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A Home for Emerging Artists.
 

Needy Lover Presents

LOBSTER

Written by Kallan Dana
Directed by Hanna Yurfest
Produced by Emma Richmond

Nora loves Patti Smith. Nora is Patti Smith. Nora is stoned out of her mind in the Chelsea Hotel, no, the Chelsea Hotel is her mind, actually, the Chelsea Hotel is an out-of-use portable classroom in the Pacific Northwest, but that portable is a breeding ground for lobsters young women.

APRIL 25th — May 17th, 2025

WITH

Amar Ahmad, Digital Design
Pete Betcher, Scenic Design
Cricket Brown*, Nora
Cori Diaz, Stage Management
Annie Fang*, Imogen
Sarina Freda, Gwen
Coco McNeil, Medea
Olivia Mermagen, Assistant Stage Management
Max Mooney, Intimacy Direction
Jacqueline Scaletta, Lighting Design
Felix Teich, Jeremy
Mellie Way, Sound Design
Coralie Monamy, Assistant Sound Designer
Jonah Harrison, Associate Producer

A New Georges supported production.
LOBSTER is produced with support from Clubbed Thumb, made possible by Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation.
LOBSTER is an Equity-Approved Showcase.

Annie Fang (Imogen): Off-Broadway: Cymbeline (NAATCO), Your Own Personal Exegesis (LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater), SHHHH (Atlantic Theater Company). Also in NY: A Woman Among Women (Bushwick Starr/New Georges), Usus; Chairs (Clubbed Thumb). Select regional: Jennifer Who Is Leaving (Round House Theatre), Thrive, Or What You Will; Twelfth Night (American Shakespeare Center), SHIP (Azuka Theatre), Man of God (InterAct Theatre). fang-annie.com @thefatpecan

Coco McNeil (Medea) is an actor, comedian, and dramaturg from Seattle. She has performed at/in Clubbed Thumb, Prelude Festival, The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, Second City, The Tank, Brooklyn Comedy Collective and more. She performs with her improv groups Brunch Buddies and Slay’s Anatomy around the city. Upcoming: Middle School Play at Brick Aux, Loose Teeth, and TÁR the Musical. Instagram: @cocooaa

Felix Teich (Jeremy) is so excited to get to make a play that uh... hopefully uh... ~~~ r*ms a f*st up your mf'ing [beeeeep] -hole. ~~~ In other words, something totally punk rock. But also soft and tender duh ;) They're a 2021 graduate of NYU's MFA Acting program, and graduated from Emerson College in 2016 with a BFA in Acting. Also, they’re an acting company member at the Mercury Store, a new play development lab in Gowanus. Reachable @felix.teich on instagram for questions, comments, and concerns. 

Sarina Freda (Gwen, she/her) is an NYC-based actor/writer/producer. She has worked on several short films and new plays with Clubbed Thumb, P73, The Geva Center, the 24-Hour Plays Festival (Nationals 2020), and more. Together, she and Tom Costello created no no no please no god no, nevermind i’m fine, a one-woman show which debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2024. She loves to swim. She loves to dance. And her passion project is finding inner peace. NYU Tisch BFA. https://sarinafreda.com/

Cricket Brown (Nora) is a theater and film maker based in Brooklyn. Theater: Judgment Day (Park Avenue Armory), This House Is Not A Home (Under the Radar), Music (Exponential Fest). Film/TV: The Unholy, WeCrashed, Law & Order, Devil in Disguise. Assistant Directing: Deep Blue Sound (Clubbed Thumb), Mercedes (BAM), Waiting For Godot (TFANA). Lots of original work. Thank you Lobster cast and crew for this very special experience. www.cricketbrown.com 

Kallan Dana (Playwright) is a writer and performer originally from Portland, Oregon. She has developed or presented work with Clubbed Thumb, The Hearth, The Tank, Bramble Theatre Company, Dixon Place, Northwestern University, and Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. She is a New Georges affiliated artist and co-founder of the artist collaboration group TAG at the Tank. She received her MFA from Northwestern University. needylover.com and troveirl.com

Hanna Yurfest (Director) is a director and producer from Richmond, MA. She co-founded and leads The Tank’s artist group, TAG, and creates work with her company, Needy Lover.

Emma Richmond (Producer) is a producer and director of performances and events. She has worked with/at HERE, The Tank, The Brick, and Audible, amongst others. She was The Tank’s 2022-23 Producing Fellow, and is a member of the artist group TAG. Her day job is Programs Manager at Clubbed Thumb, and she also makes work with her collective Trove, which she co-founded. www.emma-richmond.com

Amelia (Mellie) Way (Sound Design, she/they) is an nyc-based sound artist and engineer with a passion for amplifying untold stories. NYC: Three Sisters (Columbia University), Everybody (The New School), Winter Guard, Middletown, Sisters on the Ground (AAS), Aztec Pirates... (The Chain), Tracy Jones (Art House Productions), Los empeños de una casa (Repertorio Español), 24 Hour Plays: Nationals (CSC), The Stella Show, Ted Bundy’s Volkswagen (IRT), Rough Trade (The Tank), Alexa, Play (United Solo Fest), Life Sucks (AADA), High School Play: A Nostalgia Fest, Tartuffe, Continuity, Everybody, and Water by the Spoonful (Fordham University), Saguaros (JACK). Regional: Brigadoon (Wagon Wheel CFA) Other: Grease (Sandy). @ameliawaydesign | ameliaway.com

Cori Diaz (Stage Manager) is a stage manager based in New York, NY. Her recent credits include RACECAR RACECAR RACECAR (The Hearth), cunnicularii (Good Apples Collective), A Seagull in the Hamptons (Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute), Close Up (Metropolitan Playhouse) and QUEEN (Long Wharf Theatre). She is receiving her BFA this spring from NYU Tisch. 

