Erin Kouwe's GRAPPLING to Premiere at New Hazlett Theater This April

Erin Elise Kouwe’s theatrical dance work GRAPPLING will premiere at New Hazlett Theater as part of the venue’s Community Supported Art (CSA) Season 13.

The performance blends choreography, personal narrative, and visual design in a science-fiction setting. The story follows a researcher who uploads her family history into human test subjects in an effort to create more productive versions of herself. As astronauts travel through an interstellar landscape, memories and movement intersect in a production featuring projections, pop music, and an 11-foot silver staircase incorporated into the choreography.

Kouwe will perform in the production as The Researcher alongside cast members Lindsay Fisher, Kaylin Horgan, and Sarah Zielinski as The Astronauts, Ken Sprowls as The Research Assistant, and Andrea Oakes as understudy.

The production will be directed by Treasure Treasure. The creative team also includes choreographic associate Teena Marie Custer, scenic designer Natalie Rose Marby, media designer Scott Andrew, dramaturg Kristi Good, and lighting designer Andrew Ostrowski.

The work expands on a shorter workshop version first presented in 2022 and is the final production of the theater’s 2025–2026 Community Supported Art season, a program that supports emerging artists in developing new performance works.

Kouwe is a dance artist and educator whose choreography has been presented by Nashville Ballet, the School for Contemporary Dance and Thought, and Tennessee Women’s Theater Project, among others. She is an assistant professor of dance at Slippery Rock University and previously performed with New Dialect, Visceral Dance Chicago, and Luna Negra Dance Theater.

Ticket Information

Tickets range from $25 to $35, with the Friday matinee offered as a pay-what-you-can performance. Tickets are available through the New Hazlett Theater website.