Sleepova

MATILDA FEYIṢAYỌ IBINI is a multi-award-winning, bionic playwright, author and filmmaker of Nigerian heritage from London. Matilda was selected as a Star of Tomorrow 2020 by Screen Daily Magazine; a feature film screenplay they co-wrote with Gabriel-Bisset Smith was selected as part of The Brit List 2020; they were an Arts Foundation Futures Award 2021 Finalist; a BFI Flare x BAFTA 2023 mentee; and Inevitable Foundation x Loreen Arbus Elevate Collective Award Grantee 2024. As a playwright, Matilda’s debut play Muscovado premiered in October 2014 and subsequently won the Alfred Fagon Audience Award 2015. They have written audio dramas for BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and Audible. Matilda’s next play Little Miss Burden premiered at the Bunker Theatre in 2019 and won a Popcorn Finalist Award 2020. Their last play Sleepova premiered at the Bush Theatre in 2023; won the 2024 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre and Most Promising Playwright Award at 2023 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards.
 

TYMETRIAS L. BOLDEN (she/her) (Funmi) is thrilled to make her debut at OLNEY THEATRE CENTER. DC AREA: Studio Theatre: Fat Ham (U/S OPAL) [Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Ensemble] and The Colored Museum (U/S Woman 1, Miss Pat); Shakespeare Theatre Company: Death and The King’s Horseman (Jane Pilkings), Inherit the Wind (Mrs. Krebs, Stage Directions). FILM: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Rustin. SHORT FILM: Permanence, Envision Us On Fire, Film School, The Chase. EDUCATION: BFA in Theatre Arts Acting from Howard University College of Fine Arts, Yale School of Drama, and British American Drama Academy Midsummer in Oxford program. Instagram: @tymetriaslbolden Website: tymetriaslbolden.com
 

CIARA HARGROVE (Elle) is ecstatic to be back at the OLNEY THEATRE CENTER. Previous Olney credits include: Long Way Down (Swing). REGIONAL: Arizona Broadway Theatre: Hello, Dolly! (u/s Minnie Fae and Ermengarde, Ens.), Beauty & the Beast (Ensemble); Theatre by the Sea: 42nd Street (Ethel), The Sound of Music (u/s Sister Berthe, Ens.); American Girl Live!: In Concert (Claudie & Melody StandBy); Goodspeed New Works Festival: Little Miss Perfect (Bri Morrison), Photosynthesis (Bernadette). EDUCATION: BFA in Musical Theatre from University of Hartford - The Hartt School. Immense amount of love to my Mom, Family, Friends, and Mentors. #hartthasit Instagram: @theciarahargrove

NYKILA NORMAN (Rey) is thrilled to bring her talents to the stage at OLNEY THEATRE CENTER for the first time! OFF-WEST END: Kunstler. BROADWAY NATIONAL TOUR: 1776. NYC: iSaratoga Theatre: Kunstler (Kerry), Village Light Opera: Ragtime, Essence of Acting: @MCNY Greenwood (Solene), Unentitled (Vicki) REGIONAL: Centrestage: The Color Purple (Squeak), Magnetic Theatre: Bach, Bach, Bach (Maria), William Carey University: A Raisin in the Sun (Beneatha/Ruth), Fences (Rose). TV/FILM/VR: Marina, Accenture AVEnues, Rachael Ray Show, Keep It To Myself EDUCATION: B.S. in Speech Communication from William Carey University. Nykila loves music, trying new foods, and spending time with her family. IG: @nykilanorman TikTok: @nykilanorman

JASMINE PROCTOR (Shan) is SO excited to be making her OLNEY THEATRE CENTER debut. She would like to thank her family and friends for all of their constant love and support. #HELLIANTHUS Credits include: The Moors ( Emilie), A Commedia Romeo & Juliet ( Juliet), Love Like Tuesday ( Maya/Juniper/Nancy), Macbeth ( Ross), New Kid ( Mench), Once on This Island ( US Asaka), Astroboy & the God of Comics ( Ensemble)

