Signature Art 2025
Signature Art : 10th ACANSA Arts Festival of the South
Artist Statement
There’s a kind of power that exists in the creation of an image. The power can continue with the image once it is made, but the process, the getting from point A to point B, can resonate with a tension that whallops you while you are in the studio helping to bring your work to life. There are many little successes and several pitfalls as you work through to the end, each one building up more of the story, the narrative, both within the work and about the work. And this process and power, it exists no matter the art form, whether it is music or visual art or theater or whatever, that tension between creativity and expressive form exists. Even those works that are commissioned, work-for-hire, contain this tension, this power.
So when I was asked to create the image for the ACANSA Arts Festival of the South’s 2025 festival program, I could immediately feel that tension start. I wanted to express the vibrancy that this festival has, to give it an incredibly powerful pop but I also wanted it to feel as if the act of creating, of performing, is what was giving the world its color, its structure. I turned to one of my favorite mediums – ink – to make sure the work had the boldness that I wanted. The process of working the ink across the surface often required many layers, sometimes ten, sometimes fifteen, even sometimes a few more than that to build up the intensity I was looking for.
I believe that the process of creating this image helped to express that boldness, that brightness, that sense of intensity and creativity that the ACANSA Arts Festival of the South helps to bring to the public every year. I hope that everyone enjoys seeing my small contribution to what is a much bigger expression of human creativity in this festival.
ROBERT BEAN
Born and raised in the sweltering summers of Arkansas, Robert first developed a love of visual art through the pulpy pages of comic books. The stories and possibilities presented by those newsprint pages nurtured his own love of narrative, which has infused his work ever since. The bold graphic quality of those paneled pages also found its way into his work, with a focus on line, composition, and stylization being an important part of what he creates. He has exhibited his narrative artworks throughout the United States, from the San Francisco bay area to the mid-South. During Covid, Robert began to develop a network of online artists and models that he continues to work with today. He has taught figure drawing, basic drawing and professional practices at the Windgate Center for Art + Design at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Robert also served for almost ten years as the chair of the Painting and Drawing departments of the Windgate Art School of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. He has also taught numerous workshops for the Arkansas Arts Council and now teaches young artists at Mills University Studies High School. He continues to live and work in the sweltering heat of Arkansas, residing in Little Rock.
Signature Art 2024
"Soul's Serenade"Virmarie DePoyster
#ACANSA2024 Signature Art
18″ x 24″ Acrylic, pencil on canvas
www.virmarie.com
Artist’s Statement
Passion is often described as a burning desire, an enthusiasm that consumes us, a magical energy that pushes us beyond our limits. In creating “Soul’s Serenade,” I explored the connection between artist and audience across all boundaries of medium and discipline.
With the subject’s eyes closed, the painting portrays a moment of pure expression, where passion and emotion are shared openly. I hope to embody what ACANSA is: sharing passion, beauty, and art with our community.
VIRMARIE DEPOYSTER
Virmarie DePoyster is a Puerto Rican born multidisciplinary artist, educator, and community leader. As a practicing artist, she explores the complexities of identity. As an educator, she develops therapeutic art programs, providing safe spaces for self-reflection. And as a community leader, she advocates for equality and inclusion. Virmarie secured a solo exhibition “Revelation” which debuted at the United States Embassy in Rome, Italy. She was chosen to represent Arkansas in Her Flag, a national project commemorating 100 years of women’s suffrage. In October 2022 “Beyond Labels,” her latest exhibition opened in Pine Bluff at The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, then traveled in November 2023 to the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum. In September 2024 it will open at the South Arkansas Arts Center.
