An anxious clown invites you on an absurdist, hyper-physical ego trip through the depths of his fretful psyche as he tries his best to ignore his worst inner critics and all their incessant CHATTER.
“Clown Spencer Novich is genuinely, outrageously funny” – ABC Arts Australia
“When he struts his stuff, it is simply mind-blowing” – Metro Co UK
Tix to this show are Name Your Price starting at $15, meaning you decide what you pay! We take a small portion of ticket sales to pay for the show’s front-of-house and theater technicians then pass on the rest of the single ticket revenue directly to the show’s lead artists. You can learn more about What’s Ars Is Yours: Name Your Price Tix by visiting our How We Do It page.
CHATTER will stream live from Ars Nova on September 5 @ 7pm on Ars Nova Supra. Following the live stream, you’ll be able to watch the show on-demand for up to a year. Get a cancel-anytime $15/mo subscription to stream live or on-demand.
Spencer Novich is a Performer, Creator and Director. On stage he has performed for Cirque du Soleil’s KA (1000+ performances), Blanc de Blanc (Sydney Opera House, London’s Hippodrome, Brisbane Festival) Vegas Nocturne (Cosmopolitan- Las Vegas) among others. On screen credits include American Horror Story (FX) and Physical (Apple+). He competed in the 33rd Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain where he was awarded a Bronze Medal and the Moulin Rouge Prize. As Comedy Director he worked for Palazzo (Berlin, Amsterdam, Vienna), Strut N Fret (Sydney Opera House) among others. He holds a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Play Hooky Productions was founded by Academy Award Winner Sam Rockwell and Mark Berger. The company produces bold, subversive, and artist driven film, TV, and theatre. They were the lead producers on the box office record breaking hit, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea starring Aubrey Plaza and Christopher Abbott. They currently have a slate of productions in development including a feature film based on the extraction of Carlos Ghosn, a musical opera entitled The Black Clown by Langston Hughes, directed by Zack Winokur and starring Davóne Tines, a live teleplay adaptation of 12 Angry Men, and an animated television series Hello from the Magic Tavern.
Lorenzo Pisoni has been part of the creative teams as a Movement Director for the Broadway productions of Spamalot, Parade, MJ, Almost Famous, Gary, Beetlejuice, Frozen, Noises Off and Off Broadway for Life and Trust, Lucy, Mac Beth, All the Fine Boys, Harlequin Studies. His solo show, Humor Abuse, which premiered in NYC, was recognized with Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Obie, Outer Critics Circle, awards before touring the U.S. Lorenzo has also directed the documentary film, Circus Kid, based on his childhood in his father’s circus.
As a theatrical composer and sound designer, Steve has worked for every major Australian national theatre company on just over 100 mainstage productions. He has worked alongside the country’s most acclaimed directors including Neil Armfield, Simon Phillips, Gale Edwards, Lee Lewis, John Bell and, internationally, including Steven Soderbergh and Kevin Maher (Choreographer to Madonna, Justin Bieber, etc) In addition to theatre, he has composed and produced music for film, advertising, pop artists, cabaret, circus, large scale events and national celebrations.
Marika Kent (she/her) is a Brooklyn based lighting designer. Recent/upcoming: Ulysses; Seagull (Elevator Repair Service), Reconstructing (The TEAM), Get Your Ass in the Water… (The Wooster Group), Fences (Trinity Rep), POTUS (Arena Stage), Sweeney Todd; Clyde’s; Choir Boy; Gem of the Ocean; School Girls… (Portland Center Stage), Bernarda’s Daughters; Amani (National Black Theater), Catch as Catch Can (Playwrights Horizons). Marika teaches design at NYU’s Playwrights Horizons Theater School and is a proud member of USA Local 829. www.marikakent.com
Nia Safarr Banks is a Costume Designer from Richmond, Virginia. She has been nominated for two Richmond Critic Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design in a Play An Octoroon ( TheatreLab), and in a Musical A Christmas Kaddish (Richmond Triangle Player). Her credits include: August Wilson’s Seven Guitars (Actors’ Shakespeare Project) , Hamlet (American Shakespeare Center), and Self Portrait (Deluxe) (The Bushwick Starr).
Ani Taj (Guest Choreographer): choreographer + founder of The Dance Cartel, between NYC and the misty west of Ireland. Taj is after dance that’s a GOOD TIME for everyone; the NY Times has described her work as “haute-performance theory with a house party vibe.” Recent thrills include Dead Outlaw at Minetta Lane, the musical film The End starring Tilda Swinton, and creating an uncategorizable DanceShowPartyThing with Sam Pinkleton for Virgin Voyages. Dance Cartel highlights: CONAN, Late Late Show; music videos for Yoko Ono, Reggie Watts, Vic Mensa; PS1/MoMA, Storm King, High Line, Ace Hotel, Oberon/ART. @anitaj @thedancecartel
Angela Goethals grew up watching Shakespeare in the Park while her mom worked backstage and never looked back. Theatre credits include Tina Howe’s Coastal Disturbances (Circle in the Square), The Good Times Are Killing Me (Minetta Lane – 1991 Obie Award and Drama Desk Nomination), Four Baboons Adoring the Sun (Lincoln Center Theatre), Picnic (Roundabout Theatre Company) and for director Erica Schmidt/Liar’s Club, Romeo and Juliet and As You Like It (opposite Lorenzo Pisoni). On film, she dished out French insults as Linnie McCallister in Home Alone and “danced with the devil” in Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Select TV: Phenom, The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire (created by David E. Kelley), 24 and Grey’s Anatomy. Most important role to date: Mom. She’s humbled and honored to be a part of this breathtaking new work.
