It all ends with a special ANT Fest edition of SHOWGASM, Ars Nova’s raucous and singular variety-show-meets party, serving up everything hot & wild the city has to offer, from ground-breaking drag to the freshest comedians to theremins, burlesque, and everything (and anything) in between. Join for the pre-show party and expect to meet the who’s-who of the weird and wonderful.
ANT Fest shows will premiere on Ars Nova Supra later this fall. Ars Nova Supra is our digital platform where you can stream all of our one-night shows 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!
The “hilariously sociopathic” (New York Times) Erin Markey is a performer and writer/creator of live performance works, often darkly comedic and driven by original music compositions. Erin is currently developing a new musical performance project, First Lady. They have written songs for Tender Claws VR games The Under Presents and Virtual Virtual Reality 2. On television, Erin appeared on High Maintenance (HBO), Girls5Eva (Netflix), Fantasmas (HBO) and At Home with Amy Sedaris (TruTV). Onstage, Markey recently performed in Galas (Little Island), Staff Meal (Playwrights Horizons) and Internal Audit (The Kitchen). They are a company member of Obie Award winning Half Straddle.
Their original shows have toured nationally and internationally to ART (Cambridge, MA), The Yard Theater (London, UK), Philly Live Arts/FRINGE (Philadelphia, PA), Luminato Festival (Toronto, ON), PICA’s TBA Festival (Portland, OR), Fierce Festival (Birmingham, UK), Fusebox Festival (Austin, TX), San Francisco Film Society and more. Markey’s most recent music/theater works include Singlet (Bushwick Starr), Boner Killer (Under the Radar Festival at the Public Theater), A Ride On The Irish Cream (American Realness Festival at Abrons Arts Center), and the in-progress Little Surfer (Public Theater New York Voices). Their short play, Siobhan’s Wheel World was published in The Brooklyn Rail. They received the 2025 Vivace Musical Theater Award and FCA Creative Research Grant. They are currently working on a novel, an excerpt of which was published in the anthology Clowns (DOPAMINE/Semiotext(e)).
Maljo Blu (they/she) is a creator, drag artist, and performer located in Brooklyn, New York. Maljo as an entertainer and hag, strives to use movement, comedy and projection to tell the story of her culture, past, and fleeting attention span all wrapped up in one little mystical magical bow.
Mia The MVP is a South Bronx-born, New York City based dancer, artist, performer, writer, creative producer, movement educator and breast cancer survivor. With over a decade of experience blending feminine archetypes with surreal storytelling, she is the founder of Cat Cult and is celebrated for her signature feather fan performances, original productions, visual art, dance workshops, and performer mentorship. Her career includes residencies and performances at renowned venues such as Duane Park NYC, Bathtub Gin, and The Borgata AC, as well as work with Speakeasy Dollhouse in collaboration with its founder, artist and playwright Cynthia von Buhler. Through her multidisciplinary practice, Mia celebrates Black femininity, sensuality, spirituality, and theatrical magic.
Ivy Wolk is a comedian, actress, and writer from Los Angeles living in Brooklyn. You can see her in FX’s The Shards, Anora, and on stages all across the country.
Tom Achilles is a Brooklyn-based comedian known for his eclectic and unconventional style. His work has been described as “dreamlike,” “avant-bizarre,” and “acid comedy.” After seeing Achilles, audiences are often left wondering whether they just witnessed stand-up, theater, or a controlled hallucination. Tom has performed at venues across the city including Joe’s Pub, Lifeworld, The Bell House, and The Slipper Room. His work has been featured by Vulture, VICE, McSweeney’s, and Troma Entertainment, and he has appeared at festivals including Solocom, Philly Fringe, and the Bend Comedy Festival.
Buong-buo, very roughly translated from Tagalog, means total completeness or wholeness, both in community and within one’s soul. The souls within the Buong-Buo Collective include Kenneth Keng, Carlos Enrique, Red Concepcion, Misha Bernas and Danilo Zepeda. The community includes you.
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: the most affordable 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!
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.
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.
Yes. The processing fees are charged by our ticketing and credit card processors, and increase along with the base price of your ticket.
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.
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 Taylor Rey. 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 tix@arsnovanyc.com, 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.
