About Soft Brain Theatre Company
A physical comedy, Commedia dell'Arte, musical theatre company based in New York City
Who We Are
Soft Brain Theatre Company is a collective of theatre artists based in NYC focused on process-driven physical comedy, using Commedia dell'Arte and musical theatre as its foundations. Our work has been seen across New York City: Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and so far "off Broadway" that you wouldn't even know where to look!
Joy, curiosity, and play sit at the center of what we do. There is much to be discovered in the world around us, and the expert foolishness exhibited by the innocent and playful clown can be a healing and entertaining lens through which change is made.
What is a “Soft Brain?"
This phrase describes a special mindset that is vital to our work. The mindset required to play desires the absence of hard thoughts. To invite your brain to soften is to embrace simplicity; to impulsively engage with everything around you with a green and relentless curiosity.
Only a softened brain can provide you with the emotional abandon to PLAY at your deepest capacity –– without a microbe of shame.
Where We Came From
Founders Nicole Tsarouhas and RJ Tabachnick and many members of the original company are alumni of NYU-Tisch Drama's New Studio on Broadway and alumni of the physical acting intensive program directed by Orlando Pabotoy. Much of the work at Soft Brain Theatre Company is inspired by the acting techniques learned under Pabotoy, who is a colleague and collaborator of Christopher Bayes, founder of
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This company creates work in a vein of inspiration from Bayes and Pabotoy, and reaches towards inviting the ever-honest and elusive clown into the artistic space.
Why We Do All of This!
We envision a world where New Yorkers are softened to abandon shame in pursuit of playfulness. A world where people connect with each other and find themselves and freedom through laughter and joyous storytelling. Admist all the heaviness in the world, we lean into spreading joy with our work.
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Our mission is to use Commedia dell’Arte’s tenants of physical expression combined with the high-stake emotional draw of musical theatre to make art that resonates and cracks open wonder and absurdism in an exciting and energetic way.
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