kamrDANCE

06/11/2026

The Mercy Velvet Project creative team highlights continue with our fabulous stage manager Lara Marcin Lara Marcin ! Lara joined the team officially in December 2025, but has been a huge supporter since the very beginnings of this work. As a choreographer, producer, and musician herself, Lara knows exactly what goes into large productions such as MVP and has been hugely helpful beyond just her stage manager hat. We are so stoked for her to be calling cues and making magic happen behind the scenes! (Swipe for photos of Lara helping out at our first fundraiser in 2024)!

Lara Marcin, Stage Manager (she/her/they), Bringing her sensibilities to the tech table, Lara Marcin is The Mercy Velvet Project’s stage manager. Stage management, including for Netflix’s and Fever’s Stranger Things Drive Into Experience, is one of many hats Lara has worn for productions. Lara is a LARP choreographer, director, performer, writer, songwriter, and producer who builds character encounters, scenic environments, and performances that invite and respond to audience engagement, making audiences real-time co-creators of the art that they experience. Lara’s command of real-time interaction carries into calling the Mercy Velvet Project’s cues, blending live music, dance, and tech for performances that feel intensely in the moment.
Lara has created with major brands including the NFL, The Chainsmokers, and Yale School of Drama; with immersive companies including Seance Media, Sinking Ship Creations, and Incantrix Productions; with non-profit organizations including STEM From Dance, Eyebeam, and Movement Research; with educational organizations including Larp Adventure Academy and The Game Academy; with design agency Production Club; and with individual artists including Yo-Yo Lin and Luisa Betancur-Ossa.

TICKETS ARE SELLING FAST
Friday, June 26th at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 27th at 3 pm and 8:30 pm
53 Wall Street, New Haven, Yale TDPS Blackbox
Arts & Ideas Yale Schwarzman Center

06/09/2026

Thank you ArtsWest CT!! See you all soon!!

The 1999 album, Live in Vain by Mercy Velvet, exists on zero streaming platforms, and few people have heard it…until now. The Mercy Velvet Project (premiere June 2026) is an embodied re-creation of the album. The work explores what makes us human, our collective need for community to survive—wit...

06/08/2026

Next up on our Mercy Velvet Project creative team highlights: the stellar Hannah Gellman - Hannah joined the project in Fall 2025 and serves as our resident Dramaturg in Chief. Hannah is extra special to work with because she gets super deep in the research weeds and leaves no details untouched. But more than that, she’s a dancer herself! As a student of tap dance and other forms, she brings a deeper level of understanding and appreciation for embodied musical storytelling. We cannot thank Hannah enough for her huge contributions to this work!

Hannah Fennell Gellman, Dramaturg, (she/her) loves q***r stories, dance, poetry, and new theater of all kinds. Locally, she has been proud to collaborate as a dramaturg, producer, and educator at organizations including Yale Repertory Theatre, Yale Playwrights Festival, Elm Shakespeare Company, and Survivors of Society Rising. As a freelance dance dramaturg, she has developed new pieces with Cameron Barnett, Qualia Dance Collective, and BODYSONNET. Hannah is currently the Yale Rep Artistic Fellow and a DFA Candidate in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism. BA in English, Carleton College; MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism, Yale.

The Mercy Velvet Project
Friday, June 26th at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 27th at 3 and 8:30 pm
Yale TDPS Blackbox, 53 Wall Street

Tickets in bio or at www.kamrDANCE.com/upcoming-events

06/04/2026

More Mercy Velvet Project creative team highlights! Up next, the powerhouse performer and vocalist that is Demiah Latreece - Demiah joined the project in fall 2025 and is a gigantic joy to work with in all the ways! Her large vocal range is on full display in this show as well as her ability to be an extremely supportive collaborator. Demiah truly honors the original Mercy Velvet/Deb Lili while adding her own flair. Do NOT miss Demiah performing on June 26th and 27th via 🎶🎶

Demiah Latreece (she/her) is a versatile vocalist, actor, and performer originally from Houston, Texas, now based in New York City. A proud graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), she has honed her craft in both musical theater and classical music. Her vocal range from a G3 to A5 allows her to perform as both a soprano and an alto, showcasing her adaptability across many genres.
Demiah has performed with Broadway Dreams, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing training and performance opportunities for young artists. She has also performed several times at the renowned NYC venue, 54 Below.
In 2025, Demiah joined the national tour of R.E.S.P.E.C.T. – A Celebration of the Music of Aretha Franklin, a tribute concert honoring the Queen of Soul. As a vocalist in the ensemble, she contributed to the show’s exploration of Franklin’s musical legacy and civil rights activism. The tour performed across the United States, including a notable engagement in Brooklyn, New York.