DePoyster’s paintings are included in private and public collections internationally and throughout the United States. Currently, she lives in North Little Rock, Arkansas with her husband, David and they look forward to visits from their adult children, Grant and Anna. You can find her work at the Art Group Gallery.
www.virmarie.com
www.instagram.com/virmarie/
https://www.facebook.com/Virmarie.Depoyster
The Heart Collectors 2024
The Heart Collectors
On their international tour from New South Wales, Australia
Fri., Sept. 6 | 7:30pm | The Studio Theatre
320 W. 7th Street, Little Rock, AR 72201
Traveling from Australia to Arkansas, The Heart Collectors are known internationally for blending inspiration from 1960s and 1970s folk and roots music with tight vocal harmonies and enchanting melodies. Performing with cello, guitar, mandolin, banjo and bodhran, their music spans harmony-led ballads to Bowie-esque soundscapes. https://theheartcollectors.com/home
The Heart Collectors
Merging the inspiration of 60’s and 70’s inspired folk and roots music, their latest sound has grown to include delicately played piano, atmospheric electric guitar, melodic banjo, bowed mandolin, and haunting cello. These instruments combine to create intimate acoustic harmony driven songs, catchy folk/pop themes, upbeat “epic anthems” and the cosmic tonalities heard in their current work.
Described by John T Davis, author of ‘Austin City Limits: ’25 Years Of American Music’ as “…Fleetwood Mac with more of an organic, Celtic-inflected lilt of vocals and melody…. Kymrie’s voice is the stuff angel’s wings are made of…” .
Their much anticipated fifth studio album “The Space Between” is out now, following the success of their latest no. 5 charting EP release – “Timeless Space”.
Catch The Heart Collectors across the globe, as they grace stages in Australia, USA, Canada and The United Kingdom in 2024. Get ready to have your heart “collected”.
The Heart Collectors Are:
Kymrie Henge – Vocals, Percussion, Piano, Bodhran.
Reuben Loire – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar
Mobius Barnaby – Vocals, Cello
Tristan DaFoe – Vocals, Mandolin, Banjo, Guitar
Family Arts Day 2024
Family Arts Day
Featuring Buckets N Boards
Sat., Sept. 7 | 10am-2pm | Argenta Plaza
510 N. Main Street
North Little Rock, AR 72114
In partnership with UA-PTC, ACANSA welcomes all ages to a fun-filled arts exploration featuring creative, hands-on activities for the young and young at heart. Buckets N Boards – a hilarious and high-energy show chock-full of amazing percussion, ridiculous songs, spectacular tap dancing, inventive instrumentation and an incredible variety of musical talents – takes the stage at 12 noon. bucketsnboards.com
UAPTC.edu
THIS EVENT IS FREE.
Cello Stories 2024
Cello Stories: A Life Under Broadway
in partnership with Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts
Sat., Sept. 7 | 7:30pm | AMFA Amerine/Calhoun Glass Box
Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts
501 E. 9th Street
Little Rock. AR 72202
Acclaimed cellist Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf has performed in 21 Broadway shows. With Cello Stories: A Life Under Broadway she mesmerizes audiences with exquisite arrangements for cello and piano, coupled with captivating stories about her life as a musician. This performance is presented in partnership with Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. mairidormanphaneuf.com
MAIRI DORMAN-PHANEUF
CELLIST
Mairi has established a busy career in New York City as a solo, chamber, Broadway, and recording artist. Since 2003 she has held chairs in 21 Broadway shows, including The Bridges of Madison County, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, and currently, The Great Gatsby. Off-Broadway credits include the premiere productions of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years (Chicago 2001, NYC 2002). Her debut solo album, Music of Broadway for Cello and Piano, was released in September 2021 on Craft Recordings/Concord Theatricals.
Following her sold-out debut at Birdland Jazz Club in 2018 she continues to present headlining shows featuring Broadway’s greatest stars; including Liz Callaway, Ariana DeBose, Rebecca Luker, Jessica Vosk, Norbert Leo Butz, and many more. Her one-woman show “Cello Stories: A Life Under Broadway” premiered at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in 2023.
Mairi is a regular on the NYC cabaret and concert scene and has been featured in performance with stars such as Christine Ebserole, Jeremy Jordon, Jason Robert Brown, John Pizzarelli and Brooke Shields. Her TV and movie work include “Camp” (2002), and the PBS Live From Lincoln Center concerts of Chita Rivera, Joshua Bell and Lang Lang.
Mairi was born in Glasgow, Scotland, studied at Chetham’s School of Music and the Guildhall School of Music in London, and holds Masters and Doctorate degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She lives in Hartsdale, NY, with her husband, saxophonist, Marc Phaneuf.
