Andy Bayiates, (Festival Co-Chair & Project Director; Founding Father and co-writer of 44 Presidents) is a Chicago-based playwright, Neo-Futurist almnus and a former contributing writer for Time Out Chicago. Bayiates wrote and performed in the ever-changing Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind (30 Plays in 60 Minutes) through 2004, also appearing in seven other Neo-Futurist productions, including 43 Plays for 43 Presidents and the gratifying hit, Daredevils! (as writer/performer.) His plays have been produced in Boston; Chicago; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Atlanta; Edinburg, Scotland; Geva Theater in Rochester, New York; The O’Neill National Theater Institute; and the 25th Annual Humana Festival at The Actor’s Theater of Louisville. A 60-Minute History of Humankind, mounted in 2003, appeared briefly on the NBC reality TV show Starting Over. His play, A History of Human Stupidity, received its world-premiere production by Rough & Tumble of Berkeley, CA in 2010, and was previewed in American Theatre Magazine. In addition to Playscripts, Inc., Bayiates’ work has been published in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete Plays, 200 More Neo-Futurist Plays (Hope and Nonthings Publishing, 2004); and The Absolutely Worst Places to Live in America (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2006). Bayiates is currently collaborating with composer Jonathan Mastro on his first musical, entitled 33.
Sean Daniels (Festival Co-Chair; Two-time director of 43 Plays for 43 Presidents) is Director of Artistic Engagement at the Geva Theatre. He spent five years at Tony Award-winning Actors Theatre of Louisville as its Associate Artistic Director. He is the former Associate Artistic Director/Resident Director of California Shakespeare Theater and previously spent a decade as Artistic Director/Co-Founder of Dad’s Garage Theater Company in Atlanta. He has developed many plays with delightful playwrights, including two time Tony Award- winner Greg Kotis, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Pulitzer Prize finalists Kristoffer Diaz and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, Deborah Stein, Lauren Gunderson, Jordan Harrison, Carly Mensch, James McLindon, Deborah Zoe Laufer, and Monty Python’s late Graham Chapman (with an assist by John Cleese and Michael Palin). Upcoming projects include partnering with the Center of Puppetry Arts in Atlanta to create a new adaptation of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA funded by the Jim Henson Foundation.
Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, (Communication Specialist/Message Strategist and co-writer of 44 Presidents), is one of the five original creators of 44 Plays for 44 Presidents. A former Artistic Director and ensemble member with The Neo-Futurists, Genevra has also worked professionally as a choreographer, arts educator, and writer. In addition to her artistic life, she is the Assistant Director of the Career Advancement Center at Lake Forest College. Were she to pick a special cause as First Lady, it would definitely involve empowerment through intentional action and equal rights for all citizens.
Tyler Haberman (Festival Production Assistant) is currently an undergraduate at Lake Forest College majoring in Communication and Theater. He has a passion for all types of theater, in particular comedy. Tyler was recently the Assistant Director for the inaugural production in the Plays for Presidents Festival at Lake Forest College. He is now thrilled to be a part of the nationwide Festival efforts and continuing to spread the excitement of 44 Plays for 44 Presidents.
Evan Hanover (Secretary of Research) is an anthropologist by day and a dramaturg by night and by weekend. He is excited to be working with the Neo-Futurists for the sixth time. Previous dramaturgical adventures at the corner of Ashland and Foster include: Chalk and Saltwater: The Ladder Project, The Fool (Returns to His Chair), Crisis: A Musical Game Show, and A 60-Minute History of Humankind. He also appeared in the Neo’s production of Fear. When not looking things up, Evan snaps pics as the unofficial official photographer for Chicago favorites, the It Came From The Neo-Futurarium film fest and Write Club.
