creative & production
Team bIOS
Dan Schlosberg (Music Arranger) is a Brooklyn-based composer, pianist, and conductor Dan Schlosberg’s music has been performed by the Dover Quartet, Minnesota Orchestra, Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Nashville and Albany Symphonies, at Carnegie Hall, (le) poisson rouge, Sydney Opera House, Beijing Modern Music Festival, and David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption, and has also been featured in the New York Times and WNYC’s Soundcheck. Dan has received the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, two ASCAP Morton Gould Awards, and a 2023 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Music in a Play (Montag, Soho Repertory Theater). Current and recent projects include The Extinctionist, a new opera for Heartbeat Opera ("a work of remarkable impact" -Opera News); a new music-theater work with playwright Kate Tarker and director Dustin Wills based on The Beggar’s Opera (Little Island, NYC); music direction and arrangements for Anthony Roth Costanzo's upcoming album Countertenor; music direction and orchestrations for Fake Friends’ The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse (The New Group/Signature Theatre NYC); music direction and new orchestrations for The Marriage of Figaro (Little Island, NYC); music direction and new orchestrations of Show/Boat: A River(Target Margin/NYU Skirball); music direction for Anthony Roth Costanzo and Justin Vivian Bond’s Only an Octave Apart (Wilton’s Music Hall in London, Spoleto Festival, Gate Theatre in Dublin); composition and music direction for Jeremy O. Harris’s A Boy’s Company Presents; a new orchestration of Poul Ruders’s opera The Handmaid’s Tale (Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity). In addition to collaborations with Angel Blue, the Imani Winds, Anthony McGill, Ariana DeBose, Tony Kushner, and Ben Stiller, Dan was the pianist for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, and a featured soloist in Only an Octave Apart with the New York Philharmonic and on NPR’s Tiny Desk. He is the Music Director of Heartbeat Opera, for which his radical re-orchestrations of classic operas have been praised as “flat-out brilliant,” “the vision of a master sculptor,” (New York Times) and “ingenious” (Wall Street Journal). www.danschlosberg.com
Emona Stoykova (Scenic Designer) is a scenic designer for theater, film and live performance, with a special interest in new plays and adaptations. Her work is focused on empathy, collaboration and seeking experimental and non-traditional approaches of storytelling.
In Europe, she has collaborated with such renowned directors as Robert Wilson, Alexander Morfov, Galin Stoev, among others. She is the Production Designer of Krymov Lab NYC: Big Trip, Onegin. In Our Own Words, Americans: 2 Hems & 1/8 Eugene O’Neill, and Metamorphoses (La MaMa). Other recent American credits include: An Enemy Of The People (Yale Repertory Theatre) [Outstanding Set Design Nomination]; We are P.R. (Behmer Theatre); The Gold Room (HERE); She Talks to Beethoven, A Number, Girlfriend and The Seventeenth Chapel (A.R.T/NY Theatres); Coop (Paradise Factory); Ella in the Tundra (The Signature Theatre).
Emona holds an MFA in Set Design from the Yale School of Drama, a BA in Scenography from the National Academy of Arts, Bulgaria, and is a graduate of the National School of Fine Arts, Bulgaria. She is a recipient of the Oenslager Fellowship Award in Design, was a featured artist at the Prague Quadrennial in 2019, and USITT 2019 and has had her work exhibited at the PQ (2011, 2015).
EmonaStoykova.com
Mika Eubanks (Costume Designer), currently based in New York, but originally from Maryland, received her MFA at the Yale School of Drama, and holds a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her theater design credits include Fires In The Mirror (Baltimore Center Stage/Long wharf Theatre) King Lear starring Andre De Shields (St. Louis Shakespeare Festival); Grand Horizons(Asolo Repertory Theater); Seize The King (Classical Theater of Harlem); Lessons in Survival: 1971 (The Vineyard Theatre); The XIXth (Old Globe); Flex (Lincoln Center Theater); and Twelfth Night (Yale Repertory Theatre/CTH), for which she received the Connecticut Critic Circle Award for outstanding costume design. In Film Mika designed for the short film Candace and The Hulu mini series “Initiative 29”. In 2022, she assisted on theTony award winning Best Musical A Strange Loop. In 2023, her debut with Heartbeat Opera was designing costumes for the production of Tosca. Recently, Mika received an Audelco award for excellence in costume design for her work on The Cotillion (The movement theatre/New Georges). Website: mikaeubanks.com
Emma Deane (Lighting Designer) is based out of New York City. Recent credits include: Confederates, Signature Theatre; 9 Kinds of Silence, PlayCo; In the Southern Breeze, Rattlestick Theater; Dreaming Zezille, New York Theatre Workshop (assoc. Des); For the People, The Guthrie Theatre; Jane Eyre, Dial “M” for Murder, Newtown, Geva Theatre; POTUS, The Chinese Lady, Everyman Theatre; 2 Pianos 4 Hands, Northlight Theatre; Trouble in Mind, Hartford Stage; Peter Pan and Wendy, Kansas City Rep; BAKKHAI, Baltimore Center Stage; On the Far End, Jennifer, Who is Leaving, Round House Theatre; Three Sisters, Two River Theater; Manahatta, Yale Repertory Theatre. MFA - Yale School of Drama. emmadeane.com
John Gasper (Video & Sound Designer) is a musician and performer. Notable designs and performances include Wet Brain (by John Caswell, directed by Dustin Wills, sound co-design with Tei Blow; Obie Award, Lortel Nominee); Racecar Racecar Racecar (by Kallan Dana, directed by Sarah Blush), Advanced Beginner Group's I Understand Everything Better (Bessie Award); Coach Coach, Events, and I thought I would die but I didn't (by Bailey Williams, directed by Sarah Blush); Elevator Repair Service's Seagull; and Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble's The Art of Luv. MFA: PIMA, Brooklyn College.
