Author: Ryan Foy

Randi Berry

Randi Berry is an indie theater maker and organizer with over 20 years of dedicated service to the performing arts community. As the Executive Director of IndieSpace, she oversees radically transparent, equity-focused funding, real estate programs, and advocacy for individual artists, theater companies, and indie venues. She is dedicated to removing barriers to access, coalition building and partnerships. Her leadership led to the merger of Indie Theater Fund and IndieSpace in 2022, which together has provided over $2.5M in direct funding and countless hours of professional development and real estate advisory and consulting for the indie theater community.

Isaac Bush

Isaac Bush is an award-winning international performer and practitioner based in New York City. Bush is the Founder and Executive Director of Brooklyn Art Haus, and Founder and Artistic Director of The Circle Theater of New York (CTNY) and SMPL MCHN (Simple Machine). Under Isaac’s leadership these companies have built ensembles of artists that create work geared toward social activism and cross-cultural engagement, often presented in site- specific locations. CTNY has premiered and toured both domestic and international titles including an adaptation of Woyzeck, premiere of FLASH FLASH BANG BOOM, premiere of The MOUNTAIN, premiere of Trail of Crumbs and Strangers with the National Theater of Luxembourg (TNL), premiere of the movement-based creation entitled Wellspring in London. His work has been seen in NYC, across Europe, Brazil, and China with numerous collaborators and producing organizations. As a performer Isaac has worked both internationally and regionally in the U.S., on tour, and extensively in his home base of New York City. Bush holds an MA from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), BA from Hope College, Certificate from the British-American Drama Academy, and Certificate from the GLCA New York Arts Program. Upcoming work includes the June 2024 premiere of Lone Wolf that will tour New York City, London, Luxembourg, and Croatia, and Unseen in September 2024. Bush continues to serve as a performer, director, and workshop instructor for devised performance and ensemble building methodologies.

More information is available by visiting:
www.isaac-bush.com
www.circletheaterny.org
www.smpl-mchn.com

Mino Lora

Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, People’s Theatre Project’s Founding Executive Director Mino Lora has been living and working as a theatre artist, activist, educator, and arts administrator in NYC since 2000. She has worked with young people in NYC, Dominican Republic and South Africa and been a guest lecturer and speaker at Yale University, The New School, Columbia University, Fordham University, City College and SUNY Potsdam. At PTP, she is responsible for company oversight, government and community relations, funder cultivation, and board and public relations. BA, English Literature and Theatre, Manhattanville College; MA, Peace Studies and Conflict Transformation, The Graduate Institute; Certificate in Nonprofit Management (CUNY)

David E. Shane

David E. Shane (he/him/his) is a director and arts administrator who is currently the Director of Program Services for A.R.T./New York where he sets the strategic vision and goals for a robust suite of programs serving 450+ New York nonprofit theatre organizations and a growing number of individual members. Since joining the organization in early 2019, David has overseen the development of new adaptive programming such as a theatre-specific Sexual Harassment Prevention Training. As a director he specializes in the development and production of new work for the American stage and his credits include the Off-Broadway productions of Gidion’s Knot (TheatreRow,) Mare In The Men’s Room (Am. Theatre of Actors,) as well as the World Premiere productions of Who Is Theo?, Cookie Fight, and Elijah at the Bristol Valley Theater. Prior to joining A.R.T./New York, David held positions as the Program Director for StageSource in Boston, MA and Associate Artistic Director of the Bristol Valley Theater in Upstate, NY where he oversaw the funding and launch of the BVT New Works Initiative.

Ashley J. Hicks

Ashley J. Hicks (a.k.a. Ash, she/her) works currently as a Programs Coordinator for A.R.T./New York.  Ash is an actor, writer, solo performer & teaching artist. She received her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in 2021 and was a participant in the 2022 Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase. To learn more about Ashley and her past/recent projects, please visit www.ashley-j-hicks.com

Nicky Maggio

Nicky Maggio or “N” (they/them) currently serves as Programs Manager at A.R.T/New York. N is a freelance theatrical curator with a focus on new play development and directing. Originally born in southeast Massachusetts, Nicky received their B.F.A. at Emerson College and then completed their M.F.A in Directing at The New School. For more information on their artistic projects, visit www.nmaggio.com @nickymaggio

