Walker Art Center and Northrop present
the World Premiere of
Dianne McIntyre Group
In the Same Tongue
Thursday–Saturday, October 5-7, 2023
8:00 pm
McGuire Theater
In the Same Tongue
Choreography/Direction/Narration by DIANNE McINTYRE
Music Composition
DIEDRE MURRAY
Poetry
NTOZAKE SHANGE*
Dianne McIntyre Group:
Dancers
DA'VON DOANE
DEMETIA HOPKINS
KYLE H. MARTIN
BRIANNA RHODES
KAMRYN VAULX
Musicians
GERALD BRAZEL, Trumpet
HILLIARD GREENE, Bass
CLEAVE GUYTON JR., Reeds
REGGIE NICHOLSON, Drums
Guest Dancers
TU Dance/CUL·TI·VATE Trainee Dancers
GABRIELLE ABRAM
HEAVEN SHARAE CALVERT
OLIVIA GEFFRE
JILLIAN KRAMSCHUSTER
SAMANTHA MERYHEW
Music Director
GERALD BRAZEL
Costume Design
DEVARIO SIMMONS
Lighting Design
ALAN C. EDWARDS
Set Design
RIW RAKKULCHON
Stage Manager
REBECCA TANNER
Lighting Supervisor
NITA MENDOZA
Project Manager
ADAM HYNDMAN
Producer
OCTOPUS THEATRICALS
Through motion and sound, the ensemble of dancers and musicians manifests both clashes and harmonizing in communication. In the Same Tongue choreographer Dianne McIntyre sets the work with composer Diedre Murray and highlights the poetry of poet/playwright Ntozake Shange. This tapestry of woven elements, staged through a lens of Black culture, is about dance and music speaking to one another and how the language of human beings creates worlds of beauty, alienation, harmony, tension and/or peace.
Program
I live in music*
Brianna Rhodes
Like a Train
The Company
The Wedding
The Company
Child
Brianna Rhodes
The Club and the East
The Company
Sacred Sounds/God's Sunrise
The Company
box & pole*
Demetia Hopkins and Cleave Guyton Jr, flute
1960's Revolution/Manifesto
Da'Von Doane, Kyle Martin, Brianna Rhodes
Silent Duet
Da'Von Doane and Kamryn Vaulx
From the Roots
The Company
Well, maybe
The Musicians
What? What about?
The Company dance artists with CUL·TI·VATE trainee dance artists
Opening
The Company
Scream
The Company
new world coro*
The Company
In the Same Tongue
The Company with CUL·TI·VATE trainee dance artists
Choreographer's Note:
As we communicate by tone or gesture, by force or peace, are we speaking in the same key?
In the Same Tongue runs approximately 80 minutes long without intermission.
* I live in music, box & pole, and new world coro are used by permission of the Ntozake Shange Revocable Trust, Paul T. Williams, Managing Trustee & Donald S. Sutton, Literary Trustee
In the Same Tongue is commissioned by the Walker Art Center with support provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Co-commissioned by Northrop at the University of Minnesota, Duke University, Apollo Theater, Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts’ Caroline Hearst Choreographer-In-Residence Program, ArtsEmerson and Thomas M. Neff.
Additional development support provided by The Ford Foundation, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography, Dance Place /Alan M. Kriegsman Creative Residency, Doris Duke Foundation.
In the Same Tongue was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and The Mellon Foundation, and by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Special thanks to: Dance Theatre of Harlem, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Cleveland State University Department of Theatre and Dance, Rod Williams, Vincent Henry, Careitha Davis, Matia Johnson, Nehemiah Spencer, Cara Hagan, Elias Bailey, Donna M. Whyte, Cheryl Banks-Smith, Georgiana Pickett, Anna Glass, Mikki Shepard, Sali Ann Kriegsman.
Curators' Note
It has been a distinct honor to co-commission, develop and premiere a major new work by Dianne McIntyre, one of the most beloved and influential living American dance pioneers. For nearly 50 years, her influence on Black modern and contemporary dance has been profound, elevating and helping to define how vital its relationship to live music and text can be.
