AUGUST 2023
THE LAST playdate of this summer, curated by the one and only Scout Davis will take place on August 16th. Come see early career artists take risks!
THE CURATOR
Scout Davis (Guest Curator) is a non-binary queer creator of live communal performance works. Their work has been seen at The LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, HERE Arts Center, The Clemente Center, The Wild Project and Dixon Place. They are currently an artist in residence at La Mama developing a new work to premiere in 2024. Their solo performance work has toured Northern France, Sibiu, Romania, Brooklyn, Pittsburgh and beyond. This upcoming season Scout is directing Putting it Together at Pace School of the Performing Arts and Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play at SUNY Buffalo. scoutfdavis.com
THE ARTISTS
The Lazours Daniel and Patrick Lazour are brothers and music theatre writers. Their musical We Live in Cairo premiered at the American Repertory Theater in 2019, directed by Taibi Magar. Projects in development include a musical adaptation of Ritesh Batra’s film The Lunchbox (Lincoln Center Theatre commission) and their medical theater sing-along experiment, Night Side Songs (A.R.T. commission) They are writing original music for Caroline Lindy’s upcoming feature, Your Monster. Their movie musical Challenger: An American Dream is being developed with Bruce Cohen Productions and Universal Remote. Original songs by the Lazours can be heard on their independently released albums: Freres, Flap My Wings (Songs from We Live in Cairo) and Beth’s Homemade Cowboy Breakfast. They are Jonathan Larson Grant and Richard Rodgers Award recipients, MacDowell and Yaddo Fellows, and New York Theater Workshop Usual Suspects. Patrick holds a B.A. from Boston College and Daniel holds a B.A. from Columbia University. @frereslazour
Sandile Mhlaba (they/he) is a queer nonbinary Zimbabwean multidisciplinary artist living on the unceded Lenape territory colloquially known as Brooklyn. sandile’s creative endeavors span the disciplines of music, theatre, film, fiber arts, and movement. As a relationship anarchist, they seek to create work that explores decolonial approaches to love and community care. Through their artistry, they invite listeners to embrace their own journeys, celebrating the power of authenticity and the triumphs that come with embracing one’s true identity. When they’re not slingin’ lattes at their day job or befriending every bodega cat they encounter, sandile can be found performing their music at venues across Brooklyn, Queens, and lower Manhattan.
@africanarchy
Emerson Mae Smith (she/ her) is an actress, writer and artist based in Brooklyn. She is a frequent collaborator with her siblings and takes an interest in unusual queer stories. @emersonmaesmith
Murphy Taylor Smith (she/ her) is an actress and musical theatre composer/lyricist. Regional: A Transparent Musical (Centre Theatre Group, dir. Tina Landau) Web: Cancellation Island (Topic Studios), Bedlam: The Series (Bedlam). Music/Lyrics: Elektric, a trans woman-centered retelling of the Oresteia; RADIO: A Musical Ghost Story, a lesbian horror/romance film. The RADIO original soundtrack and her latest single Monster are available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music.
@msmurphysmith
www.murphytaylorsmith.com
FIRST PLAYDATE 2023: JUNE
THE FIRST playdate of this summer, curated by Yibin Wang will take place on June 20th. Come see early career artists take risks!
THE ARTISTS
Yibin Wang (he/him) was born and raised in Hangzhou, China. As a multi-disciplinary theatre artist, he has been creating original theatrical works across the cultural landscapes in China, in the U.S., and internationally. He was the Associate Artistic Director of the 2020 B.O.N.D International Virtual Performance Festival and a co-curator of the 2021 Designing Care project. BA in Theater and Performance at Bard College. MFA candidate in Directing at Columbia University.
김채송 / Chaesong Kim (she/they) was raised by two social activists who were a part of the student-led democratic revolution and labor rights movement in South Korea. With an embodied and communal practice, Chaesong recontextualizes the deeply rooted anger and pain they inherited into transcendence and hope. Most recently, Chaesong’s works were hosted at Seoul Dance Center, EstroGenius Festival, and La MaMa. Chaesong has also had the pleasure of performing for Ping Chong, Okwui Okpokwasili, Samita Sinha, Claire Chase, and Constellation Chor. Chaesong recently graduated from Columbia University with an MFA in theater directing under the guidance of Anne Bogart and Brian Kulick.