Jacqueline Scaletta (Lighting Design) is a Brooklyn-based lighting designer with a background informed just as much by dramaturgy as by optical physics. Select design credits: Third Law (CultureLab LIC), Lula 19/85 & The Pearl of the Bekaa (La MaMa), ONE NIGHT (Target Margin Theater), The Vicky Archives (The Tank), {in}tangible (Theatre Row), Galatea 2.0 (Brooklyn Art Haus). Associate credits: Open Mic Night (Under the Radar, Williamstown Theater Festival), Sasha Velour’s The Big Reveal Live Show (La MaMa), Rose: You Are Who You Eat (Woolly Mammoth). jacscalettalighting.com.

 

PEREGRINATIONS

a Masked Show About People and Borders

Co-produced by Dutch Kills Theater and Long Story Short


January 9th — January 26th, 2025

Peregrination: noun /ˌpɛrɪgrəˈneɪʃən/

  1. A long journey or period of wandering, especially in foreign lands; from the Latin: peregrinus, meaning “foreigner”.

Peregrination is a wordless play with original music and sound design exploring journeys of displacement and migration. It is drawn from interviews with displaced people and personal stories of our international performance collective and performed in masks. Peregrination uses the poetic, metaphoric language of the masks to explore shared experiences of journeys across borders.

DEVISING ENSEMBLE

Megan Campisi is a theater maker, novelist and teacher. Her plays have performed in China, France, and the United States. She has been a forest ranger, sous-chef in Paris, and a physical theater specialist around the world. She attended Yale University and the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. In 2019 she received a Fulbright Specialist award to travel to Turkey and give master classes at Tatbikat Theatre. Her first novel, Sin Eater, received the Debut Crown award from the Historical Writers’ Association in 2021. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Megan lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her family.

Julia Cavagna is an Argentinean born actress, director and teacher. She works as a feature actress at The Metropolitan Opera, highlights include: In 2016 she was part of Patrice Chéreau’s Elektra (+Gran Teatre Del Liceu, Barcelona). In 2020, under Sir David McVicar direction, she developed clown material for her character ‘Paloma’ in Agrippina. In 2023 she was selected to be part of Die Zauberflote’s ensemble under Simon Mcburney’s direction (+Dutch National Opera and  Palau De Les Arts Valencia). Julia’s production credits with Dutch Kills Theater include:  Performer/collaborator of Solitary (Habermann-Cooper) at the Fringe FestivalEdinburgh 2019 and TEMPING, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022-2024 and Adelaide Fringe Festival 2023.Since 2021 Julia has been a proud member of Broken Box Mime Theater. In 2022 she was a Guest Director at PACE University (International Performance Ensemble) and in 2023 she was part of the Outreach Team for PhysFestNYC. The First Physical Theater Festival! As a director, she released: O.Y.A., Sentimiento González is da Bomb! (Undiscovered Countries, Boog City), MALALA (selected at NYC Indie Theatre Film Festival ‘21) and Prácticas Materiales (Undiscovered Countries Incubator ’20; recipient of JACK Artist Residency at Governors Island ’21; recipient of the City Artist Corps Grants ’21) She´s co-founded: THEATER TO THE PEOPLE (awarded with the 2019 and 2021 BAC Grant and 2020 Town Stages Fellowship) www.juliacavagna.online / www.theatertothepeople.com

Duane Cooper is a New York based actor, writer, and producer. He is a graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. More of his work can be seen at duanecooper.com

Jay Dunn is a director, choreographer, actor and teaching artist. As a director/choreographer, selected credits include Music at the Close world premiere at Carnegie Hall, Spoolie Girl Off-Broadway world premiere, Village of Vale world premiere at Lincoln Center Education, The Tempest with Catskill Mountain Shakespeare and a libretto reading of Rev 23 with White Snake Projects/Beth Morrison Projects. As a performer, he has worked with Simon McBurney both on Weimar Nightfall at the LA Philharmonic and Die Zauberflote at The Metropolitan Opera and int’l venues. He has worked Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally with companies & theaters including The Barbican, Maison de Metallos (Paris, FR) Pig Iron Theatre Company, rainpan43, Atlantic Stage 2, Arena Stage, Folger Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre and Edinburgh Fringe (Assembly & Summerhall).  Jay is a graduate of L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq and currently teaches acting, movement and physical comedy at SUNY Purchase’s BFA Acting Conservatory. LCT Directors Lab ‘18 and SDC Observership alum. www.JayDunn.co

