Associate Artistic Director
Saki Kawamura is a NYC-based theatre director and interdisciplinary artist. The wide range of her work seen in theater, film, and visual art included: IKIGAI: a purpose of living (Hollywood Fringe 2021, Encore Award), The Giving Tree, Grown-ups (Unfix NYC 2021), Precognito (Vireo Production) and IKIGAI (RenGyoSoh Artist Lab). Her regional theatre credits as Assistant/Associate director include Mystic Pizza (Ogunquit Playhouse), A Jolly Holiday: Celebrating Disney’s Broadway Hits, Clue, Murder on the Orient Express (Paper Mill Playhouse), Joy: The New Musical (George Street Playhouse). Her works reflect an international viewpoint, which incorporates eastern culture and values. She aims to create theatrical experiences which will build bridges across cultures. MFA Directing at the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. www.sakikawamura.com
En: 2021 *Zoom (Ass .D) In Our Hands (Ass.D) Ikigai *Zoom (Director) Mukuro *film (Co-director) Iceberg (Director) |
Company Member
Miles Butler is an actor, puppeteer, and physical theatre artist from D.C. He has been working with RenGyoSoh since 2017. NYC Credits: Into the Woods (EPIC), Caveman Play (Third Space), by wing, fin, hoof, or foot (The Ume Group), Naked Hamlet (Torn Out Theater), Alexander Who’s Not Going To Move (Two Beans, National Tour), enter a garden (Motor Company) and others. DC: Studio Theatre, Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Wolf Trap, Ford’s Theater, Folger Theater and others. Former company member of Synetic Theater and the Flea Theatre. He is a teaching artist with EPIC Players, a neuro-inclusive theatre company. In his free time, he enjoys finishing puzzles and rubbing his dog's belly. BFA in Theatre (Brooklyn College).
SHINKA at D.C. Fringe (2017), Planet Connections Theatre Festivity (2018) En (2019) Oblivion (2020) *film En: 2021 (2021) Mukuro (2022) *live & film Iceberg (2023) |
Company Member / Apprentice
Zak Ma is a NY-based actor and multidisciplinary theatre artist of Vietnamese descent. He received his MFA Acting at the Actors Studio Drama School, and is a member of RenGyoSoh since 2019. Zak is passionate in devising multimedia original work, aiming to transcend societal definitions and connect people of all backgrounds. Recent credits include experimental projects, Iceberg and self-produced The Intermediate, and traditional plays: His Is A Cage (Paul), Northbound Train (Huang), and The Seagull (Trigorin). IG @letitbezak. Zak-ma.com
SHINKA (2018) Understudy En: 2021 *online Ma On the Edge (2021) IKIGAI (2021) *online Mukuro (2022) Ma: The Exodus (2022-23) *Artist's Lab Iceberg (2023) *Artist's Lab Kuzu (2024) |
Megan Cattau (Member/Apprentice) is an aerialist. She found her primary movement form, the dance trapeze, training under Susan Murphy, who remains a deep inspiration. Since then, she has performed, choreographed, directed, and taught extensively in the US and abroad, working principally under the project Flight Collaborative. Her performance and teaching homes have included Canopy Studio in Athens, GA (where she was the business manager and then assistant director); Circus Warehouse in NYC; and Frequent Flyers in Boulder, CO. She also founded the aerial dance program at Durham School for Ballet and the Performing Arts in Durham, NC and has performed as a core member of Constellation Moving. Her choreography is featured in the book Aerial Dance (Bernasconi and Smith, 2008). She is interested in how movement and visual art can be used to communicate in a way that is kinesthetic, cerebral, immersive, honest, and emotionally evocative. Megan is also a disturbance ecologist, working in Indonesia as well as the Western U.S., and her mind is always on the trees.
Mukuro (2022) *film & Stage Kuzu (2024) |
Associate Company Member
Jorge Luna (he/him) is an actor, photographer, and filmmaker born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. THEATRE: Baipás (George Street Playhouse), Constellations (George S. Lindsey Theatre), Hamlet (Jersey City Theater Center), Deathwatch (New Ohio), by wing, fin, hoof or foot (The Ume Group), Starry Messenger (Theatre For The New City), Cymbeline (Chashama), FLORIDITA, My Love (IATI), Barceloneta, de noche (IATI), The Tempest (BC), Julius Caesar (BC), The Promise (CBA). FILM: The Week Of (Netflix), planet b234 (Vail ; Aesthetica), All The Beautiful Things (Sundance), MACHO, papa y yoyo, The Last Frankenstein, Catching Fireflies, All Is Not Lost, Angelo. TELEVISION: Law & Order, Elementary, The Blacklist, Law & Order: SVU, The Code, One Life to Live. UPCOMING TV: Zero Day (Netflix). TRAINING: RADA (Shakespeare), Universidad de Puerto Rico (BA Theatre), Brooklyn College (MFA Acting). www.jorgeluna.net @jorgelunadj @jorgelunaphotography
Yuragi (2017) at UNFIX NYC SHINKA (2026) at Capital Fringe EN: 2021 *online |
Annie McCoy is an actress from Orlando who started with a focus on Musical Theatre. However, she developed a passion for physical theatre while attending Circle in the Square. Post graduation she continued to train with Danyon Davis, specifically in Creative Physicality. For the last 7 years, she has been training under and collaborating with Yokko through the Ume group and then through Ren Gyo Soh. Past productions include Splitfoot (Piper Theatre) and By Wing, Fin, Hoof or Foot (The Ume Group). As well as Ren Gyo Soh’s Butoh-centric Shinka (IT awards winner) and En. During the pandemic, she continued to create in the virtual productions EN:2021 and Saki Kawamura’s IKIGAI (Hollywood Fringe). Annie’s belief is that Butoh is a craft that allows for the opportunity to take accountability and notice of all things past, present, and future in our universe. With this awareness, it is her goal to use the body as a vessel to produce art that is truthful, transcendent, and engaging, while also being environmentally conscious.
SHINKA at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity (2018) En (2019) Oblivion (2020) *film En:2021 *zoom Ikigai (2021) *zoom Mukuro (2022) *film Iceberg (2023) |
Kaz Kobayashi is an actor, sword-fighting performer, and fight choreographer. As a choreographer, he has trained famous actors in Japan, and he has also been active as an actor and performer, appearing in various films and stage productions. He believes that the art of acting is similar to Japanese martial arts, and he has pursued both martial arts and stage combat. He teaches a method that enables realistic expression, as well as powerful, flexible, and beautiful movements. Currently, he is based in Los Angeles, where he performs at events like Anime Expo and offers training and performances in a wide range of genres, including choreography for anime, films, and stage productions.
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Associate Company Apprentice
Grace Olinski (she/they) is a Brooklyn- based actor and writer. Recent projects include Nationals with The 24 Hour Plays, teaching movement and body work to young artists, and the creation of her show Triptych, which had its world premiere at the 2023 Denver Fringe Festival, where it received the Audience Choice Award. Born and raised in Southern California, she grew up studying theater and training at every opportunity.
After studying Meisner and Creative Dreamwork with Lea Floden, she attended the three year program at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, where she graduated with honors. She is thrilled to be joining the Company! Iceberg (AD) 2023 Kuzu (Performer) 2024 |