CoCo For All - Ticket Subsidy Fund

Click here to learn more!

At Colt Coeur, we are deeply committed to bringing art to a wide community and aim to provide show tickets at accessible prices. Despite rising production costs, we will continue to provide at least 30% of all tickets at highly subsidized rates to help eliminate financial barriers to access our work. 

In addition to offering the alumni of our Education Initiaitive – a signature Colt Coeur education program that has been running for 15 years –  four complimentary tickets to each of our productions, we continue to prioritize offering free or discount tickets to artists and arts workers who make up about 20% of our audience.  

Donations to our CoCo for All –Ticket Subsidy Fund make it possible to provide complimentary, $10, & $25 tickets for our next production, Still – running April 13 - May 18, 2024 at DR2 Theatre. 

Special thanks to CoCo Board Member Roberta Kelly for inspiring this initiative with a generous lead contribution. 

Learn more about Still here. 

Buy tickets to Still here. 

All contributions to this fund are fully tax-deductible. 

STILL tickets on sale!

Looking Back // Dreaming Ahead

At the end of the year we love to reflect on what we shared - and dream about what’s ahead.
Click here to read our EOY eblast jam-packed with images!

Click here to read Heather Cohn’s End-Of-Year letter - and support our upcoming season!

Announcing our 2023-2024 CoCo Residents!

After receiving over 70 submissions to our Open Call we are thrilled to announce this year’s cohort!

Colt Coeur's 2023-2024 Residents (clockwise from top left):
Jose Sebastian Alberdi (playwright), Brittany K. Allen (playwright), Sarah Dahnke (director/choreographer), C.A. Johnson (playwright), Eric Norbury (designer), Lia Romeo (playwrights), Danny Tejera (playwright), Liba Vaynberg (playwright)

Read more about these exciting artists below!

jose sebastian alberdi (he/him) is a Mexican-Basque-American playwright (with TV aspirations). Originally from San Diego, CA, he now lives in New York & writes about queerness, faith, power, & other things he finds interesting &/or important. He has developed his work with/at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, The Orchard Project, INTAR, the Huntington Theatre Company, SpeakEasy Stage, Exquisite Corpse Company, Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective, Fresh Ink Theatre, & Teatro Chelsea. He has received commissions from SpeakEasy Stage for their annual Boston Project & he is currently under commission at INTAR as their inaugural Max Ferrá Playwriting Fellow. MFA from New York University, BA from Northeastern University.

Brittany K. Allen (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based writer and actor. Her plays have been staged and developed at Portland Center Stage, Jungle Theater, Manhattan Theater Club, The Public, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Studio Theatre, and KC Rep, among other places, and she currently holds commissions from Playwrights Horizons and Clubbed Thumb. Recognitions include the Daryl Roth Creative Spirit Award, the Dramatists Guild Foundation Comedic Playwriting Prize, and a Van Lier New Voices Playwriting Fellowship. She is a member of the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group at Primary Stages, and her writing has been supported by a MacDowell fellowship, and scholarships to Bread Loaf, and the Sewanee Writers Conference, where she now teaches on faculty. brittanykallen.com/

Sarah Dahnke (she/her) is a choreographer, director and arts educator deeply committed to empowering communities to use movement to reclaim narratives stripped away by colonialism. She was the Crane Directing Fellow at Opera Columbus for 2022-2023, a MAP Fund awardee, an NEA Our Town-funded resident artist, and a former awardee of fellowships from Gibney’s Moving Toward Justice, Target Margin Institute, New Victory LabWorks, and Culture Push. Dahnke has received commissions from PEN America and A Studio in the Woods and has been in residence at Abrons Arts Center and Brooklyn Studios for Dance. As a practitioner, Dahnke specializes in devised performance and site-specific dance film. Her dance film work has been screened through the Dance Films Association, Tiny Dance Film Festival, DanceBarn Collective, BRIC, and Movies By Movers. SarahDahnke.com

C.A. Johnson (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based playwright originally from Metairie, Louisiana. Her plays include ALL THE NATALIE PORTMANS (MCC Theater), THIRST (2017 Kilroys List, CATF), THE CLIMB (Cherry Lane Mentor Project), AN AMERICAN FEAST (NYU Playwrights Horizons Theater School), I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW, and SOMEBODY’S BODY. Most recently she was the Tow Playwright in Residence at MCC Theater. She was previously the 2018 P73 Playwriting Fellow, The Lark's 2016-17 Van Lier Fellow, a Dramatists Guild Fellow, a member of The Working Farm at SPACE on Ryder Farm, A Core Writer at The Playwrights Center, a member of The Civilians R&D Group, a Sundance/Ucross Fellow and a 2018 Sundance Theatre Lab Fellow. Her work has been commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club, Seattle Rep, Page 73, and Chatauqua Theater Company. C.A. also has an active career in film and television, with several projects in development, including at ABC Signature, Netflix and New Line. She has written for a number of television series, including projects helmed by Drew Goddard, Marielle Heller, and more. BA: Smith College MFA: NYU

Eric Norbury (he/him) Lighting Designer - Select credits include Hong Kong Mississippi (La MaMa ETC), Dodi & Diana (Colt Coeur), The Prom (WPPAC), Footloose (Argyle Theatre), Xerxes (Detroit Opera), Blue (Seattle Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Dutch National Opera), Only Human: A Musical (Theatre St. Clement’s), Till: A Musical (NYMF), Nimbus Dance at BAM Fisher,. Previous work: LaMama ETC, NYTW, Playwrights Horizons, Barrington Stage Company, La Jolla Playhouse, New School of Drama, Washington National Opera, 5th Avenue Theatre, The Glimmerglass Festival, Seán Curran Dance Company, De Funes Dance, Second Avenue Dance Company and many others. MFA NYU/Tisch. Member USA829. ericnorburylighting.com

Lia Romeo (she/her) was a recent playwriting fellow at Juilliard. Her plays have been developed at the O’Neill, La Jolla Playhouse, the Lark, and elsewhere, and have been produced off-Broadway at 59E59 and ART/NY as well as regionally at venues such as Dorset Theatre Festival, Laguna Playhouse, Unicorn Theatre, New Jersey Repertory Theatre, and others. Four of her plays have been recognized by the Kilroys List. Her plays are published by TRW, Broadway Licensing, and Broadway Play Publishing. She is the associate artistic director with Project Y Theatre Company and the co-founder of the Parent-Caregiver Playwrights Group, and she teaches playwriting at Primary Stages/ESPA and in the M.A. program in creative writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University. www.liaromeowriter.com

Danny Tejera (he/him) is a writer, actor and teacher from Madrid. His play TOROS was produced at Second Stage Uptown and received a New York Times Critic’s Pick. He is a member of EST/Youngblood and a Colt Coeur Resident Artist, and has received fellowships from MacDowell, Millay Arts, Stillwright, and Tofte Lake Center. He has received commissions from Second Stage Theater and EST/Sloan. Short plays include SCARY FACES HAPPY FACES (Samuel French OOB Short Play Festival, The Best 10 Minute Plays 2023) and TWO TWO WOMEN (Ensemble Studio Theatre). He teaches with The Bushwick Starr’s Senior Storytelling program and previously taught at UT-Austin, The School of the NYTimes, and Breakthrough NY. He got a B.A. from Columbia University and a Playwriting M.F.A. at Hunter College/UT-Austin, where he was mentored by Annie Baker and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. He’s represented by WME and 2AM.

