(formerly known as Adriana Del Orden) is a nonbinary actor who goes by he/they pronouns. He has been acting and practicing their craft since the age of 11. A proud Afro-Latino, he is Dominican and was born in Puerto Rico. They fell in love with acting as soon as they arrived in New York City. Their most recent roles are Tall Bully on Fox’s Gotham, Quinta on Showtime’s Let The Right One In and Melissa on Bushwick Beats. Riley would like to thank his family , his manager Susan Rybin , acting classes at Rybin Studio of Drama and agent Barry Kolker!
is an actor and voiceover artist from Newark, New Jersey. Credit’s include: On Strivers Row (Metropolitan Playhouse), Twelfth Night (The Acting Company), A Raisin in the Sun (TheatreWorks Colorado Springs), School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (Berkeley Rep), and SLUT, The Play (NJPAC). Al-nisa studied at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, and received a BFA in Acting from Rutgers University. Al-nisa is also a devoted teaching artist working with youth in care with Naked Angels and Culture for One. www.al-nisa.com
Christine‘s performance career started in Texas as a voiceover artist. She was focused on becoming a well-rounded storyteller and her dedication to the craft led her to New York City. She has narrated and produced a number of audiobooks that can be found on various listening platforms. She has a recurring role in the award-winning podcast The Gray Area, produced by Edward Champion. Recently, the cast took their voices from the booth to the stage in The Gray Area Revue. Christine performed as Audrey Lorde in Lordes, written by Gethsemane Herron and it is her honor to reunite with Gethsemane in this production. Christine’s other stage credits include Twelve Angry Women and Women Behind Bars, both produced by AlphaNYC Theatre Company. She was also part of the off-Broadway and touring company of Uniform Justice, produced by Theatre Engagement and Action. Christine’s storytelling vision led her to become a director, recently directing The Mountaintop, produced by New Ambassadors Theater Company. Christine’s most challenging project to date is collaborating on a children’s book and podcast (Everyone‘a Got ‘Em) with her nine-year-old granddaughter, Ava.
is a LA based theater and film costume designer and social justice warrior. Some of her credits include: “Legacies” (S4 CW), Sorority of the Damned (A Blood Brothers Film), Mrs. Harrison (Indiana Repertory Theater), Hoodoo Love (Raven Theater), Good Grief (Point Park University), Man of God (East West Players), Yen (Raven Theater), Curve of Departure (Northlight Theater). She has a MFA in Costume Design from Carnegie Mellon University and is a proud founding member of First Floor Theater in Chicago. You can find her work at alexiscarrie.com
is a lighting designer for theatre, dance, and opera, currently based in New York City. She is thrilled to be joining WP again, after recently assisting on sandblasted. Recent theatre credits include: BLKS (Speakeasy), Reparations (Gloucester Stage), Tiny Beautiful Things (Gloucester Stage), Wolf Play (Company ONE), and Marie & Rosetta (Greater Boston Stage Company. Kat was the inaugural recipient of the Howell Binkley Fellowship (2021). Formerly, she served as the artist-in-residence at the Signet Society (2018-2020), and was the president/managing director of the Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert & Sulliva n Players (2013-2017). She holds an MFA in lighting design from Boston University and an AB in mathematics from Harvard College. More info: katzhoudesign.com
(she/her) is a sound designer and podcast engineer based in New York. Selected Sound Design credits: The Late Wedding (Brown University/Trinity Rep), The Moors (Greater Boston Stage Company), Measure For Measure (Theatreworks, UCCS), The Broken Machine (American Academy for the Dramatic Arts) Selected Assistant Design credits: Bring Down The House (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Fefu and Her Friends (Theatre For A New Audience) Selected Training: Fordham College At Lincoln Center (NY). Connect at carolineengdesign.com
is an Award-Winning Actor, Fight and Intimacy director and a proud New Yorker committed to building confidence in brown and black girls through storytelling. Rocio has done multiple independent films showcasing their talents in martial arts and comedy. Rocio has worked with a range of theaters nationally including The Public Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and Classical Theater of Harlem, among the many. Rocio has been nominated for multiple awards for their work in Fight Choreography and Movement. Rocio is a team member of UNKLE DAVE’S FIGHT HOUSE – a collective of fight/intimacy/movement directors serving theater, film and educational institutions. www.rociomendez.co
is a freelance SM based in NYC. Hobbies include running, hiking, kayaking, camping, and playing the violin. Originally from Wausau, WI he lives up to the stereotype of loving cheese. NYC credits include Smart Blonde (59E59); The Imbible (New World Stages); Titanique (The Green Room 42); Women on Fire (Royal Family); Anne of Green Gables Part I and II (Royal Family); You, Me, I, We, (Royal Family); Don’t Stop Me (MSM); and Marisol (NYU). Tours include Little Black Dress and The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Musical. Regionally: Hangar Theatre and Chester Theatre Company. UW-Milwaukee BFA Stage management
is a stage manager based in the New York/New Jersey area. Credits include: A Number/The Seventeenth Chapel (The Drama League), Mary Stuart (The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute), Joan of Arc (Rutgers Theater Company), and Leni & Joseph (Rutgers Theater Company). Jessica has also worked with Production Glue as a PA for the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit NYC. She holds a BFA from Rutgers University – Mason Gross School of the Arts.
