6 Questions with Tarish "Jeghetto" Pipkins of THE HIP HOPERA OF 5P1N0K10

Tarish Pipkins a.k.a. Jeghetto is puppetry infused with Hip Hop culture. He has been building his puppets out of recycled and found materials for about 20 years. He has worked with Missy Elliott, Pharrell Williams, Alec Baldwin, and others. Jeghetto travels the country performing his unique style of puppet theater and facilitates puppet workshops and performances online. Learn all about him at jeghetto.com. Jeghetto will be performing four performances of The Hip Hopera of 5P1N0K10 from March 23–26, which will be the first full performance in the newly-renovated 74 East 4th Street. Tickets can be purchased here, and puppet packages (for those who'd like to see two or three upcoming puppet shows at a discounted rate) can be purchased here. 

Jeghetto will also be performing in and facilitating La MaMa Kids: Puppet Self Portrait on Saturday, March 25 at 12PM. Watch him get lost in his imagination as he performs with his unique puppets made out of recycled materials. This production gives you a glimpse of his process with visual projections, spoken word, and hip hop beats.

1. How would you describe your work as a puppetry artist?

I would describe my work as “making something from nothing.” I use mostly found and recycled materials to create my work. I like to call my puppets “moving sculptures”.

2. Who or what has inspired you?

Life itself inspires my work. It could be a past experience, watching a documentary, or a conversation with a stranger. 

3. What should audiences expect from the performance?

I like for audience members to leave my show with questions about themselves and the world around them. 

4. What are your upcoming plans for 2023?

My upcoming plans for 2023 is to stay on the current path of creativity and discovery that I’m on. I can’t imagine being in a better place in my life artistically. I foresee a great future in puppetry.

5. How would you Remake a World?

I believe the world has an over abundance of resources for everyone. I would make energy and resources available so that humans wouldn’t have to pay to live. Poverty and famine is intentional. A control mechanism to keep the evil that runs our world in power. I would establish a system of true justice where everyone is equally held accountable for their actions.

6. What does working at La MaMa mean to you?

Working at La Mama means everything. To be able to perform in such a historic venue is very motivating. I’m standing on the shoulders of giants. 

La MaMa presents

The Hip Hopera of 5P1N0K10

March 23 –26, 2023

The Club
74 East 4th Street
New York, NY 10003

Thursday at 7:30PM

Friday at 7:30PM

Saturday at 7:30PM
Sunday at 12PM

Tickets:

Adults: $30
Students/Seniors: $25
First 10 tickets are $10 (limit 2 per person)
Ticket prices are inclusive of all fees.

Harvey Fierstein Donates $250K Matching Grant to La MaMa

 Harvey Fierstein Donates $250K Matching Grant to La MaMa

‍The donation will help complete the renovation and restoration of the historic theatre, where the four-time Tony winner got his start.

BY LOGAN CULWELL-BLOCK
JANUARY 04, 2023

Read the article in Playbill.

Harvey Fierstein has donated a $250,000 matching grant to La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club's capital campaign, with funds going to help complete the renovation and restoration of the company's building in NYC's East Village.

The four-time Tony-winning actor and writer, who got his start at the landmark Off-Off-Broadway institution, is encouraging the public to make their own donations so his matching grant can be used in full.

"[La MaMa founder] Ellen Stewart, La MaMa, called us her babies and tended to us in the nurseries that were her theatres," says Fierstein in a statement. "Every artist needs a safe place to develop, to experiment, to engage other artists, to seek the feedback of audiences, and to grow. I, and thousands of other artists, found that place to be La MaMa ETC. Please join in this effort to modernize and strengthen the nursery for the generations of theatre artists and audiences to come. There’s no better way to support the arts than by supporting the arts."

Fierstein, currently represented on Broadway with Funny Girl (for which he penned a new book), made his La MaMa acting debut in Andy Warhol's Pork, later appearing in Robert Patrick's The Haunted Host. He would go on to debut much of his early work as a playwright at the Off-Off-Broadway theatre, including the three one-act plays that would later collectively become Torch Song Trilogy; the work earned Fierstein his first two Tony Awards (Best Actor in a Play and Best Play) when it transferred to Broadway in 1982.

"Harvey is a revolutionary artist who breaks boundaries using his heart and his mind to speak truth through his work," shares La MaMa Artistic Director Mia Yoo. "He paved the way for so many other artists who came after him, helping to shape La MaMa's legacy. We are deeply grateful for his gift which will help ensure that artists of all identities can continue to pursue their creative dreams at La MaMa."

Among the improvements planned for the historic building are ADA accessibility on all floors, an enlarged lobby, dedicated community space, an outdoor terrace, and a building-wide data network.

To donate to the campaign, visit lamama.org.

Work Resumes on 74 East 4th Street!

After nearly three months, work on our renovations of 74 East 4th Street, the first permanent home of Ellen Stewart's La MaMa, resume with NYC entering phase one of reopening after shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Below are photos of a new concrete floor being poured:

To learn more about the plans for our capital project and to find out how you can help: 

CLICK HERE

Progress Report: 74 East 4th Street Capital Project

If you've walked by 74 East 4th Street lately, you've seen La MaMa's beloved building and first permanent home is being renovated as part of a multi-phase capital project.

To everyone's surprise, windows that no one knew were there were revealed on the west wall of The Club.  If these walls could talk...

When the project is finished, 74 East 4th Street will be handicapped accessible with the installation of an elevator and the lowering of the street entrance so there is no longer a step.   This renovation was long over-due to insure that the building will be available to everyone for years to come.

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To learn more about La MaMa's Restore a Building/Remake a World capital project:
CLICK HERE

La MaMa in the News

Oscar Perry Abello writes about La MaMa's Capital Project to renovate the historic 74 East 4th Street theaters:

"Phase one of the capital campaign involves a $17-million renovation of La MaMa’s building at 74 E. 4th Street, its first permanent home, which Ellen Stewart acquired in 1967. Most of the current 10,500 square-foot structure dates to 1873 and some parts of the building are much older than that. The cost covers a restoration of the façade to its original appearance, a completely new first-floor lobby, a revamped club-style second floor theater, and a conversion of the third and fourth floors (which once housed the theater company’s offices as well as Stewart’s personal residence) into indoor and outdoor spaces for youth and community programming. A new elevator and other tweaks will make the building 100-percent compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act."

"...this particular block of East Fourth Street has found ways to defend itself against the dark arts of real estate investors."

Read the full article here.

And find out how you can get involved in La MaMa's Captial Project here!

Restore A Building. Remake A World.

  La MaMa ETC | Capital Campaign from La MaMa on Vimeo.

La MaMa’s first permanent home at 74 East 4th Street has been on the block since 1967 providing a welcoming home to artists at all stages of their careers, and community members of all backgrounds. After more than 50 years of non-stop, intensive use by more than 100,000 artists and audiences of all nations, cultures, races, and identities, our building must undergo urgently needed renovations and be made ADA accessible if it is to remain a viable resource for the next generations of artists and audiences.

You, our artists, audience members, and supporters, are at the heart of La MaMa. We hope you will help us to restore and remake this building as a creative home for new artists, new work, and new ideas for decades to come.

Timeline: Spring 2018 – January 2020

For more information and to find out how you can get involved: 

CLICK HERE

La MaMa Wants To Know What You Think

Rendering of 74 East 4th Street

This summer, La MaMa will be breaking ground on the gut renovation of our landmark building at 74 East 4th Street. As we look towards this transformation of our performance and community spaces after more than half a century, we want to find out what you, our audience members and supporters, think about La MaMa.

Click here to take our 2-minute survey!