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Our Faculty and Leaders
Ariel J. Benjamin: Faculty Mentor
Ariel Benjamin (she/they) is a lighting designer who has worked regionally and internationally in theatre, dance, opera, and broadcast television.
For the past decade, Ariel has been a staff lighting designer for The Lighting Design Group in NYC and worked for such clients as: CNN, Bloomberg, MTV, NY1, SNY, and CNBC.
Currently, she is the lighting designer for the Tamron Hall Show on ABC since its launch in 2019 and the senior lighting designer for Yahoo! NY Studios.
Ariel received her MFA in Theatre Design from the University of Maryland and her BA in Theatre Arts from SUNY New Paltz. She is a member of USA 829 and NABET and a proud native of Brooklyn, NY.
Raja Benz: Reinventing Classical Traditions for the Modern World Faculty
Raja Benz (she/her) is a distinguished theatre-maker, cultural consultant, and intimacy professional recently relocated to the Metro-Detroit region. A proud Filipina-American Trans woman, Raja has established herself as a transformative voice in theatre through her advocacy and pedagogy which centers on highlighting the rich histories of queer of color praxis as the foundation for inclusive, authentic, consent-based approaches to intimacy for stage and screen.
Raja’s career has spanned a number of milestone projects, including serving as the cultural consultant for Pride as part of Tectonic Theatre Project’s Seven Deadly Sins under the direction of Moisés Kaufman. Raja’s work has been featured in collaborations with many other prominent theatre companies including Signature Theatre, Studio Theatre, Live & In Color, IRT NYC, and Virginia Repertory Theatre. Raja’s work was also featured on Swagger (AppleTV), where she was an intimacy coordinator for the second season.
Raja holds a Certificate in Performance from the legendary Moscow Art Theatre, as well as both a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from Northern Illinois University, and a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University, where her graduate studies focused on movement for stage, devised theatre, intimacy coordination & choreography, and gender studies. Her thesis, “QTIES: Queer & Trans Intimacy as Emergent Strategy,” focused on developing queer of color driven inclusive pedagogical practices for teaching performance in contemporary theatre training institutions. During her time as a Graduate Student, and in the years following, Raja served as an adjunct professor of movement & devising and worked professionally in the Richmond theatre community– ultimately serving as the Community Engagement and Outreach Manager at the Richmond Triangle Players, a professional theatre focusing on queer stories and artistry. Raja is a highly-sought after educator, and has had the honor of presenting her work through colleges, universities, and independent intimacy programs across the world including The Educator Advocacy Program, Intimacy Coordinators of Color, Randolph College, Oberlin College, Penn State, Villanova University, The University of South Carolina Upstate, and at University of California system at large through the Summer in the Arts program housed at Fresno State University. Raja’s work is proudly now housed across four departments at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance where she serves as the Resident Intimacy Choreographer and Cultural Consultant.
Raja is an Associate Faculty of Theatrical Intimacy Education, where she has developed curricula including Working With Trans & Non-Binary Artists, Staging Sex Beyond the Binary, Sex Work on Stage & Screen, and Non-Monogamy, Polyamory & Staging the Group. In addition, Raja teaches and assistant teaches a wide-range of workshops including Best Practices for Theatrical Intimacy, Staging Sex: Outercourse, Power Play, Consent in the Acting Studio, Stage Managers and Intimacy, and Foundations of Race, Intimacy and Consent. She is a contributing author in two upcoming publications, The Intimacy Coordinators Handbook and Queering the Stage.
In short, Raja’s work is deeply rooted in a history of queer people of color organizing and navigating issues of consent and autonomy that extends well beyond the existence of the intimacy field.
RajaBenz.com | @Raja.In.Rehearsal
Nana Dakin: Faculty Mentor
Nana Dakin (นานา เดกิ้น) is a queer Thai American director of new work, classics and devised performance based in New York City. Her work pursues social equity by examining the way culture is constructed and unsettling dormant biases.
She is the first Thai theatre director to direct at the Royal Court Theatre in London and was the Associate Director for 4-time Tony-nominated play Mary Jane on Broadway, including Best Direction.
In NYC her work has been presented and developed at Ars Nova, Atlantic Theater Company, Bedlam, The Civilians, Clubbed Thumb, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Ma-Yi Theater Company, New York Theatre Workshop, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, The Playwrights Realm, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Soho Rep and more.
Recent NYC theatre credits include: Dear John (Brick Aux), Extraordinary Alien (Pan Asian Repertory Theatre), Should I Buy These Katanas to Fill the Void in My Heart (Ma-Yi Theater Company), Mammelephant (Superhero Clubhouse).
Recent regional theatre credits include: The Chinese Lady (Everyman Theatre), Again (Theater Mu), Eurydice (American Shakespeare Company).
