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TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

As co-founder of HERE Arts Center—described by the Obie committee as “a lasting home for the weird and wild in downtown performance”—Kristin Marting spent the past three decades immersed in making, witnessing, and supporting groundbreaking performance in New York City. 

TORCHES is a much needed exploration of New York City’s unique and influential downtown performance world from the 1990s through the 2020s. Part memoir, part oral history, and part cultural inquiry, TORCHES offers in-depth video conversations with more than thirty of the most imaginative and boundary-pushing artists working in the field today. TORCHES is both a living archive and an offering for the future. Learning about these artists and their work is not just looking back; it can ignite what’s coming next. They are not only inventors of form—they are keepers of community, fire-starters for our future. See more about the project on the TORCHES website at torchesnyc.org.
Taylor Mac conversation graphic.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 22 June 2026
New York City

On 22 June 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with the glorious award-winning theatre artist and Patron Saint of Hybridity, Taylor Mac.

Kamala Sankaram conversation graphic.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 15 June 2026
New York City

On 15 June 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with composer and performer Kamala Sankaram, who moves freely between the worlds of experimental music, sound installation, and contemporary opera.

a conversation with susan bernfield event poster.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 8 June 2026
New York City

On 8 June 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with Susan Bernfield, a playwright and the artistic director and producer of the award-winning New Georges.

A conversation with Normandy Sherwood event poster.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 1 June 2026
New York City

On 1 June 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with the ingenious award-winning writer, director, and designer of costumes, objects, and scenery Normandy Sherwood.

A Conversation with Maria Striar event poster
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 18 May 2026
New York City

On 18 May 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with veteran performer and director Maria Striar. She co-founded Clubbed Thumb in 1996 and serves as its artistic director.

Conversation with V (formerly Eve Ensler) event poster.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 11 May 2026
New York City

On 11 May 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with the award winning writer and activist V (formerly Eve Ensler) who created The Vagina Monologues and many other activist projects.

Misha Chowdhury conversation on TORCHES event poster.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 4 May 2026
New York City

On 4 May 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with the prolific award-winning writer/director Misha Chowdhury.

event poster for conversation with Brian Rogers in the TORCHES series.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 27 April 2026
New York City

On 27 April 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with theatre and film director, video and sound artist, and performing arts curator Brian Rogers. He is the co-founder and artistic executive director of Queens’ The Chocolate Factory Theater.

event poster for TORCHES conversation with Purva Bedi and Mariana Newhard.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 20 April 2026
New York City

On 20 April 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with multi-hyphenates Purva Bedi and Mariana Newhard. Both are acclaimed writer performers who have worked in theatre, film, and TV.

event poster for TORCHES conversation with John Collins.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 13 April 2026
New York City

On 13 April 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with the award-winning director and founder and artistic director of Elevator Repair Service, one of the most acclaimed experimental theatre companies in New York City.

a conversation with Joey Arias event poster.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 6 April 2026
New York City

On 6 April 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with the incomparable performance artist and cabaret singer Joey Arias. Joey is also a published author, comedian, stage persona, and film actor. 

A conversation with Heather Christian event poster.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 30 March 2026
New York City

On 30 March 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with the awe-inspiring, award-winning composer and performer Heather Christian, who was most recently recognized with a MacArthur Fellowship.

Trey Lyford and Geoff Sobelle event poster for the TORCHES interview series.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 23 March 2026
New York City

On 23 March 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with creators Trey Lyford and Geoff Sobelle.

event poster for torches a conversation with chanson judson.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 16 March 2026
New York City

On 16 March 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with critically acclaimed choreographer and performer Chanon Judson. 

event poster for a torches conversation with james scruggs.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 9 March 2026
New York City

On 9 March 2026, TORCHES will continue with a conversation with award winning artist James Scruggs who creates live and virtual large-scale, topical, often interactive theatrical productions.

event poster for torches a conversation with aya ogawa.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 2 March 2026
New York City

On 2 March 2026, TORCHES will continue with a conversation with the nuanced and provocative award-winning writer, director, and performer Aya Ogawa. 

event poster for a torches conversation with talking band.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 23 February 2026
New York City

On 23 February, TORCHES will continue with a conversation with the prolific Ellen Maddow and Paul Zimet. Both are award-winning multi-hyphenate artists who founded Talking Band over fifty years ago and have been working in New York City since.  

event poster for torches a conversation with clint ramos.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 9 February 2026
New York City

On 9 February 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with the wildly inventive creative director, designer, advocate, and producer Clint Ramos. 

event poster for torches a conversation with paul pinto.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 2 February 2026
New York City

Paul Pinto creates multidisciplinary music, opera-theatre, installation, and performance, sometimes with his longtime friends thingNY and Varispeed.

event poster for torches a conversation with david herskovits.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 26 January 2026
New York City

David Herskovits is the founding artistic director of Target Margin Theater (TMT). He has directed a broad range of work, classics and neglected older work, new opera and music-theatre, and adaptations of history and literature for TMT and other theatres, festivals, and universities all over.

event teaser for Eisa Davis conversation.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 19 January 2026
New York City

Eisa Davis is a performer, composer, and writer. A recipient of a USA Artists Fellowship, Creative Capital Award, an AUDELCO, an Obie for Sustained Excellence in Performance and the Herb Alpert Award in Theater, Eisa was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her play Bulrusher.

teaser image for Basil Twist interview.
Video

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

Monday 12 January 2026
New York City

Basil Twist is an award winning puppeteer (including MacArthur and Rome prizes) and director of HERE's Dream Music Puppetry Program.

Series are collections of content curated around a specific theme. HowlRound works with curators to develop topical pieces meant to spotlight current events and happenings within the commons.

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