The Motion

NANCY ROBINETTE

Moderator

Nancy Robinette (Moderator) was most recently seen at Arena in Death on the Nile, The Heiress, Well, and Ah, Wilderness!. Other recent roles in DC include Nan in Jennifer Who Is Leaving (Round House), Carrie in The Trip to Bountiful (Ford's), Bubbe in The Chameleon (Theater J), and Aunt Barb in Problems Between Sisters (Studio). She was recently on Broadway in Prayer for the French Republic (Manhattan Theatre Club), and earlier in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. For Prayer, she received an Outer Critics Circle nomination; for her 40-plus years in DC theater, she received a Helen Hayes Tribute.

BARZIN AKHAVAN

Dr. Alan James

Barzin Akhavan (Dr. Alan James) Arena: Mary Zimmerman's The Arabian Nights. Other DC credits: Pericles (Folger); Inana and Lidless (CATF). Broadway: Network, The Kite Runner. Select NYC productions: Coriolanus, Fuente Ovejuna (TFNA); Macbeth (CSC); Richard II (Public/WNYC); Hamlet (Waterwell); Meet the Cartozians (Second Stage). International: Aftermath (Melbourne, Paris, Amsterdam), A Thousand Splendid Suns (Theater Calgary). Select regional theater: Seattle Rep, Guthrie, Berkeley Rep, ACT SF, Baltimore Center Stage, Huntington, Cincinnati Playhouse, Virginia Stage, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, 4 seasons with the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, 6 seasons with The Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Film: F.A.S.T. (upcoming), Zugzwang (upcoming), Ezra, Funny Face. Select TV: The Blacklist, Chicago Med, Girls5eva, Smash, Law & Order: CI. MFA University of Washington.

NIKKOLE SALTER

Dr. Sarah Matthis

Nikkole Salter (Dr. Sarah Matthis) has recently appeared in Washington, DC productions of As You Like It and Julius X at Folger Theatre, We Are Gathered at Arena Stage, Confederates at Mosaic Theater Company, A Jumping-Off Point at Round House Theatre, and as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth at Shakespeare Theatre Company. On Broadway she portrayed Coretta Scott King in The Great Society at Lincoln Center Theater, and Off-Broadway appeared in Gloria at DR2 and her co-authored play In the Continuum at Primary Stages, among others. A scholar, playwright, and director, she has also appeared on television in New Amsterdam and Godfather of Harlem. Her honors include recognition from Helen Hayes, Outer Critics Circle, Obie, AUDELCO, IRNE, and Acclaim awards. A graduate of NYU, Nikkole was inaugural chair of the Department of Theatre Arts and professor of acting and playwriting in Howard University's Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts. www.nikkolesalter.com

PEREGRINE TENG HEARD

Prof. Lily Chan

Peregrine Teng Heard (Prof. Lily Chan) is a DC-born, Brooklyn-based actor and playwright. She last appeared at Arena Stage in POTUS (u/s Stephanie and Jean). Other regional credits include Tom Jones and Remix 38 at Actors Theatre of Louisville. New York credits include the world premiere of Chuck Mee's soot and spit (The New Ohio), Call Out Culture: or, the unbearable whiteness of being (Ars Nova ANT Fest), Ski End (Piehole), and Sehnsucht (JACK). Peregrine is the artistic director of The Associates Theater Ensemble, with whom she has devised and performed The Cousinhood (The Center at West Park), Sheila (A.R.T./New York Theatres), Black Protagonist (124 Bank Street Theater), and Freesome (The Brick). Peregrine's plays Redemption Story and On the Prowl with Ada Tsiao were O'Neill National Playwrights Conference Semifinalists in 2023 and 2024. www.peregrineheard.com

NEHAL JOSHI

Prof. Neel Bharara

Nehal Joshi (Prof. Neel Bharara) is astonished to mark his 9th show and 10th appearance at Arena Stage. He has appeared as Benny Van Buren in Damn Yankees, Ali Hakim in Oklahoma!, Amir in Disgraced, Catch Me If You Can (Helen Hayes nomination), Mother Courage with Kathleen Turner, Unknown Soldier, The Music Man, and Señor Discretion Himself. DC credits: Babbitt (Shakespeare Theater), Woolly Mammoth, Olney Theatre Center, Kennedy Center, Theater J. Broadway: The Cottage, All My Sons, The Phantom of the Opera (closing cast), Flying Over Sunset, School of Rock, Gettin' the Band Back Together, Les Misérables (1st revival), The Threepenny Opera. Off-Broadway: Cyrano, Working (2008 revision), Grand Hotel (Encores!). Regional: Dallas Theater Center, The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Goodman, Huntington. Video games: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Television/Film: The Wire, Search Party (HBO), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), Blackout, Under One Roof. Honors: Special Drama Desk Award. He would like to thank you for being here today and supporting the American theater. Instagram: @nehaljoshi

