ARTISTS
JEANNIE BARROGA
JEANNIE BARROGA, Bay Area-based for 40 years, is a Lifetime Member of the Dramatists Guild with her full collection at Stanford Green Library Special Collections. She founded the Playwright Forum, was literary managers for both TheatreWorks and the Oakland Ensemble Theater, has had local productions plus at Pan Asian Repertory, Seattle, Honolulu, with her WALLS having been published, anthologized, in theses, and having received the NEA Access for Artistic Excellence Award, the Gerbode /Hewlett Foundation Award (BUFFALO'ED), the L.A. Maverick Award, and a CalArts Herb Alpert Award nomination. Her current works include two book drafts on Bay Area Filipino American Theater Artists and in fiction, TURN RIGHT AT THE WATER BUFFALO due next Fall
DR. JOI BARRIOS-LEBLANC
Dr. Maria Josephine Barrios, popularly known as Joi Barrios, is a poet, activist, scriptwriter, actress, translator and teacher. Born in 1962, she completed her Ph.D. in Philippine Literature at the University of the Philippines (UP). She taught at the University and also served as an Associate for Fiction at the UP Likhaan: Creative Writing Center. She has won various honors and awards, including the Palanca Award, the most prestigious literary award in the Philippines. During the Marcos dictatorship and the tumultuous years that followed, she became well-known as a freedom activist and rally poet. She has taught at UC Berkeley and UC Irvine. Her books include Ang Pagiging Babae ay Pamumuhay sa Panahon ng Digma (1990); Bailaya: Mga Dula Para sa Kababaihan (1997); Minatamis at iba pang Tula ng Pag-ibig (1998); and Prince Charming at iba pang Nobelang Romantiko (2001).
MARCUS BENGZON
Marcus Bengzon is a rising fourth year student at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He is double majoring in philosophy and Asian and Pacific Islander American Studies and is fascinated about how the disciplines overlap. As Historian of Filipino American Student Association’s 2021 Executive Board, Marcus is passionate about telling the story of Filipino Americans at W&M in various mediums with an emphasis on alumni history. In seeking to attend law school following undergrad, he wants to work on immigration policy, rehabilitation in the criminal justice system, and diversity in government. Under Professor Tanglao Aguas, Marcus has completed three courses: Filipino American Diaspora, Acting Asian American, and Beyond Kung Fu: Asians in Film.
JASON BLACKWELL
Jason M. Blackwell is the Associate Director for Grants for the Arts for the City and County of San Francisco, the largest arts funder in the City. There he has been integral in retooling their General Operating Support grant program to have an equity lens, specifically around racial and geographic equity. Jason, previously, worked for the James Irvine Foundation, where his portfolio included the Arts Engagement Initiative, Research and Development Initiative and the Immigrant Integration and Protecting Immigrant Rights Initiative. During his time at the foundation, he served as a principal member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, assisted the foundation in its statewide community listening efforts, and was integral to the foundation’s work in the equity sector. Prior to the Irvine Foundation, he worked at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and at numerous performing arts institutions in Los Angeles and New York City in areas of development, capital projects, and programming. Jason earned a master’s of professional studies in Arts and Cultural Management from Pratt Institute and attended business school at The College of William and Mary for his undergraduate studies.
ALEXIS CAMINS
ALEXIS CAMINS (Vicente). Credits include: New York: The World of Extreme Happiness (MTC), I Came to Look for You on Tuesday (La Mama), Hamlet (NYCT), A Dream Play, The Dispute, Antigone (NAATCO). Film/TV: A Short Trip (Best Drama, Carrboro Film Festival), The Lost Valentine (CBS/Hallmark), One Life to Live (ABC) Regional: Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Huntington Theatre Company, Folger Shakespeare Library, Portland Stage Company. Film/TV: A Short Trip (Best Drama, Carrboro Film Festival), The Lost Valentine (CBS/Hallmark), One Life to Live (ABC). MFA NYU Grad Acting.
ALANA CANTY-SAMUEL
Alana Canty-Samuel, William and Mary ’18. Currently, Alana is an NYC based theatre professional, working for the Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation, a non-profit that supports theatre and Off-Broadway.
LEILANI CHAN
Leilani Chan is Founding Artistic Director of TeAda Productions: a nomadic theater of color. Chan’s devised ensemble plays include Masters of the Currents, Global Taxi Driver, and Refugee Nation.
