About Co-Op Theatre East
Founded in 2008, Co-Op Theatre East believes in the power of art to foster a dialogue for social change. We provide an entertaining performance forum in which to ask evocative, challenging questions of artists and audiences on our way to creating collaborative answers.
Founded in Spring 2008 by three graduates of the Performance Studies graduate program at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU, Co-Op Theatre East produces socially minded performance that deals with the questions of today, the situations we find ourselves immersed in as New Yorkers, Americans, and world citizens at this moment. The staff & ensemble at COTE firmly believe that theatre can do something; not only do we hold Hamlet’s mirror up to nature, but we can use theatre as a means to make a positive impact in the world.
COTE is in residence at Looking Glass Theatre for the 2011-12 Season! Fostering the work of new artists is central to the mission of both companies. Looking Glass Theatre will host COTE's bi-monthly new play reading series, COTE Tales, as well as COTE's Open Community Performance Workshops, a new initiative to provide artists with free and low cost theatre training. Two new projects from COTE will be workshopped at Looking Glass — El otro and What to Do In Case You Miss the Rapture — and our spring mainstage, Twelfth Night Deconstructed, will be on the Looking Glass stage!
Learn more about COTE's resident company at the COTE Ensemble page, and read more about the founders & administrators below.
Robert A. K. Gonyo (Artistic Director) is a theatre artist and musician residing in Brooklyn, NY. Recent directing credits with COTE include Muzungu by David Myers, co-produced with Mixed Phoenix Theatre Group (MPTG); Samuel Beckett's Cascando (with music ensemble thingNY); Craig Abernethy's Do/Don't Do and Absolutes; Ten Years Later: Voices of the Post-9/11 Generation Speak (with Project Girl Performance Collective); his own scripts, the radio plays a deep weakness and Conference (call 518-207-0155 to listen), the one-act Urinal Play, and the ensemble-devised house-party show O Brave New World. Other directing credits include Hitchhikers May Be Escaping Convicts, Innsmouth, and Xmas with the Annihilator!!! with EndTimes Productions, and the ensemble-devised Mission with MPTG. Upcoming projects include an adaptation of Miguel de Unamuno's El otro with COTE, as well as Viktor Globokar's Un jour comme un autre with thingNY. In addition to his work with COTE, Robert is a company member with EndTimes Productions, and the producer of the off-off-Broadway podcast, Go See a Show!. www.robertgonyo.com
CURRENT PROJECTS: Directing and developing a new murder-mystery show with COTE; directing Xmas with the Annihilator!!! with EndTimes; and, preparing for the upcoming workshop of El otro.
Ashley Marinaccio (Artistic Director) is an activist and artist dedicated to creating theatre that challenges the status quo. Though a New Yorker at heart, she was born and raised in New Jersey and has traveled extensively throughout the world, most notably in the Middle East, where she lived in Beirut, Lebanon while studying Arabic and Middle Eastern theatre performance. Her interests include utilizing theatre for peace building, healing and empowerment in conflict zones and in marginalized communities both home and abroad. She has countless directing, performing and playwriting credits. Ashley's directing work has been seen at the White House, United Nations, regionally at New Jersey State Theatre and on tour throughout the US. Selected acting credits include Charlotte in Beyond Therapy, Hecuba in The Trojan Women, Lulu in Cabaret and appearances in new plays at Primary Stages, two television pilots and several film roles. As a playwright, she's been called "Reminiscent of Tony Kushner in that she wants to use theater to make a political point, but without sacrificing an ounce of entertainment value...a writer to keep an eye on" by Show Business Weekly and has received critical acclaim for her work from the New Yorker, Backstage and NYTheatre.com. Ashley co-founder and Artistic Director of Co-Op Theatre East and Project Girl Performance Collective. She is alumna of the Hemispheric Institute for Performance and Politics' EMERGENYC and American Theatre Wing's SpringboardNYC programs and member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. Ashley holds her M.A. in Performance Studies from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and BA in theatre directing and sociology/anthropology with minors in women/gender and Middle Eastern from Pace University. Visit www.ashley-marinaccio.com for more information.
CURRENT PROJECTS: Producing Muzungu, and directing Ten Years Later: Voices of the Post-9/11 Generation Speak.
Casey Cleverly (Literary Director) As an artist, Casey creates new works of theatre that ask bold questions about contemporary society and pushes theatrical boundaries. Favorite directing credits include: Trojan Women Redux (adapter); Smooth Criminal (premiere), There is No Dash (premiere); A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer (co-director), Rumors, and The Butler Did It. As literary director, Casey curates the monthly play reading series COTE Tales, showcasing emerging playwrights work. She holds an MA in Performance Studies from NYU, Tisch School of the Arts, and studied script development at both The College of William and Mary, and Cambridge University.
CURRENT PROJECTS: Directing 12th Night Wall Street (Or What You Will); curating Radio COTE and COTE Tales.