The Tank is a nonprofit
off-off-Broadway
Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...
performance venue and producer in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, New York. The organization was founded in May 2003 by a group of young artists and has since moved several times, residing on 36th Street . The Tank presents art across several disciplines (comedy, dance, theater, music, film), produced at no fee for use of the venue to the presenting artists.
The Tank houses two performance spaces (a 56-seat
black box
In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...
and a 98-seat
proscenium) and five rehearsal studios. Beyond presenting work at its
resident
Resident may refer to:
People and functions
* Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country
* Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training
* Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceuti ...
home in Manhattan, the theater has also produced shows performed elsewhere throughout New York City, collectively presenting over 1,000 performances each year. Between 2016 and 2018, five of the theater's shows were nominated for a total of six
Drama Desk Awards and in 2020, the theater itself received an
Obie Award for its work supporting emerging artists.
History
The Tank was founded in May 2003 in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, New York, by eight artists, all recent college graduates in their mid-20s.
Its founders, mostly graduates of
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
,
Oberlin College, and
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, included playwright
Amy Herzog
Amy Herzog is an American playwright. Her play ''4000 Miles'', which ran Off-Broadway in 2011, was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Her play ''Mary Jane'', which ran Off-Broadway in 2017, won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Aw ...
, playwright and director
Alex Timbers
Alex Timbers (born August 7, 1978) is an American writer and director and the recipient of Tony, Golden Globe, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and London Evening Standard Awards, as well as two OBIE and Lucile Lortel Awards. He is the recipie ...
, Justin Krebs, Rachel Levy, Mike Rosenthal, and Randy Bell, who collectively expressed the goal of offering young artists across disciplines the space to create work in the center of New York City.
The organization was first housed on
42nd Street between
Ninth and
Tenth Avenues.
It leased the space on a month-to-month basis from a landlord who intended to sell the building in which the theater was housed.
Presenting "an obscure but growing lineup of indie bands, underground films, and performances ranging from comedy to puppetry", within 10 months, the company had repaid their startup loans.
The theater derived its name from the architecture of its first space: three large windows overlooking 42nd Street led to someone calling the space "the Fishtank"; later the "Fish" was dropped in favor of the shortened "the Tank".
![Collective Tank Tribeca](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Collective_Tank_Tribeca.jpg)
By 2006, the company had moved twice and by 2007, it had won an unsolicited grant of $10,000 from the
Carnegie Corporation of New York and was receiving money from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.
The Tank's third location, into which it moved in 2006, was on
Church Street in the
Tribeca
Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stree ...
neighborhood, where the organization shared space with
Collective:Unconscious as late as 2008.
By 2010, the Tank had returned to Manhattan's midtown
Theater District A theater district (also spelled theatre district) is a common name for a neighborhood containing several of a city's theatres.
Places
*Theater District, Manhattan, New York City
*Boston Theater District
*Buffalo Theater District
*Cleveland Theater ...
, occupying the
Davenport Theatre on 45th Street between
Eighth and Ninth Avenues.
The Tank had moved to the
Playroom Theater on 46th Street by 2013, where it resided until 2017.
That year, the company signed a ten-year, $18,000/month lease on and moved to a two-stage venue on 36th Street, the former home of Abingdon Theatre Company, with one 56-seat
black box theater and one 98-seat
proscenium theater.
The Chain Theater, Workshop Theater, and
the Barrow Group The Barrow Group is a non-profit performing arts group located in New York City focused on empowering actors, writers, and directors through simple, clear, spontaneous storytelling. The company prioritizes accessibility, diversity, and excellence, ...
also resided in the same building as the Tank at the time of its arrival.
The Tank's move coincided with the relocations of several other New York City theaters in mid-2017, including
the Flea Theater
The Flea Theater, founded in 1996, is a theater in the TriBeCa section of New York City. It presents primarily new American theater and provides a venue for film stars to act on a very small (74-seat) stage, as well as a smaller black box theat ...
and the
Chocolate Factory
''Chocolate Factory'' is the fifth studio album by American recording artist R. Kelly, released on February 18, 2003, by Jive Records. Recording sessions took place mainly at Rockland Studios and Chicago Recording Company in Chicago, Illinois, and ...