JOHN HÉBERT Bassist 2024
John Hébert, Bassist
in partnership with Jazz at the Joint
Mon., Sept. 9 | 7:30pm | The Joint
301 Main Street
North Little Rock, AR 72114
Bassist John Hébert, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and leader of Byzantine Monkey, is known for his unique playing style and lush compositions. His Blue Note Records release, Time Lines, was awarded “Record of the Year” by Downbeat’s Jazz Critics Poll. Performing around the globe with world famous artists, John now calls New York home, where he has performed at such venues as Village Vanguard, Blue Note, The Jazz Standard, Birdland, and The Iridium. allaboutjazz.com
jazzatthejoint.org/john-hebert/
jOHN HÉBERT
BASSIST
John Hébert, bassist, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana where he first began to study double bass with Bill Huntington. John attended Loyola University of New Orleans where he received a full scholarship. After two years of performing with many of New Orleans greatest musicians and performing at various clubs including the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival he moved to the New York tri-state area to attend William Paterson University where he continued his studies under bassist, Rufus Reid and received a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance.
tripliciti 2024
tripliciti
in partnership with Potluck & Poison Ivy
Thurs., Sept. 12 | 7:30pm | The Joint
301 Main Street
North Little Rock, AR 72114
From the collective minds of virtuoso musicians Andy McKee, Calum Graham, and Trevor Gordon Hall, tripliciti is a bold, new musical experience showcasing three of the foremost acoustic guitar composers in the world today. https://tripliciti.com/
TRIPLICITI
About the band:
Piloted by world renowned guitar titan Andy McKee, this fingerstyle supergroup includes rising stars Calum Graham and Trevor Gordon Hall, culminating in a chemistry that captures the imagination and intellect of musicians and non-musicians alike. Tripliciti pushes the edges of acoustic music through dizzying technical command of their instruments, rich sonic textures, memorable melodies and soulful arrangements, offering an igniting live musical experience for audiences around the world that is real, inviting, lasting, tangible and powerful.
Having each individually contributed to the standards of must-know Fingerstyle Guitar repertoire, the merging of these 3 breath-taking solo performers into an electrifying live band leaves no aspect of the guitars’ potential out of reach. The inspiration found in traveling as solo acts across the world performing thousands of concerts on various stages from castles in Luxembourg, jazz clubs in Paris, or sports arenas in Brisbane, has merged into a wholly unique sound that blends flavors of Americana, Jazz, Flamenco, New Age, and Rock music ideals. With textures combining steel string guitars, electric guitars, high strung guitars, low pitched baritone guitars, and even a hybrid invention known as the “Kalimbatar”, triplicitidoesn’t overcomplicate or indulge in the fretboard gymnastics for its own sake but carefully navigates these sounds with creativity, curating every melody, harmony and rhythm for the listener and guiding them into a fully immersive experience that must be heard and seen to be believed. This is a celebration of the history and future of the most iconic instrument in the world still waiting for new sonic and compositional possibilities to be discovered.
TRIPLICITI
The Members:
Andy first rose to prominence with one of his compositions entitled “Drifting” becoming one of the very first viral videos on YouTube. “Drifting” and his other video performances went on to amass hundreds of millions of views collectively ushering in a new renaissance of the acoustic guitar tradition pioneered by the late great Michael Hedges. This gave Andy McKee the opportunity to perform thousands of concerts all over the world bringing his signature sound and contribution to this broader guitar tradition of pushing boundaries of the instrument, embracing a diversity of influences, and transcending all language and genre barriers. His command of this universally appreciated style has given him the ability to perform with such diverse acts as Prince, Eric Johnson, and Dream Theater, to name a few.
Having also been raised in the fingerstyle tradition of Michael Hedges, both Calum and Trevor are included in the sea of players that were deeply inspired by Andy’s unique combination of composition, technicality, and humility to learn and grow as musicians with hopes of one day making their mark on the world stage. Calum and Trevor’s own unique voices on the instrument and songwriting caught Andy’s attention, and a musical kinship between the 3 was born. Both Calum and Trevor have continued to cement their own individual solo performing careers around the world, even being selected as part of the “Top 30 Guitarists Under 30” series by Acoustic Guitar magazine along the way.
