Theater District

Kimberly Gilbert was one of the very first actors I learned about when I moved to DC in the fall of 2019, and it’s easy to see why she’s held in such high esteem. Over her 20+ year career, starting with an MFA from the STC Academy , she has worked with companies large— Round House , Woolly Mammoth —and small— Taffety Punk —and everything in between on an impressive range of plays and roles, includ...

Stefan Sittig does not hold much back, and that’s great for listeners. He is open, honest, and charming—not always the most prevalent traits in show business folks—about the twists of turns of his life and career, from a childhood overseas to trying to make it as an actor and dancer in DC as the industry itself shifted through the 1990s to 2010s. Today, he is a working choreographer, fight directo...

If you're a theater maker or theater goer--or both--in DC right now, you probably have some thoughts and feelings about the changing arts journalism landscape, including the layoffs at The Washington Post to the proliferation of online reviewers and content creators. These shifts are exactly why I'm excited to have the chance to talk to today's guests. Elgin Martin and Nicole Hertvik of DC Theater...

Listening to Danisha Crosby , I’m reminded of the immeasurable value of theater education both for anyone who goes to a summer theater camp or an afterschool workshop and also for society as a whole. Through theater we can learn so many of life’s most valuable skills and lessons, including collaboration, empathy, and critical thinking. Thankfully students of all ages have been able to do that unde...

I’m not sure who has permission to pass out the label “legendary,” but if I can presume for a moment, musician and artist KOKAYI is legendary. The native Washingtonian is a grammy-nominated artist, MC, a pioneer of DC hiphop, an in-demand jazz musician, an amazing spontaneous composer and preeminent improvisational vocalist, a published author, an exhibited photographer, a sought-after producer an...

Karen Ann Daniels has so many skills, talents, and experiences, she could break LinkedIn. A performer, singer, songwriter, adaptor, educator, director, and leader, she has been the artistic director and director of programming at the Folger Shakespeare Library since fall 2021.  In January 2023, she launched the Reading Room, a new works festival dedicated to showcasing how contemporary artists and...

Elizabeth Dinkova is "an itinerant director, writer, and creator originally from Sandanski, Bulgaria." Her artistic ventures--as a student, director, adaptor, leader, and educator--have taken her from Oregon to DC, New Haven to Atlanta, back to DC, and more. Now the artistic director of Spooky Action Theater, Beth brings her bold theatricality, incisive thinking, and compassionate nature to classi...

Alexis of DC Theater Social and Em of DC Theatre Goer join me for a very fun and very real conversation about seeing theater in the DMV. From intentional accessibility to diverse artistic choices, there is plenty to celebrate about our region's offerings. We discuss the Disney-to-theater-kid pipeline, theaters' efforts to welcome genuine audience reactions, how to balance trying to see and do ever...

Ryan Sellers is a product of DMV theater, and DMV theater is a product of Ryan Sellers. The actor, mover, choreographer, writer, and director has made an impressive career in his hometown, appearing (and falling) on stages for audiences of all ages: Synetic Theater, Adventure Theater, Arts on the Horizon , Only Make Believe , Olney Theatre Center, Spooky Action,  Signature Theatre, and many, many...

Not only can Jonathan Dahm Robertson design you a set (and projections, and videos, and props, and…), he knows how to build it. That helps him deliver impressive sets for theaters of all sizes around the DMV, from Signature Theatre to 1st Stage and more. He’s also an opera buff, member of the United Scenic Artist , Local 289, a UNCSA Pickle , and a former Kennedy Center Fellow. He discusses how he...

It's the episode a few people asked for, a special Ask Me Anything edition of the podcast. I'm joined by my friend and collaborator Erin Murray, a director, playwright, and educator currently based in Seattle, Washington (which makes her a different sort of Washingtonian). We discuss my thoughts on dramaturgy, the layered ecosystem of arts journalism in DC, an interesting alternative to grad schoo...

"Where the puppet people at?" Because you need to know Luke Hartwood, a rising designer and performer in the DMV. A George Mason alum, Luke is a visual artist, a props designer, and all-around puppet maven--he can design them, make them, teach them, and operate them, including his notable work in Keegan's February 2025 production of Hand to God . He's also worked on many Theater for Young Audience...