LEILANI CLENDENIN (u/s Funmi and Rey) is excited to be making her OLNEY THEATER CENTER debut! Previous credits include: DC AREA: The Kennedy Center: The Day You Begin (u/s Angelina); Show Way National Tour (Mama). COLLEGIATE: Little Women the Musical (Jo March); Flyin’ West (Minnie Dove Charles) EDUCATION: BA in Theater and a BM in Voice (opera) from University of Maryland College Park. Instagram: @leilani_sings

COURTNEY SIMMONS (u/s Elle and Shan) is so excited to make her OLNEY THEATRE CENTER debut!  BALTIMORE AREA CREDITS: ArtsCentric: For Colored Girls (The Lady in Yellow). Iron Crow Theatre: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Pritti). EDUCATION: B.A. from University of Maryland’s School of Theatre Dance and Performance Studies. COLLEGIATE CREDITS: The Book Club Play (Lily), Stickfly (u/s Cheryl), and Fixed: A Dance Drama (Pusherman). Our Lady of Kibeho (Marie Claire). She has also performed her poetry at Baltimore Center Stage and at the DC Fringe Festival. Instagram: @from.court 

PAIGE HERNANDEZ (Director): OLNEY THEATRE CENTER  credits include: The Royale, The Joy That Carries You workshop, The Piano Lesson (Choreographer), Regional Theatre: Everyman Theatre (Associate Artistic Director and Resident Company Member): Dinner and Cake (Director), Flyin West (Director), Pipeline, (Director), Proof (Director), Queens Girl Black in the Green Mountains (Director), Queens Girl in the World (Director), Queens Girl in Africa (Director), Signature Theatre: Daphne’s Dive (Director), Round House Theatre: We’re Gonna Die (Director) Woolly Mammoth Theatre: For Black Trans Girls at Joe's Pub NYC (Director), We are Proud to Present... (Choreographer) [Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Choreography]; Rep Stage: Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 (Director); The Kennedy Center: She a Gem (Director) ; Mosaic Theatre: Queens Girl in Africa (Director) [Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Direction]; Theatre Alliance: Brownsville Song (Director); Forum Theatre: How We Got On (Director); Education: University of Maryland & the Baltimore School for the Arts. Instagram @PAIGEINFULL

SHARTOYA R. JN. BAPTISTE (Scenic Designer) Born and raised on the picturesque island of Saint Lucia, Shartoya Jn. Baptiste started her theatre journey through dance. As a scenic designer, she draws inspiration from movement and her Caribbean heritage. Shartoya currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at Towson University, where she is an advocate for the funding of arts education and protection of artists of color, believing that it is essential for the future of the arts. Design Credits: Is God Is (Constellation Theatre), The Last Martyr (Imagination Stage), P.Nokio (Imagination Stage, Helen Hayes Nominated), Out of the Vineyard (Joe’s Movement Emporium), By The Way, Meet Vera Stark, The Book Club Play, & the Fall MFA Dance Concert (University of Maryland), and Scrooge.0 & Intimate Apparel (Towson University). Upcoming Work: Syncopated Avenue (Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe), and I have a secret to tell you… (The Kennedy Centre). Website: www.shr758.com ; Instagram: @ shr758_ ; Youtube: shr758

JOHN D. ALEXANDER (Lighting Designer) OFF-BROADWAY: Lambs 2 Slaughter (Cherry Lane Theatre) and Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence (New Victory Theater). Recent designs include: Confederates (Detroit Public Theatre); Is God Is (Constellation Theater); Fat Ham (Theatre Squared); Sanctuary Road (Virginia Opera) and Packages O’ The Things We Carry (Nat’l Black Theatre). Other designs include: Selling Kabul (Signature Theatre); From the Mississippi Delta (Westport Country Playhouse); Crying on Television (Everyman Theatre); Quamino's Map (Chicago Opera Theatre); B.R.O.K.E.N. Code B.I.R.D. Switching (Berkshire Theatre Group); Sheepdog and The House of the Negro Insane (Contemporary American Theatre Festival). www.JohnDAlexanderLightingDesign.com

