The GALAS

Justine Gelfman, Joan Sergay

Welcome to The Galas, a chaotic, comedic, centuries-spanning two-hander about the performance of raising money for scientific research. We need your generous support. Donate now. and now. and now.

FRIDAY, JUNE 21
DOORS @ 6:30PM | SHOW @ 7PM
ARS NOVA
511 W 54TH STREET

Tix to this show are Name Your Price starting at $5, meaning you decide what you pay! We pass on 100% 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.

The Galas will stream live from Ars Nova on June 21 @ 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.

Justine Gelfman is a Brooklyn-based playwright. Her work has been developed or produced at Williamstown Theatre Festival, DVRF Playwrights Program, IRT Theater, Theater Masters’ Take Ten, ESPA/Primary Stages, Dixon Place, The Story Theatre, Crashbox, Pete’s Candy Store, New York Fringe Festival, The University of Texas at Austin, Northwestern University, and Kenyon College. She has been a resident at SPACE on Ryder Farm, Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Vineyard Arts Project, and Kenyon Playwrights Conference. Her writing has been published by Concord Theatricals. Justine was the assistant to writer/director, Annie Baker on her A24/BBC film, JANET PLANET. MFA: The University of Texas at Austin. BA: Northwestern University.

Joan Sergay is a Brooklyn-based director of new work, originally from Washington, D.C. She has directed and developed work at New York Theatre Workshop, Lucille Lortel Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Ensemble Studio Theater, Colt Coeur, Geffen Playhouse, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Westport Country Playhouse, Northwestern University, New York University, Columbia University, and The University of California San Diego. Currently, Joan is the Associate Director to Rachel Chavkin on the Broadway musical LEMPICKA. Joan is a New Georges Affiliated Artist, a 2023-24 Audrey Resident at New Georges, a 2023 New York Theatre Workshop Adelphi Resident, and a former Directing Fellow at Clubbed Thumb, Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. BA: Northwestern University.

Camille Casmier is a producer, writer and director who lives in Brooklyn, NY, though she hails from the great midwestern metropolis of Saint Louis. Since graduating from Northwestern University’s directing program she has co-directed the webseries Viral, which was an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival, Stareable Fest, and SeriesFest. Most recently, she produced Silencio Theatre Project’s production of Gundog, and she is currently in post production on a Tribeca Creators Market selection that will be released in 2025.

Sas Goldberg is an actor/writer/producer. Theater: Significant Other (Broadway), Which Way To The Stage (MCC), Moscow, Moscow, Moscow, Moscow, Moscow, Moscow (MCC), Significant Other (Roundabout), Stunning (LCT3). TV/Film: Life & Beth (Hulu), The Shrink Next Door (Apple), Search Party (HBO Max), You’re The Worst (FX), Odd Mom Out (Bravo), American Princess (Lifetime). Writer/Producer: Only Murders in the Building (Hulu), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon), The Shrink Next Door (Apple).

OFF- BROADWAY: CLUBBED THUMB: Usus, THE FLEA: Bathhouse.pptx, TFANA: Merchant of Venice,Timon of Athens, MOLIERE IN THE PARK: Tartuffe, BEDLAM: Persuasion, NEW GEORGES/THE THANK: I Thought I Would Die, But I Didn’t. MTC: Where the Mountain Meets the Sea (u/s). REGIONAL: Shakespeare Theater of DC, Portland Stage Company, Montana Rep.TV: Prodigal Son (FOX), Elementary, Madame Secretary (CBS). DIGITAL: Lessons in Survival (Vineyard), 86’d (Bric Arts). TRAINING: University of California San Diego: MFA in Acting. Columbia University, B.A. in English.

Sally Butin (she/her) is a Brooklyn based movement artist from Hastings on Hudson, NY. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a BFA in dance where she performed works by Rosie Herrera, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Doug Varone, Shannon Gillen, and Ohad Naharin, among others. Since graduating she has worked with Charli Brissey, Johnny Mathews III, Eva Dean and Damien Muñoz + Virginia Garcia. As a choreographer, her work has been presented at Triskelion Arts, Arts on Site, Hana House, The Power Center, Hill Auditorium, and in music videos including ‘Sally’ by Gigi Perez. She currently teaches Dance Church classes in NYC and performs freelance dance work.

Caroline Butin (she/her) is a Brooklyn based artist, producer, and prop stylist. She graduated from UCLA with a BA in Art. Her clients include HBO, Ralph Creative, Eleven Madison Park, Ivy Naté, Six Hundred West Main, and Darcy Miller Designs. 

