Jessica Brater (BC’00) is the Artistic Director of Polybe + Seats, which she co-founded with fellow Barnard alumnae in 2001.  Her most recent directing project with Polybe, The Charlotte Salomon Project, was developed in residency at Mabou/Mines Suite with a New Play Commission from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture and premiered at Brooklyn Fire Proof in fall 2006, after which it toured to the University of Michigan for the opening of the Walgreen Drama Center.  She is currently directing A Sea Change (CaCO3), about fish, mermaids, and the destruction of the ocean environment.  Directing away from Polybe includes Aristophanes’ Birds for Target Margin Theater at HERE in fall 2007.  Brater is also the Theatre Administrator at Barnard and a PhD student at the CUNY Graduate Center’s program in Theatre Studies.

Email:  Jessica@polybeandseats.org, jbrater@barnard.edu

Website:  www.polybeandseats.org

Samantha Debicki has performed in NYC with Target Margin Theater, 13^th Street Repertory Company, Polybe + Seats, Blue Box Productions, spork*Festival, The Public Theater's 365 Days/365 Plays, Ensemble Studio Theatre Lab, and The Flea Downstairs.  Regional credits include Signature Theatre and The Kennedy Center.  Sam majored in English at Columbia, has published freelance writing, and teaches vinyasa yoga.   

Email: samantha.debicki@gmail.com

Jennifer Emerson Foreman (BC ’97) is co-founder of On Common Ground creating dance educational and performance collaborations. Danced for 8 years with Buglisi/Foreman Dance: Principal dancer, rehearsal director, assisted in staging and coaching repertoire on NJ Ballet, Marymount Manhattan, Juilliard, Barnard, and Purchase. Emerson toured the US with the Graham Ensemble, receiving Coca-Cola Award for Artistic Excellence, performed with the Graham Company, and implemented an arts-in-education curriculum for the Empire State Partnership program. She is on the artistic staff and Board of Directors for The Nest in Buck's County, PA, Associate Artist of knife, inc.; and founding member of Hunter Dance/Theater. Emerson is on faculty at Barnard College, the Usdan Center, and the Graham School; a certified pilates mat instructor; has been guest faculty at Purchase, Ailey, Neighborhood Playhouse; and is currently earning a Master’s from the Gallatin School at NYU.

Miriam Felton-Dansky (BC’02) is an MFA candidate in dramaturgy and dramatic criticism at the Yale School of Drama, where her dramaturgy credits include Peer Gynt (2008, Yale School of Drama), Trouble in Mind (2007, Yale Repertory Theatre), Marcus: Or the Secret of Sweet (2007, Yale School of Drama), and Suzan-Lori Parks's Venus (2007, Yale School of Drama). She is a co-founder of Polybe + Seats (www.polybeandseats.org), for whom she has served as dramaturg on A Sea Change (CaCO3), The Charlotte Salomon Project, and Careful of Eights, as well as directing Vladimir Mayakovsky: A Tragedy and the first workshop of Jordan Harrison's The Museum Play. She is a managing editor of Theater magazine and a former editor of New Voices Magazine. Her writing has appeared in Theater, the Brooklyn Rail, Hotreview.org, nytheatre.com, and other publications. BA: Barnard College, 2002; MFA, Yale School of Drama, expected 2009.

Anitha Gandhi is a graduate of Columbia University and received her MFA in Acting from The Yale School of Drama, where she was awarded the Herbert H. & Patricia Brodkin Scholarship for Acting. Regional/NY Credits include: Rice Boy (Servant Girl), Yale Repertory Theatre; A Midsummer Night's Dream (Fairy), Expanded Arts; The Good Muslim (Farzana), Desipina & Co.  Yale School of Drama Credits include: Much Ado About Nothing (Beatrice), As You Like It (Rosalind), Romeo & Juliet (Lady Capulet), The Skin Of Our Teeth (Gladys), Spring's Awakening (Frau Gabor), Phaedra's Love (Strophe), Cyrano (Roxane/Duenna), Bridesburg (Kay), The Boy Who Jumped Into The Sea (Ingrid).  Film/TV Credits include: Starting Out In The Evening, Church and State, Calling It Quits and Law & Order: CI.

