Ashley R.T. Yergens' "SURROGATE" Program

Photo still by Nel Shelby

Ashley R.T. Yergens

SURROGATE

JUNE 13-15, 8PM, 2024

Choreographed & Directed by Ashley R.T. Yergens

Performed by Ashley R.T. Yergens, Justin Faircloth, Maddie Schimmel, Mur, Nicola Gorham

Music by Andrea Bocelli, Celine Dion, Eiffel 65, Imogen Heap, Wurlitzer 157 Carousel Organ

“Frozen Potential,” original song and composition by Mur

Costumes by Maddie Schimmel and Mur

Lighting Design by Jennifer Fok

Run time: 40 minutes

FUNDING

The Live Feed creative residency program is supported in part by Partners for New Performance. Commissioned premieres created within the Live Feed program are cornerstones of every season at New York Live Arts. Live Arts’ 2023-2024 season confronts the current critical moment, in which the changing social, political, and cultural tides call to deepen its vision as a conduit for engagement through art. We thank our Partners for New Performance for supporting Live Feed.

SPECIAL THANKS

Tyler Ashley, Jeff Barneson, Casey Bohannon, Heidi Bohnenkamp, Nico Brown, Ali Burke, Barb Cecil, Lia Clay-Miller, Kim Cullen, Shannon Denzel-Bartok, Bonnie Denzel, Cecilia Gentili, Amelia Golden, Nicola Gorham, Charlene Incarnate, Lillie Jacobson, Bill T. Jones, Madison Krekel, Silas Lee, Deborah Lohse, Emily Mutch, Maddie Petersil, Kristopher K.Q. Pourzal, Bearclaw Price, Emily Rae Vicente, Rachel Raleigh, Eleanor Smith, Kristen Smith, Q Stuckey, Hana Tanberg, Kayla Tanberg, Jason Tanberg, Sean Tanberg, Teri Tanberg, Fran Tirado, TYGAPAW, Ube, Jon Velez-Jackson, Larissa Velez-Jackson, Carlo Antonio Villanueva, Delaney Wallace, Janet Wong.

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We acknowledge and pay respect to Lenape people, elders, and ancestors past, present, and coming in the future. We acknowledge Indigenous people who may be present right now. We acknowledge and offer deep gratitude to Lenapehoking where we are now - the land, and waters of the Lenape homeland.

BIOGRAPHIES

Nicola Gorham is an Actor and Performance Artist in New York. Her work has appeared at La MaMa E.T.C., The Duplex and Joe’s Pub. Nicola attended The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Her theater credits include ‘Transformation: The Christine Jorgensen Show’ (The Wild Project) Street Children & Superstitions (The New Ohio Theatre), Future St. (The Broad Museum) and Big Art Group’s Broke House at the 2022 Venice Biennale. Past film & TV credits include High Maintenance (HBO) and feature films Josie & Jack and Townhouse Confidential. She is represented by Clear Talent Group and Managed by G&G Talent.

Justin Faircloth is a performing artist from North Carolina. Since relocating to New York, Justin has had the pleasure of working with Blaze Ferrer, Miguel Gutierrez, Cherylyn Lavagnino, Doug LeCours, loveconductors (FOH), Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Riener, Maddie Schimmel, Third Class Citizen, Third Rail Projects, Erik Thurmond, Ashley R.T. Yergens, Jessie Young,

Abby Zbikowski, and others. Instagram: @bacnneggs

Mur was born in Connecticut and reared in Kentucky, educated at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, and appeared at The Guggenheim, The Public Theater, La Mama, National Sawdust, The Flea, Club Cumming, and Wild Project. Mur is the Creative Director of Mur Experimental Theater Company, a Lower Manhattan based performance art organization. Mur did not go to NYU. @murnewyork

Maddie Schimmel is a performer, costumer, and maker. They are finding and falling out of balance through the practices of scheduling, getting dressed, giving, receiving, working, resting, hanging out, cooking, and literally standing on one leg. Mad has shown choreographic work at Roulette, Cathy Weis Sundays on Broadway, Triskelion Arts, and Center for Performance Research, and has designed costumes for Jordan Lloyd, Breaktime, Proteo Media + Performance, Jessie Young, and Jo Warren and Lena