QUAN CHAU
Quan Chau is honored to be able to be a part of this special performance of Rolling the R's! As a rising senior and theatre major, he has recently played Robin Oakapple in Ruddigore and Mike Costa in A Chorus Line at William and Mary, as well as Sky Square in Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical with Virginia Repertory Theatre in Richmond. In his free time, Quan likes to watch movies with his parents, write music, and anything else he can find to do while indoors.
WILMA CONSUL
Wilma B. Consul has performed in theater and dance in San Francisco, New York, Hawai'i, the Philippines and Washington, DC, where she lives and works in the fields of culinary arts and journalism. She trained as an actor and director under Chris Millado at TnT/Teatro ng Tanan (Theater for Everyone), a groundbreaking cultural organization in San Francisco that produced and toured major productions on the Filipino American diaspora. She helped produce readings of Rolling the R's in its early stages in San Francisco to a standing-room only reading at the Source Theatre in DC.
ANGELA DELGADO
Angela is an actor and a writer based in Los Angeles. She’s worked on blockbuster feature films as well as scripted and reality television. She’s also a very proud foster mom, currently snuggling a little baby boy for as long as he needs her.
FRANCIS EDEMOBI
FILM: Solo Orange (Identity Production Studios), McBreezy (VCUart), Amori Blue (Identity Production Studios). TV: Abduction (Arrowside Films). THEATRE: Sense and Sensibility (William and Mary TSD), Our Lady of 121st (William and Mary TSD). TRAINING: Graham Shiels Studios (Film and Television), LAMDA (Screen Acting), Elizabeth Wiley (Voice), Francis Tanglao Aguas (Somatic Improv).
STEPHEN ELLIS
Stephen Ellis, a Texas native, recently played Carl in Season 4 of FX’s You’re the Worst and stars in the upcoming feature film Arid Cut, directed by Rob Nilsson. Other feature film roles include the DreamWorks comedy Delivery Man (opposite Vince Vaughn), the Coen Brothers’ comedy Hail Caesar!, Rehearsal (w/Bruce Greenwood), The Lears (w/Bruce Dern, Sean Astin, Anthony Michael Hall), As You Like It (w/Graham Greene), The Revival (Dir. Jen Gerber), and 200 Hours, directed by Philip Guzman and from the creator of Final Destination. On TV, Stephen has joined the cast of The Britishes (DirecTV’s Downtown Abby spoof).
JESSICA ELLISON
Jessica Ellison is a 2020 graduate from The College of William and Mary, where she majored in Anthropology with a minor in Theatre. They are currently studying at the University of Houston for an M.A. in Theatre Studies. Jessica is seeking a career in Dramaturgy and Theatre Education, after obtaining their Master's Degree. Their most recent roles have been Black Mary in Gem of the Ocean and work as an extra in an upcoming Showtime drama.
LEWIS FEEMSTER
Feemster is an interdisciplinary artist based in NYC. Having worked theatrically as an actor, singer, and choreographer, Feemster has begun sharing his own work as an author and songwriter. His debut chapbook UP.W(O/A)RDS (Yonkers International Press, 2018,) is a visual poetry collection of stories, scripts, and soundtracks. Feemster is currently working on other literary projects, including a follow-up to UP.W(O/A)RDS; new music with his band, JYL; and lens-muse, a filmic (exploration/expansion) of his words.
JOJO GONZALEZ
RECENT THEATRE: MLIMA’S TALE (The Public Theater). RECENT TV: NEW AMSTERDAM (NBC). AWARDS: OBIE (THE ROMANCE OF MAGNO RUBIO). US: The Public Theater, Long Wharf Theatre, DR2, Culture Project, Queens Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, South Coast Rep, LA Theater Center, Laguna Playhouse. INTERNATIONAL: THALIA HALL (Romania), The Cultural Center of the Philippines (Manila). TV: MANIAC (with Emma Stone and Jonah Hill), MADAME SECRETARY, THE PATH, SEVEN SECONDS, THE BLACKLIST, BLINDSPOT, MYSTERIES OF LAURA, DEADBEAT, BABYLON FIELDS, WHITE COLLAR, WITHOUT A TRACE, LAW AND ORDER SVU. FILM: GOING IN STYLE (with Alan Arkin, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman), PIRATES OF SOMALIA (with Al Pacino), ANTARCTICA, THE SMURFS MOVIE, A KISS FOR JED, DISORIENTED
KIM GREEN
Kim Green is a native South Carolinian who now resides in Richmond, Virginia. She works at Virginia Commonwealth University as the Assistant Director in the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs where she cultivates experiences around identity and inclusion for students. Kim serves on the Directorate Board of the Pan African Network of ACPA (College Student Educators International) as a Co-Chair of the PAN Research and Scholarship Committee. Her work and service allow her to expand on the endless possibilities of education while initiating conversations around intersectionality and education equity. She earned a B.A. in Africana Queer Studies (a self-designed degree that uses the prism of artistry to highlight relationships between multiple identities) from The College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, VA) and an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Columbia College (Columbia, SC).
