Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Under the Radar Festival

Hello,

I am producing an artist symposium called Devoted and Disgruntled (D&D) for Under the Radar Festival 2010 and it'd be great if you can
pass this invitation to the artists in relation to your organization.

Many thanks for your help, and Happy Holidays!!!
Jimena Duca
D&D Event Producer
Under the Radar 2010

D&D - NYC
Improbable is bringing Devoted and Disgruntled to New York.

Do you love theatre?


Do you find it frustrating?

Do you wish it were different?

Do you feel like an outsider in your own profession?

Do you want to help change things for the better?

Have you just started out and need support?

Have you been in the profession for years and feel jaded?

Is your sector always left out of the discussions?

Are you looking for a sense of: community, eldership, mentorship?

Are you looking to change things?

DEVOTED AND DISGRUNTLED NEW YORK: What are we doing about theatre?

Dear Theater Colleague,

Five years ago, in London, I sent out the first invitation to a “Devoted & Disgruntled” event. My aim was to bring people together in
Open Space to explore the question – “What are we going to do about theatre?”. I’d become aware that, passionate as I was about theatre,
I found myself frustrated at how we made it, how we communicated with each other and how little the existing structures supported us to
feel part of a genuine community. Since that first invitation to others who were devoted and disgruntled, D&D has become one of UK theatre’s most extraordinary
annual events.

From each of the four D&Ds we’ve held in London have come an amazing number of projects and initiatives. Some of them very tangible,
others, equally important, are more subtle and tangential. Whatever they are, from new theatre companies to individual projects, from
pressure groups to artist salons, D&D has helped bring them to fruition. Perhaps most importantly for me has been the gradual and
growing sense of community; I was astonished by the number of people who turned out for the first D&D and I continue to be enthralled and
exhilarated by the energy unleashed at each succeeding event.

Now we’re bringing Devoted and Disgruntled to the United States. This is something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I am
particularly excited to be bringing it to New York, a city that has been an important part of the journey of our work over many years.
We’ve done lots of different shows in New York from playing 70 Hill Lane at PS122 to Shockheaded Peter (Off Broadway), Spirit at the New
York Theatre Workshop
, Hanging Man at BAM, Satyagraha at the Met and I’m currently co directing and designing The

Addams Family musical on Broadway with Julian Crouch (Co-Artistic Director of Improbable with Lee Simpson). Consequently we have a
connection with an extraordinary cross section of the theatre and performance community and as these connections have grown and widened
I have felt a strong desire to facilitate a similar event in New York to the D&D’s that have been so enriching in London.

People who’ve experienced the event in the UK have been hungry for us to make it happen here for some time. Now at last the opportunity has
arrived with Mark Russell and Under The Radar Festival supporting it at Church of St Paul the Apostle, 405 W 59th St (Entrance on 60th St
and Columbus Ave).

So this is your chance to come and work in Open Space on the issues that you care about and want to take responsibility for, things you
want to change, to question, to celebrate, to discuss, to dream up. If there are things you are passionate about or things you are pissed
about, projects or proposals you need support on, or if you want to connect with your community, all are possible because in Open Space
you set the agenda.

This is an opportunity for us to exchange and learn from one another. Money and funding issues are especially challenging at present and so
the way that we make work is something that requires us to be creative, to explore our collective resources and intelligence.
Nothing is off limits.

If you feel like this event might not be for you then that is a sure sign we need your input. If you feel that the issues that affect
you or your sector never get discussed so what’s the point of turning up? This is the event for you!

It’s important that there’s a diverse cross section of people at the event not just one sector of the theatre community. So whether you
are off Off-Broadway, Off-Broadway, Broadway, Funded, Self-supporting, downtown, uptown, from outside or inside New York if you
feel passionate about theatre make sure you come. Everyone is welcome.

Come to our first D&D in New York – Be prepared to be surprised by what you find.

Phelim McDermott
Improbable
www.improbable.co.uk

For further information on Open Space: www.openspaceworld.org

HOW TO BOOK

2 Day Pass: $30 at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/89915

Church of St Paul the Apostle
405 W 59th St (Entrance on 60th St and Columbus Ave)

January 16 Saturday 10-6pm
January 17 Sunday 1-8pm

D&D @ NYC is presented by Under The Radar, a festival of new adventurous and contemporary productions from around the world. Jan 6-17, 2010. www.undertheradarfestival.com
Under The Radar Festival 2010 is a program of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Annual Members
Conference, with major funding by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Ford Foundation. The Festival is
produced by Mark Russell and The Public Theater.
www.undertheradarfestival.com.

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