Calum Graham has a sense of melody that is unmistakable and immediately recognizable. In 2010, he took first place at the International Canadian Fingerstyle Guitar competition as the only teenager to ever win, launching a profound musical journey from performing at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, and again 2 years later at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, to now playing concerts to diehard fans following his vision on every continent.
Trevor Gordon Hall, on top of a touring calendar that’s taken him through 17 countries and counting, has a growing discography that has amassed millions of listens and views through Spotify and YouTube, allowing his music to connect across borders and languages. He is widely recognized for his signature sound and invention of the “kalimbatar” — a guitar that includes a customized African finger piano, called the kalimba — and has shared the stage with or drawn admiration from peers and guitar legends ranging from John Mayer and Pat Martino to Will Ackerman, Steve Miller, and Graham Nash.
The Other Mozart 2024
The Other Mozart
Fri, Sept. 13 | 7:30pm | CALS Ron Robinson Theater
Library Square | 100 River Market Ave.
Little Rock, AR 72201
Sylvia Milo’s stunning and award-winning play, THE OTHER MOZART, tells the true, forgotten story of Amadeus Mozart’s sister, Nannerl.
Nannerl was a prodigy, keyboard virtuoso and composer who performed throughout Europe with her brother to equal acclaim, but her work faded away, lost to history.
The play is set in a stunning 18-foot dress (designed by Magdalena Dabrowska of the National Theater of Poland). Directed by Isaac Byrne, THE OTHER MOZART is based on facts, stories and lines pulled directly from the Mozart family’s humorous and heartbreaking letters.
With the opulent beauty of the dress and hair design, the sweet smell of perfume, and the clouds of dusting powder rising from the stage, the performance creates a multi-sensual experience and transports the audience into a world of outsized beauty and delight — but also of overwhelming restrictions and prejudice. There, in communion with the audience, this other Mozart at last tells her story. theothermozart.com www.facebook.com/TheOtherMozart www.instagram.com/theothermozart
Written and created by Sylvia Milo
Performed by Daniela Galli
Directed by Isaac Byrne
Music composed by Nathan Davis and Phyllis Chen
SYLVIA MILO
PROJECT’S CREATOR, WRITER, ORIGINAL ACTRESS
Broadway run at HERE Arts Center, earning Drama Desk and Off Broadway Alliance nominations, and 8 New York Innovative Theatre nominations, including Outstanding Full Length Script. The Other Mozart won two NYIT Awards, including Outstanding Solo Performance by Milo. The play is back on the road with over 300 performances to date, including 30 US states, a run in London at St. James Theatre, in Munich at the Pasinger Fabrik, and in Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Cultural Center. It was presented in Vienna at the Mozarthaus Vienna and in Salzburg at the invitation of the Mozarteum Foundation (inside the Mozarts’ Wohnhaus apartment). The play inspired the creation of an annual symposium on Maria Anna Mozart at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, and was performed as part of its first edition. In 2016, Milo was commissioned by The Guardian to write an article about The Other Mozart and its cultural impact.
Sylvia also created the character of Bob Dylan in the OBIE Award-winning The West Village Fragments by Peculiar Works, and as a member of the Bats at the Flea Theater she co-wrote and starred in Seating Arrangements, directed by Eric Pold of Gob Squad. She adapted and directed an all-female version of Hamlet and starred as Ophelia at the Mark Morris Center. In NYC she has performed at La Mama, Ontological-Hysteric, Theatre For the New City, Dixon Place, Cherry Lane, The Ohio Theatre and at MoMA. She is a graduate of New York University, with training at the Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg Theatre Institutes, and at The Grotowski Institute in Poland. She was a 2018 Fellow at the Bogliasco Foundation in Italy and was awarded that year’s Fellowship at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York to develop her new play, “Magdalene: I am the utterance of my name”, which had its Off-Broadway run in June 2024 and continues touring.
