Arrow Street Arts celebrates its grand opening in September with an 11-day festival (aptly named “ArrowFest,” and rescheduled from March) produced by the Liars and Believers theater troupe that includes a slate of performances from actors to musicians to puppeteers.
The mission of Arrow Street Arts – a nonprofit founded by David Altshuler that lives where the American Repertory Theater’s Oberon once did — is to offer accessible multi-arts spaces and production opportunities for live performance artists and organizations. It opened its doors in February with a production of “The Manic Monologues” by Moonbox Productions, Arrow Street Arts’ resident company. Since then, Boston Opera Collective and Harvard Square’s Longy School of Music of Bard College have shown operas, Moonbox returned with “Mermaid Hour,” and several dancers and companies performed, including the Janelle Gilchrist Dance Troupe and Jo-Mé Dance.
Likewise, the festival lineup is not one-size-fits-all, and represents a diverse assortment of performers.
It kicks off with “Don’t Open This,” an immersive theatrical spectacle created and performed by Liars and Believers and commissioned by Arrow Street Arts for ArrowFest. It’s inspired by Punchdrunk, which created the Macbeth-based immersive theater experience “Sleep No More,” said Georgia Lyman, executive producer of Liars and Believers and the producer of ArrowFest, who referred to the project as “Punchdrunk lite.”
“We only had about six months to put it together, but it is very much in that same vein of large-scale spectacle and small pieces we’re calling ‘gems’ that maybe only one or two people will experience,” Lyman said. “It’s a show that’s going to be subjective to every individual audience member.”
To round out the first weekend, Sunday holds a sound bath and meditation event by the Institute for Integrative Mindfulness & Movement, a concert of songs by folk duo Spencer Parli Tew and the Sleepless Birds and a showcase of Anubhava Dance, the Human Movement Project, Jean Appolon Expressions, Public Displays of Motion, Yuling Spanish Dance and Unyted Stylz. Performances will be held in both of Arrow Street Arts’ performance spaces: a street-front studio with performance seating for up to 70 and a black box stage with retractable seating for up to 260.
Since the festival continues through the week, there are lunchtime concerts at 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with a toddler film screening curated by The Brattle Theatre filling the slot Friday. The performances, which include multi-instrumentalist Mike Block on Monday, Gregory Groover Jr. on saxophone on Tuesday, cellist Francesca McNeeley on Wednesday and percussionist Maria Finkelmeier on Thursday, are accompanied by a pop-up café that will feature a different local restaurant each day.
“The whole festival had to be interdisciplinary, with theater, music, dance and more because Arrow Street Arts really wants to present the idea that everybody is welcome: that you will be supported and treated professionally and that you can show off in this beautiful space,” Lyman said.
Lyman and her team put out an open application call and got roughly 170 applications, about 40 of which earned a spot in the festival.
The evenings are full of more music, dance and theater performances, and Lyman is particularly excited about “iconic hip-hop legends” the Wondertwins, Tamara Hickey’s solo show about the Bardo, the Buddhism concept of being between death and rebirth, and Yoni Avi Battat and Ira Klein’s double bill of Middle Eastern music. There are also a variety of other events that include a puppet slam by Puppet Showcase Theater, a workshop-panel-performance by Jazzmyn Red on hip-hop, and a dance party.
“It goes on and on. I’ve got something every day that I’m really excited to see,” Lyman said.
There’s a solid bill for family programming too. On Saturday morning, Harry LaCoste & The Loose Caboose! will perform a puppetry and music show followed by a magic show from Tyler Twombly. There’s an interactive performance for babies conceived by Jill Rogati called “Whipped Up!” and two other shows for kids: “Don’t Make Me Get Dressed” by the Gottabees and “Yellow Bird Chase” by Liars and Believers which are both … just about exactly what they sound like.
The festival, originally planned for March, was rescheduled as a result of a delay with the installation of the venue’s seating system.
“Honestly, it was a good thing, because it had been such a quick-turnaround process before that, and this gave our team a little more time to ease into the process and to take a deeper look at what was needed to make sure that people were being heard,” Lyman said.
Tickets are on sale on the Arrow Street Arts site, with pricing aimed at being inclusive and accessible.
“Financial access is a real thing and Arrow Street Arts recognizes that, and they’ve been really conscious in creating affordable ticket schemes so that everyone can come and experience it,” Lyman said.
Tickets range in price from free for the lunchtime concerts to $50 for “Don’t Open This.” Card to Culture tickets are available for EBT, WIC and ConnectorCare cardholders at $5 each.
ArrowFest, Sept. 5-15 at Arrow Street Arts, 2 Arrow St., Harvard Square, Cambridge
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