LUNGS THEATER FESTIVAL — 4TH YEAR!
Produced in collaboration with LUNGS, Frigid NY, and GOH Productions.
Curated by Erez Ziv, Roman Primativo Albear, Bonnie Sue Stein and Charles Krezell.
Special thanks to 6B Garden, Sally Young and DeColores Garden
Saturday’s Host : Federico Mallet
Sunday’s Host : Pelayo AF
12:00 “I WANT MY MONEY BACK”
Created and performed by Puppeteer and Storyteller Vít Hořejš
Artistic Director, Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre
Vít and his century-old wooden advisors will tell century-old Old Country folk tales, and “tattle tale” on his victorious presidential campaign, stolen temporarily by you-know-who. This tall genie of tall tales, manipulation and stringing along will also share the details of his petition to get a refund from US treasury for being lured to AMERICA,, AMERICA, with false promises of a phantom democracy. Supported in part by DCA. Recommended for ages 104 To 4
A native of Prague, Vit emigrated to the United States in 1979, bringing with him the love for puppetry and one miniscule century-old childhood marionette. In 1990, he found a trove of large antique marionettes in the attic at Jan Hus Church on East 74th Street, in the heart of the once-upon-a-time Czech and Slovak neighborhood. He founded Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre in New York City, a renowned member of the worldwide puppetry community; and has lived in the Lower East Side since 1980.
1pm “Dos Blocos No For Rent”
Dos Blocos No For Rent explodes onto the stage with revolutionary urgency, lyrical fire, and haunting beauty. Set in a haunted, gentrifying Lower East Side across multiple timelines—from the 1989 Tompkins Square riot to a post-pandemic, data-saturated 2025—this play fuses the real and the surreal, the sacred and the squatted.
Annet, a former model turned seeker, returns home to find her missing mother, Isa—a former squatter, radical, and addict. Guided by a crustpunk oracle named Juanita and the enigmatic Swuarru, Annet journeys through memory vortices, punk concerts, hacker rituals, and police raids to uncover a buried legacy of rebellion, survival, and love.
Featuring a shapeshifters, DIY politics, and prophetic brownies, this is theater that refuses eviction—from land, from memory, or from truth.
Román Primitivo Albear is a Mexican-born, self-taught artist, director, and playwright based in New York City. Since the 1990s, he has been active in the Lower East Side’s squatter and independent art scenes. His visual and theatrical work explores themes of resistance, memory, and community.
Román’s artwork has been exhibited at ABC No Rio, Zito Gallery, Le Jungle, and Theater for the New City. He is the recipient of the 2018 Kathy Acker Award for Theater. His recent plays include Happestence (writer/director/producer) and Dos Blocos (2025, Theater for the New City). He is also currently working on a documentary about the Rivington School and No Se No, an underground performance space.
Román creates work that resists erasure, honors everyday people, and uplifts the radical spirit of New York’s past and present.
MIAH MCKINNEY (Annet)**
Originally from Commerce City, Colorado, Miah studied at AMDA and has appeared in plays, shorts, and music videos. This marks her debut at Theater for the New City.
NICOLE OLIVIA CARSON (Sol)
A Baltimore native, Nicole started theater at age 10. Recent roles include *A Chorus Line* and *Happenstance*. She’s appeared in national commercials and indie films like *Possibly Positive*.
Cathie Boruch ( maya)
Cathie Boruch is a New York City actress, comedian, and filmmaker. Her one-woman show, Downtown Mermaid was featured in The One Festival, United Solo, and The People’s Improv Theatre. As a stand-up comedian, she’s known for her infectious enthusiasm and stream of consciousness style of humor. She’s produced and hosted a variety of comedy shows including the popular, Ten Penny Comedy in lower Manhattan.
Cathie is an expert in the punk rock scene of the
’70s and ’80s. Her work at WBAI Radio prompted weekly segments where she interviewed music legends; Les Paul, Eddie Money, Carl Perkins, Bo Didley, Davey Jones, and Joey Ramone to name a few. Eventually, her work culminated in the radio documentary Johnny Thunders Memory.
You can listen to the audio version at The Paley Institute in Manhattan. Her unique photography has been featured at The Bowery Electric and Chelsea Arts Gallery. Her short film Behind The Mask, The World According To Covid, won Best Comedy Short at the Marina Del Rey Film Festival in 2021 and
Continues to expand the award winning series through 2022. Recent work also includes work at The Metropolitan Opera NYC.
2pm “THE BEAR” by Anton Chekov
A landowner comes to claim a debt from a young woman whose husband has just died. Out of grief, she refuses to see him—her attempt to prove to her faithless dead husband that women are more loyal than men. Eventually, the young widow and the landowner quarrel and decide to fight a duel.
