Studio Theatre Announces Re-Vamped 'Fellows In Residence' Program

After 18 fruitful years of training early-career professionals, Studio has transformed its long-running Apprenticeship Program. Driven to create opportunities accessible to the broadest possible cohort, Studio opened applications for the new “Fellows-in-Residence” program in March 2024.

With generous support from dedicated sponsors, the newly reimagined program shifts from stipend-based compensation to an hourly wage with a benefit package, while still offering housing in the nearby Columbia Heights neighborhood. This change invites early-career artists and administrators from a wider set of backgrounds to participate in the season-long program, which is now the largest theatre training program in the DC area to offer employment and housing.     

Studio Theatre has now welcomed 10 promising theatre-makers into the institution as the first class of fellows. The program will prepare these future industry professionals for careers in the arts through comprehensive training spanning the 2024-2025 theatre season.     

“I started my career through an opportunity similar to Studio's Fellows-in-Residence program, so I know the value of working alongside seasoned professionals,” says Artistic Director David Muse. “At a time when theatres across the country have been cutting staff and ending training programs, I'm grateful for the support of our donors that allows Studio to make a significant investment in the compensation and benefits for professionals at a critical moment in our field. It is my hope that our donors' generosity opens the door to early-career theater-makers who might not otherwise be able to consider a season of training at Studio.”

Past Apprentice classes have used the opportunity at Studio as a stepstone to study and employment at some of the most esteemed institutions in the country, including studying at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale and Carnegie Mellon University, as well as working at Manhattan Theatre Club, Signature Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Wooly Mammoth Theatre Company, Roundhouse Theatre and Studio Theatre itself. 

The Fellows-in-Residence program holds DC's widest range of training in theatrical production areas. Each fellow specializes in a specific area within the institution, including administrative positions in marketing and business, as well as production positions including stage management, directing, electrics, technical direction and others. During the 2024-2025 season, the fellows will take on professional roles across the institution, obtain a deeper understanding of a professional theatre's inner workings, receive hands-on mentorship and networking opportunities and plan for their next steps in the field once they leave the program. 

MEET STUDIO THEATRE'S DEBUT FELLOWS CLASS

Blake Berggren (Production and Events Fellow) is a recent graduate of Emerson College where he received a BFA in Stage & Production Management. Regional Credits: Gatsby & Half God of Rainfall at American Repertory Theatre; The Nutcracker at Boston Ballet; Sheepdog, The Overview Effect, Redeemed, Your Name Means Dream, Spiritus/Virgil's Dance, and Fever Dreams at the Contemporary American Theater Festival. Educational Credits: Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812, A Doll's House, How We Got On, Cabaret, The Secret in the Wings, The Wolves, The Spitfire Grill, RAGE, This Girl…, The Late Wedding, Everybody, and Men on Boats at Emerson Stage.

Clarissa Briasco-Stewart (Lighting Fellow, she/they) is a lighting designer, programmer, and electrician whose work focuses on immersion and integrated design. They have worked on Gatsby at the American Repertory Theater, Honeyhole and Queens at Moonbox's 2023 and 2022 New Works Festivals, and Lynn Modell's Interesting Women at the Calderwood Pavilion. Clarissa's designs can be seen in shows produced by the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club, the Harvard Asian-American Dance Troupe, and the Harvard Ballet Company, among others. Clarissa holds a B.A. in Linguistics from Harvard College (2024).

Nora Geffen (Directing Fellow) is a director and theatre maker whose work centers collective creation and play. Recent assistant credits include Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and The Matchbox Magic Flute at The Goodman Theatre, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Marriott Theatre, Murder on the Orient Express at Drury Lane Theatre, and Night Watch and Right to be Forgotten at Raven Theatre. Nora has recently developed work with Snails on a Bike Collective. She holds a BA in Theatre from Northwestern University where she directed the 79th Annual Dolphin Show. norageffen.com.  