June 26th at 7:30 pm
June 27th at 3 and 8:30 pm
Yale TDPS Blackbox at 53 Wall Street

Photos by

06/02/2026

Another Mercy Velvet Project creative team highlight coming at ya, the mystical Maya Harrison .harrison ! Maya joined the project late summer 2025 and we are so thrilled to be working with her. She may seem quiet on the surface, but her guitar solos are so sharp they will cut you, and she has many artistic trades up her sleeves! We are so grateful for her contributions to this music, and for bringing the guitar parts alive. Don’t miss Maya performing on June 26th and 27th via at the Yale TDPS Blackbox - 3 shows!

Maya Harrison (she/her) is an NYC based singer songwriter and guitar player. Maya received a Jazz Studies degree from New York University in 2024, and has since been performing throughout NYC with many collaborators, including her punk bands Trash Twin, and Rimini. Maya’s music takes influence from jazz, punk, indie, folk, and rock genres and she has performed at renowned venues such as Blue Note Jazz Club and Carnegie Hall in New York, Le Duc des Lombards in Paris, France, and the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas.

The Mercy Velvet Project
Friday, June 26th at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 27th at 3 pm
Saturday, June 27th at 8:30 pm
3 chances + no excuses!
53 Wall Street, New Haven, Yale TDPS Blackbox


Photos by

06/01/2026

https://mailchi.mp/3806b439f10b/wanna-see-your-name-in-print?e=543cabb0f3

The Mercy Velvet Project transforms the 1999 album Live in Vain into an immersive performance experience blending tap dance, contemporary movement, live music, and storytelling. A powerful exploration of vulnerability, connection, and collective humanity through sound and movement.

📍 June 26–27 at TDPS Black Box Theater
🎟 Tickets available now: https://buff.ly/Mgb4Wdn

05/31/2026

Next up on our Mercy Velvet Project creative team highlights: the incomparable Megan Gessner - Megan is one of those artists who can truly do everything with excellence, making her a huge asset to the interdisciplinary nature of this show. She is a brilliantly smart mathematician and unique mover, with a keen sense for fixing choreographic puzzles, and humor. Megan has brought so much joy and organization to the rehearsal process, helping folks with material when they need it, and kicking our butts with some epic warm ups. Do not miss Megan performing in The Mercy Velvet Project on June 26th and 27th at Yale - THREE SHOWS!

Megan Gessner (she/they) was born and raised in San Diego, CA. She trained as a competitive dancer in tap dance, jazz, contemporary, ballet, and hip hop at San Diego Dance Center, Just Plain Dancin’, and Danceology, before joining contemporary-fusion company Unity Dance Ensemble. While completing her degree in computer science at Brown University, she was a member of Fusion Dance Company and a director of Impulse Dance Company, choreographing for and performing in annual shows for both, as well as an alto saxophonist in the Brown Jazz Band and a student of music theory. She has performed at the Joyce Theater in Savion Glover’s “Lady5 at the Baroque Blak Tap Cafe”, on the Henry J Leir Inside/Out Stage at Jacob’s Pillow with the School’s tap dance ensemble, and in the movie The Bride (2025) with choreography by Michelle Dorrance, Or Schraiber, and Bobbi Jene Smith. Presently, she is a collaborator and administrative assistant for Nicholas Young’s new percussive dance and music space, Rhythmic Arts Center, where she just finished curating the very successful and inaugural Tap Dance Marathon. She is indebted to her many incredible teachers and mentors, including Megan McBride Moore, Lynn-Rae Hiers, Tarua Hall, Dana Foglia, Boy Boi, Sydney Skybetter, Derick K. Grant, Dormeshia, Michelle Dorrance, Christina Carminucci, among many others. She is thankful for Alexis and is thrilled to be a part of The Mercy Velvet Project!

Friday, June 26th at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 27th at 3 and 8:30 pm
Yale TDPS Blackbox at 53 Wall Street

05/27/2026

oooooooh!! looks like you should get your tix!!!! https://www.artidea.org/event/2026/5922

The Mercy Velvet Project transforms the 1999 album Live in Vain into an immersive performance experience blending tap dance, contemporary movement, live music, and storytelling. A powerful exploration of vulnerability, connection, and collective humanity through sound and movement.

📍 June 26–27 at TDPS Black Box Theater
🎟 Tickets available now: https://buff.ly/Mgb4Wdn

12/01/2025

https://www.instagram.com/p/DRs-h-QEaKD/

See you this Saturday!