Juliana May

A Note On Ticket Prices

The Chocolate Factory Theater now offers a tiered ticketing price structure, with the goal of remaining accessible to every person who wishes to attend our events while acknowledging the very real value of the service – namely, artistic and administrative labor – that a ticket purchase represents.

We ask that you select the option that best reflects your individual circumstances. This is not a “pay what you wish” scenario; rather, it’s “pay as much as your circumstances allow”. For context: in the absence of outside funding, a true cost ticket to a Chocolate Factory performance would be $275.

Our tiered options are as follows:

1. $35 (base price – the equivalent of one hour of labor for a lead artist, performer, design collaborator or technician)
2. $25
3. $15
4. $50
5. $100
6. $275 (true cost ticket)

Our intention here is not to create walled gardens or tiers of access based on monetary status; we’re merely trying to make our practice – of paying artists, technicians and administrative staff a fair wage (more than 80% of our annual budget goes to labor, fyi) – more sustainable (or truthfully, less unsustainable), while remaining (we hope!) accessible and welcoming to all.

As a ticket buyer, you’ll receive the same experience regardless of the price you pay. It’s general admission for everyone.

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Performances will take place at The Chocolate Factory Theater, 38-33 24th Street, Long Island City.

Co-presented with Live Artery | New York Live Arts.

Acclaimed choreographer Juliana F. May is renowned for creating thrillingly elaborate cycles of song, text, and movement from the wreckage of difficult experience. In the reprise of Optimistic Voices, which premiered at BAM in November 2025, May delves into the tangled contradictions of family, eroticism, and motherhood. Influenced by postmodern dance and musical theater, she uses repetition and off-kilter rhythms in pursuit of a new performative language. For Optimistic Voices—performed by Justin Faircloth, Wendell Gray II, Lucy Kaminsky, Gwendolyn Knapp, Kayvon Pourazar, and Anh Vo—May creates a dreamlike landscape from the quagmire of everyday life.

Choreographed, written and directed by Juliana F. May. Performed by Justin Faircloth, Wendel Gray II, Lucy Kaminsky, Gwendolyn Knapp, Kayvon Pourazar, and Anh Vo. Original Songs: Music and Lyrics by Juliana F. May. Music composition by Clara Hunter Latham. Special music contributions by Lucy Kaminsky. Synthesizers by Jonah Sollins-Devlin. Set design by Juliana F. May. Lighting design by Chloe Z. Brown. Costume design by Mariana Valencia. Dramaturgy by Hilary Clark. Dramaturgical consultation by Matt Shalzi and Iris McCloughan. Development Manager/Special Projects: Amanda Hamline. Production Manager: Shana Crawford. Company Manager: Miranda Brown.