Nell Bang-Jensen

College hook-ups, female friendship, football, and a medieval saint who cuts off her nose to spite a pack of rapacious vikings. A ferocious satire, Nosejob asks, how do we reckon with the messy sexcapades of our past? What do we owe to the legacy of women who suffered so that we might flourish? And, are the vikings kind of hot?

Set in the early 2010’s at a Catholic university where boys are “burying” their faces in girls’ boobs as part of a schoolwide prank, Nosejob tells the story of a few sorority friends who plot revenge against a contingent of lecherous jocks. That is until one of the girls, Devon Chase—athletic trainer for the football team—finds herself distracted by more pressing urges. In the afterhours of the locker room, she stumbles into a white-hot flirtation with the assistant football coach. Not to mention her looming medievalism presentation, and visitations from a drunken nun who holds the secret to a dark betrayal. Indebted to the legacy of women who suffered so that she might flourish, Devon must find a pathway between political courage and personal pleasure.

Nosejob was a semifinalist for the O’Neill Playwright Conference, and it received development support from Colgate University, The Director Residency Program of The Drama League, Lightning Rod Special’s Sound Break audio series, and Theater Exile’s X-hibition Series.

Nosejob was part of the 2024 Philadelphia Fringe Festival and produced by Lightning Rod Special.

CREATIVE TEAM

The Lightning Rod Special Production of Nosejob

Writers: Lee Minora and Scott R. Sheppard

Director: Nell Bang-Jensen

Developed with Matteo Scammell

Performers: Ciera Gardner, Leigha Kato, Lee Minora, Matteo Scammell, Scott R. Sheppard, Alice Yorke

Stage Manager: Randi Alexis Hickey

Scenic Designer: You-Shin Chen

Lighting Designer: Mike Inwood

Sound Designer: Kathy Ruvuna

Costume Designer: Rebecca Kanach

Props Designer: Vic Gill-Gomez

Production Management and Technical Direction: Flannel & Hammer

Dramaturgy: Mason Rosenthal

Promotional Photos: Emilie Krause

Production Photos: Johanna Austin

People’s Light

Adapter/Composer: Zak Berkman

Director: Nell Bang-Jensen

Arranger: Mitch Chakour

Music Director: Justin Yoder

Choreographer: Jacinta Yelland

Scenic Designer: Steven Dufala

Costume Designer: Rebecca Kanach

Lighting Designer: Krista Smith

Sound Designer: Jordan McCree

Scenic Drafter: Grisele Gonsalez

Youth Coordinator: Victoriana Dan

Dialect Coach: Melanie Julian

Director of Production: Charles T. Brastow

Resident Associate Director: Andrew Watring

Stage Manager: Alexis Wells

Assistant Stage Manager: Jess McPhillips

“Unique, brilliant, and enchanting, are the words this reviewer uses to describe the production of A Christmas Carol currently running at Malvern-based theatre People’s Light.” -Tony Oriente, Broadway World

By Ana Nogueira

Directed by Nell Bang-Jensen

Leslie Ann Boyden, Stage Manager

Lily Fossner, Lighting Design

Chris Haig, Scenic Design

Jillian Keys, Costume Design

Jordan McCree, Sound Design

Abby Weissman, Intimacy Coordinator

Featuring Makoto Hirano, Claire Inie-Richards & Matteo Scammell

TOWN

Theatre Horizon

Premiered September 15-18, 2022

On the lawn of Eisenhower Science and Technology Leadership Academy (1601 Markley Street, Norristown, PA 19401)

What happens when community members of a diverse town tell a story as one?

TOWN is Theatre Horizon’s largest-scale production in our nearly 20-year history. Helmed by director Nell Bang-Jensen and playwright Michael John Garcés this new play celebrates and interrogates small town American life. Featuring music by Philly-based artist collective ILL DOOTS and featuring an ensemble of community members and professional theatre artists, TOWN will focus on Death & Eternity, Love & Marriage, and Daily Life all inspired by stories from over 130 Norristown residents.

Media:

Mini Documentary about the making of TOWN found here.

WHYY radio story and article here.

Philadelphia Inquirer article here.

