as•sem•bly |ə-sěm'blē| (noun)
1. a group of people gathered in one place for a common purpose.
2. a public facility to meet for open discussion.
3. the action of fitting together component parts of a machine or
other object.
4. a collective of artists dedicated to realizing a new American theater.
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CORE COMPANY
Jess Chayes
(Co-Artistic Director)
is an award-winning Brooklyn-based director and founding co-artistic director of The Assembly, with whom she has co-created and directed ten original productions. Recent directing includes THE FLICK (Warehouse Theatre), HOLIDAYS IN/COYOTE (The Tank), THE PROVIDENCE OF NEIGHBORING BODIES and LATTER DAYS (Dutch Kills), HALF MOON BAY (Lesser America), PRIMAL PLAY (New Georges), THE BACHELORS (Williamstown Theater Festival), THE SISTER (Dutch Kills), and THE NETFLIX PLAYS (Ars Nova). She has developed new work with The Vineyard Theatre, The Playwrights Center and New York Theatre Workshop, among others. Jess is a NYTW Usual Suspect, a 2018 Audrey Resident with New Georges, a co-founder of The New Georges Jam artists’ lab, and alum of The Civilians R&D Group and the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab. Associate Director on PETER AND THE STARCATCHER (Brooks Atkinson Theater and New World Stages) and MISERY (Broadhurst Theater). Jess is the recipient of the 2017 Lucille Lortel Award from the League of Professional Theatre Women.
is an award-winning Brooklyn-based director and founding co-artistic director of The Assembly, with whom she has co-created and directed ten original productions. Recent directing includes THE FLICK (Warehouse Theatre), HOLIDAYS IN/COYOTE (The Tank), THE PROVIDENCE OF NEIGHBORING BODIES and LATTER DAYS (Dutch Kills), HALF MOON BAY (Lesser America), PRIMAL PLAY (New Georges), THE BACHELORS (Williamstown Theater Festival), THE SISTER (Dutch Kills), and THE NETFLIX PLAYS (Ars Nova). She has developed new work with The Vineyard Theatre, The Playwrights Center and New York Theatre Workshop, among others. Jess is a NYTW Usual Suspect, a 2018 Audrey Resident with New Georges, a co-founder of The New Georges Jam artists’ lab, and alum of The Civilians R&D Group and the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab. Associate Director on PETER AND THE STARCATCHER (Brooks Atkinson Theater and New World Stages) and MISERY (Broadhurst Theater). Jess is the recipient of the 2017 Lucille Lortel Award from the League of Professional Theatre Women.
Stephen Aubrey
(Co-Artistic Director)
is a Brooklyn-based writer and dramaturg. With the company, he has written or co-written THAT POOR DREAM, HOME/SICK, THE DARK HEART OF METEOROLOGY, WHAT I TOOK IN MY HAND, DAGUERREOTPYE and WE CAN'T REACH YOU, HARTFORD, as well as dramaturging all Assembly productions. Other writing credits include MINDCRAFT (Dixon Place) THE LONG GAME (Tiny Rhino) and BRAIN EXPLODE! (The Video Game Festival at The Brick Theater). His writing has appeared in Electric Literature, Publishing Genius, The Brooklyn Review, Pomp & Circumstance and Commonweal. He teaches literature and composition in the CUNY system. MFA: Brooklyn College.
is a Brooklyn-based writer and dramaturg. With the company, he has written or co-written THAT POOR DREAM, HOME/SICK, THE DARK HEART OF METEOROLOGY, WHAT I TOOK IN MY HAND, DAGUERREOTPYE and WE CAN'T REACH YOU, HARTFORD, as well as dramaturging all Assembly productions. Other writing credits include MINDCRAFT (Dixon Place) THE LONG GAME (Tiny Rhino) and BRAIN EXPLODE! (The Video Game Festival at The Brick Theater). His writing has appeared in Electric Literature, Publishing Genius, The Brooklyn Review, Pomp & Circumstance and Commonweal. He teaches literature and composition in the CUNY system. MFA: Brooklyn College.