Madisen Frazier (Props Designer) is a scenic artist based in New York City. Originally from Florida, she earned her BFA in Stage Design from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Recent credits include: Gypsy, Sweet Charity (Southeastern Summer Theatre Institute), Lone Star, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Ruth Stages), Iceland: A Recreation Myth (Overtone Industries), and Dialogue of the Carmelites (The Bronx Opera).
Natalie Wagner (Production Stage Manager) is a multi-disciplinary stage manager who works in opera, dance, movement, and theatre - and all the spaces in between. Selected credits include the tour of Book of Mountains and Seas (Beth Morrison Productions); Maria de Buenos Aires and The Coronation of Poppea (Opera Montana); Don Giovanni (Mannes Opera), The Nightingale and Erwartung (West Edge Opera); Le nozze di Figaro and Graduate Opera: Scenes (Manhattan School of Music); The Servant of Two Masters (Synetic Theater Company); Turandot, Le Comte Ory, and Zorro (Opera Southwest), and Sky on Swings (Opera Saratoga). Also multiple NYMF shows and concerts, readings, assorted dance projects, and plenty of Chicago storefront theatre.
Emma Jaster (choreographer) is a long time Associate Artist with Heartbeat Opera. She directed the critically acclaimed Lady M in 2023 and served as Movement Director for 9 productions since 2016 including Dido & Aeneas, Butterfly, La Susanna, and Fidelio. She has directed movement at Shakespeare Theater Company, The Folger Theater, Center Stage, Heartbeat Opera, Juilliard and others regionally and internationally including work with Theater Zar, Poland; UTheater, Taiwan; and Natanakairali, India. She is the Associate Director of The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics in Washington D.C. where she facilitates and collaborates with international artists and develops undergraduate courses using performance skills for the sake of diplomacy and advocacy. Her work focuses on the cross-cultural and humanizing potential of performance. She currently teaches at Georgetown University and at Shakespeare Theater Company’s MFA Academy for Classical Acting. She is the recipient of multiple grants and residencies including a BAX space grant, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and a fellowship with the Asian Cultural Council for extended cultural exchange in Taiwan. She started onstage at the age of 6 with her father, mime Mark Jaster, and studied at the Lecoq school in Paris.
www.emmajaster.com
Rick Sordelet (Fight/ Intimacy Director) Rick and his sons Christian and Collin Kelly-Sordelet created Sordelet Inc., a Native-owned action movement company with over 35 years experience. They have done 82 Broadway productions, including Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Pirates of Penzance coming to Broadway this Spring. 52 first-class productions worldwide including Ben Hur Live, dozens of National Tours including Peter Pan. Many operas with Moby Dick at the Met in March. Dozens of films and TV. They staged all the sword work for Chappelle Roan’s VMA debut GOOD LUCK BABE. They teach at William Esper Studio, HB Studio, CUNY Harlem, Montclair State and 22 years at Yale School of Drama. Rick is a board member for Red Bull Theater. Learn more at www.Sordeletinc.com and @Sordeletinc for Instagram
Gregory Keng Strasser (Assistant Director) is a dynamic creator working across stage, film, opera, video games, and more. Internationally, he’s directed Doi Nang Non in Thailand and collaborated with Odin Teatret & Ikarus Stage Arts in Denmark. In New York, his work includes Por Lo Que Soy at The Tank and American Spies with The Parsnip Ship.
In the DC area, Gregory has directed productions at The Kennedy Center (Unibeauty and her Wicked Daughters), Rorschach Theatre (410[GONE]), and 4615 Theatre Company (The Infinite Tales and Dark City video game). Regionally, highlights include The Chinese Lady at American Stage, Song of Achilles at Shenandoah University, and L’inganno Feliceat Opera Festival of Chicago.
An Allen Lee Hughes Directing Fellow at Arena Stage and recipient of the DCCAH Arts & Humanities Fellowship, Gregory holds a BFA from the University of Michigan. Learn more at gregorykengstrasser.com or follow him on Instagram @lil.scallion.pancake.
