On this episode of “What’s Off?”, our co-host Nicky Maggio sat down for a chat with George Strus, the Founding Artistic Director of Breaking the Binary Theatre (BTB). George is a Tony Award-nominated and Obie Award-winning Latiné producer and dramaturg based in New York. 

After noticing a major gap in theater initiatives for trans and nonbinary theatermakers, George set out to make a festival to support transgender, non-binary, and Two-Spirit+ (TNB2S+) theatermakers. The festival grew into a new work program that soon had an advisory board, partnerships across the country, and turned George into a Broadway producer with a recent credit on Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary! Tune in as Nicky chats with George about how BTB came to be, asking for what you need, and producing as an art. 

“ I do consider myself an artist as a producer. It's about matchmaking. It's about having clarity of vision. It's about how you navigate people and personalities.”  - George Strus

Episode Transcript 

Website Link

GUEST BIO:

George Strus (they/them) is a Tony Award-nominated and Obie Award-winning Latiné producer and dramaturg based in New York. They founded Breaking the Binary Theatre: a new work development and community building hub for transgender, non-binary, and Two-Spirit+ (TNB2S+) theatermakers. Since BTB's launch in July of 2022, the organization has paid out over $650,000 to over 500 TNB2S+ artists. George is also the Founding CEO of theatrical production company Benson Drive Productions. Projects in development include Amber Ruffin’s BIGFOOT, Stephen Sondheim’s THE FROGS (Off-West End), and more to be announced. Their independent co-producing credits include OH, MARY!, ILLINOISE (Tony nomination), Stephen Sondheim's HERE WE ARE, ROMEO + JULIET, and more. They were awarded the 2024 Prince Fellowship and are a member of the 2025 Shubert Organization Artistic Circle. www.georgestrus.com

INTERVIEWER BIO:

Nicky Maggio or “N” (they/them) currently serves as Programs Manager at A.R.T/New York. N is a freelance theatrical curator with a focus on new play development and directing. Originally born in southeast Massachusetts, Nicky received their B.F.A. at Emerson College and then completed their M.F.A in Directing at The New School. For more information on their artistic projects visit www.nmaggio.com @nickymaggio

HOST BIO:

Ashley J. Hicks (a.k.a. Ash, she/her) currently serves as the Manager of Member Experience and Access for A.R.T./New York.  Ash is an actor, writer,  and Disability Equity & Inclusion consultant/advocate. She received her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in 2021 and was a participant in the 2022 Disney Discovers Talent Showcase. To learn more about Ashley and her past/recent projects, please visit www.ashley-j-hicks.com

Additional Links:

Breaking the Binary Theatre

Instagram: @breakingthebinarytheatre

George Strus

Williamstown Theatre Festival 

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

National Queer Theater

Manhattan Theatre Club

Steppenwolf Theatre 

For more information about A.R.T./New York, please visit https://www.art-newyork.org/

If you’d like to receive new episodes as they’re published, please subscribe to “What’s Off?” in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.

To donate to A.R.T./New York, please visit: https://www.art-newyork.org/donate

“What’s Off?” Production Staff

Erica Wray Barnes, Executive Producer

Ashley J. Hicks, Episode Line Producer

Dante 32, Audio Engineer

Caylin Waller, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Theatre Advocacy Project, is a passionate lifelong learner and a fierce advocate for creating braver spaces that combat harmful behaviors in the theatrical workplace. Drawing from her personal experiences and extensive research, Caylin empowers organizations to enhance their Human Resources practices by offering tailored resources and hands-on training for both staff and individual artists.

Join host Ashley J. Hicks as she engages with Caylin about the origins of her organization and explores how the first crucial step toward fostering a healthy and proactive theatrical environment is collective empowerment. 

