ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Marianne Weems (Director) is artistic director and co-founder of The Builders Association and has directed all of their productions. She has also worked in various creative roles with Susan
Sontag, Taryn Simon, The V-Girls, the Wooster Group, David Byrne, and many other artists. She has served on the board of the small but fierce foundation Art Matters since the early 90’s and participated in the formation of Visual AIDS, and the National Campaign for Freedom of Expression. She is the co-editor of Art Matters: How the Culture Wars Changed America (NYU Press, 2005) and co-author with Shannon Jackson of The Builders Association: Performance and Media in Contemporary Theater (MIT Press 2015.) She is currently a professor of the Future Stages program in Digital Arts and New Media at the University of California Santa Cruz.
James Gibbs (Writer and Dramaturg) is a writer and Company Dramaturg with The Builders Association. He has worked with the company since 1998 in a variety of roles, including contributing and directing 3D-animated visual material. He is currently at work on his first novel and has had short fiction published with Storyscape Journal and anthologized by Epiphany. Gibbs is a founder of DBOX, a company that makes stories about buildings (advertising, branding, media) and won an Emmy for Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero. His photography work with DBOX and with husband Dick Page has been published in The New York Times, Surface, allure, W, and Interview magazines, among others.
Moe Angelos (Performer) is a theatre artist and writer. In addition to her work with The Builders, she’s one of the OBIE-Award winning Five Lesbian Brothers and she’s been a member of the Wow Café Theater since 1981. She has collaborated with many downtown NYC performance luminaries including Lisa Kron, Anne Bogart, Lois Weaver, Kate Stafford, Brooke O’Harra, Carmelita Tropicana, Half Straddle and The Ridiculous Theatrical Company. She’s been a mentor in Queer/Art/Mentorship and she has taught and lectured at universities across North America. Google her in another tab for more info.
David Pence is a founding member of The Builders Association and has performed with the group in Master Builder, The White Album, Jump Cut (Faust), Alladeen, Avanti, Super Vision, Jet Lag 2010, House/Divided, and Ten Stories, as well as contributing to Builders’ residencies at New York University and Theaterhaus Gessnerallee, Zurich. Voice performances include Diller + Scofidio’s “Indigestion”; sound installations by Ben Rubin including “America on the Move” (Smithsonian), “917: A Code Without an Area,” and “Sink”; and Billy Klüver’s film “9 Evenings.” His original plays include The Next Best Thing, Verge of Tears, and Eyes Averted, and his weekly music program, Radio Junk Drawer, lives at www.wmpg.org.
Nick Auer (Associate Director) is a director, designer, and theater-maker. His work focuses on exploring different relationships between audiences and live performance. He co-founded The Brouhaha Theatre Project, a site-specific theater group named one of the “25 Immersive Theater Companies to Watch” by No Proscenium—he directed Brouhaha’s Tunnel Odyssey, R&D: a nightmare in three flowcharts, Wrestling with Lesbians, Heydays, and Soft Boy. He frequently collaborates with Third Rail Projects, Michael Counts, and Brooke O’Harra. He is a resident artist at The Tank NYC, where he is curating an upcoming experimental performance series and developing a new devised theater project. nickauer.com
Michelle Brown (Turker/Collaborator) is a Brooklyn raised native New Yorker. She currently resides in The Bronx where she continues to pursue her career in acting and music production. She went to Fashion Institute of Technology where she learned Haute Couture and Ladies Tailoring. As Michelle is pursuing her dreams, she is constantly finding ways to make money online. Right now she is working online as an Amazon Turker, Surveyor, Test Rater, Website Tester & Influencer/Creator. Her social media handle on TikTok & Insta @shellycoolsinger
Noel Castle (Turker/Collaborator) is from Southwest New Mexico, and has been using Mechanical Turk for about six years.
Adah Deveaux (Turker/Collaborator) My name is Adah Deveaux. I originally hail from The Bahamas. I graduated with a Bachelors in Biology from Florida A&M University in 2019. I currently work online and I am preparing to enter the field of Medical Technology. In my spare time I enjoying salsa dancing and gaining more knowledge in Astrology.
