“Anne Gridley [is] a worthy successor to Judy Holliday, daffy and sexy because of her intelligence.”
-Hilton Als, The New Yorker
STAGE PERFORMANCE
The Barbarians
Performance as Madam President/Fake President in a playful, word-drunk journey exploring language, power, and the gaps between them. Paul Lazar, director
February/March 2025, La Mama, NY, NY
Aging Prelude
Aging Prelude draws upon a physical vocabulary taken from iconic nudes featured in art history’s paintings, photographs, and sculptures; seeking to bring to light “the body that bears the marks of time on its very skin.” Rosane Chamecki & Andrea Lerner, directors
October, 2023, The Chocolate Factory, Queens, NY
Antigonick
Performance in Anne Carson’s Antigonick with Big Dance, Annie B. Parson, director
January, 2020, Carolina Performing Arts, Chapel Hill, NC
November 2018, Abrons Art Center, New York, NY
Hamlet
Performance as Hamlet with Caborca, Javier Antonio Gonzalez, director
January 2017, Jersey City Theater Center, Jersey City, NJ
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
Dance performance choreographed by Jerome Bel
October 2016, Joyce Theater, New York, NY
Fall 2012, MoMA, New York, NY
Work with Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Co-Creator and Founding Member
“[T]he most buzzed-about new troupe on the New York avant-garde scene, is certainly not for traditional tastes, its gleefully democratic spirit and old-fashioned showmanship certainly aims to please – and does so quite winningly.” –The New York Times
Burt Turrido
A post-apocalyptic country music opera, featuring ghosts, despotic rulers, and a narwhal.
November 2023, Prague Crossroads Festival, National Theater, Prague
November 2022, Espoo City Theatre, Espoo, Finland
November 2022, Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin, Germany
October 2022, Kampnagel, Hamburg, Germany
October 2022, Bockenheimer Depot, Frankfurt, Germany
June 2022, Acrtic Arts Festival, Harstad, Norway
June 2022, Athens & Epidaurus Festival, Athens, Greece
August 2021, Zürcher Theater Spektakel, Zürich, Switzerland
August 2021, Wiener Festwochen, Vienna, Austria
August 2021, Noorderzon Festival of Performing Arts & Society, Groningen, The Netherlands (premiere)
LIFE & TIMES
A 16 hour epic song cycle created from a single phone conversation with one 34-year-old woman, as she tells her whole life story from birth to the present day.
Life & Times: Episode 1
Tells the story of birth to age 8 with live music.
Performances:
October-November 2012 Mousonturm, Frankfurt, Germany (w/ Episodes 2, 3&4)
September 2012 (Internationale) Keuze, Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Netherlands (w/ Episodes 2, 3&4)
September 2012 BITEF Festival, Belgrade, Serbia
June 2012 World Theatre Festival under Mt., Fuji, SPAC Shizuoka, Japan
May-June 2012 Festival Transamerique, Montreal, Canada
May 2012 Avant Garden, Trondheim, Norway
May 2012 BIT Theatergarasjen, Bergen, Norway
April 2012 Black Box Theater, Oslo, Norway
April 2012 Gessnerallee, Zurich, Switzerland
July 2011 Festival d’Avignon, France (with Episode 2)
June 2011 Straw Theater (NO99), Tallinn, Estonia
May 2011 Singapore Festival, Singapore
March 2011 Hebbel Theater, Berlin, Germany
February 2011 deSingel, Antwerp, Belgium
January 2011 Theater Maria Matos, Lisbon, Portugal
January 2011 Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium
January 2011 Theatre de la Ville, Paris, France
September 2010 (Internationale) Keuze, Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
September 2010 Kaaitheater Brussels, Belgium
August 2010 Kampnagel Summerfestival, Hamburg, Germany
May 2010 Theatertreffen/Berliner Festspiele, Sophiensale, Berlin, Germany
April/May 2010 Burgtheater Kasino, Vienna, Austria
September/October 2009 at Burgtheater Kasino, Vienna, Austria (premiere)
July 2009 Austrian Cultural Institut, New York, NY (work-in-progress)
Life & Times: Episode 2
Tales of middle school
Performances:
November 2012 Mousonturm, Frankfurt, Germany (w/ Episodes 1, 3&4)
September 2012 (Internationale) Keuze, Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Netherlands (w/ Episodes 1, 3&4)
August 2012 Rhur Triennale, Essen, Germany
May 2012 Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium
May 2012 Theatre de la Ville, Paris, France
March 2012 Hebbel Theater, Berlin, Germany
March 2012 deSingel, Antwerp, Belgium
March 2012 Kaaitheater Brussels, Belgium
February 2012, Theater Maria Matos, Lisbon, Portugal
July 2011 Festival d’Avignon, France (with Epsiode 1)
June 2011 Kampnagel Hamburg, Germany
November 2010 Burgtheater Kasino, Vienna, Austria (premiere)
Life & Times: Episodes 3 and 4
High school imagined as an Agatha Christie mystery
Performances:
November 2012 Mousonturm, Frankfurt, Germany (w/ Episodes 1&2)
October 2012 deSingel, Antwerp, Belgium
September 2012 Kaaitheater Brussels, Belgium
September 2012 (Internationale) Keuze, Rotterdamse Schouwburg, The Netherlands (w/ Episodes 1&2)
August 2012 Kampnagel Summerfestival, Hamburg, Germany
January 2012 Burgtheater Kasino, Vienna, Austria (premiere)
ROMEO & JULIET
Two performers struggle to remember and perform the key plot twists of one of Shakespeare’s most often produced plays.
