About CRASH
CRASH Theater Co. is a collective of theater artists founded on the principle that contemporary theater must reflect the diverse, multifaceted audience of today. CRASH commits to having women in creative and executive roles, people of diverse backgrounds in all casts, and original, ensemble-devised elements in all productions. CRASH seeks to reinvigorate classic masterpieces by refracting them through a modern, actor-driven lens. CRASH also emphasizes poetic modern narratives that break out of a naturalistic framework. In these ways, CRASH seeks to move beyond a traditional theater audience and gain relevance in contemporary storytelling.
The founding members of CRASH Theater Co. attended The American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theater MFA Acting program and graduated in 2014. Their first semester of graduate school was taught by movement and acting professors from MXAT, and they finished their first year with a three month residency at the Moscow Art Theatre School. The integration of movement, Stanislavsky-based acting technique, and other forms of storytelling that is the hallmark of Russian theater made a deep impression on all of them, no aspect more so than the Etude Method. CRASH Theater Co. was founded in September, 2016 as a way to actualize their unique artistic vision inspired by their eclectic, interdisciplinary theater training. All their work is informed by their training and their desire to share the possibilities of non-naturalistic storytelling with a modern audience.
THE TEAM:
Co-Artistic Directors
Billy
calder
RebeccA
StrimaitiS
Billy Calder was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He received his BA from Dartmouth College and his MFA in Acting from The American Repertory Theater/MXAT at Harvard University. Billy has worked in film, television, theater, and improv in New York City, as well as regionally and internationally. Film/TV credits include The Forger (w/ John Travolta), NBC’s Allegiance, and My Friend Will (Tribeca TV Festival Fall Pilot Season Selection). Stage credits include TaRaRaBOOM: A Three Sisters MishMash (CRASH Theater Co.), All Our Tragic by Sean Graney, and American Sojourns, three Thornton Wilder One Acts performed at The Moscow Art Theatre. SAG/AFTRA, AEA.
Rebecca Strimaitis is an actor, writer, and teaching artist originally from New England. Career highlights include: Broadway: The Visit in concert. International: American Sojourns with Wilder (The Moscow Art Theatre). Regional: The Light Princess(A.R.T.), Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company), Pirates of Penzance (Goodspeed Opera House). Training: BFA Musical Theater, The Boston Conservatory and MFA Acting, The American Repertory Theater/MXAT at Harvard University. Proud member of Actor’s Equity and founding member of CRASH Theater Co.
Founding Members
Laura
Kruegel
Danny
Goodman
Danny Goodman is a co-founder of CRASH Theater. New York: Pirates of Penzance (Skirball Center), TaRaRaBOOM: A Three Sisters MishMash(CRASH Theater). Regional: HMS Pinafore (Actors Theatre of Louisville) All Our Tragic (The Hypocrites), Final Cut and The Light Princess (American Repertory Theater). He received his MFA from The American Repertory Theater/MXAT at Harvard University.
Laura Kruegel is an actor, writer, and teaching artist based in Denver. Originally from Boulder, Colorado, she earned her MFA in acting from the The American Repertory Theater/MXAT at Harvard University, and has trained in Russia and Australia. She also co-founded the Colorado-based theater company, Devil’s Thumb Productions, which ran for three successful seasons. Laura has worked across the country as an actor, director, music director, and teacher.
Affiliated Artists
Elijah
Guo
Elijah Guo is a NYC-based actor, writer and musician. Selected credits include Film/TV: Patriots Day (CBS Films/Lionsgate), The Blacklist (NBC), Power (Starz), High Maintenance (HBO), StartUp (Crackle) opposite Adam Brody and Ron Perlman. Theater: The Imaginary Invalid (Moscow Art Theatre), Hansel and Gretel (American Repertory Theater), The Flu Season (A.R.T. Institute), I Dream of Chang and Eng (UC Berkeley, workshop with Philip Kan Gotanda), Fighting Mac! (Theatre Rhinoceros, S.F.), TaRaRaBOOM: A Three Sister MishMash (CRASH Theater Co.). Elijah is a proud MFA graduate from The American Repertory Theater/MXAT at Harvard University. www.elijahguo.com