KAREN October Surprise Edition

…turns out october surprises aren’t just for politicians…!

“[A] wicked 45-minute satire on wokeness… KAREN, I SAID reaches way past the easy tropes of Karenism and even the easy explanations of it.” 
— Jesse Green, The New York Times

“Eliza Bent is the love-grandchild of Lily Tomlin, Pee Wee Herman and Mr. Peanut.”
— David Cote

KAREN, I SAID

October Surprise Edition a three part 45-minute Zoom theatrical

written and performed by Eliza Bent
directed by Tara Ahmadinejad
design by Lee Friend Roberts
produced by Sarah McLellan

presented by bentertainment & New Georges in association with All For One Theater

KAREN, I SAID is a three-part, 45-minute long Zoom theatrical.
KAREN, I SAID begins as an Instagram story about a white lady’s friend named Karen.
KAREN, I SAID shows what happens when one white lady tries to out-woke another.

**All performances in Eastern Standard Time!**

Wednesday, October 28, 6:00pm EST
Thursday, October 29, 6:00pm EST
Friday October 30, 6:00pm EST
Saturday, October 31, 12:00pm EST
Monday, November 2, 6:00pm EST

GET TIX HERE!

Sliding-scale tix $15 to $30 — limited $5 tix available!

A portion of box office proceeds from KAREN, I SAID will be donated to Brave Space Alliance, the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ Center located on the South Side of Chicago.

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sept 2020

bentertainment presents

KAREN, I SAID 
a three-part Zoom theatrical
Sept 23-26 on Zoom.

Karen, I Said
written and performed Eliza Bent
directed by Tara Ahmedinejad
with design by Lee Friend Roberts
produced by Sarah McLellan

Performance Times:
Weds Sept 23 at 6PM EST
Thurs Sept 24 at 6PM EST
Fri Sept 25 at 5PM EST
Sat Sept 26 at 12PM EST

Tickets are free to reserve.
Suggested donation is $10. Proceeds will be donated to Brave Space Alliance.

Karen, I Said is a New Georges Supported Productions with additional support from the Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation. Development of Karen, I Said was made possible through All For One Solo Shorts.

Toilet Fire: Still Flushin’ Jan 10 and 11

Toilet Fire will happen Jan 10 and 11 at 8pm at Vital Joint in Brooklyn as part of the 2020 Exponential Festival! Brian Lawlor will be tickling the ivories as Cantor, Nic Adams, Kevin Laibson and Christopher Bowser return and Juliana Catherine Forrest will be running our blerch merch table. Come flush with us. Tickets here. Happy Keester!

 

july ’19 ongoings

thrilled to be in residency at beach64retreat in far rockaway july 26 – 28.

grateful for the fellow artists-as-entrepreneurs i met at NYFA learning’s boot camp in saratoga springs july 11 – 14.

open studios + leap and the net will appear

I am participating in LMCC’s Open Studios as part of the 2019 River to River festival.

Fri June 21 6 – 9pm
Sat June 22 1 – 8pm

101 Greenwich 15th Floor in the FiDi

Workspace Artists-in-Residence:
Golnar Adili, Jennifer Bartlett, Eliza Bent, Keisha Bush, André Daughtry, Jonathan González, Zac Hacmon, Terrance James Jr., NIC Kay, Ying Liu, Asif Mian, Kenneth Pietrobono, Orlando Tirado, and Zhiyuan Yang

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am also performing in LEAP AND THE NET WILL APPEAR by Chana Porter and directed by Tara Ahmadinejad in a production produced by New Georges at the Flea running now through June 30.

 

“lunch bunch” may 17 – 28

I’m performing in LUNCH BUNCH through May 28 w/ Clubbed Thumb at the Wild Project

LUNCH BUNCH
written by Sarah Einspanier
directed by Tara Ahmadinejad
May 17 – May 28, 2019

Seven public defenders on a quest for crumbs of joy.

with Eliza Bent, Ugo Chukwu, Irene Sofia Lucio, Keilly McQuail, Nana Mensah, Jon Norman Schneider, Mike Shapiro and Julia Sirna-Frest

sets by Jean Kim
costumes by Alice Tavener
lights by Oona Curley
sound by Ben Vigus
props by Raphael Mishler
production stage manager Alex Williamson

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oh hey it’s the MTA / May 2, 3, 4

The Light at the End of the Tunnel
May 2, 3, and 4 at 7PM
at the Flea Theater

·

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

an MTA musical
by Eliza Bent
directed by Sarah Hughes
inspired by William Finnegan’s New Yorker article Can Andy Byford Save the Subways? and devised with performers Fernando Gonzalez*, Ryan Haddad* and Regan Sims.

