Festival Bios
GABRIEL STELIAN-SHANKS (Artistic Director) (he/him/his) is the Artistic Director of The Drama League, and a founding member of the creative content company A CERTAIN SOMETHING. One of the co-directors of Peculiar Works Project’s Obie-winning The Village Fragments, he has directed over sixty productions across the United States, Europe, and South America. He received the Theatre Project Honor for Outstanding Vision in the Theatre, and was recognized for his arts leadership by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. This year, he was nominated for Best Director at the 2020 Madrid International Film Festival; his short film “The Damnable Deprivation of Dmitri” was chosen to open the 2020 New Masculinities Festival.
DANIEL FEIGHERY (Director of Photography) (he/his) is an award winning filmmaker with 20 years experience on film sets in New York and Los Angeles. He strives to create great art with socially conscious aspirations and societal benefits. He has worked on Oscar nominated films, two Presidential campaigns, HBO Series, Amazon and Netflix documentaries, national commercials, fashion films, music videos and feature films including “Half Nelson,” “Little Children.” “Margot at the Wedding,” “American Gangster,” “The Squid and the Whale,” “While We’re Young,” and “Sinister.” Recent work includes camera work on “The Tonight Show,” “The Late Show,” music videos for Beyonce, the Foo Fighters, and Jennifer Lopez. Daniel has produced and directed several projects selected for multiple film festivals, including “Heaven,” awarded Best Story and Best Music Video, and his short documentary “Inner City Fencers,” which won multiple awards for Best Cinematography. He is currently making a documentary called “Agent Orange/Gagetown,” about a toxic cover-up in Canada, his family involvement, and the unexpected consequences of his investigation.
CATE McCREA (Scenic Designer) (she/her) is a scenographer specializing in collaborative development of new works. Recent production credits include A Woman of the World (The Acting Company), Cherie Dre (Danspace Project), Madonna col Bambino (ANTFest and Ice Factory), and the Drama League’s DirectorFest 2020. Cate is a proud member of USA 829.
CHRISTOPHER VERGARA (Costume Designer) (he/him/his) upcoming: Once (Vinpearl Land, Vietnam). Recent credits include: Hamlet (Lewis Center for the Arts), In the Heights (Orlando Shakes), In the Heights (Engeman Theatre), Kidnap Road (La Mama), The Golem of Havana (La Mama, Miami New Drama), The Last Word, What Do Critics Know? (NYMTF), Texas in Paris, Last Dance (York Theatre Company), Danza-de-Fernando (somedance company), like the eagle (DASH), Madame Butterfly, Kiss Me Kate, La Traviata, Pirates of Penzance (Brevard Music Festival), Harlequinade, Walpurgisnacht, Majisimas, Paquita (Les Ballets Trockadero). Broadway Associate credits include: Free Man of Color, The Visit, People in the Picture, Eclipsed, The Color Purple, and Once on this Island.
MOLLY TIEDE (Lighting Designer) (she/they) is a professional Lighting Designer and Associate Lighting Designer. She has been a designer/associate in NYC-Broadway, Off-Broadway, Regional Theaters around the country and internationally. Her designer/associate experience on corporate events include Facebook, Instagram, Brooklyn Half Marathon, Target, Conde Nast, Bentley Motorsports, Paul Frank, various fashion events, and movie premieres. She was the designer for Hamilton’s Tony Awards after-party, where she also designed the sound system for Questlove of The Roots’. Molly was associate designer for Target’s Spectacular Event featuring John Legend, First Lady Michelle Obama’s Chinese State Dinner event at The White House, The Whitney Museum Grand Opening also featuring the First Lady, and Saturday Night Live’s 30th Anniversary Party at The Plaza Hotel. In addition to her freelance career, Molly is also the Head of Lighting Design and Co-Head of the Production Design & Technology Program at Ohio University. MollyTiedeDesign.com
DJ POTTS (Sound Designer) (he/him) Dwaine Potts is an NYC-based Sound Designer. His work has been featured at: The Duck Creek Arts Center, The New Ohio, ArtsEmerson, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, and the World Wide Web!
CASPIN JONES (Properties Designer) (she/her) is a Texas born, Brooklyn based scenic and props artisan. She graduated with a BFA in Production and Design from Pace University with a concentration in Scenic and Props Design and is always looking for new opportunities to tell meaningful stories through her work. Recent projects include: Sideways (Theater at St. Clements), DirectorFest 2020 (The New Ohio), Felix Starro (Theatre Row), Call Out Culture: Or, the Unbearable Whiteness of Being (Ars Nova ANT Fest), Worse Than Tigers (The Mill), Someone Who’ll Watch Over You (Cherry Lane Theatre), and The Sea Concerto (Flux Theater Ensemble).
A.R.T./NEW YORK THEATRES (Venue) The A.R.T./New York Theatres are a project of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (A.R.T./New York), which provide state-of-the-art, accessible venues at subsidized rental rates, plus free access to top-line technical equipment, so that the city’s small and emerging theatre companies can continue to experiment, grow, and produce new works. Founded in 1972, A.R.T./New York is the leading service and advocacy organization for New York City’s 400+ nonprofit theatres, with a mission to assist member theatres in managing their companies effectively so that they may realize their rich artistic visions and serve their diverse audiences well. We accomplish this through a comprehensive roster of real estate, financial, educational, and community-building programs, as well as research, advocacy, and field-wide initiatives that seek to improve the long-term health and sustainability of the industry. Over the years, A.R.T./New York has received numerous honors, including an Obie Award, an Innovative Theater Award, a New York City Mayor’s Award for Arts & Culture and a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre. For more information, please visit www.Art-NewYork.org.