A Shed Commission
80 minutes, no intermission

Welcome Back to The Shed

It’s my great pleasure to welcome you back to The Shed tonight, more than a year after we closed our doors to help fight the spread of Covid-19. We’ve all missed live performance, and we’re honored to have you here to share it with us once again.
      Collectively, the pandemic has cost us innumerable losses, and affected many in unequal ways. An Audience with… offers the opportunity to restore a few of those losses, contributing to a reawakening of our city and bringing us together again in a communal space of creativity. You’ve supported us through our past year of digital programming with November and our Up Close series and our exhibition Howardena Pindell: Rope/Fire/Water—we appreciate you so much for that—but nothing can replace the collective experience of witnessing live performance, together.
      Since last June, I’ve worked as part of New York State’s flexible spaces task force, in partnership with a wonderful group of cultural leaders from other nonprofit organizations, to assemble the robust guidelines that have allowed our spaces to reopen safely. This group has modeled an inspiring, collaborative way of working in mutual support of our sector, and I sincerely thank the state, the city, NY PopsUp, and my task force members Rebecca Robertson, Sade Lythcott, Pat Cruz, Susan Feldman, and Kristina Newman-Scott, as well as Jane Rosenthal, Emily Eakin, and Ken Sunshine.
      Live performance comes to life in the presence of others. Admiration, respect, and thanks to our artists performing in this series: Kesley Lu and their ensemble and management; the New York Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Deborah Borda, and Isaac Thompson; Renée Fleming, Bill Frisell, Christian McBride, and Dan Tepfer, as well as Paul Batsel; Michelle Wolf, Jared Freid, and Cipha Sounds; and Zainab Johnson and Atheer Yacoub.
      My admiration and gratitude goes to The Shed’s talented and dedicated staff, our stellar Board of Directors, and our wonderful Shed members who continue to support and sustain us.
      Thank you to our partners at Live Nation, and to our partners at M&T Bank, Desiree and Olivier Berggruen, the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Commissioning Fund, the Shed Commissioners, and the Charina Endowment Fund for making An Audience with… possible.
      Finally, my gratitude goes to you—artists and audiences alike—for joining us tonight in these acts of creativity, offering us the chance to experience that most precious thing, live performance.

—Alex Poots, Artistic Director and CEO

An Audience with… is supported by
The creation of new work at The Shed is generously supported by the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Commissioning Fund and the Shed Commissioners. Major support for live productions at The Shed is provided by the Charina Endowment Fund.
Accessibility
Important Information about Tonight’s Performance

Performing Tonight

Zainab Johnson, a Black woman, standing against a bold magenta wall with her hands holding the lapels of a blue jean jacket she wears over a white t-shirt.
Courtesy the artist.
Zainab Johnson
A woman with long curly hair that falls below her shoulders smiles against a blue wall. She wears a pink shirt and a necklace.
Courtesy Atheer Yacoub.
Atheer Yacoub
Zainab Johnson
Zainab Johnson is a stand-up comedian, actress, and writer who was recently selected to be one of Variety’s Top 10 Comics to Watch 2019. Johnson’s comedy is based on her unique point of view, which was shaped growing up in Harlem as one of 13 siblings in a Muslim family. After getting a degree in math and taking a job as a teacher, she quickly learned that she had a different calling. Johnson can most recently be seen in her appearance on Epix’s Unprotected Sets and has made appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers, BET’s Comic View, MTV’s Acting Out, and the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Johnson can next be seen as the series-regular role of Aleesha on the Greg Daniels Amazon series UPLOAD.
Atheer Yacoub
Atheer Yacoub is a New York–based comedian, writer, and podcaster. Her comedy is inspired by her Palestinian-Muslim upbringing in Alabama. Yacoub recently released her half-hour special for Comedy Central Arabia and has appeared on Gotham Comedy Live on AXSTV. Yacoub was also a writer for The Breakdown with Mehdi Barakchian and Passport Control with Mehdi Barakchian, which aired on BRIC TV. She co-hosts The No Fly List Podcast which features funny conversations with other comedians, artists, and interesting people of color. She is also the co-creator of the comedic web series Muslim Girls DTF: Discuss Their Faith. Yacoub has opened for Bassem Youssef, Mo Amer, and Dean Obeidallah and has also made frequent appearances on Sirius XM radio including The Dean Obeidallah Show and John Fugelsang’s show. She tours domestically and internationally and has performed in numerous festivals including the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival, Boston Comedy Festival, Laugh Devil Comedy Festival, New York Arab American Comedy Festival, The Big Brown Comedy Hour, Toronto’s SheDot Festival, Muslim Funny Fest, and 1001 Laughs Dearborn Comedy Festival.
In The Works

