DIRECTORS AND CREATIVE TEAMS (continued)
BELINDA MELLO's (A Corner of a Morning) directing credits include D'Amour's The Cataract, Sunshine's Al Takes a Bride, Hexus: an original work in progress showcased at Prospect Theater Dark Night series. She is currently co-writer of a musical in development at Tribeca Performing Arts Center, and was an 2006 recipient of the Joel Zweik Memorial Award. She teaches Alexander Technique and Movement for actors at Brooklyn College. She performed at the Istanbul International Theater Festival and in OFF Stage: the West Village Fragments.
CHRIS MIRTO (Conquest of the Universe—Vaccaro homage) recently directed the first ever revival of Dionysus in 69, workshopped at The Performing Garage through Richard Schechner’s company East Coast Artists. He is the producer of Olsen Terror, written and performed by Chris Wells. He recently performed in Richard Foreman’s Wake Up Mr. Sleepy! Your Unconscious Mind is Dead! Last year he directed “The Birth Ritual” from D69 in the West Village Fragments. BFA-Theatre/English, NYU ‘04. This fall he will attend Yale School of Drama as an MFA Directing candidate.
ELAINE MOLINARO (Why Tuesday Never Has A Blue Monday) directed for PWP’s first BIG ART in small places in 1995. She directed Be Silent Be Still in their At Odds festival. Elaine performed in Ralph Lewis’ "The Den of Vice" in the Judson House Project. She directed and performed A Beautiful Day by Ruth Krauss for the OFF Project. For the West Village Fragments, she directed Red Cross by Sam Shepard and the Hydra finale.
KAY MITCHELL (Birdbath) co-directed The Madness of Lady Bright with Gabriel Shanks in the West Village Fragments. Other collaborations include projects with such companies as Madshag Performance Group, Bailiwick Repertory Theater, Darkhorse Theatre, and Nashville Shakespeare Festival.
JON MICHAEL MURPHY (XXXXXXs and That’s How the Rent Gets Paid) is a freelance director and acting coach in NYC. Credits include: The Dinner Game (Arab Comedy Festival), Tea in the Afternoon (NY Fringe Festival) and Hands Around (Theatre 1050).
RICKY POPE (Music Director — Hair) is thrilled to be part of this very exciting project. He assistant musical directed Dance With Me! at the York Theatre Reading Series. In Dallas, he was nominated twice for the Dallas Theatre League Rabin Award for The Secret Garden and A Man Of No Importance. His work has been seen at Casa Manana, Dallas Theatre Center, Water Tower Theatre, Theatre Three, Circle Theatre, Shadowlands Theatre and dozens of others. Also an actor, he will soon join the cast of Annie on tour. Many thanks to Bob for the opportunity to work with so many wonderful performers.
GABRIEL SHANKS (When Queens Collide — Ludlam homage) is the Artistic Director of MadShag Performance Group and Co-Managing Director of The Drama League of New York. With PWP: The Madness of Lady Bright (West Village Fragments), Welcome Aboard The Friendly Tripbox (with Shannon Maddox at Judson Church), Better and Worse (stART Series), Stealing Pears (In Praise of Folly: the Don Quixote Project), rite #55/wonderwall elegy (Judson House Project), and Audioplay: Safe (BIG ART ‘98). Recent New York credits: Edward II (Bank Street Theatre), Fall of the House of Usher (Creative Mechanics), Southern Gothic Novel (NY Fringe/Red Room), many more. Recent regional: Angels In America (Spotlighters Theatre, Baltimore).
LAURA SHEEHY (Choreographer — Hair) recently created and performed in The Baby Janes aerial dance nightclub show at LaMaMa and previously at The Belt Theater in New York City. She was in the Broadway production of Cabaret (dir. Sam Mendes) and choreographed many BC/EFA benefits for the company. As a choreographer: Off Broadway: Cycle (The Cherry Lane Theater); The Philosopher’s Joke (The Workshop Theater); Joe Fearless: A Fan Dance (The Atlantic Theater). TV: Saturday Night Live, NBC promo spots, various MTV projects. Film: Glow Ropes: The Rise and Fall of a Bar Mitzvah Emcee. She has also choreographed for the Knicks City Dancers and the NBA. As a dancer she has performed on Broadway, off Broadway, at the Metropolitan Opera House, Radio City Music Hall, and Madison Square Garden. NYU graduate.
JONATHAN SOLARI (The Indian Wants the Bronx) Jonathan is so proud to join Peculiar Works Project again on the East Village Fragments after directing a reading of Paul Foster’s Tom Paine this past April. Previous creative team credits include: Prelude to a Kiss, The Constant Wife (Roundabout), Souvenir, works at The Mint, The Ohio, PS 122, LaMaMa ETC and Cherry Lane. After this production he will be assisting director Bartlett Sher on the World Premiere of Craig Lucas’ Prayer For My Enemy.
LESLIE STRONGWATER (18 Happenings in 6 Parts and The Maids) studied at Circle in the Square, BADA, and received a BA in theater and art history from Hampshire College. After assistant directing Lone Wolf Tribe’s Big Top Machine in 2004, she joined the company, and is currently the Artistic Associate at Dixon Place.
HALINA UJDA (Lullaby For A Dying Man) won the Best Director award at the National Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival from the SSD&C. She is a member of First Look Theater Company at Tisch/NYU. Halina as directed at DTW, BACA, W.O.W., LaMaMa Theater, PS. 122, Dixon Place, and Peculiar Works. Halina is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. She has assisted Tony winner Jack Hofsiss at the Bay Street Theatre. Halina has an M.F.A. in Directing from Brooklyn College and an M.A. in Dance from NYU. She is a member of SSD&C, AEA, SAG, and AFTRA.
DAVID VINING (The Hawk) The Brig for the West Village Fragments; his work has been presented at The Ontological, HERE Arts Center, The Brick, and BAX among others; directed Arthur Sainer’s The Burning Out of ‘82 at Theater for the New City. His one-man show The Curse of the Smart Kid is at HERE June 23-25. The Blue Puppies Cycle will be at the Chocolate Factory Winter 2007. David is an artist and producer for Cagey Productions.
DANNY WHITMAN (Vocal Arranger — Hair) Arranger: Celebration Of Porter & Sondheim (Portand Symphony Orchestra), While The City Sleeps (Syracuse Stage) & It Feels Like Home by John Bucchino. Writer: Tales Of Custard (Kennedy Center/Washington D.C. & NY Musical Theatre Festival), Only A Girl (Lightkeeper Productions), Dance With Me with Robert Bartley (York Theatre). Member: ASCAP/Dramatists Guild. Producer: Broadway Backwards.
JOSÉ ZAYAS (Futz) Recent work includes: Fiesta (Puerto Rican Traveling Theater), Strom Thurmond is not a Racist/Cleansed (Brick Theater) by Thomas Bradshaw, The Caterers (Altered Stages) and “The Germans in Paris” (59E59 Theaters) by Jonathan Leaf, 3 to a Session… (Theatre Row) and Devil Land (Urban Stages) by Desi Moreno-Penson, Crowns (Virginia Stage Company), Madre (Repertorio Espanol). José earned Drama League Directing Fellow, Lincoln Center Director’s Lab ‘06, Kenneth Frankel Fellowship. He was the assistant director on Talk Radio directed by Robert Falls and Regrets Only directed by Christopher Ashley. He is the artistic director of The Immediate Theater Company and has his BA from Harvard University and his MFA from Carnegie Mellon.
Cast List and Bios