|claquers|

The |claquers| are the members of |the claque|.

Nick Leavens (Founder/Artistic Director)  is a director, producer and writer with a focus on new works.  His directing credits include: NEW YORK: Lieutenant of Inishmore (assistant director, Broadway/off-Broadway), Research: a novel for performance, Unpleasant Men (|theclaque|), Okay, No Bueno (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Wipe Away (Samuel French Off-Off-Broadway Festival), Meanwhile in Baghdad, Apocalypse: Book One (New York International Fringe Festival), Be True to Your School (At Hand Theatre), Speaking in Stomachs (SITEfest 2010) Family Bonding, Love Match, The Arab and the Restless (New York Arab-American Comedy Festival), Wishing Time (Vital Theater), DJ Jesus (The Funny) as well as countless readings.

In addition to his role at |the claque| he is a resident director at Ensemble Studio Theatre, a founding member of Brooklyn based performance and writers collective BOOMSLANG, is the President/Co-founder of vanity production company Coleavens Industries, was the Artistic Director/Producer of the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival in 2010 and the Producer of The Funny 2004, 2005. Nick was the Company Manager of Atlantic Theater Company from 2005-2007, Bay Street Theater in 2005, Pennsylvania Center Stage in 2003, Production Manager of Vital Theatre in 2004 and an Equity stage manager Off-Broadway.  He worked as a Warrior Poet at MoMA, he dreams at night of flying, breathing under water and how the third person plural is far superior to the third person singular… We do… We do… For more information, specifically an old picture with the caption “coming soon,” visit nickleavens.org

S. Quincy Beard (Literary Manager, director In the Middle QuaDs 2012, QuaDs Workshop Leader 2011) is a writer, director and actor with a penchant for that which is thought provoking and action initiating. In New York she has directed and acted in various productions with  The Collective and in her native North Carolina has worked with Manbites Dog Theater, Temple Theatre and forum + function. A proud graduate of the William Esper Studio, she lives in the theater and sleeps in Brooklyn.

Eric L. Beauzay (set consultant Wipe Away Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival 2010) is a scenic designer, sculptor, photographer, and puppet-builder who has worked in association with George Tsypin, The Rockwell Group, Michael Curry, Cirque De Soleil, and Anna Louizos. NYC Design credits include: Impossible Country (Mud/Bone Collective), La Voix Humaine (Underground Zero Festival 2010). Featured credits: NY: Spiderman, Turn off the Dark, In The Heights, High Fidelity, The Book of Daniel (NBC); LONDON: Avenue Q; LA: Curtains; BEIJING: Casablanca: The Dance. Other scenic design work includes productions of Sweeney Todd, Dutchman, This Is Our Youth, Assassins, Marisol, and Seattle’s Sankofa Theatre. Eric has assisted George Tyspin in several urban development projects including the Spiral, and the SeaGlass Carousel at Battery Park. Eric holds degrees in Art History and Theatre from the University of Washington.

Jeremy Bloom (Great Eastern QuaDs 2011) directs his original adaptations of plays including La Boheme (Spoken), Peter-Wendy (Dark)and Leaves of Grass (Nude), as well as the work of new playwrights, and classic operas and musicals. In New York, he has directed at The Flea, Walkerspace, The Cherry Lane, Incubator Arts Project, NYU Grad, 45 Bleecker, The New York Botanical Gardens, in festivals, site specifically, and at the cell where he is a resident artist.  Favorite assistant credits include The Met, Broadway, Berkeley Rep, The Goodman, and LCT3 (most frequently for Mary Zimmerman). Jeremy is a Drama League Directing Fellow, participated in the TS Eliot US/UK Exchange at The Old Vic and Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab. www.jeremybloomplays.com

Katharine Henner (writer Halo of Bees, member of Quick and Dirties selecting panel 2012, 2011) is a multi-disciplinary writer based in Brooklyn, New York. She is the resident writer of the Goddamn Cobras film collective, co-founder of BOOMSLANG theatre company, and co-author of Brooklyn Home Companion. She is currently directing a 10-episode series, “Nights in UltraViolet” that she co-wrote with Matt Cook of The Cheap Thriller. She is also in post-production for her western novella film, “No Man’s Land” that will be screened this summer. Katharine’s plays have been staged by Ex-Libris, BOOMSLANG, and Left Hip Productions. In London, she has been produced by The Other Theatre Company, Mirrorface Productions, and Rumination Theatre Company. Katharine received her Masters degree in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

