PAULINE LAMB (ENSEMBLE) designs props, sets, and costumes throughout the DC area while also performing, choreographing, and teaching. She has a BA in Performance Studies from UNC Chapel Hill. Previous acting credits include Eloise in School Girls or the African Mean Girls Play (Nextstop Theater), Mama in The Bluest Eye (Theatre Alliance), Tatiana in Chicks in Heaven + Daisy in Diagnosed (Creative Cauldron) Woman 2 in From the Mississippi Delta (The Essential Theater), Claudia in Time is on Our Side (Perisphere Theatre), Simone in Weep (Nu Sass), and Sylvia in Blight (Pinky Swear Productions). Her choreography and design has been featured at Imagination Stage, 1st Stage, Pallas Theatre Collective, Adventure Theater, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, GALA Hispanic Theatre, and varying schools throughout the DMV.
MATTHEW MARCUS (ENSEMBLE) is an actor, writer, director, story-teller, and stand-up comic. Past credits include Civilizing Lusby, In the Gutter, and Die, Mr. Darcy, Die! with Best Medicine Rep as well as Lathe of Heaven at Spooky Action.
ETHAN J. MILLER (ENSEMBLE) Ethan is thrilled to be back at 1st Stage for a fourth time in Postcards from Ihatov! Past productions include The Chosen (Rueven), The Last Match (Sergei), and Swimming with Whales (Owen). Other credits include This Much I Know (Harold), A Measure of Cruelty (Derek), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Demetrius), Drunk Shakespeare (Macbeth), As You Like It (Touchstone). Education: University of Minnesota BFA Guthrie Actor Training Program.
DEIDRA LAWAN STARNES (ENSEMBLE, Associate Artistic Director) is an actor, director, writer, and learning facilitator. She was last seen in Shutter Sisters at 1st Stage and Dorothy’s Dictionary at Washington Stage Guild. Her 1st Stage acting credits include Mlima’s Tale, Wanda’s Way, The Mamalogues, The Member of the Wedding, and The Good Counselor. Other acting credits include The Hula Hoopin’ Queen, Passing Strange, Two Trains Running, Radio Golf, Seven Guitars, The Amen Corner, King Lear, Amadeus, Milk Like Sugar, Julius Caesar, Invisible Man, In the Red and Brown Water and Intimate Apparel. Her most recent directing project was Quilters. Her production, The Rainmaker was nominated for a 2023 Helen Hayes Award for Most Outstanding Production. Other directing credits include Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom nominated for six Helen Hayes awards, ‘Night, Mother, A Civil War Christmas, For Colored Girls, and The Soul Collector. She has a BA in Theatre from the UMD, an MA in Producing Film, TV, and Video from AU, and an MFA in Drama from UCONN.
MATTHEW VAKY (ENSEMBLE) is thrilled to be making his debut at 1st Stage and to be working with Natsu again. Matthew was a member of The Guthrie Acting Company and worked as an actor, director, and writer for Mixed Blood Theatre, The Illusion Theatre, and The Playwrights Center. Locally, he has performed at Center Stage, GALA Hispanic Theatre, and Spooky Action. His two one-man shows, Jesus at Guantanamo and ROGER (Not His Real Name) have been performed around the country, most recently at the United Solo Festival in New York. He is a Fulbright Scholar who spent five months in Paraguay creating and directing “El Telefono” for El Estudio. He currently works at Capital City Public Charter School in DC.
JACOB YEH (ENSEMBLE) is thrilled to be returning to 1st Stage where he is an Artistic Associate after previously appearing as Haruki in How the Light Gets In (HH. Nom. - Supporting Actor, Ensemble), The Rainmaker, The Farnsworth Invention (HH. Nom. - Ensemble), Shakespeare's R&J, Dredgie McGee (HH. Nom. - Ensemble), Fuddy Meers, Take Me Out, and Trevor. Other credits include: King of the Yees (HH. Nom - Supporting Actor, Ensemble) (Signature Theatre) East of Eden (HH. Nom - Supporting Actor), An Act of God, Pride & Prejudice, White Rabbit, Red Rabbit (NextStop Theatre), Vietgone, Chimerica, Edar and Annabelle (Studio Theatre), Yellowface (Theater J), Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (Folger Theatre), Julius Caesar (Shakespeare Theatre Company), A Christmas Carol (Ford's Theatre), School For Lies (HH. Nom - Ensemble), The White Snake, (Constellation Theatre), Maple & Vine, Kwaidan (Spooky Action Theater),Yoga Play (Keegan Theatre), [410] GONE (Rorschach Theatre), Recent Tragic Events (Prologue Theatre), Anime Momotaro (Imagination Stage), The Fisherman and His Wife, Five Little Monkeys, (Adventure Theatre-MTC).
