The Joy That Carries You

Bru Ajueyitsi makes his Olney Theatre Center debut. REGIONAL: Ford's Theatre: Twelve Angry Men (Juror 5); Arena Stage: Akeelah and The Bee; Virginia Rep: A Raisin in the Sun (Asagai). DC AREA: Studio Theatre: Skeleton Crew, I Wanna F…..g Tear You Apart; Theater J: The Call; Constellation: The Love of the Nightingale; The American Century Theater: Hello Out There, Bang The Drum Slowly; Capital Fringe: Disco Jesus & the Apostles of Funk. TRAINING: Lincoln University; National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. TV: Blue Bloods (CBS), We Own This City (HBO), That Damn Michael Che (HBO Max), Swagger (Apple TV+).

James J. Johnson he/him (Beau) is excited to make his Olney Theatre Center debut, though he appeared in the 1st Stage run of The Royale (a co-production with OTC). DC AREA: Theater J/Folger Theatre: Nathan the Wise; Theater J: Our Suburb; Arena Stage: Ruined; 1st Stage: Hero’s Welcome; Mosaic Theatre: Les Deux Noirs; Ford’s Theatre: The Member of the Wedding; Woolly Mammoth Theatre: The Unmentionables; African-Continuum Theatre Co.: Kingdom, Wedding Dance; Imagination Stage: Zomo the Rabbit; Kennedy Center TYA: Homer P. Figg. EDUCATION: BFA in Theatre from Virginia Commonwealth University. James is also a founding member of Galvanize, a support network for local theatre artists of color. IG: @jamesjjohnson1

Billie Krishawn (Alaia) is excited to make her Olney Theatre Center debut. Theater credits include: Studio Theatre: Until the Flood; The Kennedy Center: HERStory; Roundhouse Theatre: The Ohio State Murders; Keegan: Airness; 1st Stage: Airness, Civil War Christmas; Theatre Alliance: Blood at the Root [Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Performer, Outstanding Ensemble; Outstanding Production], Constellation Theatre Company: Melancholy Play [Helen Hayes Award nomination for Best Lead Actress, Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Production], Caucasian Chalk Circle; Synetic Theater: Treasure Island; Avantbard: Emilie; Smithsonian: Greensboro Sit-ins; Adventure Theatre: Winnie the Pooh, Jumanji. FILM: Water in a Broken Glass. EDUCATION: Drew University; Duke Ellington School of the Arts. BillieKrishawn.com. Upcoming: The Till Trilogy at Mosaic Theatre Company

Lolita Marie (Ma) Helen Hayes Award recipient for Outstanding Supporting Actress for 1st Stage: Doubt, and Helen Hayes Award nominee for Outstanding Lead Actress for Keegan Theatre: God of Carnage and The Hub Theatre: Secrets of the Universe is thrilled to be back at Olney Theatre Center. Previous Olney Theatre credits include a repertory production of The Royale with 1st Stage Theatre. DC AREA: The Keegan Theatre:  N, a play; Chesapeake Shakespeare Company: The Adventures of Pericles; Mosaic Theater Company: Native Son;  Theater Alliance: Flood City,  Brownsville Song, and For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf; Keegan Theatre: American Daughter;  Constellation Theatre Company: The Skin of Our Teeth, Blood Wedding; 4615 Theatre Company: Sophocles’ Electra;  1st Stage Theatre: Well;  The Hub Theatre: Leto Legend;  Theater J: The Hampton Years, Something You Did; Active Cultures Theatre: The Constellation; Journeymen Theater Ensemble: Getting Out. INDEPENDENT FILM: Nubia Filmworks: Too Saved; Nocturnal Agony. TV:  I.D. Investigation Discovery: Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry.

