The Gym at Judson
THE GYM at Judson cultivates an uncensored environment for developing workshop performance, inviting established and emerging talent to exchange creative energies and encouraging unique interdependent community in the arts.
The magic of THE GYM is that, in between every hot property, every established and commercially viable venture, we’re doing something new and fresh from New York’s bustling indie theater scene. We aim to be a salon for the emerging and the already emerged – where a continual conversation swirls about what is commercial and what is art, what is popular and what is populist.
Occupying the site of a full-size gymnasium with 20 foot ceilings, THE GYM is a fully-equipped, multi-use theater, with flexible seating for up to 200. THE GYM draws on Judson's rich legacy, dating back to the 1960s, of presenting challenging, groundbreaking work, often in the face of attempts to censor artists. Since opening its doors in May 2011, THE GYM has presented world premieres of Lysistrata Jones, Douglas Carter Beane and Lewis Flinn's pop musical, which moved to the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway, and Michael John LaChiusa's Queen of the Mist, starring Mary Testa. For more information, visit the Judson website: www.judson.org or contact Nick Gottlieb at thegym@judson.org.
Contact: Nick Gottlieb, thegym (at) judson.org
Current Production
Menders
written by Erin Browne
directed by Heather Cohn
OPENS Jan 21, 2012 @8:00PM
(Previews: Jan 19-20 @8:00PM)
Runs Thurs – Sat until February 11
Additional performances:
Sun, 1/22 @7pm & 1/29 @3pm
Tues, 1/24 & 2/7 @7pm
Wed, 2/8 @8pm
THE STORY
Corey and Aimes are new recruits mending the wall that guards their city from an unnamed threat. But as their teacher Drew tells them subversive tales of the world outside they begin to wonder at the real purpose of the wall, until an unexpected act of passion tears the menders apart. Inspired by Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall”, Menders is a hauntingly lyrical look at what we’re walling out.
THE CAST
Matthew Archambault, Sol Crespo, Vivia Font, Mike Mihm, Ingrid Nordstrom, Raushanah Simmons, Isaiah Tanenbaum
THE CREATIVE TEAM
Will Lowry, Costume Design; Kia Rogers, Lighting Design; Cory Rodriguez, Set Design; Asa Wember, Sound Design; Trevor James Martin, Video Design; Jodi Witherell, Production Stage Manager; Annie-Sage Whitehurst, Dramaturg/Understudy; Anna Lamadrid, Assistant Director; Kelly O’Donnell & August Schulenburg, Production Managers; Postcard Illustration, Kristy Caldwell; Press Representation, Emily Owens PR
PRESS
"Flux Theatre Ensemble’s fervent and valiant production of Ms. McLaughlin’s sophisticated “Ajax in Iraq” makes its case" - The New York Times
"Flux consistently raises the bar when it comes to Indie Theatre and this piece has put that bar somewhere in the sky. An explosive 90 minutes with no intermission, Ajax in Iraq will live on in the minds and hearts of its audiences long after its all too short run." - BroadwayWorld
"playwright Liz Duffy Adams has a few tricks that put her a notch above your average Brechtswept wasteland: A genuinely crystalline ear for rough, poetic dialogue; a handful of simple, honest themes–possibilities for kindness in a savage world, guilt as a luxury and a form of selfishness–in lieu of sprawling world-building; and, most crucially, the savage talents of the Flux Theatre Ensemble." - New York Magazine
Previous Productions
The Gym at Judson is a new workout space for the arts in the heart of Greenwich Village. A sanctuary for emerging artists in theater, dance, music and visual arts, The Gym draws on Judson's rich legacy of presenting challenging, groundbreaking work.
History: A Home for the Arts
"Secular Prophets"
From its start, Judson Memorial Church has been associated with artists in many media. It has tried to be alert to what artists perceive and say, not only when the art portrays beauty but also when it portrays ugliness, sometimes to protest. Judson has long maintained an anti-censorship stance that welcomes art, whether tough or refined, as one voice of "secular prophets."
Particularly during the pastorates of Bob Spike (1949-55) and Howard Moody (1956-92), Judson Church became known as a venue for avant-garde arts and a foe of art censorship. These activities continue today, as Judson makes its facilities available to a wide variety of artists in dance, theatre, music, and visual arts of diverse styles.
The Church Building
Founding pastor Edward Judson wanted to construct a beautiful edifice as a relief from the grim tenements below Washington Square. Through his society connections and with a financial gift of $40,000 from John D. Rockefeller, Edward Judson was able to engage Stanford White of the prominent New York City architectural firm McKim Mead and White to design the Judson Memorial Church building, which was constructed in 1890-92.
The design was influenced by White's Italian travels; the building is modeled on an Italian church that has been described as Lombardo-Romanesque - a basilica with an adjacent tower.
Click here for more information about the church building.
Click here for information about the Saint Gaudens Baptistery.
For more information on THE GYM or to learn about past performances, click here.
For all questions regarding THE GYM, contact Nick Gottlieb, thegym (at) judson.org.
Reviews for THE GYM at Judson
"The infamously intimate gym at Judson Church was transformed into a ghostly theatre from the early 1900s. Glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling, a player piano sat before the audience (which was piled into bleachers on either side of the “stage”) and a small orchestra was veiled behind specter-like scrims painted to imitate old theatre interiors....What follows is one of the most important pieces of new American musical theatre that’s happening on the stage today."
- Jordan Shavarebi, Out.com
"There's an obscene amount of fun being had in a church gymnasium on Washington Square South in Lysistrata Jones....Off Broadway company the Transport Group, which specializes in site-specific shows, has found a perfect fit with a full-size gymnasium in the process of being converted to a performance space in the Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village."
- David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Images from Past Productions
Resources
Learn more about the
Off-Off Broadway Movement.
Caffe Cino: The Birthplace of Off-Off-Broadway