Greta Gerwig works as a writer, actor, and director in independent films. She co-wrote and acted in "Hannah Takes the Stairs," released by IFC in 2007. She acted in the Duplass Brother's film "Baghead," which premiered at Sundance 2008, and will open in theatres in summer 2008 through Sony Pictures Classics. She also co-wrote, co-directed, acted in, and co-produced "Nights and Weekends," to be released by IFC in the fall of 2008. Other work includes "Yeast," (SxSW 2008), "Quick Feet, Soft Hands," (Nashville FF 2008), and the yet to be finished horror film "The House of the Devil."   Email:  greta.gerwig@gmail.com 

Courtney Greene (BC ’99) is the Leadership Annual Giving Officer for Walnut Hill School, an independent, coeducational, boarding and day secondary school for the arts, for grades 9–12. In conjunction with intensive arts training in ballet, creative writing, music, theater, visual art, the School offers a comprehensive and rigorous academic curriculum in all college-preparatory subjects. Walnut Hill is internationally recognized as one of the premier secondary schools for the arts in the world, as well as a home for summer and after-school opportunities. A member of Walnut Hill’s development team for over seven years and former Director of Alumni Relations, Courtney spent four years on the residential life staff and has taught theatre classes for summer students. A co-founder of the Biscuit Box Theatre Company, Courtney has been a presenter for the Advancement Alliance of New England. She lives in Chestnut Hill, MA.  You can find her at http://www.walnuthillarts.org/giving/ext_relations_officers.html and

Email:  cgreene@walnuthillarts.org
Website: http://www.walnuthillarts.org.

Julia Kelly (BC'05) trained on scholarship at the Limón Institute and subsequently received scholarships to the Limón Dance Company's 2007 and 2008 summer residencies.  She has performed the work of Limón, Humphrey, Graham, and contemporary choreographers Geraldine Cardiel, Alan Danielson, and Deborah Norris (UK).  Julia currently dances for Riedel Dance Theater and the Propel-her Dance Collective.  Recent roles in theater include the Mute in The Fantasticks at The Gallery Players (2005).  As a freelance consultant, Julia has worked as a field representative and is an auditor for the Dance Program of the New York State Council on the Arts.  

Sherri Kronfeld (BC ’00) has directed premieres by Joe Basile, Sabrina Chapadjiev, Phil Hopkins, Adam Klasfeld, Lucas Rockwood, Tommy Smith, Alice Tuan, Ken Urban and others at venues including chashama, Ensemble Studio Theater, FringeNYC, HERE, Little Theater, The Flea, and the William Inge Center. She has been assistant director to Adam Rapp, Jim Simpson and Andrew McCarthy.  Beyond directing, other favorite experiences were two summers as a critic at the Edinburgh Festival, one summer as Marketing Officer for a large venue at Edinburgh, a position as Manager of Corporate Sponsorship at Lincoln Center, and her current position as Audience Development and Marketing Manager for The Flea Theater. 

Email: shkronfeld@hotmail.com

Colleen Lucey currently works at the Moscow Art Theater School as the International Program Coordinator. She interprets for students and professors at MXAT and manages study abroad programs there for several universities including: the Eugene O'Neill Center, Central School of Speech and Drama, Northern Illinois University, The American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, and Kent University. This summer she will work as the Bilingual assistant at Middlebury College's Russian School.