Brendan McMahon is a theatre artist, actor, director, and teacher. He is an Associate Professor of Theatre Performance, Movement and Devising at Southern Oregon University in Ashland. He has performed at the Lincoln Center, The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC, The Kennedy Center, The Public Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Asolo Rep, and with companies Mabou Mines, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Basil Twist’s Dream Music Puppetry, and many others. As a director he has worked on Off-Broadway, academic, touring, and film productions, and at New York City theatres including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Culture Project, and Theatre Row. Most recently he was the Movement Director for New York Classical Theatre’s Henry IV, and the Director of The Servant of Two Masters at the Oregon Center for the Arts. For more information or to contact Brendan, please visit his website: brendanmcmahon.org

Malcolm Opoku is a graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of The Theatre(NY), born and raised in Accra- Ghana, and holds a BA from Queens University of Charlotte in International Studies and African Politics. Malcolm is passionate about work that challenges biases, illuminates identity, confronts power structures and holds a mirror up to nature. Recent credits include: Language City (Little Island), The Trojan Women (Shakespeare Workshoppe), Solitary (Broken Box Mime Theatre)

Angela Parra is an international actress known for her vibrant, eccentric, captivating, and humorous performances. She has had the privilege of advancing her career studying Musical Theater and has performed on various stages and Tv productions in Peru and Argentina. Recently graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she is currently embracing the myriad opportunities in New York City, consistently seeking innovative ways to infuse inspiration and hope into every new challenge she faces.

MEET THE TEAM

Blake Habermann (Outside Eye Director) has been working as a theater creator and educator in New York and around the world. Highlights include: Live projection artist and ensemble member in Simon Mcburney’s Die Zauberflote at the Dutch National Opera and the Met, developing clown material for Pagliacci and Ariadne Auf Naxos at the Metropolitan Opera; Movement direction for Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera at Juilliard; Cirque du Soleil’s float in the Macy’s Parade and The Infinite Bliss of the Hungry Ghost Realm in residency at Dance Box Kobe, Japan. Since 2015, Blake has been a member of Broken Box Mime Theater, an award winning company specializing in original work for a variety of audiences, as well as developing numerous educational programs combining mime technique, socio-emotional learning, conflict resolution and collaborative theater. Blake is a movement, neutral mask and physical performance instructor at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.

Also known as Arga Reath, Joan Hofmeyr (Composer/Musician) is a Juilliard trained vocalist, songwriter, producer, and composer. Born and raised in South Africa, she is currently based in Brooklyn, New York, and has been performing her original music since 2022. She has created vocals, arrangements, and compositions for short film and theater. NYC venues include Roulette, Pianos, and The Tubs. 

Erin Orr (Puppet Master) is a puppetry artist who has collaborated for many years with Chris Green, Lake Simons, Kate Brehm and Basil Twist. Her own puppetry work is inspired by folklore and made in collaboration with living composers including Rima Fand, Sxip Shirey, and Baby Dee. She’s a teaching-artist mentor and curriculum specialist for ArtsConnection and has taught puppetry in NYC public schools for 25 years. 

Yang Yu (Lighting Designer) is a New York based lighting designer for performing arts. She is interested in using light, space, and timing to create an emotionally charged environment, as well as visualizing music. Recent credits include Good Luck in Space (The Riverside Theater, NYC), The Lydian Gale Parr (Target Margin Theater, Brooklyn), Unresolved Rage Game (Soho Rep Writer Director Lab, NYC); Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (Crossroads Theatre Company, NJ). Lewberger and the Wizard of Friendship (Theater Row, NYC). Publication: Collected Light Volume Three: Women in Entertainment Lighting. MFA from Brooklyn College. Yangyudesign.com

Jessie Char (Tank Producing Fellow) - A classically trained cellist, Jessie cut her teeth in the classical music world before accidentally landing a job in tech and working in the industry for nearly two decades. When her practice came to a screeching halt in 2020 she survived the only way she knew how: by developing as many hobbies as possible and seeing what stuck. For reasons she barely understands she stumbled into theatrical design, working on productions like Invasive Species (The Tank, The Vineyard) and JOB (SoHo Playhouse, The Connelly). Her sound design and creative direction have been acclaimed by The New York Times and New York Magazine. Jessie is a member of The Tank’s 2024-2025 Producer Cohort Fellowship.

Melissa Ingle (Stage Manager) is a freelance stage manager and co-founder of Devon Loves ME! Productions [@devonlovesMEproductions]. Previously she has managed shows at The Tank (The Mannequin Play), the Wild Project (Jo-Lynn Butterfly Country Hour of Sunshine), the Scheen Center (Dust of Egypt), and the Chain (Breaking & Entering's PeaFest). Currently, she is devising a one-man clown show "It Was Really Good to Know You".

Alley Scott (Producer) is a producer, portrait artist, and performer living in Queens, New York. She has produced every show that Dutch Kills has mounted in New York, Scotland, and Australia: Temping, Intelligence, The Antelope Party, Solitary, The Providence of Neighboring Bodies, Selkie, Klaxalterian Sequester, Latter Days, The Sister, In Quietness and Adventure Quest.  In addition Alley has produced dozens of developmental readings with the Loose Leaf Series by playwrights such as Celine Song, Alexandra Silber, and Kate Benson.  Alley’s portraiture explores the lesser known Greek myths and how they relate to the modern landscape. She has shown in galleries in New York and Edinburgh. As a performer, Alley has performed in New York, Edinburgh and Washington DC to critical acclaim. Alley attended Oxford University, The British American Drama Academy and Franklin and Marshall College. www.alleyscott.com