Nana is a core member of B-Floor Theatre, Thailand’s most highly awarded theatre company, and of Superhero Clubhouse, an interdisciplinary collective creating theater for climate justice. Nana is also the Board President of the Thai Theatre Foundation. She has taught directing, devising and creative movement workshops in Thailand, the U.K and the U.S. As a performer with B-Floor Theatre, she performed in Thailand, Japan, Italy and the U.S.
She is an alum of the Soho Rep Writer Director Lab, NYTW 2050 Directing Fellowship, Clubbed Thumb Directing Fellowship, and Civilians R&D Group. She holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and an MFA in Theatre Directing from Columbia University.
Dennis Whitehead Darling: Faculty Mentor
Dennis Whitehead Darling is an award-winning Stage Director working in opera, theatre, musical theatre and film.
His recent directing credits include:
World Premieres of Marian’s Song (Houston Grand Opera), Sanctuary Road (North Carolina Opera), Why I Live at the PO (UrbanArias), Buried Deep (End Station Theatre) and The Secret River (Opera Orlando).
Other works include Jelly’s Last Jam – A Concert Reading (Long Wharf Theatre), The Falling and the Rising (Arizona Opera), La Bohème (Opera Columbus), Lost in the Stars (Annapolis Opera), The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess (Red Mountain Theatre), Independence Eve (Opera Birmingham), Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (Hattiloo Theatre/Spazio Teatro No’hma – Milan), Jelly’s Last Jam (Hattiloo Theatre), The Parchman Hour (Hattiloo Theatre), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Spazio Teatro No’hma –Milan), Intimate Apparel (University of Memphis), Movin’ Up in the World (Opera Memphis), Sunset Baby (Hattiloo Theatre), James and the Giant Peach (Circuit Playhouse), Blue Viola (Opera Memphis), Mr. Rickey Calls A Meeting (Hattiloo Theatre), Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet (Hattiloo Theatre).
Film credits include: Hansel and Gretel (Opera On Tap), Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Carnegie Mellon University).
Associate Directing credits include: AITAF on Broadway (Studio 54), The Last of the Love Letters (Atlantic Theatre), Light’s Out: Nat “King” Cole (Geffen Playhouse), Skeleton Crew (Geffen Playhouse).
In 2018, he was selected by Opera Memphis as their Inaugural McCleave Fellow in Directing, a fellowship dedicated to fostering the careers of Stage Directors and Music Directors of color.
Throughout his career, Dennis has expressed one major goal, “to tell emotionally engaging and provocative stories that challenge the viewer to see the world from a different perspective.”
Nehassaiu deGannes: Faculty Mentor
photo by David Noles
Nehassaiu deGannes (she/her/hers) is a Caribbean-diaspora multi-hyphenate actor, playwright, maker and poet.
Recent acting credits include: the 2024 Canadian premieres of Marcus Gardley’s The House That Will Not Stand and Sherlock Holmes and The Mystery of The Human Heart (Shaw Festival;) the 2023 world-premieres of Nathan Alan Davis’ The High Ground (Arena Stage) and Dave Harris’ INCENDIARY (Woolly Mammoth;) Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare Theatre;) Measure for Measure (Shakespeare & Co.;) and the rolling world-premiere of My Lord, What A Night (Florida Studio Theatre.)
Fluent in classical, contemporary, research-driven and newly devised experimental works, Nehassaiu originated “Angie” in Soho Rep’s Off-B’way Obie Award winning world-premiere of Aleshea Harris’ Is God Is, and has collaborated on new-play development with the historic Crossroads Theatre Genesis Festival, Target Margin, The Tank, Buran Theater, Dixon Place, Barrington Stage, Vermont Northern Stage, Page 73 and New York Rep.
Cited “Best Performance In A Play 2017” by The Wall Street Journal for her portrayal of “Esther” in Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel at Shakespeare & Co., she is also recipient of the 2016 Berkshire Theatre Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her nimble comedic tripling as Nell Gwynne, Maria, and Lady Davenant in Liz Duffy Adams’ Or,. She has twice served as featured performer for The UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, toured nationally with Cynthia Oliver’s COCo Dance Theatre, and plays “Krystal Rullan” in the indie-feature, Equal Standard, co-produced by Ice-T.
In her plays and solo-shows, Nehassaiu deploys assemblage to awaken repositories of myth and memory, dredge resilience from traumatic dispersals and create a collaborative envisioning of race and belonging. Her solo-work Door of No Return, originally produced at Brown University’s Rites and Reason Theatre, has now been performed and presented at theatres and colleges throughout the Northeast, including Easthampton’s Guild Hall, Syracuse University, Shakespeare & Co., CUNY Staten Island and The GAMM.
Her short plays, “The Frangipani Door,” “Dreaming the Differential,” “Ree & Lexie Go to College,” have received festival productions, and in 2024, she received an Atlantic Theater Caribbean MixFest new play commission. Her book-length collection of poems, Music for Exile, was published by Tupelo Press in 2021.
