Cast & Artistic Staff Bios

CAST

Seth Andrew Bridges

(Jonathan/Charles, Fight Captain) is a NYC based actor and stuntman, and is thrilled to be back in Syracuse! Previously at Stage: 12 Angry Men, Noises Off, The Three Musketeers, and Great Expectations. Off-Broadway: The Daughter-in-Law (Mint Theatre Company). Regional theatre: The Three Musketeers (Alley Theatre); Alabama Story (Pioneer Theatre Company, world premiere); 12 Angry Men (Indiana Repertory Theatre); Alfred Hitchcock’sThe 39 Steps (Riverside Theatre); A Christmas Carol, The Tempest, Sherlock Holmes, Bear Country, Twelfth Night (Alabama Shakespeare Festival); Peter and the Starcatcher (Arkansas Repertory Theatre); Proof, One Man, Two Guvnors (TheatreSquared); Hay Fever, The Dingdong (Florida Repertory Theatre); and The Liar (Gulfshore Playhouse). Film & Television: over 75 titles, including most recently The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon); Bright Side (Apple TV); Succession (HBO); Modern Love (Amazon); Gossip Girl (HBO); Pose (FX); and Only Murders in the Building (Hulu). Interactive: Red Dead Redemption 2. He holds a B.F.A. from NYU – Tisch. Thanks and love to #tinybae. For Sam. www.sethandrewbridges.com

Rishan Dhamija (Robert/Thomas) is an actor/ writer based in New York. Rishan’s parents were hyped to hear that after graduating from acting school (UNC, M.F.A. ‘19), he’d get to play doctors and IT guys on TV. Something they couldn’t get him to do in real life. He wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction. And so, he got his second M.F.A. in dramatic writing (NYU-Tisch ‘21) so that he could create authentic South Asian content for himself and his friends. Rishan recently appeared on TV shows like Apple TV’s Little Voice and NBC’s New Amsterdam and will be seen next in Apple TV’s limited series WeCrashed. He last appeared at Syracuse Stage as Raj in Yoga Play.

Shabazz Green (Trevor, u/s Robert). New York credits: Bars and Measures (Urban Stages); Philosophy for Gangsters (Beckett Theatre); Intruder: The Musical (Hudson Guild). Regional credits: Oklahoma! (Denver Center for the Performing Arts); Topdog/Underdog, Sister Act: The Musical (Lake Dillon Theatre Company); Cinderella, Hands on a Hardbody (Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center); To Kill a Mockingbird (Greenbrier Valley Theatre); The Ballad of Trayvon Martin (New Freedom Theatre); Little Rock (Passage Theatre); Portrait of the Widow Kinski (Vivid Stage); Humbug (Premiere Stages). Film: Romance in the Digital Age. @shabazzgreen www.shabazzgreen.com FEAR NOT!

Kate Hamill (Annie) is an actor/playwright. She is thrilled to return to Syracuse Stage, where she previously appeared in Talley’s Folly (Sally Talley),

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Noises Off (Poppy Norton-Taylor), and in her own play Pride and Prejudice (Lydia / Lady Catherine). Kate was Wall Street Journal Playwright of the Year, 2017; she was one of the most-produced playwrights nationwide 2017-2020. Her work includes her play Pride and Prejudice at Primary Stages / HVSF (in which she originated role of Lizzy; nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award), Sense and Sensibility at Bedlam (originated role of Marianne; winner, Off-Broadway Alliance Award; nominee, Drama League Award); Vanity Fair at the Pearl Theatre (originated the role of Becky Sharp; nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award), Mansfield Park at Northlight, Little Women at Primary Stages and the Jungle, Dracula at Classic Stage Company (originated role of Renfield). Her plays have been produced off-Broadway, at A.R.T., the Guthrie, Seattle Rep, PlayMaker’s, Folger, OSF, Trinity Rep, Shakespeare Theatre of DC, Dallas Theater Center, Long Wharf, the Alley, A.C.T., and others; upcoming at the Guthrie, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and more. World Premieres in 2022: her modern take on Sherlock Holmes, Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson, #2B premiered with Kansas City Rep in February and will be at Portland Center Stage next; her Emma premieres at the Guthrie in May, and her Prostitute Play comes to Cygnet Theater in October. www.kate-hamill.com

