conceived by Steven Hoggett, Christine Jones and David Byrne
Made by Kevin Adams, David Byrne, Natasha Diggs, Justin Ellington, Sarita Fellows, Steven Hoggett, Zoe Hurwitz, Mara Isaacs, Christine Jones, Yasmine Lee
commissioned by
Park Avenue Armory
Kevin Adams (lighting design) has received 4 Tony Awards for his work on Broadway which includes The Cher Show, Spongebob SquarePants, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, American Idiot, Next to Normal, The 39 Steps, Spring Awakening, Hair ,Passing Strange, Everyday Rapture, Take Me Out, A Class Act and Head Over Heels. Off-Broadway includes the original production of Hedwig, The Scottsboro Boys, Carrie, Rent and new work by Tony Kushner, Edward Albee, Neil Simon, Terrence McNally and Christopher Durang. Opera: Metropolitan Opera (Rigoletto, L’Amour de Loin, Marnie, La Traviata), New York City Opera, English National Opera. He has designed solo shows for Eric Bogosian, Anna Deveare Smith, Eve Ensler, Sandra Bernhard, John Leguizamo and Michael Moore. His work has been seen on the West End often and has toured internationally.
David Byrne (co-creator) is a musician, composer, and producer. Recent works include the Broadway debut of David Byrne’s American Utopia as well as the forthcoming Spike Lee directed film version, the launch of his Reasons to be Cheerful online magazine, and the solo album American Utopia. Byrne co-founded the band Talking Heads, for which he was the guitarist and lead singer, and established the record labels Luaka Bop and Todo Mundo. Other artistic achievements include the theatrical piece Joan of Arc: Into the Fire; a series of interactive environments questioning human perception and bias, The Institute Presents: NEUROSOCIETY; the theatrical production Here Lies Love; and the book How Music Works. Among his many laurels are Academy, Grammy, and Golden Globe awards.
Natasha Diggs (playlist curator) is a world renowned dj, producer, record enthusiast and Resident of NYC's premiere dance party Soul in The Horn. What started out as a deep love for music and collecting records in her teenage bedroom transformed into a life purpose of uplifting her community and liberating dance floors around the globe! Coined as the 45 Queen known for rockin parties with her signature 7" vinyl sets, Ms. Diggs has collaborated and played with artists such as Erykah Badu, Mark Ronson, Lauryn Hill, Anderson.Paak, Q-Tip, Roy Ayers, Patti Labelle & many more!
Justin Ellington (sound design) Broadway Credits include: Other Desert Cities Off-Broadway credits include: Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Playwrights Horizons); The Rolling Stone, Pass Over, Pipeline (Lincoln Center); Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie (Ars Nova/The Mad Ones; The House That Will Not Stand, Fetch Clay Make Man (New York Theatre Workshop); He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box, The Winter’s Tale (Theatre for a New Audience). Additional credits include: Familiar (Steppenwolf); Father Comes Home From the Wars, How to Catch Creation, Until the Flood (Goodman Theatre); Floyd’s, Trouble In Mind (The Guthrie); and Kill Move Paradise (Wilma Theatre). International credits include: As You Like It (Stratford Festival), The American Clock (The Old Vic) Over het IJ (Amsterdam); The Windybrow Arts Festival (Johannesburg). Awards: American Society of Composer and Publishers Award, Grammy Award, Cinema in Industry Award, Henry Hewes Award, Obie Award. www.justinellington.com
Sarita Fellows (Costume Designer) Selected New York credits include A Bright Room Called Day (The Public Theater); Native Son (The Acting Co); Original Sound (Cherry Lane Theater); Hatef**k (The Women’s Project); Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale, and Measure for Measure, (The Classical Theatre); A Chronicle of the Death of Two Worlds, (New York Theater Workshop); Fur, MUD, Prospect, and Fabuloso! (The Boundless Theater Co); Her regional credits include Seize the King (Alliance Theater Co); Top Girls, and Her Portmaneau (A.C.T); The Royale (Arizona Theater Co); Ain’t Misbehavin’ (The Signature Theatre); Pipeline (Studio Theatre); The African School Girl Play (Pittsburgh Public Theater); Haunted Life (M.R.T); Two Trains Running (Weston Playhouse); Berta Berta, A Late Morning with Reagan (C.A.T.F); Having Our Say (Philadelphia Theater Co). Lecturer Princeton University. Associate Professor NYU@ Playwrights. MFA NYU/Tisch.
