Staff and board
Founders
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Lisa Channer moves between theatre, film and performance as a director, producer and performer.
Although she happily directs classic scripts, she primarily celebrates the making of new work in all forms through collaborations with exceptional writers, designers, choreographers, composers, actors, and producers. She is a co-artistic director of Theatre Novi Most in Minneapolis and a freelance artist. Her work has been seen across the U.S., Ireland, Europe, and Russia and she is a Fulbright Scholar.
Since 2007 she has been based in Minneapolis where she raised two humans, Sasha and Daniel, and is on the faculty at the University of Minnesota as Head of the BA in Performance Creation program. She is originally from New York’s Hudson Valley and holds citizenship in the U.S. and the U.K.
Training: MFA directing, Yale School of Drama
Member: Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers
Contact: lisa@theatrenovimost.org
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Vladimir Rovinsky attended the St. Petersburg Academy of Theatre Arts, Russia, graduating with an MFA in Directing in 1999.
Before coming to America, Vladimir was working as a professional theatre director and actor in several theatre companies in Russia. He came to America first in 1997 for work with Yale Repertory Theatre/School of Drama and permanently in 2000. Vladimir has been teaching acting since 1996 and has worked as a director, actor and teacher at several Universities in America, including the University of Massachusetts, Yale School of Drama, University of Minnesota, Saint Cloud State University, Macalester College, Stanford University, and at several overseas programs in China, Canada, Puerto Rico and Russia.
In addition to his teaching for last two decades Vladimir has been co-Artistic Director of Theatre Novi Most (“New Bridge Theatre”), a Minneapolis based theatre company that combines theatre traditions of Russia and the United States. Its mission is creating new plays and performances that bridge disparate cultures, ideas, methodologies and linguistic barriers. Theatre Novi Most is recipient of multiple Arts Activities Grants awarded by Metropolitan Regional Arts Council.
Contact: vladrov@yahoo.com
Board
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Actor/Collaborator
Theatre Novi Most has been one of my main artistic homes for almost 15 years. It started when Lisa Channer and I (2 demonstrative loud mouths from the east coast) found each other in the relative quiet of a Minneapolis coffee house. Lisa and Vladimir and I (and our ever growing family of multi-disciplined collaborators) share a sense of humor and a healthy belief that we can make our world a better place by bringing our communities together and combining our talents to create stories, often political, always human. We do this by pooling our collective cultural creative “languages”, informed by our lives and our different theatrical backgrounds, and present work that we feel challenges and engages our audiences to think and feel and come together. We reach out to different communities and engage with them after our shows to hear their stories and we’ve created pieces that celebrate their stories and give them a voice that might not otherwise be heard. I work all over the Twin Cities as an actor but Theatre Novi Most is where I always come back to, to be challenged and engaged in a more universal way. So I’m on the board, as an actor and a human, to support the work and to take greater responsibility for it and to help with our mission “to build bridges across artistic and cultural barriers”.
I’ve been in recovery for alcohol and drugs for over 30 years and I’m committed to supporting people new in recovery and advocate for those looking for help.
Also, my son, Milo, and I have a podcast that we’ve been doing for 3 years and over 50 episodes called “Growing Up Naked”. We started recording during the pandemic, a then 63 year old man and his 17 year old son, to create something together and get to know each other better. Since then we’ve had many guests on the show- everyday people who you probably never heard of, family, actors, musicians, writers and artists- people we meet or have known who want to come over and open up with us. Everybody has a story and the more we know about each other, the more empathy we have. And man, do we need empathy right now!
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Actor/Edcucator
Having worked with Novi Most on numerous projects, I am excited to support the theatre in a new way. The work they/we do fills an essential need that no one else in the community does and does in a way that combines a mind on social justice and activism with a heart that values artistic excellence and deep humanism.
I am the Education Manager at History Theatre and an actor at large in the Twin Cities.
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Singer and Literacy Advocate.
I have long admired the work of Theatre Novi Most and have been fortunate to collaborate on a few productions as a musician.
Joining the board is an honor and an opportunity to help share the work of this extraordinary group of artists with a wider audience.
As an active member of the Ukrainian community, I deeply value TNM’s thoughtful, respectful, and dedicated approach to telling stories of Ukrainian suffering and perseverance.
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Director of Public Programs and Marketing at The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA)
I’m a cultural producer, performer, and connector. My work lives where art, storytelling, and community meet. I care about creating experiences that bring people together and open space for cultural sharing and conversation.
I joined the board because Theatre Novi Most makes the kind of work that moves me - brave, layered, and deeply human. I love how it brings people into conversation across cultures and perspectives. That spirit of exchange feels close to what I do every day at the museum: using art to build connection and understanding. Theatre Novi Most reminds me that creativity can be both a bridge and a mirror, and I’m honored to be part of its mission.
At TMORA, I create programs that connect communities through art, music, theater, film, cuisine, poetry, and more. I’m also a longtime performer, producer, and professional emcee in the Twin Cities. My work celebrates expression, belonging, and storytelling. Whether onstage or in a gallery, my goal is the same - to make art feel alive, something we experience together.
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Writer and Consultant.
I fell in love with the powerful work and vision of Co-Artistic Directors Lisa Channer and Vladimir Rovinsky many years ago.
The world needs art that champions the spirit of collaboration, connection, and hope now more than ever and Novi Most consistently channels that cause. My wife and I are both avid supporters and have extensive connections in the arts in general and theater particularly.
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Board Director/Retired General Counsel
I joined the Board of Theater Novi Most because the power of drama transports members of the audience and requires them to think from a different perspective about timeless themes, especially when theater is focused on bridging cultural traditions which is the mission of Theater Novi Most.
Chair of the Board of Directors of the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, a non-profit organization that photographs and advances access to at-risk manuscript collections worldwide.
Trustee of Visitation School, an all-girls school grades 6-12 and co-ed from pre-K through 5th grade, and also Chair of the Board’s Governance Committee and a member of its Finance & Operations Committee.
Member of the Finance and Audit Committee of the GHR Foundation, a private foundation with approximately $1 Billion in assets that works in collaboration with global partners to support programs in Alzheimer’s prevention, global church vitality, thriving local community, and Catholic higher education.
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Dramaturg, Editor, Writer.
After collaborating as a dramaturg on Novi Most projects, I'm looking forward to an opportunity to help advance the company's mission as a board member.
Novi Most occupies a singular place in the landscape of Twin Cities theater—driven to take on collaborations that are complex and nuanced, both thematically and aesthetically. I'm here for it.