Jake Berne (Jonah) is an Atlanta native and is over the moon to make his Alliance debut. He is thrilled to continue his journey with Data after being a part of the workshop at The Kennedy Center in 2020. Select regional credits: Skintight (Actor’s Express), Refugee (Florida Repertory Theatre, World Premiere), and Romeo and Juliet (Florida Repertory Theatre). He is grateful to work with a cast and creative team he admires so much. Thanks to Susan, Matt, Jody, Jayson, Amanda, and everyone at the Alliance for this opportunity. With all his love to FWAJJ. @jakeberne 

Stephen Hu (Alex) is thrilled to be working with the Alliance Theatre. Mr. Hu was last seen on stage in Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s The Great Wave. NYC credits: F.O.B. (Sheen Center) and Puzzle the Will (Davenport Theatre). Select regional credits: Vietgone (American Conservatory Theatre), Hamlet (Repertory Theater of St. Louis), Macbeth (Theatricum Botanicum), Ching Chong Chinaman (Artists at Play) and Othello, Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (The Old Globe). TV: New Amsterdam (NBC), The Good Fight (CBS). MFA, The Old Globe/USD. Thank you for supporting live theater. 

Clare Latham (Riley) is thrilled to be back making theatre, and an Alliance debut, since working on what would have been last season’s 53% Of. An Atlanta native, until recently based in London. Off West End Award-nominee for major UK revivals of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea and Doubt, A Parable (Southwark Playhouse). Select UK/Int’l theatre: My Name Is Rachel Corrie (Lebanon Premiere, EU Theatre Festival, Beirut); UK Premieres of Blue Surge and Don’t Smoke In Bed (Finborough Theatre), and Tennessee Williams’ Green Eyes (Hotel Plays). Core Ensemble member of UK theatre company The Faction (Romeo & Juliet, The Talented Mr Ripley, Joan of Arc, Mörder, Strindberg’s Apartment). Made NY debut onstage in Off-Broadway run of Soho Rep’s Fairview at TFANA. TV: “Mr Robot,” “Suspicion”. Training: NYU-Tisch (BFA); Drama Centre London (MA). 

Cheech Manohar (Maneesh) was born in Wollongong, Australia and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. He could most recently be seen as Kevin Gnapoor in the Original Broadway Company of Mean Girls, or as Sanjay in Mrs. Fletcher on HBO. Regional credits include: Mean Girls at the National Theatre, Mary Poppins (Robertson Ay) and New Kid (Nick) at Syracuse Stage. Syracuse Drama Alum. Thank you to Susan, Matthew, the whole team of Data and the Alliance Theatre, Ross Silver and A3 Artists Agency, and you, for supporting theatre. Much love to his family: the smartest, kindest people he knows. @cheechmanohar 

Susan V. Booth (Jennings Hertz Artistic Director) joined the Alliance Theatre in 2001 and has initiated the Palefsky Collision Project for teens, the Alliance/ Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab and commercial partnerships on such projects as The Prom; Tuck Everlasting; Ghost Brothers of Darkland County; The Color Purple; Bring It On: The Musical; Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away; Sister Act: The Musical; Bring in ’da Noise, Bring in ’da Funk; and Jesus Christ Superstar GOSPEL. She has directed nationally at the Goodman Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, New York Stage and Film, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Northlight Theatre, Victory Gardens, Court Theatre and many others. She holds degrees from Denison and Northwestern universities and was a fellow of the National Critics Institute and the Kemper Foundation. She has held teaching positions at Northwestern, DePaul and Emory universities and is a past President of the board of directors for the Theatre Communications Group, the national service organization for the field. Booth’s leadership is underwritten by the BOLD Theater Women’s Leadership Circle, an initiative to support and promote women’s theater leadership funded by The Helen Gurley Brown Foundation. She is married to Max Leventhal and is the proud mother of Moira Rose Leventhal. 

André C. Allen (Lighting Design) was born and raised in Queens, New York. He moved to Atlanta to attend Morehouse College in 1989. There he discovered the art of storytelling with light. He founded BlackLight Productions Inc. in 1990. He has designed for many artists and organizations including productions for the Freddie Hendricks’ Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, the Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Actor’s Express, India.Arie, and Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company. André has served as Production Manager with the Rialto Center for the Arts and Operations Manager with the Ferst Center at Georgia Tech. He is proud of his career that has brought his brand of design to various facilities and arenas nationwide especially his work as lighting director for the Atlanta Falcons at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. After a career that has spanned 30 years and thousands of events, André continues to share his gift. In 2017, he joined the faculty at the Spelman College Department of Theater and Performance to teach lighting design to the next generation of designers. www.BlackLightProductions.com “Gen. 1:3” 

James Amann is CMII Director of Operations. In that role, he manages CMII facility operations and technology services, coordinates industry collaborations that make use of the core content creation studio, oversees special project scheduling and logistics, and otherwise works to keep CMII technology state of the art and the Institute’s work strategically aligned with essential creative industry trends.