Luckily there are more organizations now who are supporting this kind of work. We have banded together and recognized that there is a great need, that there's space for all of us to exist. If we uplift each other's work, we will create real systemic change together.  - Caylin Waller 

cw: sexual assault, workplace harm

Episode Transcript

GUEST BIO:

Caylin Waller, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Theatre Advocacy Project (TAP), has led award-winning research on building accountable practices in theatre. She holds an M.A. in Performing Arts Administration from NYU Steinhardt, was selected Distinguished Graduate for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of the Arts, and currently serves as an inaugural Expert in Residence for her former program. Caylin speaks regularly on her industry research and startup knowledge. She was a featured panelist at the NYU event titled Curtain Up: Spotlight on Financial and Social Sustainability for the Performing Arts alongside leaders from Lincoln Center and Brooklyn Academy of Music, as well as a panelist at the NYU Entrepreneurial Festival event Women Entrepreneurs Responding to Pressing Needs. She was a 2022 grant recipient of the Mark & Debra Leslie Fellows grant through the NYU Female Founders Fellowship program. Outside of her work in the arts, Caylin works in early childhood education as both an educator and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Coordinator.

INTERVIEWER & HOST BIO:

Ashley J. Hicks (a.k.a. Ash, she/her) works currently as a Programs Coordinator for A.R.T./New York.  Ash is an actor, writer, solo performer & teaching artist. She received her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in 2021 and was a participant in the 2022 Disney Discovers Talent Showcase. To learn more about Ashley and her past/recent projects, please visit www.ashley-j-hicks.com

HOST BIO:

Nicky Maggio or “N” (they/them) currently serves as Programs Manager at A.R.T/New York. N is a freelance theatrical curator with a focus on new play development and directing. Originally born in southeast Massachusetts, Nicky received their B.F.A. at Emerson College and then completed their M.F.A in Directing at The New School. For more information on their artistic projects visit www.nmaggio.com @nickymaggio

Additional Links:

For more information about A.R.T./New York, please visit https://www.art-newyork.org/

If you’d like to receive new episodes as they’re published, please subscribe to “What’s Off?” in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.

To donate to A.R.T./New York, please visit: https://www.art-newyork.org/donate

“What’s Off?” Production Staff

To help build community, and to best support collaboration and resource sharing, A.R.T./New York hosts semi-annual membership convenings. In this special episode of What’s Off?, hosts Nicky Maggio and Ashley J. Hicks take a trip down memory lane to highlight some of their favorite moments from our 2023 Fall Forum and 2024 Spring Summit. 

First, they revisit clips from a panel discussion on “Marketing and Audience Development” featuring an array of perspectives on what's working, what’s not, and what new strategies we might try in order to best reach and engage our audiences.  Then, we listen to clips from “The Advocators: Forging Paths to Better Pay!” - a discussion between freelance artists and workers who are advocating for pay equity in new and impactful ways.

Tune in to this special episode where we shine the spotlight on field innovators, recorded live and in conversation with each other!

Episode Transcript 

Website Link

Episode Part 1:

From the 2023 Fall Forum, Moving Through Together, the Marketing and Audience Development panel discussion was live streamed in partnership with Transcend Streaming and HowlRound on Wednesday, October 25, 2023.  

Panelists:

Episode Part 2:

From the 2024 Spring Summit, UNCHARTED: Leading Beyond The Path, The Advocators: Forging Paths to Better Pay! A Panel Discussion was live streamed in partnership with Transcend Streaming and HowlRound on Wednesday, June 5th, 2024 

Panelists:

For more information about A.R.T./New York, please visit https://www.art-newyork.org/

If you’d like to receive new episodes as they’re published, please subscribe to “What’s Off?” in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.

To donate to A.R.T./New York, please visit: https://www.art-newyork.org/donate

“What’s Off?” Production Staff

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is beginning to shake up nearly every creative industry, and live theatre is no exception. From generative world building to revamping the way the audiences engage with the work, this revolutionary new technology is pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

In this episode, A.R.T./New York’s z. Quinn Reynolds interviews actor, creator and director Tjaša Ferme and multi-disciplinary designer Will Lowry about their individual experiences using AI in their work, how AI is reshaping live theater, as well their hopes (and fears) for the future of AI. 

"Can AI make art? The answer is, I don't know. 

