New Paradise Laboratories
# New Paradise Laboratories

New Paradise Laboratories (NPL) is a 501(c)(3) experimental theater ensemble based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1996, NPL collaborates with artists from a variety of disciplines, including web designers, visual artists, writers, philosophers, composers, and architects, as well as performers who work together to create interactive theater works and immersive experiences.

## History

Founded in 1996 by Whit MacLaughlin, New Paradise Laboratories (NPL) has created an average of one original performance work each year since its founding. Their work has been presented as part of the FringeArts Festival (formerly Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe), the Humana Festival of New American Plays, Children's Theatre Company, and in residencies with universities all over the United States.

## Grants and recognition

* 2000: Obie Award for "The Fab 4 Reach the Pearly Gates"
* 2002: Pew Charitable Trusts Fellowship in Performance Art Grant to Whit MacLaughlin
* 2003: National Endowment for the Arts Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Artistic Advancement Grant
* 2003: Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour artist
* 2004: Creative Capital MAP Fund grant recipient
* 2006: "Best of Philly: Theater Company" by Philadelphia Magazine
* 2007: F. Otto Haas Emerging Artist Award recipient Matt Saunders. Among the nominees were also Lee Ann Etzold and Jeb Kreager.
* 2010: MAP Fund grant recipient
* 2010: Jorge Cousineau named "Artist of the Year" by Philadelphia Weekly

## Company members

* Whit MacLaughlin (Artistic Director) - he has conceived, directed, and designed 20 original performance works with the company since its inception in 1996. Since 1978, he has acted in, directed, or written over 100 theatre productions.
* KC Chun-Manning (Managing Director) - served from 2015 - 2020 and remains active on Board of Directors.
* Pete Angevine (Interim Consulting Managing Director) - Began serving in 2020
* Emilie Krause (Performer) - has worked with NPL since 2011
* Kevin Meehan (Performer) - has worked with NPL since 2011
* Matteo Jones Scammell (Performer) - has worked with NPL since 2011
* Julia Frey (Performer) - has worked with NPL since 2011
* Lee Ann Etzold (Performer) - a founding member
* McKenna Kerrigan (Performer) - has worked with NPL since 1999
* Jeb Kreager (Performer) - a founding member, he has performed and co-created 13 shows
* Mary McCool (Performer) - a founding member
* Aaron Mumaw (Performer) - a founding member
* René Ligon Hartl (Performer) - a founding member
* Matt Saunders (Designer/Performer)
* Jorge Cousineau (Video and Sound Design)

## Productions

| Year | Production | Location | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1998 | "Gold Russian Finger Love" | Philadelphia, PA | |
| 1999 | "Stupor" | Philadelphia, PA | Barrymore Award nominee for Outstanding Choreography |
| 2000 | "The Fab 4 Reach the Pearly Gates" | New York City, NY | Obie Award Winner |
| 2001 | "This Mansion is a Hole" | Philadelphia, PA | Barrymore Award nominee for Outstanding Sound Design (Whit MacLaughlin) |
| 2003 | "Rrose Selavy Takes a Lover in Philadelphia" | Philadelphia, PA | Barrymore Award nominee for Outstanding Ensemble in a Play |
| 2004 | "Don Juan in Nirvana" | Philadelphia, PA | Philadelphia Live Arts Festival participant |
| 2004 | "Prom" | Minneapolis, MN | Children's Theatre Company |
| 2005 | "Planetary Enzyme Blues" | Philadelphia, PA | PECO Energy Award nominee for Outstanding Lighting Design (Mark O'Maley) |
| 2006 | "Prom" | Minneapolis, MN | Children's Theatre Company (second production), deemed Best Stage Production 2004. |
| 2007 | "Batch: An American Bachelor/Ette Party Spectacle" | Louisville, KY | World premiere: Humana Festival of New American Plays (Louisville, February 2007). Regional premiere: Philadelphis Live Arts Festival (Philadelphia, September 2007) |
| 2008 | "Prom" | Philadelphia, PA | Residency at Drexel University. Barrymore Award nominee for Outstanding Choreography/Movement (Lee Ann Etzold and Whit MacLaughlin) |
| 2009 | "Fatebook: Avoiding Catastrophe One Party at a Time" | Philadelphia, PA | Presented by Philadelphia Live Arts Festival (Philadelphia, September 2009) |
| 2010 | "MORT" | Philadelphia, PA | Residency at University of the Arts (Philadelphia) |
| 2010 | "Freedom Club" | Philadelphia, PA | With the Riot Group & Adriano Shaplin |
| 2011 | "Freedom Club" | New York, NY | Off-off Broadway |
| 2011 | "Extremely Public Displays of Privacy" | Philadelphia, PA | Philadelphia Live Arts/ Philly Fringe participant. A theater and online work in three acts, it included music videos and online social media, video-performances at set locations in the city, and a live concert of original music performed by the central character, Fess Elliot. |
| 2012 | "27" | Philadelphia, PA | Philadelphia Live Arts/ Philly Fringe participant |
| 2013 | "Prom" | Wilmington, NC | Professional Partnership with the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Department of Theatre |
| 2014 | "27" | Philadelphia, PA | Remount at The Painted Bride |
| 2014 | "The Adults" | Philadelphia, PA | Presented by FringeArts and supported by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage |
| 2016 | "O Monsters" | Philadelphia, PA | Presented by FringeArts and supported by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage |
| 2017 | "Hello Blackout!" | Philadelphia, PA | Presented by FringeArts, and supported by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage with additional support from the Independence Foundation New Theatre Works Initiative and the National Endowment for the Arts |
| 2017 | "Gumshoe" | Philadelphia, PA | An immersive adventure experience in the main branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Rosenbach Museum and Library |
| 2018 | "O Monsters" | Washington, DC | Re-mounted by the Capital Fringe Festival on the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater |
