LAPP is thrilled to welcome our new Producing + Advancement Intern to the team. Meet Zoë Lappin!
Zoë Lappin (they/them) is an interdisciplinary artist and designer from Los Angeles, California. A recent graduate of CalArts, their work in live performance (particularly in design and production for theater and events) centers contemporary queer identity and seeks to actively engage the communities it takes place in. Their directorial debut– Grotesque Burlesque, a burlesque revue and magic lantern show celebrating the beauty and grotesqueness of the body– revived the long-lost CalArts burlesque show and brought the art of the Magic Lantern to new audiences. Zoë brings with them six years of theater and event production experience, including two CalArts Halloween Parties, two Drag Balls, and nine video design projects. Zoë is looking forward to this opportunity to support performing artists in their hometown and to sharpen their producing skills by learning directly from experienced professionals in the field.
“I grew up in the San Fernando Valley and recently graduated from CalArts with my BFA in Experience Design & Production,” says Zoë, “so I’ve seen a lot of art in LA in my time! That being said, CalArts is like an isolated castle on a hill, and it’s easy to get sequestered up there. It’s been great to see my friends disperse like seeds out into LA and produce new work, often with other local artists. I’m so excited for my work with LAPP to introduce me to new artists around town. That’s the great thing about supportive organizations like this, they attract such fascinating artists across disciplines, and now I get an inside look at their practices!”
Zoë will be working closely with LAPP’s Development Specialist, Marsian De Lellis, and Marketing Specialist, Gina Young. They’ll be learning the ins and outs of fundraising and development, working on office organization, assisting with marketing efforts, and crafting the aesthetic of LAPP’s 2024 Annual Report. “I’m incredibly stoked to dig into that and use the graphic design skills I’ve been cultivating in the past year!”— they enthused– “I’m personally very interested in archiving as a practice. Performance art is ephemeral by nature and I’m interested in the Annual Report as a way to present all of LAPP’s work and for it to serve as a sort of digital anthropological document for versions of the organization and its audience yet to come.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!
We asked Zoë what’s been inspiring them lately and got some great answers. Music? “I’ve been devouring the new Sleater-Kinney & St. Vincent albums, Little Rope & All Born Screaming!” Streaming? “Julio Torres’ Fantasmas on (HBO) Max is a cinematic masterpiece.” Art? “In the art world, I’m always waiting for my friends at Conjugal Visit to produce something new! Siena Foster-Soltis and my dear friend Rory James Leech are geniuses and always have something– if you’ll spare me a buzzword– boundary-pushing up their sleeves.” Other activities? “Also in this summer are taking long walks around my neighborhood like it’s the pandemic again and going to therapy regularly.”
We received dozens of wonderful applicants for the Producing + Advancement Internship from colleges across Los Angeles, and want to take a minute to acknowledge the extremely high caliber of talent and enthusiasm they brought to the table. We hope you will all become part of the LAPP community going forward. And welcome to the team, Zoë!
This position is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture’s Los Angeles County Arts Internship Program.