J. Holtham (writer Togetherness QuaDs 2011, January 2nd QuaDs 2012) His plays include: January 2^nd, Togetherness, The Rust Age, College Town and Creative Writing. His work has been seen at the Ensemble Studio Theatre (School Night, 2011; Posterity, 2002), [the claque] (Togetherness), Red Fern Theatre Company (Occupied), Resonance Theatre Ensemble (Lovers to Bed), BE Company (Favored Nations), Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Vital Theatre, New Dramatists, Broken Watch, the 24Seven Lab and others. Webseries: In The ‘Wood. Several of his plays are published by Playscripts, Inc. He is a member of E.S.T. M.F.A.: The Actors Studio Drama School @ The New School. He is a two-time finalist for the National Ten-Minute Play contest. He is a co-founder of The New Black Fest. He blogs as 99 Seats at Parabasis and other places. He is a proud product of the NY/NJ public education systems.

Ethan Hova (QuaDs Producer and Artist Liaison 2012/2011) is an actor and producer recently relocated to New York from Los Angeles. Screen credits: “ER” (Dr. Ken Mazer), “E-Ring” (Aarif), “NCIS”, and the feature film Accepted(Graduate Student). Selected theater: Spinning The Times (Origin Theater Company; Best Actor, 2009 1st Irish Festival), Rhioceros (UglyRhino: a Microseason), Macbeth (Open Fist Theater Company), Richard II(Quantum Theater). Ethan is also the co-founder of Monday Night Reading Series, a forum where new plays can be heard by New York audiences for the first time. He’s a graduate of Carnegie Mellon’s acting program and a proud member of AEA and SAG.

Sarita Lou (movement choreographer, Unpleasant Men, QuaDs 2012) is a dancer, choreographer, yogini and playwright.  Her ideal day includes sharing health and happiness through movement and telling stories through the body.  Sarita has been teaching movement for over ten years.  She is faculty for the Stella Adler Studio of Acting where she is training young actors to breathe, move and find their “voice” through the body.  She is both a teacher and a performer. Having worked in both film and theater, she continually seeks ways to share her love of movement with the world. Sarita’s theatrical work includes choreographing for Trickster at the Gate and My Future Husband is Dead both produced by At Hand Theatre Company and Dance Picnic produced by Play Movement Theatre.  As a dancer Sarita has been featured in numerous works including Trickster at the Gate, My Future Husband is Dead, Flip Flop & Platforms, Revelries & Reveries, Dance Picnic, and Sightlines, Pick-Up Lines & Other Clichés.

Amy Rose Marsh makes and helps develop plays and performance works. Her work has been seen with/at Ars Nova, the In/Out Festival, Boomslang, Arts in Bushwick, Concrete Temple Theatre, Elf Queen Productions, Greenpoint Open Studios, The Hourglass Group, The Deconstructive Theatre Project, Yes Gallery, Columbia University and Spectre Box.  She has also worked with Annex Theatre, Emerald City Scene, and A.C.T. in Seattle; iDiom Theatre and Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington; and the Alumni Theatre in Toronto. She is one half of the brilliant theatre creation team ARM AND EL BEAU, (with Eric Beauzay) and is an Associate Artist with Concrete Temple Theatre.  Amy holds a B.A. in Theatre and a B.A./B.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of Washington.

Monet Hurst-Mendoza (writer Veil’d: a fairytale QuaDs 2011) is an NYC-based playwright and director from Los Angeles, CA. Her plays include The Annex (Bare Bones Ensemble, 2010 Work(s) In Progress Festival), In The Waiting Line, Shangri-L.A., Lilia, Janeʼs Room (Looking Glass Theatre, 2010 Spring Writer/Director Forum), Veilʼd, (Rising Circle Theater Collective, INKtank/PlayRISE Festival 2010, |the claque| QuaDs 2011). Veil’d will be workshopped as part of Rising Circle’s inaugural REFINERY Series in May 2012 at Queen’s College, and will receive a full production in Winter 2013. Directing credits include Little Murders (Linda M. Grindstead Theatre), Mud, Springtime, The Distance From Here, Rabbit Hole, A Month in the Country, and 365 Days/365 Plays (Marymount Manhattan College); assistant direction/dramaturgy forThe Women (dir. Bob Goldsby), Richard III (dir. Armin Shimerman), and The Young Idea Project with The Antaeus Company. Monet holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts, with concentrations in directing and playwriting from Marymount Manhattan College. She is the 2009 recipient of the Marymount Manhattan College Gold Key for Excellence in Theatre Arts, Writing for the Stage. She was a finalist for Hangar Theatreʼs 2010 Playwriting Residency, Youngbloodʼs 2009 and 2010 play development group at Ensemble Studio Theatre, the 2011 Old Vic New Voices T.S. Elliot US/UK Exchange, the 2011 Lark Play Development Center‘s Playwright’s Week, and the 2011-2012 Van Leir Fellowship. Member: The Dramatist Guild of America, Rising Circle Theater Collective, |the claque|, Bare Bones Ensemble (founding member), and The Women’s Project. She lives in Brooklyn with her two kitties, Nabia & Mirana.