Liba Vaynberg (she/her) is a bilingual first-generation American artist whose work reimagines  canonical text by centering contemporary questions of gender, progress, and God (or lack thereof). The daughter of Ukrainian and Azeri Jewish refugees, she studied Molecular Biology at Yale before receiving her MFA at Columbia. Plays: The Matriarchs (Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference, Civilians R&D, Theater J Abramson Finalist, Blue Ink finalist), The Gett (Rattlestick, Princess Grace Semi-Finalist, Colorado New Play Festival), Round Table (59E59, Fault Line, Times Square Chronicles 10 Best Plays of 2019), Scheiss Book (United Solo Festival: Best One-Woman Show & Backstage Magazine Audience Choice Award, Dixon Place, Wild Project, Kitchen Theater), The Blue Parts with Dina Vovsi (Working Theater, NYSCA Grant). Her work as an actor includes “The Soap Myth” (PBS) opposite Ed Asner, Oregon Trail at the Women's Project, Lost In Yonkers opposite Marsha Mason (CT Critics' Circle nom.) and Golem of Havana at La Mama. Fellowships include LABA, COJECO Blueprint, and Sewanee Writers’ Conference. She writes for Lilith Magazine. libavaynberg.com

CoCo Benefit Auction goes LIVE!

Leading up to our Benefit Bash on October 12th, our digital auction is now live!

Check out the unique experiences, tickets, vacations, and more -- and support a great cause while you're at it!

digital Auction closes Friday, October 13, 11:59pm ET.

CoCo welcomes four new Board members

Colt Coeur recently welcomed 4 additions to its Board of Directors: Ato Essandoh, Annie Shea Graney, Irene Lazaridis, and, Steven Levenson. Additionally, Alex Marrs and Andrew Perlmutter have been named Board Co-Chairs, with Tomi Olabanji taking on the role of Vice Chair.

Ato Essandoh (he/him)
Born on a Saturday in late July in Schenectady New York, the first child of Ebow and Monica Essandoh did not have an official name. Ghanaian custom dictated that the new parents wait a week before divining a name during a traditional ceremony. Seven days hence, "Baby Boy Essandoh" became Ato Essilfi Bracato Essandoh. "Ato" meaning Saturday born, "Essilfi" after his grandfather, a beloved school teacher in Ghana, and finally "Bracato" a designation meaning "warrior."

While studying Chemical Engineering at Cornell, Ato was dared by his college sweetheart to perform in a play. Years later, Ato still marvels at the experiences and opportunities that have been afforded to him since that fateful performance at Cornell.
From his beloved role as Titembay the affable and fastidious African exchange student in the indie classic GARDEN STATE, to his breakout role as Matthew Freeman, the brilliant Civil War doctor of BBC America’s gritty crime series “Copper”; to recurring roles on hit shows like HBO’s “Girls,” and CBS’ “Elementary” to unforgettable turns in critically acclaimed films like DJANGO UNCHAINED and BLOOD DIAMOND, Ato has and continues to amass a broad and diverse range of roles proving himself to be a sought after emerging talent. 

Ato has been a Colt Coeur company member since 2011, when he developed and starred opposite Katya Campbell, Betty Gilpin and Joe Tippett in Fish Eye. 

Annie Shea Graney (she/her) is an arts administrator with backgrounds focused in general management, company management, stage management, and ticketing. Currently working with Pemberley Productions, Annie has developed a specialty in international presenting and touring as well as forming mutually beneficial collaborative relationships with regional theatres around the country. Prior to joining Pemberley Productions, Annie worked with the producers and general managers at Frankel Green Theatrical Management, managing shows such as STOMP and SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE. She also spent time working in the general management departments at Roundabout Theatre Company and Berkshire Theatre Festival. She's a proud alumna of TedxBroadway's Young Professionals Group and a member of the Broadway Women's Alliance. 

Annie prides herself on her values-based approach to producing and management, focusing on a people-first approach. Colt Coeur's mission of nurturing young talent and keeping the focus in tight on storytelling rings true with Annie's personal artistic value set. She's excited to bring her touring, budgeting, and contractual expertise to the CoCo board so she can contribute to a company that takes care of its artists and hugs its audience tight. 

Irene Lazaridis (she/her) is an Associate Producer at Ars Nova Entertainment led by Jenny and Jon Steingart. Ars Nova Entertainment produces theater, film and tv, including projects like Freestyle Love Supreme and “Black Dynamite.”

In addition to this, Irene is a creative producer with expertise in theatrical and experiential production. Recently, she produced a unique art exhibition, Postcards From, by Sharone Halevy at St. John’s Lutheran Church and has co-produced various projects with Tiresias aka Evan Silver including HYPERFANTASIA at the Brick and UNDERWORLD at 3DollarBill. Prior to this, Irene has produced experiential projects for PBS, Amazon Prime, Facebook, CES, Pop Culture Collaborative, and Meow Wolf. As a theatermaker, she has produced work at Waterwell, the Tank, La Mama, Atlantic Theater, Paradise Factory, Irvington Shakespeare Company and more.

Irene is the lead producer of the annual arts festival, Cosmic Cherry Arts Festival, which showcases new works by emerging femme and LGTBQ+ artists. She received her BFA in Drama at NYU/Tisch. irenelazaridis.com

Steven Levenson (he/him) is a Tony Award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and television writer and producer. His plays include If I Forget, Core Values, Seven Minutes in Heaven, and The Language of Trees. He wrote the book for the musical, Dear Evan Hansen, which won six Tony Awards, including Best Book and Best Musical, as well as the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. He received nominations for the Writers Guild Award and the Humanitas Prize for his screenplay of tick, tick…BOOM!, which won an AFI Award as one of the top ten Movies of the Year, and was nominated for Critics Choice Association and Producers Guild Awards.

He co-created and executive produced the FX series FOSSE/VERDON, which was nominated for seventeen Emmy Awards, including Best Limited Series and Best Writing for a Limited Series, in addition to winning the WGA Award and an AFI Award for Outstanding Series. Other honors include the OBIE Award, two Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award. He is a founding member of Colt Coeur and a graduate of Brown University.

Announcing our 16th world premiere!

We are thrilled to be partnering with WP Theater for this world premiere of
Bite Me
by Eliana Pipes
directed by Rebecca Martinez

Explore the Drama (And Trauma) of High School in BITE ME.

This captivating dark comedy dares to explore the raw undercurrents of youth, and the unspoken truths that bind us.

The cast and creative team are absolute superstars–we can’t wait for you to experience their incredible work. . . Read all about them below!

Performances begin September 23rd!
Get your tickets now!

