The Muse Project, in association with The Tank, presents Musings: a collection of Mini Muse Presentations at The Flea Theater as a part of our Anchor Partnership
Here Are The 2018 Muses & Their Collaborators
Vanessa Aspillaga* (2018 Muse). Broadway: Anna in the Tropics Recent Off-Broadway: Amy and the Orphans (Roundabout -Lucille Lortel nom) Daphne' s Dive, Paradise Park (Signature), Domesticated, The Clean House (Lincoln Center), underneathmybed (Rattlestick- Drama League nom, HOLA Award), Chasing Manet (Primary Stages), The Cataract (Women's Project), As You Like It (NYSF- Delacorte) Film includes: Detours, Alex of Venice, Gun Hill Road, Morning Glory, Love and Other Drugs, Petty Crimes, My Best Friend's Wife, Pyrite, Stringer, Mr. Wonderful TV includes: Madame Secretary (CBS), High Maintenance (HBO), Search Party (TBS), Blue Bloods (CBS), Falling Water (USA), Flesh and Bone (STARZ), The Jim Gaffigan Show (TV Land), Nurse Jackie (SHOWTIME), Elementary (CBS), The Good Wife (CBS), Rubicon (AMC), Law & Order: SVU (NBC) Law & Order (NBC), Member LAByrinth Theater Company, Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop.
José Zayas (2018 Muse Collaborator - Vanessa Aspillaga). José Zayas has directed over 100 productions in New York, regionally and internationally. Recent credits include: Exquisita Agonia (World Premiere by Nilo Cruz, Repertorio Espanol), The Magnetic Fields: 50 Song Memoir (BAM, Mass MoCa, US and European Tour), A Nonesuch Celebration (BAM), Washed up on the Potomac (San Francisco Playhouse/Flea Theater) Undocumented (Joe's Pub), In The Name of Salome, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (Ace and Hola awards for best production and direction), Burundanga, The House of the Spirits (Ace Awards, Hola Award and Ovation awards for best production and direction), Your Name Will Follow You Home, La Nena Se Casa, Love in the Time of Cholera, In the Time of the Butterflies (Repertorio Español), Pinkolandia and El Coqui Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom (Two River Theatre), Corazon Eterno, (Mixed Blood), Southern Promises and Strom Thurmond is not a Racist (PS 122, Brick), Useless (IRT), Father of Lies and Vengeance Can Wait (PS122); P.S. Jones and the Frozen City, Feeder: A Love Story (TerraNOVA Collective); Okay, Mrs. Jones and the Man From Dixieland (EST), The Idea of Me (Cherry Lane Theatre), The Queen Bees (Queens Theatre in the Park), Manuel Vs. The Statue of Liberty and Children of Salt (NYMF), Cancun, Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Gala Theatre, DC), Wedding Dress, The Island of Lonely Men (Teatro Espressivo, Costa Rica). He has premiered works by Nilo Cruz, Caridad Svich, Robert Askins, Thomas Bradshaw, Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater, Taylor Mac, Marco Antonio Rodriguez, Lynn Rosen, Saviana Stanescu, Carlos Murillo, Rob Urbinati, Kristina Poe, Catherine Filloux, James Carter, Gerardo Cardenas, Matt Barbot and Jordi Galceran. Drama League Fellow, Lincoln Center’s Director’s Lab, SoHo Rep Writers/Director’s Lab, NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors, Ensemble Studio Theatre member, Resident Director Repertorio Español. Born in Puerto Rico, he graduated from Harvard and Carnegie Mellon Universities.
