Frida
Johamy Morales, Director
Johamy Morales holds an MFA in acting from The Ohio State University, with a specialization in outreach and devising new work. Johamy currently serves as the Education Director for Creede Repertory Theatre (CRT) and is the new incoming Education Director at Seattle Children’s Theatre. She also serves as a Trustee for Theatre Communications Group (TCG). Prior to working with CRT, Johamy directed the Comparative Arts Department at Interlochen Center for the Arts, in Michigan. In 2017, Johamy collaborated with the US State Department, the US Embassy & Consulate and several NGO’s to promote awareness on gender-based violence in Kolkata and Ranchi, India. As an educator, artist, and director Johamy has worked with Arena Stage, Seattle Children’s Theatre, and La Jolla Playhouse. Johamy is an alumni of the Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship at Arena Stage and the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England. In 2004, Johamy toured with the Carnaval de Calaveras cast to Oaxaca, Veracruz, and Mexico D.F. and in 2006, she joined the cast of New World Jukebox where she performed in the Grahamstown National Arts Festival, in South Africa.
Hannah Herrera Greenspan, Dramaturg
Hannah Herrera Greenspan is a Chicago based dramaturg and writer, originally from Los Angeles, California. Her most notable Chicago dramaturgy credits include: Second Skin (WildClaw Theatre), The Soccer Player in the Closet (Nothing Without A Company), The Deflowerment of Wendy Diaz, and Augusta and Noble (The Theatre School, DePaul University). Chicago companies she’s worked with include, American Theater Company (Education and Youth Ensemble Fellow, 2017), First Floor Theater (Literary Assistant, 2017) and Victory Gardens Theater (Data Analyst, 2019). Dramaturgically, Hannah implements various forms of dramaturgy in her work such as collaborative dramaturgy, civic dramaturgy, and live action dramaturgy.
When Coquis Sing
Beliza Torres Narváez, Director
Beliza Torres Narváez is a Puerto Rican artist/scholar/educator. She is Assistant Professor of the Theater Department at Augsburg University where she teaches Acting, Latinx Performance, Applied Theatre and Theatre Histories. She holds a B.A. in Spanish Studies and Drama from the Universidad de Puerto Rico, an M.A. in Performance Studies from NYU, and a Ph.D. in Performance as Public Practice from the University of Texas. She also studied acting at the Laboratorio Malayerba in Ecuador, was a resident puppeteer of the Bread and Puppet Theatre, a dancer of the Hincapié Contemporary Dance Company and a fellow of the Pangea World Theatre Arts Organizing Institute. Her more recent work includes directing Karina Casiano’s Silence is Health (Nobel Peace Prize Forum, 17’) and Javier Murillo’s solo performance Broken English Mother Tongue (Minneapolis Fringe, NYC Fringe, 18). In she also performed her solo performances Resabios de Amargura or that bitter cabaret (Strike Theatre, 17) and Hi…perverted as part of Patrick’s Cabaret Latinx-Q (18) and Danced in choreographer Pedro Pablo’s Noche Bomba 2018.
Diana Burbano, Dramaturg
Diana Burbano is a Colombian immigrant, an Equity actor, a playwright and a teaching artist at South Coast Repertory and Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble. She is part of Center Theatre Group’s Writers Workshop for 2018-2019 and is under commission by Alter Theatre. Diana’s plays focus on female protagonists and social issues. Work: Policarpa (Finalist Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Oregon Shakespeare Festival Brown Swan lab 2017), Fabulous Monsters (Latinx Play Festival, San Diego Rep 2017), Caliban’s Island (2017 Headwaters New Play Festival), Enemy|Flint April 2018 at Rio Hondo College, and Linda, (English and Spanish), which has been seen all over the world. She was the 2018 playwright in residence for Marfa Live Arts in Marfa TX.
Merritt Anne and the Mighty Oak
Kathryn Chase Bryer, Director
Kathryn Chase Bryer is the Assoc. Artistic Director of Imagination Stage, She is a theatre artist with a background in directing, acting, dramaturgy, teaching, and administration and holds a B.S. from Northwestern University. For Imagination Stage, Kathryn has directed over 40 productions in the last 20 years and has helped to develop and commission over a dozen scripts, many of which have been published and produced around the country. She is also the Director of Early Childhood Theatre at Imagination Stage where she has written and collaborated on many scripts for children ages 1-5, many of which have been published by Plays for Young Children. She recently directed a revised production of the script she wrote with Artistic Director Janet Stanford, Wake up Brother Bear. In 2014, she directed The BFG which won the 2014 Helen Hayes for Best Scenic Design and Best Production, Theatre for Young Audiences, and Wiley and the Hairy Man which won the 2015 Best Production, Theatre for Young Audiences. Her production of Wonderland, Alice’s Rock and Roll Adventure received five 2018 Helen Hayes nominations, and won as Best Production, Theatre for Young Audiences and Kathryn was the recipient of the award for Best Director of a Musical (Hayes category). In addition to her duties at Imagination Stage, she has directed Scapin and Peter and the Starcatcher (Constellation Theatre Company, Washington DC ), Mage Knights of the Eternal Light (Catholic University MFA program), and The Late Wedding (Hub Theatre, Reston , VA) She has just finished directing The Wolves at Nextstop Theatre in Herdon, VA and next, she will be directing Escape from Peligro Island, a choose your own Adventure play for Imagination Stage.
