The Flea Theater has been on my radar for
innovative and groundbreaking waves in theatre practices since 2012 when I was
in Sean Graney’s These Seven Sicknesses
directed by Ed Iskandar (Big Fan! Drama Desk Nominated for this project and a
pretty stellar person) Jim Simpson, the artistic director at the time and
husband to Sigourney Weaver (See what I did there, lovely feminists!), along
with their innovative artistic and design teams, have opened up the world of
theatre in a way I would not have imagined previous to my exposure to the Flea
and the Bats, their resident acting company.
Many up-and coming actors knew
that this place was a place to make magic and to grow wings to bigger things.
And the city new too, poor and rich alike:
Despite its tiny capacity, more than 17,000 adventurous New
Yorkers make their way to The Flea each year. Because of the huge variety, the
Flea draws students, uptown residents, downtown enthusiasts—in short, as
diverse a group in age, interests, and ethnicity as lives in the city itself. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flea_Theater)
In addition to the non-equity Bats, there was
an entire season of equity shows and projects hosted in their spaces. They were
the first theatre I had experienced that had a QR program to save cost/waste
and to offer a certain number of free tickets if you emailed quickly enough to
get one (They’ve gone to significantly discounted tickets, but still a great
deal). The economy in 2012 was such that non-equity houses were falling faster
than anyone wanted to see and The Flea had just purchased an additional
building to add three new performance spaces for future expansion of offerings.
At the time, I didn’t think much of scope of what they were building, but your
question made me wonder if it had expanded since then.
Sure enough, I found a few new things
monetarily based, others culturally diverse, and all worth sharing.
A small amount of tickets are
sold at $15. Once sold, the prices go up incrementally depending on when you
buy them, and all seats are general admission so getting there early gets you a
better seat. All these rules bend when you buy a VIP ticket for significantly
more. This way, more theatre goers get seats, showing up early is rewarded, and
still those theater-goers who want a specific guaranteed seat, they can pay
considerably more for it.
2)
They
partner on projects with members and the full company of Epic Players, a neuro-inclusive theatre company https://www.epicplayersnyc.org/our-story
Classes are offered to the
public for $15 per class and actors who audition and are accepted into the
company can attend Epic Players classes for free. These classes hone skills in
On-Camera, Musical Theatre, Finding Your Narative, and EPIC plays community
ensemble. https://www.epicplayersnyc.org/classes-1
3)
“Come raise a joyful hell with us!” Perhaps this is common now and I missed the
8-ball, but their donations page takes old school giving rewarded with a name
in a program (that will most likely get thrown away before the night is
through), and mashed it up with a GoFundMe page to make giving more rewarding,
interactive and fun. http://theflea.org/for-audiences/support/
4)
New York Deaf Theatre will present MAPLE & VINE May 11-27, 2018, using a combination of
American Sign Language, spoken English, and English Captioning. The cast and
production team features a diverse group of Deaf and hearing artists. http://theflea.org/shows/nydt-maple-vine/
5)
“Just
a decade ago New York City boasted over 100 viable spaces for small companies
to produce their work – now there are less than 25. Anchor Partners is our response.” http://theflea.org/for-artists/anchor-partners/
I’ll close with: If you are
in NYC and have a minute, go hit Tribeca for a show at the Flea and then hit
South’s around the corner for a great drink and some killer nacho’s (and a
possible conversation with a star).
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