Cover image by Eileen Meny.
MISSION
Piehole investigates the process of collaboration and collective authorship to create live events. We draw from a shared fascination with objects and media, and continually reimagine our process, driven by an ongoing pursuit of surprise, delight and beauty in unexpected places. We invite audiences into this pursuit to encourage agency in one’s thinking, perceiving, and feeling, as well as an expanded sense of potential realities.
Piehole has made 14 major projects since 2008, performed at art galleries, theaters, warehouses, hotel rooms and Zoom rooms in NYC, Philly, and Prague. They've also made work for AR and VR platforms.
Read what the press has had to say about some of them.
Piehole has received residencies from New York Theatre Workshop, The Drama League, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Workspace program, The New Ohio/IRT Archive Residency and The Public's Devised Theater Working Group program, and grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Jerome Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, NYSCA-A.R.T./New York, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the BAX Space program, the Mental Insight Foundation, Puppeteers of America and is featured on the Creative Capital “On-our-Radar” list.
Read what the press has had to say about some of them.
Piehole has received residencies from New York Theatre Workshop, The Drama League, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Workspace program, The New Ohio/IRT Archive Residency and The Public's Devised Theater Working Group program, and grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Jerome Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, NYSCA-A.R.T./New York, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the BAX Space program, the Mental Insight Foundation, Puppeteers of America and is featured on the Creative Capital “On-our-Radar” list.
CURRENT MEMBERS
Tara Ahmadinejad
Tara is a NY director, originally from Philadelphia. She has directed/co-created shows with Piehole since its founding in 2008. Outside of Piehole projects, Tara develops and directs new plays, and teaches and directs in educational settings. She recently directed Lunch Bunch by Sarah Einspanier as part of Clubbed Thumb's Winterworks, is developing Emily Black is a Total Gift by Daaimah Mubashshir with music by Julia Sirna-Frest and Shane Chapman, and is directing Leap and the Net Will Appear by Chana Porter, produced by New Georges in June 2019. New Georges Affiliated Artist; NYTW Usual Suspect; MFA: Columbia University.
Tara is a NY director, originally from Philadelphia. She has directed/co-created shows with Piehole since its founding in 2008. Outside of Piehole projects, Tara develops and directs new plays, and teaches and directs in educational settings. She recently directed Lunch Bunch by Sarah Einspanier as part of Clubbed Thumb's Winterworks, is developing Emily Black is a Total Gift by Daaimah Mubashshir with music by Julia Sirna-Frest and Shane Chapman, and is directing Leap and the Net Will Appear by Chana Porter, produced by New Georges in June 2019. New Georges Affiliated Artist; NYTW Usual Suspect; MFA: Columbia University.
Alexandra Panzer
Alexandra is a Danish-American performer, writer and visual tinkerer -- and a Piehole member since 2010. Alexandra works at TED-Ed where she uses various media to find ways of sharing the ideas and passions of students and educators around the world. Her voice over work can be heard on TED-Ed's award-winning animation channel and in several Tender Claws-produced games.
Alexandra is a Danish-American performer, writer and visual tinkerer -- and a Piehole member since 2010. Alexandra works at TED-Ed where she uses various media to find ways of sharing the ideas and passions of students and educators around the world. Her voice over work can be heard on TED-Ed's award-winning animation channel and in several Tender Claws-produced games.
Emilie Soffe
Emilie is an actor and director with a focus in devised and experimental work. Recent Piehole work includes writing, performing, and creating cat choreography for “The Under Presents” (VR, Sundance 2019, Emmy Finalist) and writing for “Tendar” (AR, Sundance New Frontier 2018), both collaborations with the LA-based company Tender Claws.
Emilie is an actor and director with a focus in devised and experimental work. Recent Piehole work includes writing, performing, and creating cat choreography for “The Under Presents” (VR, Sundance 2019, Emmy Finalist) and writing for “Tendar” (AR, Sundance New Frontier 2018), both collaborations with the LA-based company Tender Claws.