Susan Rome BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON: Olney Theatre Center: The Diary of Anne Frank; Baltimore Center Stage: Folks at Home, Indecent, After the Revolution, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Mud Blue Sky, An Enemy of the People; Arena Stage: Indecent (Helen Hayes ensemble nomination), The Great Society, All the Way; Studio Theatre: If I Forget (Helen Hayes nominations), Hand to God (Helen Hayes ensemble nomination); Signature: Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes; Folger: Love's Labor's Lost; Theater J: Edward Albee's Occupant, Roz and Ray, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Brighton Beach Memoirs (Helen Hayes Award), After the Revolution (Helen Hayes nomination), and many other plays;  REGIONAL: Kansas City Repertory Theatre: Indecent, Mark Taper Forum: The Substance of Fire. Many more. Film: Fishbowl, My One and Only, A Dirty Shame. Television: The Wire, We Own This City (both HBO), House of Cards (Netflix); See Susan in the upcoming production of Dance Nation at Olney Theatre Center. susanrome.com

Michael Russotto is delighted to return to Olney Theatre Center, where he last appeared as Larkin in The Amateurs before the big shutdown. Other Olney Theatre credits include R.F. Simpson in Singin’ in the Rain, Reverend Parris in The Crucible, Lionel in Bakersfield Mist, Mr. Dussel in The Diary of Anne Frank, Richard in Hay Fever, and Neville in Neville’s Island. In November of 2021 Michael played Morrie Schwartz in Theater J’s production of Tuesdays with Morrie. Just prior to that, he appeared at Ford’s Theatre as Abraham Flexner in My Lord What a Night!  Michael is a member of the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, where he has performed in such productions as The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, A Bright New Boise (Helen Hayes Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor), Lenny and Lou, and She Stoops to Comedy (Helen Hayes Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor). He has also appeared in shows at Cleveland Play House, Arena Stage, Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, The Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Rep Stage, and The Kennedy Center. Film and television work includes, The Battle of Bloody Lane, Death of a Nation, and Playing Through. Michael can be heard on the L.A. Theatre Works recording of Seven Days in May, with Ed Asner. He has also narrated hundreds of audio books for Books on Tape and The Library of Congress.

Dani Stoller (Playwright/Shiri) Previous playwriting credits include: Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes and The Pursued, The Pursuing, The Busy & The Tired both at Signature Theatre. Previous performance credits include: Olney Theatre Center: The Crucible, The Diary of Anne Frank, Annie, The Thanksgiving Play, The Humans Signature: Really, Really, Dying City, Matt Conner’s Christmas Cabaret Studio Theatre: Carrie The Musical, Invisible Man Folger Theatre: Midsummer, District Merchants (world premiere), As You Like It. Keegan Theatre: Airness, Hair, Dogfight 1st Stage: Bat Boy (Helen Hayes Nomination), Blithe Spirit, The Good Counselor, The Italian – American Reconciliation. Education: BFA Ithaca College Danistoller.com 

Awa Sal Secka (Playwright) Roles at OTC include: Dessa Rose Concert (Dessa), Children of Eden Concert (Eve), Avenue Q (Ens) at Olney Theatre Center. Other regional credits include: Simply Sondheim (Self), Gun and Powder (Flo), Jesus Christ Superstar (Simon) at Signature Theatre; Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife), The Wiz (Glinda), A Christmas Carol (Mrs. Fred) at Ford’s Theatre; The Glorious World... (Lady 3) at Center Stage; School Girls... (Ama), Caroline, or Change (Dottie) at Round House; Me, Jane (Maisie) at Kennedy Center; The Last Five Years (Cathy), AIDA (Aida), MEMPHIS (Felicia) at ArtCentric; Cinderella (Cinderella), Charlie Brown (Lucy Van Pelt) at Imagination; James and the Giant Peach (Sponge) at ATMTC; SILENCE! (Ardelia) at Studio Theatre. She received her AA in Theatre Performance from Montgomery College. Upcoming works include GODDESS (Grio Trio) at Berkeley Rep and A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre.