Anthony Sertel Dean (they/ he) is a sound artist, educator, and technologist focused on telling stories of community and self. Anthony is the Technical Director of the New York Neo-Futurists and their work can be heard in theater (Kennedy Center, New Victory Theater, Public Theater, The Kitchen), film (Film at Lincoln Center, Busan International Film Festival), gallery installations (Fridman Gallery, Half Gallery, Swiss Institute), and radio (WNYC). For more, visit anthonydean.org
Zak Ma (he/him) is a NY-based actor and multidisciplinary theatre artist of Vietnamese descent. He received his MFA Acting at the Actors Studio Drama School, and is a member of RenGyoSoh Butoh Company. Zak is passionate in devising multimedia original work, aiming to transcend societal definitions and connect people of all backgrounds. Recent credits include experimental projects, Iceberg and Social Action Project, and traditional plays: His Is A Cage (Paul), Northbound Train (Huang), and The Seagull (Trigorin).IG @letitbezak. zak-ma.com
FIRST PLAYDATE EVER (JULY 2022)
THE FIRST playdate EVER curated by the one and only Thai H. Singer took place on July 12th.
THE ARTISTS
Ella Baldwin (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based playwright, actor, and director focused on adaptation and play (writing). A recent Bard College graduate of both Theater & Performance and Written Arts, she is a co-founder of Lumina Theatre Company, a collective dedicated to accessible improv comedy and playwriting workshops for kids through local community partnerships.
Samora la Perdida (she/they) is a trilingual creator, poet, and performer. Their works range from musicals to short films utilizing combinations of English, Spanish, and Portuguese to give voice to the beautifully complex realities of transgender Afro-Latines. Their Spanglish rap opera, “pato, pato, maricón,” premiered at Ars Nova’s ANT Fest in 2018 and their music video PAPI RUNS was an official selection of the 2019 National Film Festival for Talented Youth. Soon to be released is their TEDx talk entitled “Do Latines Need to Speak Spanish? Finding Your Lost Mother Tongue.”
Imani Russell (they/them) is a Black+Boricua multi-hyphenate artist from Brooklyn, NY. Their art explores the connections between time, space, family, disability, queerness, and magic.They create in pursuit of queer + trans liberation and
SECOND EDITION (AUGUST)
THE CURATOR
Jen Pitt (she/her) is a Brazilian-American director, writer and deviser. Originally from São Paulo, Jen went on to train as a performer at Lecoq in France. Jen has been living in New York for the past eleven years where she has worked as an ensemble member of The Living Theatre, a writer on reproductive rights, and a freelance director. As a director, Jen has worked on classics as well as devised-collaborative work. She considers herself a “generative-creative-leader” focusing on movement and physicality, and seeks alternative modes of creation that deviate from the standard hierarchy of the American Theatre. Jen’s work is centered around questions of trauma, addiction, and desire, which she explores by juxtaposing “high” and “low” art; the sacred and the profane. She has earned her MFA in directing from Columbia University. This fall Jen will be the 2022-2023 Opera Directing Fellow at Juilliard. She has been involved with En Garde for the past four years and is thrilled to curate a night around artists she loves.
THE ARTISTS
Kiko Freiberg (he/him) is a Brazilian/American guitarist, singer, and composer. After receiving a degree in composition and performance from Bard College, Kiko went on to tour in China, Morocco, Canada, Brazil, Cuba and over 25 states in the United States, playing venues and international festivals as the frontman for his band Added Color. With Added Color, he has shared the stage with household names such as Suicidal Tendencies, Soufly, headlined Morocco’s acclaimed Festival L’Boulevard, and was selected as one of the top 5 up and coming acts out of Brazil by The Monsters Of Rock Festival. He is currently the musical director of Metazoo Games, and continues to write and perform with Added Color.