DAVID GARELIK (Nathan) Select TV/Film: “Power Book 2: Ghost” (STARZ), “FBI” (CBS), “FBI: MOST WANTED” (CBS), “The Blacklist” (CBS), “Dear White People” (Netflix), “MacGyver” (CBS), “Madam Secretary” (CBS), Trey Edward Shults’ Waves (A24), Peter Berg’s Mile 22 (STX),  Zoey Cassavetes’ Junior (Blackpill), and a lead role in Daniel Byers’ upcoming film Paradise.  Theater: u/s LONG DAYS JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (The Geffen), THE GOOD MUSLIM (Ensemble Studio Theater).  Love to my family, my teachers, and those that have believed in me/helped me memorize lines over the years.  Thrilled to be here with WP Theater and Colt Coeur.  Socials: @DavidGarelik

MALIKA SAMUEL (Melody) who starred in WP Theater’s Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, is an interdisciplinary storyteller and teaching artist, presently faculty at her alma mater NYU Tisch. Additionally, she applies her creative experiences and professional skills towards developing curricular interventions across the medical/healthcare education/practice continuum. Broadway: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (OBC), The Music Man NY Theater: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Double Feature Plays), Bernarda’s Daughters (TNG/TNBT and TNG/Audible Theater), Crumbs from the Table of Joy (Keen), Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (WP) TV: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, EVIL, Orange Is the New Black, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Chicago P.D., Law & Order: SVU, The Good Wife, Person of Interest, The Big C Hosting: Nick Studio 10, 2013 Kids’ Choice Awards Pre- Show, Kidz Bop Kidz Star USA Film: Holiday Rush, Submission, Central Park, Hello Apartment, Kilimanjaro Directing: in lucem: a devised piece (Tisch Drama Stages), The Wolves, Marie Antoinette and the Magical Negroes, The House of Bernarda Alba (NYU MSNR), Bloom Bloom Pow ( A.R.T/NY Theaters, movement direction) XOXO to family, friends, Paradigm and A3!

And a Big Welcome To BITE ME’s Brilliant Creative Team!

Scenic Design - Chika Shimizu
Costume Design - Sarita Fellows
Lighting Design - Lucrecia Briceno
Sound Design -  Tosin Olufolabi
Production Stage Manager - Caren Celine Morris
Assistant Stage Manager - Siobhan Petersen
Props Supervisor - Addison Heeren

For more information about #BiteMePlay visit WP Theater. 

2023 BENEFIT TICKETS NOW ON SALE!

We are thrilled to be celebrating RoAnn Costin & Ato Essandoh, two longtime champions of Colt Coeur’s groundbreaking work! Join us on Thursday, October 12th at our annual Benefit Bash.
Click here for info and tickets!

Corporate leader RoAnn Costin, and actor/writer/director Ato Essandoh have been part of the Colt Coeur community for over a decade and Ato developed and performed in Colt Coeur’s world premiere of Fish Eye, opposite Betty Gilpin and Joe Tippett. He can currently be seen opposite Keri Russell on “The Diplomat” (Netflix). 

More info about the honorees:
RoAnn Costin (she/her) is the founder and president of Wilderness Point Investments, a private equity company that focuses on investing in early and expansion stage consumer non-durable product and retailing companies. Ventures in which Ms. Costin has invested and sits or has sat on the board of directors include Lululemon Athletica, Genuine Health International, 2020 Onsite Optometry and Sarah Flint, Inc. Ms. Costin began her career in 1981 working for State Street Research and Management, Co. She was the first woman investment analyst, portfolio manager and partner in the firm. In 1989, Ms. Costin joined the Putnam Companies as a member of the Quality Growth group, and in 1992 she founded and was president of Reservoir Capital Management, a firm specializing in quality growth equities investments. Prior to her career in business, Ms. Costin worked in government at the federal and local levels. She received an MBA from Stanford University and a BA in Government, cum laude, from Harvard University, where she was an All-American in swimming and crew. She currently serves on the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, American Repertory Theater and Codman Academy Charter School.

Ato Essandoh (he/him)
Born on a Saturday, late July in Schenectady New York, the first child of Ebow and Monica Essandoh did not have an official name. Ghanaian custom dictated that the new parents wait a week before divining a name during a traditional ceremony. Seven days hence, "Baby Boy Essandoh" became Ato Essilfi Brakutu Essandoh. "Ato" meaning Saturday born, "Essilfi" after his grandfather, a beloved school teacher in Ghana, and finally "Brakutu" a designation meaning "warrior."
While studying Chemical Engineering at Cornell, Ato was dared by his college sweetheart to perform in a play. Years later, Ato still marvels at the experiences and opportunities that have been afforded to him since that fateful performance at Cornell. Ato’s career has blossomed over the years with memorable turns in movies such as “Garden State,” “Blood Diamond,” and “Jason Bourne.”  On TV Ato has had the fortune to play a great variety of roles.  His favorites include a Civil War doctor in BBC America’s crime series “Copper;” a blues singer in HBO’s music industry drama “Vinyl;” and an astronaut in Netflix’s space saga “Away.” Currently Ato stars as “Stuart Hayford” in Netflix’s hit drama “The Diplomat.” Ato has been a Colt Coeur company member since 2011, when he developed and starred opposite Betty Gilpin, Joe Tippett and Katya Campbell in Lucas Kavner’s Fish Eye.

ANNOUNCING OUR NEW EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: HEATHER COHN

On the cusp of an exciting double world-premiere season, Colt Coeur is thrilled to announce our new Executive Producer, Heather Cohn. Heather brings rich experience in the NYC theatre landscape - having served at institutions ranging from Flux Ensemble to En Garde Arts, New York Theatre Workshop, Disney Theatrical and TCG. She will continue her work as a dynamic force behind innovative works that drive industry change as she collaborates with Founding Artistic Director Adrienne Campbell-Holt and the greater Colt Coeur community.

Learn more about Heather below!
_____________________________________________

Heather Cohn (she/her) is thrilled to be joining the Colt Coeur company as Executive Producer. Heather is a producer, director, fundraiser, ensemble artist and activist. She co-founded Flux Theatre Ensemble in 2006 and with Flux has produced over 30 full productions, including 18 world premieres. As a Creative Partner with Flux, Heather learned the nuanced art of ensemble theatre practice and consensus-based decision making. She also helped launch Flux’s Living Ticket program, removing all financial barriers to attendance.

Most recently, Heather served as the Executive Director for En Garde Arts where she proudly commissioned and produced Andrea Thome’s Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes) and guided the organization through the Covid-19 pandemic. She has also worked with Epic Theatre Ensemble, New York Theatre Workshop, The Pearl Theatre, Theatre Communications Group, and Disney Theatrical. As a director, Heather directed world premieres by Johnna Adams, Erin Browne, Kevin R. Free, Kristen Palmer and Corinna Schulenburg; and has assisted Austin Pendleton and José Zayas.

Heather has served on several not-for-profit boards including the League of Professional Theatre Women (LPTW), where she co-chaired the Task Force for trans inclusion. She is also a leader of the Racial Equity Committee at the Academy for Excellence Through the Arts and serves as a member of the School Leadership Team. She is a graduate of Vassar College, where she majored in Latin American Studies and spent time living in Cuba and Chile. And most importantly, she’s a proud mom to Mercena.

CoCo Residency Open Call!

Are you a playwright, director, designer or producer looking for community, support, and an artistic home?

Click here to find out more and apply!

Submissions accepted through August 20th, 2022.
If you would like to speak to our team about alternative ways to apply (i.e. self-recorded video, or audio file), please get in touch at coltcoeur@gmail.com.

SEEKING FULL-TIME EXECUTIVE PRODUCER!

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER 

Location: Hybrid; one day a week in office + full-time on-site during production 

Reports to: Artistic Director for first 6 months**, Board of Directors after the first 6 months 

Position: ¾ time (option to work 30 hours/week or 9 months/year)
Compensation: $65,000
Benefits: Health stipend, generous leave & vacation options 

Job summary:
The Executive Producer (EP) of Colt Coeur will be part of a co-leadership model alongside the Artistic Director (AD) and will report to the Board of Directors.
The Executive Producer takes a leading role in development, finance, communications, and general management responsibilities.