KEATON HILLMAN
Keaton Hillman (he/him/his) is a theatre artist, educator, and social justice advocate. Currently residing in Midlothian, Virginia, Keaton has worked with multiple theatre companies in Richmond, Virginia, on over a dozen different productions over the past four years as a performer, backstage crew hand, and dramaturg. When he is not performing, he is also a math and reading tutor for elementary through high school aged students. In his free time, he uses his social media platforms to inform, uplift, self-reflect, self-indulge, and inspire (IG/Twitter: @keatonohkneel). Keaton wholeheartedly believes in the power that art holds to build connections between diverse people, to spark important conversation, and to change hearts and minds, and he hopes “The Untethered” will be an enlightening experience.
EDWARD HONG
Edward Hong is an actor who constantly obsesses over Cinnabons, to the point that he advertises himself with the fat pastry product. He's been on a gaggle of primetime TV shows, indie films, commercials, has dubbed over other people in a variety of Netflix shows, and other miscellaneous things that help pay for his gluttonous addiction. He is also the proud father of three cats and currently repped by Anthony Boyer at DDO Artists Agency and Chris Lee at Authentic Talent & Literary Management.
KRISTIN HOPKINS
Kristin Hopkins is a Virginia Beach, VA native. She attended William & Mary (2015) and William & Mary Law School (JD 2018). She is now a licensed attorney working in New York, NY. Her credits include: Fame, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Ruined, 8 the Play, Crowns, Spring Awakening, and she was selected to perform in BroadwayCon's "Star to Be" Competition.
JONATHAN HSU
Jonathon Hsu is a William and Mary Class of 2015 Alum and author of Coming Out Asian American. Jonathon is looking forward to acting in a reading of the piece for the first time after spending many years working for both the private and public sector in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Currently, Jonathon is a MA candidate at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service.
JAMAR JONES
Jamar Jones is an award winning actor, teaching artist, and museum theater practitioner based in Richmond, Virginia. A William and Mary graduate, he has appeared in numerous regional productions including Fences (Virginia Repertory Theatre); Passing Strange (Firehouse Theatre); An Octoroon (Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Award, Best Actor), Topdog/Underdog (TheatreLab); and Red Velvet (RTCC Nomination, Best Actor) (Quill Theatre). Jamar collaborates with museums and historic sites throughout Virginia and Washington, DC, including the International Spy Museum, American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, Mount Vernon, and Colonial Williamsburg to bring stories of enslaved and free black people of the past to life.
ALIVIA LONG
Alivia Long, William and Mary '14 (Theatre Major, Film Studies Minor). Alivia received her MFA from East 15 Acting School in the UK, and is currently pursuing film and television in Los Angeles. She is currently a board member for F.A.T.E. Global Inc., a non-profit that empowers artists through industry workshops and mentorship events.
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ANTHONY MADALONE
Anthony Madalone is a rising senior studying English and Theatre at the College of William & Mary. On campus, Anthony spends his time acting and serving as director for the Sinfonicron Light Opera Company. He is excited for the opportunity to perform in an innovative new format of theatre
BJ MINOR
B.J. Minor’s ( class of 2013) acting career began at William and Mary under the training, direction and mentorship of Artisia Green, Elizabeth Wiley, Tamara Johnson, and Francis Tanglao Aguas. While at W&M, B.J. starred in three main stage productions: “Ruined” and “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” which were directed by Artisia, and “Sitayana” which was directed by Francis. Since graduating, B.J. has transitioned to on-screen acting. B.J. played the role of Blow Pop in Master P’s “I Got The Hookup 2” which was theatrically released worldwide and is currently available to stream through various mediums. B.J. currently has a recurring role in Urban Flix T.V.’s “Casting The Net”where he plays Gabby, a fashionable and sassy casting assistant, working opposite of acting titans like Ella Joyce of “Set It Off” fame and Willard E. Pugh who was Harpo in “The Color Purple.” You can also watch B.J. as Ben in Amazon Prime’s “Acrylic,” a feature length comedy about dueling nail salons. Another fun credit on B.J.’s resume is young Black Panther in Disney’s and Marvel’s “Marvel: Dimension of Heroes.” B.J. would like to thank everyone who has ever poured love and knowledge into his craft; it really takes a village.
