Creative Ambassador for breakout platform for Artists

Festival Founder + Director
Mark Russell

Co-Creative Director
Jenn Kidwell

Co-Creative Director
Janet Wong

Festival Producer
ArKtype
Thomas O. Kriegsmann, Executive Director
Sarah Bellin, Managing Producer

Director of Development
Kendall Masson

CREATIVE AMBASSADORS

Arian Moayed
Brian M. Rosen
Carlos Armesto
Christopher Hibma
David Binder
Dianne McKeever
Gundega Laivina
John C Robinson
Meropi Peponides
Nunally Kersh
Olga Garay-English
Ruby Lerner
Stephen C. Smith
Vallejo Gantner

Under the Radar Founder Mark Russell, the legendary Artistic Director of PS122 (now Performance Space New York), first conceived of UTR in 2003 as a platform to present New Yorkers with contemporary global performance in a renegade festival format. In 2006, UTR found a longtime home at the Public Theater, where it became a multi-show annual centerpiece of the NYC season and a must-see showcase for emerging and experimental creators. Over a nearly two decade run at The Public, Under the Radar gained renown as a consistent champion for innovative artistry. Tarrell Alvin McCraney, Rachel Chavkin, Taylor Mac, Guillermo Calderón, Gob Squad, the Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Reggie Watts, Lemon Anderson, Back to Back Theatre, Belarus Free Theatre, 600 HIGHWAYMEN, Choir! Choir! Choir!, Roger Guinevere Smith and Marc Bamuthi Joseph are just a handful of those whose earliest works were featured as part of Under the Radar.

In 2023, a cease in funding from The Public rendered UTR temporarily homeless. That moment catalyzed UTR’s reinvention as a citywide festival. Unprecedented offerings of support and partnership from dozens of venues, ranging from the large and prestigious to the small and community-based, inspired a 2024 reimagination of UTR as a self-driven nonprofit arts organization fueled by collaboration with the NYC-based theater community and a revolutionary, risk-taking curatorial vision. As of 2026, Under the Radar has self-produced three years of its signature festival, with over 650 performances of more than 80 productions across 40+ stages, serving more than 65,000 audience members.