Episode Transcript

Website Link

GUEST BIOS:

Tjaša Ferme (she/her) is an award-winning actor, creator and NYSCA-awarded director who has received a Slovenian National Film Award and Stane Sever classical stage award. The Founding Artistic Director of Transforma Theatre, she created The Female Role Model Project, blending interactive theatre with neuroscience, premiering Off-Broadway at 3-Legged Dog and produced at Edinburgh Fringe (NYITA nomination for Outstanding Innovative Design and Fast Company’s honorary mention for World Changing Ideas Awards). In 2021 Ferme founded the sold-out Science in Theatre Festival covered by Forbes and American Theatre Magazine. Tjasa is the creator of the short film Ophelia’s Flip (Cannes Film Festival, 2012), farce stage hit Cocktales - Confessions of a Nymphomaniac (Abingdon Theatre, Miami Art Basel), and interactive solo shows, Wild Child in the City and My Marlene (HERE). She recently created and directed Bioadapted, hailed by the New York Times as "maverick creativity" and "sleekly designed, thoughtfully assembled.

Will Lowry (he/him) is a multidisciplinary designer, an Associate Professor of Theatre at Lehigh University (PA), and a Creative Partner with Flux Theatre Ensemble (NYC). He received his MFA in Design from UNC Greensboro and a BA in Theatre Arts/Computer Science from Furman University. He has created scenic, costume, media, and lighting designs for theatres along the East Coast and beyond, including Dupont Underground (DC), Lantern Theater Company (Phila.), The Warehouse Theatre (SC), Mill Mountain Theatre (VA), Playhouse on Park (CT), California Theatre Center (CA), and the Sydney Opera House (AUS). In NYC, he designed over twenty off-off Broadway productions, and he contributed to multiple Broadway productions as a studio assistant. He has experimented with incorporation of AI into his design process for over two years. He presented on the intersection of AI and Theatre at SETC in 2023 and 2024, and he co-taught a first-year seminar at Lehigh that centered around AI-driven theatre-making.

INTERVIEWER BIO:

Quinn Reynolds (they/she) is a writer/musician/director living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Quinn spent their formative years making indie kung-fu movies with their family inspired by the classic tale “Journey to the West.” Since then, they've moved on to making stories for stage, screen, and beyond. They have an obsession with blending their love of Sci-fi, Fantasy, Music and Horror into hyper-charged hysterical shows. Their past projects include: Purchase Late Night (2016-2020), The Super Hero Night Series (2017-2022), Marooned (2022), Blood Countess(Original Music, 2023), and GRIND(2023). Quinn also produces and performs music under their artist name: Mamsir. Their latest self produced EP “That’s going on the fridge” is streaming on all platforms. Outside of their artistic career, Quinn is the Manager of Studio Operations at A.R.T./New York.

You can find our host bios on our website!

Additional Links:

Tjaša Ferme

Will Lowry 

Transforma Theatre

Flux Theatre 

Our Options Have Changed 

Bioadapted 

Chat GPT4

11ElevenLabs

Replika

Midjourney

For more information about A.R.T./New York, please visit https://www.art-newyork.org/

If you’d like to receive new episodes as they’re published, please subscribe to “What’s Off?” in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.

To donate to A.R.T./New York, please visit: https://www.art-newyork.org/donate

“What’s Off?” Production Staff

David E. Shane, Executive Producer

Erica Wray Barnes, Associate Producer

Nicky Maggio, Episode Line Producer

Ashley J. Hicks, Episode Creative Lead

Dante 32, Audio Engineer

Access to affordable space has always been a concern for New York City theatre makers; this episode shines the spotlight on some visionary leaders who recognized the need for more artistic space and decided to do something about it! Despite some closures during the COVID-19 lockdown and ever-rising real estate costs, the story of New York City’s artistic venues may actually be one of evolution and rebirth. 

Tune in as leaders from Brooklyn Art Haus, IndieSpace, and People’s Theatre Project discuss breaking ground on new real estate ventures, their place in their communities, and how they balance affordability with the need to financially sustain their space!

