Emily has been with 1st Stage since February 2015. She began as the inaugural Fellow during her graduate studies and has since transitioned to serve as the General Manager and then Associate Producer. Emily is an AEA stage manager and has worked with companies in Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois. She holds an MA in Arts Management from George Mason University and a BA in Theatre Directing and Stage Management from the University of Nebraska—Lincoln. Emily is a founding Board Member of Acting Out Awareness, a not-for-profit organization that promotes personal and social change through storytelling and leadership education.

UPCOMING: EVEN WHEN THE WORLD BURNS I AM STILL WITH YOU, Rorschach Theatre(Director) https://rorschachtheatre.com/magic-in-rough-spaces-2023/

Madeleine Regina is a director, actor, producer, and acting coach who primarily operates out of the Washington D.C. area. Though she works on many different audio drama projects as a producer and director, Madeleine most notably is the co-producer of Feminist Fairytales- an audio drama that reimagines the genre of fairy tales through a feminist lens- which has been featured by the BBC Podcast Radio Hour and recently become a part of the REALM network. As an actor, she recently performed in How the Light Gets In at 1st Stage (Kat). In addition, she is a director/ educator with The Theatre Lab, a Meisner Acting Coach with the Matthew Corozine Studio in New York, and a Master Teacher with ArtStream's Inclusive Theatre Companies. When not making art, you can usually find Madeleine buried in a book or cuddling her little dog Boba.

Feminist Fairytales just finished crowdfunding for Season 2. Check out more info at their Facebook.

UPCOMING: Reflection of A Shadow, New York Theatre Festival (Writer) https://newyorktheaterfestival.com/reflection-of-a-shadow/

Raised in Montgomery County, Maryland, Rocky received his Bachelor's of Arts in Theatre with a focus in performance at Virginia Tech. He received his first professional work in theatre during his time under 1st Stage's fellowship program in 2016-2017. Since then Rocky has acted with several companies including Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, Best Medicine Rep, Rainbow theatre Project, and even 1st Stage when he made his professional acting debut in their production of columbinus, which received a Helen Hayes Nomination for Outstanding Ensemble in a Play. Additional credits include assistant directing 1st Stage's critically acclaimed premiere production of Swimming With Whales, co-directing 1st Stage's 2022 staged reading of #Enough: Plays to End Gun Violence, and directing the premiere production of Dreamer/Seeker at Capital Fringe. Recently Rocky has been focusing on writing with his 10 minute play A Very Apocalyptic Christmas appearing in Rapid Lemon Productions' "Variation Project." He will be making his New York playwriting debut this May with his full length play Reflection of A Shadow. Currently Rocky studies Miesner technique with Matthew Corozine Studios.

New Play Exchange
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Kickstarter: Reflection of a Shadow

Shanna is the Senior Manager of Access and Inclusion at Imagination Stage, and an Imagination Stage Deaf Access Company alum. She also currently serves as a member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington's Disabilities Inclusion Committee, and is on the Board of Directors for VALIDEAF, which strives to end language deprivation in Deaf children. Most recently she was Director of Inclusion and Disability Programming at the Edlavitch DCJCC. Prior, she spent almost ten years teaching ASL and theatre in middle school, high school, and college classrooms, while working intermittently as a Teaching Artist for Imagination Stage. Shanna has a master's degree in Theatre Education from the University of Northern Colorado as well as a B.A. in Education and Child Study from Smith College. As an actor, Shanna’s next performance will be at CCBC for Quinta del Sordo: The House of the Deaf Man. Shanna envisions a world in which accessibility is the norm, built into our everyday lives, and is not a mere afterthought.

“I really enjoyed my time with 1st Stage, and learned so much in my short time there. I think it was a fantastic first step for my theatre admin-side-of-things journey - what I started doing there, I now continue to do in a larger capacity as Senior Manager of Access and Inclusion at Imagination Stage.”

Katie Rey Bogdan credits her experience as a Seidel Fellow as a major turning point in her career as an artist. In 2019, she was accepted into the Theatre History and Criticism Master's Program at Catholic University where she completed her degree in December 2021. She has continued to perform throughout the DC/Baltimore area with credits including 35MM at Free Range Humans, Knight of the Burning Pestle at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, Richard III at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, and Spring Awakening at Round House Theatre. She is currently working as an administrative assistant at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County while continuing to perform and work as a freelance dramaturg specializing in Shakespeare in text and performance.

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Evin Howell is from Orlando, Florida, and continues to do much of the videography work for 1st Stage. “I've only been up in the Virginia/DC area for 3 years but I can confidently say, thanks to 1st Stage I'm able to call this place home. Luckily I'm able to work as a creative and bring/mix ideas with everyone I've worked with to make work that speaks to their vision as far as videography goes. But in a way it's the same with acting!

