Theater
One night, my friends and I stumbled upon a birthday party at a warehouse in Greenpoint. This place felt pretty cozy but it seemed like no one actually lived there. More like some kind of workplace. Later I found out it was called the Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research, or “The Center” for short. It was the actor George Olesky’s birthday party, and I noticed a lot of familiar faces from the underground theatre scene in New York. People I’d see hanging out at Beckett’s for smoky intimate readings, or at one of Matt Weinberger’s happenings. I followed The Center online and heard about a whole gamut of plays being put on by the playwright Matthew Gasda. Since May 2023, I have been adamantly photographing productions at The Center, generating a whole new body of work.
Seeing a play at The Center is interesting because it’s strikingly intimate. They all take place in a small living room, with the actors performing extremely close to the audience. Sometimes the actors even sit in the audience while performing mid-dialogue. Since the space is so small, you have to create a path for the actors to walk back and forth between parts of the room. For me, this creates an interesting effect where I feel like I’m inside of the play. Gasda’s plays, which are often centered around interpersonal relationships, resonate with my own sensibilities as an artist. It is no wonder I keep coming back to see them.
I have photographed different plays in Brooklyn including, Messages, This Time, Ardor, and By Morning, all directed by Gasda. I’ve also photographed a play at The Hancock called A Thump, A Thud, A Roar, by Cassidy Grady. I want to continue to explore the world of underground theatre and expand on this new body of work.
List of Works
1. Matt Street, The Center, New York, 2023
2. Riel and Mia in ‘Lola’s Movie’ rehearsal,
The Tank, New York, 2023
3. Cigarettes and Wine, New York, 2023
4. George in ‘Ardor’, New York, 2023
5. Embrace in ‘By Morning’, New York, 2023
6. Tension in ‘By Morning’, New York, 2023
7. Asli in ‘Messages’, New York, 2023
8. Running in ‘Ardor’, New York, 2023
9. Embrace in ‘A Thump, A Thud, A Roar’,
The Hancock, New York, 2023
10. Set from ‘A Thump, A Thud, A Roar’,
The Hancock, New York, 2023
For commissions contact: m@marcusmaddox.co