THE CAPTAINS

Photo by Theik Smith Photography

​Nolan Kennedy is an actor, writer, musician, improviser and director. He is a co-founder of Letter of Marque Theater Co., an ensemble member of Strike Anywhere, player in the Walter Thompson Orchestra, a freelance lighting designer, and a teaching artist. Hailing from Chicago, IL, Nolan received his B.F.A. in Acting from Illinois Wesleyan University.
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His acting credits: in NYC: Double Falsehood,  A Farce of Nature, Bully Me Down, Color Between the Lines, Julius Caesar, Peter Pan, London Cries, Macbeth Variations II, and Same River; in Chicago: Private Lies, The Closeness of You, and Genius; in Austin, TX: The Bowie Projects I & II; and in France: Rue Colbert & Heroines. His playwriting credits include Prepared Fresh, This Little Piece, Gifts, and Bully Me Down. He is a founding member of two bands: Whiskey First and Salon Man. 
"I believe beauty in art has the potential to inspire, to touch, to change. This kind of beauty must be at the core of live creation. And this kind of beauty is only felt in the moment by the people who are part of it. It cannot be codified, framed, set, or even repeated. It is not precious.  In art, everything can be beautiful, but it cannot be precious. To put it another way: ask what is art, not why is art."

​- Nolan Kennedy

​Scarlet Maressa Rivera is a performer, director, musician, and producer. Before becoming a co-founder of Letter of Marque Theater Co., she was a member of the Irondale Ensemble Project from 2004-2013. She is a founding member of Band of Bicycles, a collective of musicians, artists, activists, and bicycle enthusiasts. She has also served on the board of Artistic Evolution, which devises and enacts social issue campaigns using art, music, performance and technology, since 2008. 
Scarlet considers herself an ambassador of ensemble theater practice and has been inspired by her experiences with The Network of Ensemble Theaters since 2005. Scarlet received her M.F.A. in Performance and Interactive Media Arts (PIMA) at Brooklyn College, a B.A. in Dance/Theater from Manhattanville College.

"Life is a work of art. The fact that we breath is a miracle, and the magic of theater is allowing us to breath together and create something living together. Art!!  There is no spirit in doing this alone, and I intend to create opportunities for others to do just that. To live life and make art. "

​- Scarlet Maressa Rivera
Welland H. Scripps is an actor, director, teacher, and a musician. Welland remembers the words of his grandfather, Samuel H. Scripps: “In order for Shakespeare’s words to be meaningful and alive, they must have the action to support them.”

Welland studied at Manhattanville College, and at the Stella Adler Studio in NYC. He was a member of the Irondale Ensemble in Brooklyn NY for six years starting in 2008 and is now a founding member of the Letter of Marque Theater Co. in Brooklyn.  Welland is also one of the founders and executive producers of Fat Maggie Productions.
“Letter of Marque is a company that I have been dreaming about since I was a young boy. After seeing a production of Henry the Fifth at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater in London, I dreamt of building a ship company in which everyone could hand, reef, and steer, as well as act, and we would sail around the globe performing Shakespeare’s plays. I didn’t realize it at the time, but what I was envisioning was an ensemble not all that different from the ensembles of Shakespeare’s time. The only difference was a few centuries and a cart versus a ship. Of course in the end we didn’t get a ship, but we’ve held onto the idea.”

​​- Welland H. Scripps

THE CREW

STEVEN BRENMAN (Designer in Residence) practices Scenic Carpentry Painting and Technical Direction in and around New York City. He studied Theatre at Trinity College (CT) and Design at Parsons (NY).

Recent work includes Technical Direction of Visitations and Paul's Case (Prototype Festival);Year of the Rooster, Fast Company, and Marathon of One-Act Plays (Ensemble Studio Theater); Alice, Grace, Anon (New Georges); A Raisin in The Sun (Gallery Players); Butoh Electra (Ume Group); Floating Point Waves (Leimay) and Assoc TD for the underground Zero Festival. He is best known as the producer of Park Slope's Premier Stoop-Side Halloween Extravaganza.  Much of his work is garbage. ​
KAREN NG (Choreographer/Associate Producer) hails from Hong Kong via New Zealand, bringing diverse and unique experience, style and taste to our company, Graduate of University of Auckland and President of The Company of University Dancers, Triple8Funk Dance Company (Australia/NZ). 

Her skills and talents in the performing arts have brought her to NYC and has quickly established a name for herself within the performing arts scene, gracing stages across the city at events and concerts at NYC SummerStage, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center in D.C. and BAMcafe, as well as music videos for Tink, Basement Jaxx and Lenny Kravitz. She is also a highly experienced dance teacher and advocate for storytelling in dance. 
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