Birding for Beginners (A Eulogy for Pilgrims)
Concluding their week-long residency, Jessica Almasy and her collaborators will present a 90-minute preview of “a deliciously slo burning 12 hour American voyage, fashioned after the seabound pelagic birding tour. A sequel to Hamlet meets Colonial Williamsburg, shot in the desert.”
About the Artists
JESSICA ALMASY
Jessica is a writer, director, producer, and actress working across all mediums. She is a cofounder of the TEAM (www.theteamplays.org), has recorded over 400 audio books, most notably as Lourna Dee in Star Wars, and quarterbacked alongside artists like Josephine Decker, Hilton Als, Haruna Lee, and Tim Robbins. She is a birder by proxy, and grateful for the pilgrim.
KRISTEN SIEH
Kristen thought she was going to be a costume designer in her 20s, but then she started making a living as an actor. Now she's back up to her old tricks. Here are some of her acting credits: Broadway: The Band’s Visit. Select Off-Broadway: Gatz, The Fortress of Solitude, February House (The Public Theater), Scene Partners, RoosevElvis (The Vineyard), Dr. Ride’s American Beach House (Ars Nova), The Antiquities, Men On Boats (Playwrights Horizons), Iphigenia at Aulis (Classic Stage Company). She has performed with companies such as Half Straddle, ERS, Builders Association, The Foundry, Pig Iron, Ripe Time, Clubbed Thumb, and Banana Bag & Bodice in NYC, regionally and abroad, and is a founding member of The TEAM with whom she has co-written, performed, and costume designed numerous works including RoosevElvis and Particularly in the Heartland. TV: The Plot Against America, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Boardwalk Empire, etc. Kristen is also an award-winning narrator of audiobooks, a craftsperson, and a gardener. In 2023 she received a certificate in horticulture from The NY Botanical Garden, and in 2024 she formed the textile collective, Marla, with Brenda Abandandolo and Marika Kent.
MIKE IVESON
The Public: The original and recent remount of Gatz, Arguendo, Plenty, Measure for Measure, The Sound and the Fury, all with Elevator Repair Service. Broadway: What the Constitution Means to Me. Other NYC theater: The Select (The Sun Also Rises) and Fondly, Collette Richland (NYTW); Everyone’s Fine with Virginia Woolf (Abrons); The World My Mama Raised (Clubbed Thumb); May 2018 /\ (Performance Space). Regional: Elian (Miami New Drama); Molly Sweeney(Saco River Theatre); tours to the Guthrie, the Kennedy Center, and more with Constitution. Film: Glad Hand in West Side Story; Alone Together; Hi, Friends! TV: “Tulsa King”; “Orange Is the New Black.”
KATE BENSON
Kate is a writer and performer who lives in Brooklyn, NY. She has worked at the Public, Dixon Place, LaMama, and New York Theater Workshop. Her plays have been presented by New Georges, the Bushwick Starr, and the WP Theater. She is a company member of ERS and a graduate of the Brooklyn College Playwrighting program.
JAY MAURY
Jay is a sound, lighting, video, and scenery designer working out of Brooklyn. As the resident designer and technical director of The Bushwick Starr, he has designed all in-house events and all infrastructure for the new venue. Jay also designed elements for recent projects including Presencia (Sound Design), This/That (Associate Production Design), and associate video design for Demons, Slam Dance, and Definition. Additional design credits include Saratoga Opera (Sound Design, Lighting Design); Weasel Fest (Lighting Design); and Big Green Theater (Lighting Design, Production Design).
NATHAN REPASZ
Nathan is a New York-based drummer, vocalist, improviser, theatre maker, and Foley artist. He is a founding member of the experimental theatre company CHILD, which presented 1-800-3592-113592 in Spring 2024 (NYC) and was included in The New Yorker's "Best Theatre of 2024" list. Other 2024 projects include, as drummer: Fouad of Nazareth by Fouad Dakwar; Golem Owned A Tropical Smoothie by Ethan Crystal + Garrett Poladian; \\\ by Shannon Yu; and The Best You Can, an upcoming film starring Kevin Bacon. Foley art: Silent Light, an opera by Paola Prestini and Lone Wolf (NYC and Luxembourg). Music director: The Four Lives by Theodora Skipitares. Most recently, he completed a 13-week tour on the drums for Dirty Dancing in Concert in April. His solo language+percussion performance practice explores sense/nonsense and groove/noise and his piece “National Hot Dog Day” was featured in the 2024 “Emergency Index”. He works as a choral singer, session/pit musician, and goat-cheesemonger in the NYC area
EVELYN SPAHR
Evelyn is a generative artist and actor based in NYC. When not in rehearsal, Evelyn enjoys watching reality tv, trying new recipes with her partner, and going to the mall.
SHELDON DONENBERG
Sheldon is an actor, generative artist, and older brother. Recent credits include: The Jew of Malta at Red Bull Theatre, Three Sisters at the Actors Studio. Humbled and grateful to be included in this inspiring group of collaborators.