Karyn Lyman has served as Managing Director of Lantern Theater Company (Philadelphia, PA) since 2005, during which time she eradicated the company’s debt, while doubling the staff size and budget. Previously she was Associate Managing Director at Yale Repertory Theatre, where she supported the World Premiere production of August Wilson’s Radio Golf. Karyn has worked in both commercial and not-for-profit theatres, including Williamstown Theatre Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Westport Country Playhouse, Scott Rudin Productions in New York, and the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven. Karyn earned her M.F.A. in Theater Management at Yale School of Drama and her B.A. in English at Barnard College. She has served on the Board of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia since 2006. Karyn lives with her husband, theatre director David O’Connor, and dog Jackson in Philadelphia.

Ambarish Manepalli (CC’02) is nearing completion of his MFA from Columbia University's School of the Arts: Film Division.  Focusing on Directing with a bit of producing and editing thrown in for good measure, his last short film "Ismael" received Faculty Honors and best film under 12 minutes in the 2007 CU Film Festival.  He has made shorts in St. Louis, Paris, San Francisco and soon in India.

Website www.rishfilm.com

Email:  ambarish.manepalli@gmail.com
 

Aya Ogawa born in Tokyo, is a writer, director, translator and performer. As a playwright her works have been seen at Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival, HERE Arts Center, Soho Rep, and The Joyce Theater among others. She has directed her own work presented at New York Theatre Workshop's 4^th Street Theater, City University of New York's PRELUDE '07 Festival, and Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center. She has been active in the creation of international collaborative projects, that have been presented in Japan, Thailand, the Philippines. She was the recipient of an Artistic Fellowship at New York Theater Workshop (where she is now a Usual Suspect), Van Lier Fellowship at New Dramatists, and HERE Artist Residency, Space Grant at Brooklyn Arts Exchange and Swing Space award from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Urban Artist Initiative Grant, NYSCA Individual Artist Theater Commissioning Grant and grant from the Axe-Houghton Foundation. She is the founder and Artistic Director of her company knife inc.  (www.knifeinc.org)

Email: ayagwa@gmail.com
Website: www.knifeinc.org

David Paul (CC '04) has worked as director, music director, and assistant director at some of America's leading theaters, including the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., California Shakespeare Theatre, Chautauqua Conservatory Theatre, and Alaska's Perseverance Theatre.  He recently spent two seasons at the Metropolitan Opera as an Associate in Casting, and has served on the faculty of Columbia University's High School Summer Programs for several summers.  Upcoming projects include directing Mozart's Magic Flute in Bruges, Belgium and assistant directing Romeo and Juliet, Euripides' Ion, and King Lear at the Shakespeare Theatre Company.  He is a native of Hamburg, Germany.   

Lily Perlmutter (BC’07) works in NYC as a stage manager, assistant stage manager, production assistant, and in various other behind-the-scenes roles.  Theater credits include New York Theater Workshop, Lincoln Center Institute, Soho Playhouse, Jouissance Theater, Snug Harbor Productions, Cape Cod Theater Project, Voice & Vision Theater, The Production Company, Polybe + Seats, the Drama Desk Awards, the Samuel French Festival (2007 Festival Winner), the Bad Plays Festival, and Shirley at the Tropicana at the Access TheaterWhile at Barnard, Lily stage managed in the Theater, Dance, and Classics Departments and received the Kenneth Janes Prize in Theater.

Lucia A. Peters (BC’07) and is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing at the New School for Drama. In addition to directing, she also works as a stage manager and assistant director. Directing credits include selections from The Pillowman and The Glass Menagerie (NSD), Sam Shepard's Action (The Cell Theatre), and Pinter's The Dwarfs (Minor Latham Playhouse), as well as the upcoming Control for FringeNYC 2008. Other NY credits include the New York premiere of Phaedra's Love (PSM, The Chocolate Factory), Bhutan (wardrobe supervisor/ASM, Cherry Lane Theatre mainstage), and Are You A Bird Or A Dodo? (AD/PSM, Target Margin).

