“…wildly ambitious, serious and satiric, psycho-social-historical-political theatrical collage…” –Stage Raw

“excellent writing and some of the finest moments of stagecraft I’ve ever witnessed…” --Willamette Week

“…phenomenal theatrical aesthetic.” --Flavorpill

“In her sparkling, poetical production, Keystone is like a lonely, outraged Jesuit, questioning the cost to the soul of blood-stained accomplishments, however lofty.” –LA Weekly

…metaphysical philosophy, scathing satire and allegorical vaudeville. Throughout it all, a precision ensemble expertly navigates the drama." -- LA Weekly

"Keystone’s artful storytelling, which uses dance, music and symbolic gesture, along with considerable humor…tell[s] a compellingly poetic tale…” --Stage Struck

Nancy Keystone is an inter-disciplinary artist working in theatre, film, visual art, and education. She is the founding Artistic Director of the collaborative ensemble, Critical Mass Performance Group in Los Angeles.

What they are saying

  • Your exercises were exactly what I needed in tackling my new play. I’ve been a theatre maker for over three decades now, and I find myself falling into ruts and relying on my “bag of tricks.” You’ve helped me open up my potential of “shaking up” my creative impulses. Thank you for a great workshop.

    Tony Foster

  • I’ve long been a fan of Nancy’s work with her company Critical Mass Performance Group and as a freelance director and designer. Her singularly expansive vision and boundary-breaking choices always draw audiences in and take them to altogether unexpected places. So when I heard that she was working with playwrights who might feel trapped by their own writing and processes I was thrilled. I love the way Nancy uses a range of exercises to poke (in the best possible ways) at a playwright’s preconceptions of action and ritual, spectacle, and theatricality. Her workshops allowed us, as writers, to explore possibilities through investing in the visual and uncovering surprises we didn’t even know were there, to find new ways into the material that sharpen and also unceremoniously blow up our precious writerly focus. By encouraging us to dig into the story beyond the text, Nancy gave me tools that helped me mine the layers of a new play-in-process and open up the world of the play. I highly recommend her workshops for writers who are looking to re-jigger their relationship with writing, and to recharge their creative energy.

    Jennie Webb

  • I was able to look at my playwriting from a different lens, thanks to a variety of physical warmups, writing exercises, and discussions. Nancy helped me free up my imagination in unexpected ways and it was through this workshop that I found the metaphor in the play.

    Inda Craig-Galván

  • "…a master illusionist…"

    —Atlanta Journal-Constitution

  • "…unapologetically innovative, mesmerizing, affecting…"

    —Willamette Week

  • "phenomenal theatrical aesthetic"

    —Flavorpill

  • "Keystone has a gift for tapping into new ways of illuminating events…"

    —Variety