Chloe Johnston, (Education Coordinator and co-writer of 44 Presidents) is a Neo-Futurist alumnus. She wrote and performed in Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind in addition to creating The Emmett Project, Patriots and, most recently, collaborating on Fear, an interactive walking tour of the stories of Edgar Allen Poe. She has also worked as a performer, writer, and director with various theatres around Chicago, including Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, CollaborAction, Chicago Dramatists, and Walkabout. She has designed and taught courses at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University and conducted performance workshops at universities and theatres in Chicago and beyond. Chloe received her PhD in Performance Studies from Northwestern University.
Jeffrey Mosser (Senior Strategist/Social Media & Community Outreach Director) is a former Education Fellow at Actors Theatre of Louisville where he co-created and directed Theatre for Two: The Wedding Party, a site-specific piece inspecting the actor/audience relationship. Jeffrey’s served as the Director and Education Coordinator for the Youth Action Theatre, Production Manager for the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, and in several positions at the Great River Shakespeare Festival. Recently his play, Love, Death, and Latex, was accepted to the Source Festival in Washington D.C. He is a member of the Rebels Without Applauze improv troupe, and can already tell we’re going to be great friends. http://jeffreymosser.me
Molly O’Donnell (Resident Filmmaker) is an ethnographic researcher and moonlight documentary filmmaker. As a videographer, editor, and producer, she loves capturing events and telling compelling visual stories. Right around the time the 2012 presidential election is wrapping up, Molly will be starting at the Master of Communication in Digital Media program at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Sarah R. Rowan (Lead Press Director) currently serves as the Marketing & Sales Manager for Actors Theatre of Louisville where she establishes strategies for single and season ticket sales and leads the marketing department in the successful execution of promotional tactics. She also supports Actors Theatre as a mentor for the Apprentice/Intern Company; a staff advisor for the Generation One Board, a young professionals Board dedicated to building the next generation of theatre subscribers and donors; and aiding in the play selection for the 2012 New Voices Young Playwrights Festival. Presently, she is also assisting with the development of an original puppet theatre piece for Xperimental Puppetry Theatre at the Center for Puppetry Arts, and serving on the Executive Committee for the Louisville Youth Orchestra’s Board of Directors. Sarah is a theatre practitioner who aspires to generate innovative, cross-disciplinary work focused on specific communities. She is dedicated to nurturing future generations of theatre professionals and creating work that engages, educates, and stimulates conversation.
Karen Lynn Weinberg (Co-Author and Festival Video Wrangler) – in addition to being one of the authors of this play, Karen helped create sketch comedy shows with Cupid Players and GayCo, her one-woman show Faker toured the country, and she appeared in the Off-Broadway remount of Seussical as Gertrude McFuzz. As a film and television editor, she has cut episodes of several different series for the History Channel including Clash of the Gods and MysteryQuest; other editing credits include the feature films Frozen River, Racing Dreams, Certainty and One Night Stand. Karen’s film production company Ten Trees is currently in development for pilot. www.tentreesproductions.com
Festival Advisory Board
Sean Malone is President of the Ten Chimneys Foundation. Under Sean’s leadership, Ten Chimneys has garnered an international reputation as one of the most inspirational and innovative historic sites in the United States. In 2007, Ten Chimneys launched the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program, a ground-breaking national program to serve American theatre – partnering with an acclaimed master teacher (Lynn Redgrave for the first year) and eleven of the most prestigious and accomplished regional theatres in the country. Prior to Ten Chimneys, Sean worked on national fundraising campaigns and played an integral role in a number of successful endeavors – including work for George Street Playhouse, The Grand Canyon Shakespeare Festival and Madison Repertory Theatre. In 2004, Sean Malone was named one of the city’s “Forty under 40” by the Milwaukee Business Journal. Sean has lectured at Oxford University, the National Arts Club, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. He has appeared on CBS News Sunday Morning, NPR’s All Things Considered, and dozens of regional television and radio stations – and has been quoted in hundreds of newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, The Chicago Tribune, Playbill, and the Associated Press.
