Biographies
Yvonne Brecht, the driving force behind the initial creation of DZIECI, was born and raised in Basel, Switzerland. She worked as a kindergarten teacher before moving to New York in 1994 to pursue a career in theatre. She has since played many roles such as Nina in The Seagull, Mrs. Popov in The Bear, and Electra in Clytemnestra. She has also been a member of The Irondale Theater Ensemble whose work includes safe sex education and group-building skills based on improvisational theatre for high-risk teenagers in high schools and prisons. Yvonne currently runs a Music Together program for children, and has recently been blessed with a beautiful dzieko of her own.
Jordon Flato is a native of Northern California, where he grew up dwarfed by the shadow of the redwood forests. He entered into the world of theatre at an early age, appearing in two to three producitons a year from ages 11 to 26. He eventually discovered what he was truly seeking in this work, having encountered Peter Brook, Jerzy Grotowski, and a more abiding respect for real philosophy, and soon quit the theatre all together in despair of ever finding a company with an eye to the 'vertical'. Shortly after almost receiving his B.A. in Theatre Arts from San Fransico State University, Jordon moved with his wife, Lisa, also an actress, to New York, and spent his creative energies on visual art with an eye toward the sacred. It has come as a great shock, and a greater delight to have discovered DZIECI, as it turns out to have been what he had been longing for all along. Most recently, Jordon became the father of his own dzieko, Parker, and is finding fatherhood to be the most rewarding work of all.
Carolina Franco was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. Most of her acting experience has been in therapeutic settings. She is a member of Ruben Bild's The Inner Circus, based in Spain, which is a traveling therapeutic theatre company that focuses on children with terminal illnesses and those who care for them. For the past three years she has been a facilitator at the Annual European Convention on Palliative Care, and is currently working on her psychology degree with a specialization in psychodrama. She is a grateful member of DZIECI, as she believes in the harmony between spirituality and theatre. Carolina is pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center. Her husband, the photogrepher Arturo Perez-Reverte, has taken pictures of the group from time to time, and together they are raising their beautiful dzieko, Candela.
Karen Hatt (Costumer) is a craft and food stylist by profession although she'd rather be designing and building costumes. For DZIECI she has produced 17th century clerical wear for Devils, 15th century idiot wear (a la Breughel) for the company's annual Christmas offering of Fool's Mass, and mismatching calico and patchwork costumes inspired by clothes of 19th century slaves and their dolls, for the group's work with children, and the delirious "Cirkus Luna!" outfits for the group's inept acrobatic show. She has already begun construction on Gypsy wear that Dzieci will use in hospitals and for their future adaptation of Ragnarök: The Fall of the Gods.
Martha Hoffman, a native of Cincinnati, studied Great Books at the University of Chicago and History at Yale. She has written on the creative process, the traveler as storyteller, and the early modern Spanish court. Her love of theatre began when her eighth-grade class went to see a "real" play and her need to see it again and again led to an ushering job. Storytelling has always been at the heart of her work as a writer, teacher, and actor: the ability to hear, experience, and even enter into other people's stories is the heart of human compassion and understanding. Before joining Dzieci, Martha's favorite theater experience was learning the role of Feste (Twelfth Night) in one day when a cast member dropped out on opening night.
John Norman (Choir Director) is a native of Detroit, where he earned his BA in Performing Arts from Oakland University. He has taught vocal technique and acting to all ages and levels, and has played lead roles in several critically acclaimed regional productions such as The Rocky Horror Show, Othello, and Angels in America. A performer since age three, John has also recorded five albums with four different ensembles, the latest being his folk-rock outfit, "Norman", which can be seen at clubs all over the city. As a descendant of the Eastern Cherokee Tribe, John’s focus on ritual and spirituality is deeply related to this important part of his heritage. He and his wife Rebecca are raising a little dzieko of their own.
Michael Richardson (Company Manager) hails from a small village in the placid lakey land of Oxford, Michigan. His performance appearances include stints as South Florida’s premiere mascot, Pete the Panther, and as a strip-teasing weather forecaster in the New York City premiere of Devil's Lake with Mabou Mines in 2000. Since April 2002 he has been traveling with his fellow fools in random appearances and works. Recently married, Mikee finds peace and happiness in the endless juggle of life practices and his holistic health and yoga studies, and supervision of Jean Michelle.
