TINASHE KAJESE-BOLDEN
(Director) Originally from Zimbabwe, Tinashe was recently named the Artistic Director Fellow for the Alliance Theater season 2019-2020. She is an award winning Director and Actor grateful for the opportunity to explore stories that help us connect more as a community. As a Director, previous productions include Nick’s Flamingo Grill (World Premiere, The Alliance Theater), Eclipsed at Synchronicity Theater (Best Director, Suzi Bass Award); Graveyard Shift (finalist for the Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition); Atlanta 24 Hour Play event with Working Title Playwrites; In The Continuum at Clark Atlanta University, and Blood On A Cat’s Neck at Armory Theater. She will next be directing Ghost by Idris Goodwin at the Alliance Theater, School Girls (Or the African Mean Girls) at Kenny Leon’s True Colors and the Pulitzer Prize winning play Sweat by Lynn Nottage on the new Coca-Cola Stage at the Alliance Theater, to name a few. As an actor, she has worked on and off Broadway and at numerous regional theaters. Some memorable TV/Film appearances include the NAACP Image Award nominated mini-series “The Bobby Brown Story”; “Valor” (The CW),” The Inspectors” (CBS),“The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks” (HBO), “Killing Reagan” (TV Film),”Outcast” (Cinemax),“Powers” (Sony), “Greenleaf” (OWN),“Born Again Virgin” (TV ONE), “Enlightened” (HBO), “Cold Case”, (CBS). My eternal gratitude and love to my husband, my partner, Keith, for always pushing me to never give up! To my precious boys for giving me a reason to always stand in truth, and my Mom for helping us reach for the stars.
TERRY SUMMERS FLINT
(Set Designer) is the Executive Director of Zeiders American Dream Theater and a freelance scenic designer. Prior to The Z, she worked at Virginia Stage Company, starting as Props Master and then as Production Manager. She has also worked for American Repertory Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Texas Shakespeare Festival. Local designs include Grounded, The Taming of the Shrew, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, The Comfort Team, Raisin in the Sun, Billy Bishop Goes to War, and Hank Williams: Lost Highway, all at VSC, and Hair at ODU.
LEVONNE LINDSAY
(Costume Designer) is the Costume Shop Manager and Assistant Adjunct Professor at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She holds a B.S. in fashion design from Philadelphia University and a M.F.A in costume design from the University of Maryland, College Park. Academic positions held at Stevenson University, James Madison University, and Valdosta State University. Staff positions held at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Theater Company DC, Wolftrap Opera Company and Washington National Opera. Resident Designer for the African Continuum Theatre of Washington DC from 2002-2004. Allen Lee Hughes Fellow at Arena Stage 2001-2003. Notable design credits include: Virginia Stage Company: The Hampton Years; Arden Theatre Company: Gem of the Ocean, The Bluest Eye; Theater Horizon: White; Simpatico Theater: HIR, Time Is On Our Side; Arena Stage: Yellowman; Everyman Theatre: Topdog/Underdog, A Raisin in the Sun, The Brothers Size; Hangar Theatre: Gem of the Ocean.
JASON AMATO
(Lighting Designer) Jason's career has spanned 27 years, designing over 600 shows, including thought provoking plays by Suzan-Lori Parks, George Brant and Anna Deavere Smith and iconic musicals such as Ragtime, Tommy, Next to Normal, and Hairspray. His work has been seen off-Broadway with Austin Shakespeare’s Anthem. Regionally, Virginia Stage Company's Grounded, The Wiz, The Tempest, and Crowns. Virginia Musical Theatre's Jekyll and Hyde, Mamma Mia, and many others. He has toured internationally, designing dance at Jacob’s Pillow, Lincoln Center, the Smithsonian and the National Theatre in Taiwan. Recently, Jason was honored to assist Pat Collins on Virginia Opera's Der Freischütz, directed by Stephen Lawless. Jason has received 40 regional awards for his lighting in shows. www.jasonamato.com
J.C. NIGH
(Sound Designer) ) is the resident sound engineer at the Virginia Stage Company. Usually you can find him mixing musicals at the Wells such as The Wiz, Ring of Fire, Always...Patsy Cline, and the newest version of A Christmas Carol, but is glad to have the opportunity to put a design of his own in motion again. His past designs at Virginia Stage Company include A Streetcar Named Desire, Santaland Diaries, and Pride and Prejudice. He is happy to be working with his cast and production staff to put another production together.
