Last year’s Writers in Performance troupe

The Tribeca Performing Arts Center at BMCC has announced its 2009-10 season, organized by theme. Most tickets are $25, with students andseniors paying $15; some are only $5 or $10, and Scenes Through the Cinema Lens is free. See tribecapac.org for details.

Family Series A variety of weekend-afternoon shows, some for ages as young as 3. Highlights include Mo Willems’ Pigeon Party! (Nov. 7), Very Hungry Caterpillar (Dec. 12), and Jigsaw Jones and the Case of the Class Clown (May 15).

Tribeca Spotlight Series Besides the New York Underground Comedy Festival All-Stars (Oct. 16–17), the series features musical performances by murder balladeer Ghost Star (Oct. 23, Mar. 26), singer-songwriter Elza (Nov. 13–14), and acoustic bluesman Guy Davis (Feb. 5–6).

Tribeca Dance Jody Sperling Time Lapse Dance gives “an avant-garde twist to vintage genres” (Feb. 19–21). And the St. Petersburg State Ballet Theatre is performing Carmen and four classic short pieces, including Shostakovich’s Wedding Cortege and Tchaikovsky’s Italian Capriccio (Mar. 19–21)

Jazz in Progress Monk in Motion: The Next Face of Jazz features the top three finalists from the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. This year, the spotlight is on the bass (Dec. 5, 12, 19).

Lost Jazz Shrines Commemorating jazz clubs that once existed below 14th Street. The focus is on Ali’s Alley, Jazz Cultural Theatre, and Studio Rivbea (May 7, 14, 21).

Scenes Through the Cinema Lens A retrospective of films that relate to the performing arts. The subthemes are Big Bands on Film (Oct. 20), The Art of the Jazz Soloist (Feb. 16), and The Great Jazz Singers (Apr. 13).

Dialogues in the Visual Arts Curators, artists, and academics gather to discuss issues relevant to artists (Nov. 11, Dec. 9, Mar. 10).

Work & Show Festival The Tribeca Performing Arts Center has an artists-in-residence program for theater artists, and at the end of the 10-month period, they show what they’ve accomplished (June).

Writers in Performance And if you like to do more than just watch, you might consider auditioning for the Writers in Performance workshop. For 10 weeks, professional actor, director, and teacher Mario Giacalone will lead 12 people—all ages and levels of experience are welcome—in a workshop devoted to poetry, writing, and performance. At the end, there’s an ensemble production (Nov. 20–21). The workshop is free, and auditions will be held by appointment on Sept. 15 and 16 (212-220-1459; ask for Mario Giacalone).

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