Roundabout Names 2023-24 Directing Fellow and Directors Group

Roundabout Theatre Company has revealed the newest addition to the artistic team: Directing Fellow Autumn Angelettie. Angelettie is the seventh Roundabout Directing Fellow. This season she will assist on multiple Roundabout productions, and work with the theatre's artistic team as a script reader and on developing a project of her choosing.

 

Roundabout also announces the 2023-24 Leon Levy Foundation Roundabout Directors Group, launched in 2019 to provide career assistance to emerging directors. The fifth Roundabout Directors Group cohort includes Emily Abrams, Zahra Budhwani, Moses Garcia, Tramane Harris, Saki Kawamura, Sanhawich Meateanuwat, amani meliyah, Aileen Wen McGroddy, Isabel Perry andLucky Stiff. This group adds to Roundabout’s myriad artistic and career mentorship programs, including the Roundabout Directing Fellowship, the Theatrical Workforce Development Program and Space Jam, a support initiative for playwrights. The Cohort will be led by former Roundabout Directing Fellow and Directors Group member, Mack Brown.

 

The Roundabout Directing Fellowship was launched in 2017 to provide development opportunities, resources, and career assistance to early career directors in the American Theatre. The Fellowship was created specifically to foster new relationships with, and to create a launchpad for, artists who have traditionally been denied equitable opportunities in the theatre industry. Past Fellows have gone on to direct off-Broadway, regionally, and at academic institutions around the country. They have served as associate directors on and off Broadway and have taken further steps in their freelance careers after deepening their networks through the Fellowship.

 

Previous Directing Fellows include Roundabout Resident Director Miranda Haymon, who directed Exception to the Rule by Dave Harris for Roundabout Underground in 2022, and Roundabout Associate Artist, Obie and Lilly Award winning director, writer, and musicianWhitney White.

 

Launched in 2019, the Leon Levy Foundation Roundabout Directors Group (RDG) was created to provide an artistic community for directors at similar stages of their careers, fostering camaraderie, lateral mentorship, access to expanded professional networks, and insight into the workings of a large not-for-profit institution. The RDG cohort meets monthly with established artists to offer mentorship and workshops on topics such as: leadership during a global pandemic, transitioning from assisting to directing, directing for TV/Film, understanding SDC, self-producing, finding representation, and more. Most importantly, RDG serves as a connection point to find community between colleagues with the hope that our members leave RDG with a larger circle of industry connections, knowledge, and a close group of peers. The Roundabout Directors Group has included many individuals who have gone on to participate in directorial roles for Off-Broadway and Broadway work through the years. To view the full list of past Roundabout Directors Group members please visit here.

 

BIOGRAPHIES

Roundabout Directing Fellow:

AUTUMN ANGELETTIE

(she/her) is a Black theatrical director who dreams and imagines ambitiously for a better world. An abolitionist, feminist theatremaker and organizer, Autumn thrives crafting mission-oriented work that is subversively joyful, spiritually fulfilling, and rich with the energy-giving force that fuels art for liberation: hope. She is a member of the fourth Roundabout Directors Group and the 2023 Moxie Arts NY Incubator, where she made her Off-Broadway debut directing one drop cool at WP Theater. Her work has been seen at The Brick, the Secret Theatre, and she has assisted directors at Signature Theatre, Lincoln Center, Park Avenue Armory, Mabou Mines, and Harlem Stage. Autumn earned her BFA in Theatre Arts from the illustrious Howard University Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts.

Roundabout Directors Group:

 

EMILY ABRAMS

(she/her) is a director, administrator, and silly human who creates community by putting audiences through one-of-a-kind experiences. Currently, Emily is the resident director of Spiegelworld's The Hook and a New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Artistic Fellow. Her work is heavily influenced by the theatre of the ridiculous movement, camp, parody, clown, and midnight-cult-classic movies. Emily has worked for leading arts organizations, including Ars Nova, New York Theatre Workshop, Spiegelworld, Manhattan Theatre Club, Virgin Voyages, Studio Theatre, Asolo Rep, People's Light, The Kimmel Center, The New Group, Life Jacket Theatre and more. She has assisted esteemed directors, including Cal McCrystal, Andrew Neisler, Knud Adams, Rory Pelsue, David Muse, Candis C. Jones, Sivan Battat, Josh Rhodes and others. She is an alum of Studio Theatre’s Directing Apprenticeship, Ars Nova’s Emerging Leaders Fellowship, and Asolo Rep’s Directing Fellowship. She holds a BFA in Directing from The University of the Arts and is an alum of The National Theatre Institute's Advanced Directing program. While not directing, Emily cares for her very small—very fluffy—dog, and competes in Rubik's cube speed-solving competitions. Find out more about Emily, her work, and her obsession with Tommy Wiseau by visiting EmilyAbramsDirects.com