Coming out of the Black Arts Movement (1965-75), Ms. McIntyre developed close ties with leading jazz innovators like Amina Claudine Myers, Max Roach, Olu Dara, Cecil Taylor and Lester Bowie (with whom she created the Walker commissioned “Invincible Flower” in 1999). She wove together live music and dance in new ways, fusing composition and improvisation both in the creative process and in her final presentations. Beginning in 2020, she and respected cellist/composer Diedre Murray began to create this new work together with the dancers and musicians present in various studio and residency settings and drawing on poems by equally influential author Ntozake Shange, a one-time student of Ms. McIntyre’s turned good friend until her passing in 2018.
In a recent interview commissioned for this premiere, Ms. McIntyre told dance scholar Vita Goler that her desire was “to meld dance and music together so they seem like they’re part of the same band,” forging new levels of interaction and communication, reflecting the “freedom of the human spirit” while drawing on the intensity of the music to capture “the energy of liberation effort.”
This past 10-day residency not only allowed Ms. McIntyre and her large group of dance, design, music and visual collaborators to finish creating the work, but also connect with and deeply impact our communities through multiple talks, workshops and social gatherings, including her training a group of emerging dancers from St. Paul-based TU Dance’s CUL-TIV-ATE program, incorporating them into part of the final work itself. Her grace, generosity and wisdom throughout these days has been a gift to all.
We are so pleased that In the Same Tongue will go on to tour to cities across the country including at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater, just blocks down from where Ms. McIntyre’s legendary Sounds in Motion studio served as a 1970s-80s hub for forward-thinking Black movement, music, literary and visual artists – a place where Ms. McIntyre and her colleagues forged bold ideas and collaborative energies that continue to ripple across art forms and cultures to this day.
—Philip Bither, Director and Senior Curator of Performing Arts, Walker Art Center
—Kristen Brogdon, Director, Artistic & Community Programs, Northrop
Learn More
The performance on Thursday, October 5, will be followed by a post-show reception with the artists in Cityview Bar.
The performance on Friday, October 6, will be followed by a Q&A with Dianne McIntyre.
Dianne McIntyre: Showing Us How to Fly
Dianne McIntyre shares insights into her creative process for In the Same Tongue
Accessibility notes
For more information about accessibility at the Walker, visit our Access page.
About the Artists
DIANNE McINTYRE (Choreographer / Director / Narrator) returns to Minneapolis after a 2012 dance residency at University of Minnesota and a 1998 performance with her company and Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy, presented by Walker Art Center. Known for her collaborative work with progressive music luminaries, she began work with her company Sounds in Motion in 1972. Based in Harlem and touring internationally the company spread its influence through classes in its studio and by promoting other artists. McIntyre also choreographs for theatre – Broadway, off-Broadway and regional, as well as for screen, including Beloved and Miss Evers’ Boys for which she received an Emmy nomination. Her own dance-driven dramas arise from her interviews of real life: I Could Stop on a Dime and Get Ten Cents Change (father’s story) and Open the Door, Virginia! (1950s civil rights). Commissions include: Dance Theatre of Harlem, New York Live Arts, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Philadanco, Dancing Wheels, GroundWorks Dance Theater and many universities. In 1990-91 Dianne McIntyre recreated dance pioneer Helen Tamiris’ masterwork, How Long, Brethren? with the help of early Tamiris dancers, including Ida Arbeit of St. Paul, MN. McIntyre’s awards and honors include 2022 Dance Magazine Award, 2023 Martha Hill Lifetime Achievement Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, Doris Duke Award, U. S. Artist Fellowship, two Doctor of Fine Arts, three Bessie awards and more. Dianne McIntyre received a BFA in Dance from the Ohio State University. She acknowledges two of her great mentors, now ancestors, Gus Solomons Jr. (1938-2023) and Elaine Gibbs Redmond (1928-2023).