José Zayas (2018 Muse Collaborator - Vanessa Aspillaga). José Zayas has directed over 100 productions in New York, regionally and internationally. Recent credits include: Exquisita Agonia (World Premiere by Nilo Cruz, Repertorio Espanol), The Magnetic Fields: 50 Song Memoir (BAM, Mass MoCa, US and European Tour), A Nonesuch Celebration (BAM), Washed up on the Potomac (San Francisco Playhouse/Flea Theater) Undocumented (Joe's Pub), In The Name of Salome, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (Ace and Hola awards for best production and direction), Burundanga, The House of the Spirits (Ace Awards, Hola Award and Ovation awards for best production and direction), Your Name Will Follow You Home, La Nena Se Casa, Love in the Time of Cholera, In the Time of the Butterflies (Repertorio Español), Pinkolandia and El Coqui Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom (Two River Theatre), Corazon Eterno, (Mixed Blood), Southern Promises and Strom Thurmond is not a Racist (PS 122, Brick), Useless (IRT), Father of Lies and Vengeance Can Wait (PS122); P.S. Jones and the Frozen City, Feeder: A Love Story (TerraNOVA Collective); Okay, Mrs. Jones and the Man From Dixieland (EST), The Idea of Me (Cherry Lane Theatre), The Queen Bees (Queens Theatre in the Park), Manuel Vs. The Statue of Liberty and Children of Salt (NYMF), Cancun, Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Gala Theatre, DC), Wedding Dress, The Island of Lonely Men (Teatro Espressivo, Costa Rica). He has premiered works by Nilo Cruz, Caridad Svich, Robert Askins, Thomas Bradshaw, Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater, Taylor Mac, Marco Antonio Rodriguez, Lynn Rosen, Saviana Stanescu, Carlos Murillo, Rob Urbinati, Kristina Poe, Catherine Filloux, James Carter, Gerardo Cardenas, Matt Barbot and Jordi Galceran. Drama League Fellow, Lincoln Center’s Director’s Lab, SoHo Rep Writers/Director’s Lab, NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors, Ensemble Studio Theatre member, Resident Director Repertorio Español. Born in Puerto Rico, he graduated from Harvard and Carnegie Mellon Universities.
Lynn Cohen* (2018 Muse). Film and TV roles have ranged from the nanny Magda in Sex and The City to the silent warrior Mags in Hunger Games; Catching Fire, the eloquent Golda Meir in Steven Spielberg's Munich and the feminist Maman in Louis Malle/Andre Gregory's Vanya on 42nd Street. Selected New York Theater credits include Big Love (Signature Theatre); I Remember Mama (Transport Group; Lucille Lortel Award nomination); Hamlet (Public Theater with Kevin Kline); Macbeth (Shakespeare in the Park with Liev Schreiber); Traveling Lady (Cherry Lane Theatre); Uncle Vanya (Andre Gregory production); Chasing Manet (Primary Stages, Drama League nomination). On Broadway, she appeared in Peter Hall's production of Orpheus Descending and Lincoln Center's mounting of Ivanov with Kevin Kline. Regional theatre work has taken her to such venues as Minneapolis' Guthrie Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Chicago's Goodman Theatre, and many more. Various other TV credits include such shows as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Blue Bloods, Master of None, Chicago Med, The Affair, Getting On, and Law and Order (all three series). Lynn is a recipient of a Fox Fellow grant, a Bowden Award from New Dramatists, the Richard Schiff Award from Actors Equity and a Lily Award.
Ian Morgan (2018 Muse Collaborator - Lynn Cohen). Ian Morgan is the Associate Artistic Director of The New Group, where in addition to his work on the mainstage season he runs the NewGroup/NewWorks play development programs as well as education programs for all ages, including the Scene 1 programs for teens. In addition to directing and producing many readings, workshops and student-generated productions, he has directed New Group productions such as Critical Darling and the Drama Desk-nominated The Accomplices. Other directing credits include Adult at Abrons; Martyrs Street at Theatre for a New City; Just About Curedat Stella Adler; Realists, Progress and Eric Larue, all at HERE; Rough Sketch at 59E59; Ham Lake at Soho Playhouse; and Sparrow at Theatre Row. He has workshopped new work and directed short plays at the Atlantic, Cape Cod Theatre Project, Epic Theatre Ensemble, Jewish Play Project, Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Magic Theatre, New Dramatists, the Playwrights’ Center, and Rattlestick.
Lewis Black (2018 Muse Collaborator - Lynn Cohen). Known as the king of the rant, Lewis Black uses his trademark style of comedic yelling and animated finger-pointing to skewer anything and anyone that gets under his skin. His comedic brilliance lies in his ability to make people laugh at the absurdities of life, with topics that include current events, social media, politics and anything else that exposes the hypocrisy and madness he sees in the world.