DANIELLE PRESTON (Costume Designer) is a Costume Designer based in Washington, D.C. Previous OLNEY THEATRE CENTER credits include Long Way Down Musical,  A Nice Indian Boy, and The Joy That Carries You. NEW YORK: Where Words Once Were (Lincoln Center | Kennedy Center) REGIONAL: TheaterWorks Hartford: King James;  Studio Theatre: Downstate, At The Wedding, Fat Ham, & Clyde’s; Signature Theatre: Primary Trust, Passing Strange and Penelope; Round House Theatre: Topdog | Underdog; Barrington Stage: Primary Trust and Blues for an Alabama Sky; Woolly Mammoth Theatre: The Sensational Sea Minkettes; Everyman Theatre: Queens Girl: Black in the Green Mountains. Danielle received the 2025 SETC Distinguished Costume Design Keynote, 2024 Helen Hayes Nominations for Agreste at Spooky Action Theater, 2022 OPERA America Tobin Director-Designer Prize, William R. Kenan Jr. Fellowship in Costume Design with The Kennedy Center, and the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute Fellowship in Costume Design. EDUCATION: MFA in Costume Design from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. @danielleprestondesig daniellepreston.com  

CRESENT HAYNES (Sound Designer) is happy to make her OLNEY THEATRE CENTER debut. Her credits include: OFF-BROADWAY: A Strange Loop (Woolly Mammoth Theatre), REGIONAL: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (University of Rochester), Hang (Second Thought Theatre), POTUS (Everyman Theatre, Show Way the Musical National Tour (presented by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts), One in Two (Mosaic Theater Company), The Mortification of Fovea Munson (The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts), The School for Lies (Constellation Theatre), Mojada (1st Stage Theatre), Intimate Apparel (Theatre J), Fabulation (Mosaic Theater Company), The Laramie Project (Duke Ellington School of the Arts), N (Keegan Theatre), Hope in the Hood (Amazing Grace Conservatory) and many more. Cresent is also a freelance Live Audio Engineer and Visual Artist. She has aspirations to design on Broadway and continue touring with various performing artists as their Audio Engineer, all while continuing to fill spaces with her original exhibits. EDUCATION: BFA in Theatre Technology from Howard University. (www.linktr.ee/cresentrochelle)

ZAVIER AUGUSTUS LEE TAYLOR (Projections Designer) Is a multimedia artist and designer with a focus on interactive and impactful video design for live performance. Zavier has BA in Dramatic art from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MFA in Media Design from UMD-College Park. His work has seen stages at The Apollo Theater, The National Black Theatre, The Guthrie, Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, GEVA Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Theater J, The Classical Theater of Harlem, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, Baltimore Centerstage, People’s Light, Keegan Theatre, and Studio Theatre. Zavier operates a multimedia production company known as ZALT Productions. ZALT Productions Is a creative entity that enables people and businesses to realize their potential through design. Zavier is eager to connect with and build a network of creatives locally (DMV), nationally, and abroad. Learn more about Zavier and his previous work by searching #ZALTproductions.  YouTube: @zaltproductions  Instagram: @zaltslaw Website: https://zavier.myportfolio.com

KELSEY N. JENKINS (Production Stage Manager) is blessed for her OLNEY THEATRE CENTER debut! DC AREA: The Kennedy Center TYA: Look Both Ways (PSM); Signature Theatre: The Bridges of Madison County, (PA), The Color Purple (PA), Summertime: Awa Sal Secka Sings (SM); Arena Stage: Step Afrika's The Migration (PA), Unknown Soldier (Child Supervisor), Exclusion (PA), Step Afrika's Magical Mystical Holiday Step Show (PA); The High Ground (PA); Rorschach Theatre: Distance Frequencies (HM), Dracula: A Feminist Play (HM); Theater Alliance: Covenant (ASM), Brownsville Song (SM); Chasing The Wind Workshop @ Arena Stage; Andre McCrae (PSM); 1st Stage: The Mamalogues (PSM). Thank you Paige for being the woman that you are - you inspire me and I can't express my gratitude for your existence. Instagram: @kjenkalenk

EBONY GENNES (Assistant Stage Manager) is happy to be back at OLNEY THEATRE CENTER. Previous Olney Theatre Center credits Lend Me a Soprano. . REGIONAL: Cumberland Theatre: The Outsiders, Company, Rock of Ages, True West, Clue DC AREA: Folger Theatre: Romeo and Juliet. Theater J: Tiny Lights, The Chameleon. EDUCATION: BS in Theatre from Frostburg State University. Instagram: @EbonyGennes Website: www.EbonyCharlene.com