BINDER CASTING
(Casting) Binder Casting, now part of RWS Entertainment Group, was founded by Jay Binder, CSA in 1984. Binder Casting has cast over 80 Broadway productions, dozens of National Tours, off-Broadway shows, full seasons for over 25 regional theatres, as well as feature films, episodic television and commercials. Binder has cast for Encores! at New York City Center since its inception in 1994. The office was also featured in the documentary, Every Little Step. Binder Casting is a twelve–time recipient of the Artios Award. www.bindercasting.com
ADRIENNE WELLS
(Stage Manager) is pleased to be joining Virginia Stage Company for the first time. Ms. Wells has worked in live theater, educational tours and events, opera, jazz, fashion, television, live events, and festivals. Past work includes: Sweat among several others (Pittsburgh Public Theater), Hair (Pentangle Arts), The Long Walk (Pittsburgh Opera), Misery (Penobscot Theater), Wait Until Dark among others (St. Michael's Playhouse), Fences and Choir Boy (JAG Productions), The Mask of Moriarty among others (Pittsburgh Irish and Classic Theater). Ms. Wells serves as the Corresponding Secretary for the Stage Managers’ Association, is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, and a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.
TOM QUAINTANCE
(Producing Artistic Director) is the sixth Artistic Director and the first Producing Artistic Director in Virginia Stage Company’s 40 year history. At the Wells Tom has directed Pride and Prejudice and The Santaland Diaries, and can't wait to tackle Matilda at the end of this season. Previously as Artistic Director of Cape Fear Regional Theatre (CFRT), Tom produced over 35 plays and directed the World Premiere of Downrange: Voices from the Homefront, a play based on interviews with military spouses from Fort Bragg. Tom is an Associate Artist at PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill where he directed An Enemy of the People, Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, and The Little Prince. He also directed The Little Prince at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. As the founder of FreightTrain Shakespeare in Los Angeles, he earned a Dramalogue Award for his direction of Pericles. Other Los Angeles credits range from King Lear to The Devil With Boobs. A member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Tom is a graduate of Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT) with a B.A. in Theatre and Economics, and the University of California, San Diego MFA directing program, where he was the assistant director on the original production of The Who’s Tommy. Tom and his wife Wallis are the proud parents of Mireille Julia and Annika Christine.
DAVID B. BYRD
(Managing Director) Virginia Stage’s 40th Anniversary Season marks David’s second full season as Managing Director. Prior to landing in Norfolk, David served as Managing Director at Clarence Brown Theatre in Knoxville, TN. He has also held leadership positions at Westport Country Playhouse, American Dance Festival, Triad Stage, Yale Repertory Theater, the Dwight/Edgewood Project, and the Guthrie Theater. David received an MFA degree in Theater Management from Yale School of Drama and a BA degree in Drama from UNC-Greensboro in his native North Carolina. During his tenure at the Clarence Brown Theatre, David was appointed to the Chancellor’s Commission for LGBT People and the College of Arts & Sciences’ Diversity Committee. Additionally, David served on the McClung Museum Academic Programs Advisory Board and the Great Schools Partnership Advisory Council. David has been a grants panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, Tennessee Arts Commission, and United Way of Greater Knoxville. He has served on the union negotiating team and annual meeting planning committees for the League of Resident Theatres (LORT). David was a 2016 Knoxville Business Journal 40 Under Forty Honoree and has recently guest lectured at Virginia Wesleyan University and Christopher Newport University.
Cast