Receiving critical acclaim as a stand-up, actor and author, Black has performed for audiences throughout Europe, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. In 2012, he performed eight sell-out shows at Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway.
Born in Washington D.C. on Aug. 30, 1948, Black was raised in Silver Spring, Md. Colicky as a baby, he was destined to be angry and easily irritated. His mother, a teacher, and his father, a mechanical engineer, instilled the importance of education and the necessity to question authority—lessons that influenced Black throughout his life. He fell in love with the theatre at age 12, after seeing his first play, which led to pursuing a career in drama. Degrees followed from the University of North Carolina and Yale Drama School, with a stint in Colorado owning a theatre with a group of friends in the interim. During his tenure at UNC, Black ventured into stand-up, performing at Cat’s Cradle in Chapel Hill. Stand-up was a steady presence as he pursued his career in theatre. More on Lewis here: www.lewisblack.com.
Ian Morgan (2018 Muse Collaborator - Lynn Cohen). Ian Morgan is the Associate Artistic Director of The New Group, where in addition to his work on the mainstage season he runs the NewGroup/NewWorks play development programs as well as education programs for all ages, including the Scene 1 programs for teens. In addition to directing and producing many readings, workshops and student-generated productions, he has directed New Group productions such as Critical Darling and the Drama Desk-nominated The Accomplices. Other directing credits include Adult at Abrons; Martyrs Street at Theatre for a New City; Just About Curedat Stella Adler; Realists, Progress and Eric Larue, all at HERE; Rough Sketch at 59E59; Ham Lake at Soho Playhouse; and Sparrow at Theatre Row. He has workshopped new work and directed short plays at the Atlantic, Cape Cod Theatre Project, Epic Theatre Ensemble, Jewish Play Project, Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Magic Theatre, New Dramatists, the Playwrights’ Center, and Rattlestick.
Lewis Black (2018 Muse Collaborator - Lynn Cohen). Known as the king of the rant, Lewis Black uses his trademark style of comedic yelling and animated finger-pointing to skewer anything and anyone that gets under his skin. His comedic brilliance lies in his ability to make people laugh at the absurdities of life, with topics that include current events, social media, politics and anything else that exposes the hypocrisy and madness he sees in the world.
Receiving critical acclaim as a stand-up, actor and author, Black has performed for audiences throughout Europe, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. In 2012, he performed eight sell-out shows at Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway.
Born in Washington D.C. on Aug. 30, 1948, Black was raised in Silver Spring, Md. Colicky as a baby, he was destined to be angry and easily irritated. His mother, a teacher, and his father, a mechanical engineer, instilled the importance of education and the necessity to question authority—lessons that influenced Black throughout his life. He fell in love with the theatre at age 12, after seeing his first play, which led to pursuing a career in drama. Degrees followed from the University of North Carolina and Yale Drama School, with a stint in Colorado owning a theatre with a group of friends in the interim. During his tenure at UNC, Black ventured into stand-up, performing at Cat’s Cradle in Chapel Hill. Stand-up was a steady presence as he pursued his career in theatre. More on Lewis here: www.lewisblack.com.
Jessica Frances Dukes* (2018 Muse). Writer and Performer, Obie Award Winner. Off-Broadway: Playwrights Horizons - Bootycandy, Soho Rep - Is God Is, Billie Holiday Theatre - Yellowman, The Flea - A Blanket of Dust; Regional: Yale Rep - Native Son; McCarter Theatre - Intimate Apparel; Actors Theatre of Louisville - Macbeth (Lady Macbeth); Arena Stage - King Hedley II, Vanya, Sonia, Masha, Spike; Centerstage - Detroit 67, Beneatha's Place, Clybourne Park; Detroit Public Theatre - Detroit 67; Arden Theatre - Stick Fly; Geva Theatre- A Raisin in the Sun, The Piano Lesson, Indiana Repertory - The Piano Lesson; Cleveland Playhouse - Trip to Bountiful; Ford's Theatre Jitney; Woolly Mammoth (Company Member) - Bootycandy, The Vibrator Play, Eclipsed, Fever Dream, Full Circle, Starving, and more. The Folger Theatre - Conference of The Birds, ACTCO/ Tribute Productions - Spunk (Helen Hayes Nomination); and more. TV/Film: New Amsterdam (airing 10/9 central on NBC), NCIS New Orleans (CBS), The Good Wife (CBS), Bernard & Huey, and more being announced soon. MFA - The Catholic University of America. www.jessicafrances-dukes.com.