Rebecca Sokoll (Assistant Director), a native of the Detroit area, began studying dance when she was three years old. She continued to hone her performance skills at several professional theatres in the area, appearing in such critically acclaimed productions as Meadow Brook Theatre's The Merry Wives of Windsor ("Best Play", Detroit Free Press), and the performance-art masterpiece, The Moon Wolf, at Ann Arbor's Performance Network. Recent New York credits include Chronicles of Hell, produced by the award winning Theatre Et Al organization for the NYC Fringe Festival. Rebecca is currently working to complete her B.A. in Psychology at Hunter College. She and her husband, Dzieci chorusmaster John Norman, are the proud and adoring parents of Jack, who made his debut in Fool's Mass 2005 at Saint John's, age 11 days.
Bob Strock (Dramaturg) was born and raised amid the corn and soybean fields of Pontiac, Illinois, and has a BA in Sociology from the University of Chicago, where he directed productions of Six Characters in Search of an Author and Twelfth Night. His previous acting credits include Edmund in King Lear, Pseudolus in Forum, and Jack Boyle in Juno & the Paycock. He has also performed in a number of vocal and early music ensembles. He is currently in the process of developing the scenarios and music for Ragnarök, Dzieci's upcoming adaptation of the Nordic Myths, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at New School University.
Matt Mitler (Company Director) was initially trained in Humanistic and Existential Psychology, and Group Process before discovering the healing potential of theatre. He considers his therapeutic study with such notables as R.D. Laing and Dr. Carl Rogers to be equal to his theatrical study with Jerzy Grotowski and The Polish Theatre Laboratory. Combining these two pursuits, he began to lead workshops in a variety of settings including Hutchings Psychiatric Center (NY); The National Theatre School of Sweden; and the graduate school of The University of Psychology of Warsaw. In 1980, his essay, "Art and Therapy" was published in the anthology, New Directions in Psychotherapy. He is also profiled in Working on the Inside: The Spiritual Life Through the Eyes of Actors by Retta Blaney.
In Europe from 1977 to 1981, Matt performed, directed, taught, and formed the international theatre collective, The Tribe, which presented interactive works at a variety of institutions and was featured at Le Festival Mondial du Theatre in Nancy, France. Other festivals which presented Mr. Mitler's work include: The Köln Festival, Vienna Festwochen, The International Festival of Fools, The Gaukler Festival of Mime, The International Festival of Mimes and Pantomimes (Poland), The World Theatre Festival (Denver), and The Theatre of Nations.
To date, Matt has designed and directed more than 50 theatrical productions; among them: his own adaptation of Nathaniel West's Miss Lonely Hearts for the 29th Street Repertory Theatre; the critically acclaimed musical Sofrito, featuring The Latin Legends All Stars, for The New Victory Theater; and the apocalyptic epic Dirty Money (also co-author) for Teatr Am Turm in Frankfurt, Germany. He has also staged the works of dozens of solo performers and comedy troupes at a variety of NYC venues including The Samuel Beckett Theatre, LaMama ETC, and The Joseph Papp Public Theatre.
As a "New York Actor", he appeared on numerous television programs and starred in over a dozen independent motion pictures before creating his own film projects. Matt acted as producer, director and editor on half a dozen cult videos including the award winning Shakespearean parody, MacBeth, King of Scoutland. His first film feature, Cracking Up, which he produced, directed, wrote, edited, and starred in, enjoyed a limited theatrical run in 1998. A festival hit, the film garnered many awards including, "Best Film" in The Venice International Film Festival Critic's Week, "People's Choice" in the New York Underground Film Festival, and is now available on DVD. Participating in the festival circuit with Cracking Up brought Matt back to Europe for the first time in ten years. While there, he had the good fortune to be sponsored by The Children's Cancer Fund of Sweden to train an ensemble of actors in clowning and therapeutic technique and to lead seminars in creativity and healing at the Umea School of Medicine.
Currently, Mr. Mitler continues to act, direct, and teach, but his main focus is on DZIECI, which represents the total synthesis of a work and study that now spans over three decades.
Mission
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Process
Workshop
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Creative Interactions
Bios
