Old School 122 Benefit Begins Tonight

Over the next 12 months, Performance Space 122 will leave our 30-year home temporarily while our building undergoes a much-needed interior transformation initiated and funded by the City of New York, the Department of Cultural Affairs, New York City Council. Designed by Deborah Berke and Partners, renovations to the interior will be aimed at bringing the building up to meet current code requirements and LEED silver standards.

With new state-of-the-art flexible spaces, Performance Space 122 will be better positioned to truly become the leading mid-size presenter in New York City, presenting live performance at the highest level by local, national and international emerging and mid-career artists. The improvements to our capital infrastructure also afford PS122 an opportunity to develop a new business model that anticipates the needs of our audiences and community for the next 30 years and feeds their interests, curiosity and hunger for meaningful experiences. The new physical structure and strategic plan will enable Performance Space 122 to better support the work and the artists they present, and ensure that the institution and its work remains relevant, unexpected, and as boundary pushing as ever.

Old School 122 Benefit
Presented as part of the 30th Anniversary Season RetroFutureSpective Festival
Wednesday, June 22 - Saturday, June 25
Lounge opens at 6PM / Performances begin at 8PM
$30 single tickets, 5 tickets for $75

Expect the unexpected as the LES Lounge comes alive at 6pm nightly in the downstairs space, providing a cozy atmosphere for personalities of the past, present, and future to come together to mingle, reminisce, perform and subterfuge with Lounge host, legendary Stage Manager to the stars, Lori E. Seid. The lounge will feature a slideshow of 20 years of performance photography by the renowned Dona Ann McAdams as well as signature refreshments, music and more!

As a pre-show activity, Praxis offers exclusive tours through PS122 history and unseen spaces. Sarah Maxfield harvests memories after the shows and the party continues in the lounge til it's past everyone's bedtime.

Wednesday, June 22 // MCs: Julie Atlas Muz & David White. Performances by Jeff McMahon, John Fleck, the TEAM, Temporary Distortion, LeeSaar The Company, Yoshiko Chuma, Yvonne Meier, Penny Arcade, Nicky Paraiso. Music by Thurston Moore (of Sonic Youth) and John Zorn.

Thursday, June 23 // MCs: DANCENOISE with Richard Move & Friends. Performances by Forced Entertainment, Alien Comic, NTUSA, Vivarium Studio, Tamar Rogoff, Sally Silvers, Young Jean Lee's Theater Company, Maria Hassabi, Eric Bogosian, Reggie Watts, and a Special Spalding Gray Award announcement.

Friday, June 24 // MCs: Sarah Michelson with Neal Medlyn & Carmine Covelli. Performances by Every House Has A Door & Goat Island, Jack Ferver, Deb Margolin, Jennifer Miller, Sarah Maxfield, Banana Bag & Bodice, Mabou Mines, Jonathan Ames, Neal Medlyn, THEM by Ishmael Houston-Jones, Chris Cochrane, and Dennis Cooper (excerpt), Ain Gordon, Meredith Monk. Music by DJ Duo Team Company LLC.

Saturday, June 25 // MCs: Carmelita Tropicana & The Staff of Performance Space 122. Performances by Amanda Palmer, David Leslie, New York City Players, The Wooster Group, Elevator Repair Service, Big Art Group, Split Britches, Big Dance Theater, Carmelita Tropicana. Music by Bob Wonder & the Future Ex-Wives.

Performance Space 122 is one of New York's ultimate destinations for cutting-edge theatre, dance, music, live art and multi-media. PS122 is dedicated to supporting and presenting artists who explore innovative form and provocative content and who rigorously challenge the boundaries contemporary performance; PS122 is committed to a steadfast search for pioneering artists from a diversity of cultures, nations and beliefs.