Angie Janas (Sandra/ Florence) is thrilled to return to Syracuse Stage after playing Lizzy Bennet in Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice (Broadway World Award for Best Actress in a Play). Off-Broadway credits: Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Macbeth, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (The Acting Company); Stuffed (Westside Theatre). Select regional credits include The Glass Menagerie at Barrington Stage Company; The Lion in Winter at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; Romeo and Juliet, The Three Musketeers and King Lear at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival; In Game or Real and The Winter’s Tale at the Guthrie Theater; and The Revolutionists and The Merchant of Venice at Gulfshore Playhouse. Education: University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program. Big love to Carl. www.angiejanas.com

Jason O’Connell (Chris/ Inspector) is thrilled to be returning to Syracuse Stage after having the privilege of performing for both Stage’s last inperson audiences before the pandemic (as Salieri in Amadeus) and its first in-person audiences after the industry’s 18-month hiatus (as Don in Eureka Day). In between, he appeared in Stage’s 2020 streaming production of Talley’s Folly (opposite his wife Kate Hamill, whose adaptation of Pride and Prejudice Jason directed for Stage in 2019). Off-Broadway: Judgment Day (Park Avenue Armory); Happy Birthday, Wanda June (Wheelhouse - The Duke on 42nd St); Pride and Prejudice (Primary Stages); Sense and Sensibility (Bedlam - The Gym

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at Judson); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Pearl); The Saintliness of Margery Kempe (The Duke); The Seagull (Bedlam - The Sheen Center); and Jason’s own solo show, The Dork Knight (Primary Stages, Joe’s Pub, Abingdon Theatre Company, etc). Regional: 11 seasons at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (including Caliban in 2021’s The Tempest), Jason’s own adaptation (with Brenda Withers) of Cyrano at Two River Theater and HVSF, and seasons with American Players Theatre, Kansas City Rep, Great Lakes Theater, Peterborough Players, Florida Studio Theatre, Northern Stage, Arkansas Rep, Delaware Theatre Company, etc. TV: Search Party, Law & Order: SVU, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. www.jason-oconnell.com

Blake Segal (Dennis/ Perkins) is beyond thrilled to return to Syracuse Stage after appearing in Noises Off, Amadeus, and Matilda the Musical. National Tour: Mary Poppins; Regional: Williamstown, The Old Globe, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Yale Rep, Paper Mill Playhouse, PlayMakers Rep, Connecticut Rep, Chautauqua Theater Company, Tantrum Theater, The Public Theatre, Heritage Rep; NYC: Noor Theatre, The Araca Project, NYMF, Fault Line Theatre, Three Day Hangover; TV: Blue Bloods; Awards: Barrymore Award nominee; Training: University of Virginia (B.A.) and Yale School of Drama (M.F.A.); Faculty: Syracuse University Department of Drama. Please visit www.blakesegal.com for more. Thank you to the artistic team, Bass/Valle casting, and all of you for returning to the theatre so we can laugh together again.

John Tufts (Max/Cecil/ Gardner) is thrilled to be making his Syracuse Stage debut. OffBroadway he has performed with Ensemble Studio Theater, The Mint Theatre, and Primary Stages where he received a Lucille Lortel Nomination for his roles in Kate Hamill’s celebrated adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Regionally John has acted at The Guthrie Theater, The Goodman Theater, Arena Stage, Seattle Rep, MTC, Actors Theater of Louisville, McCarter Theater, PlayMakers Rep, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. His artistic home has been 13 seasons with the Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival, playing everything from Chico Marx to Henry V. John is also an avid cook and author, having written a cookbook exploring the food of Shakespeare’s England titled Fat Rascals: Dining at Shakespeare’s Table. Love to his wife Chris, and his 8-year-old Henry. Television: Bad Teacher, Fashions for Men. Awards: Arthur Kennedy Award, Indy Award: I Am My Own Wife. www.john-tufts.com

Stella Bunch (u/s Sandra) is absolutely thrilled to be participating in her first production with Syracuse Stage. She is a current sophomore

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acting major from Springfield, VA, with a love for all things physical theatre. You may have seen her in the Department of Drama’s recent New Works, New Voices project Miss Havisham’s Wedding. When she’s not falling onstage, she’s (likely) falling in real life. She would like to thank her professors, parents, and wonderful friends for their constant support and guidance. She hopes you enjoy the show and have a little chuckle or two! Instagram: @stellabunch

Jessica Cerreta (u/s Annie) could not be more excited to make her Syracuse Stage “dayboo.” She is currently a sophomore musical theatre major at in the Department of Drama from Hopewell Junction, NY. Jessica has studied clowning since the age of 14, but some would say that she’s always been like that. We still don’t really know. You may have seen her most recently in Department of Drama’s New Works, New Voices staged reading Miss Havisham’s Wedding. She would like to thank her friends and family for all of their love and support in this process. @jessica.rose.cerreta Mom, look! It’s me. Oh wait.

