Giving a voice to Mother Nature, David Mramor is Enid Ellen; a dreaded, poet in hooker boots. Duetting with singer/songwriter Greg Potter on, piano, they have enchanted audiences with their stimulating lyrics and, soaring melodies at many of New York City’s finest venues including, Joe’s Pub, Don Hill’s and Dixon Place. Recently featured as one of, Next Magazine’s “What’s Next Now” artists, their sound has been, described as “Marilyn Manson singing Tori Amos,” and both “eclectic”, and “intense.” Making their mark on the New York City alternative, music scene, Enid Ellen has been a headlining artist at Earl Dax’s, “Pussy Faggot,” was featured in the debut issue of the UK based, magazine “Out There,” and also performed and had original music, featured in Justin Bond’s Re:Galli Blond show at the Kitchen.  They, released their debut album “Cannibal Disease” in December 2010, (available on iTunes) and released their first music video in April, 2011 for the song “White Snake” directed by artist Giselle Zatonyl.

Pianist Matt Ray is known in New York as a versatile artist, having worked for many years as a jazz pianist, recording artist and producer, music director for theater and cabaret shows, a sideman for singer-songwriters, as well as an accompanist for some of the city’s best vocalists.

His work as a bandleader includes two albums, and a number of tours and New York featured performances.  His album We Got It! climbed as high as #12 on the Jazz radio airplay charts, and was the one of the most played jazz CDs in America in 2002.  His most recent CD Lost In New York was also released to wide critical acclaim.  In addition, the Matt Ray Trio has performed all over the world, including the Caribbean and Central America for the U.S. State Department as part of the Kennedy Center’s Jazz Ambassadors program. 

In his years as a professional musician Matt has worked with a diverse group of musicians including jazz artists Joe Lovano, Jeremy Pelt, Anita O’Day, Queen Esther, Bobby Hutcherson, and Marcus Belgrave; rock and pop artists Paul Brill, The Flying Change, and Danielia Cotton; and theater artists like Taylor Mac and the cabaret troupe The Citizens Band.  In 2009 Matt played piano in, and music directed Taylor Mac’s Obie Award winning theater production The Lily’s Revenge, and can be seen touring with Mac’s hit show Comparison Is Violence: Or the Ziggy Stardust Meets Tiny Tim Songbook.

Matt’s has played on a number of film scores, including What’s On Your Pate (2009), Give Up Tomorrow (2011), and Paper Man (2009).  His piano playing is heavily featured in the score of the documentary film Charlotte (2011), on which he collaborated with composer Paul Brill. Ray and Brill have had a long working relationship, with Ray having played on three of Brill’s albums, and two Brill film scores – Pindemonium (2008) and the soon to be released Better This World.  Currently Matt is in the studio lending his piano playing to composer Pat Irwin’s score for the third season of HBO’s Bored to Death series.

Current New York performances include Joe’s Pub with Bridget Everett and the Tender Moments, as well as weekly shows with his own trio at Pinkerton in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Matt holds a Bachelors of Music from Oberlin Conservatory, is a member of the National Music Honor Society Pi Kappa Lambda, and in 1999 was honored as a semi-finalist in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition.  

A committed educator, Matt is currently leading seminars teaching jazz to New York schoolchildren through the Jazz Discovery Program.

Matt is a board member and Vice-President of Consilience Productions, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to using live music performances to increase civic engagement and activism.

Stella Starsky and Quinn Cox are internationally renowned writers, columnists for the Daily Beast and artists of astrology who, by day, seriously consult clients in private practice, and, by night, are musical cosmic comics who channel their universal musings into entertaining enlightenment. They have performed in New York City at Joe’s Pub, The Zipper Factory and Ars Nova. They are the best-selling authors of Sextrology and Cosmic Coupling.

Actor/performer and writer MICHAEL CAVADIAS graduated from the Experimental Theatre Wing at the Tish School of the Arts where he studied with the likes of Andre Gregory and went on to perform with Mabou Mines E.T.C., Blacklips Performance Cult (founded by Antony of Antony and the Johnsons). He developed the character, Claywoman, at Blacklips and then with Mabou Mines as a part of their resident artist program. He has acted in many films, including Wonder Boys (alongside Michael Douglas and Robert Downey Jr.), Seeing You In Circles, and Gypsy 83. Television appearances include New York Undercover, Third Watch and All I Want a documentary about Rufus Wainwright. Michael fronted the rock band Bullet who’s songs were featured in the film The Safety of Objects and he is currently a featured performer with the acclaimed political cabaret The Citizens Band. He recently wrote and performed as Claywoman in The Mystery of Claywoman (Directed by Rob Roth) at Deitch Projects, The New Museum for Contemporary Art, The Wild Project and opened for Antony and the Johnsons at Town Hall. In this piece, Michael utilized Butoh dance movement techniques with the aid of Vangeline France as well as extensive character work to bring this 500 million year old enigma to life.

