Suzan-Lori Parks (Playwright) is the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Other awards include MacArthur Genius Grant, Gish Prize. Theatre: Topdog/Underdog (Pulitzer), Porgy and Bess (Tony Award®), 365 Days/365 Plays, Father Comes Home from the Wars (Part 1, 2 & 3), Fucking A, Plays for the First Hundred Days, The Book of Grace, The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World aka the Negro Book Of The Dead, Venus, Unchain My Heart: The Ray Charles Musical, The America Play, Watch Me Work, In the Blood. Upcoming: Plays for the Plague Year. Film: The United States vs Billie Holiday, Girl 6. TV: Genius Aretha (Creator/Writer/Showrunner). Novel: Getting Mother’s Body. Parks writes songs and fronts her band Sula & The Noise. She is a former writing student of James Baldwin.

Gregg T. Daniel directed West Coast revival/Anna Deavere Smith’s Twilight: Los Angeles,1992/Mark Taper Forum. August  Wilson’s, The Piano Lesson, King Hedley II, Radio Golf, Seven Guitars, Gem of the Ocean/A Noise Within. James Ijames’, Kill Move Paradise/Odyssey Theatre. Denver Center’s world premiere, Beaufield Berry’s In The Upper Room. Lanie Robertson’s, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, Katori Hall’s, The Mountaintop/Garry Marshall  Theatre. West Coast premieres/Mfoniso Udofia’s, Her Portmanteau/Boston Court Theatre, Tearrance Arvelle  Chisolm’s, Br’er Cotton/Lower Depth Theatre. francisca da silveira’s, Can I Touch It, Lorraine Hansberry’s, Les Blancs/Rogue Machine. Revival/Alice Childress’, Wedding Band Antaeus Company. Gregg’s the current Artistic Director of Lower Depth Theatre (www.Lower-Depth.com)

Tesshi Nakagawa is excited to return to Pasadena Playhouse where he previously designed The Sound Inside (2023) and Uncle Vanya (2022). Hailing from Tokyo, Japan, Tesshi Nakagawa has established a distinguished career as a Scenic Designer/Art Director in the Theater, Film, and Commercial industries. His theatrical designs have been showcased at numerous renowned venues throughout the Los Angeles area, including, A Noise Within, Boston Court Pasadena, South Coast Repertory, East West Players, Antaeus Theatre Company, and more. He is currently an adjunct professor at East Los Angeles College. Graduate of UCLA. For more information, visit www.tesshi.com

Angela is excited to collaborate with Gregg again. Costume and scenic design: Seattle Repertory, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, South Coast Repertory, Asolo Repertory, Milwaukee Repertory, Hollywood Bowl, Alliance Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Orlando Shakespeare, Pasadena Playhouse, A Noise Within Theatre, Chautauqua Theatre, The Old Globe Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, Antaeus Theatre, and the National Theatre in Bucharest – Romania. Awards: Los Angeles Critics Circle, Cleveland Drama Critics, Backstage, Garland, and the LADCC Lifetime Award for Outstanding Achievement In Theatrical Design. She is a resident artist at A Noise Within Theatre. M.F.A in Costume and Scenic Design from the National Academy of Arts in Bucharest – Romania. www.angelacalin.com

Jared A. Sayeg is a nine-time Ovation Award Nominee and Winner of the Ovation, StageRaw, Garland and LADCC Kinetic Lighting Awards. Broadway: The Illusionists, Bravo Bernstein, Gotham Glory (Carnegie Hall). Regional: Center Theatre Group, Pasadena Playhouse, 5th Avenue Theatre, Sacramento Music Circus, Reprise, Ensemble Theatre Company, Laguna Playhouse, Indiana Rep, Virginia Stage Company. On the West-End he designed Rolling with Laughter at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Jared was on the design teams for the Broadway productions of PRIMO, The Woman in White, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular and Blithe Spirit starring Angela Lansbury. Jared became the youngest member of the United Scenic Artists-Local 829 and serves as the Vice-Chair to the executive board. www.jaslighting.com

At Pasadena Playhouse: One Of The Good Ones, Inherit The Wind, The Sound Inside, Miracle On 34th Street, It’s A Wonderful Life. Select credits include Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, and The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in The Universe at the Mark Taper Forum. Elsewhere: Williamstown Theatre Festival, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Cleveland Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Baltimore Center Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Company (DC), Arena Stage, The Kennedy Center, Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Los Angeles; Geffen Playhouse, The Wallis, A Noise Within, Boston Court Pasadena, Antaeus Theatre Company, IAMA Theatre. Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Award, Stage Raw and LA Drama Critics Circle Award Winner. Jeff can be seen at L.A. Theatre Works where he regularly performs live sound effects. jeffthomasgardner.net.

