Burnout Paradise Digital Program

Burnout Paradise

Created by Pony Cam:
Claire Bird, Ava Campbell, William Strom, Dominic Weintraub & Hugo Williams

THE COMPANY
Claire Bird, Abby Huffstetler, William Strom, Dominic Weintraub & Hugo Williams

Producer Dans Maree Sheehan for Parrot Ox
Lighting Designer Dans Maree Sheehan

Lighting Alex Cluff
Sound Alfredo Madrigal
Video Chriss Jaggers
Costume Faith Steenbergen
Props Jeni Cheung
Scenic Alyssa Armstrong
Production Manager Annette Nixon

WHAT IS WOW?

Without Walls (WOW) is La Jolla Playhouse’s signature performance program that takes art outside traditional theatre walls and into unique spaces, including an annual festival, stand-alone productions, and pop-up community experiences. From a car to a bar, from a beach to a basement, WOW invites audiences of all ages to interact with artists and art in unexpected ways, bringing people together and reimagining what storytelling can be. The next WOW Festival will be April 23 – 26, 2026 on UC San Diego’s campus. More information can be found at wowfestival.org

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

CLAIRE BIRD (Creator/Performer)
Claire (she/they) is the co-artistic director and a founding member of Pony Cam. Seemingly addicted to theatre, Claire holds dual performance degrees from VCA (Theatre) and UNSW (Theatre and Performance Studies; Dance). Their practice is highly physical, complicatedly collaborative, and unapologetically silly at its core. Claire’s skill set includes — but is by no means limited to — theatre-making, dancing on any terrain at any time, smiling through the pain, telling every dog it’s a good one, crochet, challenging the status quo, creating anything out of cardboard, nude swimming, bedazzling, tearing calf muscles, breakin’ hearts, filling up on cheese before dinner, recounting dreams to the company (which they love), vocal excellence ie. yelling like there’s no tomorrow with her country-trained lungs, and — of course — doing their physio.

WILLIAM STROM (Creator/Performer)
William (he/him) is a Theatre Maker. His practice is deeply physical, highly improvisational, and quietly playful, with at least a passing interest in music. His investigations are often directed towards the intersection of his own practice and the practices of others – whether they be artists or non-artists – and these collaborations are a constant source of interest and inspiration. He is trained in both circus and dance, and has a degree in Theatre, all of which he uses with great abandon.

Abby Leigh Huffstetler (Host)
Abby thrives within the intersections of creative expression & physical storytelling. They are an actor, actor-combatant, intimacy choreographer and clown. Education: M.F.A. in Theatre & Dance from UC San Diego, B.F.A. in Performing Arts from SCAD. Abby holds certifications in multiple weapons within The Society of American Fight Directors. Regional credits: Julius Caesar and Noises Off (The Old Globe); Abeba in the Tall Grass (La Jolla Playhouse); How to Defend Yourself (Humana Fest); Dracula (Actors Theatre); UC San Diego credits: Dance Nation, Hells Canyon, Twelfth Night, Miles For Mary, End Days, Uncle Vanya. Film credits: Dirt, RedRum, CBGB. Abby is an Actors Theatre of Louisville Professional Training Company alum.

DOMINIC WEINTRAUB (Creator/Performer)
Dominic (he/him) is a theatre maker, general manager, and tomato grower based in Melbourne, Australia. As General Manager of the Centre of Jewish Artists and co-founder of Pony Cam, he enjoys creating moments where the spectacular and the ordinary collide, while facilitating meaningful exchanges of ideas. In all his work, Dominic commits too much time to detailing things nobody will notice.

HUGO WILLIAMS (Creator/Performer)
Hugo (he/they) is an artist who works in performance across a range of collaborative formats. Using autobiographical tools, humour, and fiction, he is intent on reducing things to fragments and then scrambling those fragments. As an Executive Producer and Performance Artist on projects, Hugo searches for where the boundaries of making performance are and how those boundaries can be illustrated on stage. Encouraging transparency, authenticity, and dialogue as tools of enforced liveness. Hugo started running before Burnout Paradise, not professionally, or even athletically – the only thing Hugo can remember about running technique is that it is best to hold your hands in a fist, but not so tightly that you would break a potato chip.

DANS MAREE SHEEHAN (Producer/Lighting Designer)
Dans (she/her) is a Melbourne-based independent creative producer. She has previously toured internationally with Elevator Repair Service, Back to Back Theatre, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, among others. Through Parrot Ox Productions she currently works with Circus Oz, Pony Cam, Lemony S Puppet Theatre, Half Straddle, and other independent companies, creating ambitious new work and tours that connect local projects to national and international stages. She’s currently in development with three shows and an ongoing battle with her indoor plants.

PARROT OX
Parrot Ox produces and manages theatrical shows that defy genre, share bold stories, engage the imagination and step off the beaten path. We exist to make the impossible happen. With over 15 years producing experience for major festivals, independent artists and major organisations, in Australia and across the globe, Parrot Ox have programmed and managed pop-up festivals, resourced new ideas into reality and toured work to every continent (well, except Antarctica, but we’re open to suggestions). Parrot Ox currently represents artists at the forefront of Australian performing arts, including La Clique, Circus Oz, The Unfair Advantage, Pony Cam, Legs on the Wall and Lemony S. Puppet Theatre.