ABOUT COLT COEUR 

Artistic Director and Founder Adrienne Campbell-Holt leads a 21-member ensemble of actors, playwrights, directors, and designers committed to nurturing the next generation of theater artists through the development and production of new plays and by providing arts education and mentorship to students from under-resourced NYC public schools. Over 12 years, Colt Coeur has produced 14 world premieres + 1 east coast premiere; developed 48 plays; and provided free arts education for over 180 students. Through our commissions and residency program, we are a pipeline for mounting new plays and developing new work from scratch.

Colt Coeur has a distinct place in the ecosystem of the New York and American theatrical field. We serve as an artistic incubator for the most exciting emerging playwrights, actors, directors, and designers, launching artists who have not yet been produced. We take seriously our artistic and social responsibility to serve as a resource to youth through engaged, exemplary theater education, mentorship, and internships.

At Colt Coeur, we welcome and embrace all human beings and safeguard and embolden our differences. Our company does not tolerate racism, sexism, queerphobia, ableism, entitlement or any other conduct that threatens to destroy the fabric of the socially equitable industry we are creating.  We acknowledge the variety of visible and invisible access needs of our community of artistic collaborators and audience members and make a commitment to supporting those needs to the best of our abilities. We recognize the delicacy of theatrical performance and of the social aspects affiliated with theater – but we place the health and well-being of our company and community as paramount. We nurture and prioritize personal investment in our artists, students, community and all we come in contact with. It’s essential the Executive Producer shares our ongoing commitment to individual and collective learning and unlearning. 

SPECIFIC DUTIES & COMPETENCIES 

Administration & Production

At Colt Coeur, we aim to produce two theatrical productions per “season.” Typically, our performances run 4-5 weeks and past venues include HERE Arts Center, Walkerspace at SoHo Rep, the Wild Project, NYTW Next Door, co-productions with WP Theater and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. We are committed to increasing accessibility through continued digital/virtual offerings, when possible. 

• Act as Virtual and/or Mainstage productions’ Executive Producer. Oversee the production’s line producer in all aspects of show production, including fundraising, budget management, payroll, hiring, contracts, company management, venue liaison, marketing, ticketing, and house management. 

• In collaboration with the AD and creative teams, produce and facilitate talkbacks, panels and other community engagement activities connected to CoCo’s annual Parity Plays Festival, Instagram Live conversations, Play Hotel developmental readings, and all Mainstage programming (2 productions/year), develop relationships with appropriate panelists, moderators, partner organizations, etc., document this programming.

• Work closely with the AD on season planning, including reading and scouting for new talent and artist development. 

• Along with AD, set weekly and monthly priorities and goals for the organization.

Fiscal Management

Colt Coeur has historically operated with two part-time employees at ~20 hours a week - the Artistic Director and the Managing Director. This position will assume the former Managing Director’s responsibilities as detailed below. Ideal candidate has experience with Quickbooks online and CRM systems. Additional training can be provided in these areas. Most of our organizational systems are built in GoogleDrive and Dropbox. 

• Responsible for tracking and reporting all finances for the company in Quickbooks, including fees for artists, bills and utilities on a monthly basis, insurance, donations, box office income, etc. EP will provide a monthly reconciliation to the Board Treasurer and help to consult with AD and Board on creation of yearly budget. EP will prepare 1099s and W2s in January of each year and complete the Form 990 and  CHAR-500 with the Board Treasurer. 

• EP will actively research and apply for funding opportunities including grants, foundations and special opportunities and work with AD and the Board’s Development task force to build relationships with funders and individual donors. EP (with support of AD) will complete all grant applications, and EP will complete all Interim and Final Reports, as well as any additional reporting required. 

• Responsible for processing donations, including drafting donor communication emails and weekly donor acknowledgement letters, ensuring the Little Green Light donor database is up-to-date, and attending monthly Development meetings with AD and Devo task force. Leads the year-end campaign. 

• Engagement with Colt Coeur’s community both in person and virtually, and generate quarterly Community Updates newsletter. 

• Attend all community meetings (every other month), Board meetings (quarterly), and ½ of all Committee meetings (split with AD). 

• With AD plan and attend annual Benefit, Holiday party, and company retreat. 

Community Facilitation

Colt Coeur is committed to upholding transformative and anti-racist work as a company and expects all who collaborate with us to join us in this work. We consistently seek opportunities to grow and to learn how we participate in antiquated, problematic systems. We dedicate our time together to not only champion the arts but also to reflect and assess how we can DO better and BE better for our POC artistic community.

• Lead operations and human resources for a full-time staff of 2, contractors, and freelance artists.

• Collaborate on our ongoing anti-racist training commitments for company members and associated artists.

• Navigate and actively engage in complex investigations, mediations, and restorative processes between community members, using and uplifting Colt Coeur’s Code of Community and Collective Values. 

• Nurture Colt Coeur’s culture, and lead the organization in evolving that culture as the organization’s structure and operations evolve.

• Serve as a thought partner to the AD in identifying and implementing ways in which Colt Coeur can be a more sustainable, ethical, inclusive, anti-racist company that is accessible to all.

Responsibilities may shift as needed to align with organizational needs.

ABOUT YOU

• You hold a sophisticated and nuanced understanding of Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression principles and practices, and a commitment to ongoing work in this area;

• You have experience and talent in building relationships with people from varying cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. This experience could be through community organizing, producing, etc;

• You are a confident fundraiser.

• You have a passion for connecting with new people and engaging in person;

• You have experience building budgets through a values-first lens. 

• You have exceptional organizational, written and social communication skills and love keeping your collaborators in the loop;

• You possess a relentless curiosity: the ability to productively question the status quo and engage in creative problem-solving and change-making;

• You have the skills to both conceive and take the lead on projects;

• You thrive in both group settings and independently;

• You are ​imaginative and resourceful.

• You have an aptitude for long-term planning.

• You have expertise and/or proficiency with financial management.

• You have familiarity with non-profits and ideally with New York’s theater community.

BONUS IF: 

• You have experience working in a performing arts organization with an operating budget between 100k and 1 million.

• You have experience producing ‘downtown’ theater.

• You have a particular knack (and patience!) for storytelling within the confines of character counts and word restrictions i.e., grantwriting.

Colt Coeur’s studio/office is located at 20 Jay Street, Suite 208 in DUMBO, Brooklyn. It is not necessary for the person in this position to report to the office everyday and can choose to work from home, if desired. At least 1 day/week the EP and AD will work together in the office. At least 1x/week this person will collect the mail, deposit checks, and ensure best practices are maintained for recordkeeping.

Benefits include a health care stipend, flexible paid time off, 12 weeks of paid family leave, and free and discounted theater tickets, when available. 

Responsibilities may shift as needed to align with organizational needs.

