BRIAN PATRICK FRIEL (Writer) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. He has been likened to an “Irish Chekhov” and described as “the universally accented voice of Ireland”. His plays have been compared favorably to those of contemporaries such as Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter and Tennessee Williams.
Recognized for early works such as Philadelphia, Here I Come! and Faith Healer, Friel had 24 plays published in a career of more than a half-century. He was elected to the honorary position of Saoi of Aosdána. His plays were commonly produced on Broadway in New York City throughout this time, as well as in Ireland and the UK. In 1980 Friel co-founded Field Day Theatre Company and his play Translations was the company’s first production. With Field Day, Friel collaborated with Seamus Heaney, 1995 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Heaney and Friel first became friends after Friel sent the young poet a letter following publication of his book Death of a Naturalist.
Friel was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the British Royal Society of Literature and the Irish Academy of Letters. He was appointed to Seanad Éireann in 1987 and served until 1989. In later years, Dancing at Lughnasa reinvigorated Friel’s oeuvre, bringing him Tony Awards (including Best Play), the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play. It was also adapted into a film, starring Meryl Streep, directed by Pat O’Connor, script by Frank McGuinness.
BRADEN ABRAHAM (The Alexandra C. & John D. Nichols Artistic Director/Director)
Joining Writers Theatre as The Alexandra C. & John D. Nichols Artistic Director in 2023, Braden Abraham directed Eurydice in his first season. Previously, he served as Artistic Director of Seattle Rep where he directed six world premieres and over 20 productions including: True West, Clybourne Park, Photograph 51, Ibsen in Chicago, Mr. Dickens and His Carol, Betrayal, Luna Gale, A View from the Bridge, A Great Wilderness, Breakin' Hearts and Takin' Names, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. While at Seattle Rep, Braden commissioned and premiered works by Anna Zeigler, Samuel D. Hunter, and Cheryl L. West. Many projects developed under his leadership gained acclaim nationwide, including Irene Sankoff and David Hein's Come From Away and the exclusive presentation of David Byrne's Here Lies Love outside New York and London. His final initiatives at Seattle Rep included 20x30: Reimagine the Anthropocene, commissioning twenty new plays by 2030, and New Directions, a program supporting generative work from directors. Around the country, Braden has developed new work at Ojai, O'Neill, Denver Center, and Perseverance Theatre. He has been a guest artist at Stanford, Gonzaga, and Seattle University. Braden is the co-creator of Sound Place Love, an audio installation about the life and work of Emmy-Award winning sound ecologist Gordon Hempton.
ANDREW BOYCE (Scenic Designer) is a Chicago based designer working in Theatre, Opera, Dance, and Film/TV. At Writers: Mystery of Love and Sex. Recent Chicago credits include: Leroy and Lucy (Steppenwolf); The Audience (Drury Lane); Beautiful (Marriott); A Raisin in The Sun (Court) among others. NY credits on Broadway and with New York Theater Workshop, Primary Stages, Lincoln Center, Atlantic Theater Company, Roundabout, among others. Regional credits with most major regional and LORT theaters across the U.S. Opera and Dance: Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet Idaho, Boston Lyric Opera, Curtis Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra, among others. Yale School of Drama. Associate Professor of Design at Northwestern. www.andrewboycedesign.com
JANICE PYTEL (Costume Designer) previously designed costumes for Writers Theatre's productions of The Caretaker, The Detective's Wife, A Streetcar Named Desire, Picnic, and The Savannah Disputation. She has collaborated with numerous award-winning playwrights and directors including Les Waters, Lucas Hnath, David Cromer, Bruce Norris, Anna D. Shapiro, Doug Wright and Moisés Kaufman. In Chicago she has designed at Steppenwolf, Victory Gardens, Court Theatre, Writers Theatre, Goodman, Chicago Opera Theater and many others. Her work at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, where she is an ensemble member, includes critically acclaimed mid-west premiers of The Cake and Dry Land. Her Broadway credits include I Am My Own Wife, 33 Variations, and Dana H.. You can see samples of her work at http://janicepytel.com/