Dan Dobson (Sound Design and Original Composition) is a founding member of The Builders Association and has designed sound for all of their productions. In addition to editing and scoring for film, he has played zither and Chapman stick for Blue Man Group since 1995.
Kristin Dwyer (Production Stage Manager) is a stage manager focusing on immersive theater and events. Online projects she loves to brag about include Return the Moon (Third Rail Projects) & Eschaton (Chorus Productions). Other credits: Then She Fell (Third Rail Projects); Nutcracker Rouge (Company XIV); Lab Rat by A$AP Rocky (Remarkable); Paradiso Escape Test; and Macy’s Santaland. BA SUNY New Paltz.
Sybil Lanham (Turker/Collaborator) is from Alabama, has been turking for over a decade, and is a widow.
Andreea Mincic (Scenic and Costume Design) is a visual artist who designs sets and costumes for theater, opera and dance in New York City. You can see samples of Andreea’s work here https://www.andreeamincic.space/ . Coming up work (May-June): collaboration with artist Alexandra Tatarsky for her new incarnation of the performance “Untitled Freakout/ Buttplug Gnome” at MoMa PS1.
Lawrence Shea (Second Screen Producer/Designer) is an artist and educator working with a wide variety of media, creating visuals and interactivity for theatrical productions and fine artworks around the world. Some highlights include Julia Scher’s surveillance-art installations in the late 90’s; “Securityworld” (Galerie Hussenot, Paris); “Wonderland” (Andrea Rosen Gallery, NY); and “Predictive Engineering 2” (SFMOMA). He was the media/technical designer for Mary Ellen Strom and Ann Carlson’s large-scale outdoor, train-based performance & projection extravaganza “Geyserland,” (2003 Montana). Lawrence holds an MFA from The Massachusetts College of Art, a BA from the University of Virginia. Shea is an Associate Professor of Video & Media Design in the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he founded and runs the Video & Media Design MFA program.
Giada Sun (Second Screen Associate/Interaction Design) is a Taiwanese theatrical media artist and creative technologist based in Los Angeles. He aims to explore new technologies and unusual platforms for creating storytelling experiences. Giada worked on professional theater productions in New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Taipei, and Tainan. His works have been selected for Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, World Stage Design, nominated in Independent Game Festival Award, and chosen for presentations in NeurIPS Machine Learning for Creativity and Design Workshop and United States Institute for Theater Technology Conference. Giada received an MFA in Video and Media Design from the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University and a master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction from the University of Washington, Seattle.
Robyn Sunderland (Booking and Promotions Manager) Recent projects include I Agree To The Terms, Elements of OZ (The Builders Association); Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley (the american vicarious); C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, Shadowlands, The Great Divorce, Martin Luther on Trial (Aruba Productions, Off-Broadway and U.S. tours). Past projects include West Side Story, Queen Esther Marrow & the Harlem Gospel Singers (BB Promotion/Sundance Productions, UK & European Tours); Kiki & Herb Alive On Broadway!, Rufus Wainwright Does Judy at Carnegie Hall, Kidz Bop! On Tour (Foster Entertainment).