TINO MONTERO
Tino is currently a Flight Attendant with Delta Air Lines and was the very first Edgar in the University of Hawaii performance. He has performed from Hawaii to New York in several venues to promote the arts and celebrate the Filipino culture.
BRANDEN POLK
Branden S. Polk is the CEO and Founder of Arrowhead Advising, LLC. As an innovator, social reformer, public speaker, writer, counselor, and creative artist, Branden has dedicated his life to advocacy for the most vulnerable, the developing of transformational leaders, and to changing the way society addresses today's most sensitive topics such as race, sexuality, criminal justice, education, faith, and more.Branden received his undergraduate degree in Theater from the College of William & Mary and is also a graduate of George Mason University where he received his master’s degree in Social Work.
KIANA RIVERA
Kiki Rivera (she, they, we) is an internationally produced, award-winning theatre artist, educator, and arts activist. Kiki has her BA in Theatre and MFA in Playwriting from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM). Her play Puzzy is one of many voices for Pacific Islanders in the diaspora and is published in Samoan Queer Lives edited by Yuki Kihara and Dan Talaupapa McMullin.
MAILA RONDERO KANEAIAKALA
OVA SAOPENG
Ova Saopeng is associate artistic director and producer with Los Angeles based TeAda Productions. He is an accomplished actor, teaching artist and playwright. He is a refugee from Laos and is passionate about elevating the refugee and immigrant experience on the American stage.
MIMI SHELTON
Marvin / Mimi (they, them, their) is a black, queer, non-binary educator living in New York City and originally from Virginia. Mimi received their BA in English and African American studies from William and Mary ('15) and their MSEd from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania ('16). As a middle school English, Humanities, and Writing teacher over the past four years, their praxis is justice-oriented, anti-racist, gender inclusive, and reflective. Outside of school and teaching, Marvin works part time in an administrative role at Destination Tomorrow, the LGBTQIA+ of the Bronx, and they perform their poetry and prose pieces in various queer and trans venues.
XAVI SOTO-BURGOS
Xavi Soto Burgos was born and raised in the Bronx. He is a member of the class of 2020 at The College of William and Mary with a major in Music and minor in Economics. After graduation he plans to tour with the Virginia Repertory Theatre’s touring company and continue to pursue a career as an actor and singer.
DIVINITY SUMMERS
Divinity is from Hampton, VA and obtained her B.S. majoring in Biology with a minor Psychology and graduated in class of 2020. She plans to continue in the biology field working on getting her masters and then get into Veterinary school. Divinity started acting in high school where she played in “The Young the bold and the Murdered.” At the college of William and Mary she played in Katori Hall’s “Our Lady of Kibeho,” “The children’s Hour,” “Our lady of 121st street,” and August Wilson’s “Gem of the Ocean.” She also participated in several student produced plays. She is passionate about acting, helping animals, and watching Korean dramas.
ARIKA THAMES
Arika is a 2019 graduate of the College of William & Mary with degrees in Theatre and Gender, Sexuality, & Women's Studies. She currently works as an actor, devisor, and educator in Washington, DC. Her work in theatre education is driven by the desire to create inclusive theatre classrooms for all children from an early age. She hopes to continue her career as a theatre artist while growing in her youth advocacy work.
GISELLE TONGI
Giselle Tongi is an actress, dancer, singer, host, VJ and model in the Philippines. She now serves as Director of Programming for FilAm Arts, an organization dedicated to "bringing people and communities together through the power of Filipino American arts and culture, partnerships and collaboration, for presentation, representation and education.”
SUMIE YOTSUKURA
Sumie Yotsukura is a rising junior at the College of William & Mary, where she studies Theatre and has starred in numerous productions. She is originally from Maryland, where she has performed at the Montgomery College Summer Dinner Theatre the past two summers.
