Bio       About       Consulting       Coaching       Teaching      CV/Resume     Contact      Support




 
Photos by Ji Hoon Kim, courtesy of CultureHub and Yiru Chen

From December 2025–May 2026 Meranda Flachs-Surmanek and Rita Liu were the inaugural Wellness Together Arts Fellows, in partnership with The Performance Project at University Settlement, Culturehub, and La MaMa Experimental Theatre.



Our team facilitated Breaking the Walls, a six-month workshop series to create new, experimental performance in a supportive environment. Breaking the Walls was open to an intergenerational group of artists and case managers through Wellness Together, an initiative that aims to improve quality of life for a network of older adults who are homebound for health reasons or because they are caregivers. Breaking the Walls focused on relationship-building and collaborative performance creation, culminating in At this table…, a hybrid devised performance. 


Structured as a “three-course meal” of performances, conversation, and interactive digital engagement, the work explored themes of community, wellness, aging, pleasure, and belonging.


At this table… reached more than 270 global audience members through two work-in-progress performances at La MaMa and online on the Broadcaster. The experience piloted innovative hybrid engagement tools designed by Creative Technologist Jay Reinier, and demonstrated the potential of hybrid performance to foster connection.


Learn more here.


“I was deeply moved by the clear desires to connect with each other in-person and virtually. I think everything blended in a way that made this future feel more inspiring/human and less dystopian.” - Audience Member

CREDITS
Presented by La MaMa, CultureHub, and Performance Project at University Settlement in collaboration with Wellness Together Home-Based Care

Created and performed by Breaking the Walls Ensemble: Alicia Justiniano, Areerata (Aree) Sudhasirikul, Edeliz Pagan, Ed Woodham, Elisa de la Roche, Elizabeth (Liz) Haak, Francis Del Duca, Kendra Meisler, Linda (Lynn) Berg, Maryann DeLeo, Nandan Baruah, Reverend Rhythm aka Chas Fristachi, Tina Hansen, Valerie Kerr

Directed by Rita Liu and C Meranda Flachs-Surmanek
Creative Coding by Jay Reiner
Long Table format by Lois Weaver
Wellness Together Team: Penelope Hernandez Gonzalez (Director), Zhuohao Charles Wu (Program Coordinator), Jia Xin Huang, Jeannie Chan, Huiying Yang, Massiel Franco
Creative Producing by Mattie BB, Billy Clark, Baba Israel
Technical Direction by DeAndra Anthony
Emerging Media Direction by Sangmin Chae

CULTUREHUB BROADCASTER TEAM
Lead Developer/Concept: Aidan Nelson
Producer/Senior Advisor/Concept: Shawn Van Every
Concept/Creative Producer: DeAndra Anthony, Sangmin Chae, Billy Clark
UI/UX Designer: Deron Gopie
Project Manager: DeAndra Anthony