From 2016 to 2023, when her acting schedule allowed, Nehassaiu served as Part-Time Lecturer in the Theater Program at Princeton University, and in 2022 joined the Advisory Board of Randolph College’s first-ever low-residency MFA in Theater. She has created solo-performance workshops for Shakespeare & Co., and Rhode Island College, and has brought her original Blues Cosmology Voice/Text curriculum to Boston University’s BA/BFA Theater Program, The Randolph College MFA Residency, and The Boston Co-Lab Intensive for BIPOC Actors.
Past faculty and teaching positions include: Rhode Island College, where she was Half-Time Assistant Professor of Theater (2007-2012;) RISD; Goddard College; Brown University; Temple University; and The Simone de Beauvoir Institute at Concordia University. Nehassaiu holds an MFA in Poetry (Brown University,) an MA in African American Studies (Temple,) a BA in English Lit (McGill,) and completed her graduate acting training at Trinity Rep Conservatory.
She is now based in Brooklyn, ancestral land of the Munsee-Lenape, is a 52nd St Project Volunteer, a proud member of AEA, and is repped by The Talent House, NY & Toronto.
Up next: Nehassaiu joins CanStage for the 2025 Canadian Premiere of FAT HAM!
Melissa DuPrey: Faculty Mentor
An AfroLatina performer, storyteller, & comic from the heart of Chicago, Melissa DuPrey is a native of Humboldt Park.
After earning double Bachelor degrees from the University of Houston, she returned to Chicago to join the all-Latina theatre company, Teatro Luna. Her one-woman show, SEXomedy, was developed during their monthly series for women of color in the arts and received a Chicago Reader Recommendation, a Member’s Pick, and had a successful debut Off-Broadway in New York.
Her second solo show, SUSHI-frito, has also been critically acclaimed as part of MPAACT’s Signature Series for solo artists.
Regional Theatre credits include: Tilikum (Sideshow Theater Company), The Compass (Steppenwolf Theatre) and Luna Gale(Goodman Theatre).
Other theatre credits include American Beauty Shop (Chicago Dramatist), SUSHI-frito (Free Street Theatre), Adoration of the Old Woman (Urban Theatre Company), and A Citizen’s Anthology(Inconvenience Theatre), Forecast (ICAH/MCA), and PUTAS!(Teatro Luna).
Film credits include: Two in the Bush (2017), The Way We Speak(2014), and Bromance (2014).
Melissa was a featured actor in the Emmy-nominated web-series Brown Girls. Other TV credits include appearances on “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Empire,” “Chicago PD,” and “The Chi.”
She is currently an Ensemble Member at UrbanTheater Company, and the Director of Production and Community Relations at Free Street Theater.
As a stand-up comic, DuPrey has performed in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and various reputable venues throughout Chicago such as Zanies, Riddles, Second City’s UP Comedy Club, Mikey O Comedy Show, and The Abbey Pub. Ms. DuPrey has also been a regular guest on WGN’s late-night radio show hosted by Comedian Patti Vasquez and a guest performer/panelist at the National Hispanic Leadership Summit.
As a musician and active member of her community, she is dedicated to the preservation of Puerto Rican culture by way of the folkloric music, Bomba y Plena, with Africaribe and Las BomPleneras.
Ginna Hoben: Faculty Mentor
Ginna Hoben is an actor/director/playwright based in Queens, New York. Her specialty in solo performance covers the writing, acting, directing, and consulting of one-person plays. She premiered her solo play The Twelve Dates of Christmas (Playscripts, Inc.) at American Shakespeare Center in 2010. The play has since enjoyed over one hundred productions nationally and worldwide. Her critically acclaimed solo play No Spring Chicken (Playscripts, Inc.) premiered in D.C.’s 2015 inaugural Women’s Voices Theatre Festival. She read her latest solo play, Diary Bonfire, as part of Forestburgh Playhouse’s New Works Festival and is developing it for future production.
Other produced plays include the four-female holiday comedy, Decked! (Theatre B in Fargo, ND); pierced! (New York and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals); the wind-chill factor (The Actors Theatre of Louisville); and the short plays: telephone (ATL); Spit Spat Splendor Spite (from “Shakespeare in Mind,” Dramatic Publishing); and A Song of Good Life (Vermont Shakespeare Company.)
Ginna’s directing credits include the solo plays Every Brilliant Thing, On The Exhale, and The Twelve Dates of Christmas as well as The Wolves, Silent Sky, and Almost, Maine. She has performed in thirty-two plays at American Shakespeare Center including Taming of the Shrew (Kate), The Merchant of Venice (Portia), the titular role in the World Premiere of Shakespeare’s Sister, Every Brilliant Thing (Storyteller), and most recently The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged [revised] (again.) Other favorite performances include What The Constitution Means To Me (The Hippodrome Theatre); Hand To God (Forestburgh Playhouse); The Thanksgiving Play (The Kitchen Theatre); The Revolutionists (The Human Race Theatre); Next Fall and The 39 Steps(CATCO); The World Premiere of Richard Dresser’s What Are You Afraid Of? (Humana Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville); and The Equalizer (CBS.)