DIEDRE MURRARY (Composer) is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, two-time OBIE Award winner, innovative composer, cellist, and producer. In the 1970s and 1980s, Murray pioneered the use of the cello as a jazz and new world music instrument touring extensively worldwide. Since the mid 90’s she turned her attention to composing for theater and dance. She is a Pulitzer Prize Finalist for the chamber opera Running Man and a two-time OBIE winner for creating the original story and music for Running Man and arrangements for Eli’s Comin’. She’s collaborated extensively with Music Theatre Group and Diane Paulus over the years. Works include the aforementioned Running Man, Fangs, Best of Both Worlds and You Don’t Miss the Water. She arranged the music for the Tony Award winning Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Additionally, Ms. Murray has composed for pieces written and/or produced by Lynn Nottage, Carl Hancock Rux, Regina Taylor, Cornelius Eady, Deborah Brevoort, Blondell Cummings, Kenneth Roberson, Dianne McIntyre, Risa Jaroslaw, Chesney Snow, and Marcus Gardley, among others.
NTOZAKE SHANGE (1948-2018) (Poet), playwright and novelist, is best known for her groundbreaking OBIE-winning choreopoem for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf. A prolific writer, her other works for theatre include Spell #7, A Photograph: Lovers in Motion, and Boogie Woogie Landscapes. Poetry: Nappy Edges, A Daughter’s Geography, Ridin’ the Moon in Texas, The Love Space Demands. Fiction: Sassafrass Cyprus & Indigo, Betsey Brown, Liliane and Some Sing, Some Cry (with Ifa Bayeza). Recent books of poetry and essays are lost in language and sound, Wild Beauty, and Dance We Do (posthumously published). She has had many, many volumes of her works published including books for children. Shange’s for colored girls…ran twice on Broadway – first in 1976 and as a revival in 2022 – and the work has been produced around the world to great acclaim. Among her honors are fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Lila Wallace -Reader’s Digest Fund and a Pushcart Prize. A dancer herself, Ntozake Shange loved having dance and music as another “voice” with her poetry. In Dance We Do: A Poet Explores Black Dance she interviews choreographers and tells colorful stories of her own dance life.
GERALD BRAZEL, (Trumpet / Music Director) a trumpeter, composer, recording artist and teacher, has become known to a growing audience for his versatility and smoothly crafted sounds. The winner of a coveted Grammy Award, which he received just ten years after his graduation in 1984 from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, Brazel performs and records in every possible medium, ranging from jazz and funk, to rap, Latin and classical music. He has performed with such artists and groups as the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Duke Ellington Orchestra under the Direction of Mercer Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Sade, Mongo Santamaria, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, the Manhattans, D’Angelo, Nat Adderley, John Hicks and Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers, with whom he has appeared in Malaysia at the Phillips International Jazz Festival and in Seattle, WA at Jazz Alley. He has played in North Africa, Switzerland and toured France with Jamaaladeen Tacuma’s Groove Alla Turca. As a member of the popular group, Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy, he completed many successful European Tours. Collaborating with Dianne McIntyre’s Dance Company, Brass Fantasy performed the Invincible Flower project in Williamstown, MA and Hartford, CT. Mr. Brazel has performed, recorded and toured the U.S., Europe, Brazil and Japan with the jazzy rap group Digable Planets. Their first recording together won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Live Performance by a Group or Duo. A native of St. Helena Island, South Carolina, Gerald Brazel toured throughout Europe with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. With The Lionel Hampton Orchestra, he performed for Queen Elizabeth II at Royal Albert Hall in London several times and at all the major Jazz Festivals in the U.S. Mr. Brazel has performed several times at New York’s Carnegie Hall, and in the films, Malcolm X and Pinero. In New York, he has appeared at the Cotton Club with the Cotton Club All Stars, the Apollo Theater, the Jazz Standard, and BAM.
