INCUBATOR ARTS PROJECT

The Incubator is a beacon of support in the experimental artists' community, supplying artists with funds, staff support, and artistic freedom to make new theatrical works. The Incubator is as frequent a host to first professional productions as it is to community-lauded works with longer runs. Two years ago, the Incubator initiated structural changes aimed at keeping artists more engaged and supported year-round, through artist roundtables and salons in partnership with University Settlement.

The Incubator is an outgrowth of the Ontological-Hysteric Theater, a New York institution. Richard Foreman founded the OHT in 1968 with a mission to make high-quality, intellectually resonant work for a large and diverse audience. In July 2010, Foreman will depart the OHT's longtime home at St. Mark's Church; the Incubator will become the sole resident producer in the space.

1993 marked the first year of the OHT's emerging artist programming; in 2005, the OHT formalized its relationship with emerging artists with the founding of the Incubator. The Incubator is programming for artists who follow in the process-oriented, compositional footsteps of Foreman, but who have their own unique strategies for creating innovative work. The Incubator programming provides these artists with aesthetic and practical support as they build new theater work in our home on East 10th St. and 2nd Ave.

2009-2010

• Produced 20 new theater works (premieres), concert series, and work in progress series, serving over 300 artists including actors, directors, designers, playwrights, and technicians
• Served 7,500 audience members
• Received press in AMERICAN THEATRE (first time), the NEW YORK TIMES, TIME OUT NEW YORK, VILLAGE VOICE, THE BROOKLYN RAIL, and myriad online sources
• The new theater piece, 3 PIANOS by the company Hoi Polloi received outstanding audience and critical response; was picked up for the 2010-2011 season at New York Theatre Workshop
• Successfully planned a transition from being part of the Ontological-Hysteric Theater to a stand-alone organization; renegotiated lease with St. Mark's Church
• Increased artist fees, with larger fees equaling those of comparable venues such as PS 122-Initiated partnership with University Settlement's Performance Project, located on the Lower East Side, to present a salon series. The salon series features Incubator and Performance Project artists on interactive panels and is open to the public

2008-2009

• Produced 15 new theater pieces (premieres), a concert series, festivals, and a work-in-progress series, serving over 250 artists
• Served 4,500 audience members
• Initiated roundtables for Incubator artists on topics such as fundraising, marketing, and "branding"
• Expanded music programming and partnered with the transmission arts organization, free103point9 to present more comprehensive programs

The Incubator aims to further innovative performance by serving emerging and mid-career theater artists who are creating new works in the experimental vein. The Incubator provides these artists from a variety of performing arts disciplines with aesthetic and practical mentorship and support on their way towards self-sustaining productions and careers The Incubator, under the umbrella of Artservices, will extend their commitment to artists with a new program which supports five artists/ensembles with multi-year residencies resulting in two supported workshops and two fully-produced plays each. This project will allow artists to have the rare chance to build work over time with a single producer, encouraging more thoughtful artistic and financial planning, ultimately bringing richer work to the public.

2010-2014

Performance History

Performing Artservices, Inc.
260 West Broadway
New York, NY 10013
Tel: 212/941-8911
Fax: 212/334-5149