Alec Silver (Producer) is a Chinese-American actor, deviser, and producer from Vermont. As Managing Director of Dutch Kills Theater Company, he champions new work, innovation, and emerging theatrical voices through care, community, and conviction. As an actor, he has worked with directors of national and international acclaim including Chay Yew, Nia DaCosta, Joe Dowling, and David H. Bell. Alec’s recent producing credits with Dutch Kills Theater include: Exquisite Drones (The Tank), AFOOT (Adelaide Fringe Festival), TEMPING (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Adelaide Fringe Festival), In Corpo (Co-Production with The Assembly), and the Loose Leaf Reading and Development Series 2023. He worked as Production Supervisor on A Little Night Music – In Concert at David Geffen Hall. and Development Series 2023. @alec.silver | www.alecsilver.com

Screenshot 2024-12-20 112119.jpg
 

birthday birthday birthday

By Johnny G. Lloyd
Directed By Will Steinberger
March 27 2025 - April 19 2025

Run Time: 90 minutes, no intermission

Marissa and Clark are best friends who share a birthday. Marissa and Clark are best friends who share a birthday party. And Marissa and Clark plan on doing anything in their power to share that birthday party for the rest of their lives - and then some. A multi-decade romp through race, class, and time, birthday birthday birthday is about who we choose, how we change, and what it takes to remember it all.

With additional support from Clubbed Thumb, made possible by Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation.

BIOS

JOHNNY G. LLOYD is an “entertainingly cerebral” (New Yorker) Brooklyn-based writer and producer. Off Broadway: Patience (Second Stage Theatre). Off-Off Broadway: Or, An Astronaut Play (The Tank). Johnny was the winner of the 2021 Bay Area Playwrights Festival (The Problem With Magic, Is:) and has a Drama Desk Award for his affiliation with Theater In Quarantine (created by Joshua William Gelb and KatieRose McLaughlin). He has been commissioned by Clubbed Thumb, Second Stage Theater, and Westport Country Playhouse. Johnny has been in residence at Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Ars Nova, The Lark, Liberation Theatre Company, and more. He is the Director of Artistic Development at The Tank and co-founder of InVersion Theatre. MFA: Columbia University. jglloyd.com

WILL STEINBERGER is a Drama League Award nominated director and producer. He has directed and developed new plays at New York Theatre Workshop, New York Stage and Film, Clubbed Thumb, New Dramatists, Hartford Stage, the Drama League, Berkshire Theatre Group, Powerhouse Theater, Valdez Theater Conference, The Brick, the Wilma, and InterAct. He recently directed Andrea Stolowitz’s The Berlin Diaries at 59E59 featuring David Greenspan, produced in association with The New Group. Other productions include Han Van Sciver’s Happy Birthday, Han (JACK), Gina Femia’s meet you at the Galaxy Diner. (The Tank and New Light Theatre Project), Charles Gershman’s Oedipus 2.0.2.0 (All For One f/ Eddie Cooper; Drama League nom), and Johnny G. Lloyd’s Or, an Astronaut Play (The Tank and InVersion Theatre, of which he is a proud co-founder) and birthday birthday birthday (Columbia University). Will is a former artist in residence at New York Stage and Film and has been a guest speaker or artist at the Yale School of Drama, Brown University, Syracuse University, UT–Austin, Vassar College, Neumann University, and Hunter College. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, American Theatre Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer, The Forward, WHYY, Philadelphia Weekly, and Philadelphia Magazine. Member, LCT Directors Lab. Finalist, National Directors Fellowship. WSteinberger.com.

JUSTIN AHDOOT. NYC: Off-Broadway: Sleep No More (Punch Drunk); Off-Off Broadway: Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom and The Mysteries (The Flea Theater), Regional: ABCD (Barrington Stage), Disgraced (Pittsburgh Public), Cymbeline (Richmond Shakespeare); performed his solo show Justin versus at Richmond Triangle Players, and Uncle Tom: Deconstructed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. TV: “Fleishman Is In Trouble” (FX), “Little America” (Apple TV+), “The Good Cop” (Netflix), “Law & Order: SVU,” “The Americans,” “Blue Bloods.” BFA Virginia Commonwealth University. www.justinahdoot.com

DANA BERGER is a New York based actor. She is best known for playing inmate Crystal Tawney on “Orange Is The New Black,” and starring in indie horror hit Brightwood, described as "a masterclass" by The Guardian. Other TV credits include “FBI: Most Wanted” and “Elementary.” Theater companies she has worked with include The Playwrights Realm, Ars Nova, Second Stage, Clubbed Thumb, The Vineyard, Target Margin, The Kitchen Theatre, Dorset Theatre Festival and others. She is a born and bred New Yorker and trained at LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. @dana.meryl.berger | www.DanaBerger.com

ANITA CASTILLO-HALVORSSEN (she/her) is a Venezuelan-Norwegian actor, singer, and educator from Boulder, Colorado. She is a co-founder of Taproot Creatives, for which she has produced, directed, or performed in seven projects since its first in 2021. Anita is an ensemble member of and artistic advisor for Notch Theatre Company and a proud member of the Ring of Keys coalition of queer women, trans, and nonbinary artists in musical theatre. Television: “FBI” (CBS), “Harlem” (Amazon Prime), “Law & Order” (NBC), “The Good Fight” (CBS). New York Theater: Red Bull Theater, New Georges, Clubbed Thumb, New Dramatists, New Ohio Theatre, Irondale, The Chain, The Tank, Theater for the New City, and Theatre Row. Training: Brown/Trinity MFA Acting, British American Drama Academy, Swarthmore College BA Film & Theater. anitacastillohalvorssen.com @anita_c7h @taproot_official

