Failure Theater exists in a web of mutual support with the following artists, many of whom are currently developing projects with Failure Theater, many of which may fail to happen.

Sallie Merkel - Artistic Director

Sallie Merkel, who goes by Merkel, is a failed actor and writer. Notably, in 2023 she cried for the entire drive down I-95 while moving from Brooklyn back to her hometown, having failed at making it as a “working actor” in either NYC or Los Angeles. Despite holding an expensive MFA (which she is still paying off), she has been repeatedly lapped by her former students and people she beat out for starring roles in college – some of whom are now household names. The bulk of her recent work has been self-generated and self-produced and you’ve probably never heard of it!

Luiza Dale

Luiza Dale is a failed graphic designer and professor. Almost every day she thinks about the time a recruiter said her projects “did not make sense” and that it would be better to “add descriptions” to the images. She holds an MFA from the Yale School of Art but that doesn’t stop her from getting rejected by most grant applications. 

Rachel Kauder Nalebuff

Rachel is a failed Los Angeles and New York City resident. She still wants her mom to read all her work. 

Lauren White

Lauren White is a failed actor, comedian and writer. She hasn’t been on stage in three miserable years and not a day goes by she doesn’t punish herself for taking a break. Born into a family of successful entertainers - her father, grandfather and uncle all decorated veterans of the biz, all by 30! - she is the first Failed Nepo Baby. Despite industry connections, roles in major motion pictures and two decades of consistent performance work in theater and comedy she has yet to secure a manager or agent. She’s never even had a meeting with one! She lives in New York, where she is almost 39 years old. She is haunted by wrath, envy and sloth.

Lucky Benson

Lucky is an artist who continuously fails at committing to a medium. They fractal themselves across the realms of film, installation, theater, performance art, journalism, art direction, occult studies, comedy, curation, creative writing, brand strategy, design, and even pop music. This makes for a messy CV and longwinded elevator speeches that don’t add up to success. One of many artistic tragedies from their life involves convincing twenty different friends to make out with them on camera for a music video. And then the hard drive with all the footage died. Currently, Lucky is embracing their midlife crisis: I want to be a great actor!

Jenny Greer

Jenny Greer is proud to be a failed actor, artist, writer, and girlfriend (several times over). Famously and pathologically indecisive in her youth, she fabulously flubbed an interview at Yale ON HER BIRTHDAY because she lacked vision for her acting career. She doesn't think about it at all. Originally from Raleigh, NC, she is a fan of NC State basketball, who, listen, had a great season a couple years ago, but are not known for winning. She has an MFA from CalArts and currently lives and works in Los Angeles where she struggles to keep succulents alive. When asked to describe her appeal, most would say, "niche".

Caitlin Ryan O’Connell

Caitlin is a failed baker, often rushing the second rise. She has recently failed to delete social media, failed to journal in the mornings, failed to meditate for 5 mins a day, and failed to remember why she walked into the kitchen from the living room... it was to retrieve something over here... hmmm. When she is not failing/forgetting/failing she directs new work about unionizing, about grief, about zombie apocalypses, about illness, about friendship, about collaboration and strangeness and more.

Caitlyn Conlin

Caitlyn has been devoted to the art of failure since kindergarten, when a classmate critiqued her penguin drawing: “the stomach is too big.” A devastating review. Since then, her career has followed an upward failed spiral, missing the mark in new exciting ways. Despite exploring every corner of creative expression, she has yet to become an international sensation. Now, as a Failed Associate Artist of Failure Theatre, Caitlyn believes she may be approaching peak failure in her career. Undeterred, Caitlyn continues her lifelong research, bravely asking: what else can go wrong?

Henry Hoke

Henry is a ne’er do well.

Mireya Lucio

Mireya has failed to “have it all” and is forced to work a boring full-time job in order to support her family and her “hobby” of making performance.

Hayley Phelan

Hayley is a semi-professional dilettante, who has dabbled to varying degrees of success (or failure) as a writer, actor, journalist, cartoonist, painter, documentary filmmaker, interior designer, and probably a handful of others she's selectively forgetting. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from NYU, and recently completed a two-year program at the Esper Studio in the Meisner technique of acting. Despite phenomenal teachers, a privileged education, and independent wealth--all of which she is incredibly grateful for and humbled by--she has failed to make anything she is truly proud of. While her inveterate dabbling has been lots of fun, and led to some accomplishments, she suspects it’s been fueled by fear of failure (because you can’t fail if you don’t really try) and that she cares about success more than she lets on.

Lisa Sanaye Dring

Lisa is a failed visionary of the dramatic arts. When she didn’t get into grad school, Lisa drove from Louisville to Lexington, got a burrito, then drove the whole way back, sobbing the entire time. Luckily she got a big break when she debuted as a playwright with Death Play, which the LA Times hailed as ‘giving bad theatre a bad name.’ Don’t worry, it’s been all uphill from there. Not a single tear has been shed by the artist about their artistry since and everyone loves Lisa and it’s all gonna be fine.

Ásta Bennie Hostetter

Born in NYC in 1981. After college, Ásta returned to NYC and wasted her time in downtown experimental theatre, making lots of nonlinear and nonproductive art. In an effort to get serious, she went to CalArts where she failed to see the big picture, make enough friends or do enough psychedelic drugs. After this she returned to the city once more and built a successful career costume designing new plays. But she missed the fun animal shapes and surreal projects of her early career. She directed Marie It's Time for her company Minor Theater. The show was a large success for a sexy experimental Woyzeck. She failed to direct much after that. She is especially interested in work that is low budget and hard won.

Ezra Rose (they/them)

Ezra quit acting because it was too hard and they didn’t like learning lines. They quit acting because they kept getting sent out on auditions for “midwestern-mom”. They quit acting because they were tired of pretending to be a woman. They quit acting because, occasionally, when they identified a role they really wanted, it was too painful when they didn't get it. Anyway, they don’t act anymore…