2015 TCG Delegation to Cuba Roster of Participants Name: Kate Alexander Theatre: Florida Studio Theatre Title/Discipline: Associate Director FST; founder FST Education Program Bio: Associate Director FST/ directing over 50 plays Founder Education program- 50,000 yearly Developer Community Engagement Project- discussion on Race city wide. Developed International programs in Scotland, , Israel and Russia. Currently developing programs with World Ort. ; Hospice (youth with Greif) and Easter Seals Playwriting iniatives in underserved populations. Developed Art of Gesture program for Ringling College of Animation- Book and 2nd Edition on the subject. Name: Stephanie Ansin Theatre: Miami Theater Center Title/Discipline: Founder & Artistic Director Bio: A native of Miami, Stephanie Ansin spent 14 years studying, acting, and directing in New York and New England before moving back to South Florida so her family could participate in raising the first member of their next generation. Upon her return in 2004, she co-founded The PlayGround Theatre and focused on writing, directing, and producing shows for young audiences. In 2011 the company was rebranded Miami Theater Center to reflect its inclusion of adult programming and its widening family of audiences and artists. Ansin was selected for The Miami Herald’s “20 Under 40” feature story in 2010, and she was one of nine finalists for the Miami New Times 2014 MasterMind Awards. In April 2014, she was featured as a cultural leader by the Miami Design District Ambassador program. Ansin holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Brown University and an MFA in Theatre Directing from Columbia University. Name: Kevin Bitterman Organization: Theatre Communications Group Title/Discipline: Associate Director of International and Artistic Programs Bio: Kevin Bitterman serves as the associate director of Artistic and International programs with Theatre Communications Group. In this capacity, he manages various grant and professional development programs for U.S. theatre artists and theatres. Recent international projects include co-producing TCG’s 2014 Pre-Conference in Tijuana, Mexico and leading TCG delegations to Armenia, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Spain, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates to promote cultural and aesthetic exchange. Prior to TCG, Bitterman served as the assistant director of the Bush Foundation’s Artist Fellowship Program and as the producing artistic associate with Theatre de la Jeune Lune. Bitterman received his Bachelor of Arts degrees in Theater and Communications from St. John’s University, and is a graduate of the Ecole Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq and its Laboratoire d’Etude de Mouvement in Paris, France. In 2014, he was appointed by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer to serve on Community Board 10 in Central Harlem. Name: Kersti Bryan Title/Discipline: Actor, Producer, Writer, Teacher Bio: Kersti Bryan is an actress, writer, producer and teacher based in NYC. Ms. Bryan has performed internationally in Russia and regionally in the United States: Shakespeare Theatre of DC, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Commonwealth Shakespeare , Shakespeare Theatre of New NJ, Palm Beach Dramaworks and others. NYC: Ensemble Studio Theatre, TheatreLab, August Strindberg Rep, New York Classical Theatre, Dixon Place and others. Television: "The Knick", "Elementary"; “Golden Boy”; “Drop Dead Diva”; “Law & Order”; others. Film: "Hell's Heart" (IFF Hollywood 2015), "Actor Seeks Role" (IFF Boston Grand Jury Prize 2015) others. In 2010, Ms. Bryan received a TCG ITI Travel Grant to collaborate with Russian artists in Moscow. Her production company Violet’s Umbrella recently partnered with TheatreLAB for a production of Asa Merritt’s True Believer, a show about youth and radicalism. She has been a teaching artist at Oregon Shakespeare and a guest artist at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. Name: Fernando Calzadilla Theatre: Miami Theater Center Title/Discipline: Theater designer, dramaturg, director, performance scholar, teacher, and artist Bio: Fernando Calzadilla is a theater designer, dramaturg, director, performance scholar, teacher, and artist. He is currently Resident Artist for Miami Theater Center (MTC). He directed his own adaptation of Sophocles’ Electra for Teatro Prometeo/Miami-Dade College in Spanish language. As a performance artist recently presented Julie in collaboration with dancer Katie Wiegman at MTC. Teaching credits include: Performance Art (Florida International University); Performance Art (Design and Architecture Senior High – DASH); East Coast Artists Rasaboxes/Performance Workshop (New York University); lead professor of the first Taller Telemundo: Escritores de Telenovela (MDC); and rasaboxes workshops (US