Brand New Day: 'It’s Not Binary Anymore, People!'

10/09/21 • 18 min

Held back in June, “Brand New Day” was an ecstatic takeover of Times Square, with singers and dancers from Broadway and beyond celebrating what they hoped was the imminent return of New York Theater. But some of the featured performers couldn’t help but wonder - was the closing of New York an opportunity to do better than rebuilding on the same outdated foundations?We spoke with Jason A. Rodriguez of the hit TV show “Pose” and his long-time business partner Ricardo Sebastian about their vision for a new day in New York that supports performers who have long been marginalized and exploited.

Featured in this Episode

From Arraygency and House of Eon:

https://www.arraygency.com/ (@arraygency0 )
Jason A. Rodriguez (@thejasonarodriguez)
Ricardo Sebastian (@ricardoxsebastian)
Robert J Mason (@therobertjmason)

Brand New Day Event Organizers:

Macy’s (@macys)
Kaleidoscope Entertainment (@kaleidescopeent)
Times Square Alliance (@timessquarenyc)
RRR Creative (@rrrcreative)

Hosts and Other Performers::

Frank Dilella, NY 1 Reporter (@fdilella)
Miss Jay Alexander Runway Coach (@miss_jalexander)
Jackie Cox (@jackiecoxnyc)

Resources/More Info:

Featured in this Episode

From Arraygency and House of Eon:

https://www.arraygency.com/ (@arraygency0 )
Jason A. Rodriguez (@thejasonarodriguez)
Ricardo Sebastian (@ricardoxsebastian)
Robert J Mason (@therobertjmason)

Brand New Day Event Organizers:

Macy’s (@macys)
Kaleidoscope Entertainment (@kaleidescopeent)
Times Square Alliance (@timessquarenyc)
RRR Creative (@rrrcreative)

Hosts and Other Performers::

Frank Dilella, NY 1 Reporter (@fdilella)
Miss Jay Alexander Runway Coach (@miss_jalexander)
Jackie Cox (@jackiecoxnyc)

Resources/More Info:

Previous Episode

Street Beat and the Happiness Krewe

Prior to 2020, Jeff Fairbanks, Alex Jeun, and the rest of the Street Beat Brass Band worked steadily – playing their New York spin on New Orleans second line to venues and events all over the city.
After a long, quarantined dry spell, the group was brought back to life by joining the Hells Kitchen Happiness Krewe – the madcap brainchild of Hally-Anne Devlin, a theatrical producer who would spare no expense to bring a little joy back to her beloved Manhattan.

Featured in this Episode:

Street Beat Brass Band - @streetbeatbrass, https://www.streetbeatbrass.com/
Alex Jeun @bonetraveler
Jeff Fairbanks http://www.fairbanksmusic.com/
Holly-Anne Devlin @missholya, https://www.hollyannedevlin.com/
Kaleidoscope Entertainment @kaleidoscopeent, https://www.kaleidoscopeentertainment.com/
Brant Sennett @brantsennett

Resources/More Info:

Host: Tania Mohammad
Producers: Tania Mohammad and Garret Tiedmann.
Post-production, Original Music, and Sound Design: Garrett Tiedemann
Production Manager: Gabriela Montequin
Executive Producer, Theme Music: David Hoffman

https://racecarradio.com/

https://citizenracecar.com/

Next Episode

Violins, Corpses, and Candles: PubicQuartet and Death of Classical

Like many smaller classical music ensembles, the celebrated PubliQuartet found ways to keep going during the shutdown - largely by performing outdoors in some very unorthodox settings. One of these was the catacombs of The Green-Wood Cemetery, one of the venues where Death of Classical has been presenting eclectic performances since early 2020. What’s it like to perform during a pandemic in a space where you’re literally surrounded by the dead? Remarkably transcendent, it turns out.

Featured in this Episode