The multi-dimensional experience of Emily Was Here was created by a strong creative team and presented by a multidisciplinary cast.
Learn more about the artists of Emily Was Here.
The multi-dimensional experience of Emily Was Here was created by a strong creative team and presented by a multidisciplinary cast.
Learn more about the artists of Emily Was Here.
Creator, Writer, Director, Performer "emily"
Alba created several theatre experiences in New York, and performed for Film Festivals around the country including; Tribeca Film Festival, Future of Storytelling Summit, North Bend Film Festival , Overlook Film Festival, and Lincoln Center’s New York Film Festival.
In addition to acting and performing stunts in theater, films, and television, Alba wrote and performed her character in the Off-Broadway show, Sleep No More 2011-2019, she wrote the book and lyrics, and performed in the off-Broadway immersive musical Serenade, and performed in a one-woman immersive show with AR for New York Film Festival.
Alba also partnered with Microsoft to create her Avatar, The Oracle, in an interacting live storytelling experience, where theatre and technology merge.
In 2020, Alba was among the first to perform in live Film and TV virtual interactive premieres for Warner Media, Blumhouse Productions, TNT, Little Cinema, and Amazon Studios.
Alba was the art director for the FAILE art show in Los Angeles, bringing their legendary art to life, while Swizz Beatz performed live in an immersive theatre experience.
In 2021, Alba was awarded a New York City Artist Corps, NYC Cultural Affairs and NYFA Artist Grant to produce her multi-platform; Theater, Film, and Virtual Experience, "Queen of Jacks" She produced the show along with, "Songs of our Mothers, Stories of our Fathers", uniting 30 fellow New York City artists and playwrights at The Cherry Lane Theatre in New York, inaugurating their new studio theatre. Alba co-founded Actors Theater of NYC, a nonprofit theater company
Alba is a graduate of the Sandford Meisner professional acting conservatories in New York. She trained with William Esper, Maggie Flanigan, Terry Knickerbocker, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Geer, at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, Shakespeare with Ellen Geer and at The New School.
Alba lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Technical Director, Founder of ChalkNotes
ChalkNotes is a platform where anyone can create and enjoy immersive experiences that extend or relate to real-world locations, events, and products. Audiences are transported through the power of audio and visual augmented reality just by using the device in their pocket. Through ChalkNotes's easy-to-use no-code app tools, ChalkNotes removes the barriers for non-technical creators to construct interactive and engaging XR experiences for their communities. All creators are located on one app for anyone to engage again with the real world rather than the virtual. Connect Better™.
Composer
He has released 5 leader albums , Also as one of New York's most in-demand sidemen, Dodo has worked with jazz luminaries such as Kenny Garrett, Benny Golson and Curtis Fuller.
He frequently performs and travels worldwide with notable singers such as Somi, Nicole Henry, Alicia Olatuja and Laurin Talese.
He also has been one of the regular pianists for the off-broadway hit show "Sleep No More” since 2011.
He has published “Excellent Jazz Piano “that features his solo piano arrangement from Ritto Music in Japan in 2008. Somi’s ”Holy Room :Live at Alte Oper With Frankfurt Radio Big Band” where he performed on was nominated for a 2021 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Art Director
She will be creating the love lock NFT for the project.
aliblake-art.com
@aliblakeart
"Emily Warren Roebling"
In 2007, her political satire, I DIG DOUG, premiered at the New York International Fringe Festival, where it won the festival’s top honor, Best Play. The festival prompted an Off-Broadway extension and LA production and move. Since moving to LA she has written on shows for ABC Family/Freeform and Nickelodeon, and is currently a writer/producer on ABC’s Station 19. Most recently her pilot, The Morning After, was selected for WeForShe’s Write Her list, and she currently has a pilot in development with Lionsgate.
"John", Dramaturgist
Theater credits include; Rocky Pioggi in “The Iceman Cometh” directed by Robert Falls at BAM in New York and The Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Charlie in “In Arabia We’d All Be Kings”, Charles D’amico in “Jesus Hopped The ‘A’ Train”, St. Simon in “The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot” written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Dutch in “Dutch Heart Of Man” by Robert Glaudini at The Public Theater. He is Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Actors Theater NYC; a multidisciplinary acting company that strives to produce original and traditional diverse works of art in theater, immersive theater, multimedia and film. He is a member of LAByrinth Theater Company and The Actors Studio in New York City.
