Thank you for joining us!
the world Premiere of
The Golden Drum Year: a story in poetry and prose
September 26 - October 10, 2015
If you go back a year ago, can you believe where you are? 3 years. 5 years. A decade. Two decades. Can you believe where you are? What an imposing and brilliant sound, The ticking of the Hand. What lethally beautiful control It has at its Command. - Beto O'Byrne
THE GOLDEN DRUM YEAR begins with Eugene. Everyone calls him Eu. Through poetry, prose, moving image and music, we witness Eu’s world unfold and swirl around him while he grasps for meaning and purpose. An unlikely group of friends helps him find that purpose in the strangest of places.
Built from and inspired by a series of 365 poems written daily for a year, THE GOLDEN DRUM YEAR celebrates the collection of everyday moments that shape our lives.
"Shortly after the New Year in 2011, a good friend and fellow writer texted me a poem randomly late one evening. I got a big kick out of this and responded in kind with one of my own. It had been some time since I had written a poem seriously and I had forgotten how much I enjoy the act. So the next day I sat down and wrote another one. And the next day I wrote another one. After about a month of this, a project started to crystallize in my mind. One that lasted over the span of a year, with a new poem for each day. In it’s own way, a chronicle of the first year of my life in The City. And what better way to celebrate these poems than to turn them into a live event? An interactive, 3-Dimensional Art Installation; utilizing music, video, and other artistic mediums to give people a richer, more in-depth experience."
- BETO O'BYRNE, PLAYWRIGHT
ABOUT THE CAST
ANDREW BELCHER (Jackson) is a theatermaker, teacher, and somanaut from Ashley Falls, MA. NYC Credits include The Golden Drum Year (Radical Evolution), Decline and Fall (Reading- NYTW Studio), Spoon River Anthology (Columbia Stages), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Truffle Theatre Company), Dr. Faustus Lights the Lights (Enthuse Theater), and Brave Ducks(NYFringe). Regional Credits include Tartuffe (Greenhouse Theatre Project), Oliver! (Berkshire Theater Group), A Christmas Carol (BTG), and A Man for All Seasons (BTG). Andrew is a company member of Enthuse Theater and collaborates with Radical Evolution. Andrew is the Founder of MassBliss and really likes to ride his bike around the city.www.andrewbelcher.com
JONATHAN CAMUZEAUX (Musician/Original Music Composition and Sound Design) is a French-American musician, theater-artist, photographer and environmental economist. He was raised in Paris, France, and relocated to New York in 2009. Since, Jonathan has been especially active composing, performing and directing music for performance. He is a co-founder of Superhero Clubhouse’s Sci-Art Lab, the creator of the multi-disciplinary photography project Stack of Fives, the resident music director for The Live Lunch Series and Phaedra's Cabaret, as well as the bassist for the Brooklyn-based soul band Lady Moon & The Eclipse. He is proud to be working with the talented team of Radical Evolution's The Golden Drum Year.
FERNANDO GONZALEZ (Jero) is an actor, writer, science enthusiast, ne'er-do-well, rascal, scamp, and synonym fan. Credits include Two Gentlemen of Verona (Thurio), Sheeple (Alberto; NY Fringe Festival),The Cherry Orchard (Lopakhin; dir. Robert Moss), sundry readings at New York Theatre Workshop, and a smattering of web projects. He also translated and adaptedBohemian Lights for Live Source. BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch/Playwrights Horizons. Follow him @uniqueid if you've a strong stomach for puns.
ZULEYMA GUEVARA (Xochi) A New York-based actress, Guevara has been seen this past year performing in The Hour of the Star for Columbia Stages, La Paloma Prisoner at Pershing Square and Houses on the Moons production of DeNovo, which will be presented in Ausrin, TX this October. Past credits include the premiere of Seven Spots on the Sun at Cincinnati playhouse in the Park, La Ruta for the Working Theatre, Sh*thole at DUTF and Intar’s production of The Leak. Film and TV credits include Sonia’s Choice, the Bogeyman episode of Law & Order, Rope Art and Legend of the 13 Suns for Kraft. Upcoming projects include the Limitless pilot for CBS as well as the independent short films Danny Boy and New York State of Mind. She is thrilled to be working with Radical Evolution and such a talented and committed cast and crew. She has a BA from Fordham University and interned with Vinette Carrol in Florida.
