The Company
* Designates Original Cast Member/Role Development
Artistic Directors, Creators & Producers
Zach Morris (Third Rail Projects Co-Artistic Director) is a choreographer, director, visual artist and the Co-Artistic Director of Third Rail Projects. He is also the organizer and moderator of the NYC Dance Film Lab, a Movement Research teaching artist, an adjunct faculty member of the Florida State University School of Dance, and a professor of Shakespeare at Manhattanville College. He has previously served as the Co-Creator and Co-Director of the Westbeth New Works Program and as the Inter/National Program Associate at Dance Theater Workshop. Zach has a BFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University. Check out Zach’s full bio here.
Tom Pearson (Third Rail Projects Co-Artistic Director/White Rabbit*) is a director, choreographer, performer, visual artist, and the Co-Artistic Director of Third Rail Projects. He is an adjunct faculty member of the Florida State University School of Dance and has choreographed, performed, lectured and taught for more than a decade in New York, Los Angeles, Florida, Las Vegas, Hong Kong, and elsewhere. He is also a writer whose work has been published in Dance Magazine, Time Out New York Kids, Dance Spirit and as the Editor of the Public Theater’s Native Theater Journal online and in filmed interviews for NYU’s Hemispheric Institute. Tom holds an MA in Performance Studies from New York University. Check out Tom’s full bio here.
Jennine Willett (Third Rail Projects Co-Artistic Director/White Queen*) is a choreographer, director, writer, educator, and the Co-Artistic Director of Third Rail Projects. She has choreographed, performed and taught throughout Poland, Germany, Russia, and the U.S. and has served as an Associate in Performance at Swarthmore College and as a guest teacher at Sam Houston State University and the Limon Institute. She has also served as a contributing editor to Dance Europe Magazine and is a Medical Exercise Specialist and Personal Trainer with an MFA in Performance and Choreography from Florida State University. Check out Jennine’s full bio here.
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Collaborating Artists, Performers, and Stage Management
Debra Beardsley (Production Manager/Nurse*) is a freelance stage manager and production manager as well as a budding producer and entrepreneur. She thrives on managing many types of productions, including plays, musicals, concerts, opera, cirque shows, cabarets, and events. She holds a BA in Theatre from Stetson University and worked as a stage manager for dolphin and whale shows at SeaWorld, Orlando for three years. She began working with Third Rail Projects in 2009 as Stage Manager for the Steampunk Haunted House. When not managing theatre, she makes craft items for her Etsy store: yumeleona23.etsy.com.
Rachel I. Berman (Performer) is a dance artist. Since moving to NYC in 2011, she has performed with some lovely people including Diana Crum, Brendan Duggan, and Rebecca Warner, with whom she continues to work, as well as in collaboration with sound designer/performer Nathan Wheeler. Rachel holds a B.F.A in Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of California, Irvine where she was a member of Donald McKayle’s Etude Ensemble. She has studied extensively at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance under the direction of Summer Lee Rhatigan. She was grown on Maui. She lives in Brooklyn.
Elizabeth Carena (Third Rail Projects Managing Director/Collaborating Artist/Hatter*) is a performer, installation artist, and arts administrator. Since 2007, she has served as Third Rail Projects’ Managing Director and has worked as a collaborator and performer in Strangers on Tong Chong Street, The Drifting Encyclopedia, Undercurrents & Exchange, The Steampunk Haunted House, Looking Glass, and Then She Fell. As an administrator, she served as Capital Associate at Theatre for a New Audience from 2007-2012. As a musician, she is a member of the NYC pop cock-rock band Mother Feather, and has performed at venues including Bowery Ballroom, Brooklyn Bowl, Mercury Lounge, and Rockwood Music Hall. She studied at Fordham University at Lincoln Center (BA in Theatre), the British American Drama Academy in London, and HB Studios in New York. www.elizabethcarena.com
Alberto Denis (Collaborating Artist/Lewis Carroll*) has toured the world as a performer and theater technician. He has performed for Arthur Aviles’ Typical Theater and in projects for Doug Elkins, Risa Jaroslow, Palissimo Dance Theater, Dixie Fun Dance Theater, ann and alexx make dances, Marta Renzi, Michael Leleux, Heidi Latsky Dance, Lawrence Goldhuber, Luis Lara Malvacias, JoAnna Mendl Shaw’s Equus Projects, and Mei Yin Ng’s Mei-Be Whatever. He was a featured performer in The Whitney’s Christian Marclay: Festival performance of Prêt-a´-Porter, and his own choreography has been produced at Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace Project, Dixon Place, BAAD!, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center and Kinetics Dance Theater in Baltimore. about.me/albertodenis.