Taylor Barfield (2018 Muse Collaborator - Jessica Frances Dukes). Taylor Barfield is a dramaturg and theater artist from Baltimore, MD. He currently serves as the Literary Manager for Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ. Before that he was the Associate Artistic Director at Collaboraction Theatre Company in Chicago, IL. Select freelance dramaturgy credits include Nothing to Lose (But Our Chains)(Second City/Woolly Mammoth), Electra (Court Theatre), Cymbeline (Yale Repertory Theatre), Barbecue (Strawdog), and Megastasis (Eclipse Theatre Company). Taylor also served as assistant director for Native Son (Yale Repertory Theatre), the world premiere productions of Man in the Ring (Court Theatre), and War (Yale Repertory Theatre), and the Midwest premiere of Paradise Blue (Timeline Theatre).
He received his M.F.A. in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from the Yale School of Drama in 2016 and his B.A. in molecular/cellular biology and English literature from Johns Hopkins University in 2013. He is currently a D.F.A. candidate at the Yale School of Drama where his dissertation explores how contemporary African American playwrights re-imagine and re-stage black theater history.
Seret Scott (2018 Muse Collaborator - Jessica Frances Dukes). Seret Scott is a theatre director, writer, and actress whose creative interests include new plays, classics. experimental and devised works. Off-Broadway directing credits include New Victory Theatre, PanAsian Rep, Second Stage, and National Black Theater. Regionally she has directed productions at Court Theatre-Chicago, Denver Theatre Center, South Coast Rep, A.C.T-San Fran, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, LA Theatre Works, Arena Stage, Woolly Mammoth, Studio Theatre-DC, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Long Wharf, Yale Rep, Hartford Stage, Two River Theater, Marin Theatre Co, PlayMaker’s Rep, Crossroads, Alliance Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Co, and San Diego’s Old Globe where she is an Associate Artist. Directing workshops include Sundance Playwright’s Lab, New Harmony, New Dramatists, Roundabout Theatre, Pacific Playwright’s, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, NY Stage and Film and National Theatre Institute-O’Neill. As a playwright, Ms. Scott authored Second Line, which was produced at Passage Theatre in New Jersey and Atlas Theatre in DC. Seret’s journals, Owl Attacks and Artist Housing, chronicle the creative and personal 30+years (and counting) journey of her experiences as a black woman theatre director, from which she narrates at universities and festivals. Ms. Scott is an Executive Board member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Union.
Taylor Barfield (2018 Muse Collaborator - Jessica Frances Dukes). Taylor Barfield is a dramaturg and theater artist from Baltimore, MD. He currently serves as the Literary Manager for Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ. Before that he was the Associate Artistic Director at Collaboraction Theatre Company in Chicago, IL. Select freelance dramaturgy credits include Nothing to Lose (But Our Chains)(Second City/Woolly Mammoth), Electra (Court Theatre), Cymbeline (Yale Repertory Theatre), Barbecue (Strawdog), and Megastasis (Eclipse Theatre Company). Taylor also served as assistant director for Native Son (Yale Repertory Theatre), the world premiere productions of Man in the Ring (Court Theatre), and War (Yale Repertory Theatre), and the Midwest premiere of Paradise Blue (Timeline Theatre).
He received his M.F.A. in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from the Yale School of Drama in 2016 and his B.A. in molecular/cellular biology and English literature from Johns Hopkins University in 2013. He is currently a D.F.A. candidate at the Yale School of Drama where his dissertation explores how contemporary African American playwrights re-imagine and re-stage black theater history.