New York City-born director, performer and visual artist Rob Roth’s work draws from photography, video, painting and dramaturgy to create experiences that blend media and performance into a lyrical spectacle.  Rob was a founding member of Click + Drag, the infamous Saturday night at renowned NYC club Mother. He has created works for such artists as Debbie Harry (Blondie), Justin Bond, Theo Kogan, Julie Tolentino and Big Art Group. His work has been exhibited at a variety of venues including the New Museum for Contemporary Art, Performance Space122, Abrons Art Center, Galapagos Art Space, Museum of Arts and Design and Deitch Projects as well as the Whitney Museum of American Art. Roth’s recent work includes NIGHTVISON, a performance piece with Marti Domination , the live durational installation, Synaptic Efficacy Refreshment, and Degrees of Freedom, for The London Biennale NYC Satellite Event at Christopher Henry Gallery , NYC  as well as working on the reinterpretation/video installation of David Bowie’s “Life on Mars’ Video with director Barney Clay and photographer Mick Rock for Creators Project premiering at La Gaîté lyrique, Paris in June.

Drew Droege is known on the internet as the guy who plays Chloe Sevigny, Tanya Roberts, the voice of Feathers on “Planet Unicorn”, and the host of “Glitter in the Garbage”, his weekly podcast on earwolf.com. He’s been featured in The New York Times, Perez Hilton, Huffington Post, EW.com, New York Magazine (Approval Matrix), NY Post, and has been called “compulsively watchable” by The Advocate. His TV credits include NICK SWARDSON’S PRETEND TIME, JON BENJAMIN HAS A VAN, GLORY DAZE, THE SARAH SILVERMAN PROGRAM, RENO 911!, HALFWAY HOME, and CAMPUS LADIES. He can be seen in the soon-to-be-released films EATING OUT: DRAMA CAMP, SASSY PANTS, THE GILLIAM EFFECT, FREAK DANCE, and BRIGHT DAY!. He’s an alum of The Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles, recipient of Outfest’s 2010 Special Programming Award for Emerging Talent, and was just listed as one of Out Magazine’s 2011 OUT 100.

“THE MYSTERY OF CLAYWOMAN – SCREENING AND LECTURE” is a performance piece that debuted in 2008 and played at a variety of venues in New York City including Deitch Gallery, The New Museum for Contemporary Art, and Le Petit Versailles Garden.

The Mystery of Claywoman – Screening and Lecture is written and performed by Michael Cavadias and directed by Rob Roth. Utilizing live performance and film, the piece combines the forms of a documentary screening and lecture to actualize the story of Claywoman, a 500-million year old enigma who, legend has it, can cure anyone of their deepest pain. The mockumentary presents itself as a ‘found, unfinished, severely damaged and restored film’. This false document raises questions concerning our need for faith, ritual and validation. These ideas are explored through interviews with characters played by such performers as Alan Cumming, Amy Poehler, Deborah Harry, Edgar Oliver and Ruth Maleczech. With irony and wit, the film comments on the theories and mythology surrounding the Claywoman character and sets the stage for the live lecture. Utilizing Butoh movement techniques, Cavadias brings the character to life through slow and debilitated motions while articulating a perplexing and sometimes nonsensical monologue. Commenting on our topics such as the environment, religion and our constant need for answers, the lecture explores the scientific and historical evolution of humanity from the perspective of a 500,000,000-year-old extra terrestrial.

The entire piece articulates a type of spiritual humanism. At moments it paints a bleak picture of death and it finality, yet the performance piece also comments on the intense majesty of the natural world and how superstition can degrade what is truly sacred, reality and human dignity. Not so much about atheism as about individual spirituality, the god within ourselves and the sacred connections between mortal beings. The Mystery of Claywoman – Screening and Lecture challenges the audience to face its mortality as well as it’s collective morality.

Director and Visual Artist ROB ROTH is an influential presence in NYC downtown culture. As a founding member of Click + Drag, the infamous Saturday night at renowned NYC club Mother, Roth created video installations, photography, design and performance that defined an era. Roth has continued to create dynamic visual images through performance, video, and installation here in New York and abroad. He has collaborated and created works for Justin Bond (Kiki and Herb), Big Art Group, Blondie and choreographer Julie Tolentino. His varied work has resulted in movie titles for the Jodie Foster film, The Brave One as well as directing the music video Two Times Blue for rock legend Deborah Harry. His recent work has included the award winning rock opera Screen Test as well as Ascension #1, the first in series of durational performance installations.