Lindsey Dietz-Marchant (Performer) is a freelance dance artist based in NYC since 1998 that has performed with over 30 choreographers, including Palissimo (Pavel Zustiak), Martha Clarke, Kate Weare, Tami Stronach Dance, Doug Elkins, Aszure Barton, Monica Bill Barnes, Ursula Eagly, and Elena Demyanenko. Lindsey’s own choreographic work has toured internationally from Russia to Australia, recent NYC commissions by Danspace Project, Music-Theatre Group, Harkness Dance Center, and Dance New Amsterdam, among others. Lindsey has been commissioned by and taught at Universities and Conservatories such as Bennington, NYU-Tisch School of the Arts, Princeton, Marymount Manhattan College, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, SUNY Purchase, University of New South Wales (Australia) and Chunky Move (Australia). In NYC Lindsey teaches at Movement Research and at Dance New Amsterdam. dietzmarchant.com.
Stacie C. Fields (Third Rail Projects Programs Assistant/Collaborating Artist/Nurse Mary Ann*) is a dancer, teacher and choreographer. Her pursuit of adventure and knowledge brought her to NYC where she is excited to join Third Rail Projects. Stacie’s work as both a choreographer and performer have been seen in venues and art festivals all over the Southeast including Picolo Spoleto in Charleston, SC and American College Dance Festival where she was chosen to represent Coker College three years in a row. She is currently a founding member of Brooklyn Tabernacle Dance Ministry where her heart is for outreach and ministry. A South Carolina native, she now lives in the magical land of Brooklyn.
Carolyn Hall (Performer), originally from Los Angeles, is a freelance dancer based in NYC since 1996. She has performed nationally and internationally with numerous choreographers – most recently: Lionel Popkin, Clarinda Mac Low, Ori Flomin, Sally Silvers and Rebecca Davis. She was awarded a New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Award for performance in 2002. In addition to her life as a dancer, she is an historical marine ecologist and has been enjoying exploring ways to combine her art and science halves. One way to achieve this is by being on the board of iLAND, the Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Art, Nature, and Dance – check it out: http://www.ilandart.org
Roxanne Kidd (Performer) is a recent graduate of Florida State University with a BFA in Dance. Now a resident of Brooklyn, she is working as a Dance Teaching Artist in the Bronx public afterschool program LeAp. She is thrilled to be performing in Third Rail Projects’ production of Then She Fell and is looking forward to future works with the company.
Madison Krekel (Performer) is a freelance dance artist and an all around creative spirit. She was born in Oakland, California, and began dancing shortly after she learned to walk, when she laid her eyes on Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland twirling together in The Nutcracker. From there, she trained extensively with Ronn Guidi of the Oakland Ballet and furthered her studies at UC Irvine, where she graduated with a B.F.A in Dance Performance with a minor in Sociology in 2010. While there, she was a member of Donald McKayle’s Etude Ensemble, and performed works by Jodie Gates, Molly Lynch, Caleb Mitchell, and Charles Moulton. Upon relocating to New York, she has performed and collaborated with Alexandra Beller, Alexis Convento and Artists, Gary DiBenedetto with Julia Ritter, Vanessa Walters, Nicole Wolcott, LeeSaar The Company, Andrew Ondrejcak, and continued collaborations with Mark Lamb Dance. She has also enjoyed dancing in music videos for Rush Midnight, Zola Jesus, and Christine Hoberg, writing dance reviews for OFFOFFOFF Magazine, and practicing improv comedy at The People’s Improv Theater. She is thrilled to be a part of Third Rail Projects!
Josh Matthews (Performer), a graduate of the Dell Art’e International School of Physical Theater, is a performer, director and teacher based in New York City. He has been a teaching artist with the New Victory Theater for eight years while performing with Cirque Productions; The Denver Center of the Performing Arts; The San Diego Repertory Theatre, Axis Theatre Company; Third Rail Projects; Spellbound Theater; and on tour with the Big Apple Circus, for whom he has worked extensively in their Clown Care program as a clown doctor, teacher and workshop instructor. Josh has been a member of Under The Table for the last eight years and has created six productions, touring and teaching nationally and internationally. Productions include Solo: A Two Person Show, The Only Friends We Have, Wow How Human, Field of Schemes, Brave Same World, and The Hunchbacks Of Notre Dame. In addition, Josh co-wrote and directed Bad Kid (New York Times Critic Pick) with acclaimed story teller David Crabb. Currently, he is performing in the role of Cupid in cabarets throughout New York City.
