Maggie Dubris
Maggie Dubris is an award-winning writer and sound artist based in New York City. She worked for 25 years as a 911 paramedic in the Times Square/Hell’s Kitchen area, and her work draws on that experience. Maggie’s latest book, BrokeDown Palace is the basis for the libretto of Broke. Luc Sante called the book, “Absorbing, funny, lyrical, and transcendentally sad, a stunning poetic monument to a New York that no longer exists.” Maggie’s writing has been featured in David Gordon’s America and Mabou Mines’ Song For New York. For most of the 1990s she was a main songwriter and guitarist for the all-female extravaganza, Homer Erotic. After the group disbanded in 2000, she began creating soundscapes for installations in New York City, Newark, Pittsburgh, and Portland OR. She is the recipient of an NEA in literature, a NYFA grant for sound, and the Richard Margolis award for her long poem, WillieWorld.
Andy Teirstein
Composer Andy Teirstein's music has been described by The New York Times and Village Voice as "magical," "ingenious," and "superbly crafted." In his long career, Andy has composed for stage, film, television and dance. His work has been featured on PBS and BBC, and performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, La Mama, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Joyce Theater, and internationally. He has received numerous grants, awards and honors, including Meet the Composer Choreographer/Composer Commissions; NEA Opera/Musical Theater Awards; Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust Awards; New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships; a MacDowell Fellowship; and numerous ASCAP awards. Most recently, Andy was selected for an opera composer fellowship with the American Lyric Theater. He is an Arts Professor at New York University, and Directed the research project “Translucent Borders,” a global exploration of the role of dance and music at borders.
Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd is a Tony-nominated (The Color Purple) and Bessie Award-winning (The Minstrel Show) choreographer. In 1978 he founded Donald Byrd/The Group, which toured nationally and internationally until 2002. Since 2002, Byrd has been artistic director of the renowned Spectrum Dance Theater, based in Seattle. Byrd has choreographed more than 80 modern dance works for his own and other companies, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Dance Theater of Harlem, and The Joffrey Ballet. He has worked with the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater, the San Francisco Opera and the New York City Opera, among others. Mr. Byrd’s many awards and fellowships include the Doris Duke Artist Award; Masters of Choreography Award, The Kennedy Center; Fellow at The American Academy of Jerusalem; James Baldwin Fellow of United States Artists; and the Mayor’s Arts Award for his sustained contributions to the City of Seattle.
Seán Curran
Seán Curran’s career in the arts spans 35 years, beginning with traditional Irish step dancing as a child in Boston. His choreographic works for the award-winning contemporary dance ensemble, Seán Curran Company, are characterized by collaborations across artistic genres and have toured nearly 100 venues in the U.S., Europe and Asia with seasons in New York City including at Brooklyn Academy of Music, Irish Arts Center, The Joyce Theater, The Guggenheim Museum, Symphony Space, Central Park Summerstage, and Celebrate Brooklyn. A sought-after choreographer and director for opera and theatre, notable projects include Salome (Opera Theatre of St. Louis, San Francisco Opera, Opera Montreal, San Diego Opera); Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night's Dream for The Shakespeare Theater; Harvey Milk, Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Shalimar the Clown, Ariadne on Naxos, Nixon in China, and Daughter of the Regiment at Opera Theater of St. Louis; M. Butterfly at Santa Fe Opera; NYC Opera productions of L'Etoile, Alcina, Turandot, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Capriccio, and Acis and Galetea; Shakespeare in the Park's As You Like It; the Metropolitan Opera’s Romeo and Juliette; and on Broadway in James Joyce's The Dead, Cymbeline, and The Rivals at Lincoln Center Theater As a dancer, Curran is known for his early performance work with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, receiving a “Bessie” award for his role in Secret Pastures, and as an original New York City cast member of STOMP!