genesis 2.0 Company Bios
Wai Yim (Director/ Choreographer)
Wai is the Artistic Director of ætherplough. He is the former resident choreographer since ætherplough started in 2008. As an actor, his Chicago credit includes: The King of Hell's Palace (Goodman Theatre), Chimerica (TimeLine Theatre). Regional credits include: The White Snake by Mary Zimmerman (Old Globe Theatre; McCarter Theatre; WuZhen Theatre Festival in China); The Oldest Boy (Unicorn Theatre); Taming of the Shrew, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Antony and Cleopatra (Nebraska Shakespeare Festival); A Christmas Carol (Nebraska Theatre Caravan). Wai has acted, choreographed and directed numerous productions in Omaha, with Omaha Community Playhouse, The Rose Theatre, Bellevue Little Theatre, Chanticleer Theatre, Shelterbelt Theatre, SNAP! Productions, UNO Theatre and has won several TAG Awards. His TV credit includes: Patriot (Amazon). |
Cassi Moucka (Assistant Director/ Stage Manager)
Cassi made her ætherplough debut performing in Love and Information at DoSpace. She recently appeared as Goneril in the Blue Barn’s Walk the Night: Where Madness Lies, an immersive adaptation of King Lear, and directed a fundraising production of Eve Ensler’s The Good Body at the Sokol in collaboration with The Vagina Monologues. Her dream is to make Omaha a more equitable and robust place through theatre, poetry, spirituality, education, and dialogue. She is a product of public education, from kindergarten through university, and teaches English to seventh graders in the public school system. |
Dan Richters (Costume Designer)
Dan Richters was born and raised in Mission Viejo, California, and has since been living in Omaha, Nebraska. Art is a central part of his life. He began focusing on fashion design and creation in 2008. As he enjoys painting, sculpture, drawing, and music, he views fashion as a media of expression. His approach to fashion is sculptural, and he develops construction methods that are fluid and dimensional. His mode of design is escapism, sensationalism, fantasy. He creates and shows to share an experience and spark imaginations. He has shown at LA Fashion week for the past 3 years. He also has shown collections at Omaha Fashion Week since 2008. Selections of his collections are available at Ivan Bitton's Style House in Hollywood, CA. instagram: danrichters |
Joy Marshall (Production Assistant/ Run Crew)
Joy's mission is to facilitate the strange, elusive power of the performing arts in order to challenge and provoke the way modern humans engage with life. Joy first's appearance with ætherplough was the 2008 production of Time Laughs at the Shelterbelt. She was the Production Assistant for ætherplough's Knives Out in 2009 at the Bemis Centre. In October 2016 Joy dove into immersive and interactive Shakespeare with Walk the Night; Visions of Shadows as a production assistant, props designer, puppeteer and ensemble member. Educated in movement, performance and technical theater at Creighton University, Joy has had many years of formal training in voice, music, acting, ballet and modern dance as well as hands-on production experience. If not on stage, you may have seen Joy moving quietly along the catwalks or rolling on a gritty floor crawling cable. Or perhaps she was brandishing power tools, paint brushes and note pads. Joy has 2 black cats. She likes rock and roll. Turn it up to 11! |
Roxanne Nielsen (Assistant Choreographer/ Cast)
Roxanne is making her debut appearance with ætherplough as a member of the cast of genesis 2.0. Roxanne’s performing and choreography credits are numerous and include theatres, dance companies, industrials, films, music videos and schools. Roxanne served as the Resident Choreographer and Director of Education and Outreach for the Omaha Community Playhouse, was the Executive Director of The ARTery (now Arts in Motion) and now is Assistant to the President at Vic Gutman and Associates. Roxanne has taken a hiatus from the dance/theatre world and is excited to enter back via this intriguing work by/with her friend Wai! |
Jorge Ambriz (Cast)