Sam Morreale

Sam Morreale (they/them) is currently the Associate Producer at Soho Rep. With facilitation at the core of their practice, they’ve had a blossoming career as a creative producer working with many companies including Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, New York Stage and Film/Powerhouse, The Prelude Festival, Mixed Blood Theatre, Penumbra Theatre, and Theater Communications Group. In addition, Sam has developed a portfolio of consulting work in strategy planning, institutional alignment, and cultural change with arts organizations such as Center Theater Group, The New Harmony Project, Ars Nova, Boston Court Pasadena, A.R.T./NY, New Georges, and The Acting Company. Sam nurtures their artistic practice in rehearsal rooms as a dramaturg, director, and culture shaper constantly seeking to break down dissonance between artist and institution. B.A. Wesleyan University, Theater and Science in Society. @smorreale_reckons

Nicky Maggio

Nicky Maggio or “N” (they/them) currently serves as Programs Manager at A.R.T/New York. N is a freelance theatrical curator with a focus on new play development and directing. Originally born in southeast Massachusetts, Nicky received their B.F.A. at Emerson College and then completed their M.F.A in Directing at The New School. For more information on their artistic projects, visit www.nmaggio.com @nickymaggio

Ashley J. Hicks

Ashley J. Hicks (a.k.a. Ash, she/her) works currently as a Programs Coordinator for A.R.T./New York.  Ash is an actor, writer, solo performer & teaching artist. She received her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in 2021 and was a participant in the 2022 Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase. To learn more about Ashley and her past/recent projects, please visit www.ashley-j-hicks.com

Amanda Feldman

Amanda Feldman is currently the Managing Director of Classic Stage Company. Prior to this role she served as Managing Director of Page 73, where she produced five world premiere Off-Broadway productions and oversaw the finances, human resources, and marketing, as well as played a key role in strategic planning and organizational advancement. In her career, Amanda has produced new works Off-Broadway with The Foundry Theatre, En Garde Arts, The Play Company, Abrons Arts Center, and The Playwrights Realm. In 2011, she co-founded the Off Off Broadway company Neighborhood Productions to support entrepreneurial theater artists in self-producing their own works, and, for five years, she was the General Manager of the Lark Play Development Center. Feldman also led The NYC World Theatre Day Coalition until 2014, where she created and curated The Around-the-Globe Chain Play. She was the founding Managing Director of CollaborationTown and produced seven world premieres. Feldman currently serves on the board of History Matters/Celebrating Women’s Plays of the Past, and she is a WP Theatre Producer Lab alumna. BA from Tufts University.

Patricia McGregor

Born in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Patricia McGregor is the Artistic Director of New York Theatre Workshop, as well as a director and writer working across disciplines. McGregor has twice been profiled by The New York Times for her direction of world premieres. She was the inaugural Artist in Residence for Arts in the Armed Forces and an Old Globe Resident Artist, as well as a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow at Yale School of Drama.

Talia Corren

Talia Corren (she/her) is an experienced creative leader who is passionate about New York City’s vibrant theater ecosystem. Talia joins A.R.T./New York after six years of steering strategic and fundraising engagements with Advance NYC, where she partnered with over two dozen cultural, educational, and social service organizations across the five boroughs and beyond. At institutions ranging in size and lifecycle – from true start-up to established field leaders – Talia has collaborated with non-profit organizations at pivotal moments of growth and change, specializing in strategic planning, board development, fundraising strategy, and stakeholder engagement. Talia began her career at Playwrights Horizons before heading down the street to Signature Theatre, joining the team to close the $75M capital campaign and to plan and execute a full slate of inaugural events for the Pershing Square Signature Center. She then moved downtown to Soho Rep, where she managed all aspects of development during a time of tremendous growth. Talia also took a brief hiatus from Off-Broadway theater to launch The Uprising – a non-profit harnessing collective generosity to make our city 1% better every day – in partnership with the intrepid community builders of Mark Fisher Fitness. Talia is a proud native of Denver, Colorado, and a graduate of The University of Michigan (BFA, Musical Theater; BA, English).