Louise Chegwidden (Producer, 2007 Berkeley production of 43 Plays, Rough & Tumble) is honored to be part of the Prez Project, hailing from the Land Down Under where you are fined $20 for NOT VOTING. Louise worked on 43 Plays for 43 Presidents and the World Premier of Andy Bayiates’ A History of Human Stupidity, both with Rough and Tumble, as an actor and producer. In 20 years in the Bay Area, she has performed with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks, Shotgun Players, Eugene O”Neill Foundation, Marin Shakespeare Co, and Shakespeare at Stinson, among others. At the Alley Theatre in Houston, she performed in Tony Kushner’s Hydiotaphia.
Jackie Cuyvers (social media marketing consultant) Jackie is a Consultant with ZS Associates in. Jackie fosters digital innovation within ZS and champions digital marketing for the firm and its clients. Prior to joining the ZS Associates, Jackie had a 10-year track record as a digital marketing pioneer and entrepreneur. She launched a successful online business, advised women entrepreneurs and small-to-medium-sized businesses through her own consultancy, and helped usher larger clients into the digital era through her work with an advertising agency. She holds an MBA in Marketing and lives in London with her husband and two boys.
Halena Kays, (Director of 2012 Neo-Futurists production of 44 Presidents) is the co-founder and former artistic director of Barrel of Monkeys. She is a Northwestern grad and a former member of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care unit. She is a member of the Hypocrites theatre company where she has performed and directed; this fall she will take-over as artistic director. For the Neo-Futurists she co-created and directed Daredevils, Daredevils Hamlet and the sight specific extravaganza, Fake Lake. Halena received the Presidential Fitness Award from Arnold Schwarzenegger and President Ronald Reagan in 1984 and will be receiving her Masters in directing from UT-Austin in 2011.
Cliff Mayotte (Director of 2007 Berkeley production of “43 Plays,” Rough & Tumble) As the founding Artistic Director of Rough and Tumble, Cliff has staged productions of Macbett, Johnny Lonely’s Unhappy Hour, Tom Jones, the Bay Area premiere of My Uncle Sam, The Misanthrope, the west coast premiere of 43 Plays for 43 Presidents, an adaptation of Voltaire’s Candide, the world premiere of A History of Human Stupidity and a radio version of Much Ado About Nothing. Other recent directing projects include the world premiere of The Wave, by Ron Jones at The Marsh in San Francisco and The Caucasian Chalk Circle for Shotgun Players. Cliff also directed a critically acclaimed revival of Eugene Ionesco’s The Chairs for Aurora Theatre Co. Cliff has also staged plays for Marin Shakespeare Company, Signal Theatre Co, Exit Theatre, Playground, DEO Ireland, and touring productions for Berkeley Repertory Theatre. His work has garnered awards from The Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, Drama-Logue, Backstage West Magazine, Dean Goodman Choice Awards, and the SF Weekly. He currently serves as Education Programs Director for Voice of Witness, a non-profit division of McSweeney’s Books.
Christopher Piatt, (media consultant) is the creator and host of the Paper Machete, a weekly “live magazine” and free theater event that features comedians, journalists and storytellers talking about current events, pop culture and American manners. The podcast of The Paper Machete is distributed by WBEZ. From 2005-2009, he served as Time Out Chicago’s theater editor. He’s also written for the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Reader, Chicago Magazine and 848. As a spoken word performer, he has appeared in Dollar Store, Write Club and Dave Awl’s The Partly Dave Show. For more of his work as an editor, writer and public speaker, check out http://thepapermacheteshow.com/
Wendy Weinhold (media consultant) is a Ph.D. candidate in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The reformed print journalist teaches journalism, gender and media studies courses. She has published scholarly articles on the political economy of media, the ideology of print journalism, and her autoethnography. Weinhold is a native of Nebraska; a former intern for the National Organization for Women’s Public Policy and Government Relations Office in Washington, D.C.; and the daughter of a National Rifle Association member. If she were President, her first act in office would be to give every American a pony.