Elizagrace Madrone (she/her) is a writer, theater-maker, and experience designer living in-between uptown New York City and the Northern California backwoods and making small strange works in real and unreal spaces. Selected co-creation: Finding Avi (WOW Festival 2022) The Extremely Grey Line (Ice Factory 2021); we need your listening (Ice Factory 2020); Ribbon About A Bomb (Exquisite Corpse Company); the audio-immersive experience Stranger (Columbia Stages); Wool Sucker (debut album: Plastic Wings). Participant in the inaugural International Dramaturgy Lab (2020 – 2021). Co-curator, Bushwick Starr Reading Series, 2022. Co-founder, 23.5° Tilt. MFA Dramaturgy, Columbia University. www.elizagrace.net
Zizi Majid (she/her) is a playwright whose work advocates for a shared humanity. Often catalyzed by real events, her plays look into how political circumstances fracture lives and communities. Plays include They Came in the Night, Return to Fall,How to Gild an Eagle. An alum of WP Theatre Lab, she just completed the Catwalk Art Residency. Zizi is thrilled to be part of this evening’s playdate curated by Jen Pitt – her fellow riot grrl. www.zizimajid.com
THIRD EDITION (OCTOBER)
The third edition of The Ultimate Theatre Hang will take place on October, 12 and will be curated by Gabriel Torres.
The theme of our playdate will be The End of The Harvest! A Date with The Triple Goddess.
THE CURATOR
Gabriel G. Torres (they/ them) is a multidisciplinary artist from Colombia and New York. Gabriel’s work deals in the conversations between community engagement, creative placemaking, theater making, rituality, music, dance, spoken word and film. Gabriel has worked in Hong Kong, NYC, and Colombia as an educator, documentarian, theater director, and community engagement consultant. Gabriel is currently working on Haus of Dust, a campaign to bring awareness about substance use in latinx queer communities from his personal experience. Gabriel’s work has been featured in SXSW, Latino Theater Co, NYC department of health, The Tank NYC, En Garde Arts, The LGBT Center and more. gabrielgtorres.com Haus of Dust is a successful collaboration between Gabriel and a collective of 10+ artists and institutions working to bring forth the project. To learn more, visit iamdust.org .
THE ARTISTS
Alba Delia Hernández (she/ her) is an award winning writer, inspired by Puerto Rico, growing up in Bushwick, and salsa, who dances in the hybrid forms of playwriting, fiction and poetry. She was awarded the winner of the 2022 One Festival for her one woman show, Juana Peña Revisited. She is a recipient of the Bronx Council of the Arts First Chapter Award and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University. She has been published widely and has performed at El Museo del Barrio, Nuyorican Poets Café, Teatro Circulo and other venues. She’s a passionate yoga teacher, salsa dancer, and videographer who moves to songs of resistance.
Jasmine Dorothy Haefner (she/ her) is an actress and writer for the screen and stage, most focused in writing work that she then performs in. Her most recent work is 28 is Great, a comedic short film she wrote, produced, directed and starred in, and has won several awards. (Lighthouse International Film Festival, Astoria Film Festival, Twin Cities Film Fest). Theater: The Oracle (Knowledge Workings Theatre Co.), True Love (New York Theatre Festival), Dust Vanishes Away (Dir: Gabriel Torres, RE:Encuentro 2021), EVICTED (Teatro Yerbabruja Experimental) and others. Film: 28 is Great, Zoomers, The Unexpected(Hoboken International Film Festival), and others. TV: Saturday Night Live and others. @TheJasmineDorothy www.JasmineDorothy.com
Alemor (she/ her) is a Colombian-American artist, with an impressive ability to flow from one language to another in her singing. Her versatility can take her audience from connecting with the mushiest of feelings while performing a ballad, to up and out of their seats to groove to a funky uptempo tune. She was nominated for a Latin Grammy just last year, under the best singer-songwriter category for debut Album, Alemorologia, launched in May 2021. IN this album, AleMor collaborated with incredible musicians and engineers in order to create a masterpiece. Alemor is currently expanding her career setting one foot in New York, and working on her second and third project.