The Chocolate Factory: This Long Island City venue, under the leadership of Brian Rogers, is quickly becoming one of NYC's go-to theatres for audiences in search of inventive and challenging work. Among the new plays that premiered at the Chocolate Factory this year are 2 Husbands by Ken Urban (shown in photo), Washing Machine by Jason Stuart, KO'OLUA by Tom Lee, The Blue Puppies Cycle by David Vining; the theatre also hosted the premiere of all three parts of Bryn Manion's exquisite Force Trilogy. In Spring 2008, they'll be presenting new work by The National Theater of the United States of America, a US premiere by Brussels-based dance artist Eleanor Bauer (co-presented with Dance Theater Workshop), new dance and music performances by Aaron Siegel, Susan Hefner, and Michael Evans, Tara O'Con; plus new work-in-progress from Rogers and the 3rd Annual "Taste of LIC" in June.

Follow these links to learn more:
Review of The Blue Puppies Cycle
Review of KO'OLAU
Review of Welcome to Nowhere
Review of Washing Machine
Review of 2 Husbands
Review of Force Trilogy
The Chocolate Factory's official website

Tim Cusack & Jason Jacobs (Theatre Askew): Together and separately, the two leaders of Theatre Askew—actor/director/producer Tim Cusack and director/producer Jason Jacobs—consistently spotlight important social issues without ever sacrificing entertainment value. Askew produced Jason Shaffer's fascinating new play i google myself this year, directed by Jacobs and with Cusack in the lead (he's at left in the photo). Cusack also directed some of the plays in Peculiar Works Project's OFFStage: The East Village Fragments, while Jacobs directed Kathryn Blume's solo show The Boycott. Theatre Askew is developing an adaptation of The Seagull, which offers an askew-eyed perspective on Chekhov and incorporates text by Konstantin Stanislavsky. They plan to start performing parts of this work-in-progress in spring 2008.Also, Jason will be directing Shakespeare's As You Like It with theatre students at Long Island University at CW Post in February. And Tim will be continuing work with Alexandra Beller/Dances for a new piece, what comes after happy, which will be performed at HERE as part of CultureMart on Jan 16 and 17.

Follow these links to learn more:
Jason Jacobs interviews Kathryn Blume about The Boycott (AUDIO)
Tim Cusack interviews participants in OFFStage: the East Village Fragments (AUDIO)
Tim Cusack interviews Jason Shaffer about I google myself (AUDIO)
Review of The Boycott
Review of I google myself
Review of OFFStage: the East Village Fragments
Theatre Askew's official website

Kevin Doyle: Writer/director Kevin Doyle was seemingly everywhere this year, with no fewer than five productions in the works at such venues as chashama, the Pretentious Festival, and FringeNYC. Doyle (shown in photo) wrote, produced, and directed W.M.D. (just the low points), Compression of a Casualty, Fox(y) Friends, and not from canada with his talented colleagues at Sponsored by Nobody (for which he serves as artistic director); he also directed The Present Perfect (produced by Doctored Pictures). A full production of not from canada is scheduled for Spring 2008, and the premiere of a new play ATM in collaboration with Daniel Safer is planned for the Fall. In addition, Doyle has several film projects set to premiere this coming year.

Follow these links to learn more:
Interview with Kevin Doyle and members of Sponsored by Nobody (AUDIO)
Review of not from canada
Review of The Present Perfect

Electric Pear Productions: Under the leadership of co-executive producer Melanie Sylvan, this adventurous company is stretching the boundaries of theatre with adventurous works like Synesthesia. In the photo is a scene from another Electric Pear production, Baby Face, written by the company's other executive producer, prolific playwright Ashlin Halfnight. The company is currently developing the next round of the cross-genre, collaborative project, Synesthesia, to be presented in April 2008. Electric Pear is the associate producer of Lisa Kron's 2.5 Minute Ride, playing at Altered Stages in Jan-Feb, and they will be premiering an original radio play by Gregory Moss, recorded for podcast on Feb 5. The company has been invited to the Pula Festival in Hungary this summer where they will perform Halfnight's bilingual play Cronotopia.

Follow these links to learn more:
Ashlin Halfnight talks about Baby Face on Indie Theater Now (AUDIO)
Interview with Ashlin Halfnight, Melanie Sylvan, and Emily Long of Electric Pear Productions (AUDIO)
Review of Baby Face
Review of Mud Blossom
Review of Synesthesia
Electric Pear Productions' official website

FRIGID Festival: NYC's newest theatre festival, produced by Horse Trade Theatre Group at their three intimate East Village spaces, brought artists from all over the country to brighten up the winter season. Shown in the photo are Morgan Lindsay Tachco and Erez Ziv, who are respectively Artistic Producer and Managing Director of Horse Trade and the masterminds of the festival. FRIGID returns Feb 27 - Mar 9, 2008, in all three of Horse Trade's spaces, again kicking off the annual North American Fringe Circuit. Tickets go on sale January 7, 2008.

