Welcome to the NYTW Blog—a resource for behind-the-scenes insights on our productions, share-outs from the classroom penned by teaching artists, community partner spotlights, and a peek behind the curtain to see how work gets made at NYTW.

Rediscovering Sanctuary City

On March 11, 2020, Sanctuary City unknowingly played its final performance to audiences. The next day Broadway theatres (and NYTW) announced a shutdown in response to the rising transmission rates of the coronavirus in NYC. Sanctuary City was in previews for only a week before the closure, which was originally planned for 30 days, but extended nearly 18 months. Over that period, the set and lights remained intact at the Lucille Lortel Theater and the company stayed in contact, eager to return to the play.  On September 8, 2020, the cast and crew performed the play for the first time to a live audience since the closure.

September 20, 2021 by Aaron Malkin, NYTW Literary Director and Dramaturg


REST IS RADICAL

Star of SEMBLANCE Nikiya Mathis pens a Career Dispatch where she digs into her experience during the pandemic and why rest is not a luxury, but a critical part of the revolution.

August 6, 2021 by By Nikiya Mathis for BACKSTAGE


ONE WEEK MORE!

In less than one week, we will welcome audiences back to East 4th Street for the first time in over 500 days, and as writer/director Whitney White says, “It’s not gonna look like anything you’ve seen before!” Whitney and star of SEMBLANCE Nikiya Mathis sit down with Rebecca Ibarra to chat about the filmed theatrical presentation that begins our 2021/22 season.

July 28, 2021 by Rebecca Ibara for WNYC


SEASON(S) PREVIEW

NYTW Literary Director and Dramaturg Aaron Malkin sits down with WNYC’s Rebecca Ibarra  to chat about the 2021/22 & 2022/23 seasons!

July 21, 2021 by Rebecca Ibara for WNYC


Announcing the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons!

We’re proud to announce the complete 2021/22 Season as well as initial work for the 2022/23 Season!

“As we considered our return to live performance, we realized that in addition to the interrupted commitments we’d made, the artists in our community had not stopped creating—there was even more work that demanded our attention,” said Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director Jeremy Blocker.

June 7, 2021 by NYTW



TBT: Inside the Auntie Sewing Squad

As Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord comes to the NYTW virtual stage this weekend, we are throwing it back to a beautiful piece on Kristina and the Auntie Sewing Squad in the Los Angeles Times. Learn how Kristina went from “grief and uncertainty” to “the creator of one of the nation’s largest and most diverse grass-roots mask-making efforts.”

May 13, 2021 by Nita Lelyveld for the Los Angeles Times


THE TAXI KEEPS MOVING

Taxilandia is extending by popular demand, and we are excited for more people to get the chance to be in the cab with Flako! Miranda Levingston gets one of the coveted rides and talks with Flako about gentrification and how Taxilandia is giving back with every ride.

May 6, 2021 by Miranda Levingston for BK READER


HILTON ALS GOES OFFSCRIPT

Artistic Instigator Hilton Als chats with the editors of American Theatre Magazine on his 2-part podcast series Hilton Als Presents, where he lifts up and takes a different look at what he considers marginalized classics of the 20th Century.

April 23, 2021 by AMERICAN THEATRE MAGAZINE


Audio Chismógrafo, Or how I pinched the brain of Victor I. Cazares

When your mind is instigated to overload with stimuli, you default to the resources of your youth. For me, it was a chismógrafo done in audio form.

This is a page right out of the life of playwright Victor I. Cazares, filled with stories and Latino-pop references to challenge even the world of their NYTW original Pinching Pennies with Penny Marshall.

April 12, 2021 by Scheherazade Quiroga