Idris Goodwin is an award-winning creative driven by a passion for impactful storytelling.  Currently serving as Artistic Director of Seattle Children’s Theater, Idris writes, directs, programs and /or produces relevant content for intergenerational audiences. Recognized as a culture bearer who celebrates community values and cultivates histories with care, Goodwin’s impact spans generation and artistic mediums, with well over 60 original plays produced coast to coast, from Oregon Shakespeare Festival to The John F Kennedy Center. Several of these works are published, as are his forays into poetry and prose, including the collections “Can I Kick It” and “These Are The Breaks.” Harper Collins Clarion released his first picture book, “Your House is Not Just A House;” “King Of The Neuro Verse,” his first novel, will be released in 2025. A performer and recording artist, he’s created original video content for and/or appeared on Wondery, Nickelodeon, “Def Poetry” (HBO), “Sesame Street,” NPR, BBC Radio, and the Discovery Channel. Before stepping into his current tenure with SCT, Idris served as Artistic Director of StageOne Family Theatre in Louisville, as well as Executive Director of The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, where he also taught as a professor in The Department of Theater and Dance. As Board President of Theater For Young Audiences/USA, he is a champion for theater makers and institutions with a stated focus on cultivating the arts patrons of tomorrow. 

Mark Valdez is an artist, cultural organizer, and consultant who partners with communities, organizations, civic institutions, and others, using theater and creative tools to address community needs and to lift up community voices and stories. His work has been seen at the Alliance Theatre, Cornerstone Theater Company, La Peña Cultural Center, MACLA, Mixed Blood, the Ricardo Montalban Theater/Center Theater Group, and Trinity Rep, among others. Recent projects include the animated short film The Curious Cardinal, which he wrote and directed and adapted into a children’s picture book; Detained by France-Luce Benson, and The Most Beautiful Home…Maybe, an interactive performance which toured across the U.S., and Into The Burrow: A Peter Rabbit™ Tale, which he wrote and directed. Currently, Mark is directing The Ally by Itamar Moses, at Mixed Blood. Mark was the founding Executive Director of the Network of Ensemble Theaters, a collective of artists committed to co-creation. Mark is the recipient of various grants and awards including a Princess Grace Award, the Zelda Fichandler Award, and the Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities. He is an inaugural awardee of the California Arts Council’s Legacy Artist Fellowship. 

Aretta Baumgartner [she/her] is a performer and teaching artist specializing in puppetry, mask and movement. She’s been a professional puppeteer since 1992, and has presented many hundreds of workshops, master classes and keynotes at arts/arts education events all over the country. Aretta served multiple terms as President of the Board of Directors for the Puppeteers of America and as Education and Advocacy Director at Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts. She performs regularly as a puppeteer, actor and backing vocalist. Aretta is dedicated to using puppetry as a tool to unlock potential, passion and story in every human she meets. 

Ernaisja Curry is excited to join this wonderful production at Alliance Theatre! Ernaisja graduated Adelphi University with her BFA in Theatre and is a Teaching Artist specializing in directing, choreographing, and coaching young performers. Broadway (in Chicago) credits include The Play That Goes Wrong at Broadway Playhouse. Regional credits include The Three Musketeers at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Nollywood Dreams at Round House Theatre. Film credits include The Coming and Wonder Child. Ernaisja is eternally grateful to her family, friends, and mentors for their continuous love, faith, and support. Connect with her on all social media at @ErnaisjaCurry / www.ernaisjacurry.com. 

Shelli Delgado is happy to be back on the Hertz Stage playing another brave rodent! Previous Alliance credits: Something Moving, Into the Burrow, A Christmas Carol, Max Makes a Million!, Tiger Style! and TVY shows Little Raindrop Songs & Dinosaur. Recent regional credits include work with Actor's Express, Warehouse Theatre, Aurora Theatre, Horizon Theatre Company, Synchronicity, Lean Ensemble Theatre & others. TV/Film: "Hysteria!", "The Bondsman", Reptile, "Doom Patrol", "The Vampire Diaries". Shelli also serves as Education Director for Destination Theatre and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Georgia with B.A.s in English and Theatre. All my love to Coco and the boys. IG: @shellidelgado

