The Flea Theater Inc

WE SUPPORT AND INVEST IN EXPERIMENTAL ART BY BLACK, BROWN, AND QUEER ARTISTS. WE PROVIDE SPACE, FINANCIAL SUPPORT, PRODUCING PARTNERSHIP AND OTHER RESOURCES SO THAT THEY MAY DEVELOP AND SHARE THEIR VISION IN COMMUNITY WITH AUDIENCES.

IN JANUARY 2021 WE LAUNCHED OUR ENGAGEMENT WITH CJAM, A BLACK WOMAN-LED STRATEGIC CONSULTING FIRM, TO GUIDE US TOWARD A NEW INSTITUTIONAL DIRECTION. OUR WORK WITH CJAM INCLUDED A RESTORATIVE PROCESS WITH 13 OF THE FLEAS FORMER RESIDENT ARTISTS; DEI TRAINING FOR OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS; EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP AND BOARD DEVELOPMENT; AND A COMPREHENSIVE VISIONING PROCESS THAT HELPED TO COLLABORATIVELY DESIGN THE FLEAS NEW STRATEGIC PLAN.THROUGHOUT THE VISIONING AND STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS IN 2021, THE FLEA KEPT ITS ARTISTIC MISSION MOVING FORWARD. THE FLEA COMMISSIONED AND DEVELOPED ITS FIRST MAJOR NEW WORK IN OVER TWO YEARS: ARDEN: BUT NOT WITHOUT YOU. ARDEN WAS A LARGE-SCALE IMMERSIVE PERFORMANCE DEVISED BY THE FLEAS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR NIEGEL SMITH; MACARTHUR FELLOWS CARRIE MAE WEEMS AND OKWUI OKPOKWASILI; DIANA OH; AND PETER BORN, AND WAS DEVELOPED THROUGHOUT 2021 WITH PUBLIC PREVIEWS PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK AND HARLEMS BROTHERHOOD SISTER SOL PLAZA. ARDEN ULTIMATELY RECEIVED ITS WORLD PREMIERE AT THE FLEA, FEBRUARY - MARCH 2022. ALSO IN 2021, THE FLEA LAUNCHED OUR NEW JUNETEENTH COMMISSIONING PROGRAM, WHICH AWARDS BLACK PERFORMANCE ARTISTS $2,500 TO WRITE AND STAGE FREE PUBLIC PERFORMANCES IN RESPONSE TO JUNETEENTH. 2021 INAUGURAL ARTISTS WERE IMANI UZURI, CHANON JUDSON, JAMES SCRUGGS, AND NIEGEL SMITH (FORGOING A COMMISSION). ADDITIONALLY, THE FLEA PARTNERED WITH BEDLAM NYC IN OCTOBER 2021 TO CO-PRODUCE A DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP AND INDUSTRY PRESENTATION OF 2021 PULITZER-FINALIST ZORA HOWARDS NEW THEATRICAL INSTALLATION, HANG TIME AS PART OF THE FLEAS ONGOING SEASON PLANNING WORK. THE FLEA WILL PREMIERE HANG TIME IN 2023.THE FLEA IS EXCITED TO HAVE LAUNCHED AN AMBITIOUS NEW MISSION AS IT CLIMBS WITH GREAT FAITH AND OPTIMISM OUT OF DUAL CATASTROPHES - THE BREAKDOWN OF ITS OLD MODEL AND THE PANDEMIC. WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT OUR TREMENDOUS CREATIVE AND STRUCTURAL WORK OVER 2021, ALONG WITH THE STRENGTH OF THE FLEAS LEGACY THAT MAKES IT EMBLEMATIC OF EXPERIMENTATION AND ADVENTURE, WILL HOLD US IN GREAT STEAD FOR THE NEXT TRULY CULTURALLY AND ARTISTICALLY DIVERSE CHAPTER OF THE FLEAS HISTORY.