I'm building the foundation of acting and videography work off of establishing connections with local theatres, entrepreneurs, and fellow actors.

My projects shift between acting and videography with focus depending on the season but currently, my main focus is building a foundation with both. My main project now is actually a combination of both writing and acting in a short film I've been writing for a couple of weeks!”

Website
1st Stage Video Work: How the Light Gets In

“Hello!

It's me, Rah Matthews, and I use She/Her pronouns. It feels so good to say this because when I was a fellow I was still coming to terms of who I was becoming. Since completing my fellowship I have been grateful enough to have been involved and still involved with many groundbreaking artistic opportunities. I went on to become a Middle School English teacher for Prince George's County Public Schools. This opportunity has then led me to, recently, become the first ever Drama Teacher in the school's history.

I have written, produced and directed my original show A Different Cinderella Story. A show that took the traditional princess story and filtered it through a queer lens; using my personal experiences as its driving force. It was such a scary experience because I was aware nobody would support me. However, it wasn’t the case. We surprisingly sold out both nights and the responses were so overly motivating. So many people said that this show allowed them to have more perspective within themselves or those who are in the community.

I'm currently looking to write my next show and I want it to be bigger than the one I did before; hopefully get it picked up by a regional theatre. (Clears throat) Wink, Wink! Recently, I have been lucky enough to be a part of the National Players. In fact, if you weren't aware, we were the first All-Black Ensemble and talk about empowering. It was such an enlightening experience. I had the chance to go to places I've never thought of going and meeting people with all types of backgrounds. This experience allowed me to realize the power you have by simply living life unapologetically authentic. As I continue on this journey, I will continue to stick to my mission which is to be the VOICE of the VOICELESS. I am so grateful for my time and relationships I built with 1st Stage because it made me become a more renowned artist. I look forward to working with you all again and please to stay updated on what I have brewing up be sure to follow my IG @Rashaudist. Thank you and remember before a diamond shines, it starts off a piece of dark coal, but with heat and pressure it shines bright forever. Therefore, continue to be the bright voice of reason for those to come. So, let us shine and sparkle together!”

Audra Jacobs is a DC based theatre practitioner, and the current Connectivity Director at 1st Stage. They graduated from Bowie State University as a Theatre Major in 2022. Previous directing credits include The Ties That Brake and Sad Loved Ones Who Have Work In The Morning with BSU 10-Min Play Festival. Writing credits include Sad Loved Ones Who Have Work In The Morning (KCACTF 2022 Region 2 NPP Selection). Select performance credits include Fairy Tales in the Sun (Jing-Jing/Goddess US) at Adventure Theatre, Romeo and Juliet (Romeo) with the Rude Mechanicals, and the world premiere of Spirit Seekers (Ensley) with Dark Horse Theatre Company.

Audra is a co-founder of Rockville Rainbow Collective, a local grassroots organization dedicated to delivering free meals to queer and trans BIPOC in the Rockville and Gaithersburg area.

”Create theatre carefully, purposefully.”

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Terrence Griffin (He/Him) is a DMV-based artist with a background in acting and directing. Feeling honored to have been given this opportunity, he hopes that the skills learned as a Seidel Fellow can take him far in any and all creative endeavors. Terrence recently wrote and co-starred in One Shot of Espresso. Select acting credits include Joseph Rouleau in The Everything is OK Show (Best Voice Cast Animated Expressions Expo 2023) , Doctor/Trouble in In The Blood, Omari in Pipeline (Distinguished Achievement in performance - KCATCF 2022) and Ian Parker in A Coal for Your Soul audio drama. 

Terrence is a 2023 graduate of Bowie State University as a Psychology major with a minor in theatre arts.

Marvin Brown is a theatre director, performer, and creative producer. His assistant directing credits include The Piano Lesson (1st Stage), Food for the Gods (Khunum Productions), Letters to Kamala / Dande lion Peace (Voices Festival Productions), and Ways of Dying (Towson University). Marvin is the founder of the Black Theatre Troupe at Towson University where he studied Theatre and Public Relations. Marvin is a former BroadwayAcrossAmerica Apprentice for Baltimore City's Hippodrome Theatre and proud to currently be 1st Stage’s Seidel Fellow. He is passionate about work that explores Black identity, memory, and collective storytelling.

Erica Bass (she/her) is a DC-based theatre producer and artist. She is a 2026 Seidel Fellow at 1st Stage and Co-Artistic Director of Peregrine Theatre Company, an independent theatre company that aims to platform and uplift early-career artists in the DMV. With Peregrine, she has recently co-produced Pillow Fortress and The Grown Ups. She is a recent graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, where she studied Dramatic Art and produced for multiple student theatre companies, including serving as Executive Director for LAB! Theatre and Producer for Kenan Theatre Company and CompanyCarolina.