Sarah Beth “EssBee” Hester [they/she] is thrilled to make their Alliance Theatre debut! As a puppeteer, actor, musician, and teaching artist, Essbee is an active member of the Atlanta theatrical community, since graduating the apprentice program with the Shakespeare Tavern in 2015. Sarah Beth was a head puppeteer for BBC’s Moon and Me and performs the titular character in The Center for Puppetry Art’s annual production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Some recent credits include: Principle Performer, Sesame Street the Musical (CPA); Shmoopy Lou, Just Another Play About Rainbows (Havoc Movement); Diafoirus/ Puppet Fabrication, Le Malade Imaginaire (Théâtre du Rêve); Benvolio, Romeo & Juliet (ASC); Puppet Captain/ Performer, Tesla vs Edison (CPA, World Premiere); Puppet Fabrication for Havoc Movement; Blood Design, Dracula: The Failings of Men (Havoc & ASC); Musical Composition and puppet fabrication, The Mad Hatterpillar (a new puppet musical); National Puppetry Conference, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. You can find EssBee’s newly released album I’M FINE. anywhere that music streams. Sarah Beth hopes you find a little extra whimsy today and sends thanks to all who have supported their journey. 

Bethany Anne Lind [she/her] is best known to young audiences for her favorite role as “Waylon and Rozzy’s Mom.” Alliance Theatre: Everybody, Shakespeare in Love, Edward Foote, Troubadour, August: Osage County, Carapace, 26 Miles; LaJolla Playhouse: His Girl Friday; Signature Theatre: Really Really; Arena Stage: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner; Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Our Town; Synchronicity Theatre: Home, I’m Darling, and Julie B. Jones. Other theatre credits include: Florida Stage, Georgia Shakespeare, North Carolina Shakespeare, and more. Her film and TV credits include recurring roles on “Ozark,” “Doom Patrol,” “Reprisal,” “Alert,” “Turn,” and “Greenleaf”; guest roles on “Magnum PI,” “Stranger Things,” “Kindred,” “Rectify,” “The Walking Dead,” and roles in indie hits such as His Mother, Blood On Her Name, Lilly, A Carpenter’s Prayer, The Wheel, and Through the Glass Darkly. She writes at BethanyAnneLind.substack.com. Thank you for being the kind, brave human you are! 

Shaun MacLean is excited to cheese the day with you here at the Alliance Theatre! His favorite credits include: Mouse Ado About Nothing, A Streetcar Named Gruyere, Les Micerables, Cheddar Under the Elms (Animals Express); The Play That Goes Rodent, The Glass Micery, Our Den *Squirrely Bass Award Winner,* Who's Afraid of Virgina Mouse? (Mammal Outfit); Hamster on a Hot Tin Roof, Almost Mice, MEASE, Into The Parm, Shrewssical The Musical (Scamper City Theatre); Twelve Angry Mice, Peter and the Ratcatcher, Little Shop of Vermin (The Mouse Door Theatre). Shaun is an Atlanta native, holds a degree from University of Georgia, and has no relation to Peter Pettigrew. Learn more about him and his real human life at ShaunMacLean.com and follow @Shaun__MacLean.   

Kala Ross is thrilled to return to the Alliance Theatre! Her recent credits include The Preacher’s Wife (Alliance), For Colored Girls (Broadway), Show Way the Musical (Kennedy Center Tour), The Gospel Woman (Off-Broadway), and Hands Up (Alliance). A Georgia native, she earned an M.F.A. in performance from the University of Louisville and a bachelor’s in theatre from Tennessee State University. Kala was a finalist in the True Colors Theatre August Wilson Monologue Competition and an Irene Ryan Award Winner. She is the creator of the web series Welcome to NY and a former theatre teacher at Luella High School. Kala is grateful to Hudson Artists Agency, her family, friends, castmates, and the production team. With hard work and faith, any dream is possible. Connect with Kala on Instagram @KalaRoss or visit www.kalaross.com. 

