October 2025
BLUE COWBOY
Written and performed by David Cale
Directed by Les Waters

A writer from New York travels to Ketchum, Idaho to work on a film script set in Sun Valley. His plans and life take a wildly unanticipated turn after he has a chance encounter with an elusive ranch hand at the town’s annual "Trailing of the Sheep Festival". Blue Cowboy, the new solo work from David Cale, is the frank and sexually explicit story of two men from very different worlds. One who is open about his life, and the other whose life remains a self-imposed mystery to everyone around him, but who both share a profound need to intimately connect to another human being. Cale tells the story in his signature style full of vulnerability and blunt confession.

February 2026
GOOEY’S TOXIC AQUATIC ADVENTURE
Concept, Book & Lyrics by La Daniella
Music, Arrangements & Additional Lyrics by Ben Langhorst
Directed by Sammy Zeisel 
Presented in association with ¡Oye! Group

Gooey’s Toxic Aquatic Adventure is a new puppet musical that follows Gooey, an orphaned sorta mermaid living in Newtown Creek and searching for love. Amidst the backdrop of a near apocalyptic Brooklyn, Gooey embarks on an epic journey to entertainment and tech giant G’wond’rLand’s Theme Park. Along the way Gooey encounters a smart-mouthed streetwise rat named Scabby, an animated suitcase, a radical socialist parakeet, a couple of wiseguys, and the truth of how she came to be. Situated somewhere between My Fair Lady, Frankenstein, Pee Wee’s Playhouse, and The Toxic Avenger, Gooey disgusts and delights in equal measure as it examines the difficulty of finding true belonging in a gentrifying New York City.

April 2025
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT
Written and performed by ​​Michael Oluokun
Directed by Andrew Scoville in association with Myles Madden

A mad scientist named Michael presents a workshop on "thinking about", a technique for untethering yourself from linear thought and expanding your mind's ideation possibilities. Using notebooks and a whiteboard as a guide, Michael and the audience become co-conspirators in the creation of comedic chaos. Through a series of jokes, crowd games, monologues and a real “thought experiment”, Michael leads the audience down a winding road of absurdist and associative thought that leads us back to what really matters: our connection to ourselves and the people around us.

December, 2025
STARR READING SERIES
Curated by Machel Ross, Jehan O. Young, Elizagrace Madrone and William Burke

FREE Readings exploring new plays from artists who are writing for the theater in thrilling and unexpected ways. We continue to carve out a special place for artists to explore and develop their raw ideas and impulses. The Starr Reading Series is centered on adventure, exploration, mystery, risk and discovery, giving artists support and room to do their thing.

Annual Ongoing Programs:

BIG GREEN THEATER
with local Public Schools

An after school eco-playwriting program for elementary students in Bushwick/Ridgewood

CREATING PERFORMANCE
with El Puente

A program in practical theater-making for local teens and young adults

SENIOR STORYTELLING
with Caitlin Ryan O’Connell, Maia Karo + guest artists

Weekly bilingual memoir workshops for Bushwick-based senior centers

August, 2025
SUMMERS AT THE STARR

Starr Summer Programming is here — bringing the creative heat to Eldert Street all August long!

A vibrant lineup of fun, FREE, community-rooted events designed to bring neighbors together, uplift local artists, and showcase the creative spirit that makes Bushwick so special. From movies & markets to participatory talks & performances, there’s something for everyone!