USE: Underground Skills Exchange

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USE: Underground Skills Exchange

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USE is a safe space and development lab for NYC artists to collaborate, exchange skills, and grow!

09/17/2026

Introducing the 2026 Speak Art team! 🗣️ This fall, the ensemble members are exploring their personal relationships to “body language” and its many interpretations. These stories will culminate in the premiere of ‘Body Language: Every “Body” Has a Story’ at The Tank on October 12 & 13. 📢🎭
🎟️Tickets are NOW on sale! https://thetanknyc.org/calendar-1/bodylanguage?rq=body%20has%20a%20story

FACILITATOR
Khadija Bangoura

STAGE MANAGER
Jenny Yang

ENSEMBLE
Eman Rimawi-Doster
Om Raj Raut
Eliza Popa
Leslie Hill-King

Monday, October 12 7PM
Tuesday, October 13 7PM
📍The Tank (312 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018)

WHAT IS SPEAK ART?
USE's annual mainstage! This series empowers multidisciplinary artists to craft a new theatrical piece merging music, movement, and text. Through improvisation and experimental techniques, artists explore a culturally relevant theme and develop a piece reflective of their collective visio

09/14/2026

What's your body language? 🗣️This year's Speak ART devised production at The Tank explores the many interpretations of “body language” and the stories that come with them. Ensemble announcement coming soon... 👀
🎟️ Tickets are NOW on sale! https://thetanknyc.org/calendar-1/bodylanguage?rq=body%20has%20a%20story&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

Monday, October 12 7PM
Tuesday, October 13 7PM
📍The Tank (312 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018)

WHAT IS SPEAK ART?
USE's annual mainstage! This series has empowers multidisciplinary artists to craft a new theatrical piece merging music, movement, and text. Through improvisation and experimental techniques, artists explore a culturally relevant theme and develop a piece reflective of their collective vision.

07/15/2026

USE is seeking ensemble members for our 2026 Speak ART series! 📢 We're excited to expand our community by meeting new artists who will collaborate on this devised mainstage production at The Tank.

WHAT IS SPEAK ART?
Our annual mainstage performance. This project empowers multidisciplinary artists to craft a new theatrical piece merging music, movement, and text. Artists use improvisation and experimental techniques to explore a culturally relevant theme and develop a piece reflective of their collective vision. This platform amplifies voices traditionally marginalized in professional arts spaces, fostering authentic narratives that provoke societal reflection and action. Together with mission-aligned community partners, Speak ART sparks dialogue and ignites change through the transformative power of newly devised theatre.

HOW CAN I APPLY?
Artists can apply here by Wednesday, July 22: https://wkf.ms/4f21u9N

IS THIS A PAID OPPORTUNITY?
Yes! Each artist will receive a $450 stipend.

WHAT ARE THE DATES?
Development Lab: September 20-25
Rehearsals: October 5-11
Performances: October 12 & 13 at The Tank

WHAT IS THIS YEAR'S SPEAK ART THEME?
Body Language: Every "body" has a story.

WHO CAN APPLY?
Performing artists of all disciplines who are interested in and passionate about devising a new performance piece. The expectations of the ensemble members are that you remain open to collaboration with other artists and backgrounds, stay true to the mission and the values of USE and follow the prompt that USE provides while devising.

05/19/2026

Announcing our lineup for Light in the Dark: A Cabaret on Defiant Joy! 💡Join us June 4th and 5th as we revel in joy and our collective light all in service of uplifting each other- expressed through songs, original text, dance, and spoken word. 🎤🎭🎶

🎟️TICKETS are at the link in our bio! 🔗 “Early Access “ tix available until may 28th!

☀️FEATURING performances by:

Petra Hinds
Eric Thompson
Kylie Logan .a.logan
Leyla DeMolina
B. Fortune .fortune81
Fatou Thiam
Antonyio Artis
Lakeria Robinson
Javan Zapata
Christopher Leon
Emily Dean
Anthony Smith

05/06/2026

Allow us to reintrodUSE ourselves! 👋 This season, we’re launching USE’s brand new mission and core values, which will guide our artist programs, organizational goals, and community engagement forward. Swipe to check it out!

OUR MISSION
Underground Skills Exchange is a nonprofit theatre company that amplifies NYC artists through paid ensemble-devised projects, free skill-building workshops, and open mic nights for in-progress work. We remove the pay out of pay-to-play culture, fostering a community that uplifts historically underrepresented artists and encourages creative individuality both in and outside of our programs.

CORE VALUES
🛝Play-Focused: By naming when finished products are and are not necessary, we affirm a start-over-when-needed model to cultivate curiosity and imaginative risk.

🌎Moment-Meeting: We remain in conversation with the world around us, advocating for each other at the local level and beyond.

🤝Ensemble-Minded: Co-creating community agreements, defining repair, and swapping skills strengthens our ability to work with shared responsibility.

📝Draft-Driven: We believe in process over product. We develop skills, insight, and habits that extend beyond USE and shape how we navigate complexity and coexist.

05/04/2026

Tickets are NOW on sale for Light in the Dark: A Cabaret on Defiant Joy on June 4th and 5th! ☀️ This year’s SummerStage cabaret invites you to honor your sense of joy, featuring a lineup of artists who are sure to spark a light as we uplift each other in heavy times.✨ 🎟️ Early bird tickets are available HERE!:
usecabaret.eventbrite.com

Light in the Dark: A Cabaret on Defiant Joy
Thursday, June 4 & Friday, June 5 at 8:00PM
Alliance of Resident Theaters South Oxford Space
138 S Oxford St, Brooklyn, NY 11217

Address

22 East 30th Street
Manhattan, NY
10016

Website

https://www.undergroundskillsx.com/

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