Gursimrat Kaur (Artistic Producing Fellow) Gursimrat is a playwright, screenwriter and theatre administrator. She has notably worked at the San Diego Repertory Theater, The Playwrights' Center and La Jolla Playhouse. She has received The Allan Havis Playwriting Award (UC San Diego) and Award of Merit for Individual Screenwriting (Southern Shorts).  In 2019-2020, Gursimrat was the Core Apprentice at The Playwrights' Center. She holds an MFA from The University of Texas at Austin's where she was a James A. Michener Fellow. www.gursimratkaur.com.

Adrian Knappertz (Sound and Projection Fellow) is a recent graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder where they studied theatre and sound design. While at CU, Adrian was the sound designer for the mainstage productions Anon(ymous) and Antigone: Presented by the Girls of St. Catherine's for which they were awarded the Certificate of Meritorious Achievement by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. In addition to the mainstage season, Adrian designed many shows for the Sandbox: Student Series including Red, Macbeth, 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, Yo Soy Una Mujer, and Barbecue Apocalypse. adrianoutloud.com.

Brian Martinez (Stage Management Fellow) is a South Florida native who received his B.A. in Theatre at William Peace University in Raleigh, NC. Some of his credits include The Color Purple at North Carolina Theatre, A Midsummer Night's Dream at Sweet Tea Shakespeare, Curtains at Raleigh Little Theatre, and most productions produced at William Peace University from 2019-2023. Within the theatre, Brian likes to dabble in different tech departments but always finds his way back into stage management. Outside of the theatre, he likes to be in the kitchen, stay active, and watch a good horror film.

Isabella Pedraza (Technical Direction Fellow) Recent production credits include Spring 2023 Dance Concert, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, Fall 2022 Dance Concert, Medea: An Epic Poem, Spring 2022 Dance Concert, and Everybody, all at George Washington University's Corcoran School of Theatre and Dance. She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing and English from George Washington University. During the course of her studies, Isabella received two departmental awards: the Bradley William Sabelli Design Award (2022) and the Paul Parady Memorial Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Program (2023).

Anastasiya Rakova (Business Fellow) Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, Anastasiya has grown up surrounded by the arts. Her parents' influence on her journey began at a young age, participating in plays, musicals, choir, and other roles in the performing and visual arts. She started working behind the scenes as an office coordinator/manager at a local ballet academy before continuing in the non-profit sector at a community music and arts school as a music department coordinator. With professional aspirations of becoming a leader in the musical theater/Broadway scene, she is excited to continue her career path as the Business Fellow at Studio Theatre for the 2024-2025 season.

Juliana Shriver (Company Management Fellow) recently graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies. In 2023, she worked as an Assistant Company Manager at Kent State's summer stock, Porthouse Theatre. Juliana has held theatre management internships at Playhouse Square in Cleveland, Ohio and The Space Theatre in London, UK. In addition to her interest in theatre management, Juliana is an actor. She has been involved in live theatre and short films and hopes to continue acting as she grows as a Company Manager.

Eliza Snipes (Marketing and Communications Fellow) is a Public Relations admirer with a love for the arts. Eliza holds a BA in Communications and Theatre from James Madison University (2024). More than enthralled with publicity, she contributed her PR skills to over 15 productions at James Madison University's School of Theatre and Dance. Eliza has also enjoyed work as a WATERWORKS New Works Festival Intern and Programming Assistant at Live Arts Theater in Charlottsville, VA. alaskaneds.wixsite.com/portfolio.

About Studio Theatre 

Studio Theatre is a longstanding Washington cultural institution dedicated to the production of contemporary theatre. Over more than 40 years and 350 productions, the theatre has grown from a company that produced in a single rented theatre to one that owns a multi-venue complex stretching half a city block, but has stayed committed to its core distinguishing characteristics: deliberately intimate spaces; excellence in acting and design; and seasons that feature many of the most significant playwrights of our time. Studio is a values-focused organization that pursues artistry and inclusion, and brings characteristic thoughtfulness and daring to our efforts, onstage and off. The theatre serves nearly 75,000 people each year, including more than 1,000 youth and young adults through community engagement initiatives. Founded in 1978, the quality of Studio's work has been recognized by sustained community support, as well as 78 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in professional theatre. 

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