MAXIMO GRANO DE ORO (Lighting Designer) is a Lighting Designer for theater, opera, and dance originally from New Jersey. He received his BFA in Lighting Design from Rutgers Mason Gross and his MFA from Northwestern University. Chicago credits include: A Raisin in the Sun (Court Theatre); Dear Elizabeth (Remy Bumppo); Selling Kabul (Northlight Theater); City of Others; Everybody; Sweat; As You Like It; Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo; In His Hands; Resiliencia (Northwestern Wirtz Center); The Magic Flute; The Medium (Northwestern Opera). Regional credits include: Prelude to a Kiss, a Musical (Milwaukee Rep); Far Away (Villanova Theatre); The Winter's Tale; Macbeth; Much Ado about Nothing; The Tempest (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company). Web: Maximolightingdesign.com / Instagram: max.gdo_ld
ANDRE PLUESS (Sound Designer) is a composer/ sound designer based in Chicago. His credits include composition and sound design for numerous productions for Lookingglass, Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Northlight Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, About Face Theatre and many other Chicago and regional theaters. Broadway credits: Metamorphoses, I Am My Own Wife, 33 Variations and The Clean House (Lincoln Center). Andre has received multiple Jeff Awards, an LA Ovation Award, Barrymore Award, Drama Critics Circle Award, and Drama Desk/Lortel nominations for composition and sound design. Recent projects include: The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Life Sucks, Mr. and Mrs. Pennyworth, Treasure Island, Title and Deed, Eastland: A New Musical, Cascabel, In the Garden: A Darwinian Love Story, Metamorphoses, and Peter Pan (A Play) (Lookinglass); Equivocation (Arena Stage); Stage Kiss and Jungle Book (Goodman Theatre); Endgame (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Milk Like Sugar (La Jolla Playhouse/ Playwrights Horizons); The Arabian Nights and Argonautika (Lookingglass, subsequent regional productions); Ghost Light, White Snake, King Lear, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); and Macbeth and Titus (California Shakespeare Festival).
SHERYL WILLIAMS (Intimacy Director) has been supporting intimate theatrical storytelling throughout the Chicagoland area since 2017. As a T.I.E Assistant Faculty and Court Theatre’s Culture and Consent Consultant, she loves helping all artists find the "Yes" of every moment together. Works include: I and You (Citadel Theatre), Falsettos (Court Theatre), Marriage of Figaro (The Lyric Opera), and Fun Home (Porchlight Music Theater).
EVA BRENEMAN (Dialect Coach) is delighted to be back at Writers. Writers credits include: The Last Match, The Importance of Being Earnest, Arcadia. CHICAGO: Primary Trust (Goodman); Becky Nurse of Salem (Shattered Globe); Dear Elizabeth (Remy Bumppo); Fen (Court Theatre); Murder on the Orient Express (Drury Lane); The Chinese Lady (Timeline). BROADWAY: Airline Highway (Samuel Friedman Theatre). OFF-BROADWAY: Boswell (59E59). REGIONAL: The Chinese Lady (Denver Center); ten seasons -- American Repertory Theater; Romeo and Juliet (Milwaukee Repertory Theater); Love’s Labour’s Lost (Actor’s Theatre of Louisville). EDUCATION: MA, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama; BFA, NYU. Ms. Breneman is an associate artist at TimeLine Theatre Company.
BOBBY KENNEDY (Dramaturg) is the Director of Artistic Development at Writers Theatre. In addition to his dramaturgy work at WT, his credits also include the world premieres of Give It All Back (SideShow Theatre Company), Body and Blood (The Gift Theatre), Ibsen is Dead (Interrobang Theatre Project) and The Peacock (Jackalope Theatre Company), as well as the midwest premiere of The Luck of the Irish (Next Theatre Company). Kennedy co-founded The Spontaneous Theater Project in Boston and has also worked with Huntington Theatre Company and New Repertory Theatre. He is an alumnus of Boston University.