REGIE CABICO
Regie Cabico is the first Asian American and queer poet to win the Nuyoircan Poets Cafe Grand Slam, later taking top prizes in 3 National Poetry Slams. He has appeared on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, TEDx Talk and NPR's Snap Judgement. His plays have been produced at The Humana Theater Festival, Joe's Pub The Public Theater, Dixon Place, the Kitchen & Theater Offensive. He received a New York Innovative Theater award for his work with the New York Neo-Futurists' Production of Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind.
LEAH GLENN
Leah Glenn received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance Choreographic Theory and Practice from Southern Methodist University, her Teacher's Certification in Labanotation from Ohio State University and has worked with the Philadelphia Dance Company. Prior to teaching at William and Mary Ms. Glenn was Assistant Professor and Head of Dance at Hampton University for two years. While at Hampton, she directed the Terpsichorean Dance Company and established the first African American chapter of the National Dance Association's Nu Delta Alpha Honor Society. Her choreography has been presented by the College of William and Mary, Hampton University and Colonial Williamsburg. Prior to Lynchtown by Charles Weidman, her most recent reconstruction from Labanotation was a Paul Taylor Dance Company work entitled, The Word. Several of her original works have been presented at the annual International Association for Blacks in Dance Conferences. In addition to her title of Professor of Dance at William & Mary, she is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Leah Glenn Dance Theatre (LGDT). LGDT has presented concerts at the Katzen Museum, Dance, the Millennium Stage of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Their most recent performance was the closing event for the ASWAD (Association for the Study of Worldwide African Diaspora) Conference on November 9, 2019 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
LUISA A. IGLORIA
Professor Luisa A. Igloria has just been appointed by Governor Ralph Northam as Poet Laureate of Virginia for 2020-2022. Originally from Baguio City in the Philippines, Luisa is one of 2 Co-Winners of the 2019 Crab Orchard Poetry Prize for Maps for Migrants and Ghosts (Southern Illinois University Press, September 2020). In 2015, she was the inaugural winner of the Resurgence Prize (UK), the world's first major award for ecopoetry, selected by former UK Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion, Alice Oswald, and Jo Shapcott. Former US Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey selected her chapbook What is Left of Wings, I Ask as the 2018 recipient of the Center for the Book Arts Letterpress Poetry Chapbook Prize. Other works include The Buddha Wonders if She is Having a Mid-Life Crisis (Phoenicia Publishing, Montreal, 2018), Ode to the Heart Smaller than a Pencil Eraser (2014 May Swenson Prize, Utah State University Press), and 12 other books. Her poems are widely published or appearing in national and international anthologies, and print and online literary journals including Orion, Shenandoah, Indiana Review, Crab Orchard Review, Diode, Missouri Review, Rattle, Poetry East, Your Impossible Voice, Poetry, Shanghai Literary Review, Cha, Hotel Amerika, Spoon River Poetry Review, and others. With over 30 years of experience teaching literature and creative writing, Luisa also leads workshops at The Muse Writers Center in Norfolk (and serves on the Muse Board). She is a Louis I. Jaffe Professor and University Professor of English and Creative Writing— teaching in the MFA Creative Writing Program at Old Dominion University, which she directed from 2009-2015. For over nine years to date, she has been writing (at least) a poem a day. www.luisaigloria.com
AMEYA KING
Ameya King is a Virginia-based Kuchipudi dancer and dance educator who has been practicing this vibrant dance form since 2000, under the tutelage of Smt. Sarada Jammi, Smt. N. N. V. Satyabhanu, and Sri Hari Rama Murthy. She embarked on the journey pursuing arts after a pivotal conversation with Francis Tanglao-Aguas as a junior at William & Mary and a year as his teaching assistant. She recently earned her Masters in Kuchipudi dance at the University of SiliconAndhra, researching the relationship between emotion and rhythm in this vibrant form. As a first-generation Indian-American raising a black son, she relies on the arts to build him a kinder world.
SYREETA MACK
Syreeta has joined the team after her performance in Aguas Arts Ink's Songs of Freedom: A Concert for Civil Rights in August 2020. She is currently producing an adaptation of For Colored Girls by Ntozake Shange, directed by Branden Polk, which will air in February 2020.
