Syracuse (On)Stage

In anticipation of Syracuse Stage’s upcoming production of “A Christmas Story,” Michelle DiBernardo, the Executive Director of the Syracuse International Film Festival, speaks with Joann Yarrow about how film intersects, inspires and creates new versions of the same story for audiences on stage.

Two artistic directors talk about collaborating theaters, shows, and the current theatrical landscape. Syracuse Stage’s Bob Hupp and Indiana Repertory Theatre’s Ben Hanna join forces on the upcoming co-production of 39 Steps.

Assemblywoman Pamela J. Hunter speaks with Joann Yarrow about her journey to the military in celebration of Syracuse Stage’s production of ’The Hello Girls.’

Syracuse Stage kicks off its 2025/26 Season with “The Hello Girls,” a heroic new musical that chronicles the story of America's first women soldiers in WWI. Associate Artistic Director Melissa Crespo talks with a member of the show’s creative team, Christine O’Grady.

Joann Yarrow interviews thought leader Michelle Schenandoah (Oneida/ Haudenosaunee) and choreographer/theatre director Nicole Beutler (Netherlands/Germany) about their dance piece, A Room in Our House.

Playwright Rae Binstock talks about her upcoming world premiere play "Relentless" in Syracuse Stage's 25/26 season.

Playwrights Zizi Majid & Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel speak with Associate Artistic Director Melissa Crespo about the plays they are developing as part of the Julie Lutz New Play Festival. ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTSZizi Majid is a playwright whose plays advocate for a shared humanity. She is the inaugural recipient of the Julia Miles Playwriting Residency (WP Theatre) during which she wrote the play Milk. She was a 2022-23 Playwriting Fellow with the Dramatists Guild Foundation and is a proud alum of the WP Lab. She won the Pacific Rim Prize for Playwriting (Kumu Kahua Theatre/University of Hawaii Manoa Playwriting Contest), has been a finalist for the Princeton Arts Fellowship, a finalist for the Blue Ink Playwriting Award; a thrice semi-finalist for the O'Neil National Playwrights Conference and a finalist for the Columbia@Roundabout New Play Reading Series. Plays include They Came in the Night, Return to Fall, The Rejects, and How to Gild an Eagle. For five years, Zizi was the Artistic Director of Teater Ekamatra (Singapore) garnering multiple awards during her tenure. She teaches playwriting and drama in context at Syracuse University. MFA: Columbia University. Website: zizimajid.com Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel is a trans-Guatemalan playwright, born in Guatemala and raised in Connecticut. Her works are spiritual, hyper-theatrical narratives that give Black & Brown Queer/Trans voices a space to interrogate core wounds and offer them a path toward healing. Esperanza’s plays have been supported by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Roundabout Theatre, the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, the Kennedy Center, the Tank, Breaking the Binary Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, and New York Theater Workshop. Esperanza is the recipient of the Princeton Ward Prize for Fiction and Outstanding Achievement in Theater Prize, the Eugene O'Neill Memorial Scholarship from the Yale School of Drama, and the Paul Greene Award from the National Theatre Conference. Her play, Color Boy, received the Kennedy Center's Latinx Playwriting Award and Paula Vogel Playwriting Award (finalist), an Honorable Mention from the 2024 Relentless Award, a nomination for the 2025 Venturous Playwright Fellowship from the Playwright’s Center, and was named the Connecticut State Winner for the Clauder Prize from Portland Stage. Her play Lupe Finds Me in the Garden of Dreams was a finalist for the 2024 Leah Ryan Prize, the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, the Van Lier Fellowship for New Voices at Rattlestick Theater, and is also a current finalist for the Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep and the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Lupe Finds Me was developed through New York Theater Workshop’s 2024 Summer Dartmouth Residency and was presented at the 2024 Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival at Playwrights Horizons. She is a two-time finalist for the O’Neill Theatre Conference and nominee for the Ollie Award, a one-time nominee for the L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award at the Williamstown Theater Festival and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and is a contributor to the second volume of Methuen Drama’s Anthology of Trans Plays. She is currently a Teaching Artist for the Public Theater, an IB Theater Advisor at Brooklyn Prospect Charter High School, and a Lecturer in Playwriting at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, where she produced and mentored the playwrights working on the 2024-2025 Carlotta Festival and the Langston Hughes Festival of New Plays. BA: Princeton, MFA: Yale