and abroad). He has won 14 regional and national design awards in Venezuela, including: Best Costume Design, Salieri and Best Set Design, Happy Days. He earned a BFA in Scenic Design and MA/PhD in Performance Studies at New York University. Name: Marissa Chibas Theatre: CalArts Center for New Performance Title/Discipline: Head of Duende CalArts Bio: Marissa Chibas is a recipient of the TCG Fox Foundation Actor Fellowship in Distinguished Achievement. She heads the bi-lingual initiative Duende Calarts that collaborates with innovative Latino(a) artists to make adventurous theater. Her solo show Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary produced by the CalArts Center for New Performance premiered at REDCAT in LA and went on to NYC, Miami, Guadalajara, Edinburgh, Encuentro 2015 at LATC, and Spring of 2016 at Arts Emerson. For Duende her next project is Shelter premiering in LA in Fall 2015, which received NEA Art Works and TCG Global Connections grants. Her silent film/performance piece, Clara’s Los Angeles was presented at REDCAT’s NOW festival in 2011 and the San Diego Latino Film Festival in 2013. For her Fox fellowship Marissa is working on a performance piece titled The Second Woman that will include a short film called Hitchcock’s Purses and premieres at Bootleg in Fall 2016. Name: David Diamond Theatre: La MaMa ETC Title/Discipline: Theatre director/producer/consultant Bio: David is a theatre director, career coach for theatre artists and a professor. He is a Founder of The Barrow Group Theatre, now in its 30th year. He is a roster Fulbright Specialist in Theatre. He leads the La MaMa Umbria International Symposia in Spoleto, Italy and workshops at Yale, Carnegie Mellon, DePaul, National Theatre Institute, University of Wisconsin, California Institute for the Arts, Fordham and Columbia Universities. David serves on the Steering Committee for Theatre WithoutBordersandco-­‐organized the Conference: Theatre and Peacebuilding in Conflict Zones. He has been part of the US delegations to ITI in Madrid and Yerevan. He was honored for his community service by Theatre of the Oppressed New York City. Manhattan Borough President/NY City Council declared September 13th, David J Diamond Appreciation Day to recognize his service to the theatre community and the City of New York. Name: Teresa Eyring Organization: Theatre Communications Group Title/Discipline: Executive Director Bio: Teresa Eyring joined Theatre Communications Group (TCG) as executive director in March 2007. Previously, she spent 20 years as an executive in theatres around the U.S. Positions included managing director of the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, managing director of the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, assistant executive director of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, and director of development for the Woolly Mammoth Theater Company in Washington, D.C. Eyring holds a BA in international relations from Stanford University and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. She is a member of the boards of the Performing Arts Alliance, The Actors Fund and the Cultural Data Project. Under her leadership, TCG adopted a new strategic plan with a major focus on equity, diversity and inclusion, as well as audience and community engagement. With this plan, TCG has articulated a new, unifying vision statement. In summary it is: A better world for theatre. A better world because of theatre. Teresa is a committed advocate for cultural exchange, and has led or participated in numerous international theatre delegations. This will be her third trip to Cuba. Name: Sharon Fogarty Theatre: Mabou Mines Title/Discipline: Co-Artistic Director Bio: Sharon Fogarty is a Co-Artistic Director of Mabou Mines, one of the oldest and most respected experimental theater collectives in the US. With Mabou Mines, Sharon wrote and directed Cara Lucia, Lucia’s Chapters of Coming Forth by Day and directed Finn, a digital animation/live action performance. She is currently adapting/directing Faust Part II by Goethe. Over the past 20 years she also produced many of the Company’s productions and major international tours. Currently, she is on the faculty of Barnard College/Columbia University and taught at New York University, Bard College, and the New School for Social Research, as well as internationally at The Abbey Theater in Ireland and ACT NOW in Austria. She received grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts and Culture Ireland. Name: Juli Hendren Theatre: Tricklock Company Title/Discipline: Artistic Director Bio: Juli Hendren is the Artistic Director and a founding member of Tricklock Company, a 22 year old devised theatre ensemble based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is the Curator of The Revolutions International Theatre Festival which brings companies