Design Team
Ben Sullivan (Assistant Scenic Designer) is a DC-based scenic and lighting designer. Selected asst. scenic credits include: Dear Mapel (Mosaic Theater Company); The Lathe of Heaven (Spooky Action Theater); Suddenly Last Summer, Ada and the Engine (Avant Bard Theatre). In addition to his theatrical work, Ben is a design manager at CM Kling + Associates, an architectural lighting design firm based in Alexandria. bensullivandesign.weebly.com
Natsu Onoda Power, Director, Writer, Creator, Scenic Designer (she/her/hers) specializes in adapting non-dramatic texts into new works of visual theatre, but sometimes also directs plays. Original works (writing/ adapting/ directing) include Thumbelina at Imagination Stage; The Lathe of Heaven at Spooky Action Theater; Alice in Wonderland with National Players; Wind Me Up, Maria!: A Go-go Musical at Georgetown University; Astro Boy and the God of Comics at the Studio Theater and Company One Theater, Boston. Other directing credits include Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival; Olney Theater Center; the Studio Theatre; Baltimore CenterStage; Mosaic Theater, Synetic Theater, and Theater J. She is the recipient of two Elliot Norton Awards (for Outstanding Direction and Production Design), two Helen Hayes Awards (Outstanding New Adaptation and Outstanding Set Design), as well as a DC Commission in the Arts Fellowship. Onoda Power holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University, and is the author of God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post- World War II Manga (The University Press of Mississippi, 2009). She is a Professor of Theater and Performance Studies at Georgetown University.
Minjoo Kim (Lighting Designer) is an internationally working lighting designer. Previous 1st Stage credit includes The Rainmaker. Selective DC credits include The Sensational Sea Mink-ettes at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Fat Ham at Studio Theatre, Ink at Round House, King of the Yees at Signature Theatre, and The Brothers Paranormal at Olney Theatre. New York credit includes Demon at The Bushwick Starr. Regional credits include The Far Country at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, American Fast at City Theatre, The Chief at Pittsburgh Public Theater, The Royale at Kansas City Rep, A Few Good Men at Bristol Riverside Theatre, Violet at TheatreSquared, Life Sucks at Cygnet Theatre, One in Two at Diversionary Theatre. International credits include South Korea; The Two(Space Owul), Crimson Girl(Dongsoong Art Center), Die or Not(Seoul Art Space Mullae), China; Mask on/off(Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre).
Her work The Royale was selected for the National Exhibit at Prague Quadrennial in 2023. Website: minjoo-design.com
Kelly Colburn (Projections Designer) Recent Selected Credits. DC: Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co: My Mama and The Full Scale Invasion, Signature: Passing Strange, Kennedy Center: Look Both Ways, Roundhouse/Olney Theatre Center: Fela!; OFF-BROADWAY: New York Theatre Workshop, american (tele)visions. AWARDS: ‘20 Helen Hayes Recipient, 22 - 23 Helen Hayes Award Nominee, ‘23 Lucille Lortel Awards and Henry Hewes Nominee, 2018 Jim Henson Puppetry Grant, ‘17 NextLOOK Resident. Executive Director at Flying V. BFA NYU ’11 | MFA UMD ’18 www.kellycolburn.com
Amy Kellett (she/her, Props Designer) is excited to be back working at 1st Stage after having previously done props design here for The Mamalogues. She has also designed props regionally for productions at Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Rep Stage, Constellation Theatre Company, 1st Stage, Theater Alliance, Kennedy Center TYA, NextStop Theatre Company, ArtsCentric, Pointless Theatre Company, Gala Hispanic Theatre, The Hub Theatre, Synetic Theater, American Stage and YPT.
