AUTHOR’S BIO

E. Patrick Johnson (he/him) is Dean of the School of Communication and Annenberg University Professor at Northwestern University. A member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Johnson’s work has greatly impacted African American Studies, Performance Studies, and Gender, and Sexuality Studies. He is the author of several books, including Appropriating Blackness: Performance and the Politics of Authenticity (2003); Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South—An Oral History (2008); Black. Queer. Southern. Women.—An Oral History (2018); Honeypot: Black Southern Women Who Love Women (2019), in addition to a number of edited and co-edited collections, essays, and plays.

ARTIST BIOS

Angelena Browne (Ensemble, she/they) is a performer from New Jersey and Saint Kitts & Nevis who studied Theatre and Marketing at Northwestern. She’s thrilled for her second production at Fleetwood Jourdain Theatre! Recent credits include For Colored Girls (Lady in Purple) at FJT and City Kid: The Musical (Lena) at NJPAC. At the Wirtz Center: Sunday on the Rocks, Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Play, Violet, Last Stop on Market Street, and more. Endless gratitude to her family, friends, and this beautiful production!

Josiah Croegaert (Lighting Designer, he/him) is excited to be at Fleetwood Jourdain for the first time! He would like to thank Maggie Fullilove-Nugent for her storefront expertise and support. FLEETWOOD: Debut. CHICAGO: Pro-Am(First Floor), Mothers(The Gift), Baked!, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas(Theo Ubique), Last Hermanos(Red Orchid) CO-DESIGN: The Heart Sellers(Northlight), Falsettos(Court), Topdog/Underdog(Invictus), Sondheim Tribute Review(Theo Ubique). Graduate of Columbia College Chicago 2021. josiahcrodesign.com

Kaitlyn Fields (Ensemble, she/her) is an undergraduate senior Theatre major/Psychology minor in the Music Theatre Certificate Program and Theatre for Young Audiences Module. She has been focused on becoming a well-rounded artist: performing in “Once on this Island”, “Sandblasted”, “Pintop”, “Cowboy Bob”, “Great Sea Serpent”; producing, stage managing, and set designing for Seesaw Theatre; assistant directing “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile”; directing “Call Me Eris”; and interning as a Drama educator at Haven Middle School.

Kotryna Hilko (Co-Scenic/Costume Designer, she/her) is a Chicago based costume and set designer. Recent credits include Peter and the Starcatcher (Paramount Theatre), A Tale of Two Cities (Shattered Globe Theatre), The Cave, In Quietness, and Revolution (A Red Orchid Theatre), Cygnus (The Gift Theatre), Dear Elizabeth and Love Song (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company), Lifespan of a Fact (TimeLine Theater Company), and Tambo and Bones (Refracted Theatre Company). She holds an MFA from Northwestern University’s Stage Design program. For more information, visit kotrynahilko.com!

Nehanda Julot (Ensemble, she/her) is Queen Mother to Lorry, Sage and Princeton, and is married to her greatest cheerleader, Barthelemy. She is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, founder of Wealth I Am (wealthiam.net) and theatre artist always. Her play, 3 Sisters Forced to Face the Sky, had readings at Fleetwood Jourdain Theatre’s Gloria Bond Clunie Playwright’s Festival (2024) and Soho Theatre London (2013). She was Lady in Brown in FJT’s production of Ntozake Shange’s “for colored girls”.

Jelani Julyus (EPJ, he/him) believes in the power of story to transform society and possesses a unique ability to find the hope nestled at the heart of every story. Jelani is grateful for the opportunity to work with Fleetwood Jourdain Theater, this incredible cast, and our exceptional design team. He dedicates his career as an actor to his children and hopes they learn that it’s never too late to pursue your dreams. Visit jelanijulyus.com to learn more about Jelani’s career and training.

Santina Juma (Ensemble, she/her) —originally from Kansas City, Missouri—is a 2nd-year student studying Theatre and Music Cognition at Northwestern University. Juma’s favorite recent credits include Honeypot (Hive), Pythia (Music Direction), and RENT (Benny). Alongside performing, Santina is a creative in the fields of playwriting, music composition, and music direction; also serving as Treasurer of Vertigo Productions, Northwestern University’s new-work theatre board! She would like to thank her family and friends for their unwavering support!

