terraNOVA Collective Announces New Staff Members

Darling says, “My passion has always been the development of new plays and the nurturing of playwrights. I recognize the impact soloNOVA has had on our community and how it has helped shape the growth of solo performance. It is now time to expand our reach. soloNOVA will always be part of our programming, but with the infusion of new staff and playwrights this season, it is obvious we must bring to light to the great work our Groundbreakers Playwrights Group has been doing for the last three seasons and make it our focus, going forward.” 

 

Jennifer Conley Darling also announces today that current Groundbreakers Program Director, Jessi D. Hill, has been appointed as terraNOVA Collective’s new Associate Artistic Director. Hill states: “I've been thrilled to be a part of terraNOVA's artistic staff for the last three years. In that time Jennifer and I have come to see that we share the same passions for cultivating and supporting new theatrical voices and looking for unique opportunities to find productions for the theatre we make. This partnership feels like a natural fit and I'm eager to dive into all the exciting projects we have in the works."

 

The new terraNOVA Collective is an artistic playground for talented early and mid-career playwrights. With the launch of the first ever New Play Series in April at The New Ohio Theater, terraNOVA will present 8 new works in development by Robert Askins (Hand To God at Ensemble Studio Theatre), J. Julian Christopher (Man Boobs with The Public’s Emerging Writers Group), Krista Knight (Salamander Leviathan at Joe’s Pub), Jennifer Lane (Harlowe at 3LD), Andrea Lepcio (Finalist for the NEA Outstanding New American Play Award for Looking for the Pony),Matthew Paul Olmos (selected by Sam Shepard as the inaugural recipient of La MaMa ETC’s Ellen Stewart Emerging Playwright Award),Crystal Skillman (2010 New York Innovative Theatre Award for The Vigil or The Guided Cradle), and Ken Urban (The Happy Sad, SPF at The Public). The soloNOVA Arts Festival will also be expanding outside of New York City, with future franchises planned in the US and abroad.

 

Jennifer Conley Darling and Jessi D. Hill also welcome to the staff: Elizabeth Carlson (Director, The Only Child at FringeNYC 2011; The 1s and The 2s in #serials@theflea) as Lead Producer; Jo Cattell (Director/Choreographer/Producer, SFX Theatricals, Cirque du Soleil) as Associate Producer; and Kimberly Faith Hickman (director/choreographer, Atlantic Theatre Company, Women’s Project, Epic Theatre Ensemble) as the Casting Director for all terraNOVA readings and workshops. Christy Briggs, responsible for all of terraNOVA’s artwork since 2007, will continue as Creative Director.  

 

Founded in 1996 by graduates from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, terraNOVA Collective has grown from an assembly of artists into a not-for-profit organization offering writers a supportive and energetic environment to develop and produce their work. Since its inception, terraNOVA has staged eight full-scale productions (Including: Feeder: A Love Story; Blue Before Morning; Masquerade: Calypso and Home; Buck Fever; and Baby Steps), developed more than eighty plays and solo shows through its Groundbreakers Playwrights Group, and given a platform to approximately 330 solo artists in the annual soloNOVA Arts Festival, now in its 9th season. 

 

terraNOVA has received many accolades including thirty New York Innovative Theatre Award nominations, eight of which were for the main stage productions of Feeder: A Love Story by James Carter and Blue Before Morning by Kate McGovern. terraNOVA has been hosted within several artistic homes, including Performance Space 122, the DR2 Theatre and D-Lounge at the Daryl Roth Theatre (theatre-in-residence for two seasons), and HERE Arts Center. 

 

This 2012 season, terraNOVA will present within the newly renovated New Ohio Theater with their New Play Series, April 10-15 and the 9th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival, May 30-June 17, featuring 10 solo shows from Canada, the United States, and Puerto Rico.