Mary Tuomanen

Mary Tuomanen is a physical theatre artist who trained at the Jacques Lecoq International School of Movement Theatre in Paris. She has taught workshops in neutral mask, clown, mime, puppetry and devised narrative-building at many institutions in the United States including University of the Arts, Washington College and Phillips Exeter Academy. While in France, she has performed in Festivale 100% Finlande and at the Les Jeudis series at the Pompidou Center. Named “Best Theatre Talent” by Philadelphia Magazine in 2015, Mary has been a two-time finalist for the Haas Emerging Artist Award and is a founding member of two companies: Applied Mechanics, an immersive theatre group dedicated to the politics of radical generosity, and Orbiter 3, Philadelphia’s first producing playwright’s collective. She received a grant from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage for her collaboration with Aaron Cromie, The Body Lautrec, which won a residency at the 2014 National Puppetry Conference. As an actor, she has performed at the Arden, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, People’s Light and Theatre Company, PlayPenn, Philadelphia International Festival of Art, the Bearded Ladies, and with the cutting-edge ensemble The Riot Group, among others. She was featured in American Theatre Magazine for her role as Napoleon in Applied Mechanics’ VAINGLORIOUS. Her solo work has been performed at the Kimmel Center’s Innovation Studio, FringeArts, the Annenberg Center and Bloomsberg Theatre Ensemble. She originated the role of young Andy Warhol in Opera Philadelphia/Bearded Ladies collaboration Andy: A Popera, which was reprised at the Seattle Symphony in 2017.