Free activities and events in New York City


The Comedic Genius of Elaine May: A Discussion and Performance

Published: January 31, 2025; Aithor: Julia Sonrisa

When: February 19, 2025
Where: Elebash Recital Hall, The Graduate Center

Address: 365 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States

Join us for an evening celebrating comedic force-of-nature Elaine May. A brilliant performer with the sensational duo Nichols and May, a pioneer of improvised comedy, and an iconoclastic Hollywood director, May has left an indelible mark on stage and screen. Elizabeth Alsop, professor of Film and Media Cultures at the CUNY Graduate Center, discusses her recent book on May’s cinema, offering insights into the four features May directed, from her auspicious debut, A New Leaf, to the infamous Ishtar. Philip Wiles, a doctoral student in Theatre and Performance at the Graduate Center, will discuss May’s role in the rise of improv, and the troupe Binder Full of Women will show how it’s done, live on stage. Edward Miller, professor of Film and Media Cultures and Theatre and Performance at the Graduate Center, moderates.

Presented with the Film and Media Cultures Certificate Program, Ph.D. Program in Theatre and Performance, the Center for the Study of Women and Society, and the Center for the Humanities.

Time: 6:30 pm EST

Free!

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