“I don't know a single venue operator in the indie scene that doesn't want to make their space more affordable for the people to use it. We all want that.” - Randi Berry

Episode Transcript 

Randi Berry, Executive Director of IndieSpace 

Isaac Bush, Founder and Executive Director of Brooklyn Art Haus

Mino Lora, Founding Executive Director of People's Theatre Project  

INTERVIEWER:

HOSTS:

Ashley J. Hicks (a.k.a. Ash, she/her) Programs Coordinator for A.R.T./New York

Nicky Maggio or “N” (they/them) Programs Manager at A.R.T/New York 

**Visit the episode webpage for full guest and host bios

Additional Links:

For more information about A.R.T./New York, please visit https://www.art-newyork.org/

If you’d like to receive new episodes as they’re published, please subscribe to “What’s Off?” in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.

“What’s Off?” Production Staff

As a multi-hyphenate theatremaker, dramaturg, and Associate Producer at Soho Rep, Sam Morreale inhabits many spaces within the theatrical field. They are guided by the words of Toni Cade Bambara, holding dear the idea that “the role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible” - and Sam’s role is to hold space so that theater artists can bring their fullest selves into the rehearsal room.

Tune in as host Nicky Maggio chats with Sam about their artistic ethos, their work as a consultant, artist, and facilitator, as well as what it means to be an “accountability partner.” 

“Facilitation is at the core of my practice. I’m conscious of the sociopolitical reality that we might be facing under any given circumstance and one of my superpowers is to help name the patterns that we're seeing in rehearsal rooms, so that we might be in better relationship with them.” - Sam Morreale

Episode Transcript

GUEST BIO:

Sam Morreale (they/them) is currently the Associate Producer at Soho Rep. With facilitation at the core of their practice, they've had a blossoming career as a creative producer working with many companies including Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, New York Stage and Film/Powerhouse, The Prelude Festival, Mixed Blood Theatre, Penumbra Theatre, and Theater Communications Group. In addition, Sam has developed a portfolio of consulting work in strategy planning, institutional alignment, and cultural change with arts organizations such as Center Theater Group, The New Harmony Project, Ars Nova, Boston Court Pasadena, A.R.T./NY, New Georges, and The Acting Company. Sam nurtures their artistic practice in rehearsal rooms as a dramaturg, director, and culture shaper constantly seeking to break down dissonance between artist and institution. B.A. Wesleyan University, Theater and Science in Society. @smorreale_reckons

INTERVIEWER/CO-HOST:

Nicky Maggio or “N” (they/them) currently serves as Programs Manager at A.R.T/New York. N is a freelance theatrical curator with a focus on new play development and directing. Originally born in southeast Massachusetts, Nicky received their B.F.A. at Emerson College and then completed their M.F.A in Directing at The New School. For more information on their artistic projects visit www.nmaggio.com @nickymaggio

CO-HOST:

Ashley J. Hicks (a.k.a. Ash, she/her) works currently as a Programs Coordinator for A.R.T./New York.  Ash is an actor, writer, solo performer & teaching artist. She received her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in 2021 and was a participant in the 2022 Disney Discovers Talent Showcase. To learn more about Ashley and her past/recent projects, please visit www.ashley-j-hicks.com

Additional Links:

For more information about A.R.T./New York, please visit https://www.art-newyork.org/

If you’d like to receive new episodes as they’re published, please subscribe to “What’s Off?” in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.

To donate to A.R.T./New York, please visit: https://www.art-newyork.org/donate

“What’s Off?” Production Staff

Many longstanding theater organizations in New York City and across the country are experiencing changes in administrative and artistic leadership. These individuals may be new to their positions, but they bring years of experience and fresh ideas to the field and to their new theatrical homes.  

A.R.T./New York Co-Executive Director Talia Corren sat down with Amanda Feldman of Classic Stage Company and Patricia McGregor of New York Theatre Workshop to discuss their roles as new leaders of multi-decade institutions. Listen in as they share about their experiences as women in the field, what they bring to their new positions, what it’s like to lead in a co-director model, and how they each are bridging the gap between the past, present and the future. 

