The following are individuals, arts and culture institutions, veteran organizations, academic institutions, presenters and funders who have partnered with EchoTheaterSuitcase project.
Through these partnerships and our shared resources, we have created performance, education and dialogue opportunities.
Project Leaders and Collaborating Artists
Krista DeNio [Project Director], is an interdisciplinary choreographer, director, performer, writer and educator, committed to developing new forms of performance work and evolving interdisciplinary thinking and creation between the fields of dance and theater, among others. She has lived and worked in the Bay Area, California, Colorado, New York City, Western Massachusetts and internationally. Krista teaches dance and performance making throughout the Bay Area and nationally…[read more]
2020: A BODY IN SERVICE
Chloe Crotzer [Ensemble] has always had a deep rooted curiosity around the brain and how it regulates all of our human experiences. After receiving dual B.A.’s in Neuroscience and Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado in Boulder in 2014…[read more]
Katarina Eriksson [Ensemble] has been involved with improvisational dance since 1989. She teaches Contact Improvisation and other improvisational forms in Europe and the US, and since 2000 she curates the performance series Moment’s Notice in Berkeley. Katarina graduated from Gothenburg Ballet Academy, and has worked at The Gothenburg State Theater and Opera, as well as with numerous choreographers and dance companies…[read more]
William McQueen [Ensemble] enlisted in the Navy in 1975 under a delayed entry program, missing the Vietnam War by about 3 months. Thanks to the Navy training in Avionics, he had a moderately successful career as a computer nerd. Now he has the gift of time to pursue other interests, such as theater, photography and his grandkids. Bill has created and performed…[read more]
Bhumi B. Patel [Ensemble] is a dancer, choreographer, educator, writer, curator, and historian. She creates queer, feminist movement art that holds the focus of creating movement at the intersection of embodied philosophy and dynamic sensation taking precedence over stagnant form…[read more]
Kristen Rulifson [Ensemble] is a dance maker and movement enthusiast dedicating her life to somatic research and human exchange. She has a Bachelor’s in Neurobiology Physiology and Behavior and Dramatic Arts (UC Davis, 2014) and…[read more]
Jayden Torrey [Ensemble] a transgender service member, joined the Navy in 2001 as an Avionics Technician. In 2004 he transferred into the Army to do what he loved most, taking care of the sick and injured…[read more]
2018: CENTENNIAL RECKONING
Malia Byrne [Ensemble] is an Asian-Caucasian American dance artist, facilitator, and creator. She is interested in integrating her academic and experiential inquiries– rooted in research in peace & conflict studies at Chapman University– with her lifelong dance education…[read more]
Adrian Gebhart [Ensemble] is an actor for stage, voice-over, film, and a teaching artist. She has worked with the American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theater, Youth Musical Theater Company in the Bay Area, and Atlantic Theater Company… [read more]
Kasia Krasnopolska [Ensemble] is a multidisciplinary artist living in San Francisco for 19 years, originally from Poland. She loves the Bay Area and all the wonderful things it has to offer when it comes to arts and culture; loves theater arts, visual arts and working on art projects that…[read more]
Rae Raucci [Ensemble] is an award-winning technology journalist, actress, screenwriter, and law student living in San Francisco, with a keen interest in…[read more]
William McQueen [Ensemble]
Bhumi B. Patel [Ensemble]
Kristen Rulifson [Ensemble]
Jayden Torrey [Ensemble]
Seth Eisen [Dramaturg] is a San Francisco-based artist, writer and director who engages LGBTQ+ history as a living, breathing dialogue by researching lost legacies. His work recaptures queer stories and traditions erased from…[read more]
Katarina Eriksson [Performance Coach]
Allen Willner [Lighting Designer] is an award winning lighting designer for theater, dance and music. Awards and nominations include: TBA Lighting Design Awards: We Player’s “Beowulf”, Shotgun Players “Eurydice“, Theater of Yugen’s “This Lingering Life“, SF Playhouse “The Obligation”…[read more]
Cory Neale [Sound Design], has created sound design for many ETS iterations to date, and created the beautiful illustrations on this site. Cory is a Philadelphia born-and-raised architect and artist. He is a collaborative project-driven individual who uses his training in architecture to address and execute ventures in sound and visual art. He believes that the collaborative nature…[read more]
Jessica McKee [Costume Designer] was taught to sew by her mother and grandmothers. Her first job was at a victorian lingerie company where she worked in all aspects of production and developed an appreciation for detail. There she learned to work with the way fabric moves and is still…[read more]
Ashley Munday [Technician]
Kirill Zhukov [Technician]
James Goode [Technician]
Travis Bennet [Technician]
Chloe Crotzer [Stage Manager]
2016: STAND GROUND
Cynthia Arellanes [Ensemble] is a mover, preschool teacher, and writer. She received her B.A. in Dance from UC Davis where she discovered her interest in experimental art and… [read more]
Zoe Bender [Ensemble] recently graduated from the California Institute of Integral Studies with an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts. She has a diverse performance background, ranging from site-specific political dance…[read more]
