Interview: How PS122 Is Going Global
by Alexis ClementsPage 4 of 6
And what is PS122's actual role in this tour?
We are collaborating with a theater in London [The Chelsea Theatre], a festival in Budapest [The Contemporary Drama Festival], and a festival in Bristol [In Between Time]. We're co-curating a program with them, we're choosing it together. We'll do the same with Berlin, in Australia, in Norway and Latin America. Ideally we create a program with multiple works that is representative of something interesting that's happening here, and that could be the US or that could be New York City. And it might be something that's saying something about theater right now, and it might be something that's saying something about contemporary dance, it might be an interrogation of the concept of "live." The model is evolving, it's not fixed yet. We bring it under, in some way, a kind of PS122 bubble, brand, umbrella, that hopefully says good things about us and good things about live performance that's happening in New York right now. Because I'm very conscious of the fact that New York is no longer the middle of the live performance universe. We're no longer in the top.
Who would you say is at the top right now, within contemporary performing arts, on a global scale?
I think Berlin, Buenos Aires—not in an international sense, but Argentine work is incredibly vital and interesting and good. I think we're gonna see, increasingly, interesting work coming out of China. I think the Benelux region [Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg] is up there. I think Ireland is really coming out with some very interesting work. There's a bunch of different centers for different streams of work.
Why do you think that work isn't coming to New York?
Who's going to present it? I don't have the budget for it.
Is it too expensive?
It's not that. It's cheap. It's cheaper for me to present a European company than it is to produce a San Francisco company, because with an international company I can be pretty confident that I can get the travel paid for. I don't have that confidence for a national US company.
What do you think the main hurdle is there?
Audience is part of it. We have a real problem selling tickets to emerging international artists who don't have a name here.
Yeah, I saw Marie Brassard's show Jimmy at PS122 last year and it was one of the best shows I saw last year, and the theater was half-full the night I went.
That show was selling 500 seats a night in Melbourne, 800 seats a night in Berlin. It was mortifying. I was lucky to be able to get that show. They gave it to me for nothing, basically, it was a gift, and it was mortifying. So that's one problem. And ultimately a European company costs a lot more than a local company because you have to pay them properly. They get paid a living wage and they expect that. And they expect a per diem. And they expect reasonable accommodation.
Related Locations
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Performance Space 122 (P.S. 122)
- 150 First Ave., at 9th St (map)
- East Village
- 212-228-4249
- (based on 1 user review)
