MEET THE TEAM!
THE CORE STAFF.
We are a team of passionate artists dedicated to connecting and uplifting performing arts in the Hudson Valley. We found our community in the theater, and we strive to build an ever-broadening circle through our work at the Lab.
LIZ
DAHMEN
FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
LIZ DAHMEN
FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Liz is the founder of the Hudson Valley Performing Arts Laboratory. As a director and writer, Liz's work has been seen at The NY International Fringe Festival, Dixon Place, and The Knitting Factory. She is the author of numerous theater pieces, including “Love Songs, Candy Hearts, and Form Letters,” “Teach A Girl To Fish,” and “The Lesbian Overtones Interfaith Holiday Spectacular.”
Liz has worked as a teaching artist for The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival since 2015. Acting credits include Varya in The Cherry Orchard at The Classic Stage Company, and Stella in Ex-Antwone at PS 122.
She has a BFA in Acting from the Tisch School of the Arts and an MA in Educational Theatre from Steinhardt/NYU. Liz is a member of the National Alliance of Acting Teachers.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
BRITTANYPROIA
BRITTANY PROIA
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Brittany Proia (she/ her) is a multi-hyphenate theatre-maker based in NY's Mid-Hudson Valley, on the unseated land of the Lenape people. She is a freelance actor, director, producer, and educator. Currently, Proia is an adjunct lecturer with the SUNY New Paltz in the School of Fine and Performing Arts, and Executive Director of the Hudson Valley Performing Arts Laboratory. She also serves as the Dramatists Guild Ambassador for the Hudson Valley and Capital Regions. As a producer, she is passionate about telling queer stories that center women and non-binary voices. From 2017 to January 2020, Brittany served as the founding co-artistic director of DENIZEN Theatre, a company founded with the mission to bring innovative new works to the Hudson Valley. She has assisted in the development of new work with MTF, The PiTCH at Rev Theatre Co, NYMF, BMI and is currently co-producer of the world premiere play BLOOM BLOOM POW by Genevieve Simon.
Brittany holds an MFA in Acting from the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, a Bachelor of Music from NYU’s Steinhardt School. She is a proud member of AEA, the Dramatists Guild, a graduate of the Ulster Leadership Development Institute and a proud ‘key’- of The Ring of Keys; a national network of queer women, trans, and gender non-conforming artists.
SARAH
BYRONS
CREATIVE PRODUCER
SARAH BYRONS
CREATIVE PRODUCER
Sarah Byrons is a multidisciplinary theatre maker with a background in the creation of new and devised work, as well as extensive training in Shakespearean verse and performance.
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Outside of the Lab, Sarah has worked as a teaching artist with the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, been a reader for Hegepig Theatre Ensemble's annual Expand the Cannon list, and currently serves as a judge for Theatre Washington's Helen Hayes Awards.
Sarah received her BFA in Drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, with a focus on performance and playwriting, and has studied playwriting in both New York and London. She is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.
EMILY DYKEMAN
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Emily graduated from SUNY Orange in 2010 and Cedarville University in 2012, studying English and Theater. She co-founded Dykeman Donovan Theater Lab in 2015, producing and acting in “Requiem,” which earned a grant from the Orange County Arts Council in 2016, and “The Bear,” which was featured in the Newburgh Illuminated Festival in 2017.
She has worked with Hudson Valley Performing Arts Laboratory since 2018--wearing many hats, including performer, lighting designer, and script writer.
ASHLIE
MORRISON
ASHLIE MORRISON
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Ashlie Morrison will graduate from SUNY New Paltz in May of 2023 with a degree in Theatre Arts and Journalism. She moved to the Hudson Valley for college and started working with The Lab back in 2020. In 2021, she started interning with The Lab and they just couldn’t get rid of her!
Ashlie is a multi-hyphenate theatre maker. She is a freelance costume designer, writer and photographer. She hopes to continue to pursue all of the many things that she is curious about like audio engineering, nutrition, crochet, underwater basket weaving, and everything mentioned above!
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
HANNAH
KARP
RESIDENT STAGE MANAGER
HANNAH KARP
RESIDENT STAGE MANAGER
Hannah grew up in the Hudson Valley. She went to Binghampton University where she studied Biology.
In addition to her work as resident stage manager at the Lab she has also contributed as a writer to all of the Lab’s devised productions. She has always been interested in the arts and she loves being a part of the Lab.
TEACHERS & ARTISTS.
From teaching classes and guest-hosting our free Labs to bringing their professional-level expertise to our community productions and collaborations, these are the professional artists that make our programming possible.
