Maia Chao: American Idle

American Idle by Maia Chao
Choreographed by Lena Engelstein

Friday, August 14 at 7pm and 9pm
Rain Date: Sunday, August 16 at 7pm and 9pm
Duffy Square | Broadway & 46th St

On August 14 at 7pm and 9pm, Times Square Arts is pleased to restage American Idle by Maia Chao, in partnership with WORTHLESSSTUDIOS. American Idle is an hour-long live performance in Duffy Square first performed in 2025, conceived and directed by Chao and choreographed by Lena Engelstein. Drawing from close observations of pedestrian movement alongside the looping gestures of crowd-simulation software used to predict and regulate human behavior in public space, the performers inhabit familiar archetypes—the lost tourist, the tired parent, the kissing couple—while pairs of identically dressed doubles repeat, mirror, and glitch one another’s actions. Blurring the boundaries between spectator and participant, choreography and everyday life, the performance examines how Times Square’s hypervisibility encourages conformity and continual performance for an ever-present audience of cameras and screens.​

This August marks the culmination of three years as Times Square Arts’ Public Artist-in-Residence with three interconnected yet distinct projects—including a restaging of the iconic live performance American Idle, an accompanying Midnight Moment presentation inspired by the performance, and an in situ photography installation—emerge from Chao’s sustained investigation into the often unseen labor and infrastructures that shape public life, drawn from three years of research into and engagement with the operational infrastructure of Times Square.

Learn more at tsq.org/maiachao

Support for Maia Chao's American Idle is provided in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support is provided by WORTHLESSSTUDIOS.