Leslie Streit is a writer, director, choreographer, and dancer. She received an M.A. in 1981 from San Jose State University where a combined program of visual art, dance, and theater led to her current work with film and multimedia. She is a certified Pilates based method trainer. Streit worked with Mobius Stageworks, a pioneering experimental theater company from 1982- 1985 and founded NewNamePerformance in 1986. She has received numerous commissions and grants to create performances at Bay Area galleries, museums, and outdoor locations. She has also produced the work of other artists for the San Jose Fringe Festivals (1992, 1993) and the Experimental Films of Cinequest (1993). In 1994, Streit collaborated with Estelle Akamine and the San Francisco Arts Commission on the Market Street in Transit Project. During that same year, she wrote, directed produced and performed in Vlad Draculea in the Year 2000 for performances around the Bay Area and in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her films Messengers, The Visitor, and Sacrifice (filmed on location in England) are currently aired on television by PBS and exhibited at film festivals nationally and internationally. Streit continues her work in film, dance, & multimedia, recently writing & directing Hospital of the Mind/ The Making of Hospital of the Mind, an animated film combining blue screened live performers with computer generated sets and actors.
Robin McCain is a pioneer in applied multimedia, computer graphics, and theatrical productions. Her early work as a lighting and sound designer for Theater Memphis, led her to a B.A. degree in technical theater from Rhodes College in 1972. Her position as a multimedia integrator in the early 90's for Intel Corporation included producing and presenting computer based multimedia presentations for the Vice-President for Corporate Strategy throughout the USA and Europe. Earlier, she was a field engineer for Evans & Sutherland, pioneers in computer graphics, and was involved in installations for NASA Ames, Boeing, Lucasfilm, Pixar, and the Universities of California, Oregon and Washington. She has been involved in many consultancies throughout Silicon Valley, most recently at Genencor International andInnVision.
McCain co-incorporated the company in 1989 at which time she came on as Technical Director and converted an industrial space into the alternative Nouveau Theater. She is a member of USITT and appears in Who's Who in Multimedia. McCain's skills with multimedia and her knowledge of marketing and technical production assisted her in developing an interface between NewNamePerformance and Microsoft Corp. 3M, Intel Corp., and Netscape Communications Corp. McCain has co-produced over a dozen projects with Leslie Streit including The Ghost of Chloride Canyon (1993), Vlad Draculea in the Year 2000 (1994), Sacrifice (1995, filmed in England), VD2001 (1996), and Hospital of the Mind (1997).
Collaborating Artists for VD2001
Jan Bernstein earned a B.S. from Cornell University in 1986 (Major Subject --Agricultural Economics...don't ask.) She continued her studies of art at the Arts Students' League in New York City and later in the Bay Area with Al Preciado, Phil Tiger, and others. From 1990-93, Bernstein curated exhibitions for Works, San Jose, West Valley College Art Gallery, San Jose Art League and the Citadel Gallery. She collaborated with New Name Performance on several publicly funded projects creating installations and performance environments for film and theater. Bernstein, along with conceptual artists Phil Tiger and Bob Maginetti, produced The 1991 Couches of San Jose Calendar which is still in publication. In 1993, she created JanskArt, an independent freelance graphics company and continues as owner and developer. JanskArt's specialty involves computer generated graphics and art both for private clients and exhibition purposes. Bernstein is well known for developing projects that combine artists and media such as Bay Area Animation (1991), Club Martini Performance Series (1991-92), Living with Art (1993), and the Bernstein-Chargin Wedding Reception (1994).
JOHN LYNN SANFORD
John Lynn Sanford received a B.A. in theatre, film, and television in 1972 and an M.S. in mathematics and computer science in 1993, both from University of Memphis. He is also a licensed Architect in California & Tennessee and is currently affiliated with BOORA Architects. He has worked all across the United States designing and managing television systems and studios. He has served as director of engineering and consultant for numerous television stations including WNNE TV (White River Junction, VT), WCVB TV (Boston, MA), KVAL TV (Eugene, OR), and RKO General (Los Angeles, CA). Additionally, he has worked as a video engineer for NBC Television at the Seoul and Barcelona Summer Olympics. Sanford's exceptional expertise in Internet protocols, computer graphics, and three dimensional design are the major components of his collaboration with New Name Performance.
Jean-Ann Marshall-Clark received a master's degree from Ohio State University in 1985, and has taught at the College of Wooster and Otterbein College in Ohio. As a performer she has worked with DanceVisions, Rich Burrows / Works! & Co., the Chicago Moving Company, and the Moving Arts Company of Ohio. While at Ohio State University, Marshall-Clark studied with and choreographically worked one-on-one with Rich Burrows and Bebe Miller. A student of Bill Evans for several years, Marshall-Clark was also accepted into and attended his Professional Choreographers Summer Workshop. In addition to short residencies or workshops with Pilobolus, Cliff Keuter, and James Waring, Marshall-Clark was also a student for three years at the School of the Cleveland Ballet, and attended Hanya Holm's Summer Dance Institute.