Jorge is excited to be a part of genesis 2.0 and make his ætherplough debut. He has been part of several theater productions: Swing! The Musical and Chicago at the Omaha Community Playhouse, A Chorus Line (Bobby) at the Ralston Community Theater. He was selected as a community performer with the L.A. based professional company DIAVOLO for performances in Omaha and Lincoln. He was a member of UNO’s The Moving Company for 6 years and performed throughout Omaha at museums, schools, rooftops, water fountains and anywhere else Josie Metal-Corbin decided to take modern dance to. Jorge has over 20 years of experience as a Mexican Folkloric Dancer and was a member of the Mexican Dance Academy of Nebraska. He holds a BA in Spanish Translation and Interpretation, a BS in Criminal Justice and a MBA with an emphasis in Human Resources. Jorge works as a Human Resources Manager with Smithfield Foods. When he is away from performing, Jorge enjoys spending time with family and playing sports. Go HUSKERS! |
Karen Bahr (Cast)
This is Karen's 4th ætherplough project, having worked with them previously on the Labyrinth at the Bemis Festival, Knives Out, Full Circle and The Archeology of Birdsong. Karen began performing at age 4, singing on KMTV's Miss Jean's Storytime every Christmas. She later studied dance and voice and performed in many local community theaters and school productions including You're A Good Man Charlie Brown and The Pirates of Penzance. She began studying acro yoga in 2007, pole and aerial arts in 2011. She currently performs with the burlesque troupe, Dream of Venus and with her band, the Faerie Tones. Karen works in the courts as a Spanish Interpreter, and teaches aerial arts and yoga at Natural Therapy in the Old Market. In her free time, she's usually on a bicycle in Mexico. |
Erin Clark (Cast)
Erin first performed with ætherplough in 2011. Her performances with the company include: Full Circle, [SPACE]; or the gods are dangerous, and We’re Almost Here: HIGH VISCOSITY; a collaborative project between ætherplough and New York-based director Jeanette Plourde. Other performance credits include The Great Plain’s Theatre Conference and several small Omaha-based dance companies and performances. Erin was trained in dance at Adair Dance Academy and studied Sculpture at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. Erin focuses her theater work on experimental, movement-based productions. Away from performance, Erin is a certified Sommelier, craft bartender, hospitality specialist, and advocate for all things delicious. She works in service management for farm-to-table oriented restaurants in the Omaha area. |
Steffani Jiroux (Cast)
Steffani Jiroux is making her ætherplough debut with genesis 2.0. Currently resides in Omaha, Steffani will be graduating with her Juris Doctor and Masters degree from Creighton University School of Law. She also holds a BSBA degree in management and a dance minor. Steffani has performed the lead roles in The Nutcracker as Sugar Plum, Snow Queen, and Dew Drop; Sleeping Beauty as Aurora; Swan Lake as Odette; and Copellia as Swanilda, and Paquita as Paquita. She was also a Jays Dancer at Creighton for 4 years and performed at the Madison Square Garden. She has been a guest artist for Rockestra, a Siouxland Civic Dance Association. One of the most interesting dance moments she had was back up dancing for the famous parody singer, Weird Al Yankovic. Steffani was held local titles in the Miss America Organziation where she placed in the top 5 at both the Miss Nebraska America and Miss Nebraska USA pageants. After receiving her law degree, she plans to move to Hollywood to pursue entertainment law and continue her love of dance performance. |
Jeremy S. (Cast)
This is Jeremy's first performance with ætherplough. He has danced professionally with Disney Orlando and Tokyo, At sea with Disney, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Princess Cruises. He has been a guest artist with Man Dance in San Francisco as well as many regional ballet companies. Some Omaha credits include Ever After Productions, Creighton Dance, Heartland Youth Ballet, Opera Omaha and the Omaha Symphony. Film credits include Citizen Ruth (Eric), American Idol: The Experience (featured dancer), Poison Center and Pysch Files. Love to A! |
Nick Zadina (Cast)
Nick is thrilled to be making his ætherplough premiere with genesis 2.0. Nick received TAG and OEA awards for his performance as Charlotte Von Mahlsdorf in I Am My Own Wife at SNAP! Productions, a TAG award for directing Defending Marriage at the Shelterbelt theatre, and a TAG and OEA award for the production of his play The Day Omaha Exploded, also performed at the Shelterbelt theatre. Nick has performed at several venues in the Omaha area over the past 15 years including the Blue Barn Theatre, the Omaha Community Playhouse, and with the Great Plains Theatre Conference. Nick worked as the Artistic Director of the Respect organization for six years, traveling around Nebraska and Iowa performing school programs about healthy relationships. |