Previously a writer/post-producer for Food Network’s Hungry Games and National Geographic’s Emmy-nominated Brain Games, these days Ginna can be heard as Marina, the host of Spotify’s children’s podcast Deep Blue Sea. She also writes and voices for the children’s podcast Who Smarted? In addition to her creative work, Ginna is a yoga and fitness instructor and mother to a ten-year-old daughter.
Ɖavid Lee Huỳnh: Faculty Mentor and Nonprofit Theatre for a Digital Age
Đavid Lee Huỳnh is a Ragin’ Cajun Asian-American award-winning actor and writer. He is based in New York City where he also serves as the co-producing artistic leader of The Sống Collective and one of the cast members of the official Dungeons and Dragons television series Encounter Party.
Off-Broadway credits include the critically acclaimed revival of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice which premiered Off-Broadway at Theatre for a New Audience before transferring to The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC and is set to transfer overseas to the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland; the twice Drama-Desk nominated and NY Times Critics Pick Off-Broadway revival of Henry VI (National Asian American Theatre Company); the world premiere of Once Upon a (korean) Time (Ma-Yi Theatre Company); the world premiere of the twice Drama-Desk nominated Warrior Sisters of Wu, Emperor’s Nightingale, No-No Boy (Pan Asian Rep); The Trial of the Catonsville Nine (Transport Group); Mrs. Warren’s Profession (Gingold Theatrical Group); P*SSYC*CK KNOW NOTHING: An Extended Moment of Troubling Imagery (Target Margin Theatre).
Regional credits include Yale Repertory Theatre, Denver Center, Alley Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Everyman Theatre, Mixed Blood, and many others.
TV/Film credits include Blue Bloods, FBI, Solitary (“Best in Brooklyn”, 2022 Brooklyn Sci-Fi Film Festival, nominee for Best Actor [Short Film] alongside Andrew Scott, 2021 Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival), Children of the Dust, What’s Missing, Encounter Party.
He is the Ozark Living Newspaper Theatre Company Playwright-in-Residence and a Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America 2023/2024 Project YZ Fellow.
His voiceover career includes audiobook titles such as Tom Hanks’ debut novel “The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece”, “Star Wars: The High Republic – The Battle of Jedha”, “Star Wars: The Impossible Flight of Ash Angels”, “Minecraft: The Shipwreck”, the Audie-Award winning “Clementine and Danny Save the World [and Each Other]”, and over fifty other titles. He has also provided dubbing for foreign films, television programs, anime, and ADR/looping for network television series.
He holds a BFA from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and an MFA from the University of Houston Professional Actor Training Program.
www.davidleehuynh.com | @huynhsome
Bianca LaVerne Jones: Faculty Mentor
Bianca LaVerne Jones is an accomplished Broadway Associate Director, known for her outstanding work on productions such as Chicken and Biscuits and Thoughts of a Colored Man at Syracuse Stages and Baltimore Center Stage. Her expertise extends to regional theaters and artistic art houses and libraries, notably directing ILLMATIC at Bed Stuy Art House and Head Above Water at African American Research Library and Cultural Center.
Jones has showcased her directorial prowess in various productions, including Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks and Curls at Baltimore Center Stage and Crumbs from the Table of Joy at Lantern Theater.
Her commitment to storytelling and diverse narratives is evident in her work on A Small Oak Tree Runs Red at the Billie Holiday Theater in Brooklyn, Blks at MCC/NYC, and The First Noel at Classical Theater of Harlem and Apollo Theater in NYC.
In the realm of film, Jones has made a mark with her own production, MABEL, and contributions to projects like Emmy nominated The Gaze (Episodes 108 & 109) with Tell Me a Story Productions in Los Angeles. Her involvement in Mother’s Milk, Undercover Sidechick, and Storkers as a Script Supervisor in London further underscores her multifaceted talent.
Bianca LaVerne Jones holds a wealth of training from esteemed institutions such as NCSA, SUNY Purchase, Yale, and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (MA-Directing). Her dedication to the craft has earned her several awards, including the DC Black Theater Festival’s Best One Act Play in 2013, the 2019 Broadway World Award for Best Actress, 2018 AUDELCO Award for Best Ensemble, 2024 ESSENCE Finalist for her film MABEL.
With an impressive portfolio and a commitment to excellence, Bianca LaVerne Jones continues to contribute significantly to the world of theater and film, showcasing her passion for storytelling and artistic innovation.