Follow these links to learn more:
Frigid Festival participants roundtable (AUDIO)
Frigid Festival participants roundtable (AUDIO)
Interview with Erez Ziv and Morgan Lindsay Tachco about the Frigid Festival (AUDIO)
FRIGID Festival official website

Mia Katigbak: As an actor, as co-founder of the National Asian American Theatre Festival, and as artistic director of National Asian American Theatre Company, Mia Katigbak helped remind audiences of the astonishing diversity of the NYC theatre scene. In addition to producing several productions at NAATCO, she also found time to give another of her indelible performances, as the domineering mother in Jorge Cortinas's Blind Mouth Singing (that's her in a scene from that show in the photo).

Follow these links to learn more:
Mia Katigbak discusses the National Asian American Theatre Festival wit co-founders Jorge Ortoll and Tisa Chang (AUDIO)
Review of Blind Mouth Singing
Review of The House of Bernarda Alba
National Asian American Theatre Company's official website

Cyndy A. Marion: This talented young director helmed new productions of plays by Tennessee Williams and Leslie Lee, among others, at the Abingdon Theatre, La MaMa, and more. Marion (in photo), who is artistic director of White Horse Theatre Company, had a great success early in the year with a revival of the rarely seen In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel. From September 19 - October 5, 2008, Marion will direct a revival of another rarely produced Tennessee Williams play, Small Craft Warnings, for The White Horse Theater Company.

Follow these links to learn more:
Interview with Cyndy A. Marion about In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel (AUDIO)
Interview with Cyndy A. Marion about White Horse Theatre Company
Review of PB&J
Review of In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel
White Horse Theater Company's official website

Metropolitan Playhouse: Now in its 16th season, this Alphabet City company is the only NYC theatre that consistently offers theatergoers the opportunity to look backward at American history and drama. This year they presented the New York premiere of the drama Denial, about a Holocaust denier; as well as fine revivals of the vintage American plays Andre, Margaret Fleming, and a program of one acts by Eugene O'Neill. Artistic director Alex Roe is seen in the photo in one of the O'Neill offerings. The Season of Virtue at Metropolitan includes eleven different productions about the good, the bad, and the theater in America. Coming up are a one-man show about the Donner party, a 100-character show about the US occupation of the Philippines, and a one-lost-soul show about fighting with the Devil...plus a series of plays inspired by Hawthorne, and another series inspired by the East Village.

Follow these links to learn more:
Alex Roe performs an excerpt from The Pioneer on Indie Theater Now (AUDIO)
Discussion of Metropolitan Playhouse's Spring 2007 Season (AUDIO)
Review of The Pioneer
Review of Margaret Fleming
Review of East Village Chronicles
Review of Andre
Review of Denial
Metropolitan Playhouse's official website

Edith O'Hara: At 90, the founder and artistic director of Thirteenth Street Repertory Theatre, home of the longest-running off-off-Broadway show in history, faces the most significant challenges in her career as she rallies to save her theatre from real estate developers. O'Hara (shown in photo) kept her Greenwich Village theatre lit every week of the year, presenting a variety of productions in addition to her signature show Line, including an excellent revival of Bent and the Joel Schatzky drama Amahlia.

Follow these links to learn more:
Review of Bent
Review of Amahlia
Review of Five Story Walkup

Mac Rogers: Versatile playwright and actor Mac Rogers worked onstage and behind the scenes on a variety of projects this year, including the award-winning Hail, Satan at FringeNYC. Universal Robots, which he wrote and directed at Manhattan Theatre Source in July, perhaps his most distinguished work yet, will be published in February in NYTE's Plays and Playwrights 2008. The photo shows a scene from Universal Robots.

Follow these links to learn more:
Mac Rogers talks about Hail, Satan! on Indie Theater Now (AUDIO)
Review of Hail, Satan
Review of Universal Robots
Mac Rogers's blog

T. Schreiber Studio: This long-running acting studio, headed by acclaimed teacher/actor/director Terry Schreiber, has become one of indie theater's treasures, featuring first-class productions of classic and new plays with incomparable (and award-winning) production values. Coming up at T. Schreiber Studio: The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams, directed by Schreiber (Feb 21 - Mar 30), and The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard / The Actor's Nightmare by Christopher Durang, directed by Peter Jensen (May 8 - Jun 15). In the photo is a scene from the Schreiber revival of Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile, directed by Cat Parker and featuring a NYIT Award-winning set by George Allison.

