The Bushwick Starr is a full-scale non-profit performance venue and presenting organization dedicated to bringing a continuum of art and artists to the Bushwick community. Focusing on the presentation of theater, dance and music, they offer a professional and supportive space in which to develop and present new work. Since 2001, they have grown into a thriving theatrical venue, a vital neighborhood arts center, and a destination for exciting and engaging performance. Managing Director Sue Kessler and Artistic Director Noel Allain took time to update us on what’s happening in Bushwick!

What’s your mission, and how do you (and your colleagues) make it happen every day?

Sue: Over our years of  development, we have focused on providing a supportive and creative environment for visiting artists while staying firmly rooted in our commitment to our neighborhood. We are an organization defined by our artists and our community; our partnerships and programming continue to evolve to reflect these institutional priorities. We believe in supporting serious artists caught in a moment of exploration. The work is at the core of what we do, and it’s definitely what keeps us going. We are still a small, basically all volunteer company, but our team is comprised of hard-working people who are passionate about the work that we do, and excited about being a part of our growth.

The artists you work with are interdisciplinary, interesting, and probably lots of other adjectives. How do you manage and curate programming?

Noel: Yes, yes. We’re really excited about the caliber of artists we’ve been able to present at our space. Currently, we don’t offer a submission process. We simply approach the people we most want to work with, whose work we find inspiring and exciting, and ask them if they’d like to be part of our season. I go see a lot of new work, which serves as the main curation process for me at the moment. Sue and I recently defined our roles as Managing Director and Artistic Director respectively, so I’m more focused on cultivating artist relationships. I’m also working with Mark Sitko as an Associate Artistic Director. So I’ll think of a list of artists we’d love to present and go over it with Mark and then he’ll have some ideas as well and then we’ll approach people and see what works out. Sue has a great talent for handling the inner workings of the theater. There is no way the Starr could survive without her. She handles scheduling, marketing, fundraising, etc… of course there’s a lot of overlap. Sue curates the puppetry festival herself, we collaborate on The Bushwhack Series, and I also participate on the managing and fundraising side in a big way. You know, we wear a lot of hats as anyone who runs a small organization does.  I tell people I’m the Artistic Director AND the janitor.

Is it scary to present new work? Have you ever had a completely unexpected audience response to a production?

Noel: Well, the bottom line is always scary, if you know what I mean. Rent needs to be paid, etc. But we’ve always been about new work so it’s our natural inclination. We’ve learned a bit about how to program based on the size of a company’s audience. We might not program a really new company for a four week run. We’d try to start out small. But in terms of audience reaction, yeah, we’ve had some surprises. We worked with a local band called Pass Kontrol developing a play called ‘New Hope City’. It wasn’t a rock opera per-se, but it was somewhere in that world.   We had been fans of their music for years, so I was really interested in helping them develop this piece, but we had no idea what the final product would be. These guys weren’t theater professionals - they were musicians and visual artists. We just weren’t sure what we would end up with. But it was fantastic - a runaway, sold-out success. The show they created was really unique, and it inspired a lot of people. That was a great experience; to take a chance like that and really be rewarded.

What are some of the upcoming productions that you are excited about?

Sue: We’re excited about everything! This is a big year for us, since we are presenting our first official full season of programming, and we’re honestly equally excited about all the shows we have lined up. But the most unique and challenging project is Big Green Theater (BGT), which is a community-driven environmental education initiative that we’ve been developing for over a year (we’re thrilled it’s finally coming to fruition!) Here’s how the program works:  starting October 16, we will be leading weekly writing sessions with the Bushwick-based student writing group, Still Waters in a Storm. During these sessions, we will help educate the students about environmental issues relevant to Bushwick. Over a period of five months, the students will generate a series of environmentally themed plays that will then be performed on a full scale at our theater by professional actors, designers, and directors.

