The application period for 2012 Artmonks-in-Residence has closed. Please visit our Get Involved page to see opportunities still available for Visiting Artists, Worktraders, and Interns. Information about 2013 Artmonks-in-Residence program will be available in late 2012.

2012 Artmonks-in-Residence

About the Artists

Neva Cockrell

Neva Cockrell is a New York-based choreographer and dancer. Originally from Colorado, she graduated from Oberlin College with a BA in Dance and Environmental Science. In New York she is the Artistic Director and Choreographer of Loom Ensemble, and recently premiered a new work at La MaMa in 2012. She also performs regularly with Gehring DanceTheatre and Kinesis Project throughout NYC and the surrounding area. Internationally, she toured 7 cities in India with ANIKAI in 2011 and participated in the Blank Canvas Residency in Cork, Ireland with Mich-Mach Productions in 2010. Neva is also a fitness instructor at Physique 57, and teaches movement classes to all ages and ability ranges. She will be spending summer 2012 choreographing and performing at the Art Monastery in Labro, Italy. http://loomensemble.com

Anaya Cullen

Anaya Cullen has designed & created costumes for dance, theater, opera, and independent film companies including State Street Ballet, Jennifer Muller/The Works, UCSB Dance and Theater Department, Josie Walsh, American Musical and Dramatic Academy Los Angeles, Aspen Opera Theater Center, Chautauqua Ballet Company, Western Slope Concert Series, Santa Barbara Dance Theater, SonneBlauma Danscz Theater, Santa Barbara Dance Institute, Robin Bisio Films & Sentient Films. Awards & residencies include, Creative Resident at Parsons Paris School of Art + Design 2010 & recipient of the Santa Barbara Fiber Arts Guild’s 2010 LaVelle Ure Memorial Educational Grant. http://anayacullen.com

Ryan Hazelbaker

Ryan Hazelbaker is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana.  He graduated from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA with his Bachelors in Musical Theatre Performance and Directing. Ryan has performed all over the U.S. in the professional theater, consistently performing starring roles in musical theater productions and local premieres. He was previously working in Colorado and plans to return to Midtown Arts Center to perform as Sonny in IN THE HEIGHTS.  A high-energy performer with acrobatic skills always ready to pull out of his back pocket, Ryan has been dancing and singing through Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Colorado, Minnesota and is thrilled to make his international premiere to share his talents with Italy. He cherishes this experience for he reunites with whom he considers one of his creative-inspirational partners, Liz Maxwell.  http://ryanhazelbaker.com

Andi Hemmenway

Andi Hemmenway is a musician of diverse interests and experience. She has played everything from J. S. Bach to Hank Williams and has performed in venues from Carnegie Hall to the ancient sidewalks of Athens, Greece. She began music at an early age, singing, playing piano, flute, and violin until choosing to focus on the viola. She holds her Bachelors in viola performance from Rice University and her Masters Degree from The Juilliard School. After graduating Juillard, she was awarded a Fulbright-Hayes Grant to live in Greece for a year, studying traditional Greek music. Her musical explorations have taken her from the western classical tradition, to a more eastern approach, to song writing, improvisation, and the release of her debut CD. She currently lives in the Philadelphia area and is a freelancer and Teaching Artist with the organization “Play On, Philly!” an out-of-school music program designed to create social consciousness and provide opportunities for personal development through music. http://andihemmenway.com/

Raphael Sacks

Raphael Sacks is an international voice and theater artist, and New York City native. In Sweden with Teater Slava, he improvised vocal solos for audiences of up to 8,000 people, and played Tristan in a new adaptation of Tristan och Isolde; in Rotterdam, Netherlands, he was a featured artist at the Institute For the Living Voice; and in London he premiered with the English National Opera. In NYC, Raphael has sung at BAM with Meredith Monk (Songs of Ascension); appeared at Lincoln Center and the historic Living Theater with Urban Research Theatre; and acted Chekhov and Shakespeare with British actress Eve Best (Three Sisters and Othello). Raphael is the co-founder of his own interdisciplinary theater company Loom, which recently premiered their newest show at La MaMa. Raphael also teaches yoga, and spent last summer participating in a two month yoga retreat, where he also taught Interdisciplinary Performance Studies as a part of the workshop setting. http://loomensemble.com

 

About the Program

The Art Monastery will invite Artmonks-in-Residence to join our four long-term team members at our location in Labro, Italy, for a 90-day art-monastic retreat in summer 2012. Our purpose is to create a full-length collaborative, devised, multi-disciplinary theater piece. The piece will be co-created by the group (directed by Artistic Director Liz Maxwell and composed by Music Director Charles Darius) in Labro, 70 miles northeast of Rome. We will develop the piece in the first six to eight weeks of the summer and then perform locally and regionally at Italian festivals the final four to six weeks.