Syracuse Stage’s Resident Playwright Kyle Bass talks with playwright Rogelio Martinez about his upcoming world premiere production with Rogelio Martinez’s The National Pastime, part of the Julie Lutz New Play Festival. Rogelio Martinez (he/his) is an award-winning playwright whose plays have been workshopped and produced in theaters across the country and abroad. His play, Born In East Berlin, was first performed at the Stasi Museum, Berlin, in both English and German and then premiered at San Francisco Playhouse in February 2020. More recently, Martinez worked on The Seven Deadly Sins project for Miami New Drama. It was the largest theatrical production allowed by Equity during the pandemic. It won the Drama League Award - Outstanding Interactive or Socially-Distanced Theater. In 2021, Martinez worked on a new television project for Tom Fontana, based on the book, Year of Dangerous Days. His play, Blind Date, was produced at the Goodman Theatre under the direction of Tony-nominee Robert Falls, with Tony Award-winning actress Deanna Dunagan playing the role of Nancy Reagan, and was awarded an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Martinez is a recipient of a 2017 Guggenheim Fellowship, Princess Grace Award, and a Mid-Career Fellowship at the Lark Theater Company. His work has been workshopped and commissioned by various theaters across the country including the Public Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Atlantic Theater Company, Arden Theater, Asolo Repertory, and Ojai Theater Company, and many more. Martinez’s plays include Illuminating Veronica, Arrivals and Departures, All Eyes and Ears, Blind Date, Born in East Berlin, and I Regret She’s Made of Sugar (Princess Grace Winner). He is an alumnus of New Dramatists. Martinez teaches undergraduate playwriting at NYU and has also written for children’s television. Martinez was born in Sancti-Spiritus, Cuba, and came to this country on the Mariel boatlift.

Playwright and actor Kate Hamill talks about her adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” with director Jason O’Connell for Syracuse Stage’s upcoming production.

Emily Holm, Scenic Charge Artist, and Mara Rich, Prop Shop Supervisor, talk about their work behind the scenes at Syracuse Stage.

Actors Enoch A. King and Quinn Johnson talk basketball and friendship in the upcoming production of “King James” by Rajiv Joseph

About Rochele RoysterRochele Royster is an artist, educator, and licensed art therapist dedicated to fostering mental health and wellness through creative expression. With over two decades of experience as a special education teacher in Chicago Public Schools, she has developed culturally relevant, arts-based approaches to promote critical thinking, resilience, and social change in underserved communities. Now based in Syracuse, Rochele leads the Me/We Creative Arts & Wellness Lab & Studio, offering accessible wellness services and advocating for inclusive, strength-based care for marginalized populations. Her work emphasizes the transformative power of art to build connections, amplify voices, and create spaces of belonging.

About Brian CimmetBrian Cimmet teaches courses in musical theater performance, literature, history, and audition technique. His recent Department of Drama credits include direction and musical direction for Avenue Q and music direction for Parade and Spring Awakening. Other Syracuse credits include Merrily We Roll Along, Seussical, Hairspray, Violet, Like You Like It, White Christmas, Cradle Will Rock, Rent, and Cabaret. Beyond the confines of Syracuse, Cimmet’s credits include the Broadway companies of The Drowsy Chaperone, Mary Poppins, and Grease; the original Off-Broadway productions of I Love You Because (also the cast album); and The Tin Pan Alley Rag, as well as too much regional and stock theater to remember. He has composed scores to Absolutely Anything, The Spirit of Reindeer, A Christmas Carol, Burn This, Stop Kiss, Let’s Play Two, and No Poop!, and his songs have been nominated for three MAC Awards (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs). In an entirely unrelated walk of life, Cimmet is a two-time award winner at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, co-creator and co-host of Lollapuzzoola (his own summertime crossword tournament, www.bemoresmarter.com), and contributor to several puzzle books, some of which are available at Barnes & Noble.About Jessica ChenJessica Chen is an American dancer, choreographer, and director based in New York City known for creating "visceral ...emotionally charged movements and choreography." - Sarah Draugelis, HuffPost. Her work has graced prestigious platforms like New York Fashion Week at MoMA, Lincoln Center, and MACY's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Chen has choreographed for productions Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella at Geva Theater and Jersey Boys at Weathervane Theater, and Spring Awakening for Montclair State University, where she is currently an adjunct professor teaching Jazz. Chen assisted Director William Hayes in the World Premiere of The Messenger by Jenny Connell Davis for Palm Beach Dramaworks.Internationally, she has been featured at the World Expo-USA Pavilion in Shanghai and in a special showcase by Google Arts & Culture. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of J CHEN PROJECT, a 501c3 nonprofit contemporary dance company with a mission to create dance works that emphasize identity, cultural diversity, and belonging. J CHEN PROJECT is thrilled to enjoy an open-ended run of AAPI HEROES in NYC beginning June 2024.Chen's accolades include being a 2021 GALLIM Moving Women Artist-in-Residence, a 2021 Dance Lab New York Choreographer, and a 2023 Bessie Award nominee for Outstanding Choreographer/Creator. Her current theater projects include AAPI HEROES, Cabaret, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Jessica is a Proud Member of SDC.

