THE DEPARTMENT OF BADASSERY
Founders
Robin Fontaine: Co-Founder
Robin Fontaine is a New York trained theater director who has also worked in visual effects and motion capture on Hollywood films, and in the video game industry. She has a keen interest in the evolution of storytelling methods, from the oldest forms of theater all the way to video games and virtual reality, and brings a combination of vision and technical acumen to her innovative productions. Her work as a stage director has been seen in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the Dublin and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. Her VFX production credits include Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pts 1 & 2, TR2N, John Carter, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and her clients have included Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, the BBC, KQED, Electronic Arts, Genentech, and The Museum of the African Diaspora. Prior to living in the Bay Area, she toured Europe for 1.5 years as a performer with a theater company, lived on a sheep farm in England, rode a bicycle from New York to Florida, graduated with honors from the Fordham University directing program in NYC, and studied with Anne Bogart at the Saratoga International Theater Institute. She is an alumna of the Lincoln Center Theater Director's Lab West.
Gabriel Montoya: Co-Founder
Gabriel Montoya is a Mexican-American actor-director-writer-producer and teaching artist who loves to create works that reflect the important issues of our times. In 2014, The Department of Badassery made theatre history by simultaneously premiering the play, “Don’t Be Evil,” live onstage and in virtual reality. In the Bay Area, Mr. Montoya has appeared in productions by Magic Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Brava Theatre, Central Works, The Custom Made Theatre Co., Word for Word, The Pear Theatre, and SF Playhouse. Mr. Montoya was also a part of the original cast of the immersive theatre hit “the Speakeasy” in San Francisco and Cutting Ball Theatre’s virtual production of Charles L. Mee’s “Utopia.” Mr. Montoya also spent a decade working as a reporter covering the world of professional boxing both in print and video: taking the audience inside one of the world’s most dangerous sports. Most recently, Mr. Montoya appeared in a 12 city U.S. tour of Sarah Shourd's play "The Box" about solitary confinement.