Actor/performer and writer MICHAEL CAVADIAS graduated from the Experimental Theatre Wing at the Tish School of the Arts where he studied with the likes of Andre Gregory and went on to perform with Mabou Mines E.T.C., Blacklips Performance Cult (founded by Antony of Antony and the Johnsons). He developed the character, Claywoman, at Blacklips and then with Mabou Mines as a part of their resident artist program. He has acted in many films, including Wonder Boys (alongside Michael Douglas and Robert Downey Jr.), Seeing You In Circles, and Gypsy 83. Television appearances include New York Undercover, Third Watch and All I Want a documentary about Rufus Wainwright. Michael fronted the rock band Bullet who’s songs were featured in the film The Safety of Objects and he is currently a featured performer with the acclaimed political cabaret The Citizens Band. He recently wrote and performed as Claywoman in The Mystery of Claywoman (Directed by Rob Roth) at Deitch Projects, The New Museum for Contemporary Art, The Wild Project and opened for Antony and the Johnsons at Town Hall. In this piece, Michael utilized Butoh dance movement techniques with the aid of Vangeline France as well as extensive character work to bring this 500 million year old enigma to life.

Cole Escola is best known for his anti-legendary TV show Jeffery & Cole Casserole on the Logo Network, which came about after a series of YouTube videos he created with friend and co-writer Jeffery Self became popular. He has appeared on Law & Order as a special needs teenager, and he regularly performs all over NYC—as various older women, Taylor Swift, himself, or some combination of the three—most notably, in his one-man nightclub act at Joe’s Pub. His proudest achievement is his Twitter profile (follow him @ColeEscola).

Jay Brannan is a NYC-based singer/songwriter, who also appeared as an actor in John Cameron Mitchell’s indie film sensation Shortbus.

After his song “Soda Shop” from the film became the highest selling song on the soundtrack album (released by Bright Eyes’ Team Love Records), Brannan went on to release his own full-length album, entitled goddamned, which made its debut as the No. 25 overall Top Album on iTunes.

Brannan has since toured multiple times around the world, including the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, Greece, Brazil, South Africa, Israel, and Australia.

In 2009, Brannan released In Living Cover, a collection of 2 original songs & 7 covers, recorded from a bedroom in a Brooklyn apartment. The album climbed to the No. 1 spot on iTunes’ Top Singer/Songwriter album charts, and blasted in to the No. 10 spot on Billboard‘s Heatseekers chart.

Brannan continues to play live shows across the globe, and is currently recording his third studio album with renowned producer David Kahne (Regina Spektor, The Bangles, Sublime, Sugar Ray, Kelly Clarkson, Shawn Colvin, Imogen Heap, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, The Strokes), with an expected release in late 2011.

Penny Arcade (aka Susana Ventura) is an internationally acclaimed and respected writer, performance artist, and cultural icon of the New York Underground, known for her authenticity, her take no prisoners humor and magnetic stage presence as much as she is for her influential writing and design and staging (with collaborator Steve Zehentner with whom she has worked for 20 years) which creates space for the audience in expansive ways.

Her work has been presented at Sydney Opera House, Royal Festival Hall, The Warhol Museum, Performance Space 122, Mousonturm, Frankfurt, HAU, Berlin, Edinburgh Festival, Casa de Rui Barbosa, Rio De Janerio, RED CAT, LA, NEW MUSEUM, NY, ICA London, CCA Glasgow, Performance Rodeo, Calgary, Voice Amerique , Montreal, The Adelaide Festival, The Vienna Festival, TeaterSpecktacle, Zurich, Galway Festival, Ireland, Impulstanz Festival,Vienna, Queer Zagreb, Museo De La Ciudad , Mexico City DF, Dixon Place, La Mama, Theatre For The New City,The Poetry Project, Joe’s Pub among many other places.

Her work has always focused on the other and the outsider and comments on class, race, identity and culture. She is the author of ten full length performance plays, including Bitch!Dyke!Faghag!Whore!, her 1992 sex and censorship show, a blend of political humanism and erotic dancing, whose influence is incalculable as a mainstream commercial hit in 23 cities around the world and spearheaded the current neo-burlesque performance movement. She is also the author/autuer of numerous solo and site specific performance works, poetry, video documentaries and critical essays.

She was an original member of The Playhouse of The Ridiculous, the late 1960’s famed NY/queer/glitter/glam/rock and roll/political theatre and a teenage Superstar for Andy Warhol’s Factory, featured in the film Women In Revolt.

A hardcover book on her work, BAD REPUTATION, published in hardcover by Semiotext(e) MIT PRESS January 2010. She was named Provocateur in Out Magazine’s 100 most influential culture makers and Women We Love issue as Iconclast. Cynthia Nixon, star of Sex and The City portrays Penny Arcade in the film An Englishman In New York about Arcade’s role as Quentin Crisp’s soul mate. www.pennyarcade.tv