Ben Beckley
(Co-Artistic Director)
is an actor and writer, whose work has been seen on and off Broadway, and in performances throughout the United States and internationally. Writing credits include KLAXALTERIAN SEQUESTER (www.klaxalteria.com); LATTER DAYS (Ars Nova/Dutch Kills); and “Outside Time, Without Extension,” which premiered in Red Bull’s 2020 Short New Play Festival. Acting credits include WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME (Broadway and NYTW); DYING FOR IT (Atlantic Theater Company); WELCOME TO NOWHERE (Salzburg Festival in Austria; Via/Exit Festival in France; Mois Multi and Usine C in Canada); the first national tours of SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS and PETER AND THE STARCATCHER; and Shonda Rhimes' INVENTING ANNA on Netflix. He is a member of The Actors Center.
is an actor and writer, whose work has been seen on and off Broadway, and in performances throughout the United States and internationally. Writing credits include KLAXALTERIAN SEQUESTER (www.klaxalteria.com); LATTER DAYS (Ars Nova/Dutch Kills); and “Outside Time, Without Extension,” which premiered in Red Bull’s 2020 Short New Play Festival. Acting credits include WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME (Broadway and NYTW); DYING FOR IT (Atlantic Theater Company); WELCOME TO NOWHERE (Salzburg Festival in Austria; Via/Exit Festival in France; Mois Multi and Usine C in Canada); the first national tours of SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS and PETER AND THE STARCATCHER; and Shonda Rhimes' INVENTING ANNA on Netflix. He is a member of The Actors Center.
Meredith Lucio
(Producing Director)
is a Tony award-winning producer who’s worked as an independent producer in New York City for almost 15 years. Her first foray onto Broadway as a co-producer with THE GERSHWIN’S PORGY AND BESS earned her a Tony Award for Best Revival in 2012. Meredith transferred Bedlam’s first productions of SAINT JOAN and HAMLET in rotating rep to the Off-Broadway stage. SAINT JOAN won a Best Revival award from the Off-Broadway Alliance and was named one of the Top 10 Best Plays and Musicals of 2013 by Time Magazine. HAMLET was live-streamed to a pilot group of Title I schools in the New York City area in 2013, making it one of the first live theatrical productions to be live-streamed in this country. She has also been on the producing teams of THE 39 STEPS (New World Stages), ROOMS: A ROCK ROMANCE and is currently a producer on THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL (Broadway and National Tour). She helped capitalize GRACE on Broadway (starring Paul Rudd, Michael Shannon) and the HELLO DOLLY! STARRING BETTE MIDLER ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING. Meredith has extensive experience in financial consulting for small businesses particularly in the film industry. She has served as an accountant/financial consultant for THE REMIX: HIP HOP X FASHION (Tribeca Film Festival, 2019) numerous Frontline films. Meredith has been a speaker for the Commercial Theater Institute, the Educational Theatre Association, and the International Thespian Festival. She teaches seasonally at Scottsdale Community College about how to produce your own work. Meredith is also developing her producing curriculum into a new book, FROM BACKYARD TO BROADWAY: PRODUCING PRINCIPLES FOR THEATRE AT EVERY BUDGET. Catch up with Meredith on Twitter and Facebook @TheaterZen.
is a Tony award-winning producer who’s worked as an independent producer in New York City for almost 15 years. Her first foray onto Broadway as a co-producer with THE GERSHWIN’S PORGY AND BESS earned her a Tony Award for Best Revival in 2012. Meredith transferred Bedlam’s first productions of SAINT JOAN and HAMLET in rotating rep to the Off-Broadway stage. SAINT JOAN won a Best Revival award from the Off-Broadway Alliance and was named one of the Top 10 Best Plays and Musicals of 2013 by Time Magazine. HAMLET was live-streamed to a pilot group of Title I schools in the New York City area in 2013, making it one of the first live theatrical productions to be live-streamed in this country. She has also been on the producing teams of THE 39 STEPS (New World Stages), ROOMS: A ROCK ROMANCE and is currently a producer on THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL (Broadway and National Tour). She helped capitalize GRACE on Broadway (starring Paul Rudd, Michael Shannon) and the HELLO DOLLY! STARRING BETTE MIDLER ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING. Meredith has extensive experience in financial consulting for small businesses particularly in the film industry. She has served as an accountant/financial consultant for THE REMIX: HIP HOP X FASHION (Tribeca Film Festival, 2019) numerous Frontline films. Meredith has been a speaker for the Commercial Theater Institute, the Educational Theatre Association, and the International Thespian Festival. She teaches seasonally at Scottsdale Community College about how to produce your own work. Meredith is also developing her producing curriculum into a new book, FROM BACKYARD TO BROADWAY: PRODUCING PRINCIPLES FOR THEATRE AT EVERY BUDGET. Catch up with Meredith on Twitter and Facebook @TheaterZen.