Jaemon Crosby (u/s Chris) is a current sophomore actor singer major in the Syracuse University Department of Drama from Philadelphia, PA. He is beyond excited to be able to work with Syracuse Stage again after working in the Syracuse Stage/Department of Drama co-production of Matilda the Musical. He would like to thank his amazing family for always supporting his dreams and being there always. Instagram: jcros1214

Taylor Hendricks (u/s Dennis/Trevor) is grateful to be a part of this wonderful production. This is Taylor’s second show with Syracuse Stage. He was previously seen as Michael/Doctor in Matilda the Musical. He would like to thank the cast and creative team for making this show possible. He sends his love to family, friends, and teacher/coaches who helped him get to this point.

Derek Powell (u/s Max/ Jonathan) is thrilled to be making his acting debut at Syracuse Stage. Regional credits include RedHouse Arts Center, Hangar Theater, The Cherry Arts, and Cortland Repertory Theatre. Derek is a member of the Building Company Theater ensemble, which devises original plays and facilitates workshops in the Syracuse community. He would like to thank Dominick, Tracie, and his family for all the love and support.

ARTISTIC STAFF

Czerton Lim (Scenic Design) is excited to be returning after having designed his third holiday production for Syracuse Stage, Matilda the Musical, along with Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Elf the Musical (SALT Award for Best Set Design of a Musical 2019), and designing last year’s streaming production of Talley’s Folly. Most recently, he collaborated with The Hangar Theatre Company and The Cherry Arts’ reinterpreted production of An Odyssey. He has frequently worked at the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival at the MerryGo-Round Playhouse (now the Rev Theatre Company), having designed Murder for Two, Ghost the Musical, Parade, Crazy for You, Sweeney Todd and West Side Story to name a few. NYC credits include Storm Theatre, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, National Asian-American Theatre Company, Theatre Mitu/NYU-Abu Dhabi, and New York Musical Theatre Festival. He has been featured in an Art Profile for the May/ June Issue of Central New York Magazine. He teaches scene design and other related topics at the State University of New York at Fredonia. A proud member of USA local 829, he is originally from the Philippines. www.czlimdesign.com

Suzanne Chesney (Costume Design) is pleased to return to Syracuse Stage where she previously designed Talley’s Folly, The Wolves, Next to Normal, To Kill a Mockingbird, Blithe Spirit, and The Turn of the Screw. Her other regional credits include The Humans, Between Riverside and Crazy, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Glass Menagerie, and Clybourne Park at the Pittsburgh Public Theater. Or, What She Will, Chicago, Dégagé, Third, and A Christmas Carol at the Hangar Theatre. Suzanne is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre where she has designed numerous productions over the last 10 years including world premieres of Photograph 51, Isaac’s Eye, Kentucky, Please Continue, Lenin’s Embalmers, and Spill. Suzanne was an assistant costume designer on Law & Order (NBC) during seasons 16-20 and season one of Unforgettable (CBS). www.michaelmooreagency.com www.suzannechesney.com

Matthew Webb (Lighting Designer) is thrilled to join Syracuse Stage for his second “first” project (having previously worked on 2020’s Yoga Play) and to collaborate again with Bob Hupp and Mike McCurdy after many years together at Arkansas Rep. Matt’s work has been seen at Arden Theatre, Asolo Rep, Seattle Children’s Theatre, San Jose Rep, ZACH Theatre, Arkansas Rep, Phoenix Theatre, New Stage Theatre, and many others (most recently, Teenage Dick at Seattle Rep,) as well as around the corner at Cortland Rep, where two of his designs were nominated for SALT Awards. Matt received his M.F.A. from the University of Washington, and he teaches stage design at Mississippi State University. mwebbdesign.com

Jacqueline R. Herter (Sound Design) has served as resident sound designer

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at Syracuse Stage and Syracuse University’s Department of Drama since 1997. She shifted and combined theatrical design with video/film design for last year’s season. Herter has designed for Indiana Repertory Theatre, Studio Arena, the Wilma, Geva, Round House, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Virginia Stage, and the Hangar Theater as well as other theatres across the nation. Some favorite designs have been: Annapurna, Beauty and the Beast, Next to Normal, Mary Poppins, Nine, Hairspray, The Overwhelming, Caroline, or Change, The Miracle Worker, The Wolves, The Day Room, The Christians, Radio Golf, Parade, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Red Noses, The Real Thing, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, M. Butterfly, A Raisin in the Sun, A Lesson Before Dying, Copenhagen, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Inherit the Wind, and Big River.