YESENIA IGLESIAS

u/s Moderator, Dr. Sarah Matthis, Prof. Lily Chan

Yesenia Iglesias (u/s Moderator, Dr. Sarah Matthis, Prof. Lily Chan) is a Washington, DC-based artist and educator from Bayamón, Puerto Rico. She is thrilled to be returning to Arena Stage after previously appearing in POTUS. Select local theater credits include The Garbologists (Theater Alliance); Metamorphoses (Folger Theatre); At the Wedding (Studio Theatre); Primary Trust, Daphne's Dive (Signature Theatre); and Kid Prince and Pablo (The Kennedy Center); among others. She has performed on stages across the DMV including Ford's Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Olney Theatre Center, Imagination Stage, Round House Theatre, and Constellation Theatre Company. Regional credits include Don't Eat the Mangos (Huntington Theatre Company), and Off-Broadway in Public Charge (The Public Theater). Her work is also featured in various commercials, and audio books. Forever grateful to her family! MFA: University of Washington - PATP.

ELI EL

u/s Dr. Alan James, Prof. Neel Bharara

Eli El (u/s Dr. Alan James, Prof. Neel Bharara) is returning to Arena Stage after performing in Fremont Ave. (2025) and The Great Society (2018). Other theater performances include The Piano Lesson (1st Stage); Testosterone, Migraaaaants (ExPats Theatre); AJAX (Scena Theatre); Radio Golf (Round House Theatre); Fat Ham (Studio Theatre); A Thirst for Freedom (Live Garra); and many more. He has completed and is currently involved with several independent film projects, including Once Upon a Time in The District, Unarmed Man, Harriet, The Meek, Last Night, THICK, etc. Eli has directed The Healing Floor (DCBTF Award winner), as well as a feature film and two shorts, The Cracked Mask and Lay Me Down. His motto is "you can learn from anyone, if only you allow yourself to."

CHRISTOPHER CHEN

Playwright

Christopher Chen (Playwright) is an Obie Award-winning playwright born and raised in San Francisco. His plays Caught, The Headlands, Passage, The Late Wedding, You Mean to Do Me Harm, and The Hundred Flowers Project have been produced across the U.S. and abroad at companies such as Lincoln Center (LCT3), American Conservatory Theater, Soho Rep, The Play Company, Crowded Fire, Singapore Rep, San Francisco Playhouse, The Wilma, InterAct Theatre, and Shotgun Players, among many others. Honors include the Steinberg Playwright Award, the Windham-Campbell Prize, USA Fellow, the Obie Award (for Caught), the inaugural Ollie Award, the Lanford Wilson Award, a Sundance Time Warner Fellowship, and the Paula Vogel Award. Current commissions include American Conservatory Theater, Portland Center Stage, and The Mark Gordon Company. As a screenwriter, he co-wrote the Sundance award-winning The Accidental Getaway Driver; the upcoming film The Hole, directed by Kim Jee-woon; and the upcoming television series Spider-Noir. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and holds an MFA in Playwriting from SF State.

HANA S. SHARIF

Director

Hana S. Sharif (Director) has directed acclaimed productions of The Age of Innocence, Death on the Nile, Murder on the Orient Express (7 STLCC nominations), A Christmas Carol (4 STLCC nominations, STL A-List Award), Pride and Prejudice (5 STLCC nominations), Porgy and Bess, The Who & The What (3 SFBA Critic Circle nominations), Fun Home, Sense and Sensibility, The Christians, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Pride and Prejudice (DCArts: Best Director/Best New Play), The Whipping Man, Gem of the Ocean (six CCC nominations), Gee's Bend (CCC Award Best Ensemble, two nominations), Next Stop Africa, Cassie, The Drum, IFdentity, Pretty Fire, Patient 463, I, Marcus Garvey, Quicksand, Hospice, and The Blacker The Berry. Her plays include All the Women I Used to Be, The Rise and Fall of Day, and The Sprott Cycle Trilogy (1880, 1964, 2010).

TIM MACKABEE

Set Designer

Tim Mackabee (Set Designer). For Arena Stage: Fremont Ave., The Age of Innocence, Nina Simone: Four Women. For Hana Sharif: The Age of Innocence, Murder on the Orient Express, A Christmas Carol (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis); The Who & The What (Marin Theatre). Broadway: The Elephant Man (starring Bradley Cooper), Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth (dir. Spike Lee). West End: The Elephant Man. Off-Broadway: Heathers (New World Stages); Bigfoot! The Musical, Dakar 2000, Poor Yella Rednecks, Vietgone, Important Hats… (MTC); The Last Match (Roundabout); The Penitent, Our New Girl, Guards at the Taj (Atlantic); Luce (Lincoln Center Theater); Gigantic (Vineyard). Regional: Oh yes, lots. Music Video: Carly Rae Jepsen's "Surrender My Heart". TV: Gotham, Smash, The Today Show. Education: North Carolina School of the Arts, Yale School of Drama. @timmackabeedesign

MIKA EUBANKS

Costume Designer

Mika Eubanks (Costume Designer), a New York-based costume designer originally from the DMV, received her MFA at the Yale School of Drama, and holds a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her theater design credits include Metamorphoses (Folger Theatre); Fires in the Mirror (Baltimore Center Stage); The Monsters (Two River Theater/MTC); Heaux Church (Ars Nova); Lessons in Survival: 1971 (Vineyard Theatre); Flex (Lincoln Center Theater); The XIXth (Old Globe); Twelfth Night (Classical Theatre of Harlem); and The Cotillion (New Georges/TMTC). In film, Mika designed for the Hulu miniseries Initiative 29, and recently the feature film Souvenir. In 2022, she assisted on the Tony Award-winning Best Musical A Strange Loop. Mika has received the Connecticut Critics Circle Award, AUDELCO Award, and a Helen Hayes nomination.

JASON LYNCH

Co-Lighting Designer

Jason Lynch (Co-Lighting Designer) is a Chicago-based lighting designer for dance, opera, theater, and other live performance art, and he makes his Arena Stage debut with this production. Most recently in the DC area, he welcomed audiences back to Washington National Opera with the spring productions of The Crucible and Treemonisha. Last year, Jason made his Signature Theatre debut with Play On!, which also garnered him a Helen Hayes Award nomination. Recent regional credits include work with Alley Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Geva Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Huntington Theatre Company, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Signature Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, The Old Globe, and Trinity Repertory Company. Instagram: @jasonlynch.design

XAVIER PIERCE

Co-Lighting Designer

Xavier Pierce (Co-Lighting Designer)'s professional credits include Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Public Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Guthrie Theater, McCarter Theatre Center, Long Wharf Theatre, Alley Theatre, Ford's Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, PlayMakers Rep, Westport Country Playhouse, TheatreWorks, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Alliance Theatre, American Repertory Theater, Portland Center Stage, George Street Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, Two River Theater, Olney Theatre Center, Intiman Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Florida Studio Theatre, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, Triad Stage, Children's Theatre of Charlotte, and Crossroads Theatre. Xavier is a graduate of New York University Tisch School of the Arts MFA in Design Stage and Film.

CHARLES COES AND NATHAN A. ROBERTS

Sound Design and Original Music

Charles Coes (Sound Design and Original Music) is happy to be back at Arena, where he has designed The Age of Innocence, Death on the Nile, and Jitney. Recent credits in NY are Comedy of Errors (Public Mobile Unit), Beautiful Lady (La MaMa), Golden Shield (MTC), Letters of Suresh (2ST), Small World Stories (Phantom Limb), Sing Street (NYTW), and Natural Shocks (WP). He has also designed shows that have toured through the DC area, including The Masked Singer Live, Into the Woods, and Peter and the Starcatcher. He has worked in regional theaters across the country and toured internationally with Homer’s Coat’s productions of An Iliad and Song of Rome. He has been a regular associate on Broadway shows including Girl from the North Country, To Kill a Mockingbird, Junk, and Peter and the Starcatcher.

Nathan A. Roberts (Sound Design and Original Music) is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, instrument-maker, and sound designer who specializes in creating original music and soundscapes for plays, often live onstage. Previously for Arena Stage: The Age of Innocence, Death on the Nile. DC Theater: The Widow Lincoln, Our Town (Ford’s Theatre); The Servant of Two Masters (Shakespeare Theatre). Off-Broadway: Golden Shield (Manhattan Theatre Club); Letters of Suresh (Second Stage); Crane Story, Dramatis Personae (The Playwrights Realm). Regional: The Way the Mountain Moved, Sense and Sensibility (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Miss You Like Hell, Fun Home, The Christians, Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Baltimore Center Stage); Animal Farm (Milwaukee Rep); Sense and Sensibility (Dallas Theater Center/Guthrie Theater); Tokyo Fish Story (The Old Globe). Education: MFA, Yale School of Drama. Faculty: Senior Lecturer in Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies, Yale University.