Paul Vallerga received a B.A. in Theater Design from Santa Clara University in 1983. He is currently the resident designer of the California Theater Center in Sunnyvale. Vallerga's designs have been used at City Lights Theater in San Jose, Theaterworks in Palo Alto, and the Peninsula Center Stage. His set design for Purple Breasts toured to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. Additional set designs have toured to Lima, Peru and Nairobi, Kenya.
Sylvie Vray-Ent is an international lighting designer originally from the Fontainebleau area of France, now residing in Santa Cruz, CA. She has created designs for Actor's Theatre in Santa Cruz, Cabrillo College Theatre, Interkunst (a touring company) in Berlin, and New Name Performance in Northern California. Vray-Ent has also worked as the Master Electrician for world famous groups such as Tandy Beal & Company. She enjoys designing for contemporary theaters which produce meaningful and innovative work. This is Vray-Ent's second collaboration with NNP.
John Kannofsky has been producing artwork in several media since 1986. His most recent work has been the creation of mixed media environments and computer generated art. Kannofsky lives in Los Angeles where he has been involved in a number of collaborative projects, installations, interactive media, video pieces, and live performances. He recently completed an MFA thesis at UCSD on collaborations and the art underground. Kannofsky has acted in works by Shakespeare, Ibsen, and new original plays in the Los Angeles area. His performance as "Vlad" was videotaped and projected onto screens and monitors installed on the set. John has created two films for this production.
Bill Ireton is a composer and musician from San Jose. He has developed a unique progressive jazz fusion style which has been showcased in his own performance group, "Inertia". Ireton's talents include an interest in the technical aspects of music such as multi-track recording, programming, and video production. Ireton has performed with the "Redevelopment Blues Project". Ireton received a B.A. in jazz performance/theory from San Jose State University in 1989 and has been collaborating with NNP since 1991.
Estelle Akamine and Nouveau Performance have been collaborating since 1986. Akamine's trademark, wearable art fashions, are constructed of industrial and recycled materials. She has exhibited widely in the Bay Area and beyond. Her 1993 collection was created for an artists- in- residence project at Sanitary Fill Company, a Norcal Waste Systems, Inc. subsidiary in San Francisco. Akamine created alien costumes for NNP's 1993 production of The Ghost of Chloride Canyon. and in 1994, Akamine completed a grant from the San Francisco Art Commission for the Market Street in Transit Project.
Shannon Gomes is a multi-image designer from San Jose specializing in computer animation. His new company, Fourth Dimension Animation designs and produces instructional videos based on physical science themes. Gomes received a B.A. in Business Economics from U.C. Santa Barbara in 1991 and is currently pursuing a second degree in Electrical Engineering from San Jose State University. Vlad Draculea marks Gomes's first collaboration with NP and amply showcases his wide range of technical and artistic talents.
John Reilly is a filmmaker currently hovering about San Jose. He received a B.A. from U.C. Santa Barbara in printmaking and painting with an emphasis in animation in 1983 and an M.F.A. in printmaking and filmmaking from San Francisco State University in 1993. Reilly has exhibited a number of multimedia installations at galleries throughout the Bay Area which integrated visual art and film techniques. His collaboration with a group of artists known as Larval Modalities has centered on bringing life to machines through film and other media. Vlad Draculea is Reilly's second collaboration with NNP.
Adam Streit is an emerging technical designer and filmmaker. He began studying theater at age 10 and has performed with Northside Theater Company, Hoover Studio Theater, Lincoln Drama Tour Group, Mobius Stageworks, and NP. Streit has attended film school at De Anza College with Zaki Lisha and others and is currently pursing a degree in film & computer science at UC Berkeley. He was a computer science intern at NASA/Ames in 1995-96. Streit plans to combine entertainment and technology as a designer of interactive computer games.
THOMAS CHARGIN, still photographer
Thomas Chargin studied photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology and with Ansel Adams and Minor White. He has been a professional photographer for over 20 years and has received numerous awards. Chargin' s clients include: A.C.T., American Musical Theater, San Jose Repertory Theater, New Name Performance, and Classic Stage Company in New York City. He has also received commissions with corporate clients such as Apple Computer, International Paper, J. Lohr Wineries, and Amdahl. Chargin has been involved with a number of conceptual and multimedia projects in collaboration with other artists. He is currently creating a series of photos documenting the experience of the homeless in San Jose, CA., and a film series documenting the varied antics and opinions of artist Phil Tiger.