212 West 14 Street, Suite 2A, New York, NY 10011
Phone: (212)242-6036 Fax: (212)989-8864
Email: info@nyartists.org
Melba LaRose, Artistic Director
Phone: (212)242-6036 Fax: (212)989-8864
Email: info@nyartists.org
Melba LaRose, Artistic Director
Coming Soon
BIG DOWNEAST NEWS
We have word from the new owner of the building at 203 Avenue A that official occupancy papers 'may' be approved soon. We could use help & ideas in preparation for this imminent return to Downeast Arts Center. Board meetings and committee meetings (Planning, PR & Marketing, Fundraising, Partnerships), are being held and anyone is welcome to jump in on this exciting venture!
We have word from the new owner of the building at 203 Avenue A that official occupancy papers 'may' be approved soon. We could use help & ideas in preparation for this imminent return to Downeast Arts Center. Board meetings and committee meetings (Planning, PR & Marketing, Fundraising, Partnerships), are being held and anyone is welcome to jump in on this exciting venture!
About us: Company
A company of 25 actors, directors and playwrights, representing cultures of Africa, Europe, North/ Central/ South America, and Asia , we work in three areas of programming: developing new works, performing repertory, and mainstage touring. We perform for adults and children in unconventional spaces, such as dining rooms, gyms and community rooms in senior centers, nursing homes, women's centers, community centers, parks & recreation centers, public libraries, and sometimes productions end up on spectacular stages. Arriving self-contained at performance sites, we put up a set, not unlike a traveling circus. Performances are interactive and followed by a discussion or workshop. While we load out, company members assist with evaluations, which help us determine if the project 'speaks' to viewers. On a small budget, we serve an audience of approximately 30,000 annually.
In residence at Downeast Arts Center on the Lower East Side, NY Artists Unlimited expanded offerings to include: open mikes, staged readings, a playwrights unit, visual art exhibits, play & musical festivals, classes/ workshops, children's events, Modern Metrics Poets, poetry-jazz with Hydrogen Jukebox, and more. Some outstanding events at the center: Reverend Jen's Anti-Slam!, Talking Stick with Master Lee & Mr. Patrick; the E.Vil (East Village) Film Festival; and outstanding talents: Zero Boy, Sue Costello, the Red Bastard, Rob Shapiro, Jessica Delfino, Sue Ball, Rosie Rebel, and favorite band Huck DeMilo & Bronze Fondue.
Visual art exhibits: Lixo/Luxo (Litter/Luxury), A.C.E. - the Artists of Color Exhibition, and Flights of Fantasy (multicultural children artists). The Umbrellas of 9/11 walking exhibit takes place on streets throughout the City. Sculptor-installation artist Elson de Faria directs actors to carry damaged, coverless umbrellas to beg the question: How safe are we?
In 2005, the Bad Plays Festival premiered, followed quickly by the Bad Musicals Festival, and they have been roaring ever since. A festival of truly GOOD plays that are cutting-edge, politically incorrect, political satire, and such, it aims to make us have a good laugh at ourselves. Bad Plays-Bad Musicals-Bad Films are now set to run simultaneously in two theatres under the umbrella title of the International CringeFest. This event provides exposure for more than 300 artists annually, including playwrights, composers, lyricists, directors, musical directors, choreographers, designers, filmmakers, and performers. Proceeds from the festival go to support the company's dedicated outreach efforts.
The company holds a Volunteers for Youth award from the NYC Department of Juvenile Justice.
BIOS
MELBA LaROSE (founder-artistic director) is a veteran actress of avant-garde theatre, film & TV turned playwright-director-actress. She debuted in NY as a campy Jean Harlow in the leading role of GLAMOUR, GLORY & GOLD . Supporting players were famed Warhol stars Jackie Curtis (who also wrote the play) and Candy Darling, directed by Ron Link. They worked together for years to come. For NY Artists Unlimited, she has written, directed, and sometimes appeared in: A BUILDER OF DREAMS (the poetry & life of maternal grandmother Myrtle Evelyn Lawrence, 1893-1963), SONG OF THE SIMPLE TRUTH - EL CANTO DE JULIA DE BURGOS, LITTLE RED - GIRL FROM THE HOOD, EBONY BLACK, WHO'S THERE?, SPOTLIGHT, CITYSCAPES 3, RIME ICE, VOICES OF THE TOWN - A VAUDEVILLE SALUTE! and more. She toured internationally with the Obie Award-winning NY Street Theatre Caravan and assisted on the Actors Studio concert reading at Carnegie Hall of DON JUAN IN HELL, starring Gore Vidal, Susan Sontag, Gay Talese and Norman Mailer. While an actress member of Group Repertory Theatre, L.A. , she began writing under the aegis of Lonny Chapman, Artistic Director. Her work has been under consideration by Jerry London at CBS and Disney/ Touchstone Films. Melba conducted master classes in acting at the Free University of L.A., 18th St. Playhouse, and at Downeast Arts Center . A published poet, she was a founding member of The Commotion - Poets & Co.