Some of the other hats Amy wears include being a puppeteer/puppet builder and a scenic charge.
Owen Posnett (Ensemble Music Advisor) is a DC-based music director and musician who has recently graduated from Georgetown University. He previously worked as Assistant Director on Natsu’s previous show, Making the Go-Go Band, and is grateful for the chance to work on a new devised project! Previous shows he has music directed include Pippin, Rent, Into the Woods, and Cabaret, among others. He hopes you enjoy this journey into Ihatov, particularly the musical parts!
Sarah Usary (Stage Manager) is a stage manager based in northern Virginia. Previous credits—The Nance, Shutter Sisters, Quilters (ASM), The Chosen, The Last Match, The Member of the Wedding, Fly By Night, The Farnsworth Invention (ASM), and My Name is Asher Lev (1st Stage); Frankenstein, The Mountaintop, The Wolves, East of Eden (NextStop Theatre Company); She Kills Monsters (Maryland Entertainment Group); Assassins, Dracula (Cumberland Theatre); West Side Story (SM), Newsies, Mamma Mia!, Sweeney Todd, Little Shop of Horrors, My Fair Lady, The Pirates of Penzance (ASM, Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre). Education—BFA Theatre Design and Production, Shenandoah University.
Mark Costello (Associate Projections Design) is a nationally produced video and multi-media designer working across performance disciplines. He specializes in using live video and interactivity in his work. He is a founding member of Merkins, Daniello & Sons, a company dedicated to creating innovative, athletic and accessible theatrical performance. MFA from UMD TDPS, BFA from NYU Tisch.
Lorraine Ressegger-Slone, (she/her) Intimacy Coach. Lorraine is always delighted to be working at 1st Stage. Theatre credits include: 1st Stage: The Nance, Quilters, The Chosen, How the Light Gets In, The Rainmaker, The Phlebotomist; Washington National Opera, Grounded; Baltimore Center Stage: The Garden, How to Catch Creation; Round House Theatre: Spring Awakening; Woolly Mammoth: Describe the Night, BLKS, Botticelli in the Fire; Taffety Punk: La Salpêtrière, Our Black Death, Pramkicker.
Justin Schmitz (Sound Designer) is absolutely thrilled to make his 1st Stage debut! Justin has collaborated Off-Broadway with 59E59 Theaters and Round House Theatre, and The Dixon Place Theatre. Regionally- Chautauqua Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse In The Park, The St. Louis Black Rep, amongst others. Local credits include: The Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth, Studio Theatre, Constellation Theatre Company, Gala Hispanic Theatre, Imagination Stage, Round House Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Prologue Theatre Company, VOCA, NextStop Theatre Company, amongst many others. Justin is the Eastern Region Trustee for USA829's LUEB, Co-Chair for the USA829 Sound Design Committee, Co-Vice Chair for the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composer's Association (TSDCA), and frequently guest artists and teaches for many universities and high schools across the DMV region. Helen Hayes nominations include 2017 (Constellation Theatre Company THE WILD PARTY) and 2016 (I CALL MY BROTHERS Forum Theatre Company). For further information: www.justinschmitztheatre.com
Debra Kim Sivigny (Costume Designer) is excited to be back at 1st Stage where she has designed costumes for How the Light Gets In, The Royale, Member of the Wedding, Swimming with Whales, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, among others. Recent credits include costume and scenic design for Othello (Theatre Works Colorado Springs); costumes for A Year with Frog and Toad (Imagination Stage); The Chinese Lady (Everyman Theatre); Indecent (American Stage); A New Brain (Barrington Stage Company.) Upcoming: scenic designs for The Color Purple (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival); Beautiful: the Carole King Musical (Olney Theatre.) She has a BA from Middlebury College and an MFA from University of Maryland in Costume Design. She is a member of USA 829 and is represented by Michael Moore Agency, NYC. This coming fall, she will join the faculty at Ithaca College and leave her beloved DC community for the gorges of upstate NY.
Emilie Knudsen
Asst. Stage Manager