Target Margin Theater Reveals 2026-2027 TMT Institute Fellows

Target Margin Theater has revealed the 2026-2027 artists of the TMT Institute, a year-long fellowship that provides five artists with space, material resources, and a $2,000 stipend to challenge their art-making practice. The 2026-2027 fellows are Neena Beber, Sarah Esser, Rob Neill, Nadine Nelson, and Maamoun Tobbo. While each Fellow's journey is individual, the goal of the TMT Institute is to encourage all of these artists to radically disrupt and re-examine their existing practice.

The TMT Institute is a place where artists challenge and question themselves, try new directions in any way at all, without any other goal or expectation of result or success. The Institute intentionally rejects product-oriented work; Fellows pursue no project, no developmental stage, no result of any kind. The goal is to create a place where artists set aside their assumptions and disrupt their established practice. The 2026-2027 TMT Institute fellows will share elements of their year-long inquiries as part of TMT Institute Open Studios in June 2027.

About the 2026 – 2027 Fellows

Neena Beber

(she/her) is a dramatist whose current work includes A MOTHER (Baryshnikov Arts); IPHIGENIA (librettist); SOMEDAY SOON (book writer), FRIDA (lyrics and co-book). Recipient of Obie and Lilly Awards, Emmy nominations. Alum of New Dramatists, Harvard (BA), NYU Tisch (MFA). Neena teaches in the Columbia MFA program and mentors for The Campfire Project.

Sarah Esser

(she/her) is a Japanese-American choreographer, director, & dancer. She has danced for J Balvin, Megan Thee Stallion, & Kim Petras & has been featured in campaigns for Nike and Twitter. She has choreographed for Kim Petras & Sudan Archives & has shared work at Dance Lab, CreateART, & Brown University. Sarah is repped by MSA, managed by Movers Management, and is a Resident Artist of Project YZ.

Rob Neill

(he/him) is a NYC-based theater maker, director, performer, producer, and educator. A founding member and former Artistic Director of the NY Neo-Futurists, he creates adventurous, collaborative performance. His work has appeared at The Public, HERE, the Whitney Biennial, and the Edinburgh Fringe. Other credits include Broadway's LONDON ASSURANCE and the national tour of PETER AND THE STARCATCHER.

Nadine Nelson

(she/her) is a multidisciplinary social practice artist, educator, and cultural producer. Her work spans food, participatory performance, installations, digital art, and public interventions. A Project Row Houses fellow and alum of The Laundromat Project and Flux Factory, she is known for Public Kitchen, Harvest Mandalas, and Stir the Pot. She is the founder of Global Local Gourmet.

Maamoun Tobbo

(he/they) is a Lebanese theatre artist, designer, and cultural strategist. As founder and research lead of Vessel Praxis, he develops Architecture of Becoming, exploring how human intelligence is shaped by space, performance, ritual, and collective memory. His work has been seen at The Met, Rattlestick, HERE, Mark Morris Dance Center, New York Live Arts, and Baruch Performing Arts Center.