Performance Space 122
Encyclopedia
Performance Space 122, generally known as P.S. 122, is a not-for-profit arts organization and one of the longest standing venues dedicated to contemporary performance art
in New York City
. Founded in 1979 in the abandoned Public School 122 building at 150 First Avenue
at East 9th Street in the East Village
neighborhood of Manhattan
, P.S. 122 has hosted thousands of world-premier and ongoing works by such artists as Eric Bogosian
, Spalding Gray
, Karen Finley
, Eddie Izzard
, John Leguizamo
, and Ron Athey
, companies such as Big Art Group
, Julie Atlas Muz, Proto-type Theater, Young Jean Lee's Theater Company and New York City Players as well as countless other emerging artists.
The former elementary school was abandoned and in disrepair when a group of visual artists began to use the old classrooms for studios. In 1979, choreographer Charles Moulton began holding rehearsals and workshops in the second floor cafeteria, and invited fellow performers Charles Dennis, Tim Miller and Peter Rose to collaborate in the administration and use of the space.
P.S. 122 began its presentation history in 1980 with the first "Avant-Garde-Arama", a multidisciplinary showcase, and published its first complete calendar of performances, classes and workshops. The first full-length public play or performance presented in P.S. 122, in October 1980, was a play by Robin Epstein and Dorothy Cantwell's experimental women's theater company, More Fire! Productions
.
Mark Russell was hired as artistic director in 1983 to curate and focus the overall programming, expanding it from a rental house into a year round presenting facility. P.S. 122 doubled its programming in 1986 when it converted the old gym on the first floor into a performance space to be used for extended runs of small theatre groups and as a site for community meetings. Russell departed in 2004; a new artistic director, Vallejo Gantner, began in the position with the 2005-2006 season and remains in the post.
In 2005, P.S. 122 was among 406 New York City
arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/06/nyregion/06donate.html?ex=1278302400&en=93a1beabd4ede5b8&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss http://carnegie.org/sub/news/anon2005.html
P.S. 122 now boasts two theatres, and presents dance, performance art, music and film and video. It has a professional technical and administrative staff, a national touring program, an active commission program and low-cost rehearsal space. Its first floor space, the former school gym, is a small 69-seat black box approximately 30' wide by 22' deep with a 10'10" lighting grid height; its second floor space (the former school cafeteria) is a larger 128-seat black box, 50' wide by 32' deep with a 12' lighting grid height.
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Founded in 1979 in the abandoned Public School 122 building at 150 First Avenue
First Avenue (Manhattan)
First Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Houston Street northbound for over 125 blocks before terminating at the Willis Avenue Bridge into The Bronx at the Harlem River near East 127th Street. South of Houston Street, the...
at East 9th Street in the East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, P.S. 122 has hosted thousands of world-premier and ongoing works by such artists as Eric Bogosian
Eric Bogosian
Eric Bogosian is an American actor, playwright, monologist, and novelist of Armenian descent.-Personal life:Bogosian, an Armenian-American, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina, a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. After graduating from Oberlin College,...
, Spalding Gray
Spalding Gray
Spalding Rockwell Gray was an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, performance artist and monologuist...
, Karen Finley
Karen Finley
Karen Finley is an American performance artist, whose theatrical pieces and recordings have often been labelled "obscene" due to their graphic depictions of sexuality, abuse, and disenfranchisement...
, Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
, John Leguizamo
John Leguizamo
Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
, and Ron Athey
Ron Athey
Ron Athey is an American performance artist associated with body art and with extreme performance art. He has performed in the U.S. and internationally . Athey's work explores challenging subjects like the relationships between desire, sexuality, and traumatic experience...
, companies such as Big Art Group
Big Art Group
Big Art Group is a New York City-based experimental performance ensemble that uses language and media to push formal boundaries of theatre, film and visual arts to create culturally transgressive works...
, Julie Atlas Muz, Proto-type Theater, Young Jean Lee's Theater Company and New York City Players as well as countless other emerging artists.
The former elementary school was abandoned and in disrepair when a group of visual artists began to use the old classrooms for studios. In 1979, choreographer Charles Moulton began holding rehearsals and workshops in the second floor cafeteria, and invited fellow performers Charles Dennis, Tim Miller and Peter Rose to collaborate in the administration and use of the space.
P.S. 122 began its presentation history in 1980 with the first "Avant-Garde-Arama", a multidisciplinary showcase, and published its first complete calendar of performances, classes and workshops. The first full-length public play or performance presented in P.S. 122, in October 1980, was a play by Robin Epstein and Dorothy Cantwell's experimental women's theater company, More Fire! Productions
More Fire! Productions
More Fire! Productions was a women's theatre collective active in New York City from 1980 to 1988. It was founded by Robin Epstein and Dorothy Cantwell and based in the East Village section of lower Manhattan, New York City...
.
Mark Russell was hired as artistic director in 1983 to curate and focus the overall programming, expanding it from a rental house into a year round presenting facility. P.S. 122 doubled its programming in 1986 when it converted the old gym on the first floor into a performance space to be used for extended runs of small theatre groups and as a site for community meetings. Russell departed in 2004; a new artistic director, Vallejo Gantner, began in the position with the 2005-2006 season and remains in the post.
In 2005, P.S. 122 was among 406 New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/06/nyregion/06donate.html?ex=1278302400&en=93a1beabd4ede5b8&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss http://carnegie.org/sub/news/anon2005.html
P.S. 122 now boasts two theatres, and presents dance, performance art, music and film and video. It has a professional technical and administrative staff, a national touring program, an active commission program and low-cost rehearsal space. Its first floor space, the former school gym, is a small 69-seat black box approximately 30' wide by 22' deep with a 10'10" lighting grid height; its second floor space (the former school cafeteria) is a larger 128-seat black box, 50' wide by 32' deep with a 12' lighting grid height.