Tuesday, March 29, 2011

UNDER St. Mark's Going Under?

This news give me the major sadz (potentially)...

94 St. Mark's Place is up for sell, and that means trouble for my beloved UNDER St. Mark's, which is currently renting for 20% less than market rate. An official press release is coming soon, but the possibility of UNDER St. Mark's going away makes me want to go to sleep forever.

It was my first artistic home in New York, and I continue to do shows there even now. It was where I premiered The Chalk Boy, MilkMilkLemonade and Lonesome Winter. It's where I directed the premiere of Dorothy Fortenberry's awesome Caitlin and the Swan and where I played a giant lobster woman in Joe Tracz's Song for a Future Generation.

Is it tiny? Yes. Do the pipes clang? Totally. Do you sometimes have to kick out crackheads? Sure. But it's also charming as hell and a lot of fun. If it went away, Horse Trade would still have The Kraine and The Red Room, but UNDER St. Mark's was always my pick. I would miss buying Crif Dog tater tots for my audience sometimes. I'd miss the tattoo parlor upstairs and the hobos who sleep near the door.

For all of its flaws, UNDER St. Mark's is my home. It's my heart. Can't we do some Breakin' shit and save the teen center, er... I mean, theater from ruin!

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