Breaking & Entering is a small collective of Artists that have chosen to build community with one another and create opportunities for all Pre-Emerging Artists seeking an artistic home in NYC. You can support our work through this link.
Xander Browne
LINE UP Resident Artist, Associate Executive Producer
Xander Browne (he/they) is a queer Black comedic playwright/director/composer based in Brooklyn with a degree in Directing from Columbia University. His work explores the various intersections of religion, sexuality, race, technology, and conservation. This past year he has provided musical direction for workshops at The Public, The Flea, and the 5th Climate Change Theatre Action Festival. He also directed Alex Beige’s Blackpilled: A Blueprint at the International Human Rights Arts Festival. His musical W a t c h M e, a gay ASMR fantasia, has been workshopped with the New York Theater Workshop, at Adelphi University, and with Roundabout Director’s Group. His musical The Last Vampyre, a lesbian vampire farce set in Winnipeg, Canada, was a finalist for Live & In Color’s Bingham Camp Musical Retreat and a semi-finalist for the Pipeline Arts Foundation Award. His frequent collaborations with Patrick B. Phillips have culminated in the musical MIXED, a meditation on being biracial that has been featured in 54 Below’s “Let Them Hear You” concert series. Xander’s play Take Me Home, a dark racialized take on The Wizard of Oz, was a finalist for the Dr. Floyd Gaffney Playwriting Prize. Recently, his music has been featured at The Brick’s New Work Festival and in Torn Out Theater’s Antigonick. You can also hear his music in Ars Nova’s ANTfest play The Apostle Peter and His Lover John, Also an Apostle available for streaming, and his work has been performed regularly as part of 54 Below’s Black Writers Showcase. Xander is a featured line-up artist with the Breaking and Entering Theater Collective and has worked extensively with the artist residency program SPACE on Ryder Farm.
Emily/Bubeck
Co-Founder, Co-Artistic Director
Emily/Bubeck (whichever name is easier for you, she/her) is an Appalachian theater practitioner who enjoys facilitating the development and consumption of new performance based work by traditionally underrepresented artists. A total bitch for dramaturgy and the magic of the developmental process - Bubeck works as the Development Associate at New Dramatists by day and spends her nights and weekends stage managing, directing and otherwise collaborating on projects from off-broadway to established indie & downtown theater venues and even rooftops and garages. She is drawn to any project that questions HOW we tell stories and WHO those stories serve. Emily imagines a future where theatre and community performance are as vital and ever present as music to the lives of the american people.
Nikki Cannon
LINE UP Resident Artist, Associate Executive Producer
Nikki Cannon is an actor, singer, and dancer from Gainesville, Florida. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida with her BFA in Acting and moved to Manhattan after graduation. Favorite roles include The Seagull (Nina), The Magnificent Revengers (Dorothy Kelly), and Puffs (Leanne/others). She has performed at 54 Below, The Green Room 42, The Players Theatre, and in Serials by The Fled Collective. She is a lover and avid collector of vintage clothing and antiques. Additional interests include reading, coffee shops, and dog spotting.