**6 month probationary period: Continued employment is subject to a 6 month probationary period. This 6 month period will allow the Executive Producer time to learn more about the job requirements and the expectations to perform the job successfully. Please note that the probationary period can be extended in exceptional circumstances. During this period your employment can be terminated by either party with a 2 week notice period. Examples of probationary terminations included poor performance, poor attendance, and unsatisfactory references. Immediate employment termination can be caused by gross misconduct regardless of probationary period.
Please note, here is a rough timeline of the first 6 months:
Month 1 - onboarding
Month 2 - preproduction #1

Months 3-4 production #1, post-production, and EOY Appeal
Months 5-6 pre-production #2

We are committed to diverse and inclusive hiring practices and we strongly encourage individuals that have historically been under-represented in the arts administration/leadership sector to apply.  At Colt Coeur, we aim to provide an anti-oppressive environment for people from all backgrounds. Applicants, employees, community members, and artists will not be discriminated against based on race, ethnicity, nationality, citizen status, hair texture, hair style, sex, sexual orientation, gender(s), age, religion, disability, socioeconomic status, educational background, class, nor immigration status.

TO APPLY:
Please submit a resume plus an expression of interest in any format (video, audio, written), addressing the following: interest in the position, specific relevant skills, and relevant success stories. Please also include your access needs, if any, and contact information for two references. Email coltcoeurEP@gmail.com. Feel free to ask any questions as well.
Applications will be accepted until June 1st, 2023, however we will be reviewing applicants on a rolling basis. Interviews will be held with a panel of Colt Coeur community members the week of June 12th (zoom), and 2nd round interviews between June 20 and 22 (in-person). 

CoCo's FREE THEATRE CAMP returns this April!

CALLING ALL NYC PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT ARTISTS AGES 11-14:
COLT COEUR THEATER IS THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE OUR 14TH ANNUAL FREE THEATRE CAMP!

Click here to apply!

CAMP WILL BE HELD IN-PERSON DURING THE APRIL SPRING BREAK
April 10 - April 14, 2022, at the Colt Coeur Studio in DUMBO Brooklyn

Monday - Thursday 9:30am-1:30pm 
Friday 12:30pm-6:30pm 

Presentation for Family and Friends at 5:30pm, Friday April 14th 

WHO: Students ages 11-14 who have an interest in creating original plays/theatrical pieces & learning about acting, writing, design, and more!

WHAT: In this 5-day workshop, students will work with professional actors, playwrights, directors and designers to conceive and create original short plays that highlight their creativity, and uplift their stories. (Snacks will be provided each day!)

WHEN: Camp is in session Monday-Friday April 10-14, 2023. Hours are 9:30am-1:30pm (M-Thur), and 12:30pm-6:30pm on Friday. Students are asked to commit to attending all 5 days of the program, and must arrive punctually each day. 

WHERE: Colt Coeur's studio in DUMBO Brooklyn. Short walk to F, A/C, 2/3 trains, and B61 bus line.

HOW MUCH: FREE!!

If you have any questions please contact Kelcey and Adrienne at cocoplaymaking@gmail.com. (You can also learn more about the program by watching videos of past years' programming here.)

We will be in touch with additional information by March 20th, 2023. In the meantime, please help us spread the word!

** We also offer alumni of our program ages 16+ the opportunity to be PAID student leaders. Email cocoplaymaking@gmail.com if you're interested in applying to be a student leader.

THE REVIEWS ARE IN...

Audiences & critics alike are loving DODI & DIANA…
have you booked your tickets yet?

Check out our teaser here and get your tickets today!

THE NEW YORKER said: "directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt, for Colt Coeur, the intriguingly odd premise occasions a tense, engrossing, and astute study of the mysteries of a marriage; the playwright, Kareem Fahmy, demonstrates a particular skill at doling out insightful nuggets."

THE NEW YORK TIMES called the show “intrinsically compelling”

and THEATERMANIA said “it will have you reaching for the popcorn,” as well as “exacting, unsentimental, ferociously truthful direction” and “a needed corrective to a sexist fairytale.”

Running through Oct 29th only! Limited tickets avail!

Performances are Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8:30pm and Sundays at 4pm.
Run time is 93 minutes.

Announcing our 2022-2023 CoCo Residents!

Welcome
Rashad T Bailey, Katie Brook, Dustin Chinn,
Kate Douglas, Rachel Herron, Niara Mae,
Sarah Sander, and Corey Umlauf!

Now in its 6th year, our Residency continues to provide an intimate group of playwrights, directors, producers & designers with the invaluable resources of community, space to work, and a stipend. Artistic Director Adrienne Campbell-Holt meets with Residents on a quarterly basis with an emphasis on forging authentic creative collaborations and amplifying these artists' voices. We also invite luminaries from the field to join us for conversations.

After issuing an Open Call this past July, Colt Coeur received over 80 applications from interested artists. Our Artistic Programming Committee reviewed materials and selected 16 Finalists. Interviews took place in early September and the Residents were announced at our Benefit Bash, September 22nd, 2022.

L to R: Kate Douglas, Sarah Sander, Niara Mae, Rachel Herron, Dustin Chinn, Rashad T Bailey.
Not pictured: Katie Brook, Corey Umlauf

Interested in learning more about our Residents?
Read on below…

Rashad T. Bailey (he/him) is a Brooklyn based artist & producer. He has worked for such organizations as the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York Live Arts, The Play Company, National New Play Network and Kashif, a film incubator and production house, developing BIPOC, LGBTQIA and disabled filmmakers. Bailey produced the documentary film, La ENA (2019). He is Associate Producer of the documentary film, BEBA (2021). Bailey was an associate on the 2021/22 Broadway remount Slave Play. Bailey is Associate Producer of Hart Island, which debuted March, 2022. Bailey is Co-Producer of the Off-Broadway revival of Kinky Boots which began its production in July, 2022. Bailey is a member of the inaugural Theater Producers of Color (TPOC) cohort.

Katie Brook (she/her) is an experimental theater director and producer. The innovative theatrical work she creates with her ensemble, Televiolet, has been presented at venues in New York City and beyond, including The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival, The Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival, and Boom Arts. Recent work: ISLANDER (HERE Arts Center); The MS Phoenix Rising (with Trish Harnetiaux, Playwrights Horizons), Dr. Ride’s American Beach House (by Liza Birkenmeier, Ars Nova), and most recently, a site-specific production of The Cherry Orchard (Quantum Theater). Notable producing credits include Strange Window (The Builders Association, BAM) and O, Earth (by Casey Llewellyn, The Foundry Theatre). Katie received her MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University, and her BFA in Drama from New York University. She is originally from Toronto, Canada.

Dustin Chinn (he/him) is a Seattle native who’s developed work with Ars Nova’s Play Group, Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep Summer Residency Lab, A.C.T.’s New Strands Festival, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, the University of Washington via a Mellon Creative Fellowship, UC Berkeley, SPACE on Ryder Farm, UMass at Amherst New Play Lab and Vampire Cowboys. His comedy COLONIALISM IS TERRIBLE, BUT PHO IS DELICIOUS will start its rolling world premiere with Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre this November.

Kate Douglas (she/her) is a writer, composer and performer. Recent work includes The Apiary (O’Neill Playwrights Conference, 2022), Against Women & Music! (with Grace McLean, The Civilians), Wonderland (Finalist, Jane Chambers Excellence in Feminist Playwriting Award), and The Ninth Hour (with Shayfer James, The Met Cloisters). Her work has been developed at NY Stage & Film, New Victory Theater, the Dramatist Guild Foundation Fellows Program, SPACE on Ryder Farm and Rhinebeck Musicals. This year, she was a finalist for the Princess Grace Award and a semi-finalist for Page 73’s Fellowship. As a complement to her artistic practice, an Ilan Lev Method practitioner and a Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist. She is currently working towards her Horticulture Certificate in Sustainable Garden Design with NYBG.

