DEVISING JAM 2026

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Are you interested in be part of this year's Devising Jam! We have an open call for some of the spots for collaborators!

To apply to be part of Devising Jam 2026 please fill out this FORM

INFO:

Created and curated by Sheila Bandyopadhyay.

March 20-28th

Saturday March 28th at 7:30pm 

Public Showing 

FREE and Open to the Public

ART/NY Great Oxford Space in the Great Hall

The Devising Jam is a new work incubator culminating in a showcase of work in development. Taking place over two consecutive weekends, the 2026 Jam is a space for collaborating, experimenting and connecting multi-hyphenate theatre artists in New York City. Three lead artists: Yokko, Michael F. Toomey and Sheila Bandyopadhyay will share time in the studio exploring new pieces with an ensemble of devisors to be announced. Please join us on the final evening, March 28th for a works in progress sharing! 

Interested in being part of the Jam? Apply HERE

Sheila Bandyopadhyay is a Brooklyn-based actor, director, devisor, movement specialist and curator for Project Y’s Devising Jam 2. As a theatre maker, Sheila explores performance that incorporates physical story-telling, heightened text, and ensemble work. Sheila has directed new work and self-adapted classics at the Brick, the United Solo Festival (Theater Row), the Tank, the West End Theater, and the 72nd St Theater Lab. Sheila’s original music theatre piece rise/fall (music by Nathan Siler) was performed as part of Project Y’s 2019 WIT Festival and her original show In the Empty was produced by Brandeis University. A physical actor versed in Shakespeare, acting credits include The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare & Company); Dog People (Jesse/Betty) at Great Barrington Public Theatre, Titus Andronicus (The Humanist Project) among others. Guest Artist/Faculty for Shakespeare & Company’s Center for Actor Training, Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, California State University Summer Arts, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Pace University’s IPE, FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, NYU Gallatin, Middlebury College, Westfield State University, Brandeis University, the Linklater Center, and Emerson College. Proud member of Actor’s Equity. www.sheilabnyc.com IG: @sheilabnyc

Yokko is a New York-based interdisciplinary artist and theatre maker from Japan, specializing in Butoh, Acting, and anything they can play with. As the founder and Artistic Director of RenGyoSoh and Producing Artistic Director of the Unfix NYC Festival- creating an awareness of ecology through Art- Yokko passionately collaborates with other artists to synthesize diverse disciplines to create new works for global communities. The solo work, Butoh Medea, has gained acclaim, winning “Best One-Woman Show,” “Best Choreography,” and “Best Physical Theatre” at United Solo NYC (Theatre Row, 2014-2015). It toured internationally across the USA and Europe (Edinburgh-UK, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Poland, and the Czech Republic) from 2016 to 2025. Other original works Hide Your Fires: Butoh Lady Macbeth (United Solo 2017, Hollywood Fringe 2019) and ShiraHimeRyu (Amsterdam Butoh Festival 2024). Yokko’s choreographed and directed ensemble work, SHINKA, earned “Outstanding Premier Production of a Play” and “Outstanding Choreography and Movement” at the 2019 New York Innovative Theatre Awards. Yokko has appeared in music videos, including Cage The Elephant’s Ready to Let Go (2019), collaborated with a fiber artist Erik Bergrin’s The 8 Dissolutions (Morris Museum/Times Square Billboard, 2022) and performed in Spirits Body (House of Yes, 2023). Yokko is author of Why Butoh Theatre (Routledge, 2020) and a recipient of the G. William Hume Fellowship in Performing Arts (2023). Motto: Magic & Transformation!

Michael F. Toomey is a neurodivergent director, performer and educator whose work reimagines

performance through the lens of play. He is the Artistic Director of The Humanist Project, a

Brooklyn-based company creating bold, physically driven theater that fuses irreverent comedy

with deep human inquiry.

For nearly 30 years, Michael has acted, directed, and taught Shakespeare, working closely with

Tina Packer and Kevin Coleman at the internationally renowned Shakespeare & Company,

where he helped shape generations of actors through text, movement, and play.

Holding an MFA in Lecoq-based theatre, Toomey is an internationally active deviser and

ensemble leader. His original works—developed through collaborative, performer-driven

processes—have toured globally, with presentations and residencies spanning the U.S. and

globally from London to Thailand. His devising practice emphasizes physical storytelling, comic

precision, and the intelligence of the body, creating work that is at once politically sharp and

deeply humane. Trained by master teachers Philippe Gaulier and Giovanni Fusetti, Michael’s

artistic lineage bridges classic and contemporary approaches.

Whether developing original works like MAD MAD MAD and Endurance, consulting with

institutions, or leading transformative workshops, Michael’s goal is to recenter play in

performance.