About Lux HaacLux Haac (she/her) is a New York based costume designer working in theatre, film, opera, and dance. Current role with WAM: Costume Designer for Kamloopa WAM Theatre: Debut. Selected Theatre Credits Elsewhere: I and You, Annapurna (Syracuse Stage), The Thanksgiving Play (Repertory Theatre of St Louis), Hear Me Say My Name (Discovery Theater/National Museum of the American Indian), Ragtime (PlayMakers Repertory Company), Eureka Day (Colt Coeur/Walkerspace), Between Two Knees (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Native Gardens (Syracuse Stage, Geva Theatre Center, Portland Center Stage), Ajijaak on Turtle Island (New Victory Theater), and Well Intentioned White People (Barrington Stage Company). Membership/Affiliations: Member of USA 829 and Wingspace Theatrical Design. Core Collaborator with All My Relations Collective. Selected training: MFA: NYU/Tisch 

Read the 2019 CNY Arts study “Arts & Culture Impact” by Travis Newton which measures the economic impact of Onondaga County's arts and culture industry. About Travis NewtonWith a career that has included work as an arts and higher education administrator, musician, and faculty member, Dr. Travis Newton serves as interim Dean of the Carroll College of Arts and Sciences at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY. Previously, he served as director of the Le Moyne College music program, leading the program through renewal and growth. He also founded the College’s undergraduate and graduate arts administration programs, successfully preparing students for careers at such varied not-for-profit institutions as the Manhattan School of Music, the San Diego Zoo, the National Museum for African American Music, Barrington Stage, and Cornell University. Before his current role as interim Dean, Travis served as associate professor and chair of the department of visual and performing arts, facilitating the work of dozens of faculty and hundreds of students to further integrate the arts into the culture of the Le Moyne College campus, and to engage with the broader Syracuse community.Dr. Newton’s research is focused on orchestra management and the relationship between professional symphony orchestras and their communities. In 2022, Oxford University Press published his Orchestra Management Handbook. His work has also been published in the Journal of Arts Management, Law & Society, American Journal of Arts Management, Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts, and book chapters published by Routledge and Oxford University Press, including a co-authored chapter in The Oxford Handbook of Arts and Cultural Management. Dr. Newton previously served as an officer of the Association of Arts Administration Educators Board of Directors and as a board member of Classical Kids Music Education, and he currently serves on the board of the Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music, as well as Social Theory, Politics, & the Arts (STP&A). Travis has played and conducted more than 500 performances of Broadway musicals across the U.S. and Canada and multiple guest conducting appearances with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and Central New York's professional orchestra, The Syracuse Orchestra (formerly Symphoria). He holds a bachelor's degree in music performance (violin) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, an MBA from Le Moyne College, and a Ph.D. in Arts Administration from the University of Kentucky. 

Throughout our 50th anniversary season, audience members were invited to record a memory of their experience at Syracuse Stage. Recorded in an audio booth located right in our lobby, enjoy a short compilation of our oral history.

About Pearl RheinPearl Rhein is an actor, musician, singer-songwriter and composer. She made her Broadway debut in the original cast of "Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812" and can also be heard singing and playing viola on the OBC. Pearl is originally from Indiana and has a BA in Theatre from Ball State University and an MFA in Acting from UC San Diego. She is a multi-instrumental musician and performer and can be seen often doing her own work or backing up others at 54 Below, Joe's Pub, The Bushwick Book Club and many others. Currently Pearl is writing a zombie musical with writing partner Jordan Feit, and also a solo musical about women in the history of S.T.E.M. Pearl is a proud member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and Local 802.   

About David LowensteinDavid Lowenstein joins the faculty as an alumnus of the drama department, having worked professionally for the past 25 years. After graduating he started his performing career touring the country in several national tours, including "On Your Toes" and "42nd St." He made his Broadway debut in the multi-Tony Award-winning "Jerome Robbins’ Broadway." His other Broadway credits include "1776," "On the Town," "Seussical!," and "The Frogs," among others. During his successful performing career Lowenstein honed his teaching skills at New York University’s musical theater program CAP 21 and directed and choreographed many regional, stock, and off-Broadway productions. He choreographed the Drama Desk Award-winning off-Broadway review Howard Crabtree’s Whoop-Dee-Doo! and most recently co-created and choreographed Shout, the Mod Musical, which was produced in London, had an off-Broadway run, and is currently on tour and in regional theaters across the country.About Madison ManningMadison Manning, a junior musical theater major, stepped into an iconic pair of shoes for her lead role in “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” co-produced by Syracuse Stage and the Department of Drama in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