Nicky Maggio

Nicky Maggio or “N” (they/them) currently serves as Programs Manager at A.R.T/New York. N is a freelance theatrical curator with a focus on new play development and directing. Originally born in southeast Massachusetts, Nicky received their B.F.A. at Emerson College and then completed their M.F.A in Directing at The New School. For more information on their artistic projects, visit www.nmaggio.com @nickymaggio

Ashley J. Hicks

Ashley J. Hicks (a.k.a. Ash, she/her) works currently as a Programs Coordinator for A.R.T./New York.  Ash is an actor, writer, solo performer & teaching artist. She received her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in 2021 and was a participant in the 2022 Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase. To learn more about Ashley and her past/recent projects, please visit www.ashley-j-hicks.com

Njeri Baker

Njeri Baker is a dedicated Arts Administrator with more than 7 years of theater experience across production, company management, and theater administration. She graduated from Howard University and New York University with a BFA in Theater Technology & an MA in Performing Arts Administration, respectively. Currently, she’s an Education Manager at Roundabout Theatre Company, managing their Theatrical Workforce Development Program. A program training young people in backstage theater work to diversify the technical theater industry.

Mitch Mattson

Mitch Mattson is the Director of Career Training and Operations at Roundabout Theatre Company – NYC’s largest not-for-profit theatre company. He leads a team of arts administrators and teaching artists fostering the next generation of dynamic theatre professionals through career and workforce development programs. His work has created partnerships with over 5 professional theatres and shops across NYC – enabling Roundabout’s Theatrical Workforce Development Program to provide training and jobs to early career technicians. He facilitates workshops and presents on theatre education topics nationally and internationally. Mitch is the recent Board Chair of the American Alliance for Theatre & Education and an alum of Coro: Leadership New York, LNY31. Previous work of his at Arena Stage in Washington, DC was sponsored by the US State Department, taking him to India to create theater with young people.

Sarah Lahue

Sarah Lahue has been working at the A.R.T./New York Theatres since 2018. As the Operations Manager for the Theatres, Sarah fields inquiries and helps to guide member companies and other renters through the process of booking time in the space and maintains the building calendar at large both for long and short-term rentals. She also manages the freelance Front of House Managers and is the point of contact for all front of house issues. In addition to her work at A.R.T./New York, Sarah works as a freelance stage manager both in Indie Theater and Off Broadway. She spends whatever free time is left watching horror movies.

Nicky Maggio

Nicky Maggio or “N” (they/them) currently serves as Programs Manager at A.R.T/New York. N is a freelance theatrical curator with a focus on new play development and directing. Originally born in southeast Massachusetts, Nicky received their B.F.A. at Emerson College and then completed their M.F.A in Directing at The New School. For more information on their artistic projects, visit www.nmaggio.com @nickymaggio

Ashley J. Hicks

Ashley J. Hicks (a.k.a. Ash, she/her) works currently as a Programs Coordinator for A.R.T./New York.  Ash is an actor, writer, solo performer & teaching artist. She received her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in 2021 and was a participant in the 2022 Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase. To learn more about Ashley and her past/recent projects, please visit www.ashley-j-hicks.com

Theresa Buchheister

Theresa Buchheister (they/them) is a director, writer, producer, performer and curator from Manhattan, KS. They currently operate as Artistic Director of The Brick (an experimental performance space in Brooklyn), The Exponential Festival (a January performance festival of deep fringe art) and Title:Point (16-year-old theater company specializing in oddity, slapstick and dread). Theresa also curates ?!:New Works, a works-in-progress gathering for all performance mediums. They used to run Vital Joint for 4 years, which was home to a veritable slew of alt comedy, weird dance, strange film and more. They were a part of DIY Bushwick performance venue Silent Barn for 4 years and The Ontological in St. Marks Church for 10 years. Theresa makes a living doing voice over work, directing and voicing cartoons, audiobooks and podcasts (BoyGirlDogCatMouseCheese, Pokemon, How Music Works, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Arrow of Time, RecursiveCast, etc).