Jacob K Robinson is a playwright and sound designer originally from a couple small towns in Texas. His plays The Lark Ascending and The Last Best Thing were semifinalists at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival and the O’Neill, respectively. He likes a good pair of black Levi’s, mowing the lawn, and an afternoon baseball game. He’s doing his best. MFA: Columbia University

Lizzie Donelan is a Brooklyn-based costume designer for film, TV, and theatre. She designed A24’s new feature Janet Planet written and directed by Annie Baker. Her work includes the feature films, The Adults (starring Michael Cera, dir: Dustin Guy Defa, a Universal Pictures release), Funny Face (dir: Tim Sutton) and the upcoming Max Walker Silverman feature. Her work has premiered at festivals including Sundance, the Berlin Film Festival, Telluride, Tribeca, and Tiff. As an assistant designer, she has worked with designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb most notably on the James Bond film, No Time to Die, “Obi-Wan Kenobi as well as others. She has worked in both assistant and associate designer roles for several Broadway productions including Macbeth, Finding Neverland, Waitress and Straight White Men. Lizzie has a MFA in Costume Design from Carnegie Mellon University a BA in Theatre and Dance at James Madison University. When not designing, Lizzie is an avid painter and pastry enthusiast.

She/her/hers. Corey’s design work has been presented by: Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Ars Nova, Clubbed Thumb, Columbia University, JACK, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Write Now (2023 TYA/USA National Festival), Colt Coeur. Miniature design/fabrication on film: The Sweet East (Cannes Film Festival Directors Fortnight, NYFF 2023), Vundabar’s Lore. Select Associate credits include: Home (Broadway),TopDog Underdog (Broadway), A Strange Loop (Broadway, West End), Trouble in Mind (Broadway), Dead Outlaw (Audible). Proud Member, USA-829.

Niara Hardister is a New York based dancer from Riverside, California. She is a performer with the Metropolitan Opera and a collaborator with Kyle Marshall Choreography. When she’s not dancing, she spends her time in the sun – reading at the park or swimming at the beach. She hopes you enjoy the show!

Cam’s passion for dance was evident from a young age when he would copy his sister’s moves in the audience of her performances. He would then go on to spend years training and performing in Metro Detroit and elsewhere around the Midwest. Now, Cam is a Brooklyn-based freelance movement artist and choreographer who loves to create from life experience and perform live. He has previously held contracts with Eryc Taylor Dance Company, the McKittrick Hotel, and Q Productions. Currently, Cam is a Principal Dancer with Candace Brown’s Soul Project Dance Company and an Instructor for Dance Church.

Cameron Cox is a 25 year old artist originally from Chicago, IL, now based in Brooklyn, NY. She has an 11+ year background as a hip-hop and contemporary dancer where she has performed at various events across the Midwest and NYC areas as an ensemble member of Hi-Def, Dance 2XS Michigan, and Dash M. Recently, she takes on new endeavors including creative direction and styling, while movement and dance continue to act as inspiration for her projects. 

Maddy Joss began her dance education in Oak Park, IL at the Academy of Movement and Music under the direction of Stephanie Clemens. There, she trained in classical ballet and the historical modern styles of Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Isadora Duncan. She went on to receive her BFA in Dance at the University of Michigan where she performed works by Meredith Monk, Ohad Naharin, Shannon Gillen, and others. After graduating, Joss studied under Emio Greco of ICK Danse Amsterdam to obtain her certification in the movement methodology Double Skin Double Mind. She is currently one of two DSDM certified instructors in the U.S. and teaches across Chicago and New York. Joss has performed as a company member with House of Dov, Khecari, Nimbus Dance, Little House Dancer, and The Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Johnny (he/ they) is a Brooklyn-based dancer, choreographer, and model/actor from Madison, Wisconsin. He is a company member with Valerie Green/Dance Entropy, Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, and KAōs Dance Collective. As a choreographer, Mathews has been in residence at The Residency Project @280 in Pasadena, CA, and Greenspace in Queens, NY. He has shown works at Triskelion Arts, Greenspace, ESTIA Day Fest, Gibney Studio Theatre, The Craft NY in Brooklyn, the Mendelssohn Theatre, and the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

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 $5, meaning you decide what you pay! Best of all, when you name your price, 100% of the single ticket revenue is passed on 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.

ANT FEST 2024

ANT Fest is our annual festival of All New Talent showcasing new work from New York’s most adventurous emerging artists. Learn more and get into our other 2024 ANT Fest shows here!

June 12 @ 7PM

Elijah Guo & Dylin Taylor

June 14 @ 7PM

Franco Giacomarra, Matt Coakley, Marc David Wright

June 15 @ 7PM

Kate Eberstadt

June 17 @ 7PM

American Sing-Song: Jake Brasch, Nadja Leonhard-Hooper

June 18 @ 7PM

Brett Ashley Robinson

June 20 @ 9:30PM

Hosted by Chloe Troast

June 21 @ 7PM

Justine Gelfman, Joan Sergay

June 22 @ 7PM

Allisha Edwards, Fernanda Brigneti

June 25 @ 7PM

Madison Fiedler, Francesca Sabel