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Dan was a founding member of the Mystic Paper Beasts Theatre Company in 1976. Originally called "Pandora's Box", the theatre traveled as a family show in the United States and in Europe for the first few years. It has since gone through various transformations, from solo to small company to large company. Dan has been the one constant in the company. The performances are in mask, of which there are approximately 350. They are the signature of the troupe. These have been mostly designed or codesigned, and then sculpted by Dan, who created a dry cardboard method of mask building. He often teaches this technique to students of all ages at workshops around the country. A primary actor in the company, Dan performs with humor and grace, and with his inimitable style, in Beastly shows.
Daniel began creating sculpture and puppets at the age of eight, and continued with these and with theatre while at the Putney School, Harvard College, L'Ecole des Beaux Arts, and the Harvard Graduate School of Design (M. Architecture). He is additionally a self taught potter, a painter (studying at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts and at the Lyme Art Association for years), and a metal sculptor - plasma cut, lost wax, assemblage welded metal - and shows regularly in Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts. Together with Marya, he created the rehearsal space for the Mystic Paper Beasts: the Dragon's Egg. This hexagonal structure reflects the light ways and creative mind of Dan as an architect. He spends the winters in exotic places, painting and drawing, absorbing the cultures and rhythms of a place, preparing thus for gallery shows at home, and abroad. He has two artist daughters, Chloe (photographer) and Giselle (children's book illustrator), two sons in law, George and Kier, and two enchanting granddaughters, Pia Alice and Isabel Rose Kinsella.
click here to see Dan's sculpture
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Marya joined the Mystic Paper Beasts in 1989, and is the troupe's current Artistic Director. She writes and directs the plays performed by the Beasts, dances with delicate clarity as a Beast, and designs and paints some of the masks sculpted by Dan for the Beasts. Together with Dan, she created the rehearsal space for the Mystic Paper Beasts: the Dragon's Egg. Marya acts as Producing Director for the Company, and is the Managing Director for the Dragon's Egg.
Marya began dancing at the age of 3. She continued dancing while pre-med and political at Swarthmore College (BA, art history), and while in grad school at Columbia University (psychoneuroendocrinology). Following the stronger lure of the dancing arts, she enrolled in the Graham School in NYC, and then on to Paris to study at L'Ecole de Mime Marcel Marceau. Upon returning to the United States she trained under Merce Cunningham in NYC, in whose studio she taught for eight years. Marya remained in New York into her thirties, performing as a dancer, actress, and mime.
The 1980s brought Marya to Southeastern Connecticut, where she supported herself by running a dance studio in New London, and by teaching yoga and dance at a host of venues,and continues to teach regularly at the O'Neill National Theater Institute; Connecticut College Dance Department, the CC Children's School, CC Continuing Education; and at the Dragon's Egg.
Marya's first and primary yoga experience was at Integral Yoga with Swami Satchidananda. She continued her yoga studies with Sylvia Olkin (Yoga for Pregnancy), Yoga Zone, Jivamukti, Kripalu, Brown Univ., Innerlight, Integrative Yoga Therapy, Sacred Movement, and has taken various classes throughout India, Nepal, Mexico, and the U.S. Her primary meditation studies have been breath centered, in yoga, and Vipassana meditation.
Marya holds a BA in art history (Swarthmore College), has done graduate work in psychoneuroendocrinology (Columbia U.), and in teaching elementary mathematics (Wheaton), is licensed in Massage Therapy (CCMT; Ct. State license); has a 2nd degree in Reiki; and continues to study and practice other alternative modes of healing (e.g.. colour therapy, toning, thai massage, chakra therapy, totem animal balancing, polarity, jin shin do, feldenkrais, body-mind centering), which has led to a bevy of minor certifications.
Marya is mother to the amazing Ana Elliott Ursin-Nichols, who currently works in LA in the movie industry.
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Dan and Marya are married to one another, and are ever amazed by their daughters: Ana Ursin-Nichols, Chloe Potter, and Giselle Potter.
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