Playwright

Michael John Garcés

Director

Nell Bang-Jensen

Original Music

ILL DOOTS

Music Directors

Elle.Morris & Scott Ziegler

Community Coordinator

Marisol Rosa-Shapiro

Movement Coach

Melanie Cotton

Assistant Director

Tanaquil Marquez

Dramaturg

Gilberto Vega

Lighting Designer

Krista Smith

Scenic/Prop Designer

Chris Haig

Costume Designer

Leigh Paradise

Sound Designers

Anthony Martinez-Briggs & Jordan McCree

Master Electrician

Heather Pynne

Audio Engineer

Nicholas Rahn

Production Stage Manager

Maggie Davis*

Assistant Stage Manager

Chandalae Nyswonger*

*Appearing through an Agreement between Theatre Horizon and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

A Celebration of Gathering

Theatre Horizon

December 10-12, 2021

A curated evening of music, poetry, and much-needed laughter hosted by Philadelphia Theater icons, Brett Robinson and Alex Bechtel. Join Theatre Horizon for our first in-person production after nearly 18 months of virtual programming as beloved actors, musicians, and community members celebrate the holiday season with this original variety show.

Director

Nell Bang-Jensen

Hosts

Brett Robinson & Alex Bechtel

Performers

Suli Holum

Andrea Lamy

Jessica Johnson

Steve Pacek

Pax Ressler

Jenn Rose

Marisol Rosa-Shapiro

Bren Thomas

Lighting Designer

Maria Shaplin

Sound Designer

Larry Fowler

Master Electrician

Charlie Santella

Stage Manager

Nick Hatcher

University of the Arts

Music & Lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa

Book by Michael John LaChiusa & Georce G. Wolfe

Directed by Nell Bang-Jensen

Associate Director/Choreographer Mel Cotton

Music Director Dan Espie

Set Designer Chris Haig

Lighting Designer Mike Inwood

Sound Designer Larry Fowler

Costume Designer LeVonne Lindsay

Fight Choreographer J Alex Cordaro

Intimacy Choreographer Eli Lynn

Photos by Paola Nogueras

The Peddie School, May 2019

By Qui Nguyen

Director: Nell Bang-Jensen

Scenic Design: Matthew S. Crane

Lighting Design: Marilyn Anker

Costume Design: Lizzy Pecora

Fight Choreography: Christopher Guild

Choreographer: Julia Patella

Technical Director: John Lucs

Photos by Andrew Marvin

“The most satisfying standing ovation I’ve ever experienced.” -Alaina Mabaso, Broad Street Review

June 2018

Directed and Created by Nell Bang-Jensen

Produced by Pig Iron Theatre Company

Photos by John Chandler Hawthorne

In search of care for her husband Bill, Evelyn finds herself on an unexpected journey––to an island where no one ever gets sick, a Peruvian bakery that boasts the perfect loaf of bread, and back in time to the 1960's where she first met Bill at a Synagogue dance. Led by Pig Iron Associate Artistic Director Nell Bang-Jensen, The Caregivers is a new play created by home health aides, hospice workers, and family caregivers that explores the spaces where love meets obligation.

Press:

Generocity

Broad Street Review 1

Broad Street Review 2

FringeArts

Originally scheduled to premiere at Philadelphia Theatre Company in March 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, THE WOLVES was staged virtually the following fall.

by Sarah DeLappe

Directed by Nell Bang-Jensen

Costume Design by Maiko Matsushima

Sound Design & Original Music by Jane Shaw

Director of Photography Chris Swetcky

Designers who worked on the canceled stage production are:

Scenic Design by Carolyn Mraz

Lighting Design by Mike Inwood

“Director Nell Bang-Jensen has cleverly employed this technology in a way that feels completely fresh.” -David Fox, Philadelphia Stories

“And the good news…is that pandemic productions as fine as these will keep shattering audiences until they can reassemble to confront live theater again.” – Jesse Green, New York Times

“‘The Wolves’ is saving pandemic theater….powerfully expressive” -Jesse Green, New York Times

“There are certainly standout individual performances, but the real marvel is how copacetic the ensemble feels….Pound for pound, line for line, it is one of the most authentic expressions of adolescence I’ve ever encountered onstage..” -Cameron Kelsall, Broad Street Review

“Bang-Jensen and her high-energy ensemble excel at sketching character.” -Julia M. Klein, Philadelphia Inquirer

Interview with Christopher Munden for Phindie

Practice Wedding was an immersive theater piece made in response to the iconic American wedding. Presented as part of the Painted Bride Art Center's Secret Show Series, and funded by the Knight Foundation.

