Downtown Variety

March 20, 2020–Present
Presented by La MaMa and CultureHub

 

Just as New York City was shutting down in response to the oncoming pandemic, La MaMa and CultureHub teamed up on March 20, 2020 to create the first edition of Downtown Variety, an online live performance series that features short acts of dance, music, theater, new media, comedy, A/V performance, and more. In the following months, Downtown Variety responded to social and cultural isolation and calls for social justice, bringing La MaMa's 1960s café aesthetic to a virtual platform that links performers and audiences in real time across distance.

Between March 20, 2020–December 12, 2020, La MaMa and CultureHub produced 16 editions of Downtown Variety. In 2021 La MaMa and CultureHub began partnering with international artists and collectives to create editions that have featured experimental artists overseas, including Brazil, Serbia, Korea, and Kenya.

Downtown Variety is produced within CultureHub and La MaMa’s Experiments in Digital Storytelling program, which incubates story-driven artworks that push the boundaries of artistic forms.

CULTUREHUB / LA MAMA
Lead Technician – DeAndra Anthony
Host – Mattie Barber-Bockelman
Video Production Coordinator – Jean Garcia
Creative Technologist – Sangmin Chae
Creative Producing/Co-Direction – Mattie Barber-Bockelman, Billy Clark, Mia Yoo

PAST PARTNERS
Bold Theatre KE, Seoul Institute of the Arts, Eho Animato, Companhia Nova de Teatro, Amphibian Stage, Poetic Societies

ARTISTS
Take 1 –  Perry Yung, Tiri Kananuruk, John King, Kate Rigg, Neel Murgai, Jerome Ellis, Baba Israel, Grace Galu
Take 2 –  Rena Anakwe, Susana Cook, Chris Ignacio, Kim Savarino, John Kelly, Object Collection, Daniel Koren, Starr Busby, Kameron Neal
Take 3 – Justin Sayre, Tareke Ortiz, John Gutierrez, Heather Litteer, Tom Lee, Bad Buka, Kendall Cornell, Daniel Pinheiro
Take 4 – Adham Hafez, Stacey Robinson, Kristin McWharter, Mur, Matt Romein, John Gutierrez, Amy Gernux, Bobbi Jene Smith
Take 5 – Robert Patrick, Ali Santana, Lake Simons and John Dyer, Krzysztof Garbaczewski, Lisa Parra and Rosi Rocha, Mateo Hurtado, Raven Kwok
Take 6 – Maura Nguyen Donohue, Rue Bainbridge, Mx. Oops, Peter Mark, eugene the poogene, Zishan Ugurlu, Lola Giouse, Yarie Vazquez
Take 7 – Rhiannon McGavin, Dillon Yruegas and Jess O’Rear, Joseph Brock, Nia & Ness, Nick Demopoulos, Carrie Sijia Wang and Tong Wu, Naama Zarfaty
Take 8 – Dan Safer and Abigail Browde, John Maria Gutierrez, Laura Sofía Pérez and Chris Ryan Williams, Paul Lazar, H0t Club, Mengwen Cao!
Take 9 – Jon Kinzel, Víctor Martínez and Gabriela Corleto, Mallory Catlett with Jim Findlay, G Lucas Crane, and Keith Skretch, Jerome Ellis, Alberto del Saz, LizdeLise, Fabiola Ferrero, Juanita Escobar, Arlene Mejorado
Take X – Mx. Oops, Olubode Shawn Brown, Sekou Luke, Xavier Ryan
Take 11 – Poetic Societies, Ava Ansari, Salakastar, Ian Fink, Ahya Simone, Jonah Mixon-Webster, Halima Cassells, Rafael Leafar, and Salar Ansari
Take 12 – Shauna Davis, Timothy White Eagle, Aaron Samuel Davis, Huntress Janos, Anna Kang, eugene the poogene, Marta Ros Hugas, Zishan Ugurlu, Lívia Sá!
Take 13 – Peter Case, Maura García, Joshua William Gelb, Shauna Davis, Aroji Otieno with DJ Bruno Versatile and Herbert Odera , Lisa Müller-Trede with Kris Limbach and Michael Ferreira, Split Britches
Take 14 – Annie-B Parson + Stacy Dawson Stearns of Big Dance Theater, Belarus Free Theatre, Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky, Nuum Collective, RaFia Santana, Tareke Ortiz, Basil Twist, Kameron Neal with Shayok Misha Chowdhury
Take 15 – John Jesurun, Nuntinee Tansrisakul and Yuguang Zhang, Volumetric Performance Toolbox (Valencia James with Glowbox and Sorob Louie), Fleshmarket Theatre Company, Stefanie Batten Bland, Malena Dayen, Sangmin Chae, John King
Take 16 – Shauna Davis, Dane Terry, Amphibian Stage with Christopher Michael, Aaron Samuel Davis, Christopher Rivas, Nao Bustamante
Take 17 (Brazil) – Wilson Sukorski, Otavio Donasci, Rui Moreira, Christina Fornaciari, Pedro Granato, Neville D’almeida, Marcus Galina, Jurandy Valença, Gabriela Leite, curated by Lenerson Polonini
Take 18 – (Serbia) Ivana Ivković, Doplgenger, Björnsonova & Milica Stefanović, Jovana Ivanac & Dobrivoje Milijanović, Aleksandar Bulajić, Ana Popović, Ana Knezević, Isidora Pejović Blagojević, Maja Maksimović & Sunčica Pasuljević Kandić, Miklós Barna-Lipkovski, Markiza de Sada, Sandra Nikač, curated by Eho Animato.
Take 19 (Korea) – Byeongil Lee, Wonchul Choi, Heerae Yang, Sojung Jeon, Insu Jung, Jiwoo Park, Hyunmin Kim, Siyu Song, Jooseung Hwang, Sia Ko, Minhye Yu, Jaewan Bae, Juyeong Kim, Hyungwoo Kim, Heeseo Son, Minsang Cho, Koeun Hwang, Eunyoung Key, Seoyeon Ki, Dabeen Jeong, Minjun Park, Seoyun Lee, Saeyan Jang, Philip Liu, Minhyung Jung, Yunseung Doh, Junyoung Hong, Jooyeon Kan, Sunguk Hoh, Dagyeong Kwak, Junseok Lim, Anna Kang Quintet: Anna Kang, Samsu Lee, Hanguk Jeon, Kideok Moon, Sunyae Park, curated by SeoulArts
Take 20 (Kenya) – Andy Saharan, The Voice Renaissance Art Group AKA La Voix, Vincent Owoko & Esther Masaa, Neema Bagamuhunda & Nerina Cocchi, Eduardo García, Maimouna Jallow, Larissa Gómez, Paola Irún, Steve Gitau, Daisy Onyango, Thuita Christopher, Shirleen Ishenyi, Cindy Nyambura, Calvin Kinyua, Idris Neem, Martina Ayoro, Aroji Otieno, curated by Bold Theatre KE

〈 PROJECTS