Kate Ducey is a New York-based projection & lighting designer specializing in new & movement-based works. Projection Design: On Your Feet! (The MUNY), Eureka Day (Colt Coeur), Joan (Colt Coeur), The Pill (La Mama), Where Earth Meets the Sky (Cara Mia Theater, Dallas), What Makes A Citizen (Moody Hall, Dallas) and co-design of Unbreakable by Andrew Lippa (San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus). Lighting Design: Raw Pasta (New Ohio), What Makes A Citizen (Moody Hall, Dallas), Regret & Time Travel (Dixon Place), Untitled Rainbow Project (Wild Project) and Worse Than Tigers (New Ohio). www.kateducey.com
This show will take place at Ars Nova, located at 511 W 54th Street, New York, NY 10019.
Seating is general admission and first-come first-served. So, the earlier you arrive at the theater, the more choice you’ll have about where you sit! (Bonus: cheapest drinks in Midtown are at Bars Nova!)
The only way to guarantee you reserved seats is to become a Super Nova. Super Novas never hear “sold out,” get reserved seats in prime locations, and make fair wages and accessible tickets possible. Learn more about becoming a Super Nova here!
Tix to this show are Name Your Price starting at $15, meaning you decide what you pay! We take a small portion of ticket sales to pay for the show’s front-of-house and theater technicians then pass on the rest of the single ticket revenue directly to the show’s lead artists. You can learn more about What’s Ars Is Yours: Name Your Price Tix by visiting our How We Do It page.
If a performance is sold out, you can join a standby line for day-of-show tix made available by minute cancellations and no-shows. Standby will begin 1 hour prior to curtain and will form outsideFolks from the standby line will be admitted into the show on a rolling basis as availability is confirmed. Standby tix are name-your-price starting at $5 + fees.
Additionally, Supra is never sold out! If you can’t make the show in-person, you can always stream online for only $15/mo, which gets you unlimited streaming access to performances from the last year. You can cancel your membership anytime by emailing contact@arsnovanyc.com.
Once you’ve selected your performance date and time at check-out, you’ll see a number of ticket price options ranging from $5 to $100. Select the price point you want to pay and the number of tickets you’d like to purchase and they’ll be added to your cart. After that, continue through the check-out process and you’ll be all set!
Yes. The processing fees are charged by our ticketing and credit card processors, and increase along with the base price of your ticket.
Yes! Ars Nova Supra is our digital platform where you can live stream all of our one-night shows and watch premieres from the past year on-demand. For the low price of $15/mo, you can access an entire seasons worth of comedy, music and theater from our groundbreaking artists, and additionally you can cancel your subscription anytime!
All sales are final – there are no refunds or exchanges.
If you’re unable to use your tickets, you may donate them in exchange for a letter of tax credit by emailing tix@arsnovanyc.com.
We ask that you stay home if you aren’t feeling well or are awaiting the results of a COVID test. Please let us know prior to your ticketed performance, and we will work with you to find a solution if you’re unable to attend.
We welcome and encourage mask-wearing to protect yourself and others. However, as mask mandates have lifted and city, state and federal guidelines have changed, we will not be requiring them at performances.
We no longer require proof of vaccination, but we strongly encourage all audience members to get vaccinated and boosted in accordance with public health guidelines.
Our staff will clean and sanitize the theater and common areas and we’ll continue to provide hand sanitizer for your personal use.
Signage is posted in all spaces encouraging washing or sanitizing hands frequently.
Ars Nova is uncensored. We provide content advisories — to the best of our ability — to inform audiences when shows contain racial violence, racist language, sexual violence or nudity. We provide information about this type of content in advance, based on our core values, so that each audience member can make an informed decision about if and how they’d like to engage with that content. We welcome artists to share additional information about their shows based on their own core values.
Ars Nova is wheelchair accessible. If you wish or need to remain in your wheelchair throughout the show, our staff will remove the theater chair. This can be done by letting us know your needs/plans in advance; just email Declan Zhang. It can also be done without prior notice when you arrive! If you wish to transfer to the theater seat from your wheelchair, we are happy to store your wheelchair or motorized mobility aid in the lobby during the performance. The House Manager will return your mobility device to you at the end of the performance as this show has no intermission.
About 25% of the seating is on the ground floor of the theater and does not require using stairs to access. There are five six-inch steps to get into the building.
All remaining seats require no less than one and no more than three steps to access.
Licensed service animals (any dogs that are trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities) are welcome at Ars Nova. They must rest in your seating area throughout the performance and are unable to occupy the aisle. Please bring proof of certification or a license for your service animal and be prepared to present it to the House Manager upon request. You can send advance notice to Declan Zhang, which is appreciated, but not required.
Our bathrooms are stalled, all gender restrooms – everyone is welcome to use any bathroom of their choice. We have two single-person restrooms in the lobby; with the wheelchair accessible option located right outside the theater on the first floor (doors 7 feet 10 inches x 3 feet 10.5 inches).
We have space that can be made to offer privacy for feeding should you need at any time. See the House Manager onsite and they will arrange a comfortable space, with storage and refrigeration for your materials.
The audience seating locations could be in, around and throughout the playing area. Performers will be within 3’ of you.
The seating is a combination of chairs.
Black Chairs with back: 19” wide x 32.25” high x 21.75” deep with a 500lb capacity
Black Counter height: 16.5” wide x 38” high x 18” deep with a 500lb capacity
The doors for entry into the building are 7 feet 10.5 inches x 3 feet 7 inches (external) and 7 feet 10 inches x feet 10.5 inches (internal).
Box Office height is 3 feet 6 inches and the Bar height is 3 feet 8.5 inches.