Tru (Philip Patrick Harper) is a first-generation Belizean-American artist and composer from Leimert Park, CA. Drawing from his cultural heritage, Tru’s work intersects sound art, performance, and multimedia installation. He has collaborated with institutions such as Center Theatre Group, USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, The Whitney Museum, Ballet BC and Netherlands Dance Theatre. Tru’s practice as a composer centers on the fusion of experimental sound with storytelling, technology, and social history.

Maritri Garrett is a remarkable independent artist whose music reflects the depth of her diverse musical background. A composer, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and educator, her songs tell honest stories of life, love, and loss, offering healing and solace to all who listen. Maritri holds a unique blend of academic achievements, including a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Fisk University, a Bachelor of Science in Composition, and a Master of Fine Arts in Jazz Studies from Howard University. Her skillful versatility with instruments like the piano, guitar, bass, cello, and percussion sets her apart. Having performed with and opened for musical legends like Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle, Maritri continues to captivate audiences with her emotionally powerful compositions and soulful performances.

Joyce is an actress, playwright, filmmaker, and choreographer. Choreographed: A Raisin in the Sun, Gem of the Ocean, Seven Guitars, and Much Ado About Nothing at A Noise Within (ANW); Choir Boy at Dezart Performs and Can I Touch It at Rogue Machine. Won 2023 LA Drama Critics Circle and LA Theatre Bite Awards for ANW’s Much Ado About Nothing. For Les Blancs at Rogue Machine, won the NAACP Award for Best Choreography Local. Screen/TV: Moneyball, The Santa Clause, Found, General Hospital, Clickbait, to name a few. Studied West African dance for over 30 years. She’s the director/producer of Dancing Like Home, a documentary about dance from Senegal, West Africa. She has a B.S. from Hampton University.

Sasha is thrilled to be making her Pasadena Playhouse debut! Theater credits include: The Lonely Few, Fat Ham, The Engagement Party, The Mountaintop and The First Deep Breath (Geffen Playhouse), The Notebook (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Ms. Blakk For President (Steppenwolf Theatre), Familiar (Steppenwolf Theatre), How To Catch Creation (Goodman Theatre), A Raisin in the Sun (Guthrie Theater), The Bluest Eye (VirginiaStage Company), Toni Stone (Milwaukee Rep), Trading Places (Alliance Theater), Smart People (Writers Theater). Film/Television: Beef (Netflix), Daisy Jones & The Six (Amazon), Swarm (Amazon), Tiny Beautiful Things ( Hulu), Your Place or Mine (Netflix), That ‘90s Show (Netflix), How I Met Your Father (Hulu), Random Acts of Flyness (HBO), among others.

Ryan’s versatility in the world of casting speaks for itself. For the last decade, Ryan has cast many theater productions in Los Angeles and New York, including many shows at Pasadena Playhouse and The Wallis. Their portfolio also includes notable TV and film projects such as the Wicked movies, This Is Us, Atypical, and many more. Ryan puts inclusion and diversity at the heart of everything they do. Their mission is to celebrate and actively advocate for performers who reflect the full spectrum of human diversity to help expand a multiplicity of narratives; narratives that reflect the real world we live in and challenge conventional boundaries that currently exist in the entertainment industry. rbtcasting.com. @rbtcasting

Alyssa is a Los Angeles-based stage manager and proud graduate of Occidental College. She is excited to be back at the Pasadena Playhouse. Her Playhouse credits include The Sound Inside, Stew, and Hold These Truths. Most recently she finished Waiting for Godot at Geffen Playhouse. Alyssa has worked at many of the regional and small theatre companies in Southern California such as The Old Globe, South Coast Repertory, Boston Court Pasadena, Troubadour Theater Company, and Musical Theatre West. Additionally, Alyssa worked with SITI Company on their production of The Bacchae at the Guthrie Theater and was an in-town substitute on Hamilton with its Eliza Company at the Pantages Theatre.

Brian is a producer, writer, and occasional performer from NY. He spent five years as the lead producer and writer of a touring political comedy show for Crooked Media, but quit because our politics are unfathomably depressing. Since then, he’s been producing performing arts festivals around Southern California for Community Arts Resources, as well as comedy shows in the back of taco shops and backyards for his friends. He joined the Playhouse as a PA on La Cage aux Folles and will stick around as long as they’ll have him. He loves theater, his dog, organized labor, reading in parks, screaming into the void, and dancing the night away.