DA'VON DOANE (Dancer) began dancing in Salisbury Maryland, training at the Salisbury Studio of dancing and performing annually with the Eastern Shore Ballet Theatre. Additional training at the Universal Ballet Academy and The Atlantic Contemporary Ballet Theater. He would eventually apprentice and dance as a company member with the Atlantic City Ballet. In 2008 he became a member of The Dance Theatre of Harlem ensemble and the main company as it was reborn in 2012. With the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Da’ Von danced in works by Robert Garland, Donald Byrd, Helen Pickett, Tanya Wideman and Thaddeus Davis, Arthur Mitchell, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Billy Wilson, Claudia Schreier, Geoffrey Holder, Darrel Moultrie, Francesca Harper, George Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon, John Alleyne, Ulysses Dove, and more. As a guest artist, his credits include: The Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, Vail Dance Festival, Guggenheim Works and Process, Claudia Schreier and Dancers, Joshua Beamish/ Move The company, JA Malik/Ballet Boy Productions, New Jersey Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Ballet Noir, The Francesca Harper Project, New York Dance Theatre, Mobile Ballet, Wilmington Ballet, Austin City Ballet, The World Dance Gala- Kielce Poland. Da' Von Doane has choreographed several original dance works presented by Bryant Park, Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center, Dance Theatre of Harlem's Sunday Matinee series, Periapsis Music and Dance, The CUNY Graduate Center (The Composers Now Festival,) and Symphony Space (Wall to Wall John Coltrane Celebration) as well as a work for American Repertory Ballet which premiered in the fall of 2022. Da' Von has been featured in Dance Magazine as a “Top 25 to watch in 2014,” a standout performer in 2017 for his work in Robert Garlands Brahms Hayden Variations, and as a cover star in 2019 alongside Amanda Smith for Dance Theatre of Harlem. At present Da' Von is pursuing his MFA in Dance at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
HILLIARD GREENE (Bass) has been performing music internationally for more than thirty years and has been playing professionally for over thirty-five years. Greene studied at the University of Northern Iowa and the Berklee College of Music, and graduated from Empire College. He has performed, recorded, and toured with Jimmy Scott, serving as his bassist/Musical Director and with Cecil Taylor where he was Concert Master for his large ensemble Phtongos. He is a former staff bassist at Minton’s in Harlem a.k.a. Minton’s Playhouse and is a 2020 recipient of the Bronx Council on the Arts BRIO Award (Bronx Recognizes Its Own).
CLEAVE GUYTON JR. (Woodwinds/Reeds) is a professional musician who plays the saxophones, flutes, and clarinet. He has been fortunate to have worked with artists such as: Aretha Franklin, Abdullah Ibrahim, Joe Henderson, Stanley Turrentine, Nat Adderley, Abby Lincoln, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Jon Hendricks, The Ray Charles Orchestra, Lionel Hampton, The Count Basie Orchestra, The Cab Calloway Orchestra, Little Jimmy Scott, Maceo Parker, Spike Lee, Joe Williams, LateNight with Conan O’Brien, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Ronny Jordan, The Mingus Big Band, Cleo Laine, Chaka Khan, The Boys Choir of Harlem and many more.
DEMETIA HOPKINS (Dancer) is a performing artist and dance educator based in Central Virginia. She is a Co-Artistic Director at the Orange School of Performing Arts, where she received her early dance training under the direction of her uncle, Ricardo Porter. Ms. Hopkins holds a Master of Fine Arts from Hollins University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Fordham University, where she graduated with honors in 2009 while a member of Ailey II. In 2010 she joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. During her six-year tenure in the company, she was honored to perform ballets by many prestigious choreographers from around the world including Alvin Ailey’s signature solo Cry. In 2019, Demetia made her Broadway debut in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! as Associate Choreographer, Dance Captain, and Principal Understudy for Dream Laurey. She was a member of Sleep No More at the McKittrick Hotel and has performed with the Francesca Harper Project, Project-Inc, Mimi Garrard, and performing arts pioneer Dianne McIntyre. She served as Ms. McIntyre's Assistant to the Choreographer for Intimate Apparel, written by Lynn Nottage and directed by Bartlett Sher, and is honored to assist Ms.McIntyre both artistically and administratively. Ms. Hopkins has taught and set choreography in local schools across the country and abroad. Highlighted as one of Dance Magazine's “Top 25 To Watch,” and honored as a recipient of a Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Arts, Demetia is proud to give back to the community that supported her formative years.
