Featured Artist: Yvonne Hartung
This is a series of posts featuring our artists who are making things happen in and around our great borough of Queens. Please check back weekly for new posts.
TitleOccupation
Managing Director for Team Awesome Robot. Stage Manager, Director, Producer, Helpful Theater Hands
Where were you born?
I was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, and grew up in the woods of Ormond Beach.
Which Queens neighborhood do you live in and for how long?
I’ve lived in Astoria off of the Ditmars stop for four years (with a brief intermission in Harlem for one year).
How did you get involved with Team Awesome Robot?
Christopher Diercksen (Artistic Director) and I have been working together for the past three years in various working relationships (director-stage manager, director-assistant director, producer-director) and realized we wanted to have more agency in the projects we were working on and wanted to build on our collaborative natures within our own theater company. Thus, Team Awesome Robot was born.
What do you love most about Queens?
Queens feels like an escape from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, but you’re still able to find anything and everything you could possibly need or want.
Do you have an “only in Queens” moment you’d like to share?
One day I was at a grocery store off of Ditmars, across from an Orthodox church, minding my own business when a nun mutters something to me and does the sign of the cross towards my face. I must have looked startled so she leans in and asks with a deep voice, “Are you Greek?” I say, “No, I’m not.” She replies, “Ah, must be Russian then. The Lord’s Blessings to you,” and then left the store without another word.
Your top Queens picks (food, entertainment, sights, etc)?
Food:
Queens has the best food and there’s always something new! Alright, so if you’re in my neck of the woods, you have to try SingleCut Beersmiths for beer and barbeque. Then head to QED on 23rd Avenue to see a storytelling show or stand-up (or anything really, check their website for whatever you might be into). And if you have a sweet tooth like me, get some gelato or pie to seal your evening from Martha’s Country Bakery. Perfect night without even leaving the stop.
Current/Upcoming projects?
Team Awesome Robot is holding a fundraiser tonight called Drinking and Dragons.