Jim McManus: New Play Development
(Playwright) Jim was born in the dying steel mill town of Donora, Pennsylvania to young, chronically broke parents. He grew up in the company of steel mill laborers, coal miners and ne’er do wells where he inexplicably excelled in school and dreamed of a life without generational poverty. He didn’t see a play until scholarship took him to University in Pittsburgh and never dreamed that he would grow up to write plays romanticizing the people who he commonly refers to as “folks who could see every place they’d ever been by climbing a tree.” With a supportive high school teacher and several scholarships later, he can with pride say that he has earned a BA in English from Duquesne University and an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University.
He’s landed some dream gigs since then, such as writing and developing work for TV, teaching adults to write plays at a community college and writing documentary theater about the kinds of people he grew up with and loved him into being a writer. As he tends to write plays about poor and undereducated folks that many in theater would like to pretend don’t exist, he doubts very much that you’ll see any of his plays on Broadway, but deeply hopes that you will support the wonderful companies that have presented his work.
He is now the author of a dozen plays: The Rivers Don’t Know, Radioman, Altar Boy, Love on San Pedro, The Friendly Tavern, Dry Bones, Gen U, Dorothy 6, Morning in America, Underground, Cherry Smoke and Blood Potato. His plays have traveled to places he never dreamed he would visit and have been performed and developed at La Jolla Playhouse, Cornerstone Theater Company, Labyrinth Theater Company, The Road Theatre, Working Theater, Glass Umbrella Creative and Criss Cross Productions (Sydney), Revolt Theatre (Melbourne), City Theatre, New Dramatists, Round House Theatre, Irish Repertory Theatre, The Lark and the August Wilson Center for African American Culture.
Jim was the recipient of the Princess Grace Award for his MFA thesis play, Cherry Smoke, which is published by Concord Theatricals. Somehow, the kid who collected aluminum cans to raise $8 to see his first WWF wrestling show at Ringgold High School in 1983 has taught playwriting at fancy universities across the country including Princeton University, UNCG, UNCSA, Spelman College and Carnegie Mellon University.
Jim has also received awards that he didn’t know existed such as the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award and is a proud alumnist of New Dramatists, where he has developed many of his plays about the working poor.
He dreams to one day live in a country where there are no longer “working poor” and hopes you will read or see one of his plays to remind him that all of this is really happening.
Sohina Sidhu: Faculty Mentor
Sohina Sidhu (she/her) is an actor and artist originally from California.
While at Yale School of Drama, she was in YELL (Jeremy O. Harris), Kiss (Yale Rep), Much Ado About Nothing, Death of Yazdgerd, The Seagull, and The Tempest among others. She conceived and directed The Red Tent, directed NOVIOS pt. 1, both at the Yale Cabaret, and appeared in The Trojan Women at Yale Summer Cabaret. Other theatre credits; The Seagull, STRATA, Caenis (Pace Gallery).
TV credits include Evil (Paramount Plus/Netflix), Little Voice (Apple TV +), and Prodigal Son (Fx) among others; Film credits: The Society (short), DATING in New York (IFC Feature). Her short film Vuka, was a finalist for best directorial debut and best short thriller (Barcelona Intl Festival & FilmHaus Berlin) and screened at 9 other international festivals.
Sohina holds degrees in theatre from University of Southern California School of Theatre and film from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts; and an MFA in Acting from the Yale School of Drama. She is a member of The Actors Center and The National Alliance of Acting Teachers. She is currently on faculty for Theatre and Performance Studies at Yale University and CineStudio in Paris, France.
Lelund Durond Thompson: Faculty Mentor
Lelund Durond Thompson is an actor, acting coach, photographer, writer, and director based in Los Angeles.
He enjoys using his diverse skill set to tell stories that heal and capture people in their best light.
After studying acting at North Carolina A&T State University (BFA) and Case/Cleveland Play House (MFA), he started his career as a professional actor in New York while also working regional, off-Broadway, and international shows in theaters and venues like Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Sons d’Hiver Festival in Paris (with iconic American artist Melvin van Peebles).
In 2010, he discovered his passion for photography. Since then, he’s enjoyed capturing Cynthia Erivo, Danielle Brooks, Sting, Daniel Radcliffe, and many of New York’s and Hollywood’s most talented artists.
In 2014, he founded Lelund Durond Studios, attracting and securing clients/projects like Diane Guerrero and Joivan Wade (“Doom Patrol”, HBO Max), Radha Blank (Sundance 2019 Directing Award Winner for “The Forty Year Old Version”) and the upcoming MGM feature film “Respect” (featuring clients Jennifer Hudson and Marlon Wayans).
In 2016, the world famous Apollo Theater (in collaboration with The Classical Theatre of Harlem) premiered “The First Noel”, an original holiday musical he wrote with Special Tony Award recipient, Jason Michael Webb (“Respect”, Executive Music Producer). He and Jason are honored to be commissioned by National Black Theatre as they write their new musical, “WiLDFLOWER.”