about 3 years ago

A note from Zainab Johnson
I went from getting on a plane at least once a week for the sole purpose of performing comedy to a live audience to figuring out how to make this thing called stand-up work without a live audience. While some of us have figured it out—doing all types of virtual shows and even drive-in shows—to quote Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell: “Ain’t nothing like the real thing baby!” I am so excited to be doing stand-up comedy in front of a live audience INSIDE again! There’s nothing worse than a firetruck driving by with sirens on during your punchline. I am honored that The Shed has invited me to perform. I know there’s been many things to cry about this past year but I look forward to sharing a good laugh with you all!
Read more

Program & Production Credits

Shed Program Team
Alex Poots, Artistic Director and CEO
Madani Younis, Chief Executive Producer
Laura Aswad, Producer
Marc Warren, Director of Production
Daisy Peele, Associate Producer
Annabel Thompson, Associate Producer
Pope Jackson, Production Manager
Sarah Pier, Production Manager
Shed Production Credits
Greg Miller, Stage Manager
John Torres, Lighting Designer
Stuart Burgess, Head Electrician – McCourt
Stefan Carrillo, Head Carpenter – McCourt
Seth Huling, Head Audio – McCourt
Chelsea Rubin, Lighting Programmer

Board of Directors & Supporters

The Shed gratefully acknowledges our Board of Directors, donors, and members for their leadership, steadfast support, and generosity. Their commitment to the promise of The Shed has made possible the launch of our new organization and a safe reopening during this time of unprecedented challenges for our city’s treasured cultural life.
Board of Directors

Debbie August
Heather Baker
Peter A. Boyce II
Misty Copeland
Roberta Denning
Daniel L. Doctoroff, Chair
David C. Drummond
Lew Frankfort
Dexter G. Goei
Gary Hoberman
Monish Kumar
Kate D. Levin
Christina Weiss Lurie
Frank H. McCourt Jr.
Marigay McKee
Darla Moore
Colby Mugrabi
Alex Poots, Artistic Director and CEO
Claudia Rankine
Maria Catalina Saieh Guzman
Andres Santo Domingo
Dean Shapiro
Harvey J. Spevak
Jonathan M. Tisch, Vice Chair
Jed Walentas
Fred Wilson
Deborah Winshel
Kenneth P. Wong
Dasha Zhukova

Ex Officio
Hon. Vicki Been, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development
Hon. Gale A. Brewer, Manhattan Borough President
Hon. Gonzalo Casals, Commissioner, Department of Cultural Affairs
Hon. Corey Johnson, Speaker, New York City Council

Founding Supporters

City of New York
      Office of the Mayor
      NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
      NYC Department of Design and Construction
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Altice
BlackRock
Coach Foundation
The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation
Alisa and Dan Doctoroff
Google
Kenneth C. Griffin
The McCourt Family
Darla Moore
Oxford Properties
The Pershing Square Foundation
Related Companies
Stephen M. Ross
Santo Domingo Family
Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch
WarnerMedia
Dasha Zhukova

As of March 23, 2021

Leadership Supporters

Debbie and Glenn August
Heather and Felix Baker
Boston Consulting Group
Charina Endowment Fund
Roberta and Steven Denning
Bobbie and Lew Frankfort
The Mimi and Peter Haas Fund
Gary and Alexandra Hoberman and Family
The Kapnick Foundation
Christina Weiss Lurie
M&T Bank
Marigay McKee and Bill Ford
Neubauer Family Foundation
Nike
The Saieh Foundation
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Harvey J. Spevak
TD Bank
United Airlines
VaynerMedia
The Walentas Family
Wasserman Foundation
Wells Fargo
Joanne and Fred Wilson/Gotham Gives