Ashley R.T. Yergens is a dance artist based in Brooklyn, NY. His choreographic work explores the assimilation of trans identities into American popular culture and what events led Time Magazine to mark 2014 as the ‘Transgender Tipping Point’. Visually, his performances unapologetically cross-contaminate references, aesthetics, and performative boundaries found in commercial and avant-garde dance, social media (YouTube and Instagram), stand-up comedy, and queer nightlife. As a performer, you can spot him as an extra in the FX docuseries A Wilderness of Error, dancing next to Carly Rae Jepsen and Dev Hynes in the “Better Than Me” music video, or go-go dancing at queer clubs throughout NYC.

LIVE ARTS CONTRIBUTORS

New York Live Arts is deeply grateful to all the individuals listed below for their vital gifts to New York Live Arts over the last year:

$500,000 and higher

Anonymous

Slobodan Randjelović & Jon Stryker

$100,000-$499,999

Anonymous

Ruth & Stephen Hendel

Eleanor Friedman

Ellen M. Poss

Alex Katz Foundation

$50,000 - $99,999

Zoe Eskin

Helen Haje

Suzanne Karpas

Lorraine Gallard & Richard H. Levy

Barbara & Alan Marks

Matthew Putman

Jane Bovingdon Semel & Terry Semel | Semel Charitable Foundation

$25,000 - $49,999

Dance/NYC

David Dechman & Michel Mercure

Adam Flatto

William Floyd

Darnell L. Moore

Amy Newman & Bud Shulman

Andrea Rosen

Jonathan & Jennifer Soros

Diana Wege / Wege Foundation

$10,000 - $24,999

Anonymous

Jody & John Arnhold

Patricia Blanchet

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Paula Cooper

Claire Danes & Hugh Dancy

Agnes Gund

Alexes Hazen

Colleen Keegan

Michael Malafronte & Julia Haley

Julie Orlando

Ellen M. Poss

John Robinson

Wendy Smith

Nina Stricker

Pat Stryker

Tito’s Handmade Vodka

Warner Bros. Discovery

$5,000 - $9,999

Derrick Adams

Rose C. Cali

Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, Inc.

Lawton W. Fitt

Jason Keehn

Robert Longo

Ellen Pechman

Randy Polumbo

Herb Ritts, Jr. Foundation

Thomas Rom

Cindy Sherman

Jeffrey Schneider & Jeffery Povero

David Schwartz Foundation

Catharine Stimpson

$1,000 - $4,999

Ayala Abrams

The Angelson Family Foundation

Derek Brown & Deborah Hellman

Kathleen Chalfant

Jeannie Colbert

Boykin Curry

Terence Dougherty & Pierre Duleyrie

Kimberly Drew

Emma Friedman-Cohen

Mimi Garrard

Sandy Gelfond

Sean Giancola

Michael & Deborah Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg

Thomas & Barbara Gottschalk

Andrew Halliday

Kevin Harter

Tom Hennes

Barbara Hoffman

Jenny Holzer

Michael Houston

Laura & Richard Hunt

Judy Johnson

Bill T Jones & Bjorn Amelan

Andrew Keegan

Gavin Kenny

Esperanza Martinez in memory of Vicktorianna Gardner-Davis

Bella Meyer

Nancy Meyer & Marc Weiss

Susan Micari

Helen Mills & Gary Tannenbaum

Meridee Moore & Kevin King

Momoko Myre

Alessandra Nicifero

Scott Norman

Mark O’Donnell

Eric Oberstein

Buck Parson

Corey Robinson

Jordan & Laura Rogove

Erin Rossitto

Beth Rudin DeWoody

Dee Dee Sides

Wendy Smith in memory of Jon D. Smith

Mickalene Thomas

Robyn Trani

Billie Tsien & Tod Williams in memory of Yvonne Tsien

James A. Turrell & Kyung-Lim Lee Turrell

JP Versace

Kimberly Welch

Robert Zweig

$500 - $999

Jordan Baker-Kilner

Stefan Beckman

Fabian Bernal

Donald Bernstein

Saami Bloom

Michael Brady

Amanda Burden

Alexandra Chasin

Kent Cole

William Critzman

Antoine Drye

Kathaleen Duffin

Erika Ehrman

Elizabeth Frankel

Naima Green

Linda Hunt

Ted Kamoutsis

Otho Kerr

Michael Mizrahi

Michael Naimy

Cynthia Pearlman

Paul Pelssers

Robert Rosenberg

John Sansone

Martha Sherman

Ward Simmons

Ellynne Skove in memory of Nancy Topf

Deborah Swiderski

Emma Taylor

Wade Turnbull

Maureen Ellen Veitch

Anna Wheeler

Carol Yorke & Gerard Conn

Gifts and commitments between January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023

