NEW YORK NEO-FUTURISTS
The Infinite Wrench - An ongoing, ever-changing attempt to perform 30 plays in an hour. I created 130+ two minute plays: written, directed, performed 2018-2024. Through NYNF, my work has been shown at Hudson River Museum, the Little Island Storytelling Festival, Virgin Voyages Cruise Lines, and more. Senior Ensemble member.
CYBERWRENCH - A monthly Twitch-streamed edition of The Infinite Wrench. 2020. Producer / Director.
Selected photos, videos, and audio 2018-2024
THE TIME IS NOW: The NYNF 20th Anniversary Zine
Curated by Katie Kay Chelena. Cover design by Ali Cronin. Zine design by Lee LeBreton. Collages by Remi Town.
Neo-Futurism from NC to NYC
Ode to 17 (after Anis)
My favorite track as a contributing writer to our New York Times recommended podcast, HIT PLAY. This started as a play in the Wrench and bloomed into an audio collaboration with Anthony Sertel Dean. Listen below >>>>>
DIRECTING
UPCOMING:
On Earth as it is in [404 ERROR]
Created by and with the International Performance Ensemble at Pace University, 2024
Directed by Katie Kay Chelena
Pace University // New York, NY // 2024
Tickets Available
The Dreamfarmers
Created by and with the International Performance Ensemble at Pace University, 2023
Directed by Katie Kay Chelena
Photos by Jonathan Morrey
Pace University // New York, NY // 2023
CYBERWRENCH
Created and produced by Katie Kay Chelena, Rob Neill, and Anthony Sertel Dean for the New York Neo-Futurists
11 monthly shows streamed via Twitch // 2020-2021
The One Minute Play Festival
Recurring director, curator, and contributing writer. Produced by Artistic Director Dominic D’Andrea. I directed short plays by Becca Blackwell, Azure D. Osborne-Lee, Diana Oh, Jonathan Alexandratos, and more. Joined 1MPF for NY Indie Theater community nights, rapid-response projects after the 2016 election, and queer-centered festivals. Pictured: The STONEWALL 50 One Minute Play Festival featuring the work of all-queer playwrights, directors, and actors at Queens Museum. 2019.
Scenes from Fuente Ovejuna for SHAKESBEER!
Written by Lope de Vega, scenes adapted and directed for pub crawl by Katie Kay Chelena. SHAKESBEER! produced by the New York Shakespeare Exchange. Various bars in Manhattan, 2017.
tiny frightened animals
Written by Ben French
Directed by Katie Kay Chelena
Photos by Ben French
The Station Beer Garden // Chapel Hill, NC // 2015
Shakespeare's R+J
Written by Joe Calarco
Directed by Katie Kay Chelena and Nathaniel P Claridad
Photos by Emerson Jones
UNC Chapel Hill // Chapel Hill, NC // 2014
JULY HOUSE
Written by Pat Robinson
Directed by Katie Kay Chelena
Photos by Jason Wolonick
UNC Chapel Hill // Chapel Hill, NC // 2013
MOVEMENT AND INTIMACY DIRECTION
Upcoming: CLEANSED (workshop)
Written by Sarah Kane. Dir. James Rutherford. Intimacy Direction by Katie Kay Chelena. Details TBA 2025.
MEAT INJECTION
Created by C. Bain. Movement Direction by Katie Kay Chelena. Dixon Place, New York, NY. // 2020
SELECTED SHORT WORKS
REASONS TO STAY ALIVE
Public performance in Washington Square Park, 2021 // Created during my Arts Politics graduate research at NYU under Karen Finley. This performance imagined what a more compassionate university response to student mental health crises might look like, then invited the public to write their own reasons to stay alive on ribbons and sew them onto my graduation gown.
Photo by Narkita Wiley
RIOT GRRRL 1895
Emma Goldman time-travels, but she discovers that people are still fucking mansplaining her own work to her. A rage-fueled singalong. // Created for Ayun Halliday’s NECROMANCERS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN at The Tank // New York, NY // 2019
Photo by Ayun Halliday
PRINCESS + POMEGRANATE
A girl is trapped in a cage. She shapeshifts her way out, catches the moon, cracks it open like a pomegranate to share. // Created for PPPPPPURIM (Prophetic Post-patriarchy Purim Performance Party) // House of Yes // 2018
Photo by Tucker Mitchell
Assistant directing
Singing Beach
Written by Tina Howe // First Production - HERE Arts Center // New York, NY // 2017
Assisting dir. Ari Laura Kreith
JULY HOUSE
Written by Pat Robinson // New York Fringe // New York, NY // 2015
Assisting dir. Nathaniel P. Claridad
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Written by Christopher Durang // Playmakers Rep // Chapel Hill, NC // 2014
Assisting dir. Libby Appel