Michelle Chan
LINE UP Resident Artist, Artistic Associate
Michelle Chan (she/her) is a director, theatremaker, and arts producer from Hong Kong. She is a first-gen Taiwanese-American whose work is committed to stories that have been historically marginalized or unauthentically portrayed in attempts to redefine the roles that fabricate the American culture. Michelle is currently a member of The Drama League’s 2023-2024 Director’s Project, a resident artist at Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective, and teaching assistant to Suzan-Lori Parks at NYU/Tisch’s Graduate Department of Dramatic Writing. Her work has been seen at WP Theater, The Flea, Theatre Row, Keen Company, Dixon Place, Hudson Guild Theater, A.R.T/New York Theatres, The Maker’s Space, Lime Arts Productions, The Fled Collective, Moxie Arts NY and Atlantic Acting School. She has also assisted illustrious directors at Manhattan Theatre Club and Keen Company, including May Adrales, Mark Cirnigliano, Portia Krieger, and Lou Moreno. Michelle is also the first female college graduate in her family lineage, holding a degree in Directing from Pace University’s International Performance Ensemble. michchan.com @michellechaann
Alex Church-Gonzales
LINE UP Resident Artist, Artistic Associate
Alex Church-Gonzales (she/they) is a director, designer, and stage manager. As a director of plays that don’t exist yet, they specialize in both devising new ensemble works and co-incubation with playwrights. Recently, they have been workshopping WE ARE NOT THE GUERRILLA GIRLS with Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective, featuring a punk-rock femme ensemble playing over 25 roles. Other credits include All At Once [40th Anniversary Remaster] (The Tank), Buck Stars (Keen Company), Artemisia’s Intent (The Anthropologists), The Mannequin Play (The Tank), Everyone Hated Us (Dixon Place), A Play About Lucas Hnath… (NYC Winterfest), this world is for the frat bros (Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective). alexchurchgonzales.com @alexncg
E.B. Hinnant
Potential Suspect
E.B. Hinnant is an actor, songwriter, and filmmaker from the deep South. He enjoys developing new works and has been a friend and fan of Breaking & Entering since its inception. Talk to him about fried okra, Dolly Parton, or any big hikes you’ve taken recently.EPA
Tori Lassman
Line Up Resident Artist, Communication Coordinator
Tori Lassman (LINE UP Resident Artist) was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She is an alumnus of Young Playwrights Inc. and a graduate of SUNY Purchase college, where she studied playwriting. Her plays are inspired by power and class dynamics, smut, and the magical and theatrical possibilities of the human body and mind. Tori’s oeuvre is centered around making lowbrow signifiers beautiful, emotional and humanistic. Past plays have been seen and workshopped with Young Playwrights Inc., Breaking and Entering Theater, The Playwright's Loft II, The Dionysian Magazine, the Casa Na Ilha residency in São Paulo, Brazil and New Georges.
Henry Lombino
Line Up Resident Artist, Associate Executive Producer
Henry Lombino is a producer, choreographer, and writer hailing from Western Massachusetts. A graduate of Wesleyan University and a wearer of many hats, Henry has been active in the theatre and dance world for the past five years, making new creative ventures possible through his artistic and managerial experience. Past organizations he’s worked with include Jacob’s Pillow, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Keen Company, Page 73, Dance/USA, American Ballet Theatre, and 24 Hour Plays. Currently he is the Events and Operations Manager at the Mark Morris Dance Group. Henry strongly believes in promoting accessibility in the performing arts and in breaking down barriers of entry for both artists and audiences. When he’s not producing, dancing, or making spreadsheets, Henry can be found making new flavors of homemade ice cream.
Karen Marulanda
Line Up Resident Artist, Communications Coordinator
Karen Marulanda (LINE UP Resident Artist, she/her/ella) is a proud Colombian/Nicaraguan actor, writer and director currently based in NYC. She most recently directed STOCKED for The Chain Theatre's Winter One Act Festival. Recent acting credits include: Fucked Up Play Fest (Caveat), Luchadora! (Orlando Repertory Theatre) and SWAY (The Fled Collective). Karen was a Semifinalist actor in NBC’s Nosotros Ya Tu Sabes Monologue Slam 2022. Connect with her on Instagram: @karenmarulanda.
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Maggie Metnick
Line Up Resident Artist, Communications Coordinator
Maggie Metnick (LINE UP Resident Artist) is an actor, writer, producer, educator and certified human emotional support dog. She is the co creator and host of the news satire show Man Up at Caveat in which she plays Chip Johnson, male conservative pundit and self proclaimed expert on women's issues (@manupladies). She has produced and performed two solo shows; The first is a clown show about her real struggles with social anxiety entitled I Want To Be Your Friend, Please. The second is a reflection on stand up comedy and mental illness entitled 12 Year Old Boys and Other Things That Make Me Nervous which debuted during B&E’s PEA Fest in 2019. One of her passions is coaching artists on creating the solo shows of their dreams from the ground up. Maggie is also a practicing witch and is currently writing a narrative erotica/fan fiction about an anime series she’s obsessed with.