Alex Magallanes (Assistant Stage Manager) is a proud first-generation Mexican Stage Manager.Their past credits include The Muny: Les Miserables, Dreamgirls, The Little Mermaid, Fiddler on the Roof, Waitress. Piedmont Opera: Ragtime. Shakespeare & Company: Fences, Dear Jack, Dear Louise. Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival: Little Red, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Love to my cat Kiwi and my family. @magallanesmanages
Allison Esannason (Associate Costume Designer) is a multidisciplinary artist and costume designer based in NYC. In 2019, she received her BFA in fashion design from Parsons School of Design. After discovering a deep-rooted passion for storytelling, history and culture, Allison naturally gravitated towards costumes. Currently, her work centers the intersectionality of culture, politics, and gender through costume design, wearable art, and installation. Recent works include Rabbit Summer (24’), Sleepy Hollow (24’), and Berta, Berta (23’) at Mile Square Theatre.
Jake Eisner ( Asstistant Music Director / Orchestra Manager) is a musician and theatre artist from New York City. He’s thrilled to return to Heartbeat Opera for SALOME and FAUST after working on Eugene Onegin and The Extinctionist in the spring. Other production music credits include Yemandja with Angélique Kidjo, Kinky Boots at Bucks County Playhouse, and nellie/nellie with Antigravity Performance Project.
Jake’s work has also been featured around the country and abroad as a sound designer. Recent credits include The Misanthrope (HERE Arts Center), Insertion (The Connelly), and Cringe (Edinburgh Fringe, 59E59). Assistant and associate sound credits include Do Eye Know You? (Brown Arts Institute), The Reservoir (Denver Center/Alliance/Geffen, upcoming), and A Christmas Carol (Alabama Shakespeare Festival). He holds a B.A. in Music from Williams College.
Linnea Soderberg (Wardrobe & Wigs Supervisor) is a graduate of University of Massachusetts at Amherst, career highlights include work with The Boston Ballet, numerous Off-Broadway productions, and work as a freelance wig maker, makeup artist, and stylist. Fall of 2023, Linnea had the privilege of being invited to Beijing, China to work as head of a design team for Mozart Opera Rock. Linnea is thrilled to be working with Heartbeat Opera again, and looks forward to many more collaborations in the future.
Lauren Singerman (English Coach) is a certified teacher of Knight-Thompson Speechwork. Selected film credits: Drunk Parents (dialect coach to Salma Hayek); Beijing, New York (dialect coach to Chiling Lin). Selected theater credits: The Scarlet Pimpernel (Manhattan Concert Productions/Lincoln Center), JoAnne Akalaitis’s Bad News...i was there (Skirball Center), A Man of No Importance (B-Side Productions). She has dialect coached several productions at NYU/Steinhardt, including The Secret Garden, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Pirates of Penzance, Brigadoon, and Rags. Lauren has taught at Pace University, HB Studios, Pittsburgh CLO Academy, Actors’ Lab Ukraine, and NYFA. More about Lauren’s coaching and acting work can be found at laurensingerman.com.
Po-Wei Ger (Repetiteur), born on December 6, 1995, pianist Po-Wei Ger graduated with a Master of Musical Artsdegree from the Yale School of Music under the guidance of Dr. Melvin Chen in 2021. In 2022, he entered the Manhattan School of Music, pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree with Dr. Solomon Mikowsky. He currently studies with Dr. Jiayin Li.
Po-Wei began studying piano with Ms. Jia-li Shu at the age of seven. At ten, he continued his studies with Dr. Ming-Hui Lin. He has collaborated with orchestras such as the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra, and the Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra. Po-Wei was a prizewinner in the Panama International Piano Competition and won the 2nd Prize, the Chamber Music Prize, and the Audience Prize at the Premio Jaén competition in Spain.
An avid chamber musician, Po-Wei, along with Chao-Chih Chen and Tzu-Wei Huang, formed the clarinet trio Trio Astralis and won the Youth Chamber Music Program at Eslite Bookstore, the leading bookstore chain in Taiwan. He has performed at chamber music festivals such as Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Taos School of Music, and Yellow Barn Music Festival. He currently teaches at the JCC Thurnauer School of Music.
Peiwen Chen (2nd Repetiteur), born in Taipei, Taiwan, graduated with highest honors from the National Academy of Art in 1990, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. She earned a special piano award from Mannes College of Music in 1994, performing Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini under Maestro Michael Charry. In 1995, she made her Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall after winning the New York Concert Artists Competition.
Chen frequently performs piano duets with her husband, Alexander Paley, including at the Alexander Paley Music Festival in Virginia and Moulin d’Ande in France. Career highlights include a Paris debut in 2001, a worldwide broadcast of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade in 2003, and Mozart and Mendelssohn piano concertos in Lithuania in 2004. She has worked with renowned artists such as Licia Albanese, Deborah Voigt, and Sherrill Milnes and served as a pianist for the Metropolitan Opera Guild and other notable organizations.
Recent projects include performing Brahms’ chamber works in Lithuania (2022), premiering a duet by Thomas Böttger in France, and joining the Savannah Voice Festival for Menotti’s The Medium. In 2024-25, she will perform Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with City Light Opera and Mozart’s complete works for piano duet. Chen is a faculty member at Mannes College of Music and Montclair University.