Miami New Drama Features Columbia Theatre Artists in New Series

Miami's Rubell Museum and Miami New Drama have partnered up to present The Museum Plays, a series of six new plays running from February through March at the Rubell Museum. Inspired by works of visual art on display at the Rubell Museum, the series is co-directed by Theatre alumni Michel Hausmann ’14 and Tatiana Pandiani ’16. A play by Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theatre Rogelio Martinz ’96 is featured in the series. 

Founded in 2014 by Hausmann and fellow director and playwright Moisés Kaufman, Miami New Drama is a not-for-profit organization with a focus on theater-making as a means of social engagement, cultural conversation, and human interaction. Past productions include Hausmann’s The Golem of Havana, which was also Hausmann’s thesis play at Columbia, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, and Confessions of a Cocaine Cowboy, among others. 

The Museum Plays seek to revolutionize the way audiences interact with visual art through an immersive theatrical experience. Martinez’s piece, Bedfellows, draws its inspiration from Kaari Upson’s Rubells, a large gray, white, and red wall-mounted piece that appears to be part mattress, part painting. 

“We are always looking to find innovative ways of staging new work, as well as collaborating and promoting the excellence and vitality of Miami’s arts scene,” said Hausmann.“From this came the idea to commission short plays inspired by artwork on view at the Rubell Museum with the performance taking place right in front of these paintings and sculptures.” 

Martinez's work has been produced, workshopped, and commissioned by the Public Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, and the Atlantic Theater Company, among others. Miami New Drama commissioned his 2022 play Elián, about Cuban industrial engineer and politician Elián Gonzalez. Recently, the group commissioned Martinez to write a play about the making of Scarface which will be part of Miami New Drama’s 24-25 season.

Hausman is a Drama League Award winner, New York Theater Workshop 2050 Fellow, an IRNE nominee, a Silver Palm Award winner, Richard Rodgers Award finalist, and a two-time Knights Arts Challenge Award recipient. 

A director, producer, and choreographer, Pandiani is the New Works Director at Miami New Drama where she currently oversees new play and musical commissions. Former collaborations with Hausmann include 7 Deadly Sins, which was directed by Hausmann, associate directed by Pandiani, and co-written by Martinez. Pandiani has developed and directed work at Signature Theatre and The Public, among others. She was a NYTW Directing Fellow and is a recipient of the National Directors Fellowship from the O'Neill Center & the Kennedy Center.

The Museum Plays run from February 22 to March 31, 2024 at the Rubell Museum. Tickets and more information can be found here.