Gloria Bond Clunie, Dramaturg
Gloria Bond Clunie is an award-winning playwright, educator and director. She is a founding member of the Playwriting Ensemble at Chicago’s Regional Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theater where her plays North Star, Living Green and Shoes premiered, and the founding Artistic Director of Evanston’s Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre. Other plays by this Northwestern University graduate (B.A.-Theater, MFA-Directing) include Sweet Water Taste, Smoke, Quark, Sing Malindy Sing! Mirandy and Brother Wind, Bankruptcy, and A Shot: #LoveStories inspired by Black Lives Matter. Awards include Chicago Jeff, Scott McPherson, Theodore Ward African-American Playwriting Prizes, Illinois Arts Council and Dramatists Guild Fellowships, AATE Distinguished Play Award, Children’s Theatre Foundation of America Medallion, Evanston Mayor’s Award for the Arts and recently a 2018 YWCA YWomen Leadership Award for her work as a theatre artist. My Wonderful Birthday Suit, commissioned by Chicago Children’s Theatre and her adaptation of Last Stop On Market Street (2016 Newbery, Caldecott Honor & Coretta Scott King Honor) commissioned by Children’s Theatre of Charlotte both premiered in 2018.
Wheesht
Annie Cusick Wood, Director/Deviser
Annie Cusick Wood, born and raised in Scotland has been a resident of Hawaii since 2006. She was the Artistic Director of POLKA Theatre in London for 5 years and worked as a director and playwright with many leading UK TYA companies including Catherine Wheels, Macrobert, Northern Stage, Leicester Haymarket, Citizens Theatre, TAG, Lung Ha’s and Visible Fictions. Her shows Martha, The Happy Prince and The Red Balloon had lengthy US and Canada tours also playing at the New Victory Theatre. She is a guest director with HONOLULU THEATRE FOR YOUTH where she has focussed on creating new works for under fives; “Happy”, “The Tiny Tree”, ‘Home” and “Blue”. Blue has also been staged by Imagination Stage and will be at Dallas Children’s Theatre this Spring. Her next show for under fives at HTY is “OUCH” and she will be directing a new Chinese version of MARTHA in Shanghai with Catherine Wheels and Shanghai’s Art Space for Kids this June.
Amy Jensen, Dramaturg
Amy Jensen has been a dramaturg with the Write Now Festival, The Bonderman, the Colorado New Play Summit, the Arkansas New Play Festival, the Southern Writers Festival, the New York Neo-Futurists, Spencer Lott, and Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew. She has performed with Conni’s Avant Garde Restaurant and the Trusty Sidekick Theater Company. Her shadow puppetry, participatory performance Giveness was part of the 2018 Object Movement Festival.
Holly Windingstad, Designer
Holly Windingstad is delighted to be returning to Childsplay supporting new work in Write Now. Holly is a designer of sets and costumes for theatre, dance and opera. She focuses on the interconnection between performer and audience member from her background in studio art. Favorite past works for Childsplay include Tomas and the Library Lady, Maddi’s Fridge, Schoolhouse Rock, Rock the Presidents, Getting Near to Baby, Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type, Goodnight Moon, and The Three Javelinas. Regionally her work has been seen at Casting Spell Productions (Minneapolis, MN), Stages Theatre (Hopkins, MN), Skylight Opera (Milwaukee, WI), Still Point Theater Collective, The Theatre School at DePaul, Northwestern University, Breadline, Equity Library (Chicago, IL), Shakespeare on the Green (Lake Forest, IL), Nebraska Repertory, and Casa Manana (Fort Worth, TX).
Bonnie Beus Romney, Musician
Bonnie Beus Romney is proud to be making her Childsplay debut! Recent Southwest Shakespeare appearances in Frankenstein, Pericles, and Ladies In Waiting: The Judgment of Henry VIII. Other local and regional credits include Pioneer Memorial Theatre, Arizona Broadway Theater and Hale Center Theater (CA, UT and AZ). Much love to Miles, Max, Bea and Gigi.