joy, concerns and an expansive vision of intersectional identities. Their artistry is why The Flea exists, why the community and staff show up every day, and I am thrilled to invite everyone to experience these works at our theater and throughout our great city,” said Niegel Smith, The Flea’s Artistic Director.

2023 World Premieres

HANG TIME
Three men chew the fat under an old, wide tree. In HANG TIME, we peek into the interiority – the great loves and bitter blues – of Black men in America. Setting the romantic and the macabre in sharp relief, HANG TIME invites the viewer to envisage the living Black body triumphant over the legacy of violence that it holds.

HANG TIME has been haunting me for years. When I first shared the work and my intention to direct with Niegel and Martin at the Flea, I was met with not only enthusiasm but also a commitment to center my vision for its production. In the months following our initial conversation, that commitment has only deepened. I am thrilled to be embarking on this journey with the Flea to finally bring HANG TIME to life.” – Zora Howard, writer & director

HANG TIME is produced in partnership with WACO (Where Art Can Occur) Theater Center and will have its world-premiere at The Flea in Spring 2023, followed by a 2024 west coast premiere in Los Angeles.

cheeky little brown
In cheeky little brown audiences stumble upon Lady, an equal parts messy and determined charmer in the midst of crashing (and lowkey ruining) her best friend Gemma’s birthday party in London. Nothing goes as planned and audiences get a front-row seat to Lady’s desperate antics. Pain, distress, introspection, pigeons, and a whole lot of Doner meat — this coming of age story with original songs by playwright and star Nkenna Akunna, examines the complicated devastation of a friendship break up between two queer Black women with diverging journeys toward self-love and acceptance.

Fresh out of Brown’s MFA in Playwriting program, this work will mark Akunna’s NYC debut. The world-premiere is slated for The Flea in Fall 2023.

“This will be my first full production so I’m excited, nervous, and grateful for the massive opportunity. Niegel and Martin have been welcoming and deliberate in championing my work so far. I want to work with collaborators who listen to and respect my voice, and I believe I’ve found that in The Flea. I’m looking forward to this journey and to us building an environment for the work and all its collaborators to thrive.” –Nkenna Akunna, writer and star, cheeky little brown

Commissions

The Flea will commission five artists to devise and stage public performances in celebration of Juneteenth. These artists all have full autonomy over artistic vision and their budgets. These works will occur simultaneously across NYC and Fire Island from June 12-19. 2022’s artists included Ebony Noelle Golden, James Scruggs, Paris L’Hommie, Chanon Judson, and acclaimed artist, scholar, and ritual-maker Nia O. Witherspoon.

“The Flea Juneteenth Commission provided invaluable time for me to make with creative freedom and communal accountability. The breadth and support of this commission made space for my artistic rigor, risk, ambition, and embraced my vulnerability and desire to discover.

Additionally, the commissioning support allowed me to deepen my partnership with the Haiti Cultural Exchange, my neighbors at the Rogers Tilden Community Garden, and to build new relationships with Artist / Production collaborators and with equitable financial support of artists.” said Chanon Judson, choreographer, dancer and Artistic Director of Urban Bush Women.

Annual House Party

The Flea Theater is proud to host its 3rd Annual House Party, a dance til you death drop party taking over all three floors of their Tribeca home and celebrating The Flea’s vision for the future of experimental art created by Black, Brown and queer artists. Guests will be greeted with immersive performances all over our three story performing arts complex with dance, music, drag, theater, visual arts and DJing from incredible Black brown and queer artists in The Flea community. This is a party like no other – a get down affair true to the aesthetic highs of all Flea events.

“Out of the ashes of the pandemic and racial reckoning the Flea is definitely ‘Blooming’, seeking out, uncovering and nourishing new artists and works. Another ‘only at the Flea‘ accomplishment was putting fun back into ‘fun(d)raising’ with our non-stop House Party filled with performances on every floor! ” said Nona Hendryx, Rock Goddess and Flea Board Chair.

Resident Companies Program

The Flea is also proud to welcome back its resident companies for another year of compelling new art.