Karl O’Brian Williams: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and New Play Development Faculty
Karl O’Brian Williams is a Jamaican-born actor, playwright, producer, director and educator.
His acting career has taken him from stages in the Caribbean to those in New York, Toronto, and the United Kingdom.
In 2021 he received an Audie Award nomination for his narration of Maisy Card’s “These Ghosts are Family.”
The short film Winston was adapted from his monologue “The Kept Man,” and received over eighteen film festival selections including the Hip Hop Film Festival, BronzeLens, Circle City Film Festival, Queen City Film Festival, the Pan African Film Festival and the African American Film Festival.
His play The Black That I Am has been staged in Glasgow and Galloway for the National Theatre of Scotland, and at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival.
Not About Eve had a successful run Off-Off-Broadway in New York, Queens, Brooklyn, Rochester, Hartford, CT, and North Carolina at the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem. In 2013 the play received 3 AUDELCO nominations for Excellence in Black Theatre including Outstanding Ensemble Cast, Best Dramatic Production, and Best Playwright.
Excerpts of his play “What’s In A Name” have been published in Out & Allied Volume 2: An Anthology of Performance Pieces by LGBTQ Youth & Allies.
His other published play “The Signs of Friendship” is part of the theatre anthology: We’re Not Neutral Reset Series 2020.
He has served as Deputy Chair and Theatre Coordinator in the Speech, Communication and Theatre Arts Department at The Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY), and as Adjunct at NYU Steinhardt in the Program in Educational Theatre.
He has taught at the City College of New York and done teaching artistic work with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Apple Arts, and Wingspan Arts.
For NYU and the Center for Multipurpose Education & Programs, Williams has directed the Martin Luther King Jr. signature event since 2011 and has produced shows for the Skirball Performing Arts Center and the Jamaica Performing Arts Center.
He is currently a mentor with the Arthur Miller Foundation, and part of Playground-LA’s Writers Pool Season 11.
As Artistic Director for Braata Productions, he curates the organization’s bi-annual Caribbean Play Reading Series, creates educational theatre curriculum for after school and senior center programs, and created Braata’s annual events, Bankra Caribbean Folk Festival and Old Time Grand Market.
He has shared the stage with Harry Belafonte and the late historian and activist Howard Zinn, and pursues artistic projects that interrogate socio-political issues, especially those intersecting with Caribbean culture, queerness, and immigration.
Jose Zayas: Faculty Mentor
José Zayas is an award-winning director. He has directed over 100 productions in New York, regionally, and internationally.
Credits include: El Perro del Hortelano (Gala Theatre), Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes) (En Garde Arts), The Queen of Basel (Studio Theatre, DC), Exquisita Agonía (Repertorio Espanol), The Magnetic Fields: 50 Song Memoir (BAM, MASS MoCA, US & European Tours), A Nonesuch Celebration (BAM), Washed Up on the Potomac (San Francisco Playhouse, The Flea Theater), Undocumented (Joe’s Pub), Pinkolandia and El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom (Two River Theater), The House of the Spirits (Teatro Espressivo, Gala Theatre, Denver Center, ACE, HOLA, and Ovation Awards for Best Production and Direction), Your Name Will Follow You Home, La Nena Se Casa, Love in the Time of Cholera, In the Time of the Butterflies, In The Name of Salome, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, Burundanga (Repertorio Español, ACE and HOLA Awards for Best Production and Direction for the latter two), Corazon Eterno, (Mixed Blood), Southern Promises and Strom Thurmond is Not a Racist (PS 122, The Brick), Useless (IRT), Father of Lies and Vengeance Can Wait (PS 122); P.S. Jones and the Frozen City, Feeder: A Love Story (TerraNOVA Collective); Privilege, Okay, Mrs. Jones and the Man From Dixieland (EST), The Idea of Me (Cherry Lane Theatre), The Queen Bees (Queens Theatre in the Park), Manuel Vs. The Statue of Liberty and Children of Salt (NYMF), Cancun, Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Gala Theatre, DC), Wedding Dress, The Island of Lonely Men (Teatro Espressivo, Costa Rica), Grapes of Wrath, Romeo & Juliet (The American Shakespeare Center).
José has premiered works by Stephin Merritt, Hilary Bettis, Nilo Cruz, Caridad Svich, Robert Askins, Thomas Bradshaw, Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater, Taylor Mac, Marco Antonio Rodriguez, Lynn Rosen, Saviana Stanescu, Carlos Murillo, Rob Urbinati, Kristina Poe, Catherine Filloux, James Carter, Gerardo Cardenas, Matt Barbot, Susan Kim, and Jordi Galceran.
Notable fellowships and affiliations include: a Drama League Fellowship, Lincoln Center Theater’s Directors Lab, SoHo Rep’s Writer/Director Lab, and the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. He is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre and he was the Resident Director at Repertorio Español from 2008-2018. José was born in Puerto Rico. He holds a BA from Harvard University and an MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University.