Daryl Eisenberg, CSA & Ally Beans, CSA. Broadway: Gettin’ The Band Back Together. New York Theatre: Bedlam, Baghdaddy, Cherry Lane’s Mentor Project, New York Theatre Barn, and more. Regional/Other: May We All (LivelyMcCabe/CuzBro), Heartbreak Hotel (Broadway in Chicago), Dallas Theater Center, Folger Theatre, Cape Cod Theatre Project, Norwegian Cruise Line, Tenors of Rock. Film: The Cathedral (Sundance), The MisEducation of Bindu, A Case of Blue, Shadows (HBO), Hands That Bind, Project Pay Day, Kendra and Beth. TV: Timberwood, Mulligan. Podcasts/New Media: Limetown, Shipworm, City of Ghosts, Falling in Love With Mr. Dellamort, Verdict.
Playwright, Propsmaker, Carpenter, Mechanic, Actor, Game Master, Ornithologist, collector of professions. Recently, he has been writing a Sci fi novel for publication in 2023, a play Living Together to be staged in the fall, and props for Playco’s production of Will You Come With Me. Further inquire at www.dannyjbrothers.com
Georgia Evans (she/her) is a second year student at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School. She has focused interests in costuming, performing, directing, and film. She has spent the past year working on theatre around the city as well as upper-level student projects at PHTS. She is so excited to be a part of the Kin team as Associate Costume Designer and Wardrobe Supervisor!
(WRITER, she/her) is a playwright based in Manhattan. She is a recent winner of the Helen Merrill Playwright award, and a Fisher Center Commission for development of a new music play called Emily Black is Total Gift. Daaimah is thrilled to be a part of the Pipeline Festival. Daaimah Mubashshir.com
(DIRECTOR, she/her/they/them) is a queer director and writer based in Brooklyn. They are a recent winner of the Opera America Tobin Director-Designer prize and a Visiting Artist at Duke, Rutgers & Arcadia University. This spring, they are directing a new world premiere for La Jolla Playhouse’s WOW Fest. www.katherinewilkinson.com
(PRODUCER, she/her) is a digital and theatrical Creative Producer. After graduating from NYU Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in Acting and a minor in Africana Studies, she shifted her focus to develop new projects that speak to the spectrum of stories from the African Diaspora. Ayana was the inaugural Producing Fellow with New York Theater Workshop’s 2050 Administrative Fellowship. Afterwards, she went on to freelance produce shows throughout New York City. Some of her producing credits include Joan with Colt Coeur, Tender Napalm at HERE Arts Center, Saints of Failure, a solo show performed in Fort Greene’s Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, and NY Times Critic’s Pick Eureka Day with Colt Coeur. She has also served as Creative Producer at Checkmark Productions for the past two years developing the work of the theater industry’s most exciting emerging artists and is currently the Manager of Artistic Production at MCC Theater.
is an actor, dancer and singer born and raised in Baltimore, MD.She is a proud alumna of the Baltimore School for the Arts and NYU Tisch Drama. She recently made her Broadway debut in Chicken and Biscuits, originating her role as Simone at Circle in the Square Theatre. Regional: Scraps at Flea Theater (Aisha), Chicken and Biscuits at Queens Theatre (Simone). Off-Broadway: What To Send Up When It Goes Down (Three) at A.R.T./New York Theater, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, American Repertory Theater, the Public Theater, and BAM, respectively. Film/TV credits: “After Class” starring Justin Long and “FBI: Most Wanted” on CBS.
