A Night of Readings in Support of down&out at Exponential Festival

down&out is a new performance series about feeling bad at the club. How do we hold despair, conflict, disconnection, disappointment, panic, and ennui in a space where we’re meant to be dissociative and euphoric? If the dance floor can't be an escape from our personal, social, and political realities, can it still be a release? Written by Obie-winning playwright Ife Olujobi, directed by Garrett Allen, performed by a rotating cast of actors and club kids alike, and live-scored by a professional DJ, down&out aims to bridge the gap between nightlife and the capital-T Theatre by exploring the kaleidoscopic and spontaneous ways we perform for and with each other on a night out, and to examine what the hedonism of the club can offer us in these trying times.

down&out vol. 1: estranged was a site-specific performance at Jupiter Disco, a club in Bushwick (photos here). After the success of that completely grassroots production, my director and collaborator Garrett Allen and I are bringing the show back with down&out vol. 2: crisis! which will have its premiere with Exponential Festival at Brooklyn Art Haus in Williamsburg, on January 28 and 29, 2026. Please save the dates for those shows!

In the meantime, we're presenting an in-progress reading of the new show alongside some talented friends reading poetry and prose, and featuring some sonic offerings from our show DJ, doula. The reading will also serve as a fundraiser for down&out at Exponential so that we can pay our artists and collaborators, pay for rehearsal and tech time, and purchase necessary equipment. Details below:

Date: December 16th

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Heath Gallery (24 W 120th Street)

Readings by: Nazareth Hassan, Kyle Carrero Lopez, &more

Cast featuring: Lindsay Rico, Kai Heath, Candice Saint Williams, Yeelen Cohen, Paris Alexander, &more

Sounds by DOULA

FREE RSVP with donations at the door.
$15-30 sliding scale
No one turned away for lack of funds.
Please support our project by giving through Fractured Atlas:

https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/down-out