Labyrinth Theater Company Announces 14 New Company Members
Contact:
Rick Miramontez / Elizabeth Wagner / Chelsea Nachman
rick@oandmco.com / elizabeth@oandmco.com / chelsea@oandmco.com
212-695-7400
L A B Y R I N T H T H E A T E R C O M P A N Y
ANNOUNCES 14 NEW COMPANY MEMBERS
FOURTEEN NEW ARTISTS JOIN LABYRINTH THEATER COMPANY
OFF-BROADWAY’S HOME FOR INCENDIARY NEW WORK
New York, NY – (February 15, 2012) Labyrinth Theater Company (Co-Artistic Directors Stephen Adly Guirgis, Mimi O’Donnell, Yul Vázquez and Managing Director, Danny Feldman), the nationally renowned Off-Broadway ensemble theater company, has inducted fourteen new members, Labyrinth’s Artistic Directors announced today.
The group, which includes Max Casella, Rosal Colón, Maggie Flanigan, Ethan Hawke, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Lisa Joyce, Lyle Kessler, Margaret Ladd, Alfredo Narciso, Chris Rock, Jonathan Marc Sherman, Ben Snyder, Lucy Thurber, and Aaron Roman Weiner, will join the award-winning Company effective immediately.
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome this diverse crew of fourteen fabulous artists into our Labyrinth family,” said Labyrinth C0-Artistic Director Mimi O’Donnell, “all of them have already contributed immensely to the growth of our Company, and we look forward to seeing them around the theater, both on stage and off, for years to come.”
Through their World Premiere productions of vital and exhilarating new plays, Labyrinth Theater Company has redefined the landscape of New York City theater. Founded in 1992 by a group of Latino actors who wanted to push their artistic limits and tell new, more inclusive stories that expanded the boundaries of mainstream theater, Labyrinth has grown into a nationally renowned company of actors, directors, playwrights and designers from a wide array of cultural perspectives. Over the past 19 years, Labyrinth has developed hundreds of original works and premiered 55 new American plays here in New York including Guinea Pig Solo, Jack Goes Boating, Jesus Hopped The A Train, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Our Lady of 121st Street, Sailor’s Song, Sistah Supreme, and recently, on Broadway, The Motherf**ker With The Hat.
Bios_______________________________________________________________
Max Casella played Benny Fazio for five seasons of HBO’s “The Sopranos,” and Leo D”Alessio in “Boardwalk Empire.” This March he co-stars in Cogan’s Trade with Brad Pitt, directed by Andrew Dominik. Earlier this year, Max appeared opposite Richard Thomas in Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens at the New York Public Theater. He played Clov to John Turturro's Hamm in Beckett's Endgame at BAM. Last year, Max and Mr. Turturro co-adapted Fiabe Italiane by Italo Calvino which toured Italy. He played Timon in the original cast of the Tony award-winning musical The Lion King. He received a Theatre World award for Outstanding Broadway Debut and a Drama Desk nomination. Max first became widely known in his role as Vinnie on the hit series “Doogie Howser, M.D.”
Rosal Colón is a native New Yorker from the Bronx. Her parents founded Pregones Theater 32 years ago, so she has been immersed in the world of ensemble theater since birth. She studied drama at La Guardia High School for the Performing Arts and went on to obtain a BFA from the Theater Conservatory at Purchase College in 2008. Prior to her Broadway debut in 2010, Rosal performed in numerous
productions at Pregones Theater including Until We Win, Las Facultades, Fly Babies and Game Over– most of which are original works and adaptations conceived by the company. Workshop productions and readings at Pregones, New Dramatists, Lincoln Center and the Public Theater. Her Broadway credits include: A Free Man of Color (John Guare) directed by George C. Wolfe and The Motherfucker With the Hat (Stephen A. Guirgis) directed by Anna D. Shapiro.
Maggie Flanigan has been teaching professional acting classes in New York City for 30 years. She is the Artistic Director and Master Teacher of the Maggie Flanigan Studio. Maggie trained as an actor and teacher of the Meisner work with William Esper and quickly became one of the most revered teachers at his studio. At Rutgers University, she served, with particular distinction, on the faculty of the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Professional Actor Training Program for 18 years. While there, she co- taught the acting classes in the MFA Acting Program and worked with the URTA auditions as well as co-directed the NYC and L.A. Industry Showcases. Maggie has shared Best Acting teacher in New York City twice in 2008 and 2006. She also won the Best Acting coach in NYC for 2008. She is included in the book “Acting Teachers of America.” She participated in the author’s symposium as a panelist. During the past 8 years, the Maggie Flanigan Studio has become a magnet for, and a community of, talented actors interested in the Meisner work. Some of her former and current students are Sam Rockwell, Chris Massino, KaDee Strickland, Piper Perabo., Stephen Adly Guirgis, Yul Vazquez, Leslie Bibb, Vanessa Aspillaga, Peter Scanovino, Dean Winters, Kohl Sudduth, Scott Winters, Calista Flockhart, Kristin Davis, Jeremy Davidson, Elizabeth Rodriguez, and Scott Hudson. Throughout her teaching career, Maggie has had an astonishing impact on two generations of talented acting students and has become known, and loved, for her gift of clarity, her eye for truth and her ability to inspire actors and demand excellence from them.