TIA JAMES (Lisha) has been last seen in Playboy of the West Indies (NYU Grad Acting), Superhero Clubhouse 2014, The Merchant of Venice (Broadhurst Theater), Much Ado About Nothing (Two River Theater), The Merchant of Venice and The Winter's Tale (Shakespeare in the Park) black odyssey (workshop)(The Denver Center), Civilization (All you Can Eat) (Woolly Mammoth Theater), #NYC (Ugly Rhino). Television: Nurse Jackie; Treme. BFA Virginia Commonwealth University, MFA NYU Graduate Acting.
SONIA VILLANI (Perdita) is an Italian actress and tango dancer from Rome who moved to NYC in 2012. Selected NYC credits: The Event Of A Thread (Park Avenue Armory), Eurydice’s Dream, Lying, Body, 400 Parts Per Million (all with Blessed Unrest), the feature film Front Cover (2015 SIFF premiere), the Italian VO for the animated series Invizimals. In Italy, Sonia performed in many theaters and festivals. In NYC, she trained extensively with SITI Company. She was part of all the previous workshops of The Golden Drum Year and is now very excited to continue her role for the full production.
ALLAN K. WASHINGTON (Eugene) NY Theatre: Lincoln Center Originals (Lincoln Center), A Man's A Man (Classic Stage Company). NY Workshops: The Spongebob Musical (Nickelodeon), Mourning Becomes Electra (Target Margin Theatre). International Theatre: The Music Man (Royal Opera House of Muscat). Regional Theatre: The Flying Dutchman (Hawaii Opera Theatre); Carmen, Aida, Lost in the Stars, Annie Get Your Gun, The Music Man (Glimmerglass Festival). Training: University of NC School of the Arts.
ABOUT THE ARTISTIC TEAM
BETO O'BYRNE (Co-Creator, Text) hails from East Texas and is the co-founder of Radical Evolution. As a theatre artist, he is the author of more than 15 his plays have been produced and supported throughout the U.S. He is the former Artistic Director of the Austin Latino Theater Alliance and is an alumnus of INTAR’s Maria Irene Fornes HPRL, the Texas Black and Latino Playwriting Festival, Lincoln Center Theater’s Director’s Lab, and was twice the recipient of residences at the Tofte Lake Arts Center in Ely, MN. He is an Artistic and International Programs Associate for Theatre Communications Group as well as a steering committee member of the Latino/a Theatre Commons. www.betoobyrne.org
SIMÓN ADINIA HANUKAI (Co-Creator, Director) is a theater-maker, director, curator and educator. Originally from Baku, Azerbaijan, he splits his time between NYC and Paris. Artistic leadership roles include Co-Artistic Director of Destiny Arts Center, Adjunct Professor at CUNY, and Performing Arts Curator for MassBliss. Simón has created work and taught throughout the U.S. and Europe, and has had the privilege to assist Anne Bogart, Robert Woodruff and William Forsythe, as well as observe Robert Lepage. Simón holds an MA in Education from the University of San Francisco and an MFA in Directing from Columbia University. More info at www.simonhanukai.com.
MEROPI PEPONIDES (Co-Creator, Artistic Producer) is an Artistic Producer, dramaturg, writer and co-founder of Radical Evolution. She has been collaboratively creating and producing theatre for the past 9 years with a focus on devised ensemble work, new plays, site-specific work and community-based performance. She is also the Producer at Soho Rep. She has been awarded a Time Warner Fellowship with the Women’s Project Lab, and a Creative Producing Fellowship with The Foundry Theatre. Other organizations with which she has collaborated include The Movement Theatre Company, The Public Theater, 24th Street Theatre and Watts Village Theatre Company. BA, UCLA. MFA, Columbia University (Dean's fellow).