Other theatre credits; Diaspora (Off Broadway), And You Shall Be a Blessing (The Dramatists Guild, *Reading), Pulp Verite (The Workshop Theatre, *Reading), A Roller Rink Temptation (WOW Cafe). Film credits; Blue Hour (Slamdance Screenplay Finalist), The Meditater. Commercial credits; Oreo, Embrace Home Loans.
Michael Ortiz
Co-Artistic Director
Michael Ortiz (Co-Artistic Director, he/him) is an multi-hyphenate theater artist hailing from the state of Florida. He has been a resident with Breaking & Entering since the collective's inception, and he now serves as Co-Artstic Director alongside Emily Bubeck and Molly van der Molen. He is a co-founder of The Fled Collective and he currently produces and hosts SERIALS, an episodic late-night short play competition series. Michael is a firm believer in community building over networking and is passionate about the cultivation of new work and creating opportunities for underrepresented artists, particularly queer artists and artists of color. He is an avid gamer, a home cook, and lover of all things spooky. Hit him up if you ever want to talk D&D or learn to play the spoons!
Andres Osorio
Potential Suspect
Andres Osorio is a playwright and screenwriter. His plays have been seen at the Wild Project, Cherry Lane Theatre, Dixon Place, Loading Dock Theatre, The Tank, the People’s Improv Theater, and NYU. He received his BFA from NYU Tisch and the Chair's Award in Dramatic Writing. His plays are littered with miscommunications, preoccupied with family and friendship, and characterized by dark and physical comedy. When he’s not creating theatre, he’s experimenting with makeup, climbing boulders, and seeing amateur bands perform around Brooklyn.
Josh Reiter
Potential Suspect
Josh Reiter (POTENTIAL SUSPECT) is a New York based actor, producer, writer, and director. As an actor, Josh has worked in television, voice-over, and in regional theatre. Josh is thrilled to be a part of Breaking & Entering, an organization that gives resources to new voices and is bold enough to develop groundbreaking original material. Josh's goal as a collaborator is to find what makes a piece unique and structure, highlight, and expand it to its greatest potential. Joshreiter.com
Emani B. Simpson
Line Up Resident Artist, Communications Coordinator
Emani Brielle Simpson is an actor, director, producer and stage manager. She is the founder of the production company, The Real Artists (TRA), whose mission is to create an inspirational environment where artists can hone their crafts, thrive and network to build a career out of their passions. Emani is passionate about bringing artists together and collaborating on new works. She is an associate producer for and a proud member of Breaking & Entering Theater Collective.
Emani is one of the producers of SERIALS and currently, co-producing Dust of Egypt with the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture. She is also stage managing Pecong at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Emani is also the house manager at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center in New Jersey.
Molly Van Der Molen
Co-Artistic Director
Molly Van Der Molen (she/her) is a playwright, director and creative producer based in New York City and the SF Bay Area. She’s a resident artist and proud Co-Artistic Director of Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective and the Company Associate at Shotgun Players in Berkeley, California. Recent collaborations include the Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep; Um…, co-written with Alexandra Fortin, which virtually premiered at the Greenwich Odeum and GIRLHOOD with B&E and The Tank, NYC. Molly facilitates big ensemble pieces that paint honest portrayals of women, explore queerness and unearth the ever-evolving definitions of family. She’s a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College and a die hard lover of ice cream. Catch her next directing Jan Rosenberg’s ‘Pluck’ at Shotgun Players!
William Vonada
Communications Associate
William Vonada (LINE UP RESIDENT ARTIST, he/him) is a NY based theatre actor, director, and administrator who has primarily worked with Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective and The Fled Collective. He enjoys pursuing developmental work and helping “dumb” projects get traction. In addition to theatre, William also works as a Beverage Director in Uptown Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Declan Zhang
Potential Suspect
Declan Zhang is a writer, director, and producer. They hold a Bachelors of Music in Percussion Performance from New York University. Their work deals with intimacy and the overwhelming absurdity of life in the digital age. Recent credits: bb brecht at Under the Radar 2023. They are the host and showrunner of Survivor Bushwick. @dclnzhang on all platforms.