Ethan Hawke appeared in last season’s Blood From A Stone at The New Group, for which he was honored with an OBIE Award for his performance. Also with The New Group, he directed the acclaimed revival of Sam Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind (Drama Desk nomination, Outstanding Director of a Play) and Jonathan Marc Sherman’s Things We Want, and played Eddie in David Rabe’s Hurlyburly. Hawke appeared in Lincoln Center’s Tony Award-winning productions of Tom Stoppard’s Coast of Utopia (Tony® nomination) and Shakespeare’s Henry IV. Other Broadway: Chekhov’s The Seagull. Off-Broadway: The Winter’s Tale, Cherry Orchard, Sophistry, The Late Henry Moss, Casanova. Regional: Buried Child (Steppenwolf), Camino Real (Williamstown). He was Artistic Director of The Malaparte Theater Company. Films: Dead Poets Society, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Gattaca, Training Day, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead and Daybreakers, among others. Hawke has also directed two films and written two novels. He has been nominated for an Academy Award as both an actor and a writer.
Jasmine Cephas Jones was born in Hammersmith, London, but raised in Brooklyn, New York. Jasmine grew up in the Labyrinth Theater Company going to her dad’s rehearsals and hanging around in the green rooms, hoping one day to be just like her father. She attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia high school (the FAME school) for four years studying arias of different languages, choral music, and being in opera workshop playing the supporting role as Edith in the Pirates of Penzance. After graduation, Jasmine was accepted to Berklee College of music, studying performance, conducting, vocal techniques, and music theory. She then went to The Neighborhood Playhouse for Theater, where she graduated in 2011. She is now with The Gersh Agency.
Lisa Joyce: Originally from Chicago, Lisa moved to New York City in 2006 with the original production of Adam Rapp’s Red Light Winter. Since living in New York she has worked extensively in theatre, TV and film. Some of her credits include: Broadway/West End: La Bete. Off-Broadway: The Ugly One, Thinner than Water, The Forest, Love, Loss and What I Wore, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play, Beast, U.S. Drag, Vengeance. Regional: Touched (Williamstown), Blackbird (Studio Theatre D.C., Helen Hayes Award), Red Light Winter (Steppenwolf), We are Not These Hands (German Theater Abroad). National Tour: Doubt. Film: The Brave One, The Messenger. TV: “The Good Wife”, “Boardwalk Empire”, “Fringe”, “Law and Order”, “Law and Order: SVU”, “Kidnapped”. Education: The Theatre School, DePaul University.
Lyle Kessler: Ophans was produced by The Steppenwolf Theater Company and was directed by Gary Sinese. It has been performed in almost every country in the world. Albert Finney won The Olivier Award in London’s West End production. Orphans will have a Broadway run in 2013 and will be directed by Daniel Sullivan. Other plays include: The Watering Place, Possession,Robbers, The Viewing, and Unlisted. His plays have been published by Random House, Grove Press, and Samuel French. Films include: Orphans, directed by Alan Pakula, The Saint of Fort Washington with Danny Glover and Matt Dillon, Gladiator with Brian Dennehy and Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Touched – written by and starring Mr. Kessler. Mr. Kessler was the moderator of the Playwright/Directors Unit of The Actors Studio West. He served as Director of The Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab. He was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation Playwriting Grant and a New York State Council of the Arts grant. Mr. Kessler and his wife, the actress Margaret Ladd, are founders of the Imagination Workshop, located at UCLA’s Semel Institute.
Margaret Ladd: Broadway: The Great Indoors, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Sheep on the Runway, My Sweet Charlie, Leda Had a Little Swan. Off-Broadway: Museum, (Public), Passing Game (American Place), The Experiment (Orpheum), The Knack (New Theater), King Lear, Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Williamstown Theater Festival). Film: The Whales of August, A Wedding, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can, The Escape Artist. TV: “Falcon Crest,” “A Flame In The Wind,” “Reasonable Doubts,” “Hotel,” “Quincy M.E.,” Taxi,” “Eight Is Enough.” Margaret is a graduate of Bard College.