ISAAC BYRNE
DIRECTOR
Originally from Texas, based in NYC, Isaac has been awarded the New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Direction twice and productions he has directed have been nominated for a Drama Desk Award, an Off Broadway Alliance award, 24 NYIT awards, and 6 Planet Connection Awards. Credits include: The Other Mozart (NYIT Outstanding Solo Performance, Nominated for Director), In Vestments (NYIT Outstanding Premier of a New Play), To Nineveh (NYIT Outstanding Production), Tar Baby (DR2, PS122), 52 Man Pick Up (Ars Nova, Edinburgh Fringe), The New Normal, I Used to Write on Walls, Grimm Reality (Co-Production with Bryant Park), and Hazard a Little Death (Planet Connection Best Original Script). He also performs regularly with the Aztec Economy theatre company in the touring show, Butcher Holler Here We Come. He teaches acting at the University of the Arts, New York Film Academy, and the Matthew Corozine Studio. www.isaacbyrne.com
PHYLLIS CHEN
COMPOSER
Described by The New York Times as “spellbinding” and “delightfully quirky matched with interpretive sensitivity,” Phyllis is a composer, pianist and sound artist whose music draws from her tactile exploration of object and sound. She has performed her music at Lincoln Center, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Abrons Arts Center, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Los Angeles County Museum, Baryshnikov Arts Center and numerous other
places. Phyllis has received commissions by ensembles and organizations such as the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICEensemble), A Far Cry, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Claire Chase Density Project, Opera Cabal Opera SHOP, Singapore International Festival of the Arts, the Roulette-Jerome, Look & Listen Festival, Jacob Greenberg, and others. She has received grants from New Music USA, Foundation for the Contemporary Arts, NYSCA (via Concert Artists
Guild and Look & Listen Festival), Fromm Foundation and the Pew Heritage Trust via Christ Church of Philadelphia. “Through The Thicket of Stars,” a multi-layered toy piano piece based on an original scroll painting by children’s author/illustrator Grace Lin, premiered at Kaufman Center Piano Dialogues in April 2022.
The featured solo musician in Stephin Merritt’s Off-Broadway musical Coraline, Phyllis is one of the founding members of the International Contemporary Ensemble and the founder of the UnCaged Toy Piano, a composition competition to further expand the repertoire for toy piano. A strong interest in interdisciplinary work led her to collaborations with video artist and electronic musician Rob Dietz with whom she created multimedia works such as The Memoirist, Pearlessence, Chroma, and Carousel. Attended Oberlin Conservatory as a recipient of the Dean’s Talent Award Scholarship, Masters Degree from Northwestern University and DMA from Indiana University. Her piece Chimers, based on Papageno’s magic bells from Mozart’s Magic Flute, was premiered at the Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival in 2011, and a program of her music was featured at the festival in 2013. 2019 Cage-Cunningham Fellow, 2022 Guggenheim Fellow. www.phyllischen.net
MAGDALENA DABROWSKA
COSTUME DESIGNER – DRESS
A versatile Polish designer whose projects include fashion, theatrical costumes and set designs, Magdalena is a graduate of Łazarski University in Warsaw and of the Cracow School of Art and Fashion Design. Her designs have been finalists at such prestigious competitions as Oskary Mody, OFF Fashion, and Złota Nitka. She participated in joint shows organized during the International Millinery Competition in France. She designed costumes for the plays, Taksówka, Spacerowicz and Ukryj Mnie w Gałęziach Drzew directed by Igor Gorzkowski for Studio Teatralne KOŁO. She also designed sets and costumes for Obchód Teatru, Czyli Kim Jest Wojciech B.? at the National Theatre of Poland and for the opera, Hamlet, at the Teatr Wielki in Poznan, Poland. She also runs INNI – a fashion and costume design studio. Her dress for “The Other Mozart” has been featured in ELLE Italia and ELLE France Magazines www.innimoda.pl
MIODRAG GUBERINIC
COSTUME DESIGNER – PANNIER SCULPTURE
Miodrag Guberinic is a New York-based designer and artisan. He grew up in Serbia and graduated from the FPU in Belgrade with a BFA in costume design, and graduated with an MFA in costume design from the NU in Chicago. His designs have been worn by Katy Perry, Scarlett Johansson, B Akerlund and Bianca Del Rio among others. His costume artisan work has been featured on numerous Broadway productions including ones currently on Broadway: Frozen,
Head Over Heels, Mean Girls, Pretty Woman; TV shows: Mrs. Maisel, The Tick and last season of Gotham. He created accessories for fashion campaigns for Estee Lauder & Shiseido and small-scale costumes, crafts, and puppetry work for the iconic retailers’ windows of Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Tiffany & Co., Macy’s, Lord & Taylor and Prada.