As of March 23, 2021

Shed Commissioners

Allen & Company LLC
Bruce A. Beal, Jr.
Jeff and Lisa Blau
Sherry Brous and Doug Oliver
R. Martin Chavez
David C. Drummond
Eva and Glenn Dubin
Larry and Lori Fink
Julis Romo Rabinowitz Family
Kirsh Foundation
Adam and Margaret Korn
Judy and Leonard Lauder
Leni and Peter May
Greg and Alexandra Mondre
Eric and Wendy Schmidt
Robert K. Steel Family Foundation
Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
Steve Tisch

As of March 23, 2021

Shed Donors

Anonymous Donor
Altman Foundation
AMC Networks
American Express
Jody and John Arnhold I Arnhold Foundation
Shari and Jeff Aronson
Audemars Piguet
Peter A. Boyce II
Cartier
Kathryn and Kenneth Chenault
Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Druckenmiller Foundation
Katherine Farley and Jerry Speyer
First Republic Bank
Ford Foundation
Mark Gallogly and Lise Strickler
Garth Greenan Gallery
Geller & Company
Howard Gilman Foundation
Goldman Sachs & Co.
Katja Goldman and Michael Sonnenfeldt
Meg and Bennett Goodman
Hanover Architectural Products
Edwin B. Hathaway
William Helman
Marlene Hess and James Zirin
Wendy Keys
Knoll, Inc.
L’Oréal
Robert Lehman Foundation
Gladys and Elliot Levine
Jeffrey E. Levine and Randi Charno Levine
Simone and David Levinson and Terminal Warehouse
Marjorie, Michael and Katharine Loeb
Sandeep Mathrani
Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City
MOHAWK Industries
Colby Mugrabi
National Endowment for the Arts
Kathleen and Benjamin F. Needell
Netflix
Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)
Talia and Jon Oringer
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust
PPG Industries
Prodject
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
David Rockefeller Fund
Samsung
Sciame Construction
Sidewalk Labs
David M. Solomon
TD Charitable Foundation
Tishman Speyer
ViacomCBS
Tali Farhadian Weinstein and Boaz Weinstein
Deborah Winshel and Michael Harpe
Marie and Kenneth Wong
Mortimer B. Zuckerman

As of March 23, 2021

Creative Council

Laurie Beckelman
Lisa Blau
Emily Chen Carrera
Peter and Susan Rolston Friedes
Janet Goldman
Mr. & Mrs. Martin D. Gruss
Stephanie Joyce and Jim Vos
Tara E. Kelleher
Eleanora Kennedy
Ann Cutbill Lenane
Stephanie and Jim Loeffler
Lisa and Richard Plepler
Susan Plumeri
Ellen Schapps Richman
Kara Ross
Barbara Siegler
Marie and Kenneth Wong

As of March 23, 2021

Shed Friends

Anonymous Donor
Lily and Doug Band
Bank of America
Lisa Bellucci
Benjamin Moore
Desiree and Olivier Berggruen
BerlinRosen
Jennifer C. Berrent and Carolyn Eaton Taylor
Sumita Bhattacharya & Monish Kumar
Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
Carolina Herrera
Chubb Limited
Citadel
Ulrika and Joel Citron
Cloudera
Commerzbank AG
Consulate General of Canada in New York
Continental Grain Company
Dr. Ronald and Beth Dozoretz
Elle
Marian Goodman Gallery
General Atlantic
Harkness Foundation for Dance
Sandy Heller
IHS Markit
InStyle
Jane Street
Maryann Jordan and Joseph McDonnell
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Kohn Pedersen Fox
KPMG
Linked by Air
Sarah Long and David Solomon
Made Media
Magic Leap
New York State Council on the Arts
The Pinkerton Foundation
Point72 Asset Management
Sharon Prince
Susan and David Rockefeller
Rockwell Group
Dean Shapiro
Shiraz Creative
Bonnie Ward Simon Foundation
The Paul E. Singer Foundation
Esta Eiger Stecher
Steinway & Sons
Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners
Thornton Tomasetti
Barbara and Donald Tober
Uniform Fighters
Volley Studio
Warburg Pincus
David Zwirner