.
In 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the Tank laid off most of its staff and suspended programming beginning March 13, canceling over 273 performances for an estimated loss of at least $50,000.
The theater went into
arrears
Arrears (or arrearage) is a legal term for the part of a debt that is overdue after missing one or more required payments. The amount of the arrears is the amount accrued from the date on which the first missed payment was due. The term is usually ...
on its rent for two months before beginning to repay its landlord. While the space was closed, the theater launched a digital arts
livestream
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but ...
called CyberTank. By July 2021, the theater was again presenting live in-person programming as well as site-specific and outdoor works. The opened a rehearsal space, The Attic, on the sixth floor of its 36th Street building in 2022.
As of 2022, The Tank's artistic director is Meghan Finn. The theater's director of artistic development is Johnny G. Lloyd and its managing producer is Molly FitzMaurice.
Operations
Categorized as an off-off-Broadway venue, the Tank presents more than 1,000 performances each year across several disciplines, including dance, music, theater, comedy, and film.
Artists do not pay to use the venue and are paid a portion of the ticket sales, a practice made sustainable by surplus value generated by better-selling shows.
The Tank also provides free rehearsal space at its five Attic rehearsal studios for productions.
As a nonprofit producer, the organization relies heavily on volunteers.
Most days, the Tank runs multiple shows in a single night.
The theater reported serving over 36,000 patrons, working with 2,500 artists, and operating on an $815,000 budget annually in 2020.
In addition to presenting shows at its 36th Street location, artists have also produced pieces with the Tank at other venues in New York City, such as the 3LD Art and Technology Center in Lower Manhattan and Standard ToyKraft in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 United ...
.
The theater runs several festivals each summer, including LimeFest, PrideFest, TrashFest, and DarkFest, the latter of which requires performers to create shows using no
stage lighting.
Reception
''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...
'' listed the Tank in its Best of NYC poll in 2004, describing the theater as the city's "Best Broadway theater turned hipster hangout".
In 2020, ''
Time Out New York
''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide.
In 2012, the London edition becam ...
'' described the Tank as "one of NYC's premiere incubators of emerging talent".
''
A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant'', which premiered at the Tank in 2003, received an
Obie Award special citation in 2004. In 2007,
Lucy Alibar
Lucy Alibar (born Lucy Harrison in 1983) is an American screenwriter and playwright best known for co-writing the 2012 film ''Beasts of the Southern Wild'' with Benh Zeitlin.
Early life
Lucy Alibar was raised near Monticello, Florida; her pare ...
's ''Juicy and Delicious'', which would later be adapted into the film ''
Beasts of the Southern Wild
''Beasts of the Southern Wild'' is a 2012 American fantasy-drama film directed, co-written, and co-scored by Benh Zeitlin. It was adapted by Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar from Alibar's one-act play ''Juicy and Delicious''. The film stars Quvenzhané ...
'', had its world premiere at the Tank. Alibar's screenplay would go on to be
nominated
A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example:
* to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs.
* ...
for the
Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay Film adaptation, adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include st ...
. The Tank has received six
Drama Desk Award nominations. Two shows, ''ADA/AVA'' and ''YOUARENOWHERE'', were nominated in 2016, and another two, ''the ephemera trilogy'' and ''The Paper Hat Game'', were nominated in 2017, all in the category of
Unique Theatrical Experience. In 2018, Sinking Ship Productions' ''A Hunger Artist'' received two nominations:
Outstanding Solo Performance and Outstanding Puppet Design. The Tank received an Obie Award in 2020 for its work supporting emerging artists.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tank, The
2003 establishments in New York City
Obie Award recipients
Off-Off-Broadway
Theatre companies in New York City
Theatres in Manhattan