Ethan Korvne (Original Music & Sound Designer, he/him) is a composer and sound designer based in Chicago. Recent credits include: AT THE WAKE OF A DEAD DRAG QUEEN at The Story Theatre, NO SUCH THING at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, CORONATION at Refracted Theatre Company (Joseph Jefferson Nomination – Best Sound Design), SHORT SHAKES! ROMEO AND JULIET at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and TAMBO & BONES at Refracted Theatre Company (2 Joseph Jefferson Awards – Original Music in a Play and Best Sound Design). ethankorvne.com

Marsae Lynette (Choreographer/Folkloric Vocal Arrangement, she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist, activist, and scholar pursuing a PhD in Performance Studies at Northwestern University. Her work focuses on Afro-diasporic and Indigenous ecological performance practices through ritual, cultural memory, and the choreopoem form. Marsae’s choreography has been featured in productions such as “Hastings Street” at the Detroit Music Hall and “Magnolia Ballet” at Williamston Theatre. She is the graduate assistant for the Black Arts Consortium and a member of the NU Abolitionist Lab.

Chels Morgan (Intimacy Director, they/them) is an artist, educator, AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator, adjunct professor at DePaul University, and the Director of Accessibility and Inclusion at the Intimacy Professionals Education Collective (IPEC). Selected Chicago credits include: “42 Balloons” (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); “She Who Dared” (Chicago Opera Theatre); “Into the Woods” (Kokandy Productions – Jeff Award), “Seven Guitars” (CityLit Theatre – Jeff Award); cultural sensitivity director on “Kid Prince and Pablo” (Lifeline Theatre Company). EDUCATION: MFA, Loyola Marymount University. BA, Emerson College.

John Olson (Public Relations, he/him) provides marketing and public relations services to a variety of theaters and arts organizations in the Chicago area. He followed a career as an account manager and media planner in Chicago and Milwaukee advertising agencies by moving into arts marketing and publicity in 2010. He worked at ComedySportz Chicago as Marketing Director and Raven Theatre as Director of Marketing and Press before founding John Olson Communications in 2017. Additionally. John has served as Associate Editor for The Sondheim Review and Chicago reviewer for TalkinBroadway.com.

Tim Rhoze (Co-Director/Co-Scenic Designer, he/him) has been the Producing Artistic Director of Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre since 2010. His FJT and regional directing credits include: American Son, Twilight; Los Angeles 1992, The Meeting, Fires In The Mirror, Nutcracker(ish), Crowns, Having Our Say, Home, From the Mississippi Delta, Home, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, Woza Albert!, Going to St. Ives, Single Black Female, A Song For Coretta, Yellowman, Sweet, Lady Day At Emerson Bar & Grill, Bear Country, Nobody, Fences, Piano Lesson, Ain’t Misbehavin, K2, The Glass Menagerie  et.al. Tim is also the writer/director of Why Not Me? A Sammy Davis Jr. Story, Maya’s Last Poem,The Baldwin | Giovanni Experience (co-playwright), 1619 A Journey Of A People,and Until The Flood. He was co-writer and director of A Home On The Lake, and Black Ballerina co-produced with the Piven Theatre Workshop.

Jasmine “Jaz” Robertson (Ensemble, she/her) is a multi-hyphenate artist from Memphis, TN. In her 4 years as a Chicago local, she has been seen onstage at various theatres, including Fleetwood Jourdain’s previous production “Until The Flood”, “Stabbed in the Heart” (Factory Theater), “Beyond the Garden Gate” (Impostors Theatre), “Regression” (Redtwist Theatre), “The Revolutionists”, and “Shipwrecked! An Entertainment” (Oil Lamp Theater). She is also an alumna of The American Theatre Wing’s SpringboardNYC program. She would like to dedicate this performance to her own queen bee and late mother, Sharal Patrice Robertson.

Sadie Stickler (Ensemble, she/her) is thrilled to make her debut with Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre. Most recently, at Northwestern, she has performed as a wildflower in the ensemble cast of “How to Know the Wildflowers: A Map” and played multiple roles, including a Manic Pixie, in the developmental staged reading of “Manic Pixie Dream Girls Aren’t Black”. She is deeply and forever grateful to her parents, David and Gloria Stickler, for their unwavering support for her and the arts.