Makers Lab is an individually tailored residency for creators working between genres to develop the first draft of a new project over the course of a season. The residency is a unique opportunity for artists who develop work in non-traditional ways to make use of Ars Nova’s customized, flexible support and to discover new things about their project and process.
IMPRESS, also known as Juwan Crawley, is a singer, songwriter and actor. Now focusing on the launch of their music career, Impress recently released their single Addicted. With a once in a lifetime voice and presence the creative team for Mean Girls Broadway created 2 new roles for Impress. This resulted in their history making Broadway Debut in Aladdin at the age of 22; making them the youngest and the first non-binary person to portray the Genie. As well as being written into Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as a co-star by Tina Fey. They have performed their original music throughout New York City, including venues such as Soho House, Bowery Electric, City Winery – The Loft, National Sawdust, Ars Nova, 3 Dollar Bill, & Balcon Salon to name a few. With over 250,000 streams of their original music, they are excited to continue to impress their stamp on the music & fashion industries. Additional theater credits include Spamilton – Original Off-Broadway Cast & Recording, and Found Pre-Broadway run. Impress has been brought on to multiple projects as a vocal producer, including Ni un Segundo Mas by Mireya Ramos Latin Grammy Winner & 9x Latin Grammy & Grammy Nominee; Amando by Bazz Valencia ft. Alicia Orozco & others to come.
Tislarm Bouie is a Brooklyn native and an alumnus of the Professional Performing Arts School and The University of the Arts. He has been honored with the Princess Grace Award in Theater and received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Choreography for the bandaged place at Roundabout. His additional choreographic work includes The Color Purple at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (PCLO), The Salvagers at Yale Rep, and The Wiz at the Children’s Theater of Cincinnati, for which he received the Broadway World Regional Theater Award for Best Choreography. Additionally, he served as the Associate Creative Director and Choreographer, contributing to the team that launched The Stranger, an immersive nightclub experience from the producers of Sleep No More and Queen of the Night.
Select performance credits include the film adaptation of In the Heights, Saturday Night Live, Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, Manhattan Love Story, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus (Broadway), Blueprint Specials (Public Theater), and Carmen (Houston Grand Opera). He has also performed in regional productions of Annie, The Bodyguard, and Swing! Additionally, Tislarm has danced for artists such as Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jon Batiste, and Bebe Rexha, and appeared in campaigns for Vogue, Estée Lauder, Cadillac, Samsung, Champs, and Toyota.
Beyond his career, Tislarm values the arts as a guiding force in his life and is passionate about inspiring the next generation. He is the Artistic Director and co-founder of an alumni collective at his high school, aimed at bridging the gap between alumni and students by providing masterclasses, workshops, talk-back panels, and mentorship opportunities. He’s thrilled to be back with the Ars Nova family!
Kate Eberstadt is a singer-songwriter, writer, and actor. Her work has been featured in Glamour, Elle, PopSugar, Hollywood Life, NPR, Gothamist, Mic.com and more. Most recently, she debuted her upcoming album HEAVEN ON EARTH at Joe’s Pub. Her solo show WHERE WE MEET played at Ars Nova’s ANT Fest and performed in residence at the cell theatre Fall 2024. Kate got her start working with theater legend Robert Wilson, deep-diving in downtown performance art, and performing with Lady Gaga in the Video Music Awards. Then she founded The Hutto Project, a music program for children living in an emergency refugee camp in Berlin. Her work has been developed at National Sawdust, The Connelly Theater, Musical Theater Factory, Corkscrew Festival, Dixon Place, NYU, Columbia, Sadler Wells, Funkaus Berlin, ZK/U Berlin, and National Nemetski Theater of Kazakhstan. She is musical director of The Possibility Project’s Foster Care Program, and was Lead Facilitator in Urban Art Beat’s recording arts program on Rikers Island. Artist residencies include: The Watermill Center, CA+MP, Good Hart Artist Residency, The American Academy in Berlin, The Center at West Park. Inaugural Toulmin Creator, National Sawdust & NYU’s Center of Ballet and the Arts. In addition to her solo work, Kate is 1/2 the singer-composer duo Delune, alongside her sister Izzi. @kateeberstadt
Molly Rose Heller is a SoCal born (sun-fearing) Jew and NYC-based theatre artist. You’ll find her working on staging the impossible – usually new plays and musicals or queer adaptations of the classics. You may have seen her work: Breaking the Story (Second Stage, Associate Director), Sabbath’s Theatre (The New Group, Associate Director), WHERE WE MEET (Ars Nova ANT Fest, the cell), INVINCIBLE: The Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo Musical (Wallis Annenberg Center, Asst. Director), Unstuck (Edinburgh Fringe, Caveat NYC, The Tank), Aya Aziz & Kate Eberstadt In Concert (Joe’s Pub), The Apostle Peter and His Lover John, Also An Apostle (Ars Nova ANT Fest), Lalabala Project (Watermill Center Residency, Performance Project Residency), The Crucible (BEDLAM, SDCF Observership), Faust 2.0 (Mabou Mines, Asst. Director). Her award-winning short film directing debut, eXcape, premiered at Outfest Fusion Film Festival. She is a Directors Lab North Member, Artist-in-Residence at the cell theater and the Upper Jay Arts Center, SDCF Observership Program alum, and Artist Panel Reader for the Jewish Plays Project. Molly is featured in NY Jewish Week’s “36 to Watch” List, honoring remarkable Jewish innovators. Proud SDC Associate Member and Member of AEA. B.A. magna cum laude, Columbia University. B.A. magna cum laude, Jewish Theological Seminary. www.MollyRoseHeller.com
2023-2024
Wesley Olivier AKA Klondyke; Gemma Soldati; evan ray suzuki
2022-2023
Laura Galindo; Michelle J. Rodriguez; Jillian Walker
2020
Manik Choksi & Zi Alikhan; Laura Galindo; Michelle J. Rodriguez; “Sabado Gigante” Project (Guadalis Del Carmen, David Mendizabal, Joel Perez & Emma Ramos); Jillian Walker
2019
Michael Breslin & Patrick Foley; Nightdrive; Jillian Walker; Deepali Gupta
2018
Shayok Misha Chowdhury & Kameron Neal; Church of the Millenials; nicHi douglas; WinLitt (Ellen Winter and Chris Littler); Whitney White
2017
Kevin Armento & Jaki Bradley; harunalee; Sammy Miller and The Congregation; Emily Oliveira
Participation in Makers Lab is by invitation only. Check our Work With Us page for more information on how to introduce Ars Nova to your work.
We’re always looking for partners to support our development programs! Learn more by reaching out to Ben Lasser, Development Director, at blasser@arsnovanyc.com.