Performances:
September 2010 Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, T.B.A. Festival, Portland, Oregon
September 2010, Philadelphia Live Arts Festival, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
April 2010 Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio
March 2010 Black Box Theater, Oslo, Norway
March 2010 Al Bustan Festival, Beirut, Lebanon
December/January 2009 The Kitchen, New York, NY
November 2009 Avant Garden, Trondheim, Norway
November 2009 BIT Theatergarasjen, Bergen, Norway
October 2009 Vooruit!, Ghent, Belgium
October 2009 Bimeras iDANS Festival, Istanbul, Turkey
June 2009 Maria Matos Theater, Lisbon, Portugal
January/February 2009 MC93 Theater, Bobigny (Paris), France
November 2008 NEXT Festival, Buda Kunstencentrum, Kortrijk, Belgium
October/November 2008 Kaaitheater, Brussels, Belgium
September 2008 de (Internationale) Keuze, Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
August 2008 Noorderzon Festival, Groningen, The Netherlands
August 2008 Salzburg Festspiele Young Directors Project, Salzburg, Austria
August 2008 International Summer Festival, Kampnagel, Hamburg, Germany (premiere)
July 2007 Downtown Art, New York, NY (work-in-progress)
NO DICE
“The riveting Anne Gridley gives a standout performance, snarling and twitching through her lines like a French fashionista in the throes of a perpetual sneeze.” – Hilton Als, The New Yorker
An epic of the everyday blown to transcendental proportions, No Dice takes over one hundred hours of the company’s recorded telephone conversations and filters them through the conventions of amateur dinner theater to arrive at a uniquely mind-altering experience.
Performances:
December 2010, Teatre Genevilliers Paris, France
November 2009 Hebbel Theater, Berlin, Germany
November 2009 Mousonturm, Frankfurt, Germany
October 2009 Perfect Performance Festival, Stockholm, Sweden
April 2009, Fuse Box, Austin, Texas
March 2009, On The Boards, Seattle, Washington
January 2009, Sydney Festival, Sydney, Australia
October 2008, Theaterhaus Gessnerallee, Zurich, Switzerland
September 2008, Brut Wien, Vienna, Austria
June 2008, Belluard Festival, Fribourg, Switzerland (French version)
June 2008, Eurokaz Festival, Zagreb, Croatia
June 2008, Alkantara Festival, Lisbon, Portugal
April 2008, XING Festival, Bologna, Italy
April 2008, Kaaitheater, Brussels, Belgium
April 2008, Black Box Theater, Oslo, Norway
April 2008, Teatergarasjen, Bergen, Norway
March 2008, Avant Garden, Trondheim, Norway
March 2008, Lokal Festival, Reykjavik Iceland
February 2008, Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio
December 2007, Soho Rep, New York, NY (extended run)
November 2007, Spielart, Munich, Germany
November 2007, BudaFest, Buda Kunstencentrum, Kortrijk, Belgium
October 2007, Kampnagel, Hamburg, Germany
September 2007, Steirischer Herbst Festival, Graz, Austria
September 2007, de (Internationale) Keuze, Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
September 2007, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, T.B.A. Festival, Portland, Oregon
September 2007, Philadelphia Live Arts Festival, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 2007, Under The Radar Festival, New York, NY (premiere)
July and November 2006, Downtown Art, New York, NY (work-in-progress)
POETICS: A BALLET BRUT
Four performers with extraordinary presence transform ordinary movements we take for granted into an energized and energizing dance.