Salvatore originated the role of Charlie in the LAByrinth Theater Company’s Off-Broadway premiere production of Stephen Adley Guirgis’s In Arabia, We’d All be Kings, a play which also served as the vehicle for Philip Seymour Hoffman’s theatrical directorial debut. Salvatore then went on to originate the role of D’Amico in the LAByrinth’s Off-Broadway premiere production of Guirgis’s Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train. This production met as much success in the States as it did abroad; Salvatore performed at the Donmar Warehouse in 2002 (under the artistic direction of Sam Mendes), and also at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He has performed at The Public Theatre, including in the Labyrinth’s 2007 production of Pretty Chin Up. In 2012, cast in the role of Rocky Pioggi, Salvatore worked with Robert Falls in the Goodman Theatre’s production of The Iceman Cometh, by Eugene O'Neill, and again in 2015, when Falls revived O’Neill’s revered play at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, in yet another critically-acclaimed production.
Reader
Growing up in a family of Jazz musicians, ANDROMEDA draws a lot from Jazz both as a vocalist and a composer. It’s a part of her heritage. But she’s also inspired by contemporary artists that she loves like Sting, Shirley Bassey, Seal, Annie Lennox, Jessie Ware, Laura Mvula and Sade. Through her own EMERGING, she has leaned into being a “multi-hyphenate” and embraced the various professional options she’s been blessed with. In addition to being a vocalist and composer, she created her educational program GROWING UP JAZZ. Having spent her life being raised in the Jazz community under the tutelage of icons of the industry like Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach and Wynton Marsalis, the wealth of knowledge and gift of perspective she was granted, she feels obligated to share. Through Growing Up Jazz, she offers an often overlooked view of American History and an opportunity to discuss issues pertaining to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in a creative way. This work has also lead her to offer DEI consulting, especially pertaining to the entertainment industry, as well currently holding the position of Chair of the DEI committee for her hometown of Bedford, NY.
"Jacob" Trumpet Player + Composer
Wayne has toured and recorded with a diverse array of notables such as jazz musicians Kurt Elling, Al Foster, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Cyrille Aimée; pop acts Taylor Swift, David Crosby, Elvis Costello, Matt Simons and Eric Hutchinson; r&b singers Ne-Yo and Gabriel Garzon-Montano; hip hop artists Jidenna and Ryan Leslie; and with the rock band Brass Against.
This diversity is represented in The Bad Mothas energetic sound where the American Songbook gets a welcome update, including selections by Michael Jackson or Earth Wind & Fire. Tenor saxophonist Miles Tucker (Wayne's brother) holds a lean mean counterpoint to Wayne's gentle affability on trumpet. Drummer Diego Joaquin Ramirez and bassist Tamir Shmerling provide solid underpinning which accommodates a varied cast of pianists, most notably the gospel-influenced Willerm Delisfort. The group was featured in the New York Times for its steady schedule of street performances during the 2020 shutdown, representatives of New York City's infamous grit.
Wayne continues to maintain a dedicated presence in the small clubs of New York City alongside a career which makes occasional forays into venues like Madison Square Garden, The Hollywood Bowl, and The Tonight Show, to name a few. Tucker wrote the soundtrack and co-stars in the short film Hotel Bleu.
Reading: Dark Secret by Betty Neals
Cellist-Composer-Conductor-Educator, Akua Dixon has been at the forefront of improvising string players since 1973. She is the first cellist to win the Downbeat Critics Poll. A multi laureate of the National Endowment for the Arts in composition and performance, Akua is considered “amongst the treasures of contemporary jazz”…NJ Star Ledger.
She has toured the world performing with her award winning string quartet, Quartette Indigo. Akua’s string arrangements and string quartet can be heard on the five-time Grammy award-winning CD, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Aretha Franklin’s Grammy nominated, A Rose Is Still A Rose.
Akua has performed with Duke Ellington , Max Roach, Itzhak Perlman, Sammy Davis Jr., Betty Carter, Liza Minelli, etc.
A native New Yorker, Akua attended its infamous High School of Performing Arts and studied cello with Benar Heifetz. Akua notated and conducted the music to the ballet Riverside by Judith Jamison, with music by Kimati Dinizulu for its premiere at the 1995 season of Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theatre at City Center. In 2005 she developed her Hip Hop Blues Project for NYC school children while working with Carnegie Hall Education.
Akua’s new project for 2022 is WE THE PEOPLE. Dedicated to “All The People” it speaks to the theme of Justice, Equality and Hope.
"David" + Reader: The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes
Reader: I Carry Your Heart by E.E. Cummings
Reader: Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman
Reader: Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
Reader: Invictus by William Ernest Henley
Reader: In the Arms of the Beloved by Rumi
Known for her lead role in the movie, The Summoning, she also stars in the Terrence Malick-produced feature film, Beautiful People. Most recently, Leila wrapped a lead role in the English/Arabic feature, Jacir, and an episode of HBO's upcoming MINX. She has worked on Blue Bloods, Gotham, and Precinct Production on Amazon Prime. Leila was in the feature film, Odd Brodsky, which premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival, and she plays Mara in A Girl Named Mara, which premiered at the Chelsea Film Festival in October 2020.