is an actor, singer and dancer born and based in brooklyn. For the past decade she has collaborated and created work in nyc and abroad with Obie award winning 600 Highwaymen, Nellie Tinder, Limited Liability Theater Company and Juliana F. May. Upcoming: Family Happiness (Chocolate Factory). Recent film credits include Simchas and Sorrows, Together Together, The Plagiarists and MGMT “When you Die” music video.
is an actor, writer and artist born and raised in Plainfield, NJ. He holds an MFA in Acting from Columbia University and is the founder of Bridge to Reality, a nonprofit geared towards increasing the presence of people of color in the arts through the mentorship of high school students of color(www.bridgetoreality.org). Also the Co-creator of The Cuttin Room Floor, a web series that uses parody and discussions to explore the cultural impact of cult classics (www.thecuttinroomfloor.com).Film: Beauty (Written by Lena Waithe Dir. Andrew Dosunmu) When They See Us (Dir. Ava DuVernay). TV: “For Life”, “Bull”, “Blindspot”, “Blacklist”. www.aaronsmorton.com
Coming from a rich legacy of Black theater starting in the 1970’s, Niambi performed throughout the Midwest in plays such as, Tambourines to Glory, Five on The Black Hand Side, Who’s Got His Own, and even You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. After being nominated by the Encore Awards for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ (Musical) for her portrayal of ‘Zarita’ in Simply Heavenly, and then winning the Encore Award for Best Actress (Musical) for ‘Lutiebelle’ in Purlie!, Niambi came to New York after recording and touring as a lead and back-up vocalist with 24 Carat Black and soul-music greats at Stax Records (1973-1975).
Niambi was steered into her first New York theatrical appearance by Ed Bullins (in residence at that time with Joe Papp’s Public Theater) via The Hotel Play, written by Wallace Shawn, at La Mama Etc., (1981). Niambi has continued to perform steadily in New York theaters— from The Heckscher Theater, where she was a “Choir Member” in the first run of Mama I Want To Sing, starring Desiree Coleman, (1983), to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe’s production of “Billy, Lena, And The Duke“, (2011). She was nominated for 2014 Best Actress Musical for her portrayal of “Brenda” in That ‘L’ Word at the John Chatterton 2014 Winter Play Festival in New York.
Niambi appeared in two plays by poet, Mari Evans, River Of My Song (1977) and Eyes, the latter directed by Woodie King, Jr., (1995); Niambi consequently appeared in his New Federal Theater production of Satchel: A Requiem For Racism (2008).
Niambi has worked in numerous Harlem-based community outreach productions with playwright, J. E. Franklin, under the direction, guidance, and tutelage of the Audelco Award- Winning Director, Eric Coleman. Her arts-based community involvement also includes the New York Theater Workshop, Negro Ensemble Company Repertory, Harlem Arts Alliance, Kumble Theater and the Frank Silvera Writer’s Workshop where she is consistently relied upon as an excellent cold reader for new playwrights and was an integral part of its Reader’s Theater at the National Black Theater Festival (2007).
She has performed in Harlem with new playwrights at the Schomburg Center For Research In Black Culture, Abysinnian Baptist Church, and at the Salvation Army, with its annual Grandparent’s Around the World Production of Dinner At Grandma’s (2006-2011), reprising her portrayal of beloved Sista Lula for five years.
Herself a playwright, she has had her works read at the National Black Theatre Festival (2007) and the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival (2012).
Niambi was featured in the first video of Heavy D, Mr. Big Stuff, directed by The Hudlin Brothers (1987); she previously appeared in Krush Groove (1985). Her film credits also include It’s Hard To Be Joe Strummer, directed by Antonio Giosue’ (2012), Nu Moses directed by Cassady O’Neal (2013), Brother, directed by Frank Hooker & Piruz Alemi (2013), Trapped Girl, written by Katherine Fordham (2013, IMDb) Appassionato, written/directed by Bradley Evans, and Airport Run, written/directed by Eliana Ujueta, (both 2016).