Steven Hoggett (co-creator) Recent credits as Movement Director/ Choreographer include: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Broadway, West End, International); Angels in America (Broadway); The Crucible (Broadway); The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night Time (Royal National Theatre, West End, Broadway) The Last Ship (Broadway); Let The Right One In (National Theatre Scotland, St Anne’s Warehouse); Rocky: The Musical (Broadway); The Glass Menagerie(A.R.T.,Broadway, EIF); Once (A.R.T., Broadway, West End); Peter & the Starcatcher (Broadway); American Idiot (Broadway); Ocean at The End of the Laneand The Light Princess (National Theatre); St Joan (Public) and as Associate Director / Movement, Black Watch (National Theatre Scotland, St Anne’s Warehouse). As Director, recent credits include Close to You: Bacharach Reimagined (New York Theatre Workshop, West End). Hoggett was a director and founding member of Frantic Assembly Theatre Company, and with Scott Graham co-wrote The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre (Routledge).
Mara Isaacs (executive/creative producer) is a Tony® and Grammy® Award winning producer who eschews boundaries and fosters an expansive range of compelling theatrical works for local, national and international audiences. She has produced over 150 productions which include: Hadestown (8 Tony Awards including Best Musical), The Inheritance, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Tony Award Best Play), Anna in the Tropics, Fiasco Theater’s Into The Woods, The Brother/Sister Plays, Crowns, and The Laramie Project. She is co-founder of Sing It Again Records, winning a Grammy award with their first release, the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Hadestown. Current projects include THEATRE FOR ONE, Dreaming Zenzile by Somi Kakoma, An Iliad starring Denis O’Hare, and many others. She previously served as Producing Director at McCarter Theater Center in Princeton, NJ and was an associate producer for Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles. She teaches at Cal Arts and Princeton University. octopustheatricals.com
Christine Jones (co-creator) is a collaborative artist working in theatre, opera, public art, and the digital realm. She is the Creator and Artistic Director of the critically acclaimed THEATRE FOR ONE, which has recently moved online with its own platform. She is a Director of one of a kind experiences for companies like Rag & Bone, and productions such as Queen of the Night, (Drama Desk Award for Best Unique Experience). She is a Tony Award-winning Set Designer: for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Pts I & II, as well as American Idiot. Other credits include: The Cher Show, Spring Awakening (Tony Nomination), and Let the Right One In, (St. Ann’s Warehouse and West End). Opera designs include: La Traviata and Rigoletto (Met Opera). Currently, she is developing a digital experience with Radiohead. She has an Obie for Sustained Excellence in Design and teaches at NYU’s TISCH as well as at Princeton.
Yasmine Lee (choreographer) is a movement artist who has worked across film, television, theater, the concert dance stage, music video, national commercials and events in over 30 countries and in every state in the USA. Select credits include: On Broadway: Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime, The Crucible, ONCE Musical, and RENT. Other: Katie Perry for SNL, Opening Ceremonies to the XXII Winter Olympic Games, PEARL The Show, MOMIX, Brown Butterfly, Across The Universe (SONY Pictures), The Dunham Technique Video (Smithsonian Institute), Amici Di Maria De Filippi Season 9 (RAI TV), Off Broadway: Wild Goose Dreams, Tender Napalm, Knives In Hens, Sweeney Todd. A hoofer at her core, Yasmine believes we can become whole by dancing; Both the large expansive dance and the small intricate dance are filled with potential. Explore the groove and taste revolution… sweet Freedom.