Austrian Cultural Forum NYC

 Jeremy Xido

(concept, co-creator, performer)

Jeremy Xido, originally from Detroit, graduated cum laude in Painting and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York and trained at the Actorπs Studio with Barbara Poitier, Arthur Penn and Andre Gregory.  He has trained with Earl Mosely at Alvin Ailey Dance Center in New York, Sasha Waltz, Jordi Cortes, Frey Faust, Ivan Wolfe and Curt Hayworth.  He has trained Capoeira Angola with Mestre Joao Grande, Mestre Laercio and Mestre Moraes in Brazil, New York, and Europe.

In 1998 he was part of the Forum for Young Theater Artists at the Berlin Theater Festival and in 2000 received a Fulbright Grant to work with his company, cabula6, in Barcelona.  He was Artist In Residence at General ElÈctrica in Barcelona where, with cabula6, he developed ≥the love project≤ and more recently the first part of "eixam." In 2003 in conjunction with the onno theater in Austria he was commissioned by the Tanzquartier in Vienna to create the audio-tour and theater piece, "Trace."

As an actor and dancer Jeremy has worked with Tanz Theater Wien, the onno theater, Lawine_Torren, Laroque Dance Company, Cia Diagonal, CATARACTS and at the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin under the direction of Stephan Mueller.  In the States he has worked, among others, at the California Shakespeare Festival, Virginia Shakespeare Festival, and Drama League in New York.  He has shot several feature films including Brad Andersonπs, ≥The Machinist≤ as well as TV series for the BBC in London and TV3 in Barcelona and Law and Order in New York.

Claudia Heu

(concept, co-creator, performer)

Born in Salzburg, Austria, Claudia studied at the College of Dance and Theater Composition in Konstanz, Germany and with Yoshi Oida, Molik Watenabe and Amoura.  She has worked extensively as a performer, director and coach throughout Europe and in New York City.  In 1997 along with Donna Jewell she founded the performance series ≥Saturday Night Live≤ at Toihaus in Salzburg. And in 1998 she founded the onnotheater, which has come to be known as one of the most innovative and thought-provoking modern performance companies in Austria.  They have performed in Austria, Germany, Belgium and Italy at such distinguished venues as The Sommer Szene, Tanzquartier Wien and the Advanced Performing Arts Festival. As artistic director of onnotheater, Claudia Heu works mostly outside the conventional theater space, creating site specific work inspired by the architecture of the space chosen, or seeking out the right type of space for the project in mind. Her interest lies in moving boundaries of theater, investigating the border between reality and artistic theater, shifting and breaking down the wall between audience and performer.

Claudia Heu now resides in Vienna, Austria. She teaches theater, movement and oriental dance in various workshops in Austria, Germany and  Switzerland and at the International Autumn and Spring  Dance Festival in Salzburg, and at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance.   She has worked as an Assistant to Stephen Wangh at the experimental Theater Wing of NYU.            

Tsuyoshi Kondo

(co-creator, performer)

Originally from Mie, Japan, Tsuyoshi Kondo first came to the United States over ten years ago to attend the University of Iowa, moving to New York to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse.  He has trained with Anne Bogart and Suzuki at the SITI company. Tsuyoshi  was a founding member of the International Theater Ensemble where he led the creation of "The Elephant Vanishes." A theater piece based on the writings of Haruki Murakami.  Through ITE, he introduced international theater artists to Japanese performance methods including Suzuki Method.  He has developed a number of original roles for the critically acclaimed New York theater Company, Collision Theory and has performed at the New York Theater Workshop, LaMaMa and Interdisciplinary Arts among others.  He first worked with Claudia and Jeremy as part of the International Theater Ensemble and has been co-developing the New York version of the project, "Trace".

Lucrecia Bricenio

(Lighting and set design)

Originally from Lima Peru, Lucrecia was the Annete Foosner Scholar at the New World School of Arts in Miami.  In New York she has worked as lighting designer at SoHo Rep, Here Directorπs Lab, NY Theatre Works/InterArt Annex among others.  As set designer she has worked as assistant to Myung Hee Cho at the Berkshire Theater Festival.  Lucrecia first worked with Jeremy as part of the international theatre research group. International Theater Ensemble and worked as a consultant on cabula6πs ≥The Love Project.≤   She is currently on full scholarship finishing up her MFA in Lighting Design at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Leah Gelpe

(Sound Designer, Projection Designer and Filmmaker)

Projection designs include Jay Scheibπs productions of Lorenzaccio (Loeb Drama Center), West Pier (Ohio Theatre), Permit Me (Sie Gestatten) (3. Stock, Volksb¸hne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, Berlin), The War Plays (Mozarteum, Salzburg), Herakles/Herakles 5 (Chashama Theatre, NY) and Glass Mohn (Pont Muhely, Budapest).  Sound Design credits include Daniel Fish's production of David Rabe's The Black Monk at Yale Repertory Theatre, Kate Whoriskey's production of The Lady from the Sea at the Intiman Theatre, and Robert Woodruff's production of Saved at Theatre for a New Audience.

Asha Oniszczuk

(Historical Research Coordinator)

Choreographer and performer, originally from Poland, since 1993 based in NYC.  She has created performances and collaborated with artists of various disciplines since 1990.  Currently she is working on a performance ENDIQUE that will be presented in June in the Festival New New Yorkers in Warsaw, Poland.  Being interested in performance that ventures outside of customary and predictable boundaries, working on the research for TRACE offered an intriguing journey into the inner life of the city, its past and forces that formed it.  To see those people going through their lives and the same streets we walk today has been an unforgettable adventure.