USE: Underground Skills Exchange

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USE: Underground Skills Exchange

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

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

03/27/2026

Thank you Martin C. Hurt .c.hurt, accompanist James Higgins, and everyone who joined us at Freeing Your Vocal Artistry! 🎶 We had such a great time exploring our unique vocals and growing our musical techniques under Martin’s expertise and with James on the keys! Stay tuned for USE’s next free Artist Workshop... 🎭🎵🎨🎤📝

03/19/2026

You're invited to USE's Evening of Sharing and Community Night! 🎭🎤🎨✍️ Come hang out with fellow NYC creatives over light bites and beverages for a community mingler, followed by an artist open mic.
RSVP as a guest or sign up* for an open mic slot HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/use-evening-of-sharing-community-night-tickets-1985245960108?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true
*An accompanist will be available for artists who bring sheet music! 🎹

Community Night, 2:30pm-3:30pm: USE Community Nights invite folks to connect or reconnect with fellow artists over bites, beverages, and most importantly, conversation! Attendees are encouraged to mingle about and meet new artistic collaborators and friends.

Evening of Sharing, 3:30-5:30pm: Evenings of Sharing (USE's version of an open mic!) provide recurring opportunities for community members to perform and share their work year-round. If you have a comedy set you’ve been crafting, an excerpt from a one-person show you want to test, or just want to come share a song, this is your space!

We look forward to seeing you there!
- The USE Team–Laura, Kelly, RJ and India

Underground Skills Exchange (USE) invites you to tap into your sense of play. Reclaim yourself as a theater writer, director, or performing artist by stepping into our underground- just as you are. Jam with your fellow creatives, drum up new work, and build your toolkit through USE’s artist workshops (from theatre-making to life skills), devised productions (from clowning to text generation), and skill-swap open mics (from stand-up to spoken word). Come use our space until your tool belt is bursting with new skills—It’s always a leap away when you want to get back in touch with your artistic flow.

03/17/2026

Introducing James Higgins, our accompanist at this Saturday’s “Freeing Your Vocal Artistry” Artist Workshop! 🎹📒🎼
Originally from Montreal, Quebec, James is a multi-hyphenate musician, theatre artist, and educator with a career spanning 4 decades. He lives in New York City, and is a faculty pianist at AMDA. Off Broadway: Me The People, Old Jews Telling Jokes, Living With Henry; NYC (selected): Goddess Wheel by Galt McDermott, The Gefilte Fish Chronicles (also performed at the Obama White House), Follies (APAC), Ludwig Live (Subculture), Company, Sunday In The Park With George, In The Bleak Midwinter ; Regional (selected): Violet and Me (Edinburgh Fringe), Candide, Cabaret, Sweeney Todd, Bat Boy, and tons of others! Visit his website at iamjameshiggins.com!

01/01/2026

Happy 2026 to our community of artists and supporters!🎉
Here’s what’s NEW (besides the year!) at USE:
- Our four core values: Play-focused, Moment-meeting, Ensemble-minded, & Draft-driven. These elements combined are what make USE a safe and welcoming space for NYC artists to hone their creativity away from competitive industry standards.
- Our Patreon: In December, we launched our brand new Patreon page so supporters can have a dedicated platform to connect with USE. Visit the link here to learn more and launch your custom membership! https://www.patreon.com/c/UndergroundskillsX
- Aaaand... you! Have you been curious about our programs but haven’t yet gotten on board? Keep up with USE here and on our email list to find out about our 2026 lineup of workshops, open mics, and shows. See you soon! 🎭🎤https://undergroundskillsx.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=f57026304d4ddb164fff4d063&id=9a693b47bf

12/09/2025

Aaaaand...That's A Wrap! 🎁✨Thank you to all of you who joined us at our annual holiday party and fundraiser! ☃️🎭We had a blast gathering with USE artists and supporters old and new with food, libations, prizes and of course, performances! As we gear up for 2026, we are especially grateful for your generosity and impact in our community, and we look forward to welcoming more folks to our creative spaces in the coming year! 🎉🎤
➡️If you missed That’s A Wrap, you can still support USE by making a one-time donation on our Donorbox, or by joining our NEW Patreon page for exclusive perks. Click the links in our bio for more! 🔗

12/03/2025

Check out this year’s That’s A Wrap raffle and silent auction prizes! 🎁✨ Join us this Friday 7PM at Houghton Hall as we celebrate the year and toast to more community, creativity, and collaboration in 2026! ☃️ We'll have food and drinks, as well as performances by some of this year’s USE artists.🎤🎭
🎟️Get general admission & pay-what-you-can tickets HERE: https://thatsawrap2025.eventbrite.com

RAFFLE PRIZES:
Annie Maibaum / Maytree Marmalade
- Private Chef Dinner for 2 ($250 value)
- Marmalade gift set ($110 value)

India Marin Photos
- 1 Hour Portrait Photoshoot ($150 value)

Artist Wellness Giftset from KC Connors & Nicki D.
- KC Connors’ Yoga/Meditation/Mindful Strength & Mobility virtual sessions ($140 value)
- Nicki D.’s Emotional Clarity & Confidence coaching session ($285 value)

SILENT AUCTION PRIZES:
Annie Maibaum
- Private Chef Dinner for 4 ($500 value)

Ezra Freeman
- Social Media Consultation ($500 value)

TC Safavi
- 2-hour Wine Tasting Course for 8 people ($800 value)
- 3-month New Ubergroup Writing Course tuition + prerecorded Prep Course for beginners ($455 value)

11/19/2025

We’re thrilled to announce our 2025 That’s A Wrap lineup! 🎭🎁 Join us December 5th us as we celebrate the year and toast to more community, creativity, and collaboration in 2026! ☃️ We'll have food, drinks, and raffle prizes, as well as performances by this year’s USE artists.
🎟️Get general admission & pay-what-you-can tickets HERE:
https://ThatsAWrap2025.eventbrite.com

HOSTED BY
Calaine Schafer

FEATURING
Zeynep Akça
B Fortune
Gwendolyn Phair
Brandon C. Smith
India Stachyra
Chris Browne Valenzuela

Address

22 East 30th Street
Manhattan, NY
10016

Website

https://www.undergroundskillsx.com/

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