NATALiE BATTiSTONE

Natalie is a natural born storyteller who values authenticity, integrity and imagination. 

 

She is drawn to work that plumbs the depths: reveals our interconnectedness, reaches into the collective unconscious (our dreams, our myths), faces our shadows and reifies existence. 

 

Natalie cut her teeth at the esteemed Moscow Art Theatre School (MXAT), where she returned for a second residency in grad school. The intense training lit a fire that was kindled by a (life altering) chance encounter. During her senior year at the University of Vermont (BA Classics & Theatre) Natalie played the role of Li'l Bit in How I Learned to Drive. The production was attended by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, who was so moved by the performance that she urged Natalie onward. Paula's intervention as a mentor fed that fire and marks the precise moment where acting shifted from a dream to a reality. 

 

Natalie holds an MFA in Acting from Harvard/American Repertory Theater and MXAT. She is an original member of the critically acclaimed Krymov Lab NYC–a resident company of La MaMa ETC created in 2022 by dissident Russian director Dmitry Krymov (hailed by the NYT as "one of the world's finest theatermakers.") In 2024 she received a Best Performer nomination from Broadway World LA for her role as "Sophie" (Sonya) in Riot Act's site-responsive Uncle Vanya adaptation Gross Old Man. 

 

Her penchant for developing new work has led to several meaningful connections with notable playwrights and world premieres/workshops (V, Abby Rosebrock, Caridad Svich, Carson Kreitzer.) Natalie is also a former creative director at  The Spot, a small professional theater company in Idaho that she built with a collective of theater artists. She stewarded the organization's artistic growth and championed new voices.

 

Beyond acting Natalie is an advocate for wolves. She volunteers with the Wolf Conservation Center and has worked with Defenders of Wildlife to foster non-lethal coexistence on ranch lands. Natalie also freelances as a director, designer and coach. 

 

She lives in New York with her partner Kevin and dog Ophelia.