Dani Stoller (Playwright/Shiri) Previous playwriting credits include: Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes and The Pursued, The Pursuing, The Busy & The Tired both at Signature Theatre. Previous performance credits include: Olney Theatre Center: The Crucible, The Diary of Anne Frank, Annie, The Thanksgiving Play, The Humans Signature: Really, Really, Dying City, Matt Conner’s Christmas Cabaret Studio Theatre: Carrie The Musical, Invisible Man Folger Theatre: Midsummer, District Merchants (world premiere), As You Like It. Keegan Theatre: Airness, Hair, Dogfight 1st Stage: Bat Boy (Helen Hayes Nomination), Blithe Spirit, The Good Counselor, The Italian – American Reconciliation. Education: BFA Ithaca College Danistoller.com 

Jason Loewith (Artistic Director) grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut, and on weekends he took the train to New York with his family to see shows. His dad was the comptroller of a Formica manufacturing company, and his mom was the first woman in the state to be president of a conservative synagogue. After her parents became ill, she took over their dress shop in a now sadly derelict part of Bridgeport. Jason particularly enjoyed hiding in the poofy dresses on the rack, and selling costume jewelry during the store’s annual sidewalk sale. He inherited his father’s love of numbers, working part-time as a bank teller, and leading Math Team in high school and as a bookkeeper for various nonprofit organizations as an adult. From his mother he inherited a dedication to Jewish causes, joining the international Board of United Synagogue Youth and working at the Jewish Home for the Aged during high school, and serving as chair of Brown University’s Committee for Soviet Jewry as an undergraduate. Jason seriously considered studying to become a rabbi, but the theater intervened, taking him to Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and finally the Washington, DC region, where he’s been since 2009. Jason has directed some 30 plays, written a handful (one of which, Adding Machine: A Musical, won a lot of awards in Chicago and New York), managed or produced hundreds, and done just about every other job there is to do in a theater-- all of which has helped him learn the value of a dollar, the importance of honesty, and the fact that you do not put a silk suit in either the washing machine or the dryer. On days off, Jason loves to cook (ask him how he learned to make bouillabaisse), hang out with his twelve nieces and nephews and four grandnieces and nephews, play Civilization, play tennis and jog (just don’t ask him how good he is), vacation in faraway places, and listen to music written between 1950 and 1986. He volunteers for local and national arts organizations, serves on the Board of theatreWashington, and has mentored a fantastic teenager in Anacostia for BestKids, which he urges you to support.

Kevin McAllister (Director) Kevin joined the staff of Olney Theatre in March of 2021 where he currently serves as Director of Curated Programs and BIPOC Artist Advocate.  He was last seen on stage at Olney as Father in The Applause Series Concert of Children of Eden which he also directed.  Locally, Kevin has directed or served on the production team of various works that have been featured at Ford's Theatre, Young Artists of America, Toby's Dinner Theatre, NextStop Theatre, and Monumental Theatre Company.  Nationally, he is the Assistant Directing Fellow on all Broadway and touring productions of the hit musical Come From Away.  Kevin is also the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of ArtsCentric, a performing arts organization in Baltimore dedicated to re-examining traditional roles in the arts where he has directed over 30 shows.  For continued commitment to arts advancement in Baltimore, he and ArtsCentric were selected as Director and Theatre Company of the Decade by BroadwayWorld in Baltimore. 

When not directing or creating art, Kevin can be found on stage performing.  He was most recently seen in the Broadway revival of Caroline, or Change alongside Cassie Levy, Sharon D. Clarke and Broadway legend Chip Zien. Prior to that he was in the Broadway production of Come From Away. He is a two time Helen Hayes Award winning actor with 12 nominations under his belt. His favorite roles being The Tin Man in The Wiz, Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in Ragtime, and Tom Collins in Rent. Regional venues include The Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Cleveland Playhouse, Olney Theatre, Signature Theatre, and Ford’s Theatre. Mr. McAllister’s opera background has also afforded him the opportunity to perform in Washington National Opera’s revival of Kurt Weill’s Lost In The Stars with Eric Owens. He’s participated in several world premieres and workshops with works written by Pasek and Paul, Jeanine Tesori, Rowe and Dempsey and living legend Bruce Hornsby. As an actor, Kevin is a firm believer in the idea of reimagining roles and has often taken on roles not originally written for African-American actors. Regionally, he has played Daddy Warbucks in Annie, File in 110 In The Shade, Murdoch in Titanic the Musical, Herman Preysing in Grand Hotel and Burrs in The Wild Party. 

He is also a recurring guest lecturer at Montgomery College, American University, Howard University, University of Maryland and Catholic University. In November 2020, Kevin was also selected as DC’s Artist of The Decade by Broadway World. He dedicates all his work to his family, Cedric and Lola.