Nicky Maggio

Nicky Maggio or “N” (they/them) currently serves as Programs Manager at A.R.T/New York. N is a freelance theatrical curator with a focus on new play development and directing. Originally born in southeast Massachusetts, Nicky received their B.F.A. at Emerson College and then completed their M.F.A in Directing at The New School. For more information on their artistic projects, visit www.nmaggio.com @nickymaggio

Ashley J. Hicks

Ashley J. Hicks (a.k.a. Ash, she/her) works currently as a Programs Coordinator for A.R.T./New York.  Ash is an actor, writer, solo performer & teaching artist. She received her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in 2021 and was a participant in the 2022 Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase. To learn more about Ashley and her past/recent projects, please visit www.ashley-j-hicks.com

Rebecca KellyG

Rebecca KellyG (she/her) supports individuals and groups to challenge conditioned beliefs, embrace accountability, and cultivate self-love for our personal and collective liberation. 

She is particularly invested in working with people of color to shed internalized racial oppression and its expression in BIPOC organizational practices and culture. In addition to facilitating organizational retreats and mediation, Rebecca is a sound artist and speaker. In a unique blend of public speaking and performance, she weaves vocal harmonies with percussive sounds to create meditative soundscapes accompanied by story-telling and affirmations. Rebecca has shared her sounds with spaces such as, The United State of Women, La MaMa Galleria, Theatre Communications Group, and Flux Factory Rhizome Project. As an equity consultant, she has worked with such places as HERE Arts Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Leslie Lohman Museum of Art, and Yale University Art Gallery. 

Risa Shoup

Risa Shoup (they/them/theirs) is a Co-Executive Director of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, a non-profit cultural services organization representing non-profit theaters throughout New York City and State. Risa has worked as an administrator, curator, and leader in the arts in New York City since 2005 focusing on the development of affordable artist workspace. They have extensive experience executing high-level public-private partnerships for project-based work focusing on the intrinsic and instrumental impact of the arts on community development. Risa is proud to have worked with some of New York City’s most beloved cultural institutions including chashama, BRIC, The Invisible Dog, FABnyc, and Spaceworks. Risa was a consultant on CreateNYC, New York City’s first-ever cultural plan, developed in concert between a team of consultants led by Hester Street Collaborative and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. They studied City and Regional Planning at Pratt Institute and are also on the boards of the Invisible Dog Art Center, Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts—NY, The New Majority, and the American LGBTQ+ Museum. They live in Brooklyn with their wife, daughter and cat.

Ashley J. Hicks

Ashley J. Hicks (a.k.a. Ash, she/her) works currently as a Programs Coordinator for A.R.T./New York.  Ash is an actor, writer, solo performer & teaching artist. She received her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in 2021 and was a participant in the 2022 Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase. To learn more about Ashley and her past/recent projects, please visit www.ashley-j-hicks.com

Nicky Maggio

Nicky Maggio or “N” (they/them) currently serves as Programs Manager at A.R.T/New York. N is a freelance theatrical curator with a focus on new play development and directing. Originally born in southeast Massachusetts, Nicky received their B.F.A. at Emerson College and then completed their M.F.A in Directing at The New School. For more information on their artistic projects, visit www.nmaggio.com @nickymaggio

Tavia Rivée Jefferson

Tavia Rivée Jefferson is a performer, director and communication specialist. After earning her Communications degree from Chapman University, Tavia returned to the arts, performing in shows including, All Shook Up, Trav’lin, Hairspray, Beehive, HAIR, Little Shop of Horrors, Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson ONE, the National Tour of Motown the Musical and Disney Theatricals workshop cast of Aida.  During the pandemic, Tavia focused her skills in interpersonal and organizational communication and cultural relations to build the specialized role of Cultural Coordinating, designed to improve cultural competency in artistic spaces.  Tavia is currently Cultural Coordinator for multiple regional, touring, West End, and Broadway productions, including To Kill a Mockingbird, Company, Hairspray and Other World at Delaware Theatre Company. Tavia Rivée Jefferson

Ashley J. Hicks

Ashley J. Hicks (a.k.a. Ash, she/her) works currently as a Programs Coordinator for A.R.T./New York.  Ash is an actor, writer, solo performer & teaching artist. She received her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in 2021 and was a participant in the 2022 Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase. To learn more about Ashley and her past/recent projects, please visit www.ashley-j-hicks.com