Support for New York Live Arts is provided by the Arnhold Foundation, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ed Bradley Family Foundation, Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, Dance/NYC, Ford Foundation, Keith Haring Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Marta Heflin Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Alex Katz Foundation, Lambent Foundation, Alice Lawrence Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Muriel Pollia Foundation, National Performance Network, New England Foundation for the Arts, One World Fund, The Poss Family Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, The Semel Charitable Foundation, Scherman Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Tides Foundation.

Corporate support for New York Live Arts includes Con Edison, Google, Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

Public support for New York Live Arts is from National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

STAFF & BOARD

Artistic Leadership

Bill T. Jones

Artistic Director

Janet Wong

Associate Artistic Director

Programming, Producing & Engagement

Kyle Maude

Producing Director

Hannah Emerson Jernigan

Producer

Production

Chanel Pinnock

Production Manager

Leo Janks

Lighting Manager

James Bennett

Audio/Video Manager

Megan Dechaine

Production Stage Manager

Tricia Navigato

Assistant Production Manager

Creative Director

Bjorn G. Amelan

Community Engagement & Education

Bianca Bailey

Community Engagement & Education Manager

Communications

Tyler Ashley Director of Communications

Augustus Cook

Digital Marketing Manager

Hannah Seiden

Communications Manager

Taylor Adams

Front of House Assistant

Liliana Dirks-Goodman

Graphic Designer

Pentagram

Pro-Bono Branding

Randjelović/Stryker Resident

Commissioned Artist

Miguel Gutierrez

Executive Leadership

Kim Cullen

Executive Director & CEO

Ali Burke Chief of Staff Development

Dave Archuletta

Chief Development Officer

Nina Phuong Ha Development Manager

Julie Davis

Special Events & Donor Engagement Manager

Felix Reyes Institutional Giving Manager

Finance

Nupur Dey

Chief Financial Officer

Manathus Dey

Finance Associate

Operations

Gregory English

Operations Manager

Marcus Retegues

Facilities Coordinator

Adalid Nunez-Mendoza

Custodial Assistant

Human Resources

ADP TotalSource

Legal Services

Lowenstein Sandler, PC Pro-Bono Counsel

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company

Barrington Hinds, Jada Jenai,

Shane Larson, Danielle Marshall, Jacoby Pruitt, Huiwang Zhang

Front of House Staff

Taylor Adams, Julia Antinozzi, Ezra Mitchell, Jailyn Phillips-Wiley, Sabrina Herbosa-Reyes, Calley

Luman, Cove Haselton, Campbell

Ives, Paulina Meneses, Jessy Crist, Johnny Mathews, Ishmael Gonzales, Anna Ticknor, Cristina Moya-Palacios, Salma Kiuhan

Board of Directors

Stephen Hendel

Co-Chair

Richard H. Levy

Co-Chair

Helen Haje Vice Chair

Slobodan RandjeloviĆ Vice Chair

Alan Marks

Treasurer

Aimee Meredith Cox

Secretary

Bill T. Jones

Artistic Director Ex-Officio

Kim Cullen

Chief Executive Officer Ex-Officio

Bjorn Amelan

Sarah Arison

LaToya Ruby Frazier

Charla Jones

Colleen Keegan

Darnell L. Moore

Amy Newman

Randy Polumbo

Ellen M. Poss

Matthew Putman

Jane Bovingdon Semel

Ruby Shang

Catharine R. Stimpson

Board Emeritus

Derek Brown

Terence Dougherty

Eleanor Friedman

Advisory Council

Alberta Arthurs

Beverly D’Anne

Lisa Frigand

Jenette Kahn

Susan Micari

Lois Greenfield

Martha Sherman