La MaMa presents The Censorship of Dreams

Arthur Makaryan is the Artistic Director of Arte Makar Productions, a member of SDC, and a signatory of SAG AFTRA. A stage director, producer and educator, Arthur received Juilliard’s Opera Directing Fellowship in 2017-18 and holds master’s degrees in directing from Columbia University (MFA) and Sorbonne (MA). His recent credits include PA!, which premiered in Rio de Janiero and toured in São Paulo, Armenia, Turkey, and France; Hamlet Machine, which toured in Armenia, Lithuania, Russia, Moldova, Egypt, France and the US (off-Broadway); and Black Garden, in Paris and NYC. Trained at the Grotowski Institute in Poland, Suzuki Company in Japan, Stella Polaris in Norway and Theatre of the Oppressed in France, Arthur brings a versatile approach to his artistic practice and teaching, which bridges tradition with innovation. He has assisted luminaries such as Ivo van Hove at Toneelgroep, Stephen Wadsworth at The Met, Darren Katz on Broadway. He was also recently invited to speak at the 28th International Symposium on Electronic Arts in Paris and at the TransCultural Exchange International Conference in Cambridge, MA.

Nora Sørena Casey's plays include SORRY/NOT SORRY (Ars Nova ANT Fest, Bushwick Starr Reading Series), Take the Car (Williamstown Theatre Festival, Brooklyn College, Shanghai Theatre Academy), The Nature Room (Columbia New Plays Festival) and Resistance Training (Women-In-Theatre Festival). Her play False Stars premiered at the Corkscrew Festival in a “fast-paced, heartfelt and precise” (Stagebuddy) production that was “packed with young talent” (New York Times). Her New York debut, Not Afraid, was praised for its “sharp and often overlapping dialog that caroms between ironic humor and bleakness” (Talkin Broadway) and unique protagonist, called “the kind of weirdo we want to root for” by The New York Times. Previous projects in dramaturgy include workshops of an untitled play by Pulitzer Prize winner Jackie Sibblies Drury (Lark Studio Retreat, Bushwick Starr Reading Series); the development of The Universe is a Small Hat by Cesar Alvarez (Joe’s Pub, Prelude 2013, Babycastles); and assisting David Henry Hwang on the Broadway revival M. Butterfly.

Since relocating to NYC in 2023, Chris has appeared Off-Broadway as the lead in the 2025 world premiere of One in 25 portraying Nobel Prize winning physicist Dr. Richard Feynman. Other recent stage credits include: Mel in the Irish 2-hander The Saviour and Roland in Constellations. Film & Television credits include: the recent Bruce Springsteen biopic, “Deliver Me from Nowhere,” the upcoming Teddy Roosevelt Amazon “Expedition with Michael Chernus,” recurring in “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” Apple+’s “For All Mankind,” the ABC hit show “LOST, Magnum P.I.,” and many others including his award-winning debut feature film “In Memory of My Father” starring Judy Greer, that he wrote and directed.

Jes Dugger is an actor and comedian based in New York City. She most recently appeared onstage in the award-winning play Until, Until, Until… as Marie at MCA Chicago. Favorite television credits include “Better Call Saul” as Mrs. Oliver and “Awkwafina is Nora From Queens” as Merlene. Other television credits include “Bull,” “Homeland,” and “The Blacklist.” Jes holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Catawba College, but more importantly is a graduate of BCC’s Clown School.

Bryce Michael Wood graduated from the University of Notre Dame with his Bachelor’s and was a Division–I Athlete for the Fighting Irish. He received his MFA from the University of Connecticut and was cast in a multitude of productions at Connecticut Repertory Theatre during his tenure there. His most recent credits include: Off-Broadway: Ceremonies In Old Dark Men, Hamlet, Superhero, Othello. Regional: Primary Trust, King Lear, TopDog/Underdog, Twelfth Night, Detroit 67’, Gloria, Oedipus, The Royale, Smart People, Welcome to Fear City, & Row. Film: “You’re Not There,” “Vedic Nights” TV: “FBI: Most Wanted,” “Law and Order.”

Kat Warnusz-Steckel is a Brooklyn-based actor, writer and producer. A recent grad of NYU’s Graduate Acting Program, they produced and starred in the upcoming short “What U Will Become.” They were featured in An Asteroid Named Kate Bush at Cosmic Cherry Arts Festival and Madeleine Olnek’s upcoming untitled comedy. Since moving to New York from London, Kat has appeared in many Off-Off Broadway productions. They hold a BA from LAMDA.

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. La MaMa's 64th Season, LA MAMA NOW, focuses on creating solidarity and building community, exploring ways to build connections for cross-sector coalition and invite artists, activists, organizers and community members into the creative process.

La MaMa has been honored with 30+ Obie Awards, dozens of Drama Desk, Bessie Awards, Villager Awards, the 2018 Regional Theatre Tony Award, and most recently a 2023 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Special Citation. We are a creative home to artists and resident companies from around the world, many of whom have made lasting contributions to the arts, including Blue Man Group, Bette Midler, Ping Chong, Jackie Curtis, Robert De Niro, André De Shields, Adrienne Kennedy, Cole Escola, Bridget Everett, Harvey Fierstein, Diane Lane, Charles Ludlam, Tom Eyen, Spiderwoman Theater, Tadeusz Kantor, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Meredith Monk, David and Amy Sedaris, Stephanie Hsu, Julie Taymor, Kazuo Ohno, Tom O'Horgan, Andrei Serban, Liz Swados, and Andy Warhol. La MaMa's vision of nurturing new artists and new work from all nations, cultures, races and identities remains as strong today as it was when Ellen Stewart first opened the doors in 1961.

Learn more at www.lamama.org

Arte Makar Productions, led by Armenian director Arthur Makaryan, creates visually striking, interdisciplinary performances that blend theater, technology, and political inquiry. Rooted in international collaboration, the company explores themes of memory, control, and resistance through immersive storytelling. Makaryan’s work spans Europe, the US, Middle East, and South America, bridging experimental forms with urgent social questions to provoke, unsettle, and inspire.