DEDE M. AYITE (Set and Costume Design) Select design credits: Toast (The Public); The Blood Quilt (Arena Stage); Marie Antoinette (Steppenwolf Theatre); Stagger Lee (Dallas Theatre Center); The CA Lyons Project (Alliance Theatre); Five Guys Named Moe (Arena Stage,Cleveland Playhouse); brownsville song (b-side for tray) (LCT3); Sets and Costumes for Urban Retreat, Manahatta (The Public); Scenic Design for Raisin in the Sun (CalShakes Theater); The Music Man in Concert (Two Rivers, NJPAC,) Kurt Metzger (Comedy Central); Adoration of the Old Woman (Intar); Woyzeck (Umass Amherst); Look Upon Our Lowliness (TMTC); Fox Shortcoms (FOX Network); COPPER Project (Improv Everywhere /BBC America); Last Laugh (soloNOVA Festival); Hollow Roots (The Public), Mary Stuart (NYU); June’s Blood ( NBT); Holding it Down (Harlem Stage); Vassa (Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute); Illmatic (Urban Stages); Scenic Design for The Piano Lesson (Yale Repertory Theatre); Smile Orange (Trinidad); American Schemes (Summer Stage, NYC). MFA: Yale School of Drama.
DAVID BENGALI (Projection Design) is a Projections and Lighting designer based in New York. Recent projects include: Jules Verne: from the Earth to the Moon (BAM), Ring Of Fire (Endstation Theatre), Kill Me Like You Mean It (Stolen Chair), Square Peg Round Hole (Tectonic Theater Project), Two Point Oh (59E59), The Tempest (CSC/Young Company), Marie Christine (3LD), I Forgive You Ronald Reagan (Theatre Row), The Orion Experience (XL), Look Upon Our Lowliness (The Movement Theatre Co.), Cav/Pag (Tri Cities Opera), Little Nemo in Slumberland (Sarasota Opera), The Sensational Josephine Baker (Emerging Artists Theatre - Theatre Row), Ephrat Asherie Dance, Jamal Jackson Dance, The New Victory. MFA: NYU
YUKI NAKASE (Lighting Design) is a theatrical designer based in NYC. Recent credits include scenic and lighting design for No One Asked Me (SoHo Playhouse), Sorry (LPAC); lighting design for Bastards of Strindberg (Theatre Row), DECODER 2017 (Gibney Dance), Gilgamesh: A Musical Epic (Connelly Theatre), The Golem Of Havana (La MaMa), Black Milk (CSC). B.A. in Dance: JWCPE, M.F.A. in Design: NYU. For more information, visit http://yukinakase.com.
LISA NEVADA (Choreographer) A native of Albuquerque, NM, Lisa Nevada is a curious and invested dance artist. Influenced by modern dance techniques, improvisation, theatre and environmental/social activism, Nevada’s intention is to develop movement vocabulary that has a visceral impact on viewers and imparts abstract narrative. Her choreography has been commissioned by New Mexico Ballet Company, John Donald Robb Musical Trust, The Vortex Theater, 516 Arts, Tricklock Company and 24 Hours of Art, Albuquerque. In 2014, Nevada was named the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge Performance Artist for her site-specific dance concert Radicles: Rediscovering humankind’s primary roots. She holds an MFA in Dance from the University of New Mexico and is a founding member and co-director of SHIFT Contemporary Dance Collective, as well as choreographer and dancer for lisa nevada dance.
JESS ADAMS (Props) is a properties, mask, and puppet creator based in Brooklyn, NY. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she was a Robertson Scholar. Past credits include Couriers and Contrabands (Timeline Projects at The Barrow Group), Gary's Basement (People's Improv Theatre), La Paloma Prisoner (New Plays Now Festival/Signature), The Fall (The Berlin Project at The Flam- boyan Theatre) WAKE (Columbia Stages), Cafe', (Columbia Stages), and The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Wandering Fools Ensemble/Shanghai Int'l Experimental Theatre Festival). Jess teaches theatre and ethics at The Governor's School of North Carolina. www.jessadamstheatre.com.
LIZ NIELSEN (Production Manager/Technical Director) is a Brooklyn-based theater maker. Recent productions include Jarring (Mason Holdings), Washeteria (Soho Rep) and Give Me Back My Beast (La Mama). She will be working with Object Collection and John Jesurun this fall and remounting past productions in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Norway early next year.
YING LE (Producer) is a New York-based theatre producer and event planner. She has worked with 24th Street Theatre in LA, Jujamcyn Theaters, University of the Arts, 321 Theatrical Management, Second Generation, The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Depravity Productions, soloNova Arts Festival and numerous other companies. Participant in the 2015 Commercial Theatre Institute Producers’ Program. BA: USC
SIZO KUNENE (Assistant Producer) is an interdisciplinary creative living and working in New York, who has adopted the ethos of allowing his passion to contribute to the artistic community to guide him as he searches for his niche in the many respective mediums he’s concen- trated his efforts in. Some credits include: Writer/Director Lab 2014/15, Co. Producer (Soho Rep.), 10 Out Of 12, Company Manager (Soho Rep.) Black Phumelele S/S 2016 Fashion Week Presentation, Sound Design (AMCONYC). Sizo is the Founder of HUISstudio: a collaboration of ideas, thought and product with the vision of supporting and developing culture through music, film and design.
