Shanara Gabrielle is a force for good in the DC theater scene. Since planting roots here in 2017, she has worked as an actor, director, and cultural producer across our region, and in July 2024, became the producing artistic director of Theater Alliance, which specializes in socially conscious, thought-provoking work. We discuss how the company is settling into their new venue, the values that underpin theater, the need for theaters to understand and support their community, and how the non-profit model could use a re-thinking.

Learn more about Shanara on her website, shanaragabrielle.com, follow her on Instagram at @shanaragabrielle, and check out Theater Alliance's website, theateralliance.com. 

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Sierra Young is a multi-hyphenate artist known for her violence and intimacy direction, as well as an actor and director. A graduate of Howard Community College and UMBC, where she worked with Chelsea Pace, Sierra quickly established her credentials and reputation in the DC/Baltimore area. In our conversation, she emphasizes the importance of cultural competency, trauma-informed practices, and sustainability in her work. She addresses the priorities and best practices of intimacy direction, including the need for clear communication and boundaries, and the role of consent and anti-racism in her practice. She also discusses her experiences working with students and her work as a director.

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Dylan Arredondo has been building an incredibly impressive and varied resume of credits both in front of the footlights and behind the director's table. He's worked with companies from Signature to Chesapeake Shakes to Spooky Action, all of whom no doubt have benefitted from the care and creativity he brings to his craft. Our conversation covers a lot of ground: being a multi-hyphenate artist, learning when to give a note, seeking balance, and the role complicity plays in both the rehearsal process and what we share with an audience. There's a David Ball name drop and a really effective Lego-acting metaphor, too. 

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No corner can contain Navi or their artistry, they’re so well rounded. A manymedia artist, they run the research and development wing of Flying V as an Artistic Lead. They’ve worked with companies big, small, and smaller across the DMV—including Pointless, Spooky Action, Woolly Mammoth, and Mosiac—in lots of different ways, from acting to devising, designing sound to writing music and lyrics, puppeteering to producing. Navi discusses his creative and professional processes, their definition of ‘theater,’ and challenges theater makers to find wonder and create communities. “Baguette!” 

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Alberto Segarra is a lighting designer in the DMV who has probably illuminated almost as many people and places as the sun. He has designed in theaters of all shapes and sizes all over the District, as well as across the country, and won a Helen Hayes Award for his work on The Honey Trap with Solas Nua in 2024. We discuss his creative process, from first reading the script to the long, long hours of teching a show, as well as the differences in working with actors, dancers, and opera singers. He also talks about the past, present, and future of lighting design. 

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Arts journalist Rebecca Ritzel discusses her journey from early childhood storytelling to becoming a first-rate journalist and critic, adept at reviewing a wide range of performing arts as well as investigative and preview articles. A brilliant setter of scenes, Rebecca invites her readers into the theater with her, to experience the work from her point of view. Our conversation includes her perspectives on DEI in arts journalism, her experiences with conflicts of interest and other ethical considerations for arts journalists, and how critics can serve as advocates, witnesses, and memory holders for local arts scenes. We also discuss making and seeing work in DC—including which production Ruth Bader Ginsburg saw four times—and the changes Rebecca has seen over her time in DC. 

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No one has likely welcomed more audience members to DC theaters than Joy Johnson, and certainly no one has done it with more humor, grace, and compassion than Joy. A patron services professional in the District for almost 20 years--first at Shakespeare Theatre and now the Folger Library--she knows what makes a good box office employee, the supportive and risk-taking nature of DC audiences, how gatekeepers need to leverage their positions to better welcome new patrons and artists, and how to remove stage blood from the patron in the 4th row's clothes. 

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Shonali Burke is the Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Arena Stage, one of the largest and most prominent theater companies in the District. Trained as an actor and director in her native India, Shonali is today one of the best in the business of understanding and applying analytics. Adept in all things PR and marketing, she discusses content development, how data crunching is a form of listening, measuring and understanding patron relationships, Arena Stage's role in the redevelopment of the Wharf neighborhood, and serving on boards. 

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Kathryn Chase Bryer is a director, dramaturg, teacher, and administrator with a storied career at Imagination Stage, one of the country's largest and most innovative children's theater companies. Theater for Young Audiences has been central to Kate's career, which includes work at Missoula Children's Theatre, Round House's "Street 70" program, and Wolf Trap. At Imagination Stage, she has developed, devised, and directed dozens of plays and worked with generations of talented theater makers. She is also an accomplished director at several DC theaters, including Constellation, Spooky Action, and Next Stop, as well as several area universities. Kate shares the joys, challenges, and opportunities of making TYA, and why Imagination Stage does not make "fuzzy bunny" theater. 

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James J. Johnson has been bringing his blend of charm, poise, and humor to roles across DMV stages for almost 30 years, working at companies such as the African Continuum Theatre, Arena Stage, Imagination Stage, Woolly Mammoth, Theater J, and Keegan. Now making his name as a playwright--with his play, Wannabe, debuting at the 2024 Capital Fringe Festival and Central Time with Mosaic's H Street Oral History Project--he is also an established educator and audiobook narrator. He shares the growth in opportunities for Black artists he's witnessed over his career, how he stays motivated while working on multiple projects at once, his love of standup, and growing up with a community of peer artists. 

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