Email: Lucia.Peters@gmail.com

Natalie Robin has just completed her MFA in Lighting Design at NYU's Department of Design for Stage and Film, where she has designed "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches," "There Was and There Wasn't" and "The Winter's Tale." She is an Associate Company Member of Polybe + Seats and an Associated Artist of Target Margin. She has also designed for the Walden Company, Imani Uzuri, and Evan Cabnet, among others, and assists Lenore Doxsee, Juliet Chia, Dan Scully and Matt Frey. Her work can be seen at www.natalierobinlighting.com

Email:  natalie.robin@gmail.com
Website:  www.natalierobinlighting.com

Katya Schapiro (BC’02) is an actor, director, writer, teacher, dramaturg, and producer. She is a member of Polybe + Seats company, with which she is working on several projects, including her full-length play, Better Angels.  Katya is currently the General Manager of Dance Theatre Etcetera in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and plans to begin a Masters degree in Library and Information Science at Pratt in the fall of 2008.

Email: katyaschapiro@gmail.com
Website: www.polybeandseats.org, www.dtectc.org

Zuzanna Szadkowski, a Barnard alumna, graduated from the A.R.T./MXAT Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard in 2005. Roles at the A.R.T. include: The Transfiguration of Benno Blimpie (Mother) and Spring Awakening (Marta) in Cambridge and in Moscow. Zuzanna debuted on the A.R.T. stage in Olly's Prison, directed by Robert Woodruff. In New York City Zuzanna has worked with Polybe + Seats. Televison credits include Law and Order and Law and Order Criminal Intent. Recently, Zuzanna played the Polish maid on the last season of the HBO series, The Sopranos. In a sort of Polish maid double-header, she is currently back on TV playing Dorota in the new CW hit series, Gossip Girl.

Natasha Warner’s notable projects at Barnard/Columbia include the role of Catherine in Rebecca Guy's production of Proof; the role of Jenny in Amy Trompetter's production of The Beggar's Opera with guest director Sergei Zemtsov; and the role of Phil's Girl in KCST's production of "Bobrauschenbergamerica". Natasha directed a piece for Barnard's production of 365 Plays/365 Days and she work-shopped an adaptation of Chekhov's short story "In Moscow" for the Advanced Directing Lab. Since leaving Barnard Natasha has worked and performed with companies including: New York Stage and Film; Polybe + Seats; Target Margin; and the Impact Theater. Natasha co-founded the Performance Lab Series in Winter of 2007 with artist, Beau Hyung-Rhee (also a Barnard alum), for more information visit www.performancelabseries.org.

Audrey Lynn Weston (BC ’03): Recent New York credits include U.S. Drag (STAGEfarm, dir. Trip Cullman), Widows (59E59, dir. Hal Brooks), Rag and Bone (Rattlestick, dir. Sam Gold), REARVIEWMIRROR (59E59, dir. Carl Forsman), Johnny Applef?%ker (The Ohio, dir. Stephen Brackett), and Bloody Mary (New York Innovative Theatre Award nomination). Other New York: The Flea, Ars Nova, Culture Project, INTAR, Chashama, HERE, Counts Media, GAle GAtes, et al., and E.S.T. Regional: Williamstown Theatre Festival, Guild Hall, Bay Street. Upcoming: End Days (Vineyard Playhouse, dir. Claudia Weill). Film: The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (dir. Rebecca Miller), The Girl From Monday (dir. Hal Hartley) and Fools’ Errand (dir. Evan Cabnet).

E-mail: audreylynnweston@gmail.com.

Ruth Juliet Wikler-Luker (BC'98) is a theatre director, performing arts manager and arts writer living in Brooklyn, NY. After graduating from the English contemporary circus and physical theatre school Circomedia, Ruth founded Cirque Boom Circus Theater in 2002, which creates and produces content-driven circus theatre: circus that matters and theatre that amazes. As an arts manager, Ruth has worked with numerous arts organizations in the U.S. and abroad on project development and fundraising. Her writings on circus, cultural policy and the international performing arts have appeared in publications such as Yale's Theater Magazine, the European circus magazine Kaskade, and on the Community Arts Network. Ruth will complete her M.A. in Theatre at Hunter College in Fall 2008.