Jessica Zivny: Faculty Mentor
Jessica is a long-time multi-passionate artist, born in (and currently based in) NYC. Her life in theatre began in her undergrad years, where she built a career directing musicals in schools, as well as working as a choreographer, costumer, and running school stage crews. Her decade of work as a theatre educator included obtaining her Masters Degree in Educational Theatre from CUNY City College in 2014.
Jessica’s years of experience as an educator has ranged from Lighting Design Teaching Artist at the High School of Performing Arts on 42nd Street, to Adjunct Professor of Technical Theatre and Stage Management at Simon’s Rock at Bard College. This past Spring, she had the pleasure of being a Master Artist at BOCES Long Island High School of the Arts where she was able to focus on teaching props (which was a dream come true!).
Though Educational Theatre played a major role in her career, she also continued to work professionally as an Equity Stage Manager (Shakespeare & Company, WAM Theatre, Hang a Tale, First Maria), Costume Shop Manager (Barrington Stage Co., American Shakespeare Center), and most vitally, as a Props Artist.
Jessica’s career shifted to focusing on props when she began working as the Resident Props Supervisor at Williams College in 2014. Alongside her four years at Williams, Jessica also began working in props at other Berkshire theatre companies such as Barrington Stage and WAM Theatre. Jessica stayed with Barrington Stage as their Props Supervisor for over three seasons, now having worked on over 30 productions there.
Jessica has been Props Supervisor at Manhattan Theatre Club since 2019. She has propped a dozen Broadway shows with MTC, most recent credits include Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Mary Jane, and Prayer for the French Republic. She is most proud of the two Tony Nominations for best Scenic Design that she played a major role in: Skeleton Crew (designer, Michael Carnahan), and Jaja’s (designer, David Zinn).
Some of her favorite Off-Broadway credits include A Sherlock Carol (New World Stages), Poor Yella Rednecks (MTC), Bella Bella (MTC), Socrates (The Public Theater). A couple other favorite projects include Set Dresser for Dylan Mulvaney’s 365 Live! (The Rainbow Room) and Costume Crafts for How to Dance in Ohio (Belasco Theatre).
In 2020, Jessica became a Certified Interior Decorator and established her company Interiors by Jessica Lee. Since theatres were shut down at that time, it was the perfect transition to continue creating spaces for others. She is still actively designing homes, rooms, and businesses when she is able to. She believes that your space reflects how you feel, and is a vital part of personal self expression. The difference between set dressing and designing homes is slim, at the heart of it you are creating an environment and telling a story.
Faculty Left: Faculty Mentor
José Zayas is an award-winning director. He has directed over 100 productions in New York, regionally, and internationally.
Credits include: El Perro del Hortelano (Gala Theatre), Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes) (En Garde Arts), The Queen of Basel (Studio Theatre, DC), Exquisita Agonía (Repertorio Espanol), The Magnetic Fields: 50 Song Memoir (BAM, MASS MoCA, US & European Tours), A Nonesuch Celebration (BAM), Washed Up on the Potomac (San Francisco Playhouse, The Flea Theater), Undocumented (Joe’s Pub), Pinkolandia and El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom (Two River Theater), The House of the Spirits (Teatro Espressivo, Gala Theatre, Denver Center, ACE, HOLA, and Ovation Awards for Best Production and Direction), Your Name Will Follow You Home, La Nena Se Casa, Love in the Time of Cholera, In the Time of the Butterflies, In The Name of Salome, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, Burundanga (Repertorio Español, ACE and HOLA Awards for Best Production and Direction for the latter two), Corazon Eterno, (Mixed Blood), Southern Promises and Strom Thurmond is Not a Racist (PS 122, The Brick), Useless (IRT), Father of Lies and Vengeance Can Wait (PS 122); P.S. Jones and the Frozen City, Feeder: A Love Story (TerraNOVA Collective); Privilege, Okay, Mrs. Jones and the Man From Dixieland (EST), The Idea of Me (Cherry Lane Theatre), The Queen Bees (Queens Theatre in the Park), Manuel Vs. The Statue of Liberty and Children of Salt (NYMF), Cancun, Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Gala Theatre, DC), Wedding Dress, The Island of Lonely Men (Teatro Espressivo, Costa Rica), Grapes of Wrath, Romeo & Juliet (The American Shakespeare Center).
José has premiered works by Stephin Merritt, Hilary Bettis, Nilo Cruz, Caridad Svich, Robert Askins, Thomas Bradshaw, Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater, Taylor Mac, Marco Antonio Rodriguez, Lynn Rosen, Saviana Stanescu, Carlos Murillo, Rob Urbinati, Kristina Poe, Catherine Filloux, James Carter, Gerardo Cardenas, Matt Barbot, Susan Kim, and Jordi Galceran.