Mio was also responsible for the creation of the iconic headpieces and armor for Madonna’s World Rebel Heart Tour and has collaborated with luminary designers including Anne Roth, Gregg Barnes, Arianne Phillips, and Michael Wilkinson. Today, Mio resides in Brooklyn where he owns the design company Mio Design NYC focusing on the highly innovative design and artisan projects, using the newest cutting-edge materials and technology on a wide range of Costume and Wearable Art projects. Most recently he started sharing his experiences as a lecturer and guest designer with students of Carnegie Mellon University, Long Island University, Parsons School of Design, Princeton University and Rutgers University. miodragguberinic.com
COURTNEY BEDNAROWSKI
HAIRSTYLIST
An emerging hairstylist residing in Brooklyn. Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she graduated from the Aveda Institute, completed an assistant program at Mizu Salon in NYC, and decided to expand her skillset into barbering at Freeman’s Barbershop. Courtney has styled for countless fashion events, film and theater, print and online publications (including VOGUE), and is now working for DIOR as the lead wig stylist. (In The Other Mozart Courtney sculpts Sylvia’s
hair – it is all her real hair!) www.courtneybednarowski.com
DANIELA GALLI
ACTRESS
Daniela Galli is an accomplished actress with a diverse background in the arts. She began her journey as a dancer and musician in her native Brazil, where she was a member of modern and tap dance companies and played the oboe with the Symphonic Orchestra of Campinas. She later studied Architecture and Urban Planning, and worked as a set designer off-Broadway and as an associate designer for Tony Walton on Broadway and at venues such as Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Kennedy Center, and The Royal Court Theatre. She then turned her focus to acting, studying at HB Studios and making her mark in Brazil’s theatre, film, and television industries.
Some of Daniela’s recent credits include the Amazon series El Presidente (Season 2), Passport to Freedom (Sony Pictures), Renegate Arcangel (Globoplay – Season 2), and How To Be a Carioca (Disney Plus). She has also been recognized for her work in films such as My Hindu Friend, directed by Hector Babenco and starring Willem Dafoe, Netflix’s The Killer (for which she received a best actress nomination at the Gramado Film Festival), Those Hands That Lead Me by João Cortes, and The American Side by Jenna Ricker, starring Matthew Broderick. Her television credits include roles in popular shows such as Malhação (Globo Network), Obscure Power (nominated for a Contigo Award for best actress in a TV series), Mandrake (HBO), and other series for TV Globo and Record. Daniela has also showcased her talent on the stage, with notable performances in productions such as The Other Mozart by Sylvia Milo (off-Broadway and U.S. Tour), Ciranda by Celia Forte and directed by José Possi Neto, Realism by Anthony Neilson and directed by Tato Consorti, and PLAY by Rodrigo Nogueira and directed by Ivan Sugahara. She speaks Portuguese, English, Italian, Dutch and Spanish.
NATHAN DAVIS
COMPOSER, SOUND DESIGNER
Nathan Davis "writes music that deals deftly and poetically with timbre and sonority" (NY Times). His opera/ballet “Hagoromo" was produced by American Opera Projects and premiered at the 2015 BAM Next Wave Festival with the International Contemporary Ensemble, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, choreographer David Neumann, and dancers Wendy Whelan, and Jock Soto. Lincoln Center presented the premiere of “Bells”, a site-specific work for ensemble, multi-channel audio, and live broadcast to audience members’ mobile phones. Nathan received other commissions from GMEM and Ensemble CBarré (Marseille), FringeArts and the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Donaueschinger Musiktage (Germany), Yarn/Wire, Claire Chase, Ekmeles, Miller Theatre, Ojai Music Festival, the Calder Quartet, and Third Coast Percussion – with premieres at Tanglewood, Park Avenue Armory, Guggenheim Museum, and Carnegie Hall. His
music has been released on Starkland, Tundra, New Focus, and Bridge. Nathan is the co-creator (with Sylvia Milo) and the live musician of the music-theatre piece “I am the utterance of my name: Divining Mary Magdalene”.