Seret Scott (2018 Muse Collaborator - Jessica Frances Dukes). Seret Scott is a theatre director, writer, and actress whose creative interests include new plays, classics. experimental and devised works. Off-Broadway directing credits include New Victory Theatre, PanAsian Rep, Second Stage, and National Black Theater. Regionally she has directed productions at Court Theatre-Chicago, Denver Theatre Center, South Coast Rep, A.C.T-San Fran, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, LA Theatre Works, Arena Stage, Woolly Mammoth, Studio Theatre-DC, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Long Wharf, Yale Rep, Hartford Stage, Two River Theater, Marin Theatre Co, PlayMaker’s Rep, Crossroads, Alliance Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Co, and San Diego’s Old Globe where she is an Associate Artist. Directing workshops include Sundance Playwright’s Lab, New Harmony, New Dramatists, Roundabout Theatre, Pacific Playwright’s, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, NY Stage and Film and National Theatre Institute-O’Neill. As a playwright, Ms. Scott authored Second Line, which was produced at Passage Theatre in New Jersey and Atlas Theatre in DC. Seret’s journals, Owl Attacks and Artist Housing, chronicle the creative and personal 30+years (and counting) journey of her experiences as a black woman theatre director, from which she narrates at universities and festivals. Ms. Scott is an Executive Board member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Union.
Déa Julien* (2018 Muse). West Side Story 1st Nat’l Tour (Rosalia / dir. Arthur Laurents & David Saint). New York: STET (Abingdon Theatre / Tony Speciale), Intimacy (The New Group / Scott Elliott), Blueprint Specials (Public Theater UTR & Waterwell / Tom Ridgely), Lawnpeople (Cherry Lane / Elena Araoz), Julius Caesar (Access Theater), Abraham’s Daughters, The Seven little Foys (Fringe NYC), Suzan-Lori Parks’ 365 Days / 365 Plays (Public Theater). Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus. Regional: The Wolves (Theaterworks). Film: Cut in Half (dir. Susan Seidelman), Public Speaking, Fan Girl. Love & Thanks to Sinclair, this gorgeous company, et la famille. @deakjulien www.deajulien.com.
Kylie Brown (2018 Muse Collaborator - Déa Julien). Kylie Brown is a Brooklyn-based director and dramaturg of new work. She is the literary associate for The Civilians. Recent directing projects: little lives by Shara Feit (Furnace Festival, G45 Lightbulb series), Of the Woman Came the Beginning of Sin and through her we all die by Lily Houghton (EST Bloodworks), What We Made: Gone Missing Lobby Project (The Civilians/City Center Encores! Off-Center), and Painting Faye Salvez by Rachel Covey (NYMF, Northwestern). As an assistant/associate director, she has worked with Liesl Tommy, Leigh Silverman, and Lear Debessonet, among others. Notable projects include Eclipsed, Privacy, and is currently assisting Leigh Silverman for Lifespan of a Fact. @kylie_brown.
Caroline Hewitt* (2018 Muse Collaborator - Déa Julien). Caroline Hewitt most recently worked on Central Park Five directed by Ava Duvernay for Netflix. Other television includes The Blacklist. She has appeared on Broadway in Junk and The Front Page and Off-Broadway in Lazarus (New York Theatre Workshop and at King’s Cross Theater in London), Tamburlaine the Great Parts 1 and 2 (Theater for a New Audience), Against The Hillside, and Good Results Are Difficult When Indifference Predominates (Ensemble Studio Theater). Caroline has worked extensively regionally, including at Arena Stage, American Conservatory Theater, Alley Theater, Baltimore Centerstage, Studio Theatre, Portland Stage, Virginia Stage, Gulfshore Playhouse and Surflight Theater. Caroline translated Rose, La Nuit Australienne and adapted E.M. Forster’s Howard’s End into a play for four actors. She majored in French at Vassar and holds a Masters in Fine Arts in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater.
Maia Directors (2018 Muse Collaborator - Déa Julien). Maia Directors was founded in October 2017 by four theater directors -- Kareem Fahmy, Evren Odcikin, Megan Sandberg-Zakian, and Pirronne Yousefzadeh -- and offers consulting services for projects that engage with stories and artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA). We are committed to bringing more MENASA stories and artists to the stage and screen, with respect for the multiplicity of cultures, languages, and religions of these regions. We believe in the power of storytelling to deepen our shared humanity, and that MENASA artists and stories are a vital part of the American cultural conversation. maiadirectors.com.