Rachel Herron is a proud, Black, Baltimore native and multidisciplinary writer who attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. After receiving her BFA in Drama, Rachel self-produced and starred in her first original play, SHE CAME TO TEA. Rachel then worked as a freelance writer for three years before pivoting to scripted development. She was named a finalist CBS Writers Mentoring Program (2019) and the Disney TV writing program (2021). She was awarded the audience favorite in Fresh Fruit Festival's Monologue Project. In July 2022, Rachel's play RED RED WINE premiered at the Obie award-winning Fire This Time Festival (Kraine Theater).

Niara Mae (she/her) is an early career playwright and writer currently based in Brooklyn. She recently graduated from The New School for Drama, where she produced and directed readings for two of her full length plays. In her work currently, she’s negotiating with form and structure, writing plays that are both intuitive and grounded. Her pursuit has yielded work with rhythmic language and compelling characters, creating as full an experience as possible as she strives to make the internal external. She was a recent member of Playground-NY’s Writer’s Pool, and has worked on audio plays for The Language of Us Podcast. She was a Monthly Contributor to Mixed Mag’s Theater and Film Section, and was recently published by The Independent. You can often find her rushing to a bookstore, chai latte in hand.

Sarah Sander’s work has been developed/produced by BAPF, Columbia University, |the claque|, DC Arts Center, Florida Studio Theatre, Kennedy Center, Lark, NYSF, Page 73, The Public Theater, Project Y, and Raven Theater. She’s an alumnus of The Public Theater’s Emerging Writers Group, Dramatist Guild Fellowship and P73’s Interstate 73. Residencies: MacDowell, Millay, SPACE at Ryder Farm and Stillwright. Finalist: ATL’s Heideman Award, Clubbed Thumb’s Biennial Commission, Ingram Fellowship, Jerome Fellowship, Juilliard, Leah Ryan Prize, P73’s Fellowship, Playwrights Realm Fellowship, and Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab. Nominations: Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, NTC’s Stavis Award and Williamstown's Weissberger Award. MFA: University of Iowa.

Corey Umlauf (she/her) is a scenic designer and miniature artist. Her design work has been presented by: Ars Nova, Columbia University, JACK, Clubbed Thumb, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Emerson Stage, and on film by Vundabar. Corey is a resident scenic designer at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center’s National Playwrights Conference. Select Associate Design: Topdog Underdog (Golden Theatre, upcoming), A Strange Loop (Lyceum Theatre), Goddess (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), To My Girls (2ST), A Case for the Existence of God (Signature Theater Center). Proud Member, USA-829.

CoCo Benefit Bash 9/22/22

Join us for an intimate evening honoring Colt Coeur Board Members, actor Sendhil Ramamurthy (Hatefu*k, Netflix's "Never Have I Ever") and producer and Board Chair Erica Rotstein (Hundred Days, Water for Elephants). 

Thursday, September 22 at 7pm
Live Music, Drinks & Nosh
Raffle & Auction at 8:30pm 

CASA LA FEMME 
140 Charles Street, New York City 

Early Bird tickets available until September 18, 2022.

It's been over two years since our last benefit, our 10th Anniversary Bash celebrating Celia Keenan-Bolger, and we have much to celebrate! Thanks to the incredible steadfast leadership of all our Board of Directors, Colt Coeur has grown in every way. 

As directors, Erica and Sendhil have fearlessly guided the CoCo community through these past two tumultuous years with ferocious tenacity and courage as we’ve navigated the complex and fickle arena of making theater in such trying times. Celebrate with us as we toast to all we’ve accomplished and raise essential funds to support our 3 top priorities: 

1) Creating plays from scratch and mounting World premieres

2)  Increasing our budget size so we can compensate artists with higher fees that better reflect their time, talent, and experience 

3) Keeping our show tickets at accessible prices 

THIS YEAR'S HIGHLIGHTS

• Premiered The Goddamn Tooney Lunes, a multimedia musical by Rat Queen Theatre Co. at the Wythe Hotel and streamed online  

• Ushered in a new leadership structure and more administrative support for our ambitious programming with Artistic Director Adrienne Campbell-Holt, Executive Producer Alex Marrs, and Programs Director Vanessa Peréda 

• Returning to HERE Arts Center, October 1-29, with our 15th World Premiere, Dodi & Diana commissioned from Kareem Fahmy!  

2021 HIGHLIGHTS 

• Produced 2 virtual readings of new work by CoCo company members including Grey Matters and Feel the Spirit. 

• Returned to in-person theatre with our 14th world premiere, Polylogues and streamed the performance online to viewers in over 18 states and 8 countries. 

• Produced an original audio drama, Pleasure Machine with an incredible group of collaborators: Tara Elliott, Diane Exavier, Emma Orme, Phaedra Michelle Scott, and May Treuhaft-Ali, and hosted an outdoor launch party at PioneerWorks 

• Completed our 12th annual Education Initiative 

• Welcomed new Resident Artists: Borna Barzin, Sarah Blush, lily gonzalez, and Lizzie Stern

• Commissioned new plays from Francisca da Silveira, Kareem Fahmy, and Natalie Margolin

2020 HIGHLIGHTS 

• Produced 5 virtual readings including CoCo greatest hits: Eureka Day (2019), Seven Minutes in Heaven (2010), and Hatef*ck (2019), plus America V.2.1 and The Holiday Craptacular variety show. 

• Expanded our Education Initiative serving 31 students in 13 different states and launched our Mentorship program for BIPOC alumni. 

• Hosted cohort of Resident Artists included Bleu Beckford-Burell, Adrienne Dawes, Emma Goidel, Noelle Viñas, Tara Elliott, J. Mehr Kaur, and Portia Krieger

• Created a Cultural Competency Committee (chaired by Sendhil) made up of CoCo company and board and published our first Code of Community.

OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT

Mail a check, payable to Colt Coeur:ATTN: Benefit20 Jay Street, Suite 208 Brooklyn, NY 11201

To place an ad in our digital journal, give by wire transfer or stock, in-kind contributions, volunteer hours: email Alex Marrs at ColtCoeurEP@gmail.com

We also want to ask you to Save the Date for our Fall Benefit Bash!

Our most recent Benefit was our 10th Anniversary Celebration on February 3, 2020... so we are very eager to raise a glass and some essential funds with you all!

Click here for more information & tickets!

ANNOUNCING OUR 15TH WORLD PREMIERE!

DODI & DIANA
By Kareem Fahmy
Directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt

It’s August 2022—exactly 25 years after the Car Accident that made the world stand still. A Wall Street banker and a Hollywood starlet, locked in the Hôtel Ritz Paris, unearth a strange connection to the star-crossed lovers. With their marriage at a crossroads, the couple’s steamy tête-à-têtes unravel into a simmering interrogation of sex, fame, and erasure. As lies multiply and past and present collide, can their love survive the exposure of their darkest secrets?

Oct 1-29 at HERE, NYC - click here for more info & tickets!
Tickets start at $20.
Performances Tues-Sat at 8:30pm, Sundays at 4pm // ASL-interpreted show: Sunday, Oct 23 4pm.