Co-Director/Conceivers: Nell Bang-Jensen and Tommy Butler

Performer/Creators: Eva Steinmetz, Brett Robinson, Aram Alan Aghazarian, Justin Rose, Emily R. Johnson, Emily Schuman,

Lighting: Will Jonez 

Photos by Steve Sachs

Press:

Painted Bride

February 2019

Directed and Created by Nell Bang-Jensen with ensemble

Lights: Jeff Bartlett

Scenic Design: Christine Esterl

Costumes: Mary Ann Kelling

Produced by Pig Iron in residence at Carleton College

Photos courtesy of Carleton College

A father waits by the television for news of his son in Vietnam. A 16th century King asks a clockmaker to create a robot that will automate his prayers. Parents in a hospital try to decipher the sound of their child's heartbeat from the sound of the machine mechanizing its rhythm.

Three melodramas ask how technological inventions have shaped, and will continue to shape, human relationships, and what is left when all the lights go out.

A Commonspace: Live event produced as part of the First Person Arts Festival at Christ Church Neighborhood House.

From easy choices to impossible ones, women and girls share moments on their journeys from being daughters to becoming mothers - or not - and everything in between.

Featuring a diverse chorus of participants in a unique orchestration of true story and original music.

Directed by: Suli Holum

Associate Director: Nell Bang-Jensen

Composer: Mike Kiley

Photos by Johanna Austin

A farcical murder mystery with a gauzy, indie-pop score. Presented as part of César Alvarez's Polyphone Festival for emerging musicals. 

Music and Lyrics by Greta Gertler Gold
Book and Lyrics by Akin Salawu
Director: Nell Bang-Jensen
Music Director: Amanda Morton
Choreographer: Amy Smith

Photos by Paola Nogueras

A young girl attempts suicide and wakes up trapped in a cosmic vaudevillian game show that she must win in order to enter the void of death. But the more Alameda wants to die, the harder she has to work—winning means she must confront avatars of scientific truth, ostentatious musical numbers, elaborate dance sequences, and acquaint herself with the enigmatic laws of the universe. From the creator of Futurity, comes a new not-your-traditional musical of up-tempo genre-bending songs and a healthy dose of the absurd in the search of why to exist when you no longer want to.

ELEMENTARY SPACETIME SHOW premiered in the 2016 FringeArts Festival in Philadelphia and was remounted in New York in May 2018 as a collaboration between NYU and Playwrights Horizons.

Nell Bang-Jensen served as Dramaturg on the world premiere, and Associate Director on the remount in NYC.

Music & Words: César Alvarez

Director: Andrew Neisler

Choreographers: Sonya Tayeh & Ben Hobbs

Costumes: Tilly Grimes

Lighting Design: Masha Tsimring

Photos by Paola Nogueras

(Original production credits)

Press:

Broad Street Review

FringeArts

Philadelphia Inquirer

Phindie

A one-woman show that put audience members in the backseat of a car, took them on a road trip around Philadelphia, and asked how worst case scenarios inform how we navigate the world.  

ROAD MAY FLOOD had a sold-out run at Philadelphia's SoLow Fest in June 2015. It was named a Top Pick of the festival by Phindie and City Paper, and was featured on the cover of the printed edition. 

Created by Nell Bang-Jensen and Maura Krause

Photos by Tayarisha Poe 

Press:

Phindie

City Paper

An initiative Nell designed for Theatre Horizon during the Covid-19 pandemic and written about in the New York Times. Professional award-winning theatre artists are paired with local area households to create an evening of original theater. Each performance will expand on the concept of family in the era of quarantine and explore the sensational moments that can be found within the familiar every day.

Monthly live-streamed performances that aired between December 2020 and June 2021.

For more information visit Theatre Horizon’s website.

“We realized that’s really how people fall in love with the arts, by participating in them,” Nell Bang-Jensen, Theater Horizon’s artistic director, said. —Alexis Soloski, New York Times

As covered by:

The New York Times

American Theatre Magazine

WHYY

ABC 6

NBC 10