Off-Broadway NewsWhitney White, Ikechukwu Ufomadu, and More Tapped for Ars Nova’s ANT FestThe annual celebration of new talent will feature an eclectic mix of boundary-defining shows over three weeks.
By
Olivia Clement
May 07, 2018
Ars Nova has revealed the lineup for its 11th annual ANT Fest, the company’s annual celebration of eclectic and genre-defying new work across theatre, music, and comedy. The festival will run June 4–28.
The 2018 festival lineup will feature a return of the ANT Fest Lounge Series of intimate, pop-up encounters with ANT Fest alums debuting fresh ideas and new sounds. Highlights of the series include a new devised work written and performed by Roundabout directing fellow Whitney White; Ike by Chance, a deconstruction of competition by comic actor Ikechukwu Ufomadu (who is currently performing in Clare Barron’s Dance Nation at Playwrights Horizons); as well as a part-concert-part-confessional from indie-folk-rock writer-composers Ellen Winter and Chris Littler (Winlitt).
The lineup of shows also includes a new rap opera from poet-performer L.H. Gonzalez; a "docu-spectacle, biopic drag" by Jake Beckhard and Peter Smith inspired by Princess Diana; a dance-theatre piece in which the audience eliminates each dancer one by one, created and performed by Raja Feather Kelly; and new plays by Jake Jeppson and Sarah Einspanier.
ANT Fest will also feature festival editions of Ars Nova’s ongoing variety show Showgasm, hosted by Mitra Jouhari and Ayo Edebiri. For more information on the complete lineup, visit ArsNovaNYC.com.
Patti LuPone, Gabby Beans, Susan Stroman, André Bishop, and more are featured in this special look back, along with clips from War Horse, The Light in the Piazza, South Pacific, and more.
The new work from playwright Liana Sonenclar follows a high school track star forced to confront some tricky feelings when she reconnects with a former teammate.