Kylie Brown (2018 Muse Collaborator - Déa Julien). Kylie Brown is a Brooklyn-based director and dramaturg of new work. She is the literary associate for The Civilians. Recent directing projects: little lives by Shara Feit (Furnace Festival, G45 Lightbulb series), Of the Woman Came the Beginning of Sin and through her we all die by Lily Houghton (EST Bloodworks), What We Made: Gone Missing Lobby Project (The Civilians/City Center Encores! Off-Center), and Painting Faye Salvez by Rachel Covey (NYMF, Northwestern). As an assistant/associate director, she has worked with Liesl Tommy, Leigh Silverman, and Lear Debessonet, among others. Notable projects include Eclipsed, Privacy, and is currently assisting Leigh Silverman for Lifespan of a Fact. @kylie_brown.
Caroline Hewitt* (2018 Muse Collaborator - Déa Julien). Caroline Hewitt most recently worked on Central Park Five directed by Ava Duvernay for Netflix. Other television includes The Blacklist. She has appeared on Broadway in Junk and The Front Page and Off-Broadway in Lazarus (New York Theatre Workshop and at King’s Cross Theater in London), Tamburlaine the Great Parts 1 and 2 (Theater for a New Audience), Against The Hillside, and Good Results Are Difficult When Indifference Predominates (Ensemble Studio Theater). Caroline has worked extensively regionally, including at Arena Stage, American Conservatory Theater, Alley Theater, Baltimore Centerstage, Studio Theatre, Portland Stage, Virginia Stage, Gulfshore Playhouse and Surflight Theater. Caroline translated Rose, La Nuit Australienne and adapted E.M. Forster’s Howard’s End into a play for four actors. She majored in French at Vassar and holds a Masters in Fine Arts in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater.
Maia Directors (2018 Muse Collaborator - Déa Julien). Maia Directors was founded in October 2017 by four theater directors -- Kareem Fahmy, Evren Odcikin, Megan Sandberg-Zakian, and Pirronne Yousefzadeh -- and offers consulting services for projects that engage with stories and artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA). We are committed to bringing more MENASA stories and artists to the stage and screen, with respect for the multiplicity of cultures, languages, and religions of these regions. We believe in the power of storytelling to deepen our shared humanity, and that MENASA artists and stories are a vital part of the American cultural conversation. maiadirectors.com.
Kyra Miller* (2018 Muse). Kyra is a native Brooklynite, an actress and singer who also writes her own work. She has performed her shows at Joe's Pub (Chosen, Matt Ray on piano), the Cornelia St. Café, the Bushwick Starr, the Irondale Center, and with Women of Letters at the Bell House. Her latest piece, the bruce & billy show, featuring the music of Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, debuted at Pangea in 2016 (directed by Barb Jungr). She is delighted to be working with the Muse Project at the Flea. Acting credits include: Rebecca in Rags at Theatreworks Silicon Valley (nominee 2018, Best Actress in a Musical, SF Bay Area Critics Circle award), The Time of Your Life (Seattle Rep and A.C.T., co-production with Steppenwolf, dir. Tina Landau), The Light in the Piazza (Philadelphia Theater Company, dir. Joe Calarco), A Chorus Line (the 5th Avenue Theater, Seattle), Biography (Pearl Theater Company), and The Man of La Mancha (New Orleans, Big Easy Award for best actress in a musical), as well as roles at the Westport Country Playhouse, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and Portland Stage Company. She is a former member of the Woodshed Collective. MFA, University of Washington. Proud member AEA. www.kyramillernyc.com.
Noel Joseph Allain* (2018 Muse Collaborator - Kyra Miller). Noel Allain is the Founding Artistic Director of the Bushwick Starr Theater. New York credits include [Porto], Heartbreak, the food was terrible, On a Clear Day I Can See to Elba, Jericho, Luft Gangster, Queerspawn, Motel Cherry, How Much Is Enough, The Wife, Sa Ka La, Tender, and Now That Communism is Dead, My Life Feels Empty. Regional credits include Asher in My Name Is Asher Lev (Cleveland Playhouse), Tom in The Glass Menagerie (Arizona Theater Company), Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (Playmakers Rep), and Transition with Reggie Watts and Tommy Smith (On the Boards). Awards: Indie Theater Award for Outstanding Actor in a Featured Role for Luft Gangster and Xammie for Best Male Actor for The Glass Menagerie. TV: Blue Bloods, Law and Order:SVU, Damages, Guiding Light. FILM: The Outpatient, Marcy, InContact. TRAINING: Juilliard.