Alfredo Narciso: Broadway: The Motherfucker With the Hat (Labyrinth/Public/Gerald Schoenfeld Theater), A Streetcar Named Desire (Roundabout/Studio 54) New York: After .(Partial Comfort), Thinner Than Water (Labyrinth), Measure for Measure; Chair (TFANA), Safe (Studio Dante), Drunken City (Playwrights Horizons), Ivo Van Hove’s Misanthrope (New York Theater Workshop), Microcrisis (Ma-Yi), Edgewise (Play Company/Page 73), among others. Regional: ART (Elliot Norton/IRNE nominations), Huntington (IRNE nomination), Two River, Long Wharf, HBO Comedy Arts Festival, Sundance Theater Lab, among others. Film/TV: Elliot Loves, Living & Dining, The Guys, “Blue Bloods”,“Unforgettable”, “Person of Interest”, “Law & Order”, “L&O: CI”, “Ugly Betty”, among others. Recipient of the Charles Bowden award and member of Ensemble Studio Theater and Partial Comfort Productions.www.alfredonarciso.com
Chris Rock has garnered four Emmy Awards and three Grammy Awards as a writer and for his stand-up comedy work. His critically acclaimed HBO stand-up specials include: “Bring the Pain,” “Bigger & Blacker,” “Never Scared,” and “Kill the Messenger.” Film credits include Beverly Hills Cop II, Boomerang, New Jack City, Lethal Weapon 4, Dogma, Nurse Betty, Head of State (directorial debut), Down to Earth (co-wrote), I Think I Love My Wife (wrote and directed), The Longest Yard, the Madagascar films, Grown Ups, Death at a Funeral, 2 Days in New York, and, of course, Pootie Tang. His first documentary, Good Hair, won the 2009 Sundance Special Jury Prize and was named one of the Top Five Documentaries in 2009 by the National Board of Review. TV credits include “Saturday Night Live,” “The Chris Rock Show,” and “Everybody Hates Chris.” His debut book, Rock This, appeared on The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.
Jonathan Marc Sherman was born and raised in New Jersey, graduated from Bennington College, and lives in New York City. His plays include Things We Want, Knickerbocker, Sophistry, Evolution, Sons & Fathers, Jesus on the Oil Tank, Serendipity & Serenity, Wonderful Time, Veins & Thumbtacks (the basis for the movie The Jimmy Show), and Women & Wallace (which he adapted for American Playhouse). He co-founded the Malaparte Theatre Company. His hobby is writing about himself in the third person.
Ben Snyder is a playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker. His plays have been produced at Center Stage New York, PS 122, New York Stage and Film, The Apollo Theater, The Vineyard Theater, Crossroads Theatre, and as part of HBO’s U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. Additionally, he has been a guest director at New Africa Theatre Association (NATA) in Cape Town, South Africa and a guest artist with Arts-in-Action at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Trinidad. His work is included in the anthology of hip hop theater Say Word published by Michigan Press. As a screenwriter and filmmaker, Ben Snyder has written and produced numerous film and television projects. Most recently, Ben completed writing and producing “The Come Up,” a TV pilot starring Michael K. Williams (“The Wire,” “Boardwalk Empire”). Ben is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, a former Juilliard Graduate Playwriting Fellow, and holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin.
Lucy Thurber is the author of ten plays: Where We’re Born, Ashville, Scarcity, Killers and Other Family, Stay, Bottom of The World, Monstrosity, Dillingham City, The Locus and The Insurgents. The Insurgents was produced at the 2011 Contemporary American Theatre Festival. Bottom of The World opened the 2010/11 season at The Atlantic Theater. In 2009 for Rattlestick Playwrights Theater a reworking of Killers and Other Family directed by Caitriona Mclaughlin. Lucy wrote the text for Quixote, conceived and directed by Lear deBessonet, a site-specific performance with the Psalters made for and with The Broad Street Community, also with Lear deBessonet and produced by 13P, Monstrosity. The Atlantic Theater Company opened its 2007/08 season with Scarcity. Rattlestick Playwrights Theater has produced three of her plays, Where We’re Born, Killers and Other Family and Stay. She was a guest artist at Alaska’s Perseverance Theatre twice, where she helped to adapt both Desire Under The Elms and Moby Dick. She has had reading and workshops at Steam Boat Springs, Manhattan Theatre Club, The New Group, Primary Stages, MCC Theater, Encore Theatre Company, PlayPenn, Williamstown Theatre Festival, The O’Neill with WET, New River Dramatists, Soho Rep and The Orchard Project. Scarcity was published in the December 2007 issue of American Theatre. She is published by Dramatists Play Service. Thurber is a member of New Dramatists, 13P and Labyrinth Theater Company. She has been commissioned by Playwrights Horizons, The Contemporary American Theatre Festival and Yale Rep. She is the recipient of Manhattan Theatre Club Playwriting Fellowship, the 1st Gary Bonasorte Memorial Prize for Playwrighting 2008 and a proud recipient of a Lilly Award. Lucy currently teaches at NYU and Sarah Lawrence College.
Aaron Roman Weiner: Recent NY theatre: Rounding Third, Hangar Theatre; A Steady Rain, TheaterWorks (cited by critic Frank Rizzo as one of the top five performances in Connecticut for the 2010/'11 season, BroadwayWorld.com Best Actor Nominee), Thinner Than Water, Labyrinth Theater Company; A reading of artist Jill Magid's The Redacted Manuscript at The New Museum; Goodbye Cruel World, Dir.: Robert Ross Parker; Two Thirds Home, Dir.: Giovanna Sardelli; Port Authority Throw Down, Dir.: Arin Arbus. Recent Chicago theatre: Class Dismissed, Symmetry (After Dark Award winner, Outstanding Performance), Pyretown, Touch (Joseph Jefferson Award nominee- Best Actor), all at Victory Gardens Theatre (2001 Regional Tony winner). Film: Public Enemies, Osso Bucco, The Express. Aaron's play Rail King was written for and produced by Developing Artists Theater Company. Training: Carnegie Mellon, Circle in the Square.
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