Austin Switser (Video Designer) Recent projects include Tree of Codes (Spoleto Festival USA) Onegin (Spoleto Festival USA), Trojan Women (National Theater of Korea, Singapore International Festival of Arts, LIFT, Holland Festival, Wiener Festwochen) Paradise Interrupted (Spoleto Festival USA, Lincoln Center Festival, Singapore International Festival of Arts), Facing Goya (Spoleto Festival USA, Singapore International Festival of Arts),Émilie (Spoleto Festival USA, Lincoln Center Festival, Finnish National Opera); He Brought Her Heart Back in Box (Theatre for A New Audience; Obie Award), Big Love (Signature Theatre) Sontag: Reborn, ¡El Conquistador! (New York Theatre Workshop), Elements of OZ,House/Divided and Jet Lag 2010 (The Builders Association). Switserknight.com
Morgan Lindsey Tachco (Producer for The Builders Association) is a theater artist and cultural consultant. In addition to their work with The Builders, Morgan is a Performer/Deviser and Creative Producer with Little Lord, an experimental performance company led by Michael Levinton, and has worked as Creative Producer for Theater in Quarantine, a digital performance laboratory founded by Joshua Willam Gelb and KatieRose McLaughlin. Most recent with The Builders: TEN STORIES, A Builders Decameron (buildersdecameron.com); Elements of Oz (NYU Skirball) and STRANGE WINDOW (BAM Next Wave); with Little Lord: NYTimes Critic’s Pick SKINNAMARINK / The Peanut Butter Show (2018: Target Margin Theater’s The Doxsee, 2019: Next Door at NYTW); NOW IS THE TIME… (Abrons Arts Center, 2016, 3 NYITA noms). Morgan’s performance work has been called, “playful, nuanced,” and “pretty, although quite chubby.” Morgan holds a B.A. from Goddard College in Individualized Studies with a concentration in Performance and Arts Management, and was an inaugural New York Community Trust Leadership Fellow. Morganlindseytachco.com
Claire Talbott (Associate Stage Manager / Production Assistant) is a Brooklyn based, highly collaborative director, digital designer, and videographer. With her directing degree from Fordham University and her talents in multimedia design, she offers a unique, well rounded voice to any artistic collaboration. Ultimately, Claire aspires to direct music-focused immersive experiences and interactive digital theater. Claire cannot believe that she got to work with her creative idols for her first show post-grad. This is her first show with The Builders Association. Claireatalbott.com
Adam J. Thompson (Associate Video Design) is a video and graphic designer, writer, creative producer, and educator working in film, television, theatre, opera, installation, and digital narratives. His work has been produced and presented in spaces and on screens in New York and across the country. Adam is the founder and former director of The Deconstructive Theatre Project, a live cinema ensemble performance collective, and his work has been recognized with awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Jerome Robbins Foundation among others. He holds an MFA in Video & Media Design from Carnegie Mellon University. adamjacobthompson.com / adamjacobthompson.graphics
Emmy Yupa (Video Operator) is a Brooklyn-based jack of any trade you need on a production. Most often spends time mixing audio for concerts and developing interactive VR experiences based on people’s weird dreams. Constantly exploring the intersection of art and technology.
About The Builders Association
The Builders Association is recognized both in the U.S.A. and internationally as a leader of theatrical innovation, incorporating performance with every form of media to create original large-scale interdisciplinary, multi-dimensional performances.
Founded in 1994 by artistic director Marianne Weems, the The Builders Association creates original productions that examine the impact of media on various cultures and communities. The Builders’ award-winning shows have toured around the world and have been presented at more than 80 major venues, including the Singapore Arts Festival, London’s Barbican Centre, Romaeuropa Festival, the Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro de Bogota, and the Melbourne International Arts Festival. The Builders have collaborated with such unexpected partners as the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, the South Asian arts collective motiroti, and architects Diller + Scofidio. In New York City, the Builders have been presented at the Kitchen, New York Theater Workshop, St. Ann’s Warehouse, the Guggenheim Museum, the Public Theater, the Whitney Museum; five productions have premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music/BAM. The New York Times has said of their work: “The Builders Association makes other multimedia theater look as if it’s from the Stone Age.”
Key collaborators include performer/writer Moe Angelos (the Five Lesbian Brothers), sound designer Dan Dobson (Blue Man Group), dramaturg James Gibbs, performer David Pence, video designer Austin Switser, and Tony-award winning lighting designer Jennifer Tipton.
Board of Directors, The Builders Association: Sharon Connelly (President), Kim Whitener (Vice President), James Gibbs (Secretary), Erica Laird (Treasurer), David Pence, Jennifer Tipton and Marianne Weems.
For more info on the company, please visit thebuildersassociation.org. For more info on the show, please visit iagreetotheterms.com.