Anna Moench‘s (writer Great Eastern QuaDs 2011) plays include Hunger, In Quietness (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Great Eastern, and The Pillow Book (59E59).  Other productions of her work have been seen at the Old Vic, The Flea, Dance Theater Workshop, Dixon Place, The Kraine, The Looking Glass Theatre, and FringeNYC.  Anna has developed plays with The Public Theater, The Lark, [the claque], 3Graces Theater Co., the Great Plains Conference, the Last Frontier Conference, The Inkwell, and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, where she was named a Tennessee Williams Scholar . Awards include the 2012 Van Lier Fellowship at the Lark Play Development Center, the Jerome Foundation’s 2009 Travel Grant and the 2010 T.S. Eliot Exchange with the Old Vic. Anna is a two-time recipient of the EST/Sloan Commission and has also been commissioned by Red Fern Theatre Company and Haggard Middle School in Plano, TX.  She has been a writer in residence at the Tofte Lake Center, the Vineyard Arts Project, and the FAR Space. Anna is a current member of Youngblood at Ensemble Studio Theatre and a former member of the 2011 Emerging Writers Group at The Public Theater and New Georges’ writer-director lab, The Jam.  She is currently working on a Joint-Stock commission for NYU Tisch with director David Frederic Chapman.  Her play for young actors, Backwards At The Speed Of Light, is being published by Playscripts.

Vanessa Pereda-Felix (Special Events Coordinator/ Actor Daniel and Spencer: friends forever QuaDs 2011)is an actor and holds her BA in Theatre Arts from California State University of Fresno. She has recently studied and performed with the New York Downtown Clown Theatre Company, and performed in Katherine Henner’s “Dick Bell, Balls Out at the Ex Libris Theatre Company. She has had the privilage of training with various mentors and groups such as The San Francisco Mime Troupe, Dell’ Arte, IOWest, and The Steppenwolfe Theatre Company. She lives happily with her husband Jay, and cat Raisin, in Brooklyn.

Joseph Riippi (writer Research: A Novel for Performance QuaDs 2011) is writer of Research: A Novel for Performance, which debuted at the QuADs in 2011 and is currently in development for full production with |the claque|. He is also author of the books A Cloth House,The Orange Suitcase, and Do Something! Do Something! Do Something!.

Julius Roberge (consultant) is a brand strategist and creative problem solver. With 18+ years managing brands in consumer products, digital media, fashion and technology, he’s passionate about experiences that speak to the senses. Whether through words, visuals, textures, sounds or scents, he aims to make an impression that you remember and tell others about. Julius is a linguist by education and has a knack for languages. He has conducted business in Italian, French, German and Japanese, studied three ancient languages, and spent a year working in Shanghai where he took on Mandarin. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t photograph” is his favorite mantra, so try something unexpected if you see him with a camera in hand.

Mark Snyder’s (writer A Descent Stretch QuaDs 2012, Wipe Away Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival 2010) plays include As Wide As I Can See (HERE/At Hand Theatre), Lila Cante (At Hand Theatre), Corsets (POP!), Wipe Away (Samuel French OOB Festival), The Beanbag Game, and A Decent Stretch. His plays have been produced and developed in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Portland. For three years, he hosted and performed in Red Light Nights at New York’s The Slipper Room (Firecracker Productions).  His reviews, essays, and interviews have appeared in Paste, The Rumpus, The Collagist, The Brooklyn Rail, The New Gay, Queerty, ThePeeq, and at Maud Newton.com, and he has read new work at Pete’s Candy Store (courtesy of the2ndHand.com) and throughout downtown NYC. Mark is a core collaborator with The Claque.  BA, Otterbein College. MFA, Ohio University.  Mark was born in Warren, Ohio and lives in Brooklyn.

Carl Wiemann (lighting designer QuaDs 2012, 2011) is a lighting designer for theater, dance, opera, and architecture. In addition to his work with |the claque|, he was a member of the 2011 Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, he is resident lighting designer at Exit Pursued by a Bear, and he is lighting director for dance company The Chase Brock Experience. In 2009, Carl founded Sense, an emerging practice in architectural lighting design that specializes in high-end retail, residential, institutional, hospitality, and public realm architectural design. Building on his theatrical and architectural design affiliations, Carl is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Designers’ Lighting Forum (DLFNY), an organization devoted to promoting the power of light in design.