ZAHRA BUDHWANI

(she/he/they) is a queer Desi director, based in Brooklyn, NY. Select directing credits include Wasted (The Tank),Diwali Play (Prime Produce) and untitled sex show (Fresh Lime Soda Productions). Assistant directing credits at Rising Sun Performance Company, SheNYC Theatre Festival, Roundabout Theatre Company, Permafrost Theatre Collective, and Dixon Place. Zahra was a member of the inaugural Mercury Store Directing Lab and is a current Associate Artist at Sanguine Theatre Company and a director for the 24 Hour Plays: Nationals 2023. They teach and make theatre with students all over NYC with the New Victory Theatre, Arts Ignite, CO/LAB Theatre Group, The Moth, and Broadway Bound Kids. Zahra creates culturally-specific and participatory art for communities who have not traditionally seen themselves represented in the American theatre and utilizes play to cultivate moments of wonder and courage in and out of the rehearsal room. BFA, NYU/Playwrights Horizons.

 

Moses Garcia

(he/him) is a New York-based stage director, producer, and arts leader. Fueled by electronic music, he creates transformative theatrical experiences, transcending traditional American Musical norms to embrace a diverse audience. Moses fearlessly explores pressing topics shedding light on issues pertaining to mental health, digital culture, identity, and challenging taboos. By harnessing music's immersive and emotive potential, Moses’ work aims to spark conversations, foster empathy, and challenge society’s preconceived notions. He has recently worked with Nederlander, The Public Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, The New Group, Center Theatre Group, and the National Alliance of Musical Theatre. Moses holds a Master of Arts Management and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University and is a proud inaugural scholar of the Cody Renard Richard Scholarship Program.www.mosesgarcia.com

 

TRAMANE HARRIS

(he/they) is native Brooklynite by way of East New York. As a theater-maker and educator his work is interested in traditional and nontraditional spaces as well as communities often left out of the theatrical conversation. Through the reinvestigation of the African American canon and identity, and development of new and classical work, he’s driven to use stories to cultivate joy, resilience, and introspection. www.tramaneharris.art/home

 

Saki Kawamura

is a NYC-based theatre/film director originally from Japan. As an immigrant artist, Saki is interested in challenging notions of traditional American theatre by combining non-traditional theatrical elements including butoh dance, visual arts, different languages, and devising. Her works reflect an international viewpoint, which incorporates eastern culture and values. She aims to create theatrical experiences which will build bridges across cultures. Recent directing credit includes: ICEBERG (Ren Gyo Soh), The Sugar Plant, Everest (Chain Theatre), Grown-ups, The Giving Tree (Unfix NYC), The Man Who Turned Into A Stick, Spite, Margaret’s Bed, The Librarian (ASDS Rep). Associate/Assistant credit includes: Murder on the Orient Express (Paper Mill Playhouse), JOY: A NEW MUSICAL (George Street Playhouse), Clue (Paper Mill Playhouse), A Jolly Holiday: Celebrating Disney's Broadway Hits (Paper Mill Playhouse) and Mystic Pizza (Ogunquit Playhouse). Saki is currently the Associate Artistic Director of Ren Gyo Soh, an award-winning butoh theatre company in NYC. MFA Directing at Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. www.sakikawamura.com

 

SANHAWICH MEATEANUWAT

สัณหวิชญ์ เมธีอนุวัตร (he/they) is a queer Thai stage director/playwright based in New York City. They recently graduated from the MFA Directing Program at Illinois State University. Their directing work focuses on creating dynamic theatre that supports social movements and explores and asks questions that impact the larger society, especially in the context of cultural diversity. They’re committed to using their skills to uplift and amplify Thai voices in the American theatre community. They are a proud board member of the Thai Theater Foundation. Their recent work was A Sisyphean Dream in Pan Asian Rep’s Nuworks 23 at Theatre Row. The show tells the story of Thai immigrant actor’s experiences in New York City. In 2022, they received the National SDC Directing Fellowship Award at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. They worked as a Directing Fellow at the National Playwrights Conference 2022 at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. This year, they have been selected to be part of The Drama League's Directors Project as Directing Assistantships cohort. They also received the John Cauble Emerging Producer/Leader Award from the KCACTF/LORT ASPIRE Arts Leadership program.