The 2018 Aaron Copland Fellow at the Bogliasco Foundation, Davis received awards and fellowships from the Camargo Foundation, New Music USA, NYSCA, Meet The Composer, Fromm Foundation, Jerome Foundation, American Music Center, MATA, and ASCAP. He and Phyllis Chen won an NY Innovative Theater Award for their score to Sylvia Milo's play “The Other Mozart”, for which Davis also received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Sound Design. Also an active percussionist and member of the International Contemporary Ensemble, he appeared as a concerto soloist with the Seattle Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, and Nagoya Philharmonic. A graduate of Rice, Yale, and a Fulbright Fellow at the Rotterdam Conservatory, Nathan currently teaches at The New School College of Performing Arts. www.nathandavis.com
JANICE ORLANDI
PERIOD STYLE MOVEMENT DIRECTOR
A movement specialist in period styles, historic dance, psychophysical techniques, character transformation and physical dramaturgy. Trained and co-taught with Loyd Williamson and Richard Schechner. Recent directing credits include: Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies (Five Stars at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, St. James Studio London; Theater Row, Laurie Beechman, 59E59), Garbo Dreams (Red Room NYC). Movement Director: The Contrast (Mirror Repertory Company St Clements), An Ideal Husband and Tartuffe (Sonnet Repertory NYC). A certified teacher of Michael Chekhov and Williamson Technique. Period style specialist of Elizabethan and Restoration, Baroque, Regency, Victorian, Edwardian, 1920's-1970's. Artistic director at Actors Movement Studio NYC, faculty at TISCH School of the Arts, Atlantic Theater Company,
University of the Arts Philadelphia, Rutgers University, New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. Her work as an educator, director, actress and movement coach has been seen at Williamstown Theater Festival, State Theater School Denmark, Lindenberg Center for Culture Netherlands, Princeton Repertory Shakespeare Festival, Classic Stage Company, Circle Rep Lab. Founding Member of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot. Featured in BACKSTAGE and the AMERICAN THEATER MAGAZINE on current “Trends in Movement Training” in theater. Member of SAG/AFTRA, AEA, SSDC. www.actorsmovementstudio.com
JANICE ORLANDI
PERIOD STYLE MOVEMENT DIRECTOR
A movement specialist in period styles, historic dance, psychophysical techniques, character transformation and physical dramaturgy. Trained and co-taught with Loyd Williamson and Richard Schechner. Recent directing credits include: Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies (Five Stars at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, St. James Studio London; Theater Row, Laurie Beechman, 59E59), Garbo Dreams (Red Room NYC). Movement Director: The Contrast (Mirror Repertory Company St Clements), An Ideal Husband and Tartuffe (Sonnet Repertory NYC). A certified teacher of Michael Chekhov and Williamson Technique. Period style specialist of Elizabethan and Restoration, Baroque, Regency, Victorian, Edwardian, 1920's-1970's. Artistic director at Actors Movement Studio NYC, faculty at TISCH School of the Arts, Atlantic Theater Company,
University of the Arts Philadelphia, Rutgers University, New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. Her work as an educator, director, actress and movement coach has been seen at Williamstown Theater Festival, State Theater School Denmark, Lindenberg Center for Culture Netherlands, Princeton Repertory Shakespeare Festival, Classic Stage Company, Circle Rep Lab. Founding Member of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot. Featured in BACKSTAGE and the AMERICAN THEATER MAGAZINE on current “Trends in Movement Training” in theater. Member of SAG/AFTRA, AEA, SSDC. www.actorsmovementstudio.com
JOSHUA ROSE
LIGHTING DESIGNER
A graduate of the stage design program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, Joshua resides in New York City and designs lighting for a variety of projects all over the world; from intimate solo shows to full operas, from architectural installations to modern dance. Some designs of note include The Edge of Some World, choreographed by Jonathan Fredrickson and premiered in Beijing; The Blue Frog jazz club in Mumbai; A Celebration of Music and Dance with The Limon Dance Company and Simon Bolivar National Youth Choir of Venezuala at Lincoln Center. Recent Designs include Tar Baby by Desiree Burch, La Boheme for The Bronx Opera and and Madame Butterfly for the Martina Arroyo Foundation. www.joshuarosedesigns.com