·

produced by Hook & Eye Theater and The Spoolers, a program of Hook & Eye Theater created and led by member Javan Nelson.

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jan / feb ’19

Bonnie’s Last Flight opens next month and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Bonnie’s Last Flight
Feb 8 – Mar 2
at NYTW’s Next Door Series

Directed by Annie Tippe, the cast includes Barbara Walsh (Falsettos, Company) as Jan, Ceci Fernandez (Tiny Beautiful Things) as LeeAnne, Federico Rodriguez (The Hotel Colors) as Co-Pilot, Greig Sargeant (Elevator Repair Service, Target Margin Theater) as Greig, Sam Breslin Wright (Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play; The Temperamentals) as Pilot and a special appearance of Bent as Mark Twain and Foxy Le Corgi as Bonnie.

Foxy Le Corgi plays Bonnie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The production team includes Meredith Ries (scenic design), Oona Curley (lighting design), John Gasper (sound design), David Pym (video design), Heather McDevitt Barton (costume design), Rhys Roffey (props design), Bob Brownell (production stage manager), Emma Johnson (production manager), Megan Lang (master electrician), Caroline Gart (producer) and Ryan Gedrich (producer).

photo credit: Toby Tenenbaum; pictured: Greig Sargeant

Direct flights are available at three levels: $75 First Class includes priority boarding, premium reserved seats, and, for those 21 years-old and over, a complimentary beverage; $40 Comfort Plus includes priority boarding, reserved seats, and a complimentary snack; $25 Economy are general admission tickets and are the last to board but the first in the kingdom of bargains!

More info and tickets here!

photo credit: Toby Tenenbaum; pictured: Ceci Fernandez and Sam Breslin Wright

photo credit: Toby Tenenbaum; pictured: Mark Twain

sept ’18

my play Indeed, friend! is having a workshop production (!)
September 12 – 15 at the Robert Moss Theater, Playwrights Downtown (440 Lafayette)

Playwrights Horizons Theater School & Clubbed Thumb present a workshop production of

Indeed, friend!
by Eliza Bent
directed by Knud Adams

featuring Arjun Biju, Misha Brooks, Guillermo Contreras, Tori Khalil, Allegra Leal, April Matthis and Sangi Varsano.

set & props by Andrew Moerdyk, costumes by Avery Reed, lights by Abby Wang, sound by Renee Yeong, stage manager Lauren Fitzgerald Veit, asst director Jack Serio

September 12 – 15, 2018
Wednesday Sept 12 at 8pm
Thursday Sept 13 at 8pm
Friday Sept 14 at 3pm
Friday Sept 14 at 8pm
Saturday Sept 15 at 3pm
Saturday Sept 15 at 8pm
all performances at the Robert Moss Theater, Playwrights Downtown, 440 Lafayette Street

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

august ’18

A few things!

My play The Beyoncé is happening through Aug 18!

Based on Anton Chekhov’s short story “The Fiancée,”  with a nod to Queen Bey,  The Beyoncé is a sharp and personal coming-of-age conundrum produced by Adjusted Realists. With her wedding around the corner, Nadia is terrified to discover that her heart doesn’t want what it obviously should want: a decent husband and a stable, small town family life. She instead fantasizes about running off to the bright lights of the big city, immersing in counterculture, and leaving her family to fend for their own little existences. Is this a selfish daydream or a full-body call to adventure that must be answered? 

Jeremiah Maestas and Regan Sims. Photo by Mia Isabella Photography.

The Beyoncé
By Eliza Bent
Directed by Stephen Kaliski
Starring Rolls Andre, Andrea Aranguren, Maggie Low*, Jeremiah Maestas,*
Roger Manix, Rachel McPhee*, & Regan Sims
Scenic Design Sam Transleau
Lighting Design Jessica Greenberg
Costume Design William Mellette
Music & Sound Design Andrew Lynch
More info and tickets here!

—

I am directing an original piece with  UYT at Abrons on Aug 16!

We’ve all been on a subway platform waiting for a train that just doesn’t come. But guess what: The New York City Transit Authority has a new president. Can he save our crumbling system? A Light at the End of the Tunnel is a new musical about the state of the MTA. Tickets are free.

A Light at the End of the Tunnel
written and directed by Eliza Bent
featuring the teenagers of Abrons Arts Center’s UYT (Urban Youth Theatre)
Aug 16 at 2:30pm and 7pm at Abrons Arts Center’s Experimental Theatre
More info and tickets here!