About Bob HuppRobert Hupp is in his ninth season as artistic director of Syracuse Stage. He recently directed Dial M for Murder, Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, Our Town, The Play That Goes Wrong, Eureka Day, Annapurna, Talley’s Folly, Amadeus, Noises Off, Next to Normal, and The Three Musketeers for Stage. Prior to coming to Central New York, Robert spent seventeen seasons as the producing artistic director of Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock. He directed over 30 productions for Arkansas Rep ranging from Hamlet to Les Miserables to The Grapes of Wrath. In New York City, Robert directed the American premieres of Glyn Maxwell’s The Lifeblood and Wolfpit for the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble. He also served for nine seasons as the artistic director of the Obie Award-winning Jean Cocteau Repertory. At the Cocteau, Robert’s directing credits include works by Buchner, Wilder, Cocteau, Shaw, Wedekind and the premieres of the Bentley/Milhaud version of Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children, Seamus Heaney’s The Cure at Troy, and Eduardo de Filippo’s Napoli Millionaria. He has held faculty positions at Pennsylvania’s Dickinson College and, in Arkansas, at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Hendrix College. Robert served as vice president of the Board of Directors of the Theatre Communications Group and has served on funding panels for the New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, the Theatre Communications Group, the New Jersey State Council of the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. While in Arkansas, Robert was named both Non-Profit Executive of the Year by the Arkansas Business Publishing Group, and Individual Artist of the Year by the Arkansas Arts Council. He and his wife Clea ride herd over a blended family of five children, one dog, and two cats.About Jason O'ConnellJason is an actor, writer, and director based in New York City. He recently appeared on Max's "Search Party" and played Sir Andrew in The Old Globe's 2023 production of Twelfth Night. His Off-Broadway credits include Sense and Sensibility, Happy Birthday Wanda June, Judgment Day, Pride and Prejudice, and multiple productions of his own solo show, The Dork Knight. Jason is also the co-writer of the play Cyrano (adapted with Brenda Withers), and his directing credits include productions at Joe's Pub, Theatre Row, Syracuse Stage, Playhouse on Park, Amphibian Stage, and the Hudson Valley and Texas Shakespeare Festivals. He is also an illustrator, a stand-up comic, a private acting coach, and the host of Opening Weekend Podcast.

About Chip Miller Chip Miller is a director and producer, currently in the role of Associate Artistic Director at Portland Center Stage at the Armory. They were previously the Artistic Associate / Resident Director at Kansas City Repertory Theatre. Directing: Sweeney Todd, Clyde's (co-production with Syracuse Stage) Liberace & Liza - Holiday at the Mansion: A Tribute, Choir Boy, It’s a Wonderful Life, Rent, August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean, Hedwig & The Angry Inch, the world premiere of Redwood (PCS), Larry Owens’ Sondhemia (Carnegie Hall), Journeys to Justice (Portland Opera), the world premiere of American Fast (Artists Repertory Theater), School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play, Welcome to Fear City, Sex with Strangers, A Raisin in the Sun, (KCRep); the world premiere of Becoming Martin by Kevin Willmott (The Coterie); dwb: driving while black (Lawrence Arts Center, Des Moines Metro Opera, Greensboro Opera); 4:48 Psychosis (The Buffalo Room). Chip has developed work with playwrights including Kevin Wilmott, Kara Lee Corthron, Brittany K. Allen, Catherine Trieschmann, Darren Canady, Andrew Rosendorf, Susan Kander & Roberta Gumbel, Michelle T. Johnson, and Michael Finke. They have developed work at The William Inge Theatre Festival, NYU’s New Plays for Young Audiences, La Jolla Playhouse’s DNA Series, Portland Center Stage’s JAW Festival, The Midwest Dramatists Center, KCRep’s OriginKC New Works Festival, The Colorado New Play Summit, The Living Room Theatre, and Musical Theatre Heritage.About Andrea VerneaAndrea is thrilled to return to Portland Center Stage and feels incredibly grateful to work with this talented group of artists, whom she not only considers collaborators but also friends. A special thanks to Chip for assembling this remarkable team. Originally from Miami, FL, Andrea graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance from Florida A&M University, a Historically Black College and University. Some of her recent favorites include Clyde’s (PCS/Syracuse Stage), Passing Strange directed by Rodney Hicks (Portland Playhouse), Gem of The Ocean (PCS), and The Wolves (Portland Playhouse). On the film side, she wrote and directed her first short film, You Don’t Know Naan, with the BLVCK Film Collective, portrayed Ori in the Montavilla Jazz Call + Response project, Last Signs of June, written by Deejuliano Scott, and played the role of Brenna, the ex who returns, in Kitty by Mischa Webley. Up next, she’ll be performing as Cecily Cardew in The Importance of Being Earnest, adapted by Kamilah Bush, at Portland Center Stage.