Photos: Julio Torres and Martine Gutierrez's MARINA Makes World Premiere at Little Island

Julio Torres and Martine Gutierrez presented the world premiere of their newly commissioned performance piece Marina last weekend at Little Island's Amphitheater. Check out photos from the production below. The performances took place August 27-30 as part of the Whitney Biennial 2026. 

Written and directed by Emmy Award-nominated Torres, Marina stars Gutierrez as the title character, a New York City “seawench” who embarks on an underwater journey of romance and self-discovery.

The story begins when a construction worker on a dock ends an argument over the phone by throwing the device into the water. It sinks to the ocean floor, where Marina awakens among her sea creature friends and discovers the phone. As she begins scrolling, Marina connects with someone online and becomes increasingly entangled with the world above the surface.

Torres and Gutierrez's collaboration combines surreal comedy, performance and visual art, with scenic design by Griffin Stoddard, a score by Lia Ouyang Rusli and choreography by Ryan McNamara.

Gutierrez was joined in the cast by Spike Einbinder, Brandon Flynn, Scully James and River L. Ramirez, with dancers Evan Fisk, Tim Bendernagel and Brandon Washington.

Creative Team

The creative team for Marina included Griffin Stoddard as production designer, Erik Bergrin as Costume Designer, Yuki Nakase Link as lighting designer, Christopher Darbassie as sound designer, André Azevedo Sweet as video designer, Camille Labarre as puppets and props designer and Nina Carelli as makeup designer.

Marina played four days of performances at The Amph at Little Island, August 27-30.

Photo Credit: Nina Westervelt