Artistic Concept

The concept for the piece is still in development but will:

  • explore themes of death & transformation - How do these themes on an individual level spring forth metaphors for the death and transformation of a society, culture, and world?
  • draw from ancient Italian culture and mythology - What do rites of the underworld mean in our particular time and place today? How many ways have human beings come up with to cope with the concept of dying?
  • investigate language - How do you communicate in a place where no one understands your words? What do these problems mean, as a symbol? Will we create our own language for the play world?

“The Art Monastery gave me unending inspiration
about the magic that’s available in the universe.”

  

Julia Pond

Positions

  • Dancer/Choreographer - This person specializes in movement and is a strong solo performer (modern/contemporary) but can work with others who have varying skill levels in dance. This person will be asked to MOVE through our play-world and help us build the show physically (through virtuosic dance as well as more pedestrian movement). (S)he should be comfortable improvising on a theme and teaching movement to a group. Theater experience is a plus. Circus skills are a huge plus. The dancer is ready to work in unconventional locations (small theater with wooden floor, outdoors on grass, brick and cobblestone cloister). This person will be part of the creative team and a performer in the final show.
  • Musician - This person HEARS the world of the play and communicates that with beauty and grace. Virtuosic soloist and strong group performer, this musician plays at least one instrument (including voice). The more instruments, the merrier. The musician will also be a key physical actor who will be on stage most of the time. Theater experience is a huge plus. Music Director Charles Darius will compose the score specifically for these artists, who will in turn work closely with him in the conceptual development of the piece. Knowledge of and ability to perform in Italian plus-issimo.
  • Visual/Mask/Puppet Designer - This person SEES the world of the play and creates the visual aesthetic of the show. Working closely with AMP co-founder and video artist Betsy McCall, this person will design and build a visually stunning play-world. This designer is a mask and puppet expert with an interest in larger-than-life elements, visual tricks, diverse cultures and mythologies, bringing her/his extensive knowledge of mask history, puppet experience, and visual ideas to the table. How do we use fabric? How is video projection employed? How do puppets interact with the audience and play world? These questions and more the designer will help us experiment to find creative answers. Working from a small budget, this artist may also be asked to help us with simple costumes and light set elements.

Community Life

All artists, along with interns, volunteers, and staff, will be part of the monastic intentional community for the entire summer. We will share lunch and dinner every day, participate in cooking, cleaning, and chores, as well as other community activities, and explore elements of contemporary monasticism as a group (meditation, ritual, etc.). Although we are a secular community, we are deeply interested in alternative spiritual practices and we are seeking others ready to engage art and spirit in similarly profound ways. All participants should be actively lit up by all of these elements. Our vision is that the summer will challenge each individual creatively, spiritually, and inter-personally; that the community will deeply investigate art monasticism; and that this process will yield a professional, high-quality product.

Master Class Exchange

For the majority of the development period, we will train for two hours per day in skill-sharing master classes. These will build our individual and collective skills, improve our technique, and create a shared vocabulary that will carry forth into rehearsals and performances. Each Artmonk-in-Residence will lead one hour of skill share per week that will be attended by fellow Artmonks, interns, volunteers, and staff. In turn, each Artmonk-in-Residence also will enjoy nine master classes per week, led by their diverse colleagues.

Full Board & Accommodation

Our chef prepares beautiful, delicious meals made with elements from our organic garden. Highlights include home-made yogurt at breakfast, local wine with dinner every night, and great conversations around the dinner table with world-traveled artists and like-minded souls. We offer modest, shared rooms, following in the tradition of simple, monastic life.

Travel & Financial Arrangements

Work-related travel within Italy is covered by the AMP. Artists are encouraged to seek individual grants, private contributions, or frequent flyer mile donations to cover travel to and from Italy. Unfortunately, the AMP is presently unable to offer stipends to artists for their time and talents.

Etc.

The working language is English, but Italian speaking skills are a huge bonus. This is a full-time position (8 hours/day), but every week includes a day and a half off to relax, hike, explore nearby towns (including the beautiful Lake Piediluco, the biggest waterfall in Europe, and the tallest mountains in Italy south of the Alps), or explore private artistic pursuits.

Join us and co-create a magical summer!

The Art Monastery Project is a unique place, an idealistic start-up that is an exciting experiment. The ideal Artmonk-in-Residence is open-minded, kind-hearted, and enthusiastic about the adventure of living with a bunch of creative, big-spirited, hard-working Americans in the Italian countryside. It’s going to be great. Trust us.