“People haven't solved the challenges we're going to solve. People haven't dreamed the things that we're going to come up with. I think there is this interesting play between wanting to have reverence and appreciation and deep respect for what has come before while also [holding] that this is who I am and this is the life experience, identity, and way of moving through the world that I carry.” - Talia Corren 

Episode Transcript

GUEST BIOS:

Amanda Feldman is currently the Managing Director of Classic Stage Company. Prior to this role she served as Managing Director of Page 73, where she produced five world premiere Off-Broadway productions and oversaw the finances, human resources, and marketing, as well as played a key role in strategic planning and organizational advancement. In her career, Amanda has produced new works Off-Broadway with The Foundry Theatre, En Garde Arts, The Play Company, Abrons Arts Center, and The Playwrights Realm. In 2011, she co-founded the Off Off Broadway company Neighborhood Productions to support entrepreneurial theater artists in self-producing their own works and, for five years, she was the General Manager of the Lark Play Development Center. Feldman also led The NYC World Theatre Day Coalition until 2014, where she created and curated The Around-the-Globe Chain Play. She was the founding Managing Director of CollaborationTown and produced seven of their world premieres. Feldman currently serves on the board of History Matters/Celebrating Women's Plays of the Past and she is a WP Theatre Producer Lab alumna. BA from Tufts University.

Born in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Patricia McGregor is the Artistic Director of New York Theatre Workshop, as well as a director and writer working across disciplines. McGregor has twice been profiled by The New York Times for her direction of world premieres. She was the inaugural Artist in Residence for Arts in the Armed Forces and an Old Globe Resident Artist, as well as a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow at Yale School of Drama.

For Interviewer Bio, Host Bios, and additional links, please visit the episode webpage.

If you’d like to receive new episodes as they’re published, please subscribe to “What’s Off?” in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.

To donate to A.R.T./New York, please visit: https://www.art-newyork.org/donate

“What’s Off?” Production Staff

As the team at Roundabout Theatre Company considered the significant barriers to entry for potential technical theatre workers, they realized something was “off”. So, they created the Theatrical Workforce Development Program (TWDP) -  a partnership between Roundabout Theatre Company and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE.) TWDP offers participants hands-on, work-based training in four technical disciplines and connects them directly to employment opportunities in theatres across the city. 

In this episode, A.R.T./New York Theatre Operations Manager Sarah Lahue talks to the program leaders about how TWDP helps participants with everything from learning about self care on the job to avoiding student loan debt. Tune in to learn all about how this innovative program is helping to develop the next generation of theatrical workers.

Episode Transcript 

For more information about A.R.T./New York and to learn more about the hosts and guest interviewer in this episod, please visitWebsite Link 

GUEST BIO:

Njeri Baker is a dedicated Arts Administrator with more than 7 years of theater experience across production, company management, and theater administration. She graduated from Howard University and New York University with a BFA in Theater Technology & an MA in Performing Arts Administration, respectively. Currently, she's an Education Manager at Roundabout Theatre Company, managing their Theatrical Workforce Development Program. A program training young people in backstage theater work to diversify the technical theater industry.

Mitch Mattson is the Director of Career Training and Operations at Roundabout Theatre Company – NYC’s largest not-for-profit theatre company. He leads a team of arts administrators and teaching artists fostering the next generation of dynamic theatre professionals through career and workforce development programs. His work has created partnerships with over 5 professional theatres and shops across NYC – enabling Roundabout’s Theatrical Workforce Development Program to provide training and jobs to early career technicians. He facilitates workshops and presents on theatre education topics nationally and internationally. Mitch is the recent Board Chair of the American Alliance for Theatre & Education and an alum of Coro: Leadership New York, LNY31. Previous work of his at Arena Stage in Washington, DC was sponsored by the US State Department, taking him to India to create theater with young people.

Additional Links:

Roundabout’s Theatrical Workforce Development Program

For more information about A.R.T./New York, please visit https://www.art-newyork.org/

If you’d like to receive new episodes as they’re published, please subscribe to “What’s Off?” in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.

To donate to A.R.T./New York, please visit: https://www.art-newyork.org/donate

“What’s Off?” Production Staff

Since 2004, Theresa Buchheister has found themselves in a veritable slew of non-conventional New York City theatre and performance spaces. Their lifelong pursuit of creating collaborative,  experimental work has made them a beloved community leader. Today, Theresa has refocused their energy toward supporting other scrappy artists and career experimenters. Along the way, they’ve affirmed that theatre is most definitely NOT dead, and discovered that we can learn a lot by asking, “what are the barriers to participation?”