Leila Almas Rose began her career on the stage in Houston, Texas, and she has since worked alongside several big names on the stage and on-screen. She has studied with several prominent acting teachers in Los Angeles and further trained at the prestigious HB Studio in New York City. Her credits range from classic dramas to contemporary comedies. Notable theater roles include Mae Pollitt in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Conchita in Anna in the Tropics, and Shelby in Steel Magnolias.
Besides acting, Leila is an experienced (7+ years) producer, beginning as a ghost producer and now via her 'Posh Cowgirl Productions' banner. She has also ghostwritten and worked with screenwriters to strengthen the female voice within their scripts. She is currently developing two feature films, and she is also penning a comedy television pilot centered on an interracial couple (inspired by her real-life relationship.)
She is a proud member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA.
Reader: Perfect Woman by William Wadsworth
Reader: Hope is the Thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson
Reader: Brooklyn Way by Michael Kaves
Never at rest, Kaves utilized his boundless energy and well-oiled savvy over the years to knock down the doors of several major brands, becoming their go-to street artist and trend forecaster.
Kaves has designed exclusive visuals for Audemars Piguet, Jaguar, NIKE, Rockstar Games, WWE, MTV, ADIDAS, Van’s Warped Tour, Georges Duboeuf- for whom he created the label for 2011 Beaujolais Nouveau- among others. Kaves has also created logos and graphics for world-renowned artists such as the Beastie Boys and Metallica. His images have been published in books including Henry Chalfant’s pioneering 1984 chronicle Spraycan Art, Burning New York, Mascots & Mugs: The Characters and Cartoons of Subway Graffiti, Fresh Paint NYC, Graffiti Planet 2 and Piecebook: The Secret Drawings of Graffiti Writers. His own premier book, Skin Graf: Masters of Graffiti Tattoo, was released on April 25, 2013, through Prestel Publishing. He also co-created and illustrated the children’s books Hip Hop Alphabet I and II. As well as, The ABC’s of Metallica. Kaves’ paintings have been shown everywhere from the MTV Real World: Brooklyn loft, Gunter Sachs Museum of Fine Arts in Germany, The Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. His first-ever New York City solo show during the summer of 2011 at the Hionas Gallery garnered overwhelming critical acclaim and saw collectors clamoring for works by the former vandal.
Fifteen years ago, McLeer began to veer his prodigal career as a graffiti artist, fine artist, and musician into the realm of tattooing. It didn't take long before Kaves was transferring artworks on canvas and concrete into artworks on skin in the heart of Brooklyn's Bay Ridge. The rest is history. After owning and operating a number of growing tattoo parlors in his home neighborhood, Kaves opened PIGTOWN TATTOO & ATELIER. Located in Industry City, Brooklyn it serves as a bustling creative hub - a mercantile store, art space, and tattoo shop. A living room. An art studio. A place for trinkets, memories, talking, painting, thinking, making.
Kaves' energy and thirst for creative expression took him to the world of acting and filmmaking. In 2006, Kaves created, produced and directed The Brooklyn Way, a multi-episode docu-series about his family’s life. The show incited a remarkable regional groundswell during its first season on Madison Square Garden’s MSG Network, and was then picked up by FUSE for national distribution. Wasting no time, he dove into writing the screenplay for a romance between a starry-eyed shoemaker and a taxi dancer in 1950s Brooklyn. The Shoemaker- which starred actors Burt Young, Alba Albanese, and Peter Greene- came to win Best Short at The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival and was an official selection in the New Hampshire Film Festival.
From 2011 to the present day, Kaves has been featured in short and feature films including The Many Saints of Newark, Gravesend, The Humdinger, Star and The Eulogy.
Cinematographer
David grew up in New York City theater and film. He is a founding member of Actors Theater of NYC. He produced and directed a Series of 14 original short films with the company. He also directed, The Head Hunter by Mark Borkowski for a theater festival in which he was awarded a nomination for best director. He was invited to join the director's program at The Actors Studio in New York.
Reader: Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Reader: The Queen by Pablo Neruda
Assistant Director
Reader: Hamlet, Shakespeare
Reader: How Do I Love Thee by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Reader: Miracles by Walt Whitman
Reader: Los zapaticos de Rosa by Jose Marti
Reader:
Reader
Reader: Space-Time Refugees by Jake Cannavale