Derek Denckla is the co-writer of the script for Corona Crazy: The Musical, slated for performance at the NY Theater Festival 2026, and the co-owner of Hey Ho Let’s Go Productions, which he founded with composer and co-writer Benjamin Hey!
Denckla is an award-winning published poet and Grammy-nominated recording artist whose other practices include screenwriting, arts curation, event production, print publishing, performance art, journalism, and other literary forms. He has written, performed, and recorded original songs with indie rock bands since age 12, including Carpe Diem (Numero Group), Geek (Numero Group), Choke, Building 6 (Vague Moon), and his most recent project, Troubled Air (scheduled for release by Gatoland Records in 2026).
He has also launched organizations that support creative endeavors, including the indie record label, Simple Machines Records (1989–1998), the artists’ space developer, Propeller Group (2004–2012), the sustainable food entrepreneurship think tank, Slow Money NYC (2010–2017), and, most recently, PraxinoscopeX, a Los Angeles–based performance and art book publishing platform. In college, he was founding editor-in-chief of LEG Magazine, dedicated to humor and gonzo journalism. Hey Ho Let’s Go extends this line of work into theatrical production.
As a curator, Denckla has organized exhibitions, performances, and immersive events in Los Angeles and beyond, including Writing Performance, Stories Books (2023); The Purple Dinner (2023); Months of the Year, Poetic Research Bureau (2022); One of the Dozens, Beyond Baroque (2022); Hours of the Day, 1642 Bar (2021); A Summer Solstice Happening, Taller Alturas (2021); Signs of the Zodiac, 1642 Bar (2021); Brooklyn Utopias, Old Stone House (2010–12); Urban Chautauqua (2011–12); Storied Foods: Festival of Ideas, New Museum, New York (2011); FARM CITY, Crossing the Line Festival, French Institute Alliance Française (2010); Green House Effect (2008); and Displacement (2008).
In addition to his artistic practice, Denckla has served as a director of or advisor to arts-related nonprofit organizations including Bromaco Gallery, Supreme Trading Gallery, ThinkDance, Groundswell Mural Project, NurtureArts, StartingArtists, Martha Graham Dance, Chez Bushwick, Williamsburg Arts Exchange (WAX), and ArtBuilding (Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts). He is currently a professor at The Los Angeles Film School, teaching writing and narrative craft as well as the occasional art history course. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School (2020), a JD from Fordham University School of Law (1997), and a BA from Columbia College, Columbia University (1991). Born in Washington, D.C., he was a longtime New York City resident before relocating to Los Angeles during the COVID pandemic, where he continues to develop work bridging music, image-making, literature, and performance art.
