Staff Picks No. 131

NOTHING: more : Autumn Knight
Chocolate Factory
January 16th-18th 2026

January is rolling and we’re seeing all the stuff! Excited for this Under the Radar and Chocolate Factory co-presentation of Autumn Knight’s “NOTHING: more.” Described as an anti-still life of objects and bodies, the piece explores the generative act: absence to substance, nothing to something. With fave mover/choreographer Dominica Greene in the ensemble and objects by sculptor/builder/performer Matt Shalzi, it should be a treat.

Staffer: Joshua Dumas

Schizofeminist Performance #2 : Alice Aster, Bleach thief, Adrienne Greenblatt, J Fields, Sara Brodsky, Christi Graff, Danny Tantrum, Smiling Beth, Bimbi
DM for address
Sunday January 18th 2026

This is a project that I have been invested in for months. Performance artist Alice Aster leads the art collective Savant Garde, whose public actions of "ritual, surrealist praxis, and anti-alienation tactics" are based in Aster's mystical materialist Schizofeminism. Through their work, Savant Garde confronts exploitation under patriarchal capitalism, challenges publicly platformed serial predators across the NYC art world, and amplifies the voices of sex workers and victims of violent abuse. Their first performance involved the execution of an Epstein effigy in the name of psychological class warfare. Their second one is not to miss.

Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener

Voyage Into Infinity : Narcissister
Skirball (UTR)
January 16-18th 2026

Last year at a dance party in a warehouse, I watched Narcissister recreating artworks like The Birth of Venus in human-sized dioramas from like 2 to 6 am. I am a forever fan. There are *two* credited pyrotechnics people on the creative team, need I say more? I recommend getting $25 rush tickets.

Staffer: Travis Amiel

King Lear : Karin Coonrod, Frank London, Oana Botez, Compagnia de’ Colombari
La MaMa
January 23rd-February 8th 2026

Karin Coonrod is one of our most fascinating directors of the classics and I was so bummed to miss the original run of this back in 2024…but it’s back, bitches, paper crowns and all - Compagnia de’ Colombari’s Lear of many Lears, the single role split among ten actors who vie for Lear-ness, for the cracking of cheeks, sure to be a feast for both Shakespeare nerds and downtown theater weirdos alike.

Staffer: Reuven Glezer

I want to hold onto something beautiful and empty : Hillary Gao, Nikkie Samreth, Isabel Ebeid, Miranda Kang, Sam Xu, Ring Yang, Emily Lawrence, Leigh Honigman, Hannah Bird, Forest Entsminger, Emma Hasselbach, Miguel Lorenzo, Connor Sale, Eva Rubin, Joshua Chiang, Celine Abdallah
The Brick
January 26th-February 8th 2026

Hillary Gao is the kind of astounding writing mind that you, reader and (I hope? Then why are you here?) lover of cool new theater, should always have on your radar. Hillary’s work is imaginative, unreplicable, and sure to be a highlight of the Exponential Festival this year. And c’mon, that design team! That producing team! Wham-bam, thank you ma’am (office siren inclusive).

Staffer: Reuven Glezer

¿¡¡simon negs≈≈>:(:{{** / Maria Reads a Book: Higher Eyes on Aricama : Miranda Brown, Noa Rui-Piin Weiss, Maria Camia, Aaron Banes, UJ Mangune
JACK (The Exponential Festival)
January 15th-17th 2026

I have found, it is as important to support artists you love as it is to experience art by people you don’t yet know, and this line-up gives me the opportunity for both! It is also important to come for both and stay for both, just a casual PSA. I have gotten to know Noa and Miranda, as they performed at The Brick and Brick Aux during my time there, and I was immediately taken with their wild dance skills, their loopy humor and their entwined collaborative spirits. I cannot wait to see this piece. AND I am so excited to experience Maria’s art after learning about her from the Exponential team and visiting her website. She does maaaaany fascinating things including hypnosis, light language and theater… yes please!

Staffer: Theresa Buchheister

In the fall, I had the privilege of witnessing a snippet of ¿¡¡simon negs≈≈>:(:{{** after programming Miranda Brown and Noa Rui-Piin Weiss at Target Margin. I immediately fell in love with the piece, as did the rest of the audience: we all audibly reacted as "simon"-- a sinister, omniscient force communicating via projections-- mercilessly belittled our two dancers, only occasionally rewarding them with praise. I giggled, I gasped, I was captivated, I related deeply to two performers navigating impossible tasks as they're told that they're simply not good enough.. Also consider this part of the show's blurb: "Noa and Miranda realized that their silly dances may go down in history as 'art under the rise of fascism in America.' So then they thought, let’s write some grants about that." Ha!
¿¡¡simon negs≈≈>:(:{{** is paired with Maria Reads a Book: Higher Eyes on Aricama, which involves "28 puppets, 13 mini sets, one 7’ puppet costume, a live videographer, and original live music." To me, this is an incredibly exciting prospect. I can't wait to get to know the artist behind this, Maria Camia, and find out how she pulls off this solo performance.

Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener

DIRT: Sour Milk, Christina Tang, Carsen Joenk, Anna Jastrzembski, Most Unwanted Productions, Connor Scully, Dani Turner
The Tank
January 22nd-February 15th 2026

I LOVE DIRT!!! This was one of my favourite shows of 2024, and I'm thrilled it's back. Christina Tang, Carsen Joenk, and Anna Jastrzembski's genuinely innovative interactive theatre piece invites audiences to vote on building a whole new chunk of New York on a suddenly disappeared East River. As the show progresses, urban planning comes to life with an eccentric array of foods, layered on top of a fifteen-pound slab of pudding. Come ready to perform: audience interaction goes further than just the phone-based voting system, brilliantly designed by Tang. I love a piece of theatre that doesn't let the power of getting a group of strangers to sit together in a room go to waste, and DIRT is exactly that.

Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener

Dennis : Aidan LaPoche, Talia Godfrey, Luci Dunham, Patrick Alwyn, Renée-Nicole Powell, Sophie Sherlock, Brennan Keeley, Kobi Masselli, Julia Barlow, Pearl Marden, Katie Kern, Eloise Moulton, Sadie Schlesinger, Shrimptoast, Apt 1A
Nightclub 101
Wednesday February 18th 2026

Aidan LaPoche's buzzy Bacchae adaptation and its cast of young, exciting talent are back for one night only. I have to miss it (again!!!!), but believe me when I tell you that this is one of the more alluringly marketed projects I've seen in a minute. Go to dennistheplay.com and give it access to your camera. I dare you.

Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener

Paradise Container : Mara McKevitt and Monica Mirabile
Pioneer Works
January 31st-February 1st 2026

Paradise Container guides audiences from room to room through light, sound, and performance cues. Those rooms mimic a home, a factory, and maybe something stranger. I'm curious about its exploration of family, addiction, and labor, and I'm always down for an ambulatory experience where my body, and mind, can wander.

Staffer: Billy McEntee

FAGGOTICA : Aeon Andreas, Akane, Maxx Love, Miles Nelson, Jae Neal, Noel Olson
Brooklyn Art Haus (Exponential)
January 14th, 15th, 21st and 22nd 2026

I got to go to this last night and I also was very lucky to have the entire cast and Aeon spit on my program, which is an option they offer in order to support their show. The merch is not the best part, though. I wish I had sat closer to the stage (get there early lol) but I am so thrilled that this performance can be shared in theatrical spaces as well as nightlife spaces. I always feel very awkward at a club, but I felt very at home in this incredible divine world they created.

Staffer: Theresa Buchheister