Emily Caffery
(Artistic Producer)
has been working with The Assembly since 2014. Originally from the hilltowns of Massachusetts (Abenaki homeland), she is a theater producer, actor, and administrator currently living in Brooklyn (Lenapehoking). Other producing/management: Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival; HERE Arts Center and Beth Morrison Projects’ PROTOTYPE Festival; Colt Coeur’s NY Times Critic’s Pick Eureka Day; Byzantine Choral Project's immersive sound installation ICONS/IDOLS: IN THE PURPLE ROOM; and Hypokrit Theatre’s Elements of Change, a Climate Week NYC collaboration with UNICEF, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and GreenPoint Innovations. NY acting includes: SEAGULLMACHINE (La MaMa), KING LEAR (Brick), THE TEMPEST, MARAT/SADE (Columbia), ANIMAL WISDOM choir (Bushwick Starr). Select regional: ELEKTRA (as Elektra), THE GLASS MENAGERIE, STEEL MAGNOLIAS, all in SE Michigan. Alumna: Wesleyan University, National Theater Institute.
has been working with The Assembly since 2014. Originally from the hilltowns of Massachusetts (Abenaki homeland), she is a theater producer, actor, and administrator currently living in Brooklyn (Lenapehoking). Other producing/management: Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival; HERE Arts Center and Beth Morrison Projects’ PROTOTYPE Festival; Colt Coeur’s NY Times Critic’s Pick Eureka Day; Byzantine Choral Project's immersive sound installation ICONS/IDOLS: IN THE PURPLE ROOM; and Hypokrit Theatre’s Elements of Change, a Climate Week NYC collaboration with UNICEF, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and GreenPoint Innovations. NY acting includes: SEAGULLMACHINE (La MaMa), KING LEAR (Brick), THE TEMPEST, MARAT/SADE (Columbia), ANIMAL WISDOM choir (Bushwick Starr). Select regional: ELEKTRA (as Elektra), THE GLASS MENAGERIE, STEEL MAGNOLIAS, all in SE Michigan. Alumna: Wesleyan University, National Theater Institute.
Syeda Tabassum
(Producing Assistant)
Hi, my name is Syeda, I am a junior at the Macaulay Honors College studying computer science, ethics, and urban policy. I am passionate about creating, innovating, and community service. I have used my creativity and problem solving skills to build interactive websites, program designs, and prototypes for business and personal projects. I hope to make both the art and tech industry more inclusive and equitable with my experience.
Hi, my name is Syeda, I am a junior at the Macaulay Honors College studying computer science, ethics, and urban policy. I am passionate about creating, innovating, and community service. I have used my creativity and problem solving skills to build interactive websites, program designs, and prototypes for business and personal projects. I hope to make both the art and tech industry more inclusive and equitable with my experience.
ASSOCIATE ARTISTS
Nic Benacerraf
(Co-Founder)
is a designer of sets and environments for live performance, a former co-artistic director of The Assembly, and an academic who studies the mechanics of social change.
He has been honored to collaborate with Judith Malina (The Living Theatre), Trusty Sidekick (Lincoln Center), Waterwell (Under the Radar), Lars Jan (Center for New Performance), BAM Poetry, Meiyin Wang (La MaMa), Kristin Marting (HERE), Goat in the Road (New Orleans), Son of Semele (LA).
As a generative artist, Nic builds systems and environments for genuine human encounters -- in theaters, galleries, concert halls, and streets. For over a decade he has developed original techniques to build design in collaboration with performers and authors in the rehearsal environment.
He is a proud graduate of Wesleyan University (BA in Theater and Sociology), CalArts (MFA in Scenic Design; MA in Aesthetics & Politics), and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Theatre and Performance at the CUNY Graduate Center.
is a designer of sets and environments for live performance, a former co-artistic director of The Assembly, and an academic who studies the mechanics of social change.
He has been honored to collaborate with Judith Malina (The Living Theatre), Trusty Sidekick (Lincoln Center), Waterwell (Under the Radar), Lars Jan (Center for New Performance), BAM Poetry, Meiyin Wang (La MaMa), Kristin Marting (HERE), Goat in the Road (New Orleans), Son of Semele (LA).
