NDT (New Directions Theater) began life as a collective of actors, directors, and writers under the aegis of Interborough Repertory Theatre and was one of the longest-running companies of its kind in New York theater, producing such memorable productions as the New York premiere of Michael Weller's Ghost on Fire, the first New York revival of Don Rifkin's acclaimed The Delusion of Angels, and the world premieres of John Attanas's Hermione:Tales of Sexual Frustration and Richard Willett's The Godsend, which won New Directions an OOBR as one of the outstanding productions of its season.  The team of director Eliza Beckwith and playwright Richard Willett burst on the scene with the critically acclaimed Triptych (1999), which sold out its first run and came back for another (2000).  The company followed Triptych with highly praised productions of Olga Humphrey's F-Stop (2000) and Richard Willett's Random Harvest (2001).  In 2003, NDT premiered Richard Willett's The Flid Show starring able-bodied television star Laurence Lau in the role of a nightclub singer born without arms as a result of the drug thalidomide.  In 2005, fortuitous circumstances allowed NDT to stage a slightly rewritten version of the play starring Mat Fraser, an actual thalidomide survivor from England.  Frustrated by the lack of press coverage for the superb Laurence Lau production, the company more than made up for it when the new Flid Show and Mat Fraser became the talk of the town.  (See two special pages on this production.)  NDT has also recently produced two student workshops on college campuses -- The Flid Show was developed at Alfred University in New York, and 9/10 was workshopped at Prince George's Community College in Maryland -- and Eliza and Richard both hope to continue this work with students. 

Eliza Beckwith has directed in Ensemble Studio Theatre's Marathons 99, 00, 01, 02 (The Once Attractive Woman by Christine Farrell, Little Airplanes of the Heart by Steve Feffer, Ukimwi by Tom Coash, The Moon Bath Girl by Graeme Gillis).  Most recently, Eliza directed the world premiere of Anchors by Tony Zertuche, produced by Living Image Arts at the Kirk Theatre, and Evangelina Kingsley and Chip Prince's cabaret Places to Live: Traveling Music for the Restless.  For New Directions Theater, she's directed The Delusion of Angels by Don Rifkin; Cute Lonely Guys Looking for You by John Attanas; Anapest by Lee Wochner; F-Stop by Olga Humphrey; and Hot Air, Triptych, Random Harvest, and The Flid Show by Richard Willett.  Other credits include Danny and the Deep Blue Sea by John Patrick Shanley at the Kraine Theatre.  In addition to being the co-artistic director of NDT (with Mr. Willett), Eliza is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre.