Shattered Globe Theatre Announces New Ensemble Members, Artistic Associates And Proteges

Shattered Globe Theatre is pleased to announce the addition of four new Ensemble Members: Colin David, Daria Harper, Deanna Reed-Foster and Nate Santana. The company also welcomes four new Artistic Associates: Tim Newell, Aila Peck, Hailey Rakowiecki and Ayanna Wimberley.

Comments Producing Artistic Director Sandy Shinner, "We are thrilled to welcome these eight new artists to the company. The new Ensemble Members have been working onstage and behind the scenes in significant roles for several seasons and all are multi-talented artists. Actor and director Nate Santana joined SGT as a Protégé in 2013 and has since performed on the mainstage and has become an invaluable leader of SGT's unique Protégé Program. Deanna Reed-Foster and Daria Harper began their association with SGT as actors in Mill Fire and have continued to perform and understudy over five seasons. Daria shares her skills as a master teacher of Alexander Technique with the company and Deanna is also a director and casting resource for SGT's programs. An actor and a director as well, Colin David has been indispensable as a technical director and production manager. Additionally, each new Artistic Associate has demonstrated a commitment to SGT's Ensemble values in their work with the company."

Shattered Globe is also pleased to welcome the 2018/19 class of its Protégé Program: Clare Brennan, Demetra Drayton, David Gallo, Val "Jay" Gerard Garcia Jr., Vic Kuligoski, Nicole Velasco Lockard, Ilirida Memedovski, Sarah Jane Patin, Roy Pugh, Kalika Rose, Aja Singletary and Allyce Torres.

The SGT Protégé Program identifies emerging artists and affords them the opportunity to work alongside a professional, ensemble-based theatre.

Now in its 9th year, the Protégé Program at SGT is designed for a diverse group of theater artists who are interested in learning more about ensemble-based theatre through hands-on experience, and are committed to a season long program of study. To ensure that there is no barrier to participation, the program remains free of charge. The program leadership includes Tina Muñoz Pandya, Nate Santana and Drew Schad.

Comments SGT Protégé Program Coordinator Drew Schad, "Tina Muñoz Pandya, Nate Santana and I are excited to lead the 9th year of the Shattered Globe Theatre Protégé Program. The diverse backgrounds and unique perspectives of these 12 promising artists will inform their collaboration as they discover what it means to work as an ensemble and devise a piece of theater. We look forward to working with this artistic collective as they create a new story based on their experiences in the program."

About the Ensemble Members

Colin David is active in the Chicago theatre industry as a director, actor and production manager. He has worked with Shattered Globe as carpenter, technical director and production manager on a wide range of productions including The Whaleship Essex, The Rose Tattoo, The Grown Up, In the Heat of the Night, True West, For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday, The Heavens Are Hung in Black, Five Mile Lake and How to Use a Knife. He also understudied for Joseph Wiens in Five Mile Lake. He recently directed Odessa at Right Brain Project and has been developing a fictional podcast called Heist, to be released in the near future.

Daria Harper first appeared on stage with Shattered Globe in Mill Fire and has since taken on roles in The Rose Tattoo and Crime and Punishment, as well as understudying for Kathy Ruhl in For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday. In her role as SGT Artistic Associate, she has shared her expertise as a Master Teacher of Alexander Technique with the Ensemble, show casts and Protégés. She has performed with Timeline, Sideshow, Redtwist, Boho and many other Chicago area theater companies.

Deanna Reed-Foster, an actor and director, is a native of the South Side of Chicago, and first appeared on stage with Shattered Globe in Mill Fire in 2014 followed by Marvin's Room in 2015. As an Artistic Associate, she has been actively involved with SGT's Protégé Program and casting process. She has worked with numerous Chicago theater companies including Strawdog, Eclipse and Black Ensemble Theater, among others. She played Lawrence Fishburne's wife in Richard Linklater's film, Last Flag Flying, and has a recurring role in the TV series Chicago Fire on NBC.

Nate Santana is an alumnus of Shattered Globe's 2012/13 Protégé program, and has been actively involved with the initiative ever since. He was the program's assistant for three years and now serves as its leader, working with a diverse group of emerging theatre artists and immersing them in hands-on opportunities to work with an ensemble-based company. Nate played the role of Hank in SGT's production of Marvin's Room in 2015. He can now be seen on NBC's Chicago Med in his recurring role as Dr. James Lanik, and has appeared as both an actor and director around the Chicago area including Teatro Vista, First Folio Theater, Boho Theater, and many others.

About the Artistic Associates

Tim Newell first worked with Shattered Globe as a guest artist in Her Naked Skin, and returned to play roles in In the Heat of the Night and The Heavens Are Hung in Black. He most recently understudied multiple roles for Crime and Punishment in fall 2018. He has traveled the country with his one-man show, Mr. Benny, and has worked with Chicago-based companies A Red Orchid, Lifeline and The Factory.

Aila Peck debuted with Shattered Globe in 2018 as Peta in Five Mile Lake. Her Chicago area credits include Silk Road Rising, The Gift Theater, Babes With Blades, Steep Theatre Company and Steppenwolf, where she is an alumna of The School at Steppenwolf. She is currently on tour with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks in Julius Caesar.

Hailey Rakowiecki is a costume designer and trained wig maker based in Chicago. Her first collaboration with Shattered Globe Theatre was on The Heavens Are Hung in Black and she has worked on every subsequent production: Five Mile Lake, How to Use a Knife and Crime and Punishment. She has worked with numerous other Chicago-based companies, including Red Theater, The Artistic Home and The Arc Theatre.

Ayanna Wimberley first worked with Shattered Globe as Assistant Stage Manager on For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday. She returned to work with the company on The Heavens Are Hung in Black, Five Mile Lake and How to Use a Knife. She has worked on a variety of productions in the Chicago area with Chicago Dramatists and Victory Gardens Theater. An active playwright, Ayanna holds a BFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

About Shattered Globe Theatre

Shattered Globe Theatre (Sandy Shinner, Producing Artistic Director; Doug McDade, Managing Director) was born in a storefront space on Halsted Street in 1991. Since then, SGT has produced more than 60 plays, including nine American and world premieres, and garnered an impressive 42 Jeff Awards and 106 Jeff Award nominations, as well as the acclaim of critics and audiences alike. Shattered Globe is an ensemble driven theater whose mission is to create an intimate, visceral theater experience that challenges the perspective of audience and artist alike through passionate storytelling. Shattered Globe is inspired by the diversity of our city and committed to making the theater available to all audiences. Through initiatives such as the Protégé Program, Shattered Globe creates a space which allows emerging artists to grow and share in the ensemble experience.

Shattered Globe Theatre is partially supported and funded by generous grants from The Shulman-Rochambeau Charitable Foundation, The James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation, Alphawood Foundation, The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, The Shubert Foundation, The Bayless Family Foundation, The Blum-Kovler Family Foundation, and The Robert J. & Loretta W. Cooney Family Foundation.

For more information on Shattered Globe Theatre, please visit www.shatteredglobe.org.

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