Mara Rich (Properties Design) has worked in props design, construction, and management for more than a decade. She currently serves as prop shop supervisor for Syracuse Stage and an instructor for props classes in the Syracuse University Department of Drama. While she predominately works on the production and construction side of props, she loves the backstory and storytelling she gets to create in her design work. The Play That Goes Wrong has been a great opportunity to combine both problem solving and design. While the show holds many challenges, it is a prop designer’s dream show. Christopher DuVal (Fight Choreography) is very pleased to be returning to Syracuse Stage having last appeared in the 2013 production of UP. He has acted, directed, and fight directed at regional theatres across the country, including at such venues as South Coast Repertory, Dallas Theatre Center, Denver Theatre Center, Sacramento Theatre Company, Idaho Repertory Theatre, Utah Opera, Salt Lake Acting Company, and Pioneer Theatre Company. Additionally, he has worked extensively at Shakespeare Festivals in Utah, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, and Orange County. Representative productions include Romeo and Juliet, Count of Monte Cristo, Henry V, Twelfth Night, Sweat, I Hate Hamlet, Mojada, Troilus and Cressida, Heart of Robin Hood, King Lear, Taming of the Shrew, Henry IV, Parts I and 2, Henry VIII, Henry VI, Hamlet, Dracula, Three Musketeers, Wit (world premiere), and many others. He has served as an actor, fight director, or teacher of stage combat to the resident acting company at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 18 seasons. Chris is recognized as a Certified Teacher/Fight Director/ Theatrical Firearms Instructor with the Society of American Fight Directors, a Master Teacher and Senior Fight Director with Dueling Arts International, an Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework, and holds a 2nd degree black belt in Aikido. He is the author of Stage Combat Art: An Integrated Approach to Acting, Voice, and Text Work, published by Bloomsbury Methuen. Chris is cur-

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rently an associate professor of Acting and Stage Combat in the Actor Training Program at the University of Utah.

Celia Madeoy (Dialect Coach). Celia’s Syracuse Stage performances include Deb in Elf the Musical (SALT Award), Madame de la Grande Bouche in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Miss Andrew in Mary Poppins, Guido’s Mother in Nine, Frances Flute/Thisbe in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mrs. Dubose in To Kill a Mockingbird, Aunt Ev in The Miracle Worker, and Mrs. Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol. Stage productions Celia has dialect coached include Matilda the Musical, Pride and Prejudice, Deathtrap, Mary Poppins, Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, To Kill a Mockingbird, Peter Pan, The Underpants, and The Glass Menagerie. Celia originated the role of Flo in the North American World Premiere of Saturday Night Fever at Merry-Go-Round/Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival. She also served as dialect coach on the musical Parade at Merry-Go-Round, which won the 2017 Syracuse Area Live Theatre (SALT) Award for Best Production. Celia has acted in almost all of Shakespeare’s canon with The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Shakespeare & Company, Folger Theatre, Marin Shakespeare Company, The Gateway Playhouse, and the American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriars Playhouse playing such roles as Lady Macbeth, Emilia in Othello, and Jacques in As You Like It. Internationally, Celia has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in three world premiere plays, To Chekhov With Love, Who Killed Pablo Neruda?, and A Scarlet Letter. As actor and coach, she continues to work alongside distinguished directors and voice teachers of the Royal Shakespeare Company, British American Drama Academy, Canada’s Moving Voice Institute, Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. Celia received her M.F.A. in acting from The Theatre School Conservatory at DePaul University in Chicago, and continues to enjoy her twelfth year on performance faculty at Syracuse University Department of Drama.

Stuart Plymesser (Production Stage Manager) is in his 25th season at Syracuse Stage where he has stage managed over 100 plays, musicals, and special events, working with such talents as Jason Alexander, Olympia Dukakis, Frank Langella, Elizabeth Franz, and Phylicia Rashad. Stuart has worked at numerous regional theatres around the country and in Cape Town, South Africa, and has toured nationally. Locally, he has also stage managed events for Syracuse Fashion Week. In addition, Stuart is adjunct faculty for Syracuse University’s Department of Drama and has been a guest speaker/lecturer for Ithaca College, Wells College, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Fredonia, and the Zabalaza Festival in Cape Town. Outside of theatre, Stuart has trained at Aikido of Central New York for over a de-

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cade and holds the rank of Shodan (first degree black belt.) Stuart is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.