Ben Vigus
Ben is an actor and sound designer from Seattle living in NY. As an actor he has helped develop work at New Dramatists, Clubbed Thumb, NYTW, SPACE on Ryder Farm, and as a designer with Ars Nova, The Flea, NYU grad, and others. He is an alum of the Actors Theatre of Louisville Apprentice Company.
Ben is an actor and sound designer from Seattle living in NY. As an actor he has helped develop work at New Dramatists, Clubbed Thumb, NYTW, SPACE on Ryder Farm, and as a designer with Ars Nova, The Flea, NYU grad, and others. He is an alum of the Actors Theatre of Louisville Apprentice Company.
Jeff Wood
Jeff Wood is an interdisciplinary artist & educator in NYC, and a co-founder of Piehole. As a full-time instructor with the non-profit Beam Center, he creates collaborative hands-on projects with public school students and teachers across NYC boroughs, making use of skills like wood- and metal-working, electronics, physical computing, media production, digital fabrication and performance. He received his MFA in Performance & Interactive Media Arts at Brooklyn College. His other experiment in durational friendship-collaboration is Lame Drivers, a power pop trio he plays drums in.
Jeff Wood is an interdisciplinary artist & educator in NYC, and a co-founder of Piehole. As a full-time instructor with the non-profit Beam Center, he creates collaborative hands-on projects with public school students and teachers across NYC boroughs, making use of skills like wood- and metal-working, electronics, physical computing, media production, digital fabrication and performance. He received his MFA in Performance & Interactive Media Arts at Brooklyn College. His other experiment in durational friendship-collaboration is Lame Drivers, a power pop trio he plays drums in.
Emeritus
Allison LaPlatney
Allison has been devising, performing, and riding in UHauls with Piehole since 2008. She's interested in little tiny local histories, unremarkable spaces, and nice clean data entry. She does her best to write a poem every day during January, and currently works a day job in archives at the the Noguchi Museum. She received her dual Masters in Library Science and History at Queens College.
Allison has been devising, performing, and riding in UHauls with Piehole since 2008. She's interested in little tiny local histories, unremarkable spaces, and nice clean data entry. She does her best to write a poem every day during January, and currently works a day job in archives at the the Noguchi Museum. She received her dual Masters in Library Science and History at Queens College.
At-large
Elliot B. Quick
Elliot was a dramaturg, producer, director, educator, and founding member of Piehole. He received an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from the Yale School of Drama. He worked as a Literary Associate with Playwrights Horizons, Yale Rep, and Page 73, and as an Editorial Associate for The Civilians’ Extended Play. As a freelance dramaturg and director, his work was seen at the Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival, the Invisible Dog, the Ojai Playwrights Conference, The Access Theater, The Fisher Center at Bard College, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He taught Theater History and Playwriting at SUNY Purchase and Maggie Flanigan Studio.
To learn more about Elliot's work, read "A Dramaturgy of Elliot B. Quick" on Culturebot.
Elliot was a dramaturg, producer, director, educator, and founding member of Piehole. He received an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from the Yale School of Drama. He worked as a Literary Associate with Playwrights Horizons, Yale Rep, and Page 73, and as an Editorial Associate for The Civilians’ Extended Play. As a freelance dramaturg and director, his work was seen at the Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival, the Invisible Dog, the Ojai Playwrights Conference, The Access Theater, The Fisher Center at Bard College, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He taught Theater History and Playwriting at SUNY Purchase and Maggie Flanigan Studio.
To learn more about Elliot's work, read "A Dramaturgy of Elliot B. Quick" on Culturebot.
FOUNDING MEMBERS
Tara Ahmadinejad
Danny Cannizzaro
Allison LaPlatney
Elliot B. Quick
Lee Friend Roberts
Anika Schwarzwald
Laura Vitale
Kathryn Wallem
Jamie Wilber
Jeff Wood
Alice Winslow
Danny Cannizzaro
Allison LaPlatney
Elliot B. Quick
Lee Friend Roberts
Anika Schwarzwald
Laura Vitale
Kathryn Wallem
Jamie Wilber
Jeff Wood
Alice Winslow