Erin North is beyond excited to be making her Alliance Debut with Doctor De Soto! Atlanta: Amanda in The Student Body (Destination Theater), Jean Ruby in Oh, To Be Pure Again (Actor's Express), Abigail Paisley in The Paisley Sisters (ART Station), Agatha/Sarah Brown U/S in Guys & Dolls (Atlanta Lyric Theatre) & more. Erin holds her BA in Theatre & Performance Studies, Minor in Dance from Kennesaw State University (2022). She would love to express all the love to the cast & crew, her supportive friends, and to her family for their endless support. Instagram: @erin.nrth   

Hayden Rowe [he/him] is so excited to be a part of the amazing cast of Doctor De Soto! Hayden is so excited to be making his Alliance Theatre debut! Favorite credits include The Emcee in Cabaret at Actor’s Express, Andrey/Violinist in Natasha, Pierre… 1812 at Horizon Theatre, and Andrej in Once: The Musical at Horizon Theatre. Hayden attended Kennesaw State University where he pursued Musical Theatre. In his time off stage Hayden is a working drag queen in the Atlanta area! Thank you to Mom and Dad for all the love and support! Enjoy the show! @siberiathequeen 

Maia Sanaa (she/her) is an actor, writer, and multidisciplinary artist raised in west metro Atlanta, with roots in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. A recent graduate of Boston University’s School of Theatre, Maia earned her BFA in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Performance last May. She also earned a certificate in Classical Acting from the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Maia is excited to make her professional theatre debut as the understudy for Mrs. DeSoto and the Patients in Doctor De Soto at the Alliance Theatre. Recent stage credits include starring roles in One Penny Down, Titus Andronicus, Everybody, and She Stoops to Conquer. Although her first stage debut was at the age of 7, waddling onstage as a penguin in a local production of Happy Feet alongside her siblings. With a love for both the stage and screen, Maia believes in their connectedness as powerful mediums for storytelling. As a multidisciplinary artist, her work spans acting, writing, and poetry, with her spoken word pieces featured in The New Yorker and Pitchfork Review at the age of 18. Meaning “Beautiful Art” in Swahili, Maia’s name reflects her innate passion for creativity. She loves to create visual montages and feels a strong sense of freedom and expression through movement, especially while she’s roller skating. www.maiasanaa.com 

Brie Wolfe (she/her) is delighted to join the cast of Doctor De Soto at the Alliance Theatre! An Atlanta-based actor, performer, and teaching artist, Brie is a proud graduate of Aurora Theatre’s Apprentice Company and the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!). Her recent work includes a Suzi Bass Award nomination for her performance in The Mad Hatterpillar and Her Many Heads at Stage Door Theatre. Other favorite credits include Knock, Knock (Alliance Theatre), Rathskeller (SheATL Arts Festival/Theatrical Outfit), She Persisted, the Musical (Georgia Ensemble Theatre), Dragons Love Tacos (Georgia Ensemble Theatre), and Cinderella (Aurora Theatre). Follow her on Instagram: @briewolfeee. 

Brandon Bush has performed on GRAMMY® Award-nominated and winning releases by John Mayer, Sugarland, Little Big Town, and Train. Recent composing credits include Into the Burrow (Alliance Theatre), “Good Eats” (Food Network), Approve Junkie (Minetta Lane Theatre, Audible Originals) and podcasts “Broadway Revival,” “Gangster House,” and “Baron of Botox.” Music Direction credits include Working (Alliance Theatre), Shakespeare In Love (Alliance Theatre) and the world premiere musicals Darlin’ Cory (Alliance Theatre) and Troubadour (Alliance Theatre). Currently, Bush is touring as the music director for his brother Kristian Bush. He also manages the Atlanta based creative studio, Songs of the Architect where he composes for new media. 

Lynn Jeffries is a puppet designer based in Los Angeles. She has made puppets out of paper, cardboard, foam, plastic bottles, things she found growing in her back yard, hundreds of old socks, a toilet float, palm fronds, motorcycle tires, abalone shells, strawberry baskets, vacuum hoses, pez dispensers, eggshells, and a bagpipe. Here are some places she has worked: Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, South Coast Repertory, the Getty Villa, the Mark Taper Forum, the Bootleg Theater, Great Plains Theater Conference, Sautee Nacoochee Center, and Cornerstone Theater Company, of which she was a founding member. She has performed shadow puppet shows in nightclubs and coffee shops with the band, The Ditty Bops. In an ongoing collaboration with puppeteer/performance artist Paul Zaloom, she has built puppets, dramaturged, designed, and puppeteered on numerous touring spectacles, a handful of satirical YouTube videos, and one feature film. 