OMARI CHANCELLOR received their MFA from NYU Tisch's Graduate Acting Program. He was most recently seen as Davion in Amani at Rattlestick Theater. They were also featured in Peter Farrelly’s film, The Greatest Beer Run Ever on Apple+, which had its world premiere at TIFF. Other credits include “Elsbeth” (CBS), “Why Women Kill” (Paramount+), and soft (The Williamstown Theater Festival). Omari is a member of Gyaldem.us. A Brooklyn-based art collective.

REMY GERMINARIO is a NYC based actor, comedian, singer, writer and teaching artist and is thrilled to be returning to The Tank. New York Theatre: Rough Trade (The Tank) More Than All The World (Theatre For The New City), Boys Who Tricked Me (Musical Theatre Factory), Bradley Cole (FringeNYC Award Winner), When I Started Dating Men (Dixon Place), The Paige Turner Holiday Shows (Laurie Beechman Theatre) and The Vanity (Theatre Row). Regional: Buyer and Cellar (Florida Studio Theatre, Riverside Theatre, Cardinal Stage Company), America’s Sexiest Couple (Cape May Stage), Caveman Play (ArtHouse). Film/TV: The Feast of Stephen (dir James Franco), Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Synonymous With, An Actor Unprepared and Livin’ the Dream. Voiceover: Peter in the hit musical video game Peter Panic (Adult Swim Games), Radio Play Revival and The World To Come musical podcast (dir. Rachel Klein). Remy is also a sketch comedian (currently performing with his team,11:11, on Maude Night at UCB) and stand-up comedian and can be seen at comedy clubs all over the city. He is also known on TikTok and Instagram for his  impressions of Food Network Chefs and other viral comedic content!  Remy is also a teaching artist at NYU/The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute/ BFA NYU (CAP21/Strasberg Studios) @RemyGerminario - www.remygerminario.com 

PORTLAND THOMAS is thrilled to return to this company as Marissa in birthday birthday birthday! Off-Broadway: The Cotillion (The Movement and New Georges) Shedding Load (59E59 Theaters), Seize the King, Fit for a Queen (Classical Theatre of Harlem). NY Theater: Anna Karenina (The Flea) Sources of Light (HERE Arts Center). Regional: Teenage Dick (Woolly Mammoth, The Huntington, Pasadena Playhouse) Hamlet & St. Joan (BEDLAM/ The McCarter Theatre), The Wolves (Marin Theatre Company), The Syringa Tree (Creede Repertory Theatre) TV: “Mott & Spy” Film: Fernanda (Screened at OUTFEST 2022 and LALIFF). BFA: NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Matthew 7:7 IG: @portyspicee

ESZTER ZADOR (Stage Manager) Broadway National Tour: Oklahoma!, Off Broadway: Ghosts (LCT), Grand Hotel: The 35th Anniversary Reunion Concert (54 Below), Small Acts of Daring Invention (HERE Arts Center), Beverly Johnson IN VOGUE (59E59), The Gardens of Anuncia (LCT), Malvolio (CTH), All the Lonely Women (Rattlestick Theater), Non-profit: Barn Play (UP Theater Co.), Education: MFA, Columbia University

SKYLER PURVIS (Production Stage Manager) is a NYC-based stage manager and dramaturg. Off-Off-Broadway: Golem Owned A Tropical Smoothie (The Tank, PSM). Recent regional credits include Twelfth Night (ASM) at Kane Repertory Theatre and Into The Woods (ASM) at Marquee Youth Stage. Much love to her family and friends for always supporting her! www.skylerpurvis.com. 

CARLTON V. BELL II “CJ” (they/them) is a Black queer artist & cultural organizer from Birmingham, Alabama. As a new-New-Yorker / Producing Fellow at The Tank, they are making their NY off-off Broadway debut as a producer! In 2023, Carlton was selected as a finalist for the Stage Directors & Choreographers Society’s Barbara Whitman Award. They were also featured in the CNN Documentary "Blind Angels" highlighting their organizing work in the South. As the founding Artistic Director of Birmingham Black Repertory Theatre Collective, and as the current Director of Development of Donja R. Love’s Write It Out! Carlton works to create & support spaces led by folx living within the margins of the margins. Website: carltonvbell.com | Instagram: @itscjbell

 

Astronauts Wanted

By Heloise Wilson
Directed By Saki Kawamura
April 3 2025 - April 27 2025

Inspired by the Mars One Project, which aimed to send the first human beings to Mars, Astronauts Wanted is a poetic multimedia piece. Follow Three volunteers (Sol, Sorcha, and Tallulah) are on their way to Mars. Playing with their fate, they push the boundaries of their own humanity and look deep within as they embark on a no-return mission.

Astronauts Wanted is a part of A Tank Core Production, presented by The Tank and Little y.