TAYLOR WILKERSON (Stage Manager) is super excited to be part of this wonderful production! She is a graduate of UCLA's School of Theatre, Film, and Television, and was the resident Stage Manager for Los Angeles' Color and Light Theatre Ensemble for two seasons. She has been recently seen around New York as the Assistant Production Manager for Ensemble Studio Theatre's 2014-2015 season as well as the Stage Manager for this summer's production of Merrily We Roll Along at the TriArts Sharon Playhouse.
SARAH KING (Production Assistant) is a recent graduate from The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. As a multi-purpose minion, she has enjoyed working on this beautiful production with such a talented cast and crew, and is thankful to Liz Nielsen for the opportunity.
JEFFREY FATO (Production Assistant) Liz and I built the sets, and I am currently backstage, making sure everything is running smoothly. I graduated from the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts and work as an actor/carpenter. I would like to thank Liz and the rest of the cast and crew for their work. Enjoy the show!
KIPPY WINSTON MEDIA (Public Relations) is a boutique public relations firm that specializes in all things theatrical. Recently clients have included: Mariah MacCarthy and Caps Lock Theatre, Two-by-For at TheaterLab, Streetsigns and Opera Nouveau at HERE, Hard Sparks at the New Ohio, and Nellie Tinder and Little Lord at theBrick. Kippy is thrilled to work with Radical Evolution. Volume three of The Radish, downtown theatre’s essential gossip rag, will take root this fall. A bientot mes amis!
KATE ATTWELL (Graphic Designer) is a queer female writer, director and performer. Her work has been seen at BAM (Everybooty), CATCH Perfor- mance Series, The Wassaic Project, The Stratford New Works Lab, The Bushwick Starr (Reading Series), JACK, LaMaMa, Dixon Place, The Brick Theater, Poet's House, Tisch, The Wickham Theatre, The Yale School of Drama and The Yale Cabaret. Upcoming: Under the Radar Festival. BA The University of Bristol, MFA Yale School of Drama. She is a founding member of I AM A BOYS CHOIR, a participant in The Public Theater’s Devised Theater Initiative and she works as a dramaturg for Craig Lucas, Richard Maltby and David Shire.
Co-Created by Radical Evolution and Simón Adinia Hanukai
ARTISTIC TEAM
Text: Beto O'Byrne
Developed with: Meropi Peponides
Director: Simón Adinia Hanukai
Set and Costume Design: Dede M. Ayite
Projection Design: David Bengali
Original Music and Sound Design: Jonathan Camuzeaux
Lighting Design: Yuki Nakase
Choreography: Lisa Nevada
Props: Jess Adams
Meropi Peponides and Ying Le - Co-Producers
Sizo Kunene - Assistant Producer
Liz Nielsen - Production Manager/Technical Director
Taylor Wilkerson - Stage Manager
Kate Attwell - Graphic Design
Featuring:
Andrew Belcher
Jonathan Camuzeaux
Fernando Gonzalez
Zuleyma Guevara*
Tia James*
Sonia Villani
Allan K. Washington*
*Appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association
Previous Artistic Collaborators:
Eric Avilés (performer)
Cynthia Bastidas (performer)
Catherine Blencowe (production assistant)
W. Tré Davis (performer)
Matt Dellapina (performer)
Adam Gibbs (composer)
Deadria Harrington (performer)
Harry Poster (Stage Manager)
Yadira de la Riva (performer)
Jonathan Raviv (performer)
Development History
- July 2012. Development Residency.
Tofte Lake Center. Ely, MN. - August 2012. Work-in-progress Performance.
La Sala. Brooklyn, NY. - December 2013. Workshop Production.
Cloud City, Brooklyn, NY. - July 2014. Design Workshop.
New York, NY. - May 2015. Script Workshop.
New York, NY. - September-October 2015. World Premiere.
University Settlement. New York, NY.