KODI MILBURN
STAGE MANAGER, HAIRSTYLIST
Kodi Lynn Milburn is involved in all things music, theater, and media. She is amicably dubbed the “swiss army knife of theater”. NYFA PCMT ‘17. Cross discipline credits include: Sylvia Milo’s The Other Mozart (Hong Kong, U.S. Tour), Heart Strings (Atlantic), AMP (HERE), Tussaud/Antoinette (IRT), My Onliness (The New Ohio), Chess (American Theater for Actors), Uta Hagen Centennial Salon (Lincoln Center), Utterance of my name (Baryshnikov Arts Center), Sparkle Spa (BMI), Ewalt & Walker (54 Below), Mary & Max (Bobby Cronin & Crystal Skillman), Voyage en Chanson (National Sawdust), L’autre Mozart (Fringe North, Halifax Fringe), Rhinoceros (Atlantic Acting School). kodilynnmilburn.com
Gangstagrass 2024
Gangstagrass
in partnership with Argenta Arts District Dogtown Throwdown
Sat., September 14 | 7:00pm | Argenta Arts District
406 Main Street (Outdoors)
North Little Rock, AR 72114
Gangstagrass is the Emmy-nominated, Billboard-charting band known for its dynamism and spontaneity – and the theme song for Justified, the FX television show. Led by Rench, these MCs and pickers are the pioneers of an authentic, paradigm-shifting bluegrass and hip-hop genre. Gangstagrass. It’s not what you think. gangstagrass.com
THIS EVENT IS FREE.
Tennessee Rising 2024
Tennessee Rising
The Dawn of Tennessee Williams
Thurs., Sept. 19 | 7:30pm | The Joint
301 Main Street
Little Rock, AR 72114
Written and performed by Jacob Storms, Tennessee Rising sheds light on the unexplored, formative years (1939-1945) of Tom Williams as he metamorphoses into his most iconic character – America’s acclaimed playwright, Tennessee Williams – and grapples with first love, professional triumph and torment, heartbreak, and ultimately “the catastrophe of success.” The play was originally directed for the stage by Alan Cumming. https://www.jacobstorms.net/
JACOB STORMS
Internationally acclaimed, award-winning actor & writer Jacob Storms is best known for his recurring role (Serge) on Steven Soderbergh & Gregory Jacobs’ Amazon Original Series, Red Oaks.
Storms is also known for his portrayal of young Tennessee Williams in his original solo play TENNESSEE RISING: The Dawn of Tennessee Williams* (United Solo Award for Best One-Man Show), originally directed for the stage by Alan Cumming, which has played multiple engagements Off-Broadway and most recently at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival for a critically lauded, twenty-three (back-to-back) performance run with Assembly, garnering an Off-West End (Offie) Award nomination in addition to being shortlisted for the Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence.
Some of Jacob’s favorite experiences include working with legendary writer/director Amy Heckerling & producer Gregory Jacobs, iconic actor/writer/director Alan Cumming, acclaimed Indie-film screenwriter/director Hal Hartley, being handpicked by groundbreaking Beijing based multi-media installation artist Wang Jianwei to perform in his North American solo exhibition debut at The Guggenheim Museum: Time Temple, mentoring under and performing with Thomas Lauderdale, creator of the world-renowned “little orchestra” Pink Martini, and recording with iconic concert pianist (& protegé to Vladimir Horowitz) Byron Janis & Carly Simon, in addition to a multi-year long performance collaboration with the late, beloved actor/writer/comedian, Taylor Negron.
On stage, Storms has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Guggenheim Museum, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Bill T. Jones’ New York Live Arts Theatre, BAM, The Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, The National Arts Club, PICA: Time Based Art Festival as well as The New Orleans, Provincetown & St. Louis Tennessee Williams Festivals.
Jacob is also the youngest actor in the world to have performed Doug Wright’s Pulitzer Prize-winning thirty-five character solo drama, I Am My Own Wife.
He is a native of Oregon who calls New York home.