BIOS

CAST

Marisela Grajeda Gonzalez (Tallulah) (she/her/hers) Select Theater: Variations on on the Main (JACK), The Drinking Bird (New Ohio Theatre: ICE FACTORY) Astronauts Wanted (Dixon Place), Primordial (The Tank), Wood Calls Out to Wood (The Public Theater: Weasel Fest), The Vicky Archives (The Tank). Select Readings: Orchid Receipt Service (The Bushwick Starr), Share Location (Drama League), Sister Stranger or Fireside Dances (New Dramatists), Mother;Knife (LaMaMa). Marisela was a member of the 2023 MT+NYC writing residency in Montana where she developed her solo show Mari (workshop presentation, The Tank Dec. 2024). Marisela holds a BFA in Acting from Brooklyn College. mariselagg.com

Regan Hicks (Mae) (she/her/hers) is a born and raised Texan who graduated from Molloy/CAP21 with her BFA in musical theatre and is now working in NYC as a professional actor, singer, writer, and content creator. Her recent acting credits include The Lightning Thief (TYA TheatreWorks national tour), All Shook Up (The Madison Theatre), and The Roommate Contract (an acclaimed web series). Her recent writing credits include her original musical The Selkie Bride (which had a staged reading and premiere production in August of 2024 at The Madison Theatre) and her original musical Liberty (which had a staged reading in June of 2022 at the CAP21 studios). She is continuing development on her original works for the stage and screen, as well as serving as a co-Artistic director and producer at Little y production company, as well as performing and producing her original music which can be found on all streaming platforms. Social media: @_regan_hicks_

Heloise Wilson (Sorcha/Playwright) (she/her/hers) is an actress, writer, voice over artist and filmmaker based between New York and Europe. She can be seen in the first season of the TV show "Unwanted," SK and Apple's newest series. Her TV show concept Weezy Goes Outside, is currently in development with the mentorship program launched by Catalyst Institute in partnership with the Emmys. She has performed and been produced and developed at The Flea, Dixon Place, JACK, The Fringe circuit, Moxie Arts, The Plaxall Gallery, the I.R.T Theatre, Brooklyn College, and much more.

She is the recipient of the Literary Truman Capote Prize in playwriting (2013) and a double recipient of the Himan Brown award in creative writing (2014 and 2015). MFA Playwriting Brooklyn College. Heloise is an affiliated New Georges Artist.

‭Gibran García (Sol) (he/him/his) Gibran‬‭ Garcia‬‭ is‬‭ a‬‭ bilingual‬‭ actor‬‭ fluent‬‭ in‬‭ English‬‭ and‬‭ Spanish. TV credits ‬‭include La‬‭ Casa‬‭ de‬‭ las‬‭ Flores‬‭/ House‬‭ of‬‭ Flowers,‬‭ Monarca,‬‭ Yankee,‬‭ or Señora‬ ‭ Acero‬‭. He has worked with networks such as Netflix, Paramount, TNT, and Telemundo.‬ ‭ In‬‭ Mexico‬‭ City‬‭ he‬‭ began‬‭ doing‬‭ Micro‬‭ Teatro‬‭, which‬‭ he‬‭ loved‬‭ due‬‭ to‬‭ the‬‭ intimate‬‭ connection‬ ‭ between actors and audience.‬ ‭Trained‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‭ Meisner‬‭ Technique‬‭ at‬‭ the‬‭ prestigious‬‭ Maggie‬‭ Flanigan‬‭ Studio‬‭ in‬‭ New‬‭ York‬‭ City.‬ ‭ Gibran‬‭ has‬‭ a‬‭ deep‬‭ passion‬‭ for‬‭ comedy,‬‭ and‬‭ human‬‭ behavior.‬‭ He‬‭ started‬‭ doing‬‭ stand‬‭ up‬‭ comedy‬ ‭ in New York, where he explores his unique perspective of the world.‬ ‭ Dedicated‬‭ to‬‭ storytelling‬‭ that‬‭ resonates,‬‭ Gibran‬‭ continues‬‭ to‬‭ take‬‭ on‬‭ exciting‬‭ projects‬‭ that‬ ‭ challenge and inspire, leaving a lasting impact on the audience.

Katherine Bahena-Benitez (Kathlee) (she/they) is a queer Mexican Indigenous multidisciplinary artist who is bicoastal between New York and California. Katherine is an actor, writer, filmmaker, creative director, teaching artist and model. Katherine has trained with the American Conservatory Theater, 24 Hour Plays, Shakespeare and Company, the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, California State University Sacramento and Broadway Advocacy Coalition at Columbia University. They’ve performed with New York Stage and Film, Teatro Linea de Sombra, Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, NYU Skirball, National Queer Theater, La Mama Experimental Theater Club, and Teatro Espejo, among others. Katherine has been featured in HipLatina, Vogue, Remezcla, VoyageLA, Fenty, VoyageATL, Canvas Rebel, Brooks, and Apostrophe Magazine. Katherine is a Queer Art Fellow, a Miranda Family Fellow Alumni, and Stage Directors and Choreographers Associate Member. Katherine’s writing has been published in HEROICA, Museum Guild, and the International Human Arts Movement. It is with great joy that Katherine shares the debut of her solo show JOTA with Teatro Espejo (June 2025)—the very first theater she worked with, where she says, 'where my dreams came to life.' Katherine says, “Con mucho amor y cariño, I do this for our gente, I do this for us.” For more: https://linktr.ee/Katherinebenitez