- Elena Ivanovna Popova – Mia Fritz
- Grigory Stepanovitch Smirnov –Maximiliano Fermin
Luka – John Naughton - Director – Bito Boucher
3pm “Reclaiming Vietnam” Written and performed by Kim Chinh , Directed by Elizabeth Browning
Growing up in a bi-racial home with a white mother and a Vietnamese father, Kim spent years wishing away her father’s less-than-desirable immigrant status, skin color and all the painful family secrets she inherited. Determined to face her demons, she joins a volunteer organization in Vietnam. As she begins to discover the beauty of her roots, she confronts the trauma of her past and puts its secrets behind her forever.
4pm “The Love Song of Cristo and Dora” Written and directed by Charles Krezell
Passion flies high in the treetops as the love nest molts into a triangle for the Red Tailed Hawks’
- Cristo– Rocco George
- Dora– Michelle Fawn
- Nora–Susan Burns
- Amelia–Sabina Sethi Unni
- Costumes and design –Rina Root
Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens (LUNGS) was founded as a grass roots organization in September 2011 and incorporated into a 501 (c) (3) organization in 2017.
LUNGS is a network of 50 community gardens on NYC’s Lower East Side. LUNGS membership is made up of the gardens themselves. In 60s and 70s the City allowed fires, destruction and neglect to wreck the Lower East Side. Collapsed buildings became vacant lots and the people converted those lots into community gardens. So out of that official urban blight the gardens grew and the result now is that Loisaida has the greatest density of community gardens in the country.
The gardens are operated by volunteers, who act as stewards of the earth and work for well being of the neighborhood. Each garden has their own unique governing rules. Selected representatives attend LUNGS monthly meetings. The LUNGS board of directors is elected by the garden reps.
The LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival began in 2012 as free weekend events, open to all. The Festival features dance, music, theater, spoken word, comedy, visual arts and environmental workshops.
In 2025, the 14th Annual LUNGS Festival will run for ten days September 12 to 21. It will take place in more than 30 community gardens, featuring 60 events and 100 artists.
The Festival was designed to make the gardens more accessible to the public through the arts, and encourage local artists to perform and share their work. Each year the Festival’s scope has grown to become a beloved neighborhood celebration.
During the Covid years 2019-2020, we were forced to limit performances inside the garden fences while the public stayed outside the gardens on the sidewalk.
In 2021, we reinvigorated the Festival by extending it to ten days of free events. This allows us to engage with more artists and gives them the time and space to realize their individual ambitions. The Festival reflects the variety, individuality and independence of each community garden, with a focus on showcasing local artists and performers.
From July until Thanksgiving LUNGS operates a weekly CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in the gardens,working with GROW NYC. This brings affordable fresh fruits and vegetables to households. Participation is open to anyone.
Each summer LUNGS works with the NYC’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) employing city students to do gardening, planting and labor intensive projects in various community gardens.
Visit a garden, join a garden, become a member of our community, all are welcome here!
Additional Performances by Frigid NY’s Queerly Festival Artists
Frigid New Presents Performances by 2025 Queerly Festival Artists
FRIGID New York’s annual LGBTQIA+ performing arts fest runs June 12-July 3 and presents work from 20 queer artists. Shows range from drama to drag, punk to parody, and include English, Spanish, and ASL. As American politics become more and more threatening to trans and queer people, we stand loud and proud, refusing to be ignored or overlooked—or to change ourselves to suit others. Come and see shows that celebrate queer resilience, resistance, and revolution!
Tickets at frigid.nyc
- QUEERLY ARTISTS
- “Us Versus Them”
- Written by Summer Minerva, directed by Summer Minerva and Sebastian Robinson. The cast consists of Ivory Aquino, Valeria Moraga, Paul Flanagan aka Supernova, Luca D’Amore, and Sebastian Robinson.
- Summer will be performing Femme In Yellow Tombola: mystical queer italian bingo at festival Thu June 12th at 7pm & Sat June 28th at 5pm, Streaming
- Boundless Theater & producer Tommaso Cartia present
Boy Meets Girl (The Trials & Tribulations of a Queer Man Living Under a Curse)
Written by Chetan Rao & Nalini Sharma
Directed by David James Parr - Sat June 21st at 9pm & Mon June 30th at 9:30pm, Streaming
- Aviva Pearl Creation will be presenting a 15 minute stand up set. She is the writer of CLAY MOMMY, a transsexual mommy-issues golem play which will be presented on July 1st and 2nd at Under Saint Marks Theater.
- CLAY MOMMY is directed by Makenna Masenheimer and stars Flower Estefana Rios, Clay Baker-Lerner, and Jackson Taitano.