Josely Castro [Ensemble]
Sonia Decker [Ensemble] is an actor, theatre artist, activist, and native of the Bay Area. She is a company member of The Bonfire Makers. Recently she has worked with EchoTheaterSuitcase project, Christine Marie and Artists…[read more]
Jennifer Eddy [Ensemble]
Natalie Greene [Ensemble] is a performer, teacher, pedagogy consultant, and creator of dance and theater, and the Interim Artistic Director of Mugwumpin, theater and performance ensemble. Her own choreographic work ranges from…[read more]
Jasmine Johnson [Ensemble]
Erin Mei-Lin Stuart [Ensemble] is a dancer, actor, choreographer, and director, and the artistic director of EmSpace Dance. She has been performing in the Bay Area since the mid-nineties…[read more]
Allen Willner [Lighting Design]
Ian Winters [Media Design]
Cory Neale [Sound Design]
JamieLyn Duggan [Costume Design]
Lori Caldwell [Stage Manager]
Hannah Westbrook [Co-Stage Manager]
2015: C.I.I.S
Zoe Bender [Ensemble]
Jesselito Bie [Ensemble]
Samantha Blanchard [Ensemble]
Stephen Funk [Ensemble]
William McQueen [Ensemble]
Matthew Plosick [Ensemble]
Jenny Schaffer [Ensemble]
Maia Scott [Ensemble]
Keisha Turner [Ensemble]
Katarina Eriksson [Movement Coach]
Jenny Beth Schaffer [Dramaturgical Advisor]
Arianna Wheat [Drama Therapist]
Cory Neale [Music]
Stephen Katz [Music]
Gabriel Todd [Music]
Jesse Autumn [Music]
Maia Scott (Shruti box) [Music]
Sara Kraft/KraftyWork [Visual Installation]
2015: BAY AREA BOLD FESTIVAL
Cynthia Arellanes [Ensemble]
Jessie Bie [Ensemble]
Samantha Blanchard [Ensemble]
Sonia Decker [Ensemble]
Katarina Eriksson [Ensemble]
Hien Hyunh [Ensemble]
William McQueen [Ensemble]
Susan Pfeffer [Ensemble]
Tina Taylor [Ensemble]
Keisha Turner [Ensemble]
Alex Thorsen [Ensemble]
Big John (JW) [Ensemble]
Cory Neale [Sound Design]
Daniel Bear Davis [Director]
2015: YOLO COUNTY
Jim Corbett [Ensemble]
Tiffany Martin [Ensemble]
Ian Rowland [Ensemble]
Francis Resta [Ensemble]
2014: FIELD OF INQUIRY: BODY POLITIC
Sonia Decker [ENSEMBLE]
Remi Frazier [ENSEMBLE]
Stephen Funk [ENSEMBLE], moved to the Bay Area in 2001 shortly before 9/11, and enlisted in the Marine Corps in early 2002. His father had been a cryptographer in the navy during the Vietnam War, and Stephen is named after an uncle who had died stationed overseas. Stephen also is and was an activist. During training he had difficulty conforming to military service and sought discharge as a conscientious objector. In April 2003, he became the first person in the military to…[read more]
Hope Hutman [ENSEMBLE]
Daniel Lippe [ENSEMBLE]
William McQueen [FIELD OF INQUIRY: BODY POLITIC EDITION]
Utam Moses [ENSEMBLE]
Misty Snyder [ENSEMBLE]
Tina Taylor [ENSEMBLE]
Stephen Katz [MUSIC], is a cellist and award winning composer who has defied the laws of gravitational musicianship for over forty years. His music has been featured in every iteration of EchoTheaterSuitcase project to date. His latest leap across stages in the US and Europe, Angels in the Engine Room, gives his audience…[read more]
2011: THE CONTACT PROJECT
Nicholas Chavez [ENSEMBLE]
Samantha Francis [ENSEMBLE]
Kev’n Garcia [ENSEMBLE]
Laura Markis Johnson [ENSEMBLE]
Lyle Phipps [ENSEMBLE]
Susan Oetgen [MUSIC]
Patrick Mack [MUSIC]
GUEST ARTISTS, COACHES, AND THERAPISTS
Meredith Grundei
Belle Willensky
ARTS | CULTURE INSTITUTIONS, COLLABORATORS, PRESENTERS
Earthdance, supported project Artist Residencies and development Matt Mitchell’s 100 Faces of War Experience, collaborator in initial project iteration Tyler Boudreau, advisor Western Massachusetts iteration, author Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of a Marine (excerpts used in CounterPulse 2014 iteration) Artists In Context, collaborated with Western Massachusetts presentation, 100 Faces of War Experience and created 9/11 panel discussion. Veteran Artists, Artistic director Stephen Funk collaborated as a performer, and educator with ETS during our 2013-14 CounterPulse residency, and C.I.I.S. workshop production, as well as, supporting project development and outreach. Veterans Community Media Center of San Francisco, ETS shared a performance and joined other community-building events a the VCMCSF in 2013-14. CounterPulse, commissioned Krista DeNio/ EchoTheaterSuitcase project for 2013-14 Artist Residency Commissioning (ARC)Program; Krista DeNio is a House Artist at CP, which acts as a fiscal sponsor and project partner. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Field of Inquiry: Body Politic Edition 2014; EchoTheaterSuitcase performed several site-specific performances, as a part of this Community think tank program, resulting in a shared community performance event Veterans Book Project: Objects for Deployment, Collaborator with Arts @ C.I.I.S. and ETS workshops and performances, 2015. Bay Area Bold Festival/ San Francisco Foundation, presented EchoTheaterSuitcase at Yerba Buena Gardens, September 2015, for a site-specific performance at Revelation, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
The Arts at CIIS commissioned ETS workshops and performances 2014-15, in collaboration with Veterans Book Project; both projects curated by Deirdre Visser U.C. Davis Department of Theater and Dance supported development of ETS Yolo County, directed by Daniel Bear Davis Other campus collaborators included: Davis Student Veteran Organization Transfer Re-entry Veterans Center
Funders
Zellerbach Family Foundation, Community Arts grant Theater Bay Area & Dancers Group, CA$H grant California Humanities Community Stories Grant, The War Comes Home This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.calhum.org.” AND a HUGE SHOUT OUT to our INDIVIDUAL DONORS, who make our dreams come true!