As of March 23, 2021

Shed Makers

Nine Anonymous Donors
Dr. and Mrs. Todd Albert
Candy and Michael Barasch
Desiree and Olivier Berggruen
Tamara and Brad Bernstein
Amanda M. Burden
Gretchen and Stephen Burke
John Callery
Philip Carlucci
Emily and Mike Cavanagh
Elizabeth Cohen
Christine and Cromwell Coulson
Susan Courtemanche and Bob Coleman
Creative Business Inc.
Christopher Cronson
Paul and Caroline Cronson
Hester Diamond
Anna and Jim Fantaci
Laura and John Fisher
Katie Ford
Hugh Freund and Sandra Wijnberg
Ashley Garrett and Alan Jones
Linda Gibbs and Tom McMahon
Maria Gustafson
Susan Hayden
Chris Hogbin
Bruce Horten and Aaron Lieber
Tracey Hummer
Margaret Pomeroy Hunt and Keith Sherry
Deborah McAlister and Christopher Jones
Joyce F. Menschel
Joseph Moinian
Kirsten and Craig Nevill-Manning
Donald E. Newhouse
Elyse and Michael Newhouse
Angela and William O'Donnell
Liz Oliver
Estelle Parsons and Peter L. Zimroth
Tom Peters
Andrea Rosen
Nancy and Rick Rubens
Claudia Saez-Fromm
Helen and Charles Schwab
Kendra and Jeffrey Simes
Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Howard Solomon
Ellen Sontag-Miller and William C. Miller
Sila Soyer
Alan and Donna Stillman Foundation
Theo U
W. O’Donnell Consulting, Inc.
Helen and Peter Warwick
Soon-Young Yoon
Lois R. Zaro

As of March 23, 2021

Thank you for joining us tonight

Share your experience

@TheShedNY
#TheShed
#AnAudienceWith

Revisit some of our past programs

Through the photos and videos below, get an inside look at the process of creating some of the programs before and since The Shed’s opening two years ago, including Norma Jeane Baker of Troy and Soundtrack of America from our opening in April 2019, which featured An Audience with… artists Renée Fleming and Kelsey Lu.
In The Works

over 3 years ago

In The Works: Howardena Pindell

over 3 years ago

November on Location

almost 4 years ago

Troy Anthony and Jerome Ellis on the Healing Power of Music and Gathering

about 4 years ago

Who Is Claudia Rankine?

about 4 years ago

Remembering Agnes Denes’s Wheatfield

over 4 years ago

Jonas Mekas, the Godfather of Avant-Garde Cinema

over 4 years ago

Lynn Hershman Leeson’s Shadow Stalker

about 5 years ago

Powerplay Workshop

about 5 years ago

Meet Kelsey Pyro

about 5 years ago

A Soundscape Made Entirely of Renée Fleming’s Voice

about 6 years ago

Soundtrack of America

almost 6 years ago

The FlexNYC Reunion

Part of a series

An Audience with… Read more about “An Audience with…” All details for “An Audience with…”
APR 2 – 23, 2021
APR 2 – 23, 2021
Live music, comedy, and NYC audiences, together again
More

An Audience with…

NY PopsUp

An Audience with… is presented in partnership with Live Nation, the New York Philharmonic, and NY PopsUp, as part of New York’s revitalization of live performance. Learn more about NY PopsUp at nypopsup.com or @nypopsup.

Thank you to our partners

An Audience with… is supported by
The creation of new work at The Shed is generously supported by the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Commissioning Fund and the Shed Commissioners. Major support for live productions at The Shed is provided by the Charina Endowment Fund.
The Shed is connected by