Misha Kachman (Set Designer) Misha has worked at Arena Stage, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cleveland Playhouse, Court Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Opera Lafayette, Opera Royal Versailles, Pasadena Playhouse, Filarmónica de Jalisco, Portland Center Stage, Round House Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, Signature Theatre, Skylight Music Theatre, Studio Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Theater J, The Wilma Theater, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, among many other companies in the United States and abroad. Misha is a recipient of the 2013 Helen Hayes Award. He is an Associate Artist at Olney and a Company Member at Woolly Mammoth in Washington, DC. Mr. Kachman was born in Russia and graduated from the St. Petersburg Theatre Arts Academy. He serves as Professor and Head of MFA in Design at University of Maryland. For more information visit www.mishakachman.com.

Alberto Segarra (Lighting Designer) Olney Theatre Center: The Thanksgiving Play. Selected Washington, D.C. credits include: Quixote Nuevo at Round House Theatre, Good People at Keegan Theatre, Tender Age at Studio Theatre, El Perro del Hortelano at GALA Theatre, Earthrise at The Kennedy Center, Blood at the Root at Theater Alliance (Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lighting Design), The Agitators, Vicuña & the American Epilogue, and Satchmo at the Waldorf at Mosaic Theater, and An Act of God at Signature Theatre. Regional credits include 1776 and The Gift Horse at New Repertory Theatre and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at BlueBarn Theatre. Alberto received his MFA in Lighting Design from the University of Maryland, College Park, and he is a USA 829 member. Albertosegarra.com.

Danielle Preston she/her (Costume Designer) is a costume designer based in Washington DC. Recent theater credits include designs for the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Studio Theatre, Hangar Theatre, Theater J, Mosaic Theater Company of DC, Florida Repertory Theatre, & Chicago Opera Theater. Preston has worked as an Assistant Costume Designer in NYC & DC at Playwrights Horizons, Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Strathmore Center, & Williamstown Theatre Festival. Preston also worked as a costume coordinator at the Washington National Opera. Professional fellowships include Kenan Costume Fellowship for the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute Fellowship in Costume Design. Preston holds an MFA in Costume Design from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Preston is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829.

Matthew M. Nielson (Composer/Sound Designer) Mr. Nielson made his Olney Theatre Center debut in 2005 with Lend Me a Tenor and is happy to be back after designing and composing I and You, The Magic Play, The Diary of Anne Frank, and Mary Stuart. Off-Broadway credits include The Public Theater’s New York Shakespeare Festival, 59E59 Theaters, The Lincoln Center. Regional credits include Arena Stage, Ford’s Theater, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Portland Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Delaware Theatre Company, Actors Theater of Louisville, Barrington Stage Company, Contemporary American Theater Festival, the Smithsonian Institution, The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Round House Theatre, Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Signature Theatre, Theater Alliance. Film & TV Credits include EPIX Drive-In, Facebook, UFC on FOX, NBC Sports, Death in Time, Elbow Grease, Blue. Mr. Nielson has won several awards for his work composing and designing in theatre, film and television. He is a founding member of audio theatre company The Audible Group and creator of the series Troublesome Gap. He is currently enrolled in the Berklee College of Music Songwriting and Music Production degree program. Samples can be heard online at www.CuriousMusic.com.

Karen Currie (Production Stage Manager) OLNEY THEATRE CENTER: A. D. 16, Mary Stuart, Once, Finian’s Rainbow, In the Heights. NYC: The Last Session; KENNEDY CENTER: Digging Up Dessa, Oliverio, Mockingbird, Orphie and the Book of Heroes; SIGNATURE: Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes, Heisenberg, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Fix, Cabaret, Saturday Night, Sycamore Trees, The Happy Time; VIRGINIA STAGE COMPANY: Detroit ’67, A Christmas Carol (2018); THEATER J:  Over 20 productions including Trayf, The Christians, Another Way Home, G-D’s Honest Truth, Yentl, Freud’s Last Session, After the Revolution, The Whipping Man, and The Religion Thing; FOLGER THEATER: As You Like It; EDUCATION: M.A. in Arts Management, American University.