Honors & Awards: Who's Who in America , Who's Who in the World, Who's Who of American Women, Who's Who in Executives & Professionals, Fulbright Senior Specialist Roster Candidate. Playwriting grants: Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Manhattan Community Arts Fund. Phi Theta Kappa honors graduate and SUNY Distinguished Alumnus Award, Gold Key Honor Society, Best Actress - Town Hall Film Festival. Associations: Dramatists Guild, Drama League, Theatre Resources Unlimited. Guest Actress - Playwriting Units: Actors Studio, NY & L.A.; Group Repertory Theatre; HB Playwrights Foundation.
In residence at Downeast Arts Center on the Lower East Side, NY Artists Unlimited expanded offerings to include: open mikes, staged readings, a playwrights unit, visual art exhibits, play & musical festivals, classes/ workshops, children's events, Modern Metrics Poets, poetry-jazz with Hydrogen Jukebox, and more. Some outstanding events at the center: Reverend Jen's Anti-Slam!, Talking Stick with Master Lee & Mr. Patrick; the E.Vil (East Village) Film Festival; and outstanding talents: Zero Boy, Sue Costello, the Red Bastard, Rob Shapiro, Jessica Delfino, Sue Ball, Rosie Rebel, and favorite band Huck DeMilo & Bronze Fondue.
Visual art exhibits: Lixo/Luxo (Litter/Luxury), A.C.E. - the Artists of Color Exhibition, and Flights of Fantasy (multicultural children artists). The Umbrellas of 9/11 walking exhibit takes place on streets throughout the City. Sculptor-installation artist Elson de Faria directs actors to carry damaged, coverless umbrellas to beg the question: How safe are we?
In 2005, the Bad Plays Festival premiered, followed quickly by the Bad Musicals Festival, and they have been roaring ever since. A festival of truly GOOD plays that are cutting-edge, politically incorrect, political satire, and such, it aims to make us have a good laugh at ourselves. Bad Plays-Bad Musicals-Bad Films are now set to run simultaneously in two theatres under the umbrella title of the International CringeFest. This event provides exposure for more than 300 artists annually, including playwrights, composers, lyricists, directors, musical directors, choreographers, designers, filmmakers, and performers. Proceeds from the festival go to support the company's dedicated outreach efforts.
The company holds a Volunteers for Youth award from the NYC Department of Juvenile Justice.
BIOS
MELBA LaROSE (founder-artistic director) is a veteran actress of avant-garde theatre, film & TV turned playwright-director-actress. She debuted in NY as a campy Jean Harlow in the leading role of GLAMOUR, GLORY & GOLD . Supporting players were famed Warhol stars Jackie Curtis (who also wrote the play) and Candy Darling, directed by Ron Link. They worked together for years to come. For NY Artists Unlimited, she has written, directed, and sometimes appeared in: A BUILDER OF DREAMS (the poetry & life of maternal grandmother Myrtle Evelyn Lawrence, 1893-1963), SONG OF THE SIMPLE TRUTH - EL CANTO DE JULIA DE BURGOS, LITTLE RED - GIRL FROM THE HOOD, EBONY BLACK, WHO'S THERE?, SPOTLIGHT, CITYSCAPES 3, RIME ICE, VOICES OF THE TOWN - A VAUDEVILLE SALUTE! and more. She toured internationally with the Obie Award-winning NY Street Theatre Caravan and assisted on the Actors Studio concert reading at Carnegie Hall of DON JUAN IN HELL, starring Gore Vidal, Susan Sontag, Gay Talese and Norman Mailer. While an actress member of Group Repertory Theatre, L.A. , she began writing under the aegis of Lonny Chapman, Artistic Director. Her work has been under consideration by Jerry London at CBS and Disney/ Touchstone Films. Melba conducted master classes in acting at the Free University of L.A., 18th St. Playhouse, and at Downeast Arts Center . A published poet, she was a founding member of The Commotion - Poets & Co.
Honors & Awards: Who's Who in America , Who's Who in the World, Who's Who of American Women, Who's Who in Executives & Professionals, Fulbright Senior Specialist Roster Candidate. Playwriting grants: Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Manhattan Community Arts Fund. Phi Theta Kappa honors graduate and SUNY Distinguished Alumnus Award, Gold Key Honor Society, Best Actress - Town Hall Film Festival. Associations: Dramatists Guild, Drama League, Theatre Resources Unlimited. Guest Actress - Playwriting Units: Actors Studio, NY & L.A.; Group Repertory Theatre; HB Playwrights Foundation.
Our Mission
NY ARTISTS UNLIMITED, founded in 1982, is dedicated to taking professional theatre to under-served audiences. The company focuses on works that evoke dignity of the individual and sanctity of the human spirit. A multicultural nonprofit touring company, we travel self-contained to NY's inner city neighborhoods as well as to remote regions of the Northeast in order to create an appreciation and understanding of the arts through performances, discussions and workshops. Audiences are composed of people who, because of economics, geographical location, disability, age, and the like, cannot afford tickets or gain access to thought-provoking entertainment. Workshops with artist-teachers are offered in Creative Dramatics, Improvisation & Comedy, Poetry Writing & Performing, Broadway/Jazz Dance, and more. Teachers have included: Richard Pryor Jr., Kenny Wade Marshall, Court Sweeting, Francis J. Roach.