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The language of movement
Dominic Moore-Dunson taps into Philly’s energy for Miz Martha Washington
Ellen Chenoweth
Dominic Moore-Dunson is a nimble storyteller, onstage and off. The energetic choreographer is based in Akron, Ohio, where he has made works focusing on dementia, police violence, and other emotional topics, and if you meet him on the street, you’re likely to find yourself quickly engrossed in a beginning-middle-and-end there as well. These days you might catch him on Broad Street, thanks to the Lloyd Richards New Futures Fellowship, a prestigious national recognition that pairs one promising actor or director with a regional theater company, and this year awarded to Moore-Dunson to work with the Wilma Theater. The fellowship puts Moore-Dunson in the mix for the whole season. While billed as associate director for last November’s run of The Snow Queen, the upcoming production of James Ijames’ The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington—running March 18-April 5, 2026—is the first where Moore-Dunson has been involved from the earliest discussions.
Meeting where you are
Seemingly undaunted by landing in a new city and working with the Wilma HotHouse Company where many of the actors have been training and performing together for years, Miz Martha director Brett Robinson reports that Moore-Dunson “does a really wonderful job of meeting the performers where they are and elevating the proposals that they make. He's super collaborative and they really trust him.” Part of this trust comes from preparation work that Moore-Dunson started back home in Ohio. Wanting to hit the ground running with the Wilma actors in Philly on day one, Moore-Dunson rehearsed with his dancers in Akron to explore the world of Miz Martha. “I learned that from The Snow Queen, that having been in the world [of the play] a little bit already would be helpful.” That experience also helped Moore-Dunson understand how to translate his work from the dance world into the theater side: “I got to learn a lot about how actors move their bodies, how they hear my words when I talk about movement, and how to tweak my words or my language.”
Going between Akron and Philadelphia has Moore-Dunson enthusiastic about the audiences that come to the Wilma. “I live in northeast Ohio. These people care about the Browns. So I'm fighting to get people to show up in Akron, Ohio. We do a really good job. But to be in a place where it feels like people just care just a little bit more? You can feel an energy that I’m not used to seeing at home, which is really cool.” And it’s really cool to be reminded that here in Philly, we can care about both the Eagles and our arts institutions.
You can experience some of Moore-Dunson’s storytelling through his newsletter, where he shares ideas like “I believe joy can be a practice that makes action more precise, not less urgent,” along with movie reviews and conversations with friends, his Remember Balloons Live work currently touring around the country, and at the Wilma’s upcoming production of Miz Martha, opening March 20. Robinson describes it as a “full-throttle” show, “a really funny, surreal, dark reckoning with racism and America. It’s got a lot of pleasure and truth and Black culture in it.” Stories we need now more than ever.
What, When, Where
The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington. By James Ijames, directed by Brett Ashley Robinson, and choreography by Dominic Moore-Dunson. $20-$78. March 18-April 5, 2026, at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia. (215) 546-7824 or wilmatheater.org.
Accessibility
Wheelchair accessible seating is available, as well as other accessibility accommodations. Learn more here.
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