KYLE H. MARTIN (Dancer), originally from Montclair, NJ, began his dance training at Sharron Miller's Academy for the Performing Arts. He continued his training at The Ailey School where he graduated with honors from the certificate program. Kyle then went on to dance with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theaters second company Ailey II from 2017-2020. From there and on Mr. Martin went to perform works by Willam Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, Alvin Ailey, Ohad Naharin, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Rena Butler, Jae Man Joo, Andrea Miller, Pascal Rioult, Matthew Rushing, Robert Battle, and many more. He has also been featured in Dance Magazine, Out Magazine, and a Tommy Hilfiger Campaign.
REGGIE NICHOLSON (Drums) The instantly recognizable style and sound of Reggie Nicholson has elevated him to one of the most distinctive, inventive and inspirational drummer/percussionist of his generation; a formidable technician, but one who uses his considerable skills constructively and with infinite taste. Nicholson has performed and recorded with a wide variety of jazz and new music luminaries such as Henry Threadgill, Muhal Richard Abrams, Amina Claudine Myers, Leroy Jenkins, Dewy Redman, Anthony Braxton, Sam Newsome, Myra Melford, Wilber Morris, Elektra Kurtis, Billy Bang, Butch Morris, James Spaulding, Yuko Fujiyama, Oliver Lake, Fay Victor, Roy Campbell, just to name a few. In addition, Reggie has toured throughout USA, Europe, and Japan. As a composer, he was nominated twice for the Cal Arts Composition Award in 1993/1994, and his compositions were performed throughout NYC including concerts for Roulette, Interpretations, Vision Festival, and the AACM concert series. Nicholson’s recordings, which have highlighted his compositional style: Unnecessary Noise Allowed features his quintet, The Reggie Nicholson Concept. Percussion Peace is a solo recording experimenting with electronics and percussion instruments. The premier of Timbre Suite (Tone Colors) was recorded live for percussion ensemble. Surreal Feel shows the maturity and growth of his composing skills with music for brass instruments and percussion. Mettle features his second solo recording for percussion. His latest recording, No Preservatives Added features new compositions for his percussion ensemble. Currently, Nicholson is continuing to explore the aesthetics of his musical ideas.
BRIANNA RHODES (Dancer) is an Ohio native and graduate of The Ohio State University Department of Dance. She formally danced as a fellow with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Currently, she is working as a freelance dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher throughout Columbus, Ohio. Alongside dance, she is a poet, a spokeswoman for Aunt Flow (a free feminine product company), a model, and a small film actress. As a teacher, Brianna is driven by the Black dance experience. She teaches children a fusion of Black dance styles along with their history as a catalyst for growth and expansion of the entire body, mind, and soul. Her dance talents span across concert, street, and commercial dance. Her professional career has taken her nationally and internationally to places like New York City, Bermuda, and Brazil. All around, Brianna creates from the point of view of a young, Black, Queer artist, who serves as a vessel for all. She uses her art to provide healing, storytelling, and comfort especially in spaces where it is needed the most. Brianna is inspired by the African Proverb “Ubuntu” which serves as a reminder to help those who come after while remaining true to the ones before.
KAMRYN VAULX (Dancer) is a multifaceted dancer currently living in NYC, by way of Memphis, TN. She is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College where she earned a BFA in Dance with a concentration in Choreography. In Memphis, TN, Kamryn began her dance training at 3 years old. She has trained for years in styles such as jazz, contemporary, hip hop, tap, ballet, modern, West African, and flamenco. She is currently dancing with Project Tag New York, a contemporary company under the direction of Iraq native, Hussein Smko. She is also a part of other companies in NY such as SHINSA, under direction of Korean native, Bo Park, and LA based dance company, The Motus Company, under the direction of Portugal native, Diana Matos. Kamryn has worked with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company. Kamryn has also had the opportunity to work with other choreographers such as Ronald K. Brown and Fredrick Earl Mosley. Kamryn has had the opportunity to perform on stages like AFRO PUNK and SummerStage Festival NYC with pop artist Rodney Chrome and also dances for Brazilian pop artist Tatiana Lima. With her love for direction and choreography, she has presented original pieces such as Lost Then Found and Or•chard at Arts on Site. With her versatile dance background and curiosity for the art of creation, she aspires to share the intersections that are within dance styles and cultures while also connecting to her roots as she experiences the present and future.