Notable fellowships and affiliations include: a Drama League Fellowship, Lincoln Center Theater’s Directors Lab, SoHo Rep’s Writer/Director Lab, and the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. He is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre and he was the Resident Director at Repertorio Español from 2008-2018. José was born in Puerto Rico. He holds a BA from Harvard University and an MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University.
Faculty Right: Faculty Mentor
Dennis Whitehead Darling is an award-winning Stage Director working in opera, theatre, musical theatre and film.
His recent directing credits include:
World Premieres of Marian’s Song (Houston Grand Opera), Sanctuary Road (North Carolina Opera), Why I Live at the PO (UrbanArias), Buried Deep (End Station Theatre) and The Secret River (Opera Orlando).
Other works include Jelly’s Last Jam – A Concert Reading (Long Wharf Theatre), The Falling and the Rising (Arizona Opera), La Bohème (Opera Columbus), Lost in the Stars (Annapolis Opera), The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess (Red Mountain Theatre), Independence Eve (Opera Birmingham), Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (Hattiloo Theatre/Spazio Teatro No’hma – Milan), Jelly’s Last Jam (Hattiloo Theatre), The Parchman Hour (Hattiloo Theatre), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Spazio Teatro No’hma –Milan), Intimate Apparel (University of Memphis), Movin’ Up in the World (Opera Memphis), Sunset Baby (Hattiloo Theatre), James and the Giant Peach (Circuit Playhouse), Blue Viola (Opera Memphis), Mr. Rickey Calls A Meeting (Hattiloo Theatre), Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet (Hattiloo Theatre).
Film credits include: Hansel and Gretel (Opera On Tap), Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Carnegie Mellon University).
Associate Directing credits include: AITAF on Broadway (Studio 54), The Last of the Love Letters (Atlantic Theatre), Light’s Out: Nat “King” Cole (Geffen Playhouse), Skeleton Crew (Geffen Playhouse).
In 2018, he was selected by Opera Memphis as their Inaugural McCleave Fellow in Directing, a fellowship dedicated to fostering the careers of Stage Directors and Music Directors of color.
Throughout his career, Dennis has expressed one major goal, “to tell emotionally engaging and provocative stories that challenge the viewer to see the world from a different perspective.”
Leadership
Stephanie Holladay Earl: Director
Stephanie Holladay Earl has worked professionally as an actor, director, and choreographer for the last 20 years. She is an Associate Professor, Head of Undergraduate Theatre, and the Director of the MFA Theatre Program at Randolph College. She also serves as Artistic Director for Endstation Theatre Company.
Stephanie earned her BA in Theatre Performance and Dance from Greensboro College and her MFA in Acting from The University of Houston PATP.
Earl moved to Virginia to work as an actor and choreographer at The American Shakespeare Center in 2011. Roles include Hermione in The Winter’s Tale, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Olivia in Twelfth Night, and the Duchess in The Duchess of Malfi.
Stephanie has worked with Endstation Theatre Company for many years. Her roles with ETC include Rosalind in As You Like It 2018, Neddy McCullough in The Bluest Water, and Tara in Buried Deep.
Other regional theatre acting work includes credits from The Barter Theatre, Main Street Theater Houston, and The Farm Theatre.
Her work as a Director and choreographer has been seen by audiences at The American Shakespeare Center, The Barter Theatre, Greensboro College, Greensboro Children’s Theatre, Milligan College, and Main Street Theater Houston.
American Shakespeare Center directing credits include the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021 productions of A Christmas Carol, Every Brilliant Thing, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and Amy E. Whiting’s Anne Page Hates Fun (the first production in ASC’s Shakespeare’s New Contemporaries series).
Earl has choreographed dance pieces for more than 30 ASC productions.
Her direction for the ASC’s production of A Christmas Carol received praise from DCMetro: “…with Stephanie Holladay Earl’s intricately-woven choreography and direction, this new production soars in ways I never thought possible.”
Ally Farzetta: Assistant Director
Ally Farzetta is a professional actor, theater-maker, and educator. In addition to serving as Assistant Director of MFA Theatre Ally directs productions and teaches classes for the Randolph College Performing Arts Department.
Ally earned her BA in Theatre Arts from the State University of New York at New Paltz and her MFA in Acting from FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training.
Over the last decade Ally has performed in classical, contemporary and new works at numerous regional theatres around the country, including Asolo Repertory Theatre, Shakespeare and Company, Virginia Stage Company, Virginia Repertory Theatre, American Stage, Shadowland Stages, and more.
Ally spent two years touring the country with the American Shakespeare Center, where she played many roles in over ten productions, including Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, and Hermione in The Winter’s Tale.
Advisory Board
Administrative Faculty
Patrick Earl
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theatre
Randolph College
Heather Sinclair
Assistant Professor of Theatre,
Technical Director,
Randolph College
Gary Dop
Dean of Graduate Studies & Innovation,
Professor of English
Randolph College
