A Conversation with Trey Lyford and Geoff Sobelle

On 23 March 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with creators Trey Lyford and Geoff Sobelle. Both are directors and performers who began collaborating in Philadelphia and whose work—together and separately—continued on to New York City, and all over the country and the world.  

Trey Lyford is an actor, director, designer, and play fabricator who has been creating original works for the stage for over two decades—most recently with his company gimmick. Collaborations include the devised works KOAL with Jacinta Yelland and The Accountant. With rainpan 43 he co-created all wear bowlers (2005 Drama Desk Nomination, NY Innovative Theatre Award), Amnesia Curiosa, the OBIE award-winning machines, machines, machines, machines, machines, machines, machines, and the absurd magic extravaganzas Elephant Room and Elephant Room II: Dust from the Stars. He has performed his original works on four continents including venues across the U.S.—LA's Center Theatre Group, Philadelphia FringeArts, HERE Arts Center, St. Ann’s Warehouse, La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, Studio Theater, Arena Stage, and theaters throughout New York City. Lyford has also toured his works internationally to England, Germany, Korea, Italy, Scotland, and Australia. He was the founding co-artistic director of rainpan 43, a longtime Associate Artist with The Civilians, and a teacher of physical approaches to character, comedy, and devised performance. Currently, he is on the faculty at the Pig Iron / Rowan MFA program and has taught at universities throughout the east coast including NYU, SUNY Purchase, UArts, and Princeton. Recently, Lyford has been passionate about directing, developing, and guiding actor-generated material that pushes form and narrative. He continues to collaborate with artists in the U.S. and abroad.  

Geoff Sobelle is an actor, director and creator of original performance works. A dedicated absurdist, he uses illusion, installation and home-spun mechanics to create surreal, poetic pieces that look for humanity where you least expect it. His most recent works include: Food (BAM Next Wave ’23), Home (BAM Next Wave ’17, Bessie Award) and The Object Lesson (BAM Next Wave ’14, Bessie Award). His partnership with Trey Lyford as Rainpan 43 includes: all wear bowlers, Amnesia Curiosa, machines machines machines machines machines machines, The Elephant Room (created with Steve Cuiffo), and its follow up, Dust from the Stars. Before coming to New York, Geoff was a member of Philadelphia’s Pig Iron Theater Company for twelve years. Geoff is a Pew Fellow and a Creative Capital grantee. He is a graduate of Stanford University and trained in physical theater at the Lecoq school in Paris.

TORCHES: 30+ Years of Downtown Performance

As co-founder of HERE Arts Center—described by the Obie committee as “a lasting home for the weird and wild in downtown performance”—Kristin Marting spent the past three decades immersed in making, witnessing, and supporting groundbreaking performance in New York City. TORCHES is a much needed exploration of New York City’s unique and influential downtown performance world from the 1990s through the 2020s. Part memoir, part oral history, and part cultural inquiry, TORCHES offers in-depth video conversations with more than thirty of the most imaginative and boundary pushing artists working in the field today. TORCHES is both a living archive and an offering for the future. Learning about these artists and their work is not just looking back; it can ignite what’s coming next. They are not only inventors of form—they are keepers of community, fire-starters for our future. See more about the project on the TORCHES website at torchesnyc.org.

About HowlRound TV

HowlRound TV is a global, commons-based, peer-produced, open-access livestreaming and video archive project stewarded by the nonprofit HowlRound. HowlRound TV is a free and shared resource for live conversations and performances relevant to the world’s performing arts and cultural fields. Its mission is to break geographic isolation, promote resource sharing, and develop our knowledge commons collectively. Anyone can participate in this community of peer organizations revolutionizing the flow of information, knowledge, and access in our field by becoming a producer and co-producing with us. Learn more by going to our contribute content page.