CUL·TI·VATE (Twin Cities Dance Artists) TU Dance's CUL·TI·VATE, A Trainee Program is a program designed as a bridge for dancers with advanced training between their educational perspective and envisioning themselves in the professional field. TU Dance was co-founded in 2004 by its current Artistic Director Toni Pierce-Sands, veteran of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and celebrated dance educator. In 2011 TU Dance substantially expanded its programs with the opening of TU Dance Center, a hub for dance education, training and practice in St. Paul. CUL·TI·VATE, A Trainee Program is supported by generous support from the Bob & Kathie Goodale Legacy Fund and the Minnesota State Arts Board. Learn more about CUL·TI·VATE here.
ALAN EDWARDS' (Lighting Designer) work includes the world premieres of Harry Clarke (The Vineyard, Lortel Award), Kill Move Paradise (National Black Theatre, Drama Desk nomination), and The Hot Wing King (Signature NYC). Other New York work includes: Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, and Fires in the Mirror (Signature NYC); Twelfth Night, Seize The King, and Macbeth (Classical Theatre of Harlem); Bluebird Memories feat. rap-artist Common (Audible Theatre); and Baldwin and Buckley at Cambridge by Greig Sargeant and Elevator Repair Service (The Public). Regional work includes: the world prem. of Sally & Tom by Suzan-Lori Parks (The Guthrie); Paradise Blue, and Lights Out: Nat King Cole (Geffen Playhouse); and the new South-African musical Calling Us Home, in Cape Town, South Africa. His work in dance includes: Where We Dwell and Chasing Magic by Ayodele Casel, Rhythm Is Life by Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, and Lifted choreographed by Christopher Rudd for American Ballet Theatre. On Broadway, Edwards was the associate to lighting designer Jennifer Tipton on The Testament of Mary. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, where he is also an assistant professor of lighting. @alancedwardsdesign, www.alancedwards.com.
DEVARIO D. SIMMONS (Costume Designer) is an American Costume Designer. His credits include Broadway: Thoughts of a Colored Man; Off-Broadway: Bees and Honey, TUMACHO, Between the Bars, EMERGENCY! and P.S. Additionally, Simmons has had the pleasure of being a guest artist at: Santa Fe Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Opera St. Louis. His regional credits include The Geffen Playhouse, Clarence Brown Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Asolo Rep., Theatre Squared, Geva Theatre, The Williamstown Festival, Bucks County Playhouse, The Long Wharf Theatre, Jean’s Playhouse, Syracuse Stage and Baltimore Center Stage. Other credits include RUSTIN (Netflix), three seasons of AMC’s television show TURN, the 2nd National Touring production of In the Heights and two seasons of PBS television series Mercy Street. Member of United Scenic Artist 829.
RIW RAKKULCHON(Scenic Designer) Riw (pronounced Ree-you) is a Set & Costume Designer, Animator and Chef from Bangkok, Thailand. He/They has worked at Yale Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, The Old Globe, Drury Lane Theatre, Asolo Rep, The Acting Company, 59E59, Edinburgh Fringe, Primary Stages, Hartford Stage, The Public Theatre, amongst others. Broadway Associate Set Design: Pass Over, &Juliet, Parade. He/They also works with designers Wilson Chin, Riccardo Hernandez, Jason Ardizzone-West, Donyale Werle, Santo Loquasto, Dane Laffrey, Clint Ramos, and Walt Spangler. Board member of WithAll, a non-profit Organization on a fight to end eating disorders. IG: @riwrdesign, B.F.A. Ithaca College, M.F.A Yale School of Drama (Donald & Zorca Oenslager Fellowship Award in Design Recipient). Connecticut Critics Circle Award - Best Set Design – 2023. Member of United Scenic Artist 829.
