Bios

Timothy B. Tyson Author Timothy B. Tyson, author of the much-acclaimed Blood Done Sign My Name and other award-winning books, is a Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies and Visiting Professor of American Christianity and Southern Culture in the Divinity School at Duke University. Blood Done Sign My Name, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and winner of the Christopher Award and the North Carolina Book Award, was the 2005 selection of the Carolina Summer Reading Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, assigned to all new undergraduate students. Tyson’s previous book Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power (UNC Press, 1999) won the James Rawley Prize and was co-winner of the Frederick Jackson Turner Prize, both from the Organization of American Historians. He also co-edited, with David S. Cecelski, Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and its Legacy (UNC Press, 1998), which won the 1999 Outstanding Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America. Tyson was a John Hope Franklin Senior Fellow at the National Humanities Center in 2004–05. He is a North Carolina native and a graduate of Duke.

Mary D. Williams Vocalist PlayMakers: Debut. With a voice reminiscent of Mahalia Jackson, her dynamic vocals soothe troubled minds and lift the heavy hearts of those who witness her awesome performances. Powerhouse psalmist Mary D. Williams is truly that - "power in the house". A native of Raleigh, NC, Mary is no stranger to the gospel scene. She has been ministering solo at local churches, festivals and various events for many years, developing a strong following from performances with such artists as Bobby Jones, Sister Cantaloupe, Lee Williams & the Spiritual QC's, Luther Barnes, Keith "Wonder Boy" Johnson, as well as appearances on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).

Other performances include ministering at the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. in Washington, DC, the Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh, NC, Duke University Chapel, Bobby Jones Gospel Recording Retreat in Las Vegas, traveling with Duke Divinity Professor Dr. Timothy Tyson and the United Methodist Western Conference. She received Female Vocalist of the Year at the NC Gospel Announcers Guild's Prestige Awards ceremony. Mary keeps herself very busy ministering the word of God throughout the eastern half of the United States. She is a specialist in ministering to women who are struggling with marital challenges. 17

Mary D. Williams is not only an anointed psalmist, she is a devoted wife and a loving mother of three young men. Mary is also in the process of writing her first novel and owns her own women’s apparel business, Mrs. WMS Accessories.

Jai Bradford Director PlayMakers: Debut. Broadcast TV & cable television news/programming with emphasis on corporate content marketing development, production strategies, cost analysis, and go-to-market with tactile deployment. Detail oriented producer, director, writer, videographer and editor. Diverse background in producing corporate, broadcast, and independent programming. Brand marketing consultant with an emphasis on web design, digital media/multimedia platform development.

He was the Executive Producer, Writer, and Director for Fresh to Flavorful, a tour of all things food-related in the North Country, for Maine Public Broadcasting in 2011–2012. Director of Photography and lead camera for Bay-Café, a food and lifestyle program for: KRON/Bay-TV/NBC-4. His team won the James Beard award twice for outstanding original programing 2000–2001. Jai has produced television programming, sports, and news segments for CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and The Discovery Channel.

Serena Ebhardt Original Director for the Stage PlayMakers: Debut. Serena Ebhardt is the co-founder of EbzB Productions (www.EbzB.org) An award-winning actress, Ms. Ebhardt has performed in Europe, Canada, Off-Broadway, on national tours, upon regional stages and in television and film. Her production of War Bonds: The Songs and Letters of World War II, which she co-wrote and performs, is featured on public broadcasting stations across the United States.

Her professional performance career began at the age of six, and has grown to include many other aspects of the art including writing, teaching, producing, theatre administration and directing. Serena’s directing work is influenced by the theories of Overlie’s Viewpoints and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. In 1994, Serena wrote, produced and directed Brown v. Board of Education, a one-man show featuring Mike Wiley. The two artists found similar philosophies and working styles which lead to partnerships on a multitude of projects including Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till, Tuskegee, Blood Done Sign My Name and Life is So Good. Serena is a Paul Green Scholar with a B.A. in

Dramatic Art from UNC-Chapel Hill. Her training includes Master Classes at Hedgerow Theatre and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts: Artists as Educators. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.

Blue Umbrella Group

Blue Umbrella focuses on B2B marketing & brand development, multimedia production, and entertainment. We provide our clients with strategic solutions that support sales teams, spur revenue growth, and fill the pipeline through identification of new targets and expansion of existing client bases. Our clients benefit from innovative, but strategically sound, traditional and digital content that tells their Brand story in fresh new ways. Blue Umbrella Entertainment is the multimedia arm of the firm, focusing on film and TV production. We produce content that serves to uplift and strengthen ties to the community and build a pathway to social change.

Vivienne Benesch Producing Artistic Director

Vivienne is in her fifth full season as a company member and Producing Artistic

Director at PlayMakers, where she has helmed productions of Dairyland,

Life of Galileo, Leaving Eden, The May Queen, Three Sisters, Love Alone, RED, and In The Next Room. For 12 seasons, she served as Artistic Director of the renowned Chautauqua Theater Company and Conservatory, presiding over the company’s transformation into one of the best summer theatres and most competitive summer training programs in the country. She directed more than fifteen productions at CTC including an acclaimed reimagining of Romeo and

Juliet featuring the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Theatre, Opera and

Dance companies. She brought CTC’s production of Amadeus, performed with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic, to the

Virginia Arts Festival featuring PlayMakers company member Ray Dooley.

Vivienne has also directed for the Folger Shakespeare Theatre (Helen Hayes nomination for best direction 2019), The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey,

Trinity Repertory Company, and Red Bull Theatre, among others. In 2018, she directed the world premiere of Noah Haidle’s Birthday Candles for Detroit

Public Theatre and will be directing it again on Broadway in 2021, starring

Debra Messing. As an actress, Vivienne has worked on and off-Broadway, in film and television, at many of the country’s most celebrated theatres, and received an Obie Award for her performance in Lee Blessing’s Going to St.

Ives. Vivienne is a graduate of Brown University and NYU’s Graduate Acting 20 Program. As an educator, she has directed for and served on the faculty of some

of the nation’s foremost actor training programs, including The Juilliard School, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Professional Actor Training Program, Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Program, and at her alma mater, NYU’s Graduate Acting Program. She is the 2017 recipient of the Zelda Fichandler Award given by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation.

Michael Rolleri Production Manager Michael is in his 34rd season with PlayMakers Repertory Company. He has been Technical Director, Project Manager, Exhibition Technician, and Lighting Designer for industrial shows in the Southeast region, as well as lead carpenter for films, the U.S. Olympic Festival, and scenic studios. He has also been a rigger in the Southeast region and has served on the executive board and as President of IATSE Local 417. Michael is a 30 year Gold Pin member of IATSE. An active member of United States Institute For Theatre Technology (USITT), he is a three-time winner at USITT's Tech Expo. He is a full Professor/Head of the Technical Production Program at UNC-Chapel Hill and was an instructor at High Point University and Tufts University. Education: MFA in Design and Technical Production, UNC-Greensboro.

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