Derek Rienzi Van Tassel

Derek (he/him) has worn numerous hats with Nothing Without a Company over the years, including; stage manger, assistant director, director, audience wrangler--but his favorite Nothing Without a Company experience was playing The Mad Hatter in the 2014 remount of "Alice."  Whether it's acting in a 24 Hour Fest or wheeling a cello in a shopping cart through Lincoln Park, Derek loves working with this crazy group of theatre artists! Outside of Nothing Without a Company, Derek directed both workshops of the new musical "Toulouse" with NY Theatre Barn and the Athenaeum (www.toulousethemusical.com). In October Derek will be singing and dancing in just a towel in "Zombie Bathhouse" with  Campsong Productions at the Center on Halsted (www.zombiebathhouse.net).

Other favorite directorial credits include; "Into the Woods" (Circle Theatre), "A Funny Thing Happened...", "Dames at Sea" (Columbia College Chicago),  "The Romans", "Miss Fortune" (Lincoln Square Theatre), "Fatima & Maama" (Point of Contention Theatre), "Attractions Tend to Lend Themselves to be Fatal" (Silent Theatre), "The Apocalypse: Now in 3D!" (Quixotic Comedy), "Joe Jane's 365 Sketches: Weenus" (Strawdog Theatre),  and "Drunk" written by Nothing Without a Company's own Hannah Ii-Epstein.