CREATIVE TEAM

Saki Kawamura (Director) (she/her/hers) is a NYC-based theatre/film director originally from Japan. She is a current Directing Fellow at Roundabout Theatre Company. As an immigrant artist, Saki is interested in challenging notions of traditional American theatre by combining non-traditional theatrical elements including butoh dance, visual arts, different languages, and devising. She aims to create theatrical experiences which will build bridges across cultures. Recent directing credit includes: Alice by Heart (Trevor Day School), ICEBERG (Ren Gyo Soh), The Sugar Plant, Everest (Chain Theatre), Grown-ups, and The Giving Tree (Unfix NYC). Associate/Assistant credit includes: The Counter (Off-Broadway), The Cher Show (1st National Tour), JOY: A NEW MUSICAL (George Street Playhouse), Clue (Paper Mill Playhouse, 1st National Tour), Mystic Pizza (Ogunquit Playhouse) and many more. Saki is currently the Associate Artistic Director of Ren Gyo Soh, an award-winning butoh theatre company in NYC. MFA Directing at Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. A member of Roundabout Directors Group Cohort 5. www.sakikawamura.com

Sarah Daniel (Production Stage Manager (she/her/hers) Sarah Daniel is a second-year MFA stage management student at Columbia University. Previous credits include Idaho Shakespeare Festival: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (PA); Columbia University: Passion Play, Small Tragedy (ASM), On Secrets, Lia Del Mar (PSM); Keegan Theatre: Shakespeare in Love (ASM), Marjorie is Dead (PSM); Cleveland Symphony Orchestra: The Sound of Music (ASM); Beck Center for the Arts: Ghost (ASM); Baldwin Wallace University: The Wild Party (ASM), Fyoo Zh En '21: FLOOD CITY (PSM), The Modern Prometheus (PSM), Muses Anonymous (PSM), Natural Shocks (PSM), Uncle Vanya (ASM), Pelléas + Melisande (ASM), and Testing Ground (ASM). Up next, catch her in her hometown of Washington, DC as the PSM for the DC premiere of Apropos of Nothing at Keegan Theatre. Passionate about all things outdoors, she hopes to find lots of outdoor productions in her future and work towards greener industry practices. Many thanks to her family, friends, and cohort! https://smsarahdaniel.wixsite.com/sarah-daniel

Bentley Heydt (Lighting Designer) (he/him)is a NYC based Korean American lighting designer with a limb difference. Select Design Credits: The Color Purple (Theatre Latte Da and Geva Theatre); you don't have to do anything (HERE Arts); (no)man (IMGE Dance); A Number (A.R.T./NY-Drama League); The Seventeenth Chapel (A.R.T./NY-Drama League); She Talks To Beethoven (A.R.T./NY-Drama League); Girlfriend the Musical (A.R.T./NY-Drama League); I Dream of Hornets (Boundless Theatre); Gen Z On Fire (Royal Family Productions); Cubic and Quartet (Born Dancing); The Weak and The Strong, Uzume, and Resistance (Planet Connections Theatre/14th Street Y). Assist/Assoc*: Life of Pi (Broadway, 2023 Tony Award); How To Dance In Ohio (Broadway); Mr. Holland’s Opus* (Ogunquit Playhouse World Premier); Rent 25th Anniversary National Tour (Work Light Productions); A Christmas Carol (Indiana Rep 2022*, 2021, and 2017); The Nutcracker Ballet (Connecticut Ballet 2021, 2019). MFA, Ohio University. www.bentleyheydt.com

Chase Knifen (Projection Design) (he/him) Chase Kniffen is a NYC-based director and designer. Most recently, he directed and designed scenery and projections for the world-premiere production of Watcher in the Woods. He was the Associate Artistic Director of Virginia Repertory Theatre for ten seasons, where he produced, directed, and designed numerous productions. Select Directing credits include The Sound of Music, The Color Purple, Dreamgirls, Other Desert Cities, Caroline, or Change, Violet, Next to Normal, Gypsy, Fun Home and South Pacific. He has won multiple Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Awards for his work on those productions. Chase has also designed sets, lighting, and projections for multiple plays, musicals and concerts. He received his BA in Theatre with a concentration on Scenic Design from Virginia Commonwealth University and his MFA in Directing from Pace University. www.chasekniffen.com.

Lana Boy (she/her, set design) Lana Boy is an award winning production designer who has worked around the world and is recognized by the Emmy’s and Vimeo Staff Pick. She started off in conceptualizing sets for theatre, musicals & festivals in Paris, Thailand & NYC. After growing up in Bangkok, she moved to New York and began designing for theatre, narrative, fashion, music videos & commercials. She specializes in world building, stop motion, fashion & of course, clouds.

Jeanna Dipaolo (Costume Design) (she/her/hers) is a NYC based Costume Designer who works primarily in theatre, dance, opera, and circus. Her recent design credits include: Miss Warrens Profession (Off Broadway- co design), Miss Jules (Culture Lab), Queer Space Network (Performance Art), Trevor Day School: Alice by Heart, Chemical Imbalance, Little Women, Steel Magnolias, Winter Dance Concert ’23-25, Grace Church School: Freaky Friday, Cyrano de Burgershack, Chicago, Fools, Winter Dance Concert ’23-25. Assistant credits include: Life of Pi (First National Tour), Blind Injustice (Jazz for Lincoln Center), The Little Mermaid (MUNY), Grapes of Wrath (Carnegie Hall), The Twelve and Anne of Green Gables (Goodspeed Opera), Canvas Sky (Hideaway Circus), Vanities (York Theatre). BFA in Costume Design from SUNY Purchase College and member of 829 Designers Union.