Prior to joining CMII in 2018, Amann worked as a senior project manager in Georgia State University’s central IT operation, where his work connected him to many of the most successful university IT initiatives of the last decade, including a full IT renovation of the former Ted Turner (Atlanta Braves) Stadium into GSU’s football stadium. Prior to that, he was an IS&T business planning coordinator, and worked with budget managers within the organization to re-design well-structured workflows to better accomplish their shared purposes. At GSU, Amann has also worked as an IT Services Performance Analyst and Network Performance Analyst.

Amann earned double B.B.A. degrees from the GSU J. Mack Robinson College of Business, one in Computer Information Systems and the other in Managerial Science. He has also earned Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute.

Brennen Dicker, a film and video professional with 20 years of experience, is Executive Director of the Creative Media Industries Institute at Georgia State University.

Before joining Georgia State, Dicker was the general manager of Atlanta operations for SIM International, a company that provides production and post-production services to the film industry. In that role, he worked with companies such as HBO, Warner Bros. Television, AMC and Netflix.  He also was the chair of the Atlanta Advisory Council for the Savannah College of Art and Design. As chair, he helped to create an international festival to showcase trends in design and innovation for media production and intensive 48-hour media production workshops for students.

Dicker has served as an executive board member of the Georgia Production Partnership and is the former chair of its government relations group. Through the organization, he has been an industry liaison for the state legislature and governor’s office. In addition, he was chair of the steering committee for the 2018 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, which is the largest film festival in Georgia. He is a member of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

Dicker’s appointment as executive director of the CMII is playing a key role in Georgia State’s efforts to fulfill its strategic plan, aimed at elevating the university’s reputation for excellence and innovation in research, scholarship and creative endeavors. The CMII aligns with a strategic goal to highlight the arts and media, and to use the university’s strengths to create opportunities for exploration of the intersections among creativity, technology and entrepreneurship as metro Atlanta’s media industries in film, television, gaming and more form a vital part of the regional economy.

Lisa Ferrell is CMII Project Manager. In that role, she serves as a principle liaison between the Creative Media Industries Institute and the wider media industries, and coordinates projects that bring media production companies to the Institute, working with GSU students and taking advantage of the new performance capture systems available in the CMII core studio.

Ferrell brings many years of industry experience to her work at GSU. She has worked in series and telefilm development for such companies as CBS, Lifetime Television/Hearst Entertainment, NBC and TBS. While at motion capture studio Giant Studios, she was involved in the post-production of films that include New Line Cinema’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and Sony Imageworks animated holiday feature “Polar Express” directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks. She was also instrumental in creating the pilot episode for the long-running “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” series for TBS and the series “America’s Greatest Pets” for UPN. Ferrell was also an account executive at ECG Productions.

With Darius Evans and Travis Morgan, Ferrell formed Chattahoochee Studios, an independent media production company. Longtime industry veterans, the three have been able to tap into their varied industry experience and complimentary skill-sets to turn media ideas into distinct and beautiful productions. Chattahoochee Studios produces top quality media – feature films, episodic television, broadcast commercial campaigns, digital, social media – on time and on budget, by using cutting edge production techniques and the most accomplished talent.

Ferrell is the current Past-President of Georgia Production Partnership, a leading advocate for Georgia’s film and television industries. She also serves on the Board of Directors for a number of industry associations that include ASIFA South (the animation association), Film Impact Georgia and re:imagine/ATL, the education and workforce solution to train and connect talented young people to the creative industry.

Ron Heidt (Editor) brings a depth of knowledge to any project that he touches. Called upon by agencies, filmmakers and television broadcast producers, Ron is among the best when it comes to Film, HD, 3D, and 4K. Major broadcast equipment manufacturers regularly call on Ron to help beta test their products. He has put in 34-plus years to becoming an award-winning editor, effects compositor and producer. His editorial projects range from commercial, promotional work, episodic, entertainment television and independent feature films. His credits include Echo Pictures' Great Museums, the award-winning documentary "The Singing Revolution" and many National/Regional commercials. Ron also plans and executes all of Crawford Media's dailies workflows including "The Walking Dead", "Vampire Diaries", "The Odd Life of Timothy Green", and the recent feature films "Gifted" and "Hidden Figures".