Performances:
January 2010, Push Festival, Vancouver, Canada
November 2009, Hebbel Theater, Berlin, Germany
March 2009, ICA, Boston, Massachusetts
November 2008, La Rose des Vents, Lille, France
November 2008, Vooruit! in Ghent, Belgium
October 2008, Steirischer Herbst Festival, Graz, Austria
February 2008, Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio
January 2008, Under The Radar Festival, Public Theater, New York, New York
October 2007, Kampnagel in Hamburg, Germany
August 2006, Noorderzon Festival, Groningen, The Netherlands
September 2006, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, T.B.A .Festival, Portland, Oregon
October 2005, Theater at the Riverside Church, New York, NY (premiere)
September 2005, Prelude ’05 Festival at CUNY Graduate Center, New York, NY (work-in-progress)
VIDEO PERFORMANCE
IN THE MONEY
A video companion to No Dice in which we see the performers get paid for the July 2006 work-in-progress show.
installation:
April 2008, XING Festival, Bologna, Italy
ANIMATION
A series of stop frame animation shorts made with the company on tour in hotel rooms and various other theater and home spaces.
installation:
November 2012, Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin, Germany
September 2011, de (Internationale) Keuze, Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
DRAMATURGY
Who’s Your DADA?
Dramaturgical work and collaboration with The Wooster Group for DADA installation at MoMA.
Fall 2006, MoMA, New York, NY
AWARDS
Ambassador’s Award for Cultural Diplomacy, (US Embassy Vienna 2012)
Theatertreffen 2010 Official Selection for Life and Times – Episode 1
Salzburg Festival Montblanc Young Directors Prize 2008 for Romeo and Juliet
OBIE Award Special Citation 2008 for No Dice
OBIE Award Special Citation 2012 for Life & Times
TEACHING
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Hiatt Visiting Professor of Comedy, “Comedy of the Everyday”, Spring 2025
Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Visiting Artist in Theater and Performance, “Devised Theater”, Spring 2014
NYU Tisch School of the Arts – Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP), New York, New York
Guest Lecturer, “Thinking Physically”, Spring 2009
VISUAL ART
Solo shows of drawings made using blind contour.
Summer 2014, Mass Live Arts, Great Barrington, MA
Summer 2013, Hebbel Theater, Berlin, Germany
ADDITIONAL BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS, EDUCATION
Born April 4, 1980, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S.A.
2002, B.A. Bard College, Theater & Literature (Carter Towbin Prize, Robert Rockman Award)
2006, M.F.A. Columbia University, Dramaturgy (Departmental Research Assistant)
SELECTED PRESS (in United States only)
Theater, May 2010, Volume 40, Number 2. “Uncreative Writing: Nature Theater of Oklahoma’s Romeo and Juliet” by Karinne Keithley
The New Yorker, January 11, 2010, “Sideshow: Deconstructing Romeo and Juliet” by Hilton Als
The Village VOICE, January 5,2010, “The City’s Best (And Not So Best) Progressive Theater” by Tom Sellar
National Public Radio: “All Things Considered”, December 29, 2009, “Romeo and Juliet: Just as You Misremembered It” host: Robert Smith
The New York Times, Saturday, December 21, 2009, “Just the Gist of a Star-Cross’d Tale” by Christopher Isherwood
Vogue, Monday April 6, 2009, “Theater: Inaction Heroes” by Adam Green
TheatreForum, Issue 34 “Dancing to the Cosmic Murmur: John Cage, Richard Foreman, and Nature Theater of Oklahoma’s No Dice” by Jacob Gallagher-Ross, pages 92-98
The New Yorker, January 28, 2008, “Critic’s Notebook: Natural Selection” by Hilton Als
The New York Times, Thursday, January 17, 2008, “Under The Radar — Poetics: a ballet brut” by Jason Zinoman
The New York Sun, Monday, January 14, 2008, “Motion Sensors — Poetics: a ballet brut” by Eric Grode
The New York Times, Thursday, January 3, 2008, “Theater Team Makes an Ally of Random Circumstance” by Campbell Robertson
Time Out NY, December 27, 2007 – January 2, 2008, Nature Theater of Oklahoma’s No Dice is voted “Best of 2007” by critic Helen Shaw
The Village VOICE, December 19-25, 2007, “Bred In The Phone: An alluring play built from the poetry of the everyday” by Alexis Soloski
The New York Times, Wednesday, December 12, 2007, “Dinner Theater Served with Odd Conversations” by Claudia La Rocco
The Village VOICE, October 17-23, 2007, “Best of New York 2007” – Nature Theater of Oklahoma voted “Best Breakout Theater Company”
The Village VOICE, January 16, 2007, “The Call of Nature: New York-based Nature Theater of Oklahoma shine in Under the Radar Festival” by Brian Parks