 

DEADCLASS, OHIO

Created by The Goat Exchange
With original text by Eliya Smith
Directed by Chloe Claudel & Mitchell Polonsky
March 4 2025 - March 23 2025

“Intriguingly strange, fragmented elegy" (New York Times)

you’re never home
how are you?
i hope you’re staying far away from places if anybody knows what’s safe
what isn’t safe
we had a little scary ice storm
i wonder if you had any of it
felt like someone was breaking windows
but no windows were broken
thank god
it was an ice storm
hello?
oh maybe she hung up?
hello?

Loosely inspired by Tadeusz Kantor’s masterpiece The Dead Class and assembled from original text, recycled memories, family secrets, old photos, live violin score, and verbatim fragments of rediscovered memoirs and voicemails, DEADCLASS, OHIO is a seance for the living and a love song for the dead.

Runtime is 1 hour. This show contains strobe lights.

 

TOUCH

A Sunny New Comedy

By Lori Goodman
Directed By Janice L. Goldberg
February 20 2025 - March 16 2025

Betty, a retired widow from New York, is having a difficult time adjusting to life without her husband. She’s driving her son crazy as she nervously dips her toe into online dating.

Bob, a widower, also a Florida transplant, gets an unexpected call from his divorced daughter: she’s coming to visit. They’re both hurting but are too much alike to admit they need each other.

Meanwhile, a wife and her curmudgeonly husband navigate living on a fixed income.

TOUCH is a story about the enduring need for love and companionship at any age.

 

Development history: 2014 Mabou Mines Artist in Residence program, led by Sharon Fogarty, Joanne Akalaitis and David Neumann. June 2022:  Dixon Place's "Fast Forward" Dance series with Zoe Stewart.  

Websites:

Soomi Kim

Laura Peterson

Soomi Kim is a NYC based actor/movement artist and has conceived (co-devised with director Suzi Takahashi) a trilogy of work based on visionary Asian Americans Bruce Lee, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha and Kathy Change. Chang(e) was developed through the HERE Artist in Residency Program (2012-2015). Dickes: bells fall a peal to sky (adaptation of Cha's Dictee) premiered at Culture Project's Women Center Stage Festival in 2012. Lee/gendax (2008) ran at HERE Arts Center's main stage. Kim's autobiographical solo show, MLCG (My Little China Girl) was commissioned by Dixon Place (2017). Recent work: Body Through Which the Dream Flows New Ohio Theatre's Ice Factory 2022 and The Tank 2022). Selected residencies & awards: Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) A.I.R. 2024, Berkley Rèp's Ground Floor A.I.R. (2023), Deceleration Lab Artist (2022), CRS grantee (2022), Orchard Project's Greenhouse Lab Artist (2020-21), Marble House A.I.R. (2019), Mabou Mines A.I.R.(2014). Kim has been featured in the NYTimes, The New Yorker, TimeOut NY, Huffington Post, Korea Times and MIT Press: The Drama Review. As an actor, she has worked extensively in theater, indie film, web series and live industrials. Work in development with collaborators Peter Kim and Sunny Hitt: GUT (7). www.soomikim.com

Laura Peterson is the Artistic Director of Open Arts Studio in Brooklyn. She is a choreographer and installation artist. Her work explores the visceral exchange between moving bodies and the materials used in her performance environments. She creates large structures and paintings as mediums to express her interest in the intersection of physicality and the world around us. Peterson's work is focused on nature, and the climate emergency that threatens all life. SOLO, Peterson's performance and large scale paintings, was included in The Museum of Modern Art's exhibition Judson Dance Theater: The Work Is Never Done at the ludson Dance Theater Reassembled event in NYC. Her dances have been presented at venues including The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center Out-of- Doors, Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out, and throughout New York City. Internationally, her work has been produced in Argentina, Europe, and Russia. Laura has been awarded residencies and commissions for the last 15 years, most recently a 2021 Choreography Commission for Individual Artist from NYSCA for Interglacial at Dixon Place. Her commissions include Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Queens Museum, Dixon Place and DNA. Residencies include HERE Artist Residency Program. Bogliasco Foundation in Italy, Marble House Project, Subsirsle Jamaica Center for the Arts.

TESTING²

Created and Directed - Soomi Kim
Performed - Laura Peterson and Soomi Kim
Choreography - Laura Peterson
Lighting - Lucrecia Briceno and Emmanuel Delgado
Set Design and Costumes - Laura Peterson
Sound Design - Soomi Kim
Original Music - Adam Rogers
Stage Manager - Monica Athenas


December 5th-December 15th, 2024

In Testing², theatre maker Soomi Kim and choreographer Laura Peterson weave together snippets of epic rants, meltdowns, meanderings, musings, tantrums and other sound bites from  recording sessions and bootlegged recordings of famous musicians. Peterson and Kim toggle the lines between the ridiculous, the profound moments of brilliance, and the absurd spaces in between.