Will Hand is a theater maker and presenter from the Bay Area. In San Francisco, Will premiered the work of acclaimed contemporary international playwrights to emerging audiences. His productions frequently landed in year-end ‘best of’ lists. Since moving to New York, he has founded The How, an international performance ensemble. His most recent production featured Polina Ionina, Akmal Rakhimov, and accordionist/composer Lucie Vitkova in Jon Fosse’s I Am the Wind at Unruly Arts Collective in Brooklyn.

Polina Ionina is a Kazakh-born actor and director. She strives to create plays that immerse the audience both mentally and physically into the story to manifest a seamless cathartic impression. Polina has performed with the Grotowski-based theater group Dzieci for two years, and is a member of the immersive theater workshop PlayLab with Jeff Wirth. A major influence on Polina’s thinking and practice comes from her time spent in Kyrgyzstan studying the meditative techniques of Sufi Whirling.