Rebekah Morin (Collaborating Artist/Red Queen*) is a dancer and teacher. She has performed nationally and internationally since 1998 with Jody Oberfelder Dance Projects, Cut A Rug, and many others. Rebekah joined Third Rail in 2011. She also currently performs and teaches movement with The Equus Projects, a site-specific dance company that partners with horses and equestrians. Rebekah holds a BA in Dance from CT College, and is a Registered Yoga Teacher at Reflections Yoga in Manhattan. She teaches yoga in the workplace through Relax Already and Balance Integration, and offers private instruction and Thai Yoga Bodywork. She also swings a pretty efficient wrench backstage.
John Nehlich (Stage Manager) is a stage manager, producer, creative consultant, and social media addict. A transplant from the Northwest, he enjoys collaborating on various styles of projects, including plays, musicals, operas, dance, and spoken word. Recent projects have included Spaceman (Loading Dock Prods.), Say You Heard My Echo (by/with Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai), & GM Assist. for Broadway’s Time Stands Still. He holds a Masters in Stage Management from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts. Special thanks to family, friends, and other crazies for keeping it real; like Unicorns and Dragons real.
Marissa Nielsen-Pincus (Third Rail Projects Associate Artistic Director/Rehearsal Director/ Collaborating Artist/Alice*) has worked in a wide variety of contexts including site specific performance, aerial dance, interactive media, and film. She is a founding member of Third Rail Projects (2001), and currently serves as its Associate Artistic Director. Her own choreography has been presented at The World Financial Center, Chashama, and La Mama E.T.C., and her dance film, BeWing, is slated to premiere in 2012. Marissa studied contemporary dance at the London Studio Centre, is a certified Somatic Movement Educator through the School for Body Mind Centering®, and teaches yoga and anatomy around NYC. She lives in Brooklyn with a man and two cats.
Tara O’Con (Collaborating Artist/Alice*) is a contributing member of Third Rail Projects, O’Con also performs regularly for mvworks/Megan Sprenger, and various other freelance projects. O’Con’s own work has been presented in showcases around NYC, including Dancenow | NYC, and Dance Theater Workshop’s Fresh Tracks series. Her work has also been commissioned and presented by Danspace Project and most recently at The Chocolate Factory Theater. Outside of the dance world, she and Zach Morris co-choreographed a play by Dawn C. Sellers, which premiered in Tucson, AZ in April 10’. taraocon.wordpress.com
Joshua Reaver (Performer) lives as a dancer and freelance technologist. As a graduate of FSU with a BFA in Dance, Joshua has had the opportunity to perform with Amalgamate Dance Company, Kinetic Architecture, and various other projects since moving to New York. His alternate lifestyle has enabled him to collaborate with such people as Shen Wei, Shen Wei Dance Arts, ZviDance, Ariane Reinhart and the Pema Chödrön Foundation on projects including website construction, video editing, and projection design. (For more information visit joshuareaver.com) In his spare time, Joshua enjoys playing guitar, building computers, and spending hours in the kitchen creating elaborate dishes for others to enjoy.
Edward Rice (Performer), originally from the suburbs of Chicago, holds a BS and MFA in Dance from Illinois State University and the University of Iowa, respectively. He has performed with Jennifer Kayle + Company, The Brian Brooks Moving Company, Stone Depot Dance Lab, Jody Oberfelder Dance Projects, Amber Sloan, Elizabeth Dishman, Laura Peterson Choreography, Benn Rasmussen’s Ardent August, Alexandra Beller/Dances, and in Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More. He has taught throughout the Mid-West, at Dance New Amsterdam, The New School, The International Dance Festival in Bytom, Poland and The Open Look Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. His choreography received honors at American College Dance Festival, and has been performed throughout the Mid-West, in NYC at Dixon Place and as part of Synethesia by Electric Pear Productions. He is Producer of RoofTop Dance and Company Manager for Alexandra Beller/Dances.
Zoë Schieber (Collaborating Artist/Doctor*) In addition to Third Rail Projects, Zoë Schieber, is currently a member of Eva Dean Dance and recently performed again with Noémie Lafrance. Since 2002, she has shown her own work in the streets and in traditional venues in New York, Asheville, and Galway. She graduated Tulane University with an Anthropology degree and is currently teaching the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education. For more information please visit zoozimoves.com. Zoë is thrilled to be working with TRP this season!
Jessy Smith (Performer) grew up dancing in woodsy Hudson, Ohio and went on to receive a BFA in Dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She choreographs and performs with The Good to Go Girls, a bubbly trio of classically trained dancers whose skits toy with physical comedy and burlesque. Their work, coined “surprisingly professional” by the New York Times, has been presented at numerous venues including Joe’s Pub, DTW, The Box NYC, Le Poisson Rouge and The Triad Theater. Smith also collaborates with Theater Reverb to stage political performances and media stunts.