JACQUELYN MCLENDON
Professor of English Emerita, Jacquelyn Y. McLendon taught full-time for 21 years at William & Mary, and continued for several years to teach part-time for William & Mary’s in-class semester and online summer course programs. She was also Administrative Coordinator of William & Mary’s 50-year anniversary of the first African American students in residence. Dr. McLendon has published and edited several books, as well as numerous articles, in the field of African American Literature. Her most recent book Building on the Legacy: African Americans at William & Mary, An Illustrated History of 50 Years and Beyond was published by Donning Publishers in 2019.
HERMINE PINSON
Hermine Pinson has published three poetry collections and two CD’s, one in special collaboration with Pulitzer-prize winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa. She has performed her poetry in the United States, Europe, and Africa. Pinson’s poetry, fiction, and nonfiction have appeared in numerous anthologies and journals. She is the Margaret Hamilton Professor of English & Africana Studies at William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA.
MATT NGUYEN-NGO
Matt Nguyen-Ngo is a punk and metal musician based around Washington D.C. He writes anti racist and anticapitalist music under the name "YELXPERIL" (pronounced "yellow peril") and also plays drums in several punk and metal bands. As a part of his studies in William & Mary's APIA Studies program, Matt recorded a multi-genre EP synthesizing APIA history and activism.
CHRISTOPHER RICHARDSON
Christopher Michael Richardson is an actor and teaching artist in the Washington D.C. area. He has appeared in Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (The Musical) at The John F. Kennedy Center TYA; Matilda at Olney Theatre Center; You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown at Imagination Stage (Helen Hayes Award, TYA Production); and The Wiz at Ford’s Theatre (Helen Hayes Nomination, Supporting Actor). He holds a BA in English and Theatre from The College of William & Mary.
HARRIS SIMON
Harris Simon, jazz pianist, hails from New York City. He has performed with many well-known jazz musicians and vocalists including Sonny Fortune, Clifford Jordan, Michael Brecker, Sal Nistico, Dexter Gordon, Art Farmer, Claudio Roditi, George Duvivier, Red Mitchell, Earl Coleman, Jay Clayton, Roseanna Vitro, Sheila Jordan and Stephanie Nakasian. He has played at jazz festivals in New York, Montreal, Montreux, Edinburgh, Warsaw, Tokyo, Helsinki and Stockholm among others. Mr. Simon has recorded four albums as a leader. In 1983, Mr. Simon won First Prize at the Kalisz International Jazz Piano Competition in Poland. In 2013, he performed at Carnegie Recital Hall in a program sponsored by the Muscarelle Museum. In 2017, Mr. Simon was a guest artist with the Blue House Jazz Orchestra at the Konserthuset in Stockholm, Sweden. Mr. Simon joined the faculty of William and Mary in 1994. He enjoys teaching and takes great pleasure in coaching the W&M Jazz Combo. The Combo performed for Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Williamsburg in 2007. Mr. Simon is a member of Phi Mu Alpha. Locally, Mr. Simon has performed with the Williamsburg Symphonia and has been a regular at An Occasion for the Arts and the Winter Blues Jazz Fest.
ISAIAH M. WOODEN
Isaiah Matthew Wooden, PhD is a director-dramaturg and assistant professor of Theater Arts at Brandeis University. He has published widely on contemporary African American art and drama—from the plays of Lydia Diamond, Tarell Alvin McCraney, and Robert O’Hara to the performance work of Derrick Adams, Jefferson Pinder, and Adrian Piper.
CHRISTOPHER PAGE
Christopher Page-Sanders, originally from St. Louis, Missouri, received his formal dance training from the Center Of Creative Arts (COCA) and in the Conservatory of Music and Dance from the University of Missouri- Kansas City. He currently serves as the co-artistic director of the Nu-World Contemporary Dance Theater with his husband, Bashir Page-Sanders. For the past seven years he danced as a member of the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. He has also danced with Wylliams-Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Owen/Cox Dance Group, Kansas City Friends Of Alvin Ailey, The Slaughter Project Dance Ensemble, the St. Louis Black Repertory Theater Company to name a few. He has served as resident choreographer for the Center of Creative Arts Summer Musicals since its inception but has also served as choreographer to the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance- teaching and choreographing at such dance and theater schools as COCA, Best Talent Center, Metro Theater Company, Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, Crossroads High School. He has choreographed and has been commissioned to create work for CPRD Cleo2, COCAdance, Davis Contemporary Dance Company, The Slaughter Project, The Madison-Cannon Project- his choreography has been presented on a national level twice at the International Association of Blacks In Dance Conference. In 2013, he was recognized and given the Leni Wylliams Award for choreography and innovation from Cleo Parker Robinson Dance. To his ancestors On their shoulders I dance! Peace and Blessings; Love, Light and Art!
