Cast & Creative Team
Photo by Zack DeZon
Renata Hinrichs: Playwright/Actress: Ms. Hinrichs’ first play, A Witness in My House, based on the story of a woman in the Netherlands during the Holocaust, was invited to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the play was also produced at the Hudson Guild Theater in New York. Random Acts, is her second play and the inspiration for the piece began while she was living in a studio apartment on West 16th Street in New York City during the 9/11 terrorists attacks and memories from her childhood started to surface. As more memories flowed back into her consciousness, she interviewed her parents to fill in more detail. Those memories ended up in this solo play and tell the story of what happened to her and her family growing up on the South Side of Chicago in the 1960s. Previous productions of the play include: Emerging Artists Theater New Work Festival, FAB women of the Barrow Group and most recently at Theater Row for the United Solo Theater Festival in October and November of 2014. She has been invited by the Hewitt School to perform the play as part of their diversity program. Random Acts received the Best Storytelling Script Award from the United Solo Festival and it is published by Indie Theater Now. Ms. Hinrichs, trained as an actor at the T.Schreiber Studio and The Barrow Group School with Seth Barrish and Lee Brock. Other acting teachers include Bob Krakower, Tim Phillips, and Tony Spiridakis. She studied writing and playwriting with Lisa Kron, Roderick Menzies, Maia Danziger, and Seth Barrish. She is a founding member of BIG DANCE THEATER, co-directed by Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar, having performed in New York, London, and the Georgian Republic, as well as at The American Dance Festival and The Yard, winning an OBIE award for best ensemble performance for A Simple Heart. She is currently a member of FAB Women of the Barrow Group, where she first performed and developed Random Acts. Other acting credits include the lead role in the short film, Happy Now, which won first prize at both the Cannes Film Festival and the Deauville Film Festival. Theater credits: Dorsett Theater Festival, Boise Contemporary Theater, The Barrow Group, EST, Soho Rep, Ohio Theater. TV: DeadBeat, The Blacklist Find out more at www.renatahinrichs.com and sign up for her newsletter HERE.
Jessi D. Hill is a theatre director based in New York City. She has directed new work at New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theater/Joe’s Pub, The Playwrights’ Center, Primary Stages, Labyrinth, The Women’s Project, 59E59, The New Group, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Culture Project, The Acting Company, The Barrow Group, PS122, Baruch Performing Arts Center, Theatre Row, New Dramatists, The Lark, The Playwrights Realm, New Georges, Naked Angels, The Wild Project, and others. She has been a director in professional training programs at Yale School of Drama, NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, Fordham University, Powerhouse/NY Stage & Film, Strasberg, CAP21, The Atlantic School, Playwrights Horizons Theatre School, Long Island University, Hunter College and others. Her work has been seen internationally in Edinburgh, London, New Zealand, Berlin, Bucharest and Hamburg. She is currently Artistic Associate for Flying Carpet Theatre in NYC. She has also served as Associate Artistic Director of terraNOVA Collective in NYC and Artistic Director of Stage Left Theatre Company in Chicago. MFA: Yale. Member SDC. Current projects: www.jessidhill.com
Matt Otto is a sound designer and composer based in New York City. In the New York he has designed productions for; Tectonic Theatre Project, The Barrow Group, Cherry Lane, The Atlantic Conservatory, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, IRT Theatre, Fractured Atlas, Next In Line Productions, New Saloon, TerraNOVA Collective and Columbia University. Regionally he has designed shows for companies like Brown MFA/Trinity Rep in Providence RI, Wooly Mammoth and Theatre J in Washington DC, Yale Rep in New Haven Connecticut and Generator Theatre Company in Juneau, Alaska. Matt received his MFA in Sound Design from the Yale School of Drama in 2013 and his BFA in theatre with a focus in sound from Boston University in 2006. For examples of Matt’s work please go to mattotto.co // (609) 707-2978 //mottosound@gmail.com
Eli Kabillio is an award-winning writer, director and producer and the President of Mad Dog Films, Inc. Eli has directed and produced television series and specials for Discovery, TLC, MTV, Science Channel, Food Network, ESPN and HBO, as well as hundreds of national commercials and PSAs. Eli is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Chika Shimizu (Scenic Designer) is a New York based set designer. Her design credits include Awake (The Barrow Group), Hunky Boys Go Ding-Dong (Adult Swim Network), The Winning Side (Epic Theatre Ensemble), The Naturalists (Pond Theatre Company), Vietgone (TheatreSquared), Buyer and Cellar (Bucks County Playhouse), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Yale Rep, CT Critics Circle Award Nom), Romulus The Great (Yangtze Rep), False Stars (Corkscrew Theater Festival), The Seagull (Access Theatre), Twelfth Night; Or, What You Will, The Visit (Yale School of Drama). She is a recipient of Donald and Zorca Oenslager Fellowship Award in Design. MFA in Design from Yale School of Drama. chikashimizu.com
Daisy Long (Lighting Designer) is a lighting designer for theater, opera, and dance based in New York City. New York credits include: BAM, Atlantic for Kids, The Flea, The Barrow Group, Primary Stages, Abingdon Theater Company, Mason Holdings, HERE Arts Center, La Mama, NYU, AMERINDA, TADA! Youth Theater (National Youth Arts Award for Outstanding Lighting for The Perfect Monster), Manhattan School of Music. Regional credits include: Speakeasy Stage Company (IRNE Award for Best Lighting for The Scottsboro Boys), Kitchen Theatre Company, Yale, Connecticut College, Interlochen. She also works as a gaffer for indie film and music videos. USA 829 member. www.daisylong.com.
DeShon Elem Delta (Costume Designer) is a designer and artist from The Bronx, New York. Upon graduation she obtained an internship with The Public Theater’s costume shop. She then went on to work for various theaters as a costume designer, wardrobe supervisor and costume coordinator. Some of her previous works include Too Heavy For Your Pocket-- The Roundabout Theater Company (Assistant Costume Designer), Miss You Like Hell-- The Public Theater (Costume Coordinator), Twelfth Night --Shakespeare in the Park ‘18 (Dresser & Wardrobe Crew), You Wouldn’t Expect --American Bard Theater Company (Costume Designer). “Wild Goose Dreams” The Public Theater (Costume Coordinator) She is excited to add Random Acts to the list of her theatrical accomplishments. BA ‘17 Hunter College of New York (Theater, concentration in Costume Design) Instagram: @delta_major
Edisa Weeks (Movement Consultant) is an educator, performer, choreographer and founder of DELIRIOUS Dances. She creates multimedia interdisciplinary work, that merges theater with dance to explore our deepest desires, darkest fears and sweetest dreams. She grew up in Uganda, Papua New Guinea and Brooklyn, NY. She is an Associate Professor and Director of Dance at Queens College. www.deliriousdances.com