NEW YORK CITY: Ars Nova has announced the artists and companies that will receive support through artist residencies and new-work development programs in 2016.
Rachel Bonds will be the 2016 Tow Foundation playwright-in-residence. Over the course of the year, she’ll receive a salary, benefits, artistic mentorship, and support as she develops a commissioned play. Bonds’s plays include Curve of Departure, Five Mile Lake, Swimmers, Rez, Alma, Firecracker, and Michael & Edie. She is an alumna of Ensemble Studio Theatre‘s Youngblood, Ars Nova’s Play Group, and SPACE on Ryder Farm. She is a graduate of Brown University.
This year’s director-in-residence will be Annie Tippe, who will have the opportunity to direct multiple productions and develop new projects with the support of Ars Nova’s creative team. Past directing credits include Ghost Quartet, Washeteria, I Heard Sex Noises, DEBUTANTE, and AnimalParts‘ A Quiet Sip of Coffee. Tippe was the associate director of the TEAM‘s Mission Drift and Gabriel Kahane’s The Ambassador. She is a member of the Williamstown Directing Corps and a frequent collaborator of the Fresh Ground Pepper series. She was also a 2015 Drama League Directing Fellow.
Comedian, actor, and filmmaker John Early will serve as this year’s comedy curator, hosting the ongoing variety show Showgasm. He cohosts Crime & Punishment at Cake Shop with Kate Berlant, and their live sketch show Hey™ has been performed at Union Hall, UCB Theatre, and the Virgil. He has performed his solo show Literally Me at Ars Nova, Union Hall, and Joe’s Pub. Early’s play The Witchelor, which he cowrote with Nicole Spiezio, has been performed at Ars Nova’s ANT Fest and Atlantic Stage 2.
Ars Nova will be the creative home for the New York City-based company The Mad Ones, who are known for devising theatrical experiences highlighting American nostalgia. The Mad Ones are comprised of co-artistic directors Marc Bovino, Joe Curnutte, Lila Neugebauer, and Stephanie Wright Thompson; company members Michael Dalto, Mike Inwood, Laura Jellinek, Sarah Lunnie, and Stowe Nelson.
The Play Group, comprised of emerging playwrights, meets bi-monthly to share new work and receive feedback. The new members are Sam Chanse, Milo Cramer, Michael Yates Crowley, Sarah DeLappe, Sarah Einspanier, Kate Tarker and James Tyler, who join second-year members Kevin Armento, Emma Goidel, Trish Harnetiaux, Tony Meneses, Antoinette Nwandu, and Erika Sheffer.
The Uncharted residency program provides lyricists and librettists with peer support and feedback at monthly meetings. Uncharted members have public concerts produced by Ars Nova, weeklong workshops, and full public readings. Uncharted teams returning for their second year of support include Will Aronson and Sarah Hammond; Rachel Chavkin and Heather Christian; Greta Gertler Gold and Akin Salawu; Victor Lesniewski, Rebekah Greer Melocik, and Jacob Yandura; Martyna Majok and Michael McQuilken; and Jason Kim and Max Vernon.