Niko Tsocanos (Performer) received his BA in 2011 from Bennington College where he concentrated his studies in dance and literature. He is now based in New York working as a choreographer, performer, arts administrator, technician, writer, and tutor. Since 2011, he has had the pleasure to perform with Elizabeth Dishman/Coriolis, Boom Bat Gesture Performance Group, alex/xan: the Median Movement, Ardent August, and Annette Herwander. He is a co-founder of Atalyr, a magazine for commentary and essays on dance. Current projects include The Emergent Improvisation Film Project directed by Elliot Caplan and Susan Sgorbati, and new works with Boom Bat Gesture Performance Group, and Ardent August.
Kristina Vnook (Assistant Stage Manager) is a New York-based freelance stage manager with a huge passion for new and innovative theatrical experiences. New York credits include The Orion Experience presents Children of the Stars (Dixon Place), 35MM (Galapagos Art Space), Rated RSO (Joe’s Pub, NYMF), Yeast Nation: the triumph of life (La Mama), Kicking A Dead Horse (The Public), john&jen (45th St Theater) and Ana 311 (Fringe). She is thrilled to be joining Third Rail Projects with Then She Fell!
Carlton Cyrus Ward (Performer/Technical Director) is a dancer, circus performer and actor from the woods of northern Vermont. He moved to New York City 14 years ago to study theater at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Carlton recently performed with The Artigiani Troupe in their inaugural production That Beautiful Laugh at LaMama and Phantom Limb’s 69? S in BAM’s Next Wave festival 2011. He currently works with Circus Amok, Becky Radway Dance Projects, and El Gato Teatro. In the past he has worked with Christopher Williams, Jody Oberfelder Dance Projects, Ateh Theater Company, Proto-type Theater Inc., Freefall, Alex Bag, Maureen Fleming, and Gary Indiana. Carlton teaches circus skills and clowning at NYU.________________________________________________________________________
Collaborating Designers
Sean Hagerty (Sound Designer, Composer, Violinist) specializes in music and electronics for theater and dance. He created the music and sound design for Steampunk Haunted House (’11). Other collaborations include electric string-trio music for Rachel Klein’s Symphony of Shadows (Dixon Place); Chasing the Train, an interactive tap performance with Andrew Nemr (Webster Hall, Issue Project Room); Chopin’s Minute Waltz, for electronics and piano (Le Poisson Rouge); and string music for Brian Chung’s Sunrise in the Quantum Realm (Baryshnikov Arts Center) and for Norte Maar’s Ballet Y Bushwick. Sean performs solo violin-looping concerts regularly at Urban Stages, and has played rock and folk music at CBGB’s gallery, The Living Room, Rockwood Music Hall, Southpaw, and Bowery Ballroom, amongst others. seanhagerty.com.
Brian Olin (Collaborating Musician) currently resides in Brooklyn, playing live in alleys, basements, warehouses, backyards, garages, restaurants, skateparks, living rooms, bookstores, motels, and the occasional music venue. Brian has performed all around the United States and in Quebec City.
Isaiah Singer (Collaborating Musician) is a songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist who has played in numerous bands and projects, including Genesis P-Orridge’s PTV3, Freedom Haters, and Bryin Dall’s Fourth Sign. His own rock band, The Seventh Word, is set to release its new album Gold and Gravity in 2012, and his pop project The New Hot is working on songs for an album release next year. More info at seventhword.com.
Kryssy Wright (Lighting Design) is a lighting designer living in Brooklyn. She has traveled nationally with MAP Intermedia and Civilians. In New York City, she has worked with many directors, choreographers and artists at Danspace Project, the Chocolate Factory, Abrons Art Center, the WIld Project, and many others, and is available as a designer, technician, technical director, and more. Kryssy spends most of her days at the Abrons Art Center, and is also active with Avant Media. She began working with Third Rail Projects in 2009.
Karen Young (Costume Design) has designed costumes for numerous dance and video art projects in New York and internationally. She has collaborated with many renowned video artists including David Michalek’s “Slow Dancing” and “Portraits in Dramatic Time” (currently at Lincoln Center Festival), Matthew Barney’s “Cremaster 5” and “Cremaster 1”, and Eve Sussman and the Rufus Corporation’s “89 Seconds at Alcazar” and “The Rape of the Sabine Women”. In addition to her work with Third Rail Projects, her design work for dance can be seen in the repertoires of the Martha Graham Dance Company, American Ballet Theater, Benjamin Millepied, New York City Ballet, Pascal Rioult, Karole Armitage, Elisa Monte, Keigwin + Company, Noémie Lafrance, and Pam Tanowitz, among many others. karenyoungcostume.com.