Chris Lane (Sound Designer) is a Music Producer, Songwriter, DJ, Sound Designer and Audio Engineer for various productions across the nation. Some of his design work and original compositions include Ghost at Alliance Theatre, Four Women and Skeleton Crew at True Color's Theatre Company, Pipeline and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime at Horizon Theatre, An Octoroon and The Brother's Size at Actor's Express, The 39 Steps and A Christmas Carol at Theatre Buford, Hands of Color at Synchronicity Theatre (GA), Skeleton Crew at Westport Country Playhouse (CT), Too Heavy for Your Pocket at George Street Playhouse (NJ), Four Little Girls and Ruby at Alabama Shakespeare Festival (AL), The Royale and The Children at The Kitchen Theatre Company (NY), Detroit 67’ at Virginia Stage Company (VA), and Incendiary at The Kennedy Center (DC) to name a few. He is also a proud Teaching Artist with Alliance Theatre, Co-Founder at Run Arts LLC, and professional graphic designer with a B.S. in Marketing from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. He is a co-founder and current president at Multiband Studios. Check out the amazing production team at www.multibandstudios.com 

Matthew Libby (Playwright) is a writer and actor based in Brooklyn, by way of Los Angeles. DATA, winner of the Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, is his professional playwriting debut. A Princess Grace Award finalist, two-time O’Neill Playwrights Conference semifinalist, and Blue Ink Playwriting Award featured finalist, Matt's work has been developed and performed by theatres all over the country, including The Kennedy Center, National New Play Network, Theater Masters, The Barrow Group, The Road Theater Company, WNYU’s Theatre-in-the-Sound, and others. With Stanford Repertory Theater, he helped devise and acted in THE MANY FACES OF FARCE, which was nominated for a 2018 Bay Area Critics Award for Best Production. As a screenwriter, his work has been recognized by The Black List and Script Pipeline, and he is currently developing a historical miniseries with eOne/Brillstein. Matt studied cognitive science and creative writing at Stanford University before receiving his MFA in dramatic writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he was awarded the Chair’s Award for Distinguished Achievement. 

Suzanne Cooper Morris (Props Designer) Props Department Manager for the Alliance Theatre and has designed many productions in beloved Metro Atlanta Theatre Companies including: Actor’s Express, Aurora Theatre, Horizon Theatre Company, Atlanta Lyric Theatre, and with Kennesaw State University’s Theatre and Performance Studies Program of Productions. Television: HGTV’s Elbow Room (Drapery and Upholstery Specialist). She is a graduate of The University of South Alabama (BFA). 

Leslie Taylor (Costume Designer) has designed sets and costumes for over 170 productions. Most recently she designed sets and costumes for Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s premier of BUZZ. Last year, she designed the scenery for Actor’s Express production of An Octoroon and costumes for Theater Emory’s production of The Moors. She has designed multiple times for Actor’s Express, Alliance Theatre, Georgia Shakespeare Festival, the Center for Puppetry Arts, Georgia Ensemble Theatre, and Theatrical Outfit. Her work has been seen at Opera Theater St. Louis; GEVA Theater in Rochester, NY; Merrimack Theater, MA; Portland Stage Company, ME; Indiana Repertory Theater; and Off-Broadway. A full professor and resident set and costume designer at Emory University, Leslie also serves as the executive director for the Emory College Center for Creativity & Arts.

Steven Thackston’s latest book, “Flowers in a Torn Tree,” published by Damiani, 2021 is a nonlinear photo-story of wildlife conservancy rangers and their rough and tumble lives in Northern Keyna: https://www.artbook.com/9788862087407.html

A graduate of the University of South Carolina’s photojournalism program, his work has been published by Smithsonian, The New York Times, Time magazine, CNN, The University of Georgia, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, Georgia State University, Oxfam America, The Southern Poverty Law Center, The Washington Post and Wired.

The bedrock of Steven’s photographic work is observing and documenting human behavior, culture and in some cases how humans affect animal cultures and the environment.

Jayson T. Waddell (Assistant Director) is proud to return to the Alliance Theatre for his eleventh season. At the Alliance, he’s worked on such productions as Becoming Nancy, Courtenay's Cabaret, Approval Junkie, Ever After, Nick's Flamingo Grill, Candide, Crossing Delancey, Troubadour, Moby Dick, Born for This, Tuck Everlasting, The Geller Girls, A Christmas Carol, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, Broke, Sex and the Second City, Next to Normal, Holidays With the Chalks, and Bike America. At Atlanta Lyric Theatre: Oliver, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Full Monty, and Young Frankeinstein. At the Illinois Shakespeare Festival: Shakespeare in Love, I <3 Juliet, Hamlet, Q Gents, Antony & Cleopatra, Macbeth, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and A Winter’s Tale. Jayson graduated from the Gainesville Theatre Alliance and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. 

Amanda Watkins (Line Producer) serves as an associate producer at the Alliance Theatre. Prior to this position, she was the general manager of Broadway Dreams, a nonprofit devoted to the mentoring and training of young adults in the theatre arts. Amanda served as EVP of Production and Development at The Araca Group in NYC where she shepherded the development of dozens of new plays and musicals. She was the executive producer on Broadway’s Tony Award-nominated Disgraced, the winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama by Ayad Akhtar as well as the 2010 Tony Award-nominated revival of Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Tenor, directed by Stanley Tucci. Amanda was an actor on Broadway and throughout the regions for 15 years. She is a member of The Broadway League and in 2004, she was recognized by the State of Georgia House of Representatives with a certificate of excellence in theatre. She holds a B.F.A. from FSU and an M.A. from NYU.