Brooklyn's Brave New World Rep Takes An (Almost) Conventional Turn

Brave New World Repertory Theatre was born in 2003 out of the need to create accessible, professional theatre in this borough. The company’s aim: to make an artistic home for both the theatre-goers and the theatre-makers who reside on this side of the Brooklyn bridge.

As a founding member, I'm proud to say that the company’s accomplishments in the ensuing nine years have been many. Chief among them has been turning the challenge of not having a permanent home into an asset. Space is one of the hardest hurdles to clear in NYC (and not just in the arts!) So, in its absence, BNW has brought its productions to areas of Brooklyn that could amplify the relevance of the play at hand. To Kill a Mockingbird on Westminster Road, The Tempest on the boardwalk at Coney Island, a candle-lit Crucible at the Old Stone House, and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Terrace) in the ball field behind Farrell’s, to name a few. In these productions, the venue, its surrounding community, and the play itself all feed into and off of one another. To me, it feels like a conversation between actor and audience and space. I’ve never experienced that degree of intimacy in a proscenium theatre. It’s thrilling.

BNW’s artistic leadership has, indeed, made an art out of not having a place to hang their (many) hats. As a result, the company has become a large part of the conversation surrounding site-specific theatre. In fact, during a recent company meeting about their upcoming opportunity to put down roots at the Brooklyn Lyceum, one company member asked “Why would we want to do that?”

The answer, as I see it, is that...sometimes...more is more. Even in theatre. Travelling will always be a piece of the BNW pie, but the Lyceum has offered the company its first taste of domesticity. And they're going for it.

To some degree, the pressure is on. BNW has made itself a hard act to follow. So they’re using this residency (from April 1^st through May 13^th) to create a space that is all theatre, all the time. Come by the Lyceum at any time during those six weeks and something theatrical will be happening. Playreadings, classes, rehearsals, full-scale productions of The Merry Wives of Windsor (Terrace) and Fabulation running in rotating rep!

This kind of immersion in the process of making theatre has always been a part of BNW’s vision. Because of the high demand for space, it turned out to be the tricky part! Thanks to this partnership with the Lyceum, it’s finally happening.

Follow the progress of this long-awaited opportunity by following BNW on Facebook, on Twitter, or joining the email list.

You can contribute to its current Indiegogo campaign here.