LASHAWN MELTON

Wig, Hair, and Designer

LaShawn Melton (Wig, Hair, and Designer). DC Area: Folger Theatre: Julius X (wig design), The Winter's Tale (wig design); Woolly Mammoth Theatre: The Great Privation (wig design), The Sensational Sea Mink-ettes (wig design); Signature Theatre: Play On! (wig design); Olney Theatre Center: Senior Class (wig design), Comedy of Tenors (wig design); Studio Theatre: Paradise Blue (wig design); Arena Stage: Fremont Ave. (wig and hair design), Death on the Nile (wig and hair design), The Other Americans (hair design), Tempestuous Elements (wig design), Snow Child (hair and makeup design); GALA Theatre: On Your Feet! (wig design); The Kennedy Center: The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 (wig design); Round House Theatre: School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (wig design). Regional: Utah Shakespeare Festival: A Raisin in the Sun, Emma The Musical, The Play That Goes Wrong (wig design). Film/TV: Lioness (hairstylist), White House Plumbers (hairstylist), Rustin (hairstylist), Fellow Travelers (hairstylist). Education: BA in Art, The University of the District of Columbia.

ALEXIS KULANI WOODARD

Associate Director

Alexis Kulani Woodard (Associate Director) is a Princess Grace Award winner, Directing Fellow at Rattlestick Theater, and the Associate Artistic Director of Compagnia de' Colombari. She is thrilled to be making her Arena Stage debut! As a Spelman Leadership Fellow at the Alliance Theatre, Alexis served as the Co-Artistic Director of the Alliance's inaugural digital season. Her work on HANDS UP (Alliance Theatre) earned the production six Suzi Bass Award nominations, including Best Direction, and a win for Outstanding Social Justice Production. Lungs played at I.L. Caragiale in Bucharest and other venues around Romania. Recently she served as the Drama League Assistant Director for The Notebook: The Musical National Tour. MFA: David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. Learn more about her work at alexiskwoodard.squarespace.com.

THE TESLEY OFFICE

Casting

The Telsey Office (Casting). With offices in both New York and Los Angeles, The Telsey Office casts for theater, film, television, and commercials. The Telsey Office is dedicated to creating safe, equitable, and anti-racist spaces through collaboration, artistry, heart, accountability, and advocacy. thetelseyoffice.com

RAIYON HUNTER, CSA

Casting

Raiyon Hunter (Casting) is a casting director, producer, and arts administrator from New Orleans, Louisiana. She currently works as the Casting Director/Line Producer of Arena Stage. Previously, she worked as the Casting Director of Children’s Theatre Company and the Spelman Leadership Fellow at the Alliance Theatre where she has contributed to a multitude of shows in varying capacities, ranging from casting associate to director on productions such as Do You Love the Dark?, Darlin’ Cory, Bina’s Six Apples, Good Bad People, Confederates, and more. Additionally, she has been in residency at Oregon Shakespeare Festival under Nataki Garrett and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis under Hana S. Sharif.

CHRISTI B. SPANN

Stage Manager

Christi B. Spann (Stage Manager) has been working as a stage manager in DC since 2011. Recent productions include Damn Yankees and Inherit the Wind. She previously spent 12 seasons on the stage management staff at the Denver Center Theatre Company and has also worked with The Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, MN, and Virginia Repertory Theatre in Richmond, VA.

MARGARET V. WARNER

Assistant Stage Manager

Margaret V. Warner (Assistant Stage Manager) is grateful to add to her previous Arena Stage credits of Inherit the Wind, Fremont Ave., A Wrinkle in Time, The Bedwetter, Data, Mindplay, and Cambodian Rock Band. Other regional credits: Gloria: A Life, Two Jews Walk Into a War, Becoming Dr. Ruth (Theater J); Kid Prince and Pablo (Kennedy Center); Ink, Nine Night, We Declare You a Terrorist (Round House Theatre); Beauty and the Beast (Olney Theatre Center); Fairy Tales in the Sun (Adventure Theatre MTC); Bakkhai (Baltimore Center Stage); A Christmas Carol, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), Romeo and Juliet (Chesapeake Shakespeare Company); Henry V (Delaware Shakespeare). Education: University of Maryland, College Park.