Serrano was the founder and Artistic Director of Vaso De Leche Productions from 1992 – 2000. Carlos’ play No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy is currently part of Repertorio Español’s 2010-2011 season. His play The Ortíz Sisters of Mott Haven, was featured as the inaugural piece for the 47th Annual Puerto Rican Theatre Festival in San Juan and Arecibo and also ran at the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre. His other plays include: The Day a Mariachi Band Followed Charlie Home, Charlie Needs a Shrink, Not Just Another Puerto Rican Love Story, The Blues of Daisy Peña and Alter Ego. His poetry has been published in the SUNY literary anthology: Cultural Activisms: Poetic Voices, Political Voices. Awards include: the B.R.I.O. Award from the Bronx Council of the Arts, second place for MetLife’s ‘Nuestras Voces’ at Repertorio Español, the Irwin Shaw Award and the Grabanier Drama Award. Serrano is a graduate of Brooklyn College’s BFA Creative Writing Program and is a member of the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre’s Playwright’s Unit. He is currently working on the first ever Nuyorican Circus and Medicine Show.
A proud resident of Washington Heights since 2005, Bob co-founded People’s Theatre Project and is primarily responsible for its finances, development and marketing. He has overseen a tremendous growth in the organization with consistent budgetary surpluses. As an actor, Braswell made his off-broadway debut in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter at New York Theatre Workshop under the direction of Tony Award winner, Doug Hughes. He has also worked with The Mint Theater, The Actor's Company Theatre (TACT), Cincinnati Playhouse, Baltimore Centerstage, Denver Center Theatre Company, Repertory Theater of St. Louis, Huntington Theatre Company, Fulton Opera House and McCarter Theatre Center. Bob co-starred in the feature film “God Don’t Make the Laws” with Paul Sorvino and with Michael Shannon on HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”. Currently, Bob has the pleasure of traveling the country with the Addiction Performance Project as Edmund in A Long Day’s Journey Into Night working with some well known actors including Dianne Wiest, Debra Winger, Dan Butler, Kathryn Erbe and Arliss Howard. Bob studied Nonprofit Management at CUNY and theatre at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and received a BFA from Boston University’s School of Theatre.
Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Lora has been living and working as an actor, director, teaching artist and arts administrator in NYC since 2000. During her tenure with People’s Theatre Project, which she co-founded, the organization has won the prestigious Union Square Arts Award and Lora has received The Creative Power of Women Award from State Senator Bill Perkins for her “Outstanding work as a woman in the Arts”. She has been featured in newspaper and magazine publications in New York City and Dominican Republic and has been invited to speak on various panels throughout New York City to share her experience as a Latina artist working to build community through theatre. Mino received her BA in English Literature and Theatre from Manhattanville College and her MA in Peace Studies and Conflict Transformation from the Graduate Institute. She also holds a certification as a peace mediator from the Washington Heights-Inwood Coalition.
As a teaching artist, Emily has worked for BAM, TDF, New York Student Shakespeare Festival, Creative Arts Team, Manhattan Youth, Classics on Tour, City Lights Youth Theatre, American Globe Theatre, Roundabout, Theatre for a New Audience, Bronx Arts Ensemble, Arts Connection, LEAP, Smartworks and Young Audiences/NY. Emily has taught clown and mask for Live Arts Summer Theatre Institute, Theatre Arts Center and Manhattan Theatre Source. At the University of California, Emily served as curriculum consultant and founder of the Shakespeare project for Artsbridge and taught the university’s first Shakespeare On Film class, as well as acting and directing. Emily is a founder and Artistic Director of Messenger Theatre Company for which she has written and directed fig. a: The Heart, The Great God Money, Persephone, The Golden Apple: For the Fairest, The Daughters of Memory, The Adventures of Baba Yaga: Little Girl Stew and The Enemy. She also directed Macbeth, A Show About Magic, Burden of Proof and assisted Helena Kaut-Howson on Yerma (at the Arcola Theatre in London) and Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass, as well as Mark Ravenhill on Nursery/School. Emily has worked as an actor with Shenandoah Shakespeare, Mill Mountain Theatre, Georgia Shakespeare Festival, Lime Kiln, Messenger Theatre Company and BAMcinematek. As a singer/songwriter, Emily founded and played with her band Bright Red Boots and has performed at CBGBs, The Bitter End and The Living Room. Emily trained at the Wright School in London and has an MFA in Directing from University of California, Davis.