Cast: Rosaline Elbay, Peter Mark Kendall

Creative team:
Scenic Design: Alexander Woodward // Costumes: Dina El-Aziz
Lights: Grant Yeager // Sound: Hidenori Nakajo // Intimacy Director: Crista Marie Jackson
Dialect Coach: Barbara Rubin // Casting: Taylor Williams
Props by Jess Adams // Assistant Director: Marina Zurita
Dramaturgy by Kimberly Colburn

Produced by Colt Coeur, Rashad T Bailey, and Emily Caffery
Production Manager: Savanah Sanchez
Production Stage Manager: Elizabeth Allen // Assistant Stage Manager: Molly Foy

BIOS

Kareem Fahmy (playwright) is a Canadian-born playwright, director, and screenwriter of Egyptian descent. He received the 2022 Woodward/Newman Playwriting Award (for American Fast), a NYSCA/NYFA Playwriting Fellowship, the Janet Sloane Literature Residency at Yaddo, is a two-time finalist for the National Showcase of New Plays, and was named a Rising Leader of Color by TCG. Commissions: Artists Repertory Theatre, Colt Coeur, Ensemble Studio Theatre/Sloan. As a TV writer, Kareem was part of the inaugural cohort of the WarnerMedia Access Writers Program. American Fast will receive a Rolling World Premiere at Artists Repertory Theatre, City Theatre, and InterAct Theatre. A Distinct Society will receive a productions at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Pioneer Theatre, and Writers Theatre. Other plays include Pareidolia, The In-Between, and an adaptation of the acclaimed novel The Yacoubian Building. Kareem’s plays have been seen at Atlantic Theatre Company, Denver Center, Northlight Theatre, Capital Repertory Theatre, New York Stage & Film, and more. Former Sundance Theatre Lab Fellow, Phil Killian Directing Fellow (OSF), and Old Globe Classical Directing Fellow. Co-founder/Chair of the Middle Eastern American Writers Lab. MFA (Theatre Directing), Columbia. www.kareemfahmy.com

Adrienne Campbell-Holt (director) is a NYC-based director and choreographer and the Founding Artistic Director of Colt Coeur. She is also the recipient of the 2018 Lucille Lortel Visionary Director Award. Her most recent projects include the world premieres of Afterwords (Fifth Avenue Theatre) and Other World (Delaware Theatre Company). Other notable premieres include: East Coast premiere of Eureka Day by Jonathan Spector (Colt Coeur), We Are Among Us by Stephen Belber (City Theater, Pittsburgh), HATEF**K by Rehana Lew Mirza (WP/Colt Coeur), Joan by Stephen Belber (Colt Coeur, starring Johanna Day), Downstairs by Theresa Rebeck (Primary Stages, starring Tyne Daly & Tim Daly), Associate Director on Dear Evan Hansen (Original Broadway Company), Zürich by Amelia Roper (Colt Coeur at NYTW), Thirst by C.A. Johnson (Contemporary American Theater Festival), What We’re Up Against by Theresa Rebeck (WP Theater), Dry Land by Ruby Rae Spiegel (Colt Coeur), and many more. Adrienne was a Time Warner/Women's Project Lab 2014-2016 Fellow, a recipient of the Bill Foeller Fellowship at Williamstown Theatre Festival, a Jerome Foundation/Tofte Lake Fellowship, the EST/Sloan grant, an alum of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and a New Georges Affiliated Artist and Audrey Resident. She has developed work with La Jolla Playhouse, the Roundabout, Playwrights Horizons, Clubbed Thumb, Rattlestick, WP Theater, Ojai Playwrights Conference, IAMA, New Georges, Playwrights' Center, Portland Center Stage, and the Ensemble Studio Theater. adriennecampbellholt.com

Rosaline Elbay (cast) Rosaline Elbay is an Egyptian actor, writer, and producer. Screen roles include “Amani” in Ramy for Hulu/A24 and “Sara” in Qabeel for Shahid/MBC; her upcoming roles include “Judy” in Kaleidoscope for Netflix and “Christine” in an untitled Hulu feature. Her training was at LAMDA, and her UK stage credits include Olivia in Twelfth Night (RSC OS), Helen in Machinal (OUDS/Edinburgh Festival), Tamar in Tamar (Arcola Theatre), Georgeanne in Five Women Wearing The Same Dress (Linbury Studio), and Sybil Vane in The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oxford Playhouse).

Peter Mark Kendall (cast) Peter Mark Kendall is an actor and musician based out of New York City. Theatre (selected): Broadway: Six Degrees of Separation. Off-Broadway: The Atlantic, LCT3, The New Group, Vineyard Theatre, Rattlestick, The Public/UTR, Joe’s Pub, Partial Comfort. Regional: Lake Lucille Chekhov, Bay Street, Baltimore Center Stage, Trinity Rep., Chautauqua. Film: Top Gun: Maverick, Entangled, Time Out of Mind, Louder Than Bombs, The Ticket (TriBeCa). Television (selected): Netflix’s “Kaleidoscope (upcoming)," “Strange Angel,” Sam Esmail’s “Act of Crime," “Outpost” (series regular); “Girls,” “The Americans,” “Chicago Med,” (recurring); “Awkwafina...from Queens;” “The Good Fight;” “The Leftovers." Education: M.F.A. in Acting, Brown/Trinity Rep. Founding member of the theatre collective The Commissary. He is in the duo-band Hickory; their second album will be released summer of 2022. He co-wrote, co-scored, and starred in the film CAPSULE with longtime collaborator Whitney White, which premiered at the Public in January 2021, as well as many film festivals internationally.

CoCo Residency Open Call!

Are you a playwright, director, designer or producer looking for community, support, and an artistic home?

Click here to find out more and apply!

Submissions accepted through August 10th, 2022.
If you would like to speak to our team about alternative ways to apply (i.e. self-recorded video, or audio file), please get in touch at coltcoeur@gmail.com.

NEW ADDITIONS TO OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM & BOARD

On the heels of an ambitious year of virtual programming (seven different shows!), as well as a return to live performance (world premiere of Xandra Nur Clark’s Polylogues), innovative theatrical offerings (The Goddamn Tooney Lunes, and Pleasure Machine) and two recently announced commissions, Colt Coeur is thrilled to announce two new additions to our Leadership team:

Alex Marrs is stepping into the role of Executive Producer, after being a Board member since 2019, and Vanessa Peréda is creating the role of Programs Director, after wearing many hats at Colt Coeur over the years (intern on Zürich, teaching artist, Director of the Education Initiative and Mentorship programs, actor, company member, Board member...)! They will collaborate with Founding Artistic Director Adrienne Campbell-Holt and the greater Colt Coeur community to continue CoCo’s ambitious programming.

We also welcomed three new Board members in July:
Audrey Vuong Broome, Braley Degenhardt, and Andrew Perlmutter

AUDREY VUONG BROOME (she/her)
Audrey graduated from Columbia University and the Yale School of Architecture. She has worked as an architectural designer and project manager at the award-winning Michael Maltzan and Gensler firms, among others. Audrey was a Founding Board member of Colt Coeur, who stepped down in 2013 as she was based in Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, in addition to her architectural work, Audrey was a founding member of MAEVE Los Feliz, a chapter of the national non-profit organization that seeks to empower all who mother in support of one another and their communities. Audrey, her husband Bede, and their two children Addie and Holden, recently moved back to the NYC-area, settling in Larchmont. 

