Theaterlab is a 501(c)3   Artist Run Organization

See Board of Directors

Download Press Packet: Theaterlab_Press_Packet.pdf

Our Mission

Theaterlab is a New York City performance venue, presenting organization, and producer of original artistic works. Theaterlab SERVES both the COMMUNITY OF ARTISTS by providing affordable space for rehearsal and project development, and the GENERAL PUBLIC who are interested in seeing experimental and seminal work in a diversity of performing arts fields: primarily theatre, music and performance art. We are an artist run organization, which is accomplished through our resident and affiliate artists programs. Theaterlab is a true laboratory where resident and visiting artists can engage in the research and development of new works, teach classes and workshops, and present the results of their research to a public audience.

Theaterlab also focuses on audience development as a creative project. We regard the theatrical experience as a creative public assembly, and the audience is an important partner in fulfilling our mission. Beyond our commitment to providing high quality at an affordable ticket price, we offer a welcoming atmosphere that encourages intimate contact with the artists. All events are usually  followed by a salon-like gathering where artists and audience mix in a congenial atmosphere. As a result, our events tend to attract other artists as well, affording the attending public a personal engagement rarely found in bigger, less colloquial spaces. 

Founders

Carlo Altomare -  Artistic Co-Director – (producer, director, composer, actor) was a member of The Living Theatre from 1973-1980, acting in the plays of The Legacy of Cain cycle and composing music for The Dismantling of The Money Tower and Prometheus. He is the founder of The Alchemical Theatre in New York (1981-). The Alchemical Theatre presented the world premiere of There Is No More Firmament by Antonin Artaud in 1983 and devised an original piece, Pure War/The Madness of the Day based on the writing of Paul Verilio and Maurice Blanchot. He returned to the LT in the late 80’s to compose and perform the music for The Tablets and I and I.  He is co-founder and artistic director of Theaterlab performance space at 137 W 14th St. where he teaches Meyerhold’s Biomechanics and Jazz Acting, a new form of non-fictional acting. He is co-director, with Orietta Crispino, of the Actors Research Group, which performed the first Jazz Acting piece: Appearance – A Suspense in Being in 2006.

Orietta Crispino – Artistic Co-Director – (producer, director, actress) is an accomplished theatre artist, born in Italy, she is a graduate of the prestigious “Piccolo Teatro” School in Milan, where she worked with the major Italian directors Giorgio Strehler and Massimo Castri. She later taught acting and directing there. Among her many theatre projects are: Passport No. 23.922, a piece she wrote and directed on the life of Tina Modotti; and a three year project in Trieste directing the plays of Pirandello’s Italian contemporaries  She is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. In addition to her theatre work, Ms. Crispino has done art projects on the body in its performative aspect. This work led her to contributing to a cycle of seminars called Acting Out: The Art of Living held in Milano with the participation of doctors, artists and patients. Her body research culminated in a performance piece with the photographer Vibeke Jensen, Camera Obscura, shown at PS1 in New York, Bogota and Trieste. Most recently she directed three pieces by Dario Fo and Franca Rame at Theaterlab.She is currently working on a new piece at Theaterlab drawing from the texts of Chekov, Beckett, and Julia Kristeva.

A Vision of Sustainability

As an emerging arts organization, Theaterlab is giving focused attention to our long-term sustainability. The next years promise to be exciting for Theaterlab. Our Board of Directors will play an important role in helping to secure a base of financial support that enable us to continue delivering the high-quality programming that fulfills our mission. 

Moreover, since Theaterlab is both a venue and a presenting organization, we can receive revenues through partner organizations for specific projects. For example, Linda Olthof, a theatre director from Amsterdam, will do a three-week residency here this summer, which will be funded in part by the Dutch government. 

Small is beautiful (and sustainable). Since Theaterlab is a relatively small facility, it carries low overhead and allows us to provide services to artists at affordable prices. Large and small institutions are struggling these days to survive the current climate of economic instability. Yet, while many venues are closing their doors around the city, Theaterlab continues to grow and to respond to the increasing need for viable artist space. We are also developing a membership program that will enable artists to support Theaterlab directly as beneficiaries of this valuable resource.

The Green Building    Theaterlab has initiated a project in partnership with our landlord to convert the three-story building where we are located into an example of sustainable energy efficiency. We are in the research and development phase and intend to start conversions in 2010. We are also in discussion with SSBX, EarthPledge, the City's Green Roof project, and Pratt Institute as partners to realize this goal.  Two architects and engineers have recently assessed the roof and building structure and are drawing up green, sustainable recommendations in accordance with existing city Department of Building and LEED guidelines.

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Studio A   [Artaud]

Studio B   [Brecht]

Studio C   [Chaplin]

Carlo Altomare

Orietta Crispino

photo by Carol L. Fraser