Play It By Ear

Play It By Ear is a unique, New York-based performance troupe specializing in musical and theatrical improvisation based on audience suggestion.

With as little information as the location of the action, Play It By Ear transforms a blank stage into an intensely dramatic musical experience:
sometimes serious, sometimes funny, always engaging. Each Play It By Ear performance is as varied as its audiences. Once given the germ of an idea, the group immediately creates music, lyrics and drama before the eyes and ears of the observer.

Play It By Ear had its genesis in world-renowned director Rhoda Levine’s acting and improvisation classes at the Juilliard School. When she left, several students asked her if she would continue to teach the class privately, outside of an academic structure. Over the next few years, the classes grew and met in locations around New York City. In 1994, a core group of class members formed Play It By Ear and began performing together.

Rhoda Levine – Artistic Director
Mary Catherine George, Peter Winkler, Chad Smyser,
Frank Longino, Elizabeth Knauer, Ilya Levitin