Bass/Valle Casting (Casting), formerly Harriet Bass Casting, is a leading NYC boutique casting office. To know more about their upcoming projects and casting philosophy please visit www.bassvallecasting.com. Harriet Bass has cast for ABC/TV, Fox Television Studios, The Public Theatre: NEW WORK NOW, The Minetta Lane Theatre, The Women’s Project, La MaMa E.T.C., New York Women in Film and Television, and The Jewish Repertory Theatre. She has cast the last three of the late August Wilson’s ten part play series: the original Radio Golf, Broadway Gem of the Ocean, and Off-Broadway Jitney. Harriet is also a leading educator in audition technique, side and monologue coaching, and the business of acting. She has taught at the nation’s top universities and professional training programs. Gama Valle is a director, playwright, screenwriter, children’s book author, and casting director. His casting credits include: The American Tradition, The Great Novel, Split Second, I Wanna Fuck Like Romeo and Juliet, among others. He is a proud member of New Light Theatre Ensemble and the recipient of the Van Lier Directing Fellowship at Repertorio Español. Gama received the First Prize in playwriting from Puerto Rico’s Institute of Culture for his play Queishd&Dilit. Their regional casting credits include: Mark Taper Forum, Hartford Stage, Arena Stage, Trinity Rep, San Jose Rep, GeVa, Syracuse Stage, Pittsburgh Public, Merrimack Rep, Longwharf Theatre, Alliance Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, Kansas City Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, Huntington Theatre Company, Virginia Stage Company, Dallas Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep, Portland Center Stage, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. Feature films credits include: Pushing Hands directed by Ang Lee, Underheat, starring Lee Grant, First We Take Manhattan, produced by Golden Harvest Inc., and Graves End, directed by Sal Stabile.

WRITING TEAM

Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, and Jonathan Sayer. Henry, Henry, and Jonathan met while training at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). All core members of Mischief Theatre, they had already worked in comedy together for several years before they started out as a writing team. The three’s first piece was The Play That Goes Wrong (winner – Best New Comedy – Olivier Awards and What’s On Stage Awards). The show started out on the London and Edinburgh fringe before touring the UK and internationally and then returning to the West End in September 2014, where it is still running. It played

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on Broadway and has been performed in over 20 other countries around the world. Peter Pan Goes Wrong was the trio’s second piece, opening in November 2014 for a UK tour before a hugely successful West End season in Christmas 2015. Henry, Henry, and Jonathan recently adapted the script of Peter Pan Goes Wrong for the BBC, which was filmed with the original West End cast and broadcast to rave reviews on New Year’s Eve. They were invited back to wreak more havoc at the BBC in 2017 with Christmas Carol Goes Wrong on BBC1. The Comedy About A Bank Robbery marks their third writing project as a trio and earned them another Olivier Nomination. @mischiefcomedy and mischieftheatre.co.uk

DIRECTOR/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Robert Hupp is in his sixth season as artistic director of Syracuse Stage. He recently directed Eureka Day, Annapurna, Talley’s Folly, Amadeus, Noises Off, Next to Normal, and The Three Musketeers for Stage. Prior to coming to central New York, Robert spent seventeen seasons as the producing artistic director of Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock. He directed over 30 productions for Arkansas Rep ranging from Hamlet to Les Miserables to The Grapes of Wrath. In New York City, Robert directed the American premieres of Glyn Maxwell’s The Lifeblood and Wolfpit for the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble. He also served for nine seasons as the artistic director of the Obie Award-winning Jean Cocteau Repertory. At the Cocteau, Robert’s directing credits include works by Buchner, Wilder, Cocteau, Shaw, Wedekind and the premieres of the Bentley/Milhaud version of Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children, Seamus Heaney’s The Cure at Troy, and Eduardo de Filippo’s Napoli Millionaria. He has held faculty positions at Pennsylvania’s Dickinson College and, in Arkansas, at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Hendrix College. Robert served as vice president of the Board of Directors of the Theatre Communications Group and has served on funding panels for the New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, the Theatre Communications Group, the New Jersey State Council of the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. While in Arkansas, Robert was named both Non-Profit Executive of the Year by the Arkansas Business Publishing Group, and Individual Artist of the Year by the Arkansas Arts Council. He and his wife Clea ride herd over a blended family of five children, one dog, and two cats.

