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Brainstorm - Produce it Yourself: Plays from NYFA on Vimeo.
Produced by the Asian American Arts Alliance in collaboration with the New York Foundation for the Arts.
Hosted at the Asian American Writers' Workshop
September 15, 2010
A lively discussion about self-producing a play in New York City, based on the case study of playwright Anna Moench and her recent production of Gormanzee And Other Stories. Hear Anna receive feedback and advice from discussants including Tisa Chang, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre; Melanie Joseph, The Foundry Theatre; Rehana Mirza, Desipina & Company; and Jorge Ortoll, Ma-Yi Theater Company. Moderated by Lloyd Suh of Second Generation Productions.
Bios:
Anna Moench, Playwright and Director
Anna Moench’s plays include The Pillow Book, Great Eastern and In Quietness. Her work has been produced at The Flea Theater, Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Old Vic Theatre, Dance Theater Workshop, Dixon Place, The Looking Glass Theatre, FringeNYC, and The Space, and developed at the Great Plains Theater Conference, the Last Frontier Theatre Conference, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, New Dramatists, and The Inkwell. Awards include the Jerome Foundation’s 2009 Travel Grant, the Tennessee Williams Scholarship (SWC), first place in Spoke The Hub's 2009 Winter Follies, and an E.S.T./Sloan commission. Anna is a member of the 2010 Emerging Writers Group at The Public Theater, Youngblood at Ensemble Studio Theatre, and The Jam at New Georges. In addition to her work as a playwright, Anna is Co-Artistic Director of anna&meredith, a cross-disciplinary performance company whose work forms creative bridges between playwriting and choreography.
Tisa Chang, Artistic Producing Director, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
Tisa Chang celebrates 4 decades in the American Theatre as dancer, actress, director, producer, on and off Broadway, Films and TV. She founded Pan Asian Rep in 1977 to champion Asian American artists and has led the company through multi-year NEA and Foundation grant campaigns. The company celebrates 30 years of artistry and service with more than 95 off-Broadway productions; 5 international tours; and ongoing training workshops and play development. As a director, Tisa specializes in intercultural productions using music & movement. She is on the Executive Board of the union Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC).
Melanie Joseph, Artistic Producer, The Foundry Theatre
Melanie Joseph has co-created, dramaturged and/or directed 9 of the Foundry premiereswhich have collectively been awarded 6 Obies and 2 Drama Desk nominations. She has created new works with writers including Claudia Rankine, Kirk Lynn, Carl Hancock Rux, Alice Tuan and W. David Hancock. Joseph is the recipient of the Skirball Kennis’ T.I.M.E. Individual Artist prize and the first Lucille Lortel Award for Artistic Producing. She has twice been the recipient of the Duke/Mellon Mentorship program for mentoring “theatre leaders of tomorrow.” Melanie is an active member of International Artist Organizers for the World Social Forum and its ongoing global activities. For six years she served on the Board of Trustees for Theater Communications Group (TCG) and was the U.S. President of the International Theatre Institute (ITI).
Rehana Mirza, Artistic Director, Desipina & Company
Rehana Mirza is a screenwriter, playwright and director, whose work has been featured and distributed worldwide.Mirza received a Lower Manhattan Cultural Council artist grant for HIDING DIVYA and was a 2002 Independent Feature Project trainee. She was a Leopold Schepp Foundation Scholar, John Golden Award Recipient, and is published via Alexander Street Press. She was selected as a P2 for a Cause Recipient to shoot a PSA regarding Thalassemia in the South Asian and Asian communities and is also currently a member of Ma-Yi Theatre's writer's lab. Mirza graduated with honors from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Dramatic Writing and a minor in Asian Pacific American Studies. She has a MFA in Playwriting from Columbia University.
Jorge Ortoll, Executive Director, Ma-Yi Theater Company
Jorge Ortoll assumed the position of Executive Director for Ma-Yi in 1991, and up through 2004, produced all of its productions and oversaw its steady growth and respect in the industry and in the communities it serves. He believes that the bedrocks of longevity for an arts organization, besides artistic excellence, are fiscal responsibility and responsiveness to the communities that it is important to. As an actor, director and stage manager, he has worked with National Asian American Theatre Company, La Mama ETC, Public Theater, Manila Theatre Guild, Tanghalang Pilipino, Repertory Philippines, and Terre de Scene in Liguge, France, among others.
Lloyd Suh, Executive Producer, Second Generation Productions
Lloyd Suh is the author of plays including American Hwangap, Great Wall Story, Jesus in India, Happy End of the World, The Children of Vonderly, Masha No Home and others. His work has been produced across the United States, including with Ma-Yi, The Play Company and Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York, The Magic Theatre in San Francisco, and East West Players in Los Angeles, among others. He is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre and The Actors Studio, Executive Producer of Second Generation, and Co-Director of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, the largest resident company of professional Asian American playwrights ever assembled.
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