 

AMANI MELIYAH

is a multidisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, NY. They create socio-political portraits of identity, faith, and community through live performance, movement, poetry, and video. Directing credits include several original devised works, In the Blood by Suzan Lori Parks and short films Parkside and Daughters. She is a Theatre of the Oppressed practitioner with Theatre of the Oppressed NYC and facilitates a residency for queer youth in transitional living at the Ali Forney Center. amani is a co-founder of Blue Lilith Productions and is currently in production for the film Rooftop Jesus (writer/director). In NYC amani has collaborated with Soho  Rep, Experimental Bitch, Vainglory Theatre, Brunch Theatre, and The Tank. Education: Coastal Carolina University BFA in Acting / life lessons from many ancestors and aunties.

 

AILEEN WEN MCGRODDY

is a Chinese- and Irish-American theatre director, educator, and creator of live events. Her work is imaginative, inclusive, and playfully experimental, coming from a robust background in physical theatre and a deep commitment to hospitality. She became a person in New York; a theatre maker in Chicago; and a Master of Fine Arts in Directing at Brown-Trinity in Providence, RI. Currently, she is a co-artistic director of TUTA Theatre Chicago and an adjunct faculty member of Adelphi University. In the 2022-23 season, she was a 2050 Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop and the BOLD Resident Director at Northern Stage. Selected productions include: Sense and Sensibility (Northern Stage); A Christmas Carol (Trinity Rep); The Chinese Lady (Kitchen Theatre and Geva Theatre Center); Airness (Breckenridge Backstage Theatre); The Late Wedding, The Dumb Waiter, Summer and Smoke, and The Tempest (Brown-Trinity); Throwback Island, On The Y-Axis, Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (Writing is Live); The Glass Menagerie, Or, and Dani Girl (Winnipesaukee Playhouse); Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical and The Snowy Day(Emerald City Theatre); Montauciel Takes Flight (Lifeline Theatre); Ulysses (The Plagiarists); A Hero’s Journey, The Hunting of the Snark, Robin Hood, and The Pied Piper (The Forks & Hope Ensemble); The Whiskey Radio Hour, Wake: A Folk Opera, Kodachrome Telephone and Sign of Rain (The Whiskey Rebellion); and Gentle, The Edge of Our Bodies, Music Hall, The Anyway Cabaret (TUTA). She has directed readings at Clubbed Thumb, The Bushwick Starr, NY Classical Theatre, Rattlestick Theatre, and others.

 

Isabel Perry

is a Brooklyn-based director of theatre and film. She has worked at Lincoln Center, Second Stage, Soho Playhouse, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Playwrights Realm, The Tank, New York City Center, and New York Theatre Festival.  She has also worked regionally at Drury Lane, Bloomington Playwrights Project, and Victory Gardens. Isabel is a graduate of Northwestern University where she studied Theatre & Asian American Studies. www.isabelsloaneperry.com

 

LUCKY STIFF

(they/them) is a trans/nonbinary director, writer, and performer working in Chicago and New York. Their work in new play and musical development and nightclub culture-inspired performance art has been featured at the Museum of Con­temporary Art Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Blue Man Group Chicago, Boy Friday Dance Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre and the McKittrick Hotel (Sleep No More NYC) among many others. They hold an MFA in Directing for Theater from Northwestern University where they received a grant from the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in the Arts for their original site-specific production BELOW: An Underworld Story. luckystiffdrag.com

 

Roundabout Theatre Company has been working to prioritize and actively incorporate anti-racism, equity, diversity, inclusion and accountability throughout the institution. Read more about the company’s social justice progress and timeline atwww.roundabouttheatre.org/socialjustice

 

Roundabout Theatre Company celebrates the power of theatre by spotlighting classics from the past, cultivating new works of the present, and educating minds for the future. A not-for-profit company, Roundabout fulfills that mission by producing familiar and lesser-known plays and musicals; discovering and supporting talented playwrights; reducing the barriers that can inhibit theatergoing; collaborating with a diverse team of artists; building educational experiences; and archiving over five decades of production history.

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