The Fled Collective will return for its second year as the Key Resident Company beginning, marking the continuation of partnership and further restoration of this relationship with the newly formed collective. The inaugural residency is a reparative grant and partnership offered to a nascent company that centers Black, brown and queer artists. The artist collective will function as an autonomous company and receives $10,000 unrestricted cash support each year, $50,000 space rental credits each year, in addition to production and marketing support and resources to develop their new projects.

The renowned modern dance troupe EMERGE125 a Black woman-led organization, returns as a resident company a multi-year residency offering itinerant and mission-aligned artistic companies the ability to leverage The Flea’s in-house support system—creative, technical, and producing—to further their artistic reach.

“The Flea has been my artistic home in the city with Niegel [Smith] and his team supporting me, both personally and professionally. When I think of what presenter/artist relationships should look like, The Flea immediately comes to mind,” said EMERGE125 Artistic Director, Tiffany Rea-Fisher. “To have the added security to know that we will be a resident company at The Flea for the next two years is an absolute gift. Having another arts organization trust and invest in you in that way, especially now, will definitely change my artistic trajectory for the better, and I am truly grateful.”


To view photos of all lead artists (headshots and performance photos) as well as Flea logo, please click here.

The Flea was refounded in 2021 with the mission to support and invest in experimental art by Black, brown, and queer artists. The Flea provides space, financial support, producing partnership and other resources so that they may develop and share their vision in community with audiences.

About the Flea

The Flea Theater is a prolific NYC-based company founded in 1996 by three downtown artists. In 2021, The Flea refounded itself with a new mission and core values through collaborative efforts with CJAM. Our new operational model exemplifies our investment in artists and social equity and embraces our experimental, downtown NYC artistic heritage.

Our work with CJAM included a restorative partnership design process with 13 of The Flea’s former resident artists; DEI training for our Board of Directors, Executive Leadership and Board development; and a visioning process that helped to collaboratively design The Flea’s new organizational model and mission. The Flea’s new mission is: To invest in experimental art by Black, Brown, and queer folks. We provide space, financial support and producing partnership so that they may develop and share their vision in community with audiences.

The Flea is committed to programs and and operations that are Human centered; Anti-Racist & Anti-oppressive; Collaborative; Innovative; Sustainable; and Transparent.
The Flea has produced more than 160 world premieres in its 25-year history, earning many awards including two Obies and a Special Drama Desk. Previous Flea productions that have become part of the theatrical canon include Ellen McLaughlin’s The Trojan Women, Will Eno’s Oh, the Humanity, Thomas Bradshaw’s Fulfillment, Edward Iskandar’s The Mysteries and NSangou Njikam’s Syncing Ink.

The Flea Receives New Funding

THE FLEA RECEIVES NEW FUNDING SUPPORT FROM
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS
General Support Funds To Build Capacity

NEW YORK, NY (Thursday, November 17, 2022) – The Flea is proud to announce that Open Society Foundations has become a new funding partner supporting the theater’s renewed mission to uplift and nurture the Black, Brown and queer artists. In October 2022, the Open Society Foundation granted The Flea $100K grant to support general operating expenses at the organization as it continues to build capacity since its relaunch in fall of 2021.

“We are excited and grateful for the opportunity to cultivate new funding partners like Open Society Foundations during this critical moment in the organization’s development. General capacity support allows for our team to collectively decide on the capacity priorities that will allow the organization to build, grow and become sustainable. – Renee K. Smith, Interim Executive Director

The Flea is dedicated to nurturing safe spaces for Black, Brown and queer artists to experiment, create and house dynamic works and with this funding from the Open Society Foundations, The Flea will continue to build on the momentum of its inaugural season that cultivates spaces for Black, brown and queer creatives and their audiences to connect. As they prepare for their 2023 season which includes two world premieres, HANG TIME, written and directed by Pulitzer finalist, Zora Howard and cheeky little brown, written and starring, Nkenna Akunna, its annual Juneteenth commissions featuring five artists showcasing work across the city, performances from its resident companies, The Fled and Emerge 125 and its annual house party, The Flea is grateful for funding partners who continue to invest their time and financial support in its vision.