Besides touring with Stax Records, Niambi recorded on various labels including Sugarhill, with jazz legend, Brother Jack Mcduff (‘Kisses’, ‘Having A Good Time’, 1982); performing with him at jazz clubs in New York, Chicago, Memphis, and Los Angeles, to name a few. She also composed original music and lyrics which she performed with rock band ‘Fierce Jones’ (aka THE HEAT) at now defunct 1980’s venues The Cat Club and CBGB’s, New York and The Pan Asian Music Festival at Lincoln Center Damrosch Bandshell (1984).
More recently, Niambi won a 2020 Audelco Award for being a member of the Outstanding Ensemble Performance of Sassy Mamas at Black Spectrum Theatre.
Niambi’s most enduring accomplishment is being a mother of two, grandmother of five, great grandmother of six, and only child to her dear mother, Mrs. Lucille Ford Taplin Smith of Indianapolis, Indiana, where her musical and theatrical journey began.
(she/her) is a NYC based lighting designer and teaching artist. Her designs have been seen at The Wild Project, Dixon Place, Access Theater, Arts on Site, LPAC Rough Draft Festival, and NY Fringe Festival, among others. Judy also teaches lighting programming and design at a number of regional high schools and colleges. Select recent projects include: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Emerson Jr/Sr High School), Fiddler on the Roof (Livingston High School), and Pippin (Friends Seminary, 14th St Y) This summer she will lighting the new musical, History of Traitors According to Sydney by Parade Stone and Sequoia Sellinger, produced through the Shubert’s The Artistic Circle program. JudyAKagel.com
is excited to be a part of this new play festival! Emily’s stage management credits include: Tour: Bandstand First National Tour, RENT 20th Anniversary International Tour. NYC: Sleep No More, Tribeca Film Festival, Times Square Alliance. Regional: Other World (Delaware Theatre Company), Everything Is Wonderful, Byhalia, Mississippi, 20th Century Blues, The Wedding Gift, On Clover Road, Uncanny Valley (Contemporary American Theatre Festival), Cry It Out, I Now Pronounce, The 39 Steps (Actors Theatre of Louisville). BFA Emerson College.
(she/her) is thrilled to be working at WP for the first time. She is a NYC based stage manager and director and is passionate about developing new work. Recent Stage Management credits include: His Story Development (dir. Jeff Calhoun), The Real Gemma Jordan (dir. Portia Kreiger), White Woman Black Boy (dir. Austin Pendleton). Proud graduate of the University of Michigan. Always for Supah.
(Playwright) Julia’s work has been developed and presented at MTC, Clubbed Thumb, New Georges, Bushwick Starr, WP Theater, Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Seattle Rep, The COOP, NNPN/Kennedy Center MFA Playwrights’ Workshop, Great Plains Theatre Conference, Williamstown, CAATA’s National Asian-American Theatre ConFest, and Pork Filled Productions. Awards and honors: OPC Dr. Kerry English Award, O’Neill’s National Playwriting Conference Finalist, Kilroys List Honorable Mention, and KCACTF’s Darrell Ayers Playwriting Award. She is a current New Dramatists Resident. Current commissions: True Love Productions, MTC/Sloan, Playwrights Horizons. MFA: Brown University juliaizum.com
(Director) Credits: Head Over Heels (Pasadena Playhouse), Hurricane Diane (Huntington Theatre), Now Becomes Then (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Men on Boats (Baltimore Center Stage), Speechless (New Blue Man Group North American Tour), The Tempest (The Juilliard School), Between Us: The Deck of Cards (Denver Center for the Performing Arts), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Public Theater Mobile Unit), Burn All Night (American Repertory Theatre), Theatre for One: In This Moment (Pershing Square Signature Center), Instant SPKRBOX (SPKRBOX Festival commission, Norway), Bars and Measures (B Street Theatre), Gimme Shelter (Why Not Theatre, Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games commission), Theatre for One: I’m Not the Stranger You Think I Am (Arts Brookfield), A Sucker Emcee (National Black Theatre, LAByrinth Theater Company, SPKRBOX Festival, Norway), Queen of the Night (Diamond Horseshoe Nightclub, Drama Desk Award), The Odyssey Project 2012 (site-specific NYC). She has been an artist in residence at Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, SPACE on Ryder Farm, and The Invisible Dog Art Center, and has developed new work at Steppenwolf, Roundabout, and New Black Fest, among others. Jenny is a Lilly Award recipient and proud member of the SDC.