Katie Pearl (2018 Muse Collaborator - Kyra Miller). Katie Pearl is a director, playwright, and performer. She is co-Artistic Director of the Obie Award-winning interdisciplinary performance company PearlDamour. For 20 years PearlDamour has pushed the boundaries of contemporary theater with projects such as Lost in the Meadow, built for a 40-acre meadow at Longwood Botanical Garden; Milton, created with and performed in small towns named ‘Milton’ across the U.S.; and Ocean Filibuster, an epic solo performance commissioned by the American Repertory Theatre and the Harvard University Center for the Environment (in development, public workshop performance in NYC Dec 7). PearlDamour has been the recipient of four Map Fund, two NEA, and a Creative Capital Award. Individually, Pearl directs and creates work with artists across the country. Currently: Tar Sands Songbook with professional violist Tanya Kalmanovitch about the legacy of the oil industry; The Wall with Jessica Litwak, a solo performance with puppets addressing paradox through the lens of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Katie was the 2017 Quinn Martin Guest Chair of Directing at UCSD, a 2016 Anschutz Distinguished Fellow at Princeton and a visiting lecturer of Socially Engaged Art at Harvard. She is a producer of the documentary The Rest I Make Up, about the visionary Cuban-American dramatist Maria Irene Fornes (www.therestimakeup.com), currently touring both nationally and abroad. She is thrilled to be working with Kyra and the Muse project! Drama League Fellow, SDC. katiepearl.com, pearldamour.com.
Special Thanks: Liza Zapol, Jean-Michele Gregory, Hilda Seidman, Ora Fruchter, Jei Olson, Alex Podulke
Noel Joseph Allain* (2018 Muse Collaborator - Kyra Miller). Noel Allain is the Founding Artistic Director of the Bushwick Starr Theater. New York credits include [Porto], Heartbreak, the food was terrible, On a Clear Day I Can See to Elba, Jericho, Luft Gangster, Queerspawn, Motel Cherry, How Much Is Enough, The Wife, Sa Ka La, Tender, and Now That Communism is Dead, My Life Feels Empty. Regional credits include Asher in My Name Is Asher Lev (Cleveland Playhouse), Tom in The Glass Menagerie (Arizona Theater Company), Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (Playmakers Rep), and Transition with Reggie Watts and Tommy Smith (On the Boards). Awards: Indie Theater Award for Outstanding Actor in a Featured Role for Luft Gangster and Xammie for Best Male Actor for The Glass Menagerie. TV: Blue Bloods, Law and Order:SVU, Damages, Guiding Light. FILM: The Outpatient, Marcy, InContact. TRAINING: Juilliard.
Katie Pearl (2018 Muse Collaborator - Kyra Miller). Katie Pearl is a director, playwright, and performer. She is co-Artistic Director of the Obie Award-winning interdisciplinary performance company PearlDamour. For 20 years PearlDamour has pushed the boundaries of contemporary theater with projects such as Lost in the Meadow, built for a 40-acre meadow at Longwood Botanical Garden; Milton, created with and performed in small towns named ‘Milton’ across the U.S.; and Ocean Filibuster, an epic solo performance commissioned by the American Repertory Theatre and the Harvard University Center for the Environment (in development, public workshop performance in NYC Dec 7). PearlDamour has been the recipient of four Map Fund, two NEA, and a Creative Capital Award. Individually, Pearl directs and creates work with artists across the country. Currently: Tar Sands Songbook with professional violist Tanya Kalmanovitch about the legacy of the oil industry; The Wall with Jessica Litwak, a solo performance with puppets addressing paradox through the lens of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Katie was the 2017 Quinn Martin Guest Chair of Directing at UCSD, a 2016 Anschutz Distinguished Fellow at Princeton and a visiting lecturer of Socially Engaged Art at Harvard. She is a producer of the documentary The Rest I Make Up, about the visionary Cuban-American dramatist Maria Irene Fornes (www.therestimakeup.com), currently touring both nationally and abroad. She is thrilled to be working with Kyra and the Muse project! Drama League Fellow, SDC. katiepearl.com, pearldamour.com.