About The Flea:
The Flea Theater is a prolific NYC-based company founded in 1996 by three downtown artists who set out to “raise a joyful hell in a small space.” In 2021, The Flea refounded itself with a new mission and core values through collaborative efforts with CJAM. Our new operational model exemplifies our investment in artists and social equity and embraces our experimental, downtown NYC artistic heritage.

Our work with CJAM included a restorative partnership design process with 13 of The Flea’s former resident artists; DEI training for our Board of Directors, Executive Leadership and Board development; and a visioning process that helped to collaboratively design The Flea’s new organizational model and mission. The Flea’s new mission is: To invest in experimental art by Black, Brown, and queer folks. We provide space, financial support and producing partnership so that they may develop and share their vision in community with audiences.

The Flea is committed to programs and and operations that are Human centered; Anti-Racist & Anti-oppressive; Collaborative; Innovative; Sustainable; and Transparent.

The Flea has produced more than 160 world premieres in its 25-year history, earning many awards including two Obies and a Special Drama Desk. Previous Flea productions that have become part of the theatrical canon include Ellen McLaughlin’s The Trojan Women, Will Eno’s Oh, the Humanity, Thomas Bradshaw’s Fulfillment, Edward Iskandar’s The Mysteries and NSangou Njikam’s Syncing Ink.

Learn more about The Flea and Flea Leadership at https://theflea.org/about/leadership/

DANCE NEWS: The Flea Theater Celebrates A New Vision Centering on BIPOC and Queer Artists This September 29th

Read the full article here.

The Flea Theater is proud to present its 2nd Annual House Party entitled Blooming: A Flea Shindiggity, a coming out celebration, presenting to the world a new found vision for the future of experimental art created by Black, Brown and queer artists. After navigating an awesome challenge of reimagining a justice forward organization, truly dedicated to the liberation and equality of systematically oppressed artists, The Flea is refocused and rejuvenated with a clear new mission, vision and operating model to achieve a more equitable world through the arts.

“I am really excited to join a team that is intentionally working to create a space for Black, Brown and queer creatives to be safe, to create and to share with the world authentically and unfiltered,” says Interim Executive Director Renee K. Smith. “This work allows for those who have been marginalized or othered to feel at home in a central space. The Flea is that space and a key resource for these artists. It is our goal to transform the theater into a multidisciplinary arts hub where the community can come and share, grow and be together.”

Blooming anew is a transformative process that challenges, molds and eventually rebirths. The Flea is excited to present to the world a cohort of revolutionary artists that are creating works, which in many ways, respond to our society’s longing for an evolved human consciousness. As they navigate their fractured realities and bounce between worlds imagined, they will challenge audiences to sojourn to new realms where constructs of culture, race and gender become muted relics of a painful past.

“The Flea will be teeming with talent and expression at this year’s House Party,” says Artistic Director, Nigel Smith. “Guests will be greeted with immersive performances all over our three story performing arts complex with deeply resonant dance, singing, drag performances, acting, painting and DJing from incredible Black and queer artists in The Flea community. This is a party like no other – a get down shindiggity true to the aesthetic highs of all Flea events. I can’t wait to turn a look and celebrate with everyone in attendance.”

Blooming: A Flea Shindiggity will be supported by Flea Champion and Tony Award winner, LaChanze. Attendees will enjoy multidisciplinary art experiences from Jack Fuller, Mur, Paris L’Hommie, Chanon Judson – Artistic Director of Urban Bush Women, James Scruggs, Zora Howard, O’Neil Scott, Nickolas Vaughn, Yonatan Gebeyehu, Amara Granderson and renowned artist The Flea’s very own Board co-chair Nona Hendryx.

The party will feature the sounds curated by DJ Jon Ali, open bar and classic Jamaican cuisine from Miss Lily’s, silent and live bidding and dancing.