REBECCA TANNER (Stage Manager), originally from Fargo, ND, graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BFA in Dance. Throughout her time in Minnesota Rebecca’s focus has been on choreography and the production side of dance shows. She loves working and collaborating with the vibrant dance community in Minneapolis.
NITA MENDOZA (Lighting Supervisor) is a Chicana lighting designer based out of Los Angeles, CA and is very excited to be on the team for another Octopus Theatricals production! Recent design credits include: Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Perseverance Theatre, Alaska), The Half Life of Marie Curie (TheatreSilco, Colorado), Sanctuary City (TheatreSquared, Arkansas), Keely and Du (CalState LA), Pericles (New Swan Shakespeare Festival, California), and Guadalupe in the Guest Room (Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center). She is also the visiting professor of lighting design at Pomona College.
ADAM HYNDMAN (Project Manager) is a Tony Award-winning producer, performer, and activist, who has worked extensively in the arts. Some notable credits as a performer include: NBC’s The Sing Off, Children of Eden in concert at The Kennedy Center, Aladdin on Broadway, Once On This Island on Broadway, Hadestown on Broadway, and as a producer include: The Inheritance on Broadway (Tony Award) and Here Lies Love on Broadway. He incubates projects as an independent producer as well as within the team at Octopus Theatrical. Adam is on the board of directors for both Pipeline Theatre Company and Producer Hub, and he continues his work of disruption, radical accessibility, and conciliation as a founder of The Industry Standard Group and its subsidiary; Second Act Theatrical Capital, the first accessible community investment and producing entity for commercial theater. Adam is also a creative and organizational consultant; currently serving as the project manager for RISE Theatre; an initiative of Maestra Music and The Miranda Family Fund, which creates an industry wide database to provide greater visibility and amplification for all professionals backstage, behind the scenes, and in support of theater making. www.adamhyndman.com
OCTOPUS THEATRICALS (Producer) Founded by creative producer Mara Isaacs, Octopus Theatricals collaborates with artists and organizations to foster an expansive range of compelling theatrical works for local and global audiences. We eschew boundaries–aesthetic, geopolitical, institutional–and thrive on a nimble and rigorous practice. Current projects include: Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell (Broadway, 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical; Grammy Award, Best Musical Theater Album); All The Devils Are Here created by Patrick Page (Off-Broadway); Goddess created by Saheem Ali, Jocelyn Bioh and Michael Thurber; Bhangra Nation by Rehana Lew Mirza, Mike Lew and Sam Willlmott; Dreaming Zenzile by Somi Kakoma; (…Iphigenia), a new opera by Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding; And So We Walked by DeLanna Studi; Bill Irwin’s On Beckett, Theatre for One (in person and virtual) and many more. Octopus Theatricals is also home to the Producer Hub, an online resource supporting independent producers in the experimental and performing arts sectors. Octopustheatricals.com
Additional Production Credits
For In the Same Tongue:
Guest Dance Rehearsal Director
KIRVEN DOUTHIT-BOYD
Artistic Associate
KATHLEEN S. TURNER
Additional Artistic Associate; Founder and Artistic Director TU Dance
TONI PIERCE-SANDS
Artistic Associate, TU Dance
LAUREL KEEN
Rehearsal Musician
NOAH OPHOVEN-BALDWIN
For Octopus Theatricals:
Executive/Creative Producer
MARA ISAACS
Associate Producers
ADAM HYNDMAN & TANEISHA DUGGAN
Business Manager
MICHAEL FRANCIS
Producing Associate
KELLY LETOURNEAU
Associate Producer/Production Coordinator
BRYAN HUNT
Executive Assistant
KENDRA HOLLOWAY
For Dianne McIntyre:
Artist Liaison
BRANDI HOLT
Assistant to Dianne McIntyre
DEMETIA HOPKINS
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