As a generative artist, Nic builds systems and environments for genuine human encounters -- in theaters, galleries, concert halls, and streets. For over a decade he has developed original techniques to build design in collaboration with performers and authors in the rehearsal environment.
He is a proud graduate of Wesleyan University (BA in Theater and Sociology), CalArts (MFA in Scenic Design; MA in Aesthetics & Politics), and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Theatre and Performance at the CUNY Graduate Center.
Edward Bauer
(Co-Founder,
Ambassador to the West)
is a co-founder of The Assembly, and currently lives in Los Angeles, serving as the company's Ambassador to the West. With The Assembly: David (HOME/SICK, New York Times Critic's Pick), Robert (I Will Look Forward to This Later, The New Ohio) Pip (That Poor Dream, The New Ohio). Other theater: Adventure Quest (Edinburgh Fringe, Dutch Kills Theater), Gormanzee & Other Stories (The Flea). Voice acting: The Blackwell Deception, Resonance (Wadjet Eye Games). Web Series: Kid Friendly (www.kidfriendlyshow.com).
Ambassador to the West)
is a co-founder of The Assembly, and currently lives in Los Angeles, serving as the company's Ambassador to the West. With The Assembly: David (HOME/SICK, New York Times Critic's Pick), Robert (I Will Look Forward to This Later, The New Ohio) Pip (That Poor Dream, The New Ohio). Other theater: Adventure Quest (Edinburgh Fringe, Dutch Kills Theater), Gormanzee & Other Stories (The Flea). Voice acting: The Blackwell Deception, Resonance (Wadjet Eye Games). Web Series: Kid Friendly (www.kidfriendlyshow.com).
Anna Abhau Elliott
(Associate Artist,
Ambassador to the South)
is a multi-disciplinary performing artist: a performer, playwright and collaborator. She has performed at the Whitney Biennial, Under the Radar, The Bushwick Starr, JACK, and more. She co-runs Barter Boat, an interactive public art project, that has toured to Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Atlanta, and Scottsdale. Anna currently lives in South Carolina, where she has co-created UNTITLED RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT, which delves into the history of Ku Klux Klan and Reconstruction in Spartanburg County. Anna is a proud and thankful associate artist of The Assembly. She devised HOME/SICK and SEAGULLMACHINE.
Ambassador to the South)
is a multi-disciplinary performing artist: a performer, playwright and collaborator. She has performed at the Whitney Biennial, Under the Radar, The Bushwick Starr, JACK, and more. She co-runs Barter Boat, an interactive public art project, that has toured to Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Atlanta, and Scottsdale. Anna currently lives in South Carolina, where she has co-created UNTITLED RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT, which delves into the history of Ku Klux Klan and Reconstruction in Spartanburg County. Anna is a proud and thankful associate artist of The Assembly. She devised HOME/SICK and SEAGULLMACHINE.
Asa Wember
(Associate Artist)
is a sound designer who has collaborated with The Assembly on SEAGULLMACHINE, THAT POOR DREAM, HOME/SICK, CLEMENTINE AND THE CYBER DUCKS and THE DARK HEART OF METEOROLOGY, as well as THE SISTER for Jess Chayes. Other recent shows include THIS IS NOT ANTIGONE with New Georges, AJAX IN IRAQ with Flux Theatre Ensemble, THE LADY'S NOT FOR BURNING with Parentheses, GHOSTS with Extant Arts, GOODBYE NEW YORK, GOODBYE HEART with the Production Company, RIGHTEOUS MONEY with Wolf 359 and THE ZERO HOUR for 13P.
is a sound designer who has collaborated with The Assembly on SEAGULLMACHINE, THAT POOR DREAM, HOME/SICK, CLEMENTINE AND THE CYBER DUCKS and THE DARK HEART OF METEOROLOGY, as well as THE SISTER for Jess Chayes. Other recent shows include THIS IS NOT ANTIGONE with New Georges, AJAX IN IRAQ with Flux Theatre Ensemble, THE LADY'S NOT FOR BURNING with Parentheses, GHOSTS with Extant Arts, GOODBYE NEW YORK, GOODBYE HEART with the Production Company, RIGHTEOUS MONEY with Wolf 359 and THE ZERO HOUR for 13P.
THE ASSEMBLY'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Stephen Aubrey
Nick Banner
Nic Benacerraf
Susan Bernfield
Brad Burgess
Jess Chayes
Linda Hillman Chayes
David Milch
Meredith Lynsey Schade