Garry Lennon [he/him] is excited to be back at the Alliance after last year's production of Into The Burrow: A Peter Rabbit™ Tale. Recent work includes The Ally at Mixed Blood in Minneapolis and The Skin of our Teeth at A Noise Within in Pasadena. Other works include MacBeth, Richard III, and A Winter's Tale, among others, for Independent Shakespeare in Los Angeles. Plus, he has designed multiple productions at A Noise Within including Metamorphosis, A Winter's Tale and Frankenstein. He has also worked for Cornerstone Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory, The Geffen Playhouse and Trinity Repertory, to name a few. Garry is the Costume Design professor at California State University, Northridge and serves as the Executive Director for Teenage Drama Workshop. Garry's work can be found at garrylennon.com. Thanks for supporting live theater! 

Ben Rawson is an Atlanta based Lighting Designer for Dance, Theatre, and Opera, member USA 829. Regional Theatrical/Opera design work can be seen at The Alliance Theatre, Detroit Opera, Florida Studio Theatre, Glimmerglass Opera, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Utah Opera, Atlanta Opera, Center Repertory Company, Theatrical Outfit, Aurora Theatre, Actors Express, and others. Dance design work includes collaborations with choreographers Johan Kabborg, Ana Maria Lucaciu, Claudia Schreier, Jennifer Archibald, Troy Schumacher, Remi Wörtmeyer, Kiyon Ross, Bruce Wells, Danielle Agami, Garrett Smith, Omar Roman De Jesus, Tara Lee, and Heath Gill as well as with companies such as Atlanta Ballet, BalletCollective, Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, Prisma Dance Festival - Panama, BocaTuya, 92Y, Riverside Dance Festival, Fly On A Wall, and others. Benrawsondesign.com 

Bahar Royaee // The acoustic and electro-acoustic music of Iranian composer/sound designer Bahar Royaee has been acclaimed as “succeed(ing) as a poetic incantation, brimming with ideas and colors” (Classical Voice North America) and “haunting” (Boston Arts Review). Recipient of the prestigious Fromm Foundation Commission Awards 2024, Bahar writes music for various genres, from opera, theater, and film to chamber music. Her work has been performed by luminaries such as Claire Chase, International Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble der gelbe Klang, Jack Quartet, Fabrique Quartet, Splice Ensemble, and Lamnth. Significant chamber music performances include Biennale Venice 2024 with Hannah Levinson, Festspiele festival in Germany with Opus21 ensemble (2024), Composer Conference Gala 2024 with Talea Ensemble, Ultraschall Berlin with Muriel Razavi (2023), Berlin Prize for Young Artists with Adam Woodward (2023), ICE Festival Germany with ensemble Tempus Konnex (2022), Tehran Electroacoustic Music Festival (2022) and Time: Spans Festival (2020) with International Contemporary Ensemble and Suzanne Farrin. In the realm of theater, Royaee has worked for various theater production companies like Alliance Theatre, Golden Thread Production, Kitchen Theater, Rattestick Theater, Gloucester Stage Company, and Tank. Bahar is grateful to be back on the Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre. 

Samantha Honeycutt studied Stage Management at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro before beginning her career working across the country. Her credits include: Year of the Rooster, When January Feels like Summer, and Five Times in One Night (Ensemble Studio Theater). Legally Blonde, Cabaret, Hello! Dolly, My Fair Lady, and Music Man (Cape Playhouse). Frankenstein, Hairspray, Penny Candy, American Mariachi, Supreme Leader (Dallas Theater Center). Angry, Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous (Hartford Stage), and Trading Places the Musical, Everybody, A Gift of Love with Adam L. McKnight, Hot Wing King, The Boy Who Kissed The Sky, Water For Elephants, and Into the Burrow: A Peter Rabbit Tale, Furlough's Paradise, The Preacher's Wife, and The Mountaintop.