KATIE GALETTI, CSA (Casting Director) is the Artistic Producer and Casting Director at Writers Theatre in Glencoe and a member of CSA. She also serves as the Casting Consultant at Remy Bumppo Theatre in Chicago, and is a freelance casting director regionally. In addition to her casting work, Katie produces and directs events of multiple genres, including opera, digital, experiential, and film. She's worked with Little Cinema Digital, 13Exp, and HERE Arts & Culture Consulting as a producer, is the founder and Artistic Director of Janus Concert Series, and is a founding member of the Chicago Opera Collective. Outside of theater, Katie is a volunteer with Resilience Chicago as a Sexual Assault Crisis Advocate and a classically trained vocalist. More information can be found at www.katiegaletti.com.
MIRANDA ANDERSON (Stage Manager) is happy to be back at Writers where she has previously worked as the stage manager for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, The Band's Visit, Once and Athena. She has frequently worked with TimeLine Theatre where selected credits include: What the Constitution Means to Me, Trouble in Mind, Campaigns Inc., and Relentless. She has also worked at Rivendell Theatre, The House Theatre, First Folio Theatre, and The Hypocrites, among others. From 2012 to 2018, she toured with The Hypocrites’ Gilbert and Sullivan productions to regional theaters including Olney Theatre Company, Pasadena Playhouse, Skirball Center at NYU, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and American Repertory Theatre in Boston. Miranda is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.
ZOE JENNINGS (Assistant Stage Manager) is excited to join Writers Theatre in their first Assistant Stage Managing role with the company. Previous credits include Crew Cover on Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812, and Every Brilliant Thing (Writers Theatre). A recent Chicago transplant, Zoe has been delighted to get to know the wonderful artists at Writers and dive into the Chicago theater scene. Past theater work includes Stage Manager and Assistant Stage Manager roles at Lewis & Clark College and with Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble, in Portland, OR.
ETHAN KARAS (Assistant Director) is thrilled to be making his professional Assistant Directing debut with Writers Theatre alongside this stellar cast and crew! Currently finishing his Senior Year at Northwestern, he recently directed Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage and performed and projection designed for The Great Sea Serpent at Northwestern. Earlier this year, Ethan assisted on the video design teams for The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy at New York Theatre Workshop as part of the Under the Radar Festival and Elevator Repair Service's Ulysses at Bard SummerScape. He would like to thank Mom, Dad, and Josh for their endless love and support.
KATHRYN M. LIPUMA (Executive Director) joined Writers Theatre as Executive Director in 2007, where she serves as lead producer, overseeing all management, administration, and operations for the company. She led the fundraising, planning and construction of Writers Theatre's new $34 million performing arts center, designed by internationally renowned architect Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects. Prior to Writers, Kate spent nine seasons as Executive Director at the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre Company in New York. At Signature, she worked with and produced plays and programs from such acclaimed writers as Edward Albee, Lee Blessing, Horton Foote, Maria Irene Fornés, John Guare, Bill Irwin, Romulus Linney, Arthur Miller, Paula Vogel, August Wilson and Lanford Wilson. During her tenure, she helped create and launch Signature’s groundbreaking $15 Ticket Program. Prior to her time at Signature, she spent six years with Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. Kate currently is the President of the Producers’ Association of Chicago Area Theatres (PACT), an association of Chicago area theatres operating under the Chicago Area Theatre contract; is on the Board of Directors for Arts Alliance Illinois, the statewide advocacy coalition; and the Board of Directors and Past Chair of the League of Chicago Theatres, an alliance representing more than 200 Chicago-area theater companies and producers. She is also the Past Chair of the Board of Directors of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre. She is also the co-creator of DoNorth, an umbrella organization joining four cultural neighbors—Chicago Botanic Garden, Kohl Children’s Museum, Ravinia Festival and Writers Theatre—to attract new audiences to the cultural, environmental and community activities of Chicago’s North Shore. She was born and raised in the West Suburbs of Chicago and is a graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.