CREATIVE TEAM
ZAKIYA YOUNG (Playwright/Performer) is an accomplished actress, singer and playwright. She wrote, developed and performed her solo show Suburban Black Girl at the Ojai Playwrights Conference New Works Festival and the La Jolla Playhouse DNA New Works Festival. Favorite acting credits: TV: Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (MAX), Diarra From Detroit (BET +), Iron Fist (Netflix) and Orange is the New Black (Netflix). Broadway: Stick Fly, The Little Mermaid and Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Off Broadway: Storyville (Audelco Award nomination). Tours: Disgraced and Good People. Regional: Familiar, Spamilton, Aida, Little Miss Sunshine and It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman. Zakiya was the vocalist for LA Philharmonic's Beverly Hills Songbook series and her BGVs can be heard in a variety of genres, including the OBC Recording of The Little Mermaid, Map of the Soul:7, by pop mega group BTS and songs by music icon Dolly Parton, Gabriella Valdes and Radmila Lolly. Her voice can also be heard as Sakhmet in Asgard's Wrath 2, Ruby in Little Demon (FX), Lenora in Pokémon Masters (English dub), Final Fantasy VII Remake and numerous audiobooks. Zakiya has a lively and engaged following on YouTube as Suburban Black GirlÓ, where she delivers fresh, funny and raw takes on politics, social justice, current events, dating and religion. Zakiya holds a B.A. in Communication from the University of Pittsburgh and has taught at Stella Adler's Art of Acting Studio, AMDA, The Broadway Collective and is an Adjunct Lecturer at the USC School of Dramatic Arts. www.officialzakiyayoung.com
JACOLE KITCHEN (Director) is a San Diego based director and is the second recipient of the Directing Fellowship at La Jolla Playhouse. She is unapologetically passionate and leads with heart, collaboration and joy to create a strong sense of community with every production. Directing credits include: The Hula Hoopin’ Queen (Seattle Children’s Theatre), Manny and the Wise Queens (Oceanside Theatre Company), the bilingual version of Our Town (Mira Costa College), Iron (Roustabouts Theatre Company), Cardboard Piano (Diversionary Theatre), 1222 Oceanfront: A Black Family Christmas and An Iliad (New Village Arts), and three POP Tour productions at La Jolla Playhouse Jin vs the Beach, Pick Me Last and Light Years Away, in addition to numerous workshops and a production in the 2022 WOW Festival. Jacole is also an arts educator, an acting and professional development coach, and serves as Executive Director of the San Diego Performing Arts League (SDPAL). www.jacolekitchen.com
ARIELLE HIGHTOWER (Stage Management) is a graduate of California State University, Fullerton with a B.A in Theatre Arts, Emphasis in Stage Management. She has both theatre and television experience to her name. She was the Assistant Stage Manager for Andi Chapman's The Bluest Eye and Gregg T. Daniels's King Hedley II at A Noise Within Theatre. Most recently, Arielle was the Stage Manager for Kacie Rogers’s I Sell Windows at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Production Assistant for A Christmas Carol at South Coast Repertory. She previously worked as an audience coordinator for Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Voice, and The Talk.
JONATHAN GILMER (Scenic Design) is a San Diego-based theater artist and the founder of Waterbug Productions. He has worked with the San Diego Symphony, La Jolla Playhouse, and San Diego Opera. As Technical Director at La Jolla Playhouse, he helped develop and launch eight productions to Broadway. Recent projects include designing the La Jolla Playhouse Gala featuring Idina Menzel and serving as Associate Producer and Designer for the WOW Festival. He holds a B.A. Honours from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
DOUGLAS GABRIELLE (Lighting Design) Selected Designs--San Diego—Fritz Theater--Adding Machine, King Lear, Conduct Of Life, Baltimore Waltz, Zombie Sex Mutants Gaslamp Quarter Theater--I Wanna Be LA--Pasadena Shakespeare-- Libertine, Comedy Of Errors, Merry Wives Sacred Fools--Absolutely Filthy, Crumble, Puzzler, Valparaiso Skypilot Theatre--Inhale Harmonica, Midnight Requisition South Coast Rep--Absolutely Filthy Porter's of Hellsgate--Pericles*, Cymbeline* Group Rep--Mousetrap,** LA Now and Then,** Desperate Hours** Harold and Maude** *(Valley Theatre Award Nomination) **(Broadway World Award Nomination)
BLAKE MCCARTY (Projection Design) is a director, designer, and creative producer based in San Diego, where he serves as the Executive Artistic Director of Blindspot Collective. His work includes large-scale immersive projects, original musicals, devised theatre, and documentary plays that have been developed or commissioned by The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, California Center for the Arts, Cygnet Theatre, New Village Arts, New York Theatre Barn, and New York University. His award-winning video designs have been seen locally at La Jolla Playhouse, Moonlight Amphitheatre, CCAE Theatricals, Cygnet Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Diversionary, and New Village Arts. Blake is a graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts and the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, both at New York University.
MELANIE FALCÓN (Sound Designer) (she/her) is currently in her third year of the MFA Sound Design program at UC Irvine and holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Cal Poly Pomona. She has worked in various fields of sound, including as a designer, assistant designer, and audio engineer for theatre, film, and podcasting. Some of her credits include The Sweetheart Deal and Quit Bitchin' (UC Irvine), Mojada (Cal Poly Pomona), and Alma(Chance Theater). She’s grateful to have worked with such an amazing team on this production. www.melaniefalconsound.com
JEN CAPRIO (Costume Design). Broadway: The Heart of Rock and Roll, Spamalot, Falsettos, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. National/International: Clue, Falsettos, Joseph…, The Lion (West End/US tour), …Spelling Bee (US tours). Over 250 Regional Theater and Opera productions over the last 25 years TV: The Pigeon Explains! (YouTube), Tiny Time Travel (PBS Kids), Sesame Street (seasons 47–54), The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo (seasons 1–2), Manhunt (Apple TV+). Daytime Emmy Award winner for Sesame Street in 2020, nominated in 2019 and 2021. www.jencaprio.com, Instagram: @jencapriocostumedesign
SPARK THEATRICAL (Producer) Laurie Bernhard is an independent theatrical creative producer concentrating on daring new plays that provide a lens into the condition of being human. Laurie collaborates with playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, actors and designers to explore new work, experiment and push boundaries. SPARK connects productions with non-profits that share a common mission, providing audiences the opportunity for education and action beyond the play. SPARK Theatrical has multiple projects in development in Los Angeles and New York. Laurie is on the Boards of Ojai Playwrights Conference and Thunder River Theatre Company. SPARKTheatrical.com
OUTSIDE IN THEATRE (Producer) is a new non-profit theatre in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. An evolving force in equitable and transformative storytelling. Through multi-platform theatrical experiences, we create art that speaks to our intersectional communities. We have a focus on new work, both Scripted and Unscripted, developing new plays as well as creating improvised stories that will lift up the voices of the Global Majority (a collective term for people of Indigenous, African, Asian, and Latin American descent), Queer, Disabled and other traditionally marginalized groups and their allies. We live at the intersection of Live & Digital performance, with infrastructure for cameras and streaming that will create greater access to the work of local artists. We believe in making Brave Spaces for All, by creating & supporting daring, dynamic, and authentic untold stories by unheard voices. www.outsideintheatre.org