founders
Amanda Berkson
FOunder and CEO
Amanda is a director, producer, music producer, composer, choreographer and performer based in NYC. She received her BA in Theatre at Muhlenberg College. Through Berkson Productions, Amanda works as the primary creative producer for Studio B having produced works for artists such as Piper Woods, Berkson and Malina, and the Muhlenberg Chaimonics.
Amanda loves working on exciting new art and creating work that’s fun and enriching. One of her main focuses is creating spaces that prioritize female voices and perspectives. When not working on her various theatrical and musical projects, Amanda works as a choreographer for Clocktower Players’ youth troupes.
Olivia Berkson
CO FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Olivia Berkson is a New York City based composer, lyricist, actor, vocal arranger, multi- instrumentalist and singer/songwriter. Her works have been performed all over NYC and Philadelphia. Known for her folk/ rock style and “wall of sound”, Olivia’s goal is to tell stories of the feminine experience and bring words to emotions that are hard to describe. She has released music under her stage name Liv Berkson, with more personal “diary” songs rather than her musical theatre sound. When not working with Berkson Productions, Olivia can be found teaching Jewish music to children with Tkiya Music.
Recent work includes: Buried (Circle in the Square Emerging Writer’s Residency), Wilderness! (Finalist- New Musicals Project, SheNYC Arts), Hundred Acre Park (Winner- Best Children’s Musical Philadelphia Fringe)
Annika Martens
PRoduction associate
Annika was recently the social media manager for Waiting: A Song Cycle at the Laurie Beechman Theater and is thrilled to be working on multiple upcoming projects in collaboration with Berkson Productions. She has been onstage at numerous theatres in Westchester and NYC. Some favorite shows include Theory of Relativity (Jenny), here’s to all the broken girls (Lenore), To the Fairest (Thetis), and At the End of the Party Line (Lucy). Feel free to give her a follow at @annikamartens_
Team
Jules Kyung
Jules Kyung (she/they) is a stage manager based in Philly and New York. Recent work has included Barrymore-recommended productions Gay Mis (FringeArts) and fallawayinto (FringeArts); Can We Know The Sound of Forgiveness (Carnegie Hall); BalletX (Bryn Mawr); and Fringie Award-winning Hundred Acre Park (Cannonball). A Swarthmore College alumna, she was the first student to receive honors in stage management. She is also a soon-to-be law student, with a focus on entertainment law. In the moments she's not working, she has been known to lead fan cheering at Chicago Stars FC matches and get unreasonably excited about falling tulip poplar leaves. She is so excited to bring her passion for supporting artists to Berkson Productions!
alegra Secor
Alegra Secor is a multidisciplinary artist and educator who loves to find the whimsy in the arts! While at Muhlenberg College they worked as a stage manager or director on over six projects, while also developing their Honors Psychology Thesis "The Effects of Directing Using Therapeutic Techniques During Rehearsal in Order to Help Actors Mediate Risk While Working with Trauma Onstage". In their over 10 years of creating they have collaborated with organizations such as Urban Bush Women, Revolutionary Spaces, and Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre. Between shows, they explore the joys of teaching young people and working as a companion for scholars with developmental disabilities.
What we do
Theatre
Our goal is to create theatre that represents the new generation of theatre makers. Telling stories from perspectives that aren’t always seen and adding to the soundscape of the musical theatre canon.
The cast of “Waiting: A New Songcycle” 2023 at the Laurie Beechman Theatre NYC
MUSIC
We want to help unsigned, up and coming musicians be able to have credible, clean sounding music to be able to kick start their catalogue of music
Berkson Productions studio setup