Follow these links to learn more:
Interview with Terry Schreiber and Cat Parker (AUDIO)
Review of Sister Cities
Review of You Can't Take It With You
Review of Picasso at the Lapin Agile
T. Schreiber Studio official website

Storm Theatre: Helmed by artistic director Peter Dobbins, the Storm distinguished itself this year with a fine new play (John Regis's Linnea) plus the unprecented and invaluable festival of plays by Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II). The latter event gave New Yorkers an opportunity to see four seldom-produced plays, including the fascinating The Jeweler's Shop. In the photo are Benita Robledo and Josh Vasquez in a scene from Linnea. Linnea will be published in February in NYTE's Plays and Playwrights 2008. Up next at Storm is a revival of The Shaughraun, in honor of the tenth anniversary of the Storm's prior production (and marking the Storm's tenth anniversary as well). It runs January 4th through February 2nd.

Follow these links to learn more:
Peter Dobbins discusses the Karol Wojtyla Festival (AUDIO)
Review of Jeremiah
Review of Job
Review of The Jeweler's Shop
Review of Linnea
Storm Theatre's official website

Trav S.D.: NYC's number one Renaissance Man of the Theater, Trav S.D. acted in, wrote, directed, produced, and composed an astonishing number of new works this year...in addition to hosting nytheatrecast's popular monthly Indie Theater Now series. Among Trav S.D.'s credits this year were his remarkable one-man show Nihils at the Pretentious Festival, the monthly salon The Moxie Show, and readings of several new plays that we hope will be coming soon to NYC theatres. Plans for 2008 include (January) "Merrymount" in Hawthornicopia at Metropolitan Playhouse; production of two new full lengths "Family of Man" and "Jasper Jaxon", and a musical comedy sketch revue to be directed by Jeff Lewonczyk.

Follow these links to learn more:
Trav S.D. talks about Nihils on Indie Theater Now (AUDIO)
Interview with Trav S.D. on the Indie Theatre Life (AUDIO)
Interview with Trav S.D. about his book No Applause, Just Throw Money
Review of East Village Chronicles
Review of Nihils
Trav S.D. on MySpace

Ken Urban: Playwright Ken Urban had two outstanding new works in NYC this year, along with several others in development, plus other productions across the country. 2 Husbands, inspired in part by the Terri Schiavo case, premiered in the spring, while The Private Lives of Eskimos, an intellectual techno-thriller, was presented by Urban's company The Committee in the fall. He was named a 2007-2009 Playwriting Fellow at the Huntington Theater in Boston, MA. Tecmessa (a footnote on envy) will be seen at Little Theater at Dixon Place on Jan 7 (directed by Jose Zayas) and at Rude Guerrilla in Orange, California in June 2008 as part of Seven Deadly Sins.

Follow these links to learn more:
Ken Urban talks about The Private Lives of Eskimos on Indie Theater Now (AUDIO)
Interview with Ken Urban about his work
Review of The Private Lives of Eskimos
Review of 2 Husbands
Ken Urban's website
The Committee's official website

Jose Zayas: With his company The Immediate Theatre Company, and with other companies such as Repertorio Espanol, he is becoming one of the NYC's hottest directors. You can also see him at the HERE Arts Center, where he's been on staff at the box office for several years. Zayas (in photo) scored strongly with the double bill of Thomas Bradshaw plays at the Brick early in the year, and then again with the NYC premiere of Nowhere on the Border, a bilingual play by Carlos Lacámara. Jose is currently directing a two-person Christmas Carol in Saratoga. He will be assisting Michael Pressman on Come Back Little Sheba starring S. Epatha Merkerson and Kevin Anderson. He is literary managing the 2008 EST Marathon and is also a resident director there. Upcoming directing projects include Desi Moreno-Penson's Ghost Light; a new play with Ken Urban, a remounting of Tecmessa for Little Theater and a possible extension of their crazy adaptation of Aristophanes's The Wasps; a dance piece called Reparations with James Scruggs at the Joyce; another fun and hush hush project with Thomas Bradshaw; and an adaptation with Caridad Svich of Isabel Allende's The House of The Spirits for Repertorio Espanol.

Follow these links to learn more:
Interview with Jose Zayas and Thomas Bradshaw about Strom Thurmond is a Racist and Cleansed (AUDIO)
Review of Nowhere on the Border
Review of Strom Thurmond is Not a Racist and Cleansed
The Immediate Theatre Company's official website