Hotel Obligado :: Company

Get to Know Us

Visiting Company Members:

Hotel Obligado has thrived on the creative efforts of additional founders and developers, Tim Cunningham, Matt Graham Smith, Amanda Haney, Sylvia Pabon, Gwen Rooker, Jamie Lachman, Liz Turkel, Grey Valenti, Matt Chapman. Thank you!

Visit the dancing heads
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Photo Album

Let me hear the theme music!

Savory	Sweet
Large	Large
Small	Small

Lyrics & Melody:
Joshua Lamon
Arrangement & Instruments:
Andrew Nelson

Current Company

	Robin Marcotte (Co-Artistic Director, Co-Founder) is a Philadelphia-based physical theatre artist. He recently created and performed the second show of Hotel Obligado's Single Room Project, "Dottie." Past productions with the company include CATULLI CARMINA at Plymouth State University, which featured his direction and choreography, three original works; two settings of , as seen at the 2002 and 2003 Philadelphia Fringe Festivals, and a production of "La Grand Flaca," performed in 2002 for the Healing Arts Coalition. In addition, he is a collaborating artist with the Mum Puppettheatre, having performed in that company's productions of EQUUS, FROM THE ASHES, SWAN LAKE, SÉANC E, and A CHRISTMAS CARO L. Robin has toured internationally, with the Enchantment Theatre's Taiwan Tour of Sorcerer's Apprentice, as Athena in From the Ashes with the Mum Puppettheatre at the 2003 International Contemporary Dance Festival in Bytom, Poland and with the Gilbert and Sullivan Players production of UTOPIA LT D. He has received a Barrymore Award and a Rocky Award for Dance Performance and Choreography for his work with the Mum Puppettheatre. Robin is also an aerialist and studied with Louise Gillette of Trapezius Aerial Dance. Robin is a graduate of Plymouth State University and the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre.
	Philadelphia City Paper calls Dawn Falato (Co-Artistic Director, Co-Founder) "an artist of astounding imagination and versatility." We at Hotel Obligado usually just call her, "Zor." In the last five years, Falato has worked collaboratively to create over 20 new works of theatre locally and nationally. This theatrical poly-fidelity has brought the actress a wide range of experiences; from spending several nights in a Redwood tree in order to play the part of a forest activist in the Dell'Arte Company's SHADOW OF GIANTS to climbing over audiences donned in the garb of Britney Spears as she opened each performance of 1812 Productions' MADAM RANEVSKAYA. Falato has also brought her unique brand of zeal for shorter spells to Canada, South America and Asia. SAINT ANTHONY'S BODY is Falato's first full-length solo work and had its premier at the 2004 Philadelphia Live Arts Festival followed by a visit to the first annual Berkshire Fringe Festival. In 2003, Dawn won a Barrymore Award for Excellence in Theatre (Philly's version of the Tony's) with her pal, Aaron Cromie, for their work in the ensemble of 1812 Productions' BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL. As an educator, Dawn has designed arts curricula for award-winning theatre education programs throughout the Philadelphia area. She is a proud graduate of Barnard College and the Dell'Arte School of Physical Theatre.
	Aaron Cromie (Founding member) is a Philadelphia based actor, teacher, designer, director and musician who has performed in Philadelphia with Mum Puppettheatre, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Walnut Street Theatre, InterAct Theatre Company, Opera Company of Philadelphia, 1812 Productions, Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Arden Theatre Company, Lantern Theater, and regionally at Mill Mountain Theatre (VA), Blue Ridge Theatre Festival (VA) and toured nationally, covering multiple roles in BUDDY: The Buddy Holly Story. As designer, he has made masks, puppets and/or designed sound for Azuka Theatre Collective, Arden Theatre Company, The Folger Shakespeare Theatre (DC), Mum Puppettheatre, the Wilma Theater, Pennsylvania Renaissance Festival, International Opera Theatre, as well as masks for the University of California Santa Cruz's theatre training program. Aaron has directed for the Walnut Street Theatre Outreach Program, the Interlocken Center for Experiential Education, and The University of the Arts (The Gardener's Dog) and choreographed the Arden Theatre's SIDEWAYS STORIES FROM WAYSIDE SCHOOL. He is a five-time Barrymore nominee in the categories of Original Music, Sound Design, Lead Actor as well as member of four Outstanding Ensembles and received the Barrymore Award for Choreography/Movement for Lantern Theater Company's commedia dell'arte inspired, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS. He received the Dorothy Haas Acting Fellowship to the Walnut Street Theatre and recently received a Jim Henson Foundation seed grant for the development of THE FOOCY, an original mask and puppet tale by Tony Lawton, and a Philadelphia Theatre Initiative solo artist grant for the development of his first play, PUNCH'S PROGRESS: A Pulcinella Story (workshop production June 2005). He currently teaches for the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and has taught workshops and programs at the NJ Governor's School of the Arts, Enchantment Theatre Company, Swarthmore College, Rider University, Sarah Lawrence College, Ramapo College, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Pig Iron Theatre Company and the U/Arts pre-college seminar. He is a graduate of the College of New Jersey, The Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre and has studied with Bill Irwin. He recently traveled to Reggio Emilia, Italy to study with Antonio Fava at the International School for Commedia Dell'Arte for performance and leather mask making in the Italian Style.
Pic coming soon	Converted into a HO-lover at Gung h.O. in February 2005, Helen Faller (Development Director) became Hotel Obligado's Development Associate in April 2005. Helen has her filthy little fingers in a lot of tasty pies. She raises funds and develops projects in conjunction with Hotel Obligado's Artistic Directors. She also contracts out her grant-writing services to other organizations. Simultaneously, she is developing her own independent pet project *Central Asian University Residencies: Kyrgyz Cultural Performances*, which will bring an epic singer and a musician from the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan to five US universities in early 2006. God willing. In addition, Helen keeps her digits dirty working on a number of international exchange projects in the arts and writing a book on Russian Muslims. Her love of small theater companies burst into existence in the 1980s when she was Big Mess Theater's Properties Mistress. Her love of Central Asia was born more recently while doing a doctoral degree in Anthropology at the University of Michigan.