Mollie Greenberg is many things--an actor, a puppeteer, a teaching artist, and an emerging director. She's also a recovering 'shy kid,' who found theater as a way to learn more about herself and others. That curiosity has led Mollie to try--and excel, IMHO--many new things, from going to an open call at The Puppet Co. , to directing her first show there, and now starting Ingrid & Mollie . The...

Caleen Sinnette Jennings is an award-winning playwright and Professor of Theatre Emerita at American University. Theaters across the country have produced her celebrated Queens Girl trilogy, including Theatre J, Mosaic Theatre, Everyman Theatre, Clackamas Repertory Theatre, and Hangar Theatre. Her plays of all lengths have regularly been published and anthologized. She has received commissions fro...

If you’ve ever asked yourself “Where do I put this blood bag?,“ or “How do I make the best fake wine?,”  or even “Is a parasol a prop or a costume?,” then you need to listen to Chris Young. The prop shop director at Shakespeare Theatre Company , Chris has been figuring out those questions for over 30 years. A treasure trove of stories, talents, and ideas, Chris shares his process of making props,...

If there’s one part of the theatrical process that can be mysterious, scary, and unfair, it’s casting. Danica Rodriguez is here to change all of that. A native New Yorker, Danica worked in casting for television and theater, including for the Public Theater, before becoming the resident casting director of the esteemed Shakespeare Theatre Company in fall 2021. An open, joyful, and canny person, Da...

Aubri O'Connor deftly wears so many hats she could make a milliner blush. The DC-based theater maker is the co-founder, co-producer, and artistic director of Nu Sass Production , which promotes marginalized genders in all aspects of theater, especially in those roles traditionally dominated by cis-men. Our open, joyful, and clear-eyed conversation covers the company's beginnings and growth, as wel...

Who can carry on four conversations at once, keep track of an ever-growing list of props and ques, and fix the plot hole in the second act? A stage manager, and Che Wernsman is one of the best in the DMV. The resident SM at Round House Theatre , Che shares her journey to become an equity stage manager, her thoughts on why military members make great theater makers, and how SMs maintain the integri...

When waacking and disco and crafting come up in one conversation, it must be about something deep and powerful and transformative like community engagement. Katherine Harroff (Director of Engagement and Associate Director of Public Programming with the Folger Shakespeare Library ) and Kristen Jackson (Associate Artistic Director and Director of Connectivity at Woolly Mammoth ) join forces to speak...

Eric Ruffin is a professor of theatre arts at Howard University, focusing on acting and directing. A Howard alum himself, he has helmed productions at Mosaic Theatre Company, Studio Theatre, 1st Stage, African Continuum Theatre Company, Imagination Stage, the Kennedy Center, and more. His 2015 production of Langston Hughes' Black Nativity with Theater Alliance won three Helen Hayes Awards. A grega...

Shanara Gabrielle is a force for good in the DC theater scene. Since planting roots here in 2017, she has worked as an actor, director, and cultural producer across our region, and in July 2024, became the producing artistic director of Theater Alliance, which specializes in socially conscious, thought-provoking work. We discuss how the company is settling into their new venue, the values that und...

Sierra Young is a multi-hyphenate artist known for her violence and intimacy direction, as well as an actor and director. A graduate of Howard Community College and UMBC, where she worked with Chelsea Pace, Sierra quickly established her credentials and reputation in the DC/Baltimore area. In our conversation, she emphasizes the importance of cultural competency, trauma-informed practices, and sus...

Dylan Arredondo has been building an incredibly impressive and varied resume of credits both in front of the footlights and behind the director's table. He's worked with companies from Signature to Chesapeake Shakes to Spooky Action, all of whom no doubt have benefitted from the care and creativity he brings to his craft. Our conversation covers a lot of ground: being a multi-hyphenate artist, lea...

No corner can contain Navi or their artistry, they’re so well rounded. A manymedia artist, they run the research and development wing of Flying V as an Artistic Lead. They’ve worked with companies big, small, and smaller across the DMV—including Pointless, Spooky Action, Woolly Mammoth, and Mosiac—in lots of different ways, from acting to devising, designing sound to writing music and lyrics, pupp...

Alberto Segarra is a lighting designer in the DMV who has probably illuminated almost as many people and places as the sun. He has designed in theaters of all shapes and sizes all over the District, as well as across the country, and won a Helen Hayes Award for his work on The Honey Trap with Solas Nua in 2024. We discuss his creative process, from first reading the script to the long, long hours...