Sherlock Holmes (Tom Byrne) reveals the crucifer
while Watson (Dustin Charles) and Irene (Corrine Grover) react

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Beauty & the Beast by Timothy Mason

Directed and Choreographed by Gabriel Grilli

Texas Shakespeare Festival
Kilgore, TX
July 2005

Beauty (Courtney Coston) & Beast (Zach Hoogendyk)

 

The Merchant (Mic Matarrese) with Beauty (Courtney Coston)



Beauty (Courtney Coston) & The Prince (Zach Hoogendyk)

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Strange Desire excerpted from Shakespeare

Adapted and Directed by Gabriel Grilli

Trinity Hall, Cambridge UK
July 2004

This site-specific piece inspired by the sonnets of Shakespeare was staged in multiple locations on the grounds of Trinity College in Cambridge, UK, where architecture dates from the 14th century. Audience members were given a map with marked performance locations, and the freedom to visit each space at their leisure while performers executed scenes in cycles.

       
   The Seer (Sammi Wyman)                                   The Madwoman (Jesse Jones)

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Stalking Christopher Walken

Written and Directed by Gabriel Grilli

NY Intenational Fringe Festival
New York, NY
August 2002



Stalking Christopher Walken is a comic dance-theatre jaunt that serves up a hot slice from the subconscious mind of acclaimed actor and cultural phenomena Christopher Walken. Haven’t you ever wondered what, exactly, might be going on in Chris’ head? This imaginary ride through the esoteric landscape of his dreams blends movement, music and text to ruminate on the essence of Chris – a subject at once mysterious, revelatory, entertaining and disturbing.

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The Lover by Harold Pinter & Love Jungle by Gabriel Grilli

Directed and Choreographed by Gabriel Grilli

The Flatiron Playhouse
New York, NY
March 2002

When I wrote Love Jungle I had recently moved to New York, and I wanted to create a funny, true, bizarre, dynamic play about how we live our lives in cities, always bumping up against strangers and encountering the unexpected.

 

Sarah (Huda Bordeaux) & Max (Peter Weise); Max with The Graces

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Romeo & Juliet
by William Shakespeare

Adapted & Directed by Gabriel Grilli

Syracuse Stage workshop
Syracuse, NY
April 2001

Our production of Shakespeare’s classic exposed the raw, essential characteristics of the play by emphasizing:

-- the condition of youth

-- the presence of the elements: earth, air, water and fire

-- the significance of ritual

This Verona was presented as a middle-eastern city of wealth and beauty, isolated from the outside world by a vast desert. The design contrasted vibrant regional clothing with a simple environment of canvas, stone, steel, water, and wood. 



The Queen (Laura Ingalls) and the two houses of Verona



Capulet (Taylor Hooper) & Lady Capulet (Sarah Easterling) carry Juliet (Nikki Coble) to her tomb



Romeo (Matt Benson) duels Tybalt (Bill Kuhrt) while Mercutio (Paul James) looks on

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identity

Written and Directed by Gabriel Grilli

Syracuse Stage Workshop
Syracuse, NY
May 2001

identity was developed at Syracuse Stage in a 75-seat thrust theatre under the mentorship of Artistic Director Bob Moss. The play evolved through collaboration with 6 actors, utilizing text, movement, puppetry, cinematic devices and contemporary music to illuminate the struggles of five New Yorkers whose lives become curiously intertwined. Its style and rhythm reflect a fast, "edited" sensibility, while its simple mise-en-scene (barestage with only a few chairs, a cart, and a mattress) and humor are in the vein of Robert Lepage and Howard Korder. identity has subsequently been developed under the title circle.



The Company in A Museum



The Company rides the subway in Liferaft



Johanna Mitchell, Heather Rosenfeld & Emily Hope Hunter in A Distant Something

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Science Fair by Jeanmarie Williams

Directed by Gabriel Grilli

Hudson Backstage Theatre
Los Angeles, CA
May 2000

 

Michelle & Marcie with their projects
(Robbie Berry portrayed five different characters in this one-person show)

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The Windows of Albert Camus

Written and Directed by Gabriel Grilli

Penn State School of Theatre
State College, PA
February 1999

A tragicomic movement opera inspired by Albert Camus’ novel The Stranger, The Windows of Albert Camus was produced on a grand proscenium stage. Investigating contemporary society through the lens of Camus’ philosophy of absurdism, this play is a structured collage of movement, dance, music, design, text and puppetry in the dream theatre tradition of Robert Wilson. Windows developed partially through physical and vocal improvisations, Viewpoints, visualizations, mask studies, movement études, and ensemble-building exercises, engaging the talents of twenty-five performers, six designers, and five principal collaborators.



Sisyphus (Joe Thompson) pauses with his rock


The Company in Incorporation



The Nurse dances with the Plague in The Stranger


The Company in Resistance



The Author (Brad White) and Camus (Peter Wray) in A Dream (seated)


Peter Wray as Albert Camus

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John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi

Adapted and Directed by Gabriel Grilli

Penn State School of Theatre
State College, PA
April 1998

The Duchess of Malfi (1614), John Webster’s dark, disturbing world of moral dissolution and sexual politics is an all too poignant metaphor for our contemporary condition. I crafted a ninety-minute version of Duchess, streamlining the text to focus the plot and utilizing movement to further illuminate the story. It was performed on a large stage while the audience sat in a partially lowered orchestra pit, putting them just below the actors -- who spun around the stage on wheeled set pieces. This actor/audience arrangement sent observers on a visceral ride through Malfi’s dangerous, chaotic state.




Antonio (Daniel Magill) observes the Cardinal (Mark Light-Orr) & The Court



Ferdinand (Josh Machamer) storms the Duchess' bedchamber

 
The Duchess (Joyce Brew) and Cariola (Lauren Orkus) with an Old Man (Gurhan Elmalioglu);
Ferdinand (Josh Machamer) with Court Gentlemen


Julia (Heather Wight) with the Cardinal's cabal


The Cardinal (Mark Light-Orr) and his Mistresses (Ann Marie Chintala, Kristi Funk)