HOTEL NEW WORK
FIT FOR LOVE : A MIXTAPE RITUAL
a new work by Neil TottonÂ
with Associate Choreographer Gabrielle LorenÂ
directed by Erwin Maas
An artistic respite, where new works are given space to breathe, grow, and engage with outside eyes at an early stage.
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Theaterlab provides a place where artists of various disciplines can unpack their bags, display their ideas, and share the room keys with engaged spectators.
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Hotel New Work provides collaboratively-driven companies in the midst of creating ambitious new work with 40 hours of rehearsal time and one work-in-progress showing with feedback.
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Theaterlab is happy to provide room keys Neil Totton, Gabrielle Loren, and Erwin Maas, as they develop the second part of Neil’s Artistically Fit trilogy, Fit for Love: A Mixtape Ritual
Fit for Love: A Mixtape Ritual is a solo multidisciplinary performance with original music that digs into the psychology of love. It’s part two of his Artistically Fit trilogy following Fit for Freedom which premiered at the Brooklyn Comedy Collective on Juneteenth 2025.Â
Through songs, dance, and monologues that range from first loves to an exaggerated retelling of an experiment performed on Grindr, the hookup app, to explore queer male racial preferences. The music for this mixtape ritual is deeply rooted in R&B/hip-hop soul sounds reflecting The Fit Prince’s passion for 90s R&B, hip-hop, and house. Fit for Love is an interactive work inviting the audience to move, groove, and get fit for love, be it self, platonic, erotic, or romantic.
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We invite you to join them in the room to witness and respond to this brand new work.Â
They’ll share up to 45 mins of what they’ve been working on, followed by an opportunity for you to respond and provide thoughts and insight. Your feedback is welcomed and essential to the next phase of artistic development.Â
RESIDENCY
Theaterlab is excited to welcome Neil Totton, Gabrielle Loren, and Erwin Maas to Hotel New Work.
Fit for Love: A Mixtape Ritual will be in residence from Monday, February 2nd through Sunday, February 15th
They will present a 45 minute work-in-progress showing on Sunday, February 15th at 5:00pm, followed by a feedback session.
WORK-IN-PROGRESS SHOWING & FEEDBACK
Sunday, February 15th, 2026 at 5:00pm
Approx. total time : 90 minutes
Those interested in attending the work-in-progress showing and feedback session may RSVP below.Â
Attendance is FREE.
If you are able to financially support Hotel New Work, or any of our programs supporting NYC’s most daring artists, click here to give a tax-deductible gift of any amount.Â
MEET THE ARTISTS
NEIL TOTTON (CREATOR)
Neil Totton is a multidisciplinary video, performance and theater artist who creates highly-energetic experiences grounded in sensibilities that speak to the issues of our times. His recent works, including Wait For Today, Trouble Of The World, The Fit Prince of New York, Becoming Relevant, and Slave For Love have been developed or featured at Denton Black Film Festival, The Social Distancing Festival sponsored by the General Consulate of Canada, JCC Harlem, New World Stages, Lululemon Hub 17, The inHEIRtence Project, The GloveboXX Collective and Easton Mountain Music Festival.
He has performed leading roles in the musicals Hairspray, A Chorus Line, and The Color Purple. Danced as a guest artist with the Ballet Black in London UK, Walkerdance in New York, and Arthur Aviles BAAD Dance Theater. Most recently choreographed for the Sing Harlem Gospel Choir and has served as assistant choreographer for the North American and International Tours of “Aida” and “Jazz A’La Carte” at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
He has appeared in the New York Times, Men’s Journal, and was selected as one of New York Magazine’s Top 10 Trainers for his work in the fitness industry. He has studied at HB Studios, Steps on Broadway, the William Esper Studio, Gotham’s Writers Workshop, the International Center of Photography, and the Electronic Music Collective. He is currently a Lincoln City Fellow and working on a new solo performance.
GABRIELLE LOREN (ASSOCIATE CHOREOGRAPHER)
Gabrielle Loren, a native of Jacksonville, Florida, is an accomplished dancer, educator, and rehearsal director committed to helping individuals achieve their artistic goals.Â
She holds a BFA in Contemporary Dance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and has built a diverse and vibrant career. Gabrielle has performed with the Bessie Award-winning company Abby Z & the New Utility, with notable engagements at the Jacob’s Pillow and New York City Live Arts. She was also selected as one of seven dancers to perform at the American Center for Arts and Culture in Paris, France.Â
Her performance credits include works by renowned choreographers such as Christopher Huggins, Doug Varone, Merce Cunningham, Kanji Segawa, Stephen Shynes, Kayla Farrish, and Juel D. Lane. Gabrielle has appeared at prestigious venues including Lincoln Center, Triskelion Arts, Judson Memorial Church, and Harlem Stages. Recently, she performed a solo created for her by Juel D. Lane at Harlem Stages, a performance curated by Camille A. Brown. She has also performed with a live band at Nublu in New York City. Gabrielle was instrumental in establishing dance as a core group fitness offering at Chelsea. Piers Fitness in New York City and has served as the Artistic Associate for the Dorill Initiative, a non-profit arts organization founded by a close collaborator.
 She continues to teach masterclasses in NYC and North Carolina, and assists choreographers like Maleek Washington, and Juel D. Lane, having restaged two of his works at universities and along side him for dance companies.
ERWIN MAAS (DIRECTOR)
Erwin Maas is a New York based theatermaker, curator, educator and international arts advocate from the Netherlands with extensive international experience across a variety of creative and community contexts.
In New York, he directed numerous productions Off Broadway, Off Off Broadway as well as Site Specific. He is especially passionate about developing new or existing works with local artists and/or communities and has done so all around the world. His directing work ranges from plays by contemporary playwrights to devised, interdisciplinary immersive projects, opera, music theater & dance with performances for all ages.
Maas is the Co-Executive Director of the Pan-African Creative Exchange (PACE) and teaches as Adjunct Professor at CUNY Brooklyn College’s MFA Performance & Interactive Media Arts Program (PIMA). He is a frequently invited director, curator, facilitator, sparring partner and speaker for international cultural organizations, festivals, universities, congresses and think tanks.
As former Artistic/Creative Director of the International Society for Performing Arts (ISPA), Director of the Fellowship Program for the International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY), and Director of Performing Arts for the Cultural Department of the Royal Netherlands Embassy & Consulates in the USA – Dutch Culture USA, Maas offers an extensive knowledge and network in the international cultural field with a focus on international cultural relations and policy.
Erwin is a core-member of Theater Without Borders, a member of Georgetown University’s Laboratory for Global Performance & Politics and of the Netherland-America Foundation Cultural Committee. He also serves on the Artistic Advisory Board of the ISSUE Project Room in Brooklyn, the First Nation Spiderwoman Theater, and DecadesOut – an organization at the intersection of Arts, Science & Policy. Maas was a Fulbright Scholar for his MFA in Theatre Directing at Columbia University School of the Arts in NYC. He also holds an M.A. in Drama Teaching from the Academy of Dramatic Arts Eindhoven in the Netherlands, and an M.A. in Media Arts and Production/Documentary Filmmaking from the University of Technology Sydney – Australia.
COVID-19 policy: In guidance with the city and state COVID-19 policies, we will no longer be requiring masks, but strongly recommend them.