Tune in to listen as host Nicky Maggio//N chats with Theresa about how shifting their focus allowed them to gain a new perspective on our ever tumultuous industry. 

“You can still be specific and have aesthetic value and have no money. The Brick is creating a way for people to say, ‘I could do this too’, and actually try it and see if it's something they wanna do.” - Theresa Buchheister 

Episode Transcript

GUEST BIO:

Theresa Buchheister (they/them) is a director, writer, producer, performer and curator from Manhattan, KS. They currently operate as Artistic Director of The Brick (an experimental performance space in Brooklyn), The Exponential Festival (a January performance festival of deep fringe art) and Title:Point (16-year-old theater company specializing in oddity, slapstick and dread). Theresa also curates ?!:New Works, a works-in-progress gathering for all performance mediums. They used to run Vital Joint for 4 years, which was home to a veritable slew of alt comedy, weird dance, strange film and more. They were a part of DIY Bushwick performance venue Silent Barn for 4 years and The Ontological in St. Marks Church for 10 years. Theresa makes a living doing voice over work, directing and voicing cartoons, audiobooks and podcasts (BoyGirlDogCatMouseCheese, Pokemon, How Music Works, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Arrow of Time, RecursiveCast, etc). 

Additional Links:

The Brick Theater

For more information about A.R.T./New York, please visit https://www.art-newyork.org/

If you’d like to receive new episodes as they’re published, please subscribe to “What’s Off?” in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.

To donate to A.R.T./New York, please visit: https://www.art-newyork.org/donate

“What’s Off?” Production Staff

David E. Shane, Executive Producer

Erica Wray Barnes, Associate Producer

Ashley J. Hicks & Nicky Maggio, Line Producers

Dante 32, Audio Engineer

Rebecca KellyG went from being a musical theatre college student to a civil rights attorney. Along the way, she noticed some things that felt similarly “off” about these vastly different spaces. Through establishing an artistic practice as a healing artist and facilitator, Rebecca learned that in order to challenge systems, we must first harmonize with the self for both personal and collective liberation. 

Tune in to listen as A.R.T./New York Co-Excutive Director Risa Shoup chats with Rebecca about her journey and how she found resilience by reigniting her passion for performance and soundscape artistry. 

 “I really believe the more comfortable a person is with themselves - your own discomforts, your own challenges, your own pain, your own needs - the more able you are to listen and receive when other people are expressing theirs.” - Rebecca KellyG

Episode Transcript

GUEST BIO:

Rebecca KellyG (she/her) supports individuals and groups to challenge conditioned beliefs, embrace accountability, and cultivate self-love for our personal and collective liberation. 

She is particularly invested in working with people of color to shed internalized racial oppression and its expression in BIPOC organizational practices and culture. In addition to facilitating organizational retreats and mediation, Rebecca is a sound artist and speaker. In a unique blend of public speaking and performance, she weaves vocal harmonies with percussive sounds to create meditative soundscapes accompanied by story-telling and affirmations. Rebecca has shared her sounds with spaces such as, The United State of Women, La MaMa Galleria, Theatre Communications Group, and Flux Factory Rhizome Project. As an equity consultant, she has worked with such places as HERE Arts Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Leslie Lohman Museum of Art, and Yale University Art Gallery. 

Prior to starting her consultancy, Rebecca worked as an attorney at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, DC focusing on education and voting rights. Additionally, Rebecca taught as an Adjunct Professor for American University Washington College of Law and in the Wagner College Theater Department teaching her course “Race, the Arts, and Activism.”

Additional Links:

My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem

For more information about A.R.T./New York, please visit https://www.art-newyork.org/

If you’d like to receive new episodes as they’re published, please subscribe to “What’s Off?” wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review. It really helps others find the show.

To donate to A.R.T./New York, please visit https://www.art-newyork.org/donate

“What’s Off?” Production Staff

David E. Shane, Executive Producer

Erica Wray Barnes, Associate Producer

Ashley J. Hicks & Nicky Maggio, Line Producers

Catalin Media, Audio Engineer