Erin Rachel Kaplan is an actor, teaching artist, workshop facilitator, playwright, activist and poet currently living in Brooklyn New York. She holds BAs from the University of Michigan's Residential College in Drama, English Literature and Political Science and an MA in Educational Theatre in Colleges and Communities, with a focus in Applied Theatre from New York University's Steinhardt School. Her first full-length original play, Collateral Bodies, investigating "femicide" in cultures around the world, was published in Spring of 2012 by Dramatic Publishing. Erin is currently working as a Master Teaching Artist for various theatres, community centers, schools, and arts-in-education organizations in New York City and New Jersey. In the Fall of 2011 she began her Ph.D. in Theatre, with an additional certification in Women's/ Gender Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center. Her research interests include Theatre of the Oppressed, Feminist Human Rights Theatre and Shakespeare.
Karen Torbjornsen is a professional teaching artist who has been working with middle and high school students in the Bronx for the past ten years. Her specialty is in bringing Shakespeare to life in the classroom. In addition to directing numerous productions of Shakespeare plays with young people, she also facilitates workshops for teachers. Karen spent five years as an actor and educator at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA where she founded Riotous Youth, a summer training program for middle school actors, and directed the Company's training program for high school and college students. Currently she is working towards a certification in psychodrama and incorporates drama therapy techniques into her creative work with kids.
Benjamin is a master’s candidate at The City College of New York’s School of Educational Theatre. In addition to his work with People’s Theatre Project, Benjamin is an actor/writer/and comedian in New York City. Benjamin received his undergraduate degree from Boston University in Theatre Studies. As a teaching artist Benjamin has worked with Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts, City College of New York, Manhattan Theatre Club, Philosophy Day School and of course Peoples Theatre Project. Benjamin is a board member and treasurer of People’s Theatre Project.
Andrew Clateman has taught acting, voice and speech at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, where he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in Theater Spring 2011. Andrew has performed Shakespeare (and other authors) in New York and regionally, with such companies as Connecticut Free Shakespeare, Northeast Shakespeare Ensemble, Centenary Stage Company, Metropolitan Playhouse and Theater Ten Ten. He is delighted to be teaching the Shakespeare class at Isabella Geriatric Center. Andrew grew up in New York City, where he lives with his wife and daughter.
Fox News Latino: Mino Lora brings theater to the masses
Manhattan Times: Children band together in protest, for health and for art
NY Daily News: Plays focus on the struggles of immigrants
People’s Theatre Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, community-based organization which uses theatre to raise the awareness of urgent issues impacting Washington Heights and Inwood and advocates for social justice by empowering local residents of all ages to become artists and activists in their own lives and their community.
Tara Mooney is an Actor/Performer, Teaching Artist, Yogi & Activist. She has spent much of the last 35 years performing on stage, in film, on the streets, in abandoned buildings and country hillsides. As a practicioner of Augusto Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed techniques, whom she studied with at the Brecht Forum in NYC, she’s presented his work throughout New England and was a delegate to the Festival of the Oppressed in Toronto, Canada where she co-created and performed with Class Acts Theater Troupe, part of United For a Fair Economy. In New York, she ran the Arts from the Heart program at PS 188 for seven years, has worked with The Faux Real Theater Company, Hospital Audiences, Free Arts NYC, Counseling in the Schools National Network, Scribble Art Workshop, & HERE Arts Center. Tara holds a MA in Expressive Arts Therapy and a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies: Feminism, Psychology & Theater. She lives in NYC and Vermont.