The performances will take place in April 2011, and will be done using only green theater methods (recycled materials for sets, energy efficient lighting, no paper ticketing or programs, etc.) We have also partnered with Superhero Clubhouse, an environmental theater company, who will help lead the writing sessions, as well as stage the student’s plays. We are establishing BGT as an annual program that we hope will grow into a neighborhood wide festival. We designed BGT so that everyone who works on it is also touched by it. It’s an extremely interactive project that’s meant to raise awareness for the environmental movement through its process and performance. Our theater is committed to being a part of community environmental awareness, and this program is our way of actively working toward change through a creative and interactive process. With BGT, we are introducing a new model for arts spaces to provide community-driven green initiatives that serve a global cause.

How do you envision artists working towards environmental change?

Sue: It’s all about taking little steps. The first thing is to communicate what you’re trying to do. Get the word out, and get people excited about the fun, creative, and easy ways to make art while staying environmentally conscious. We try to make it clear to all the artists who work in our theater that we are green-minded. We offer recycling facilities, green cleaning products, energy efficient appliances, and any recycled materials we can offer. We also choose to buy power from a renewable energy source via ConEd Solutions. We ask our artists to keep the environment in mind throughout their production, so that they can do their part to stay green and help spread the word about creating eco-friendly theater. We are currently attempting to get sponsorship from an environmentally friendly cosmetic company so that we can offer artists green alternatives to hairspray (pump only) and makeup (animal testing-free.)

A space that inspired us is Chez Bushwick, which built the first LEED certified building in Brooklyn, The Greenbelt.  It’s a condo in Williamsburg with a ground level dance and performance space, and was developed with The Propeller Group, a green design and development firm. We are interested collaborating with The Propeller Group to expand our rooftop farm. This past spring, we began a partnership with our local hydroponic farming guru, Lee Mandell, and his Bushwick-based organization, Boswyck Farms. Thanks to this partnership, we are able to bring more awareness to our community about healthy and sustainable food practices. Every day, artists and audiences come through our theater and are able to visit the farm. It’s tangible, accessible, and hands-on, and therefore, a powerful reminder of the importance of working sustainability into our everyday lives. People can see it, walk right up to it, and if they’re lucky, Lee might be around to explain the beauty of hydroponics - and how easy staying healthy and green can be!

We are looking forward to a long relationship with Boswyck Farms. Our goal is to turn the farm into a more prominent learning center for our community, and implement a regular schedule for open-house workshops and demonstrations.

How has working with Fractured Atlas helped The Bushwick Starr present new work?

Sue: Fiscal sponsorship has legitimized our efforts over the years to gain support. It has provided us with an easy and professional way to accept donations (and helped with all the administrative overhead that goes along with that!) Over the years, we have taken advantage of the invaluable support that FA offers with grant applications, insurance, fundraising, and general advice, which has obviously helped our organization mature. And we can’t say enough about the personal support and general good vibes we always get from the team at Fractured Atlas. At this point, the people at Fractured Atlas feel like friends and partners - not some company run by anonymous worker-bees.  It makes all the difference when you’re a small arts organization that’s working hard to learn and grow.

What’s next?

Noel: Our 2010/2011 season! We’re opening with Performance Lab 115 in October. They’re doing an adaptation of Wagner’s Ring Cycle using the world of 80’s and 90’s pro-wrestling. I’ve seen the rehearsals and it’s going to be hilarious and raucous. You know a company is excited when the people in rehearsal are cheering and jeering at the actors on stage. That’s in rehearsal!  It’s going to be a LOT of fun. Then we have our new puppetry festival, Band of Puppets, in November. The festival will feature new puppetry pieces inspired by the “golden age” of music videos. This year’s theme is David Bowie. Then we finish off 2010 with Dan Safer from Witness Relocation.  He’s creating a dance/theater piece called ‘I’m Going to Make a Small Incision Behind Your Ear To Check And See If You Are Actually Human’. It’s using the TV show ‘V’ as a starting point. If you don’t know Dan’s work, it’s dangerous, intelligent, aggressive, and sensitive. He’s a great artist. Check out the whole season at www.thebushwickstarr.org

Images courtesy of Sue Kessler.