BASE + RADAR: A New Residency Program

Base, in collaboration with Under the Radar Festival, is excited to introduce BASE + RADAR! This new residency initiative brings renowned artist Alex Tatarsky to Seattle for an immersive two-week development process in April 2026, advancing Alex’s latest project and culminating in public showings at Base on April 10–11.

Public Showings
Dates: Friday, April 10 at 7:00 PM | Saturday, April 11 at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM
Venue: Base, 6520 5th Ave S #122, Seattle, WA 98108
Tickets: $15, $25, and $50. Reserve your spot here.

About BASE + RADAR
BASE + RADAR is a new collaborative residency model designed to support artists in developing work within an immersive, community-connected environment. In its inaugural edition, artist Alex Tatarsky will spend two weeks at Base experimenting with a new piece alongside longtime collaborators Shane Riley (sound), Andreea Mincic (scenic and costumes), and Iris McCloughan (co-direction and dramaturgy), with additional input from Seattle-based artists. Tatarsky and collaborators will have 24/7 access to Base to develop the work and will share their process through two public showings ahead of the piece’s premiere at Under the Radar Festival. BASE + RADAR also marks Tatarsky’s Seattle debut, offering local audiences an early encounter with the artist’s distinctive voice while inviting the community into the creative process. By situating the development of new work within a new environment, the residency prioritizes experimentation, risk-taking, and creative dialogue.

“As a clown, the work really doesn’t exist until it meets the audience. The audience teaches me what it is—if it’s funny or tragic or both or neither. In the pressure of trying to communicate with a crowd outside my head is where the thing begins to cohere. Although it’s terrifying, it’s also very thrilling.” — Alex Tatarsky

The partnership reflects the shared vision of Base and the Under the Radar team to support the creation and launch of bold new performance work while connecting artists with new communities and audiences.

BASE + RADAR is made possible by John C. Robinson, the supporters of Base’s Flourish campaign and Under the Radar.

About Alex Tatarsky
Called “a hilarious, finely tuned absurdist” (Theatre Jones) and “one of the most exciting and hilarious performance artists around,” (Artspace) Alex Tatarsky makes performances in the unfortunate in-between zone of comedy, performance art, dance, theater, and deluded rant – sometimes with songs. Sad Boys in Harpy Land, their spiraling clown play about wanting to die,  enjoyed a sold-out double extended run Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons and was named “Best of 2023” by the New York Times, New Yorker and ArtForum. They are currently touring Dirt Trip (MoMA PS1), a decomposing lecture-performance on fear of clowns and fear of compost, to community composting sites around the country, and were a featured artist in the 2024 Whitney Biennial. Along with artist Ming Lin, Tatarsky is one half of the roving poetic research unit Shanzhai Lyric and its fictional office Canal Street Research Association.

About Under the Radar
For over two decades, the Under the Radar Theater Festival (UTR) has brought bold, risk-taking work to New York City, celebrating groundbreaking theater and performance from around the world and just down the street. Produced in collaboration with venues across the city, the festival showcases innovative multidisciplinary artists whose work speaks powerfully to the present moment. UTR is led by Mark Russell, founding Artistic Director; Sami Pyne, Co-Producer; and Tommy Kriegsmann, Co-Producer. Under the Radar Festival returns in January 2027 with a signature slate of more than 25 new productions staged throughout the city.