ZOE BOWEN SMITH
Zoë is an actor, a playwright, an activist, and a rising senior at the College of William & Mary. Pursuing a double major in Theatre and Public Policy, Zoë has performed as an actor regionally and in mainstage productions at William & Mary. Past credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream (Hermia), Sense & Sensibility (Margaret/Anne Steele), The Winter's Tale (Perdita), and 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee (Olive). Passionate about social and climate justice, Zoë spends her time advocating for solutions to the climate crisis with the Climate Reality Project and volunteering as a state-certified Sexual Assault Survivor Advocate for a sexual violence crisis hotline in her hometown. Zoë has always been inspired by Justice Ginsburg's legacy as an equal rights leader, and is so humbled to be performing in this tribute concert in her honor.
In 2008, Justice Ginsburg said, "Time is on the side of change."
It is our time. Let's use our power as a collective to change.
SCOTT BREWINGTON
Class of ‘14 at the College of William and Mary.
From Newport News Virginia, family currently lives in Williamsburg.
Boston based psychotherapist (LICSW)
Focused on working with disenfranchised populations and creating a bridge between the necessity of mental health and the lack of color in the profession itself!
Was in Ruined, pippin, La Cage, staged reading of Prop 8, most recently was in the “Best Sex” music video with Peppermint from Drag Race. Will be part of the conversations for Hands up later this month. Currently working different projects that allow me to join my Therapy practice with the industry!
LAURIE J. WOLF
PHAEDRA MCNORTON
BENMING ZHANG
RAVALI CEYYUR
SMT. SARADA JAMMI
Smt. Sarada Jammi is the artistic director of Sri Sai Dance Academy in Richmond, VA, where she has trained numerous students in Kuchipudi, as well as choroegraphed items and conducted performances. In addition to performing their rangapravesams, some of her students have also pursued their certifications through SiliconAndhra’s Sampada program, taught, choreographed, and studied dance in their higher studies, and used dance to organize for various fundraising causes. A disciple of Padmabhushan Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam, she began learning Kuchipudi at the Kuchipudi Art Academy, Chennai, in 1985 and continued her training at Kuchipudi Kalakshetra, Visakhapatnam.
MITHILA AITHAGANI
Mithila Aithagani is kuchipudi dancer. She is a disciple of guru Nanduri Satya Bhanu garu,founder of Sri Siddhendra Yogi Kala Nilayam Visakhapatnam. She performed in many prestigious stages in India and also at USA . She is a currently pursuing her masters in technology from Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology.
SAHITHI UYYALA
Sahithi Uyyala who has been learning Kuchipudi dance under Smt. Sarada Jammi for nearly 11 years. As part of Sri Sai Dance Academy, Sahithi has performed at various events in the Greater Richmond area, as well as earned the Regional First Prize in Dallas, TX, for SiliconAndhra's 611th Annamayya Jayanti dance competition (2019). She is currently a junior at Liberty High School in Dallas, TX.
ANNIELILLE GAVINO
BINDU SAGIRAJU
Bindu Sagiraju is an alumnus of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. She began her Kuchipudi dance training at the age of eight and trained with the Sri Sai Dance Academy in Richmond, VA and the Kuchipudi Kalakshetra in India. After ten years of learning and performing in the US and India, Bindu completed her Rangapravesam (graduation performance). In college, she expanded her interests in the performing arts and explored many different dance styles. She joined the W&M Dhamaal Bhangra team and the W&M Afsana Bollywood Fusion team; choreographed and taught Kuchipudi both on and off campus; co-chaired Nach Ke Dikha (an intercollegiate Bollywood-Fusion and Bhangra dance competition); and co-choreographed and starred as Sita in the 2013 production of Sitayana. Since graduating from college, Bindu has remained involved in dance primarily as a judge in the Bollywood-Fusion dance circuit. She is currently a nurse and lives in Little Rock, AR.
SABERA SHAIK
THOMAS BAKER
STEVEN FERNANDEZ