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Jill A. Anderson has served as managing director of Syracuse Stage since 2016. Jill is responsible for Stage’s $7.5 million operating budget and has oversight of fundraising, marketing, and operational matters within the organization. Prior to joining Stage, Jill spent a decade as general manager at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. During her tenure, the O’Neill completed a $7 million capital campaign and campus expansion, doubled its operating budget, and was honored with a 2015 National Medal of Arts and the 2010 Regional Theatre Tony Award. Under the O’Neill’s aegis, Jill also developed the Baltic Playwrights Conference, an annual international new play development retreat held in Hiiumaa, Estonia. Previously, Jill spent five years in the production office at Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage, after working as a stage manager in Minnesota, New Mexico, and Massachusetts. In addition to her work at Stage, Jill is an instructor in the Theater Management program of the Syracuse University Department of Drama, building on her work with high school and college students elsewhere, including at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Jill was recognized as part of the Central New York Business Journal’s “40 Under Forty” awards in 2017 and has served on numerous municipal and non-profit boards. Jill is delighted to call Central New York home, but will always be a proud cheesehead, originally hailing from Marshfield, Wisconsin.

ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Melissa Crespo is a director of new plays, musicals, and opera. Upcoming: world premiere of Justice, book by Lauren Gunderson, music by Bree Lowdermilk, and lyrics by Kait Kerrigan (Arizona Theatre Company). As a playwright, her play Egress, co-written with Sarah Saltwick, will receive an NNPN rolling world premiere at Salt Lake Acting Company. Fellowships and residencies include: Time Warner Fellow (WP Theatre), Usual Suspect (NYTW), The Director’s Project (Drama League), Van Lier Directing Fellow (Second Stage Theatre), and the Allen Lee Hughes Directing Fellow (Arena Stage). Melissa received her M.F.A. in directing from The New School for Drama. She is a founding editor of 3Views on Theater and was featured in the 2020 Broadway Women’s Fund “Women to Watch on Broadway”.

RESIDENT PLAYWRIGHT

Kyle Bass is the author of the play Possessing Harriet, commissioned by the Onondaga Historical Association, which premiered at Syracuse Stage in 2018, was subsequently produced at Franklin Stage Company, and will be produced at the East Lynn Theater Company and at SUNY Cortland in 2022. His new plays are salt/city/blues, which will have its premiere at Syracuse Stage in 2022, Citizen James, or The Young Man Without A Country, a one-man show on James Baldwin, commissioned by Syracuse Stage, which streamed in 2021, the libretto for Libba Cotton: Here This Day, a new opera based on the life of American folk music legend Libba Cotten, commissioned by The Society for New Music, and Wakeman & Toliver, commissioned by Franklin Stage Company. Kyle’s other full-length plays include Tender Rain, Bleecker Street, Baldwin vs. Buckley: The Faith of Our Fathers, which has been presented at Cornell University, Colgate University, the University of Delaware, and was presented at Syracuse University in September 2021, and Separated, a documentary theatre piece about the student military veterans at Syracuse University, which was presented at Syracuse Stage and the Paley Center in New York. With National Medal of Arts recipient Ping Chong, Kyle is the co-author of Cry for Peace: Voices from the Congo, which premiered at Syracuse Stage and was subsequently produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre in New York. Kyle has also written for Noh theatre under commission by Theatre Nohgaku. Kyle is the coauthor of the original screenplay for the film Day of Days (Broad Green Pictures, 2017), which stars awardwinning veteran actor Tom Skerritt, and the author of the screenplay Abundance, an adaptation of the novel Milk by Darcy Steinke. As dramaturg Kyle worked with acclaimed visual artist and MacArthur Fellow Carrie Mae Weems on her theatre piece Grace Notes: Reflections for Now, which premiered at the 2016 Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, subsequently produced at Yale Rep and the Kennedy Center, and he was script consulted on Thoughts of a Colored Man, which premiered at Syracuse Stage in 2019 and opened on Broadway in 2021. Kyle’s plays and other writings have appeared in the journals Callaloo and Stone Canoe, among others, and in the essay anthology Alchemy of the Word: Writers Talk about Writing. Kyle is the founding curator of Syracuse Stage’s annual Cold Read Festival of New Plays, which has hosted some of the country’s mostproduced playwrights, including Larissa FastHorse and Kate Hamill. He has also served Syracuse Stage as literary manager and resident dramaturg and received the 2021 Impact Award as Artist as Manager, presented by the Arts Administration Program at Le Moyne College. After five seasons as associate artistic director at Syracuse Stage, in September 2021 Kyle was announced the theatre’s first-ever resident play-