BRALEY DEGENHARDT (she/her)
Braley graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Connecticut with a BFA in Acting. She lives in New York City, has acted in educational touring productions with Shakesperience, and cultivated a love of marketing! Braley began her marketing career as an intern at Primary Stages and over three years became their Marketing Manager, working with artists such as Charles Busch, Sharon Washington, and Kate Hamill. She is now the Director of Marketing at Atlantic Theater Company, the Tony Award Winning Off-Broadway Theater Company and Acting School. Braley has been thrilled to celebrate her first season at Atlantic working on Sarah Silverman's musical The Bedwetter and Jeanine Tesori's musical Kimberly Akimbo, which will be transferring to Broadway this fall! Braley is passionate about new works, arts education, and making the theater community one that is more equitable and welcoming to all audiences & artists alike.

ANDREW PERLMUTTER (he/him)
A seasoned media and technology leader, with particular expertise in building next generation businesses and scaling high growth enterprises into global brands, Andrew is the Co-Founder of Backbeat Holdings, a diversified entertainment IP platform. Previously, he served as Chief Strategy Officer of ITRenew, where he guided the company's 10x growth into a billion-dollar data center services business and its successful acquisition by Iron Mountain.  Prior to that, he successfully conceived and ran the full $300M business turnaround at the Boston Globe, which included all operational transformation and digital business reinvention efforts. Earlier in his career at Newsweek / Daily Beast and Atlantic Media, he led legacy to digital business transformation, built all new digital business lines, and led M&A. A graduate of Princeton University, he holds a JD/MBA from Harvard and sits on the Foundation Board at Codman Academy. 

THE GODDAMN TOONEY LUNES, MAY 12-22, 2022

THE GODDAMN TOONEY LUNES

When a group of geeky teens in backwoods New Hampshire start a punk band and accidentally attract a cult following, they struggle to balance their wayward personae with the looming pressures of adulthood…

A multimedia musical about the rise and fall of the best band you’ve never heard of!

Colt Coeur is thrilled to present a virtual workshop screening of The Goddamn Tooney Lunes: Part One (A New Musical), in partnership with Rat Queen Theatre Co. This draft of the piece acts as a collage of the characters, music and world of the story. 

The project will stream May 12-22, 2022 - tickets available here.

We will also be holding a live, in-person screening event Friday, May 13th at the Wythe Hotel cinema in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Tickets available here.

History of the Work 
In the spring of 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rat Queen Theatre Co began having conversations about how much change our generation has gone through, particularly in relationship to the vast and relentlessly brutal stretch of history that we’ve witnessed (9/11, the financial crisis, the opioid epidemic, etc). 

We decided we wanted to create a piece about adults grappling with the distance, looking back at the past, and understanding their teenage years with a new perspective. 

Our creative brainstorms throughout the summer and fall of 2020 ultimately led us to write a piece about a small town hero punk band made up of  some weird teenagers that almost made it big but didn’t. This show would be about this band playing a reunion show, as adults, having to revisit their teenage punk songs through grown up eyes.

In the late fall of 2020, we worked with composer Eden Chaloemtiarana and a host of performers to create a ten-minute experiment based on these ideas. This was presented as a part of Darkroom with New Light Theater Project. 

Post-Darkroom, we decided to continue pursuing this project, and  Colt Coeur joined us as a producing partner. We began the virtual devising process in March 2021, gathering material for roughly 7 months. We intended to present a virtual concept album in the Fall of 2021, however after we concluded the devising process, we decided to push a little further to develop a multimedia presentation that encapsulated the first act of the Goddamn Tooney Lunes. 

About the Zoom Devising process
Rehearsals were held weekly, to discuss thematic ideas, narrative possibilities, character development, and more. Performers were given prompts to respond to outside of these meetings, examples include writing and recording voicemails to other “band members”, creating a potential plot for the band’s new concept album, writing journals entries about character’s goals for the future, drawing fliers for the band’s upcoming shows, and more. 

As time went on, we began to generate material in response to many of these prompts via improvisations over Zoom. Once the narrative arc of the piece was solidified, we began recording more scripted material, recording songs, and collecting images - all of which let to our creation of the multimedia presentation of the first half of the Goddamn Tooney Lunes .

Credits 
Created by Rat Queen Theatre Company: Molly Bicks, Carsen Joenk, J. Mehr Kaur, and Non Kuramoto
Co-written and devised by Breezy Diabo (she/they/fairy), Violet Falkowski (she/they), Wes Garlington (they/them), Jordan Palmer (she/they), and Bonnie Jean Tyer (she/her) 
Produced by J. Mehr Kaur  (she/her) 
Presented by Colt Coeur 
Art Direction and Visual Design by Non Kuramoto (she/her) 
Edited by Non Kuramoto  (she/her)
Music by Eden Chaloemtiarana   (he/they) and Nathan Leigh (he/him)
Lyrics by Molly Bicks and Carsen Joenk 
Music Direction by Nathan Leigh (he/him)
Access Needs Coordinator/Stage Manager - Krystle Montgomery (they/them)
Gender Consultant - Briyana D. Clarel (they/them) 
Assistant Stage Manager - Kate Zibluk (She/they)

CAST 
Alyssa - Breezy Diabo  (she/they/fairy)  
Charlie - Violet Falkowski (she/they) 
Max - Wesley Garlington (they/them) 
Camellia - Jordan Palmer (she/they) 
Holly - Bonnie Jean Tyer   (she/her) 

POST - PRODUCTION 
Sound Editing and Design by Molly Bicks and Carsen Joenk
Mastering Engineer - Eryn Bogen (she/they)
Mixing Engineer: “Alter Egos”, “Ned the Head”, “Captured” - Chloe Deeley (she/her)
Mixing Engineer: “The Amazing Adventures of the Goddamn Tooney Lunes”, “Reunion”   - Eden Chaloemtiarana (he/they)        
Mixing Engineer: “Welcome To Maine” -  Nathan Leigh  (he/him) 

ANIMATION  
Music Video Animator:  “Ned the Head”, “Alter Egos”, “Reunion”, and “Welcome to Maine” - Non Kuramoto (she/her)
Music Video Animator: “The Amazing Adventures of the Goddamn Tooney Lunes”  - Nathan Leigh (he/him)
Music Video Animator: “Captured” - Leah Ogawa  (she/her) 
Title Card Animations by Leah Ogawa (she/her) 
Animator: Additional Images by Amandeep Singh (he/him) 

FISH CULT VIDEO
Producer - Non Kuramoto (she/her)
Director - Carsen Joenk   (she/her)
Art Director - Molly Bicks (they/them)
Director of Photography - Jaewon Choi (he/him)
Performers - Hannah Burke (they/them), Aylin Eker (she/her), Sean Flanagan (he/him), Ethan Graham-Horowitz (he/him), Harrison Herreman (they/them), Anna Rock (she/her), Christina Tang (she/her)
Prop Design - Molly Bicks  (they/them) 
Additional Performances // Body Doubles - Cassie Khaos (any pronouns), Evan Allen (he/him/his) 

A Festival of New Plays, Sunday, April 3rd 6pm ET

Please join us for a Festival of New Plays by the artists in our 13th annual Education Initiative!

This year's cohort is composed of 12 students ages 11-14 who've spent five weeks exploring the elements of playwriting and theatre-making. Join us virtually, on Sunday, April 3rd at 6:00 pm as they perform their plays. Register here to receive the link. We look forward to having you all in the audience!