Acting alumna Nadia Sepsenwol ’09 is a resident actor at The Mercury Store who is currently working with Directing alumnus and former Adjunct Professor Robert O’Hara ’96. O’Hara is a prominent playwright and director. He recently directed Jeremy O’Harris’ Slave Play, which premiered on Broadway and was nominated for twelve Tony Awards, including Best Director.
The Mercury Store is a start-up space for theatre makers to work on their projects. Sepsenwol will be helping develop one of O’Hara’s new works from now until mid-December of this year. The Mercury Store will provide them with a stipend, 1-2 studio weeks, workspace, a company of actors, a budget for theatrical materials and collaborators, and peer support and critique. The space is an old metal foundry that occupies a 16,000 square-foot warehouse in Gowanus, Brooklyn. It is a company and community committed to helping artists create contemporary, rigorous works.
Nadia Sepsenwol is a Russian Jewish queer writer/performer living in New York City, whose work includes her recent full-length play Insomnia. She wrote and stars in the short film Photoluminescence, which will be released in festivals in 2021.
Some of O’Hara’s published plays include Barbecue, Bootycandy, and Insurrection: Holding History. O’Hara is the recipient of many awards, including the NAACP Best Play and Best Director Award, the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play, two Obies and the Herb Alpert Award.
