STEPHEN WANGH is a playwright, director, and teacher of acting. He studied with Jerzy Grotowski in 1967. For 20 years Steve taught acting in the Experimental Theatre Wing at NYU. And for seven years he was Guest Faculty at the MFA Theater: Contemporary Performance program at Naropa University where he taught physical acting and pedagogy. For the past five years he has been teaching acting and pedagogy workshops in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and Taiwan, and for the National Alliance of Acting Teachers in New York and Los Angeles.
Steve is the author of two books: An Acrobat of the Heart, a physical approach to acting inspired by the work of Jerzy Grotowski (Vintage, Random House, 2000), and, The Heart of Teaching: Empowering Students in the Performing Arts, (Routledge, 2012).
He is also the author of 15 plays, and was one of the writers of The People’s Temple (Glickman award: Best play in the Bay Area, 2005). He was Associate Writer for The Laramie Project (Emmy nomination 2002), and dramaturge of Moisés Kaufman’s Gross Indecency, the three trials of Oscar Wilde.
Steve is now Arts Professor Emeritus at NYU.
WENDELL BEAVERS, a choreographer, director performer, and educator, founded Naropa University’s MFA Theatre: Contemporary Performance Program in 2004, Directing that program until 2015. He was a founding faculty member and Director (1984-1990) of The Experimental Theatre Wing (ETW) at NYU teaching there from 1979-2003 where he was involved in applying the Six Viewpoints in collaboration with originator Mary Overlie.
He was also a co-founder and early director of Movement Research Inc. His work has been seen in New York at the now historical Dance Theater Workshop (now NY LIVE ARTS) and PS 122. Also at MR at Judson Church, Danspace Project, Dixon Place/Vineyard Theatre and as part of many loft space projects. He also has taught his own Developmental Technique™ extensively in the American Dance Festival’s Six-Week School and in numerous university venues in the US and in Europe. He currently teaches, directs and performs under the auspices of his company SomaticPerformer Inc. He recently retired as Associate Professor of Performance at Naropa University and continues to teach in the Naropa MFA and ETW/NYU.
His work is deeply influenced by Mary Overlie’s Six Viewpoints, the work of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, developer of Body Mind Centering®, and the Shambhala Buddhist path. Recent Guest Artist Residencies include Ohio University (Sept ‘15), SITI Co. Saratoga Intensive (June ‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18), NYU/ETW (Spring ‘16 and Fall ‘17, Spring ‘18, Fall ‘18), Nine Years Theater/Singapore (Nov. ‘16), University of Colorado, Boulder (2018).
ERICA FAE is a theatre/filmmaker, actor, and teacher. Her first feature film as writer/director/producer/actor, To Keep the Light, was awarded the Fipresci Prize (International Critics’ Prize/Mannheim), Best Director (Berlin Indp Film Fest), Best of Show (Bendfilm), Best Emerging Director, 2 Best Narrative Feature Awards, and 2 Best Cinematography Awards at festivals, and is currently available on Amazon Prime.
Her most recent solo for theatre, Saved Again and By Him, was developed during a 2-year Archive Residency at IRT/The New OHIO. Her play Take What Is Yours (with Jill A. Samuels) ran at 59E59 and received a Critics’ Pick in the New York Times & Backstage. It was developed at New Georges and IRT/ the New OHIO, had its first reading at New York Theatre Workshop, and received support from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. Fae’s solo, A Girl Joan, was commissioned by Dance Theater Workshop, and performed at New York Theatre Workshop, The Culture Project, and HERE, where she was also awarded a one-year HARP residency for the creation of new work.
As actor, she’s been on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, Random Acts of Flyness and Doll & Em; and can also be seen in feature films First Reformed, Synecdoche New York, The Savages, Little Children, Please Give and others. She’s also worked with – among others – Martha Clarke, Rachel Dickstein/Ripe Time, and Ping Chong; and has performed at The New Victory, The Kennedy Center, American Repertory Theater, American Conservatory Theater, the Walker Arts Center, Performing Arts Chicago, the McCarter Theatre and the Power Center in Michigan.
Fae first trained in Grotowski-based work at age 15 and studied at NYU’s Experimental Theatre Wing – where she later taught acting. She has also taught at The New School for Drama, Columbia’s M.F.A. Film Program, and in private workshops/retreats. Fun facts: she was interviewed for/quoted in Advanced Consciousness Training for Actors (by Kevin Page, published by Routledge), and was on a panel at Sundance Film Festival on Experimental Filmmaking and Social Justice. She currently teaches at Yale School for Drama, and is in development on her second feature film.
Producer
CHRIS NICHOLS is a theatre director/producer and multimedia web/graphic artist. He has conceived and directed thirteen original works for the theatre, each exploring sociopolitical themes through the deconstruction of classic texts and forms. Creations include: Dystopia, The Trial of K, ARCANA: Cycle of the Fool, Icon, Shadow of the Invisible Man, Ubu 2000, and Tamatebako {the box}. Chis is one of the founding members of Synaesthetic Theatre.
Chris has created multimedia presentations for New York University, The Public Theater, and Chamber Music America, to name a few. Through Synaesthetic Theatre, Chris has produced workshops for Stephen Wangh, Erica Fae, Wendell Beavers, Jonathan Hart Makwaia, Saskia Hegt, and others. He has taught workshops ranging from Viewpoints to Grotowski-based physical acting to collaborative piece making. Chris is the father of two young boys.