Special Thanks: Liza Zapol, Jean-Michele Gregory, Hilda Seidman, Ora Fruchter, Jei Olson, Alex Podulke
*Equity Member appearing with permission of Actors’ Equity Association without benefit of an Equity contract in this Off-Off Broadway production.
Chelsea Dee (2018 Muse Alternate). Chelsea Dee is a multi-hyphenate creative of color. After graduating from NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, she pursued a multidisciplinary career in the performing arts writing, performing, and directing new works of theater that challenge stereotypes and dominant narratives. She has written, performed and produced her own work in addition to producing and curating arts and education events with organizations across the city. Find her online at http://misschelsead.weebly.com and on IG @thatuppitygirl.
Zainab Musa (2018 Muse Alternate). Zainab Musa is a first generation Nigerian storyteller, she acts, writes and makes collaborative theater. Her stage and screen performances have spanned over a decade between Canada and the United States. She is an international treasure; selected credits include: Buckingham in Shakespeare’s Richard III directed by Nana Dakin (Columbia MFA); Iphegenia 2.0 Charles Mee (Classical Stage Co., NY); Hijab Tube (Mixed Blood Theater, MN); Viola in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (Canadian Stage Company). Television/Film: “Doomstown” directed by David ‘Sudz’ Sutherland; “Get Rich or Die Tryin" directed by Jim Sherridan; “Metropia” Protocol Brewery Ent/Various directors; “Ratko: The Dictator’s Son” National Lampoons directed by Savage Steve Holland.
Zainab Musa (2018 Muse Alternate). Zainab Musa is a first generation Nigerian storyteller, she acts, writes and makes collaborative theater. Her stage and screen performances have spanned over a decade between Canada and the United States. She is an international treasure; selected credits include: Buckingham in Shakespeare’s Richard III directed by Nana Dakin (Columbia MFA); Iphegenia 2.0 Charles Mee (Classical Stage Co., NY); Hijab Tube (Mixed Blood Theater, MN); Viola in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (Canadian Stage Company). Television/Film: “Doomstown” directed by David ‘Sudz’ Sutherland; “Get Rich or Die Tryin" directed by Jim Sherridan; “Metropia” Protocol Brewery Ent/Various directors; “Ratko: The Dictator’s Son” National Lampoons directed by Savage Steve Holland.
Staff & Volunteers for Musings
Staff & Volunteers for Muse are: Crystal Arnette - KSR Video Producer; Sam Hall Barickman - Associate Contracts Advisor; Venus Celestina - Lighting Design; Amanda Cook - Assistant to Team Kyra; Jessica Dukatt - Associate Artist Coordinator; Emily Grill - Associate Campaign Coordinator; Olivia Kasten - Associate Social Media Coordinator; Benny Pitt - Assistant to Team Vanessa; Erin Reynolds - Assistant to the Producing AD and Assistant to Team Déa; Nina Roy - Assistant to Team Jessica; Nick Sanchez - Projection Designer; Marijke Silberman - Stage Manager; Adenike Thomas - Assistant to KSR Video Producer; Renee Yeong - Sound Design.
Staff & Volunteers for Muse are: Crystal Arnette - KSR Video Producer; Sam Hall Barickman - Associate Contracts Advisor; Venus Celestina - Lighting Design; Amanda Cook - Assistant to Team Kyra; Jessica Dukatt - Associate Artist Coordinator; Emily Grill - Associate Campaign Coordinator; Olivia Kasten - Associate Social Media Coordinator; Benny Pitt - Assistant to Team Vanessa; Erin Reynolds - Assistant to the Producing AD and Assistant to Team Déa; Nina Roy - Assistant to Team Jessica; Nick Sanchez - Projection Designer; Marijke Silberman - Stage Manager; Adenike Thomas - Assistant to KSR Video Producer; Renee Yeong - Sound Design.
Partner organizations for The Muse Project include Abingdon Theatre Company, The Flea Theater, New Georges, The New Group, The Pit, The Tank, Theaterlab, and Torn Page.