James Ijames (Playwright) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, director, and educator. James’ plays have been produced by Flashpoint Theater Company, Orbiter 3, Theatre Horizon, Wilma Theatre, Theatre Exile, Azuka Theatre (Philadelphia, PA), The National Black Theatre, JACK, The Public Theater (NYC), Hudson Valley Shakespeare Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Definition Theatre, Timeline Theater (Chicago, IL) and Shotgun Players (Berkeley, CA) and have received development with PlayPenn New Play Conference, The Lark, Playwright's Horizon, Clubbed Thumb, Villanova Theatre, Wilma Theater, Azuka Theatre and Victory Gardens. James is the recipient of the 2011 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Artist and two Barrymore Awards, for Outstanding Direction of a Play for The Brothers Size with Simpatico Theatre and Gem of the Ocean with Arden Theatre Company. James is a 2015 Pew Fellow for Playwriting, the 2015 winner of the Terrence McNally New Play Award (for WHITE), the 2015 Kesselring Honorable Mention Prize winner (for ...Miz Martha), a 2017 recipient of the Whiting Award, and a recipient of the 2019 Kesselring Prize (for Kill Move Paradise), a 2020 Steinberg Prize, and the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. James was a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia’s first playwright producing collective. He received a BA in Drama from Morehouse College in Atlanta and an MFA in acting from Temple University in Philadelphia. James is an associate professor of theatre at Villanova University. @FatHamBway 

Dawn M. Simmons (Director) // The Huntington: K-I-S-S-I-N-G (Co-Produced with Front Porch Arts Collective). Front Porch Arts Collective: Queens Girl in the World, The Three Musketeers. Regional: JAG Productions, Play On Shakespeare, The Hangar Theatre, WAM Theater, Wheelock Family Theater, Lyric Stage Company, Central Square Theater, New Rep, Gloucester Stage, Greater Boston Stage Company, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, SpeakEasy Stage, Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Bad Habit Productions, New Exhibition Room, Boston Public Works, Fresh Ink Theatre, and Our Place Theatre Project. Dawn is a Co-Producing Artistic Director of Front Porch Arts Collective. She serves on the Boards of Arts Connect International and ArtsBoston, and is Co-Founder of New Exhibition Room.

Stevie Walker-Webb (Original Direction) is a Tony Award-nominated, Obie Award-winning director, playwright, and cultural worker who believes in the transformational power of art. His work has been produced on and Off Broadway, including Ain’t No Mo’ (The Public Theater/Broadway), One in Two (The New Group), Black Odyssey (Classic Stage), Fairview (Woolly Mammoth), and Our Town (Baltimore Center Stage). Upcoming productions include Gun & Powder (Paper Mill Playhouse). He is founder of Hundreds of Thousands, an arts and advocacy organization that makes visual the suffering and inhumane treatment of incarcerated mentally ill people. He has received the Princess Grace Award for Theater and The Lily Award from the Dramatists Guild of America, and is a 2050 Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop, a visiting artist and lecturer at Harvard University, and the founding artistic director of the Jubilee Theatre in Waco, Texas. Stevie has created art and theatre in Madagascar, South Africa, Mexico, and across America. steviewalkerwebb.com

James T. Alfred (Rev/Pap) // Broadway: Jitney (touring). Off Broadway: Black Odyssey. Regional: Head of Passes, Hushaby (Steppenwolf); Fences, A Brown Tale, Redshirts, Two Trains Running (Penumbra); South Side of Heaven (Second City); A Raisin in the Sun (Guthrie); Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Radio Golf (Court Theater); RedShirts (Round House); Brothers of the Dust (Congo Square); Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Arizona Theater); To Kill a Mockingbird, Jitney (KC Rep); Jitney (Arena Stage); Jitney (Mark Taper Forum); What I learned in Paris (South Coast Rep); End Game (Baltimore Center Stage). TV: “Empire,” “FBI,” “The Black List,” “Blind Spot,” “Chicago P.D,” “Boss,” “Power Book II: Ghost,” “Law & Order: OC.” Film: A Brother's Whisper, ONE WEEK, No Coincidence, Vile, The Line. Education: Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Harvard; MFA at Moscow Art Theater School (M.X.A.T), Russia; Piney Woods School, pineywoods.org. @jamestalfred   

Thomika Bridwell (Rabby) // The Huntington: Joy and Pandemic. Front Porch Arts Collective and The Huntington: K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Front Porch Arts Collective: Chicken and Biscuits. Regional: A Christmas Carol (Hanover Theater); BLKS (SpeakEasy Stage); A Midsummers Night Dream (Boston Theater Company); Miss You Like Hell (Company One/ART); Coriolanus, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf (Praxis Stage). Awards: Elliot Norton Award nominee. Education: Member of the 2023 Class of The British American Dramatic Academy MIO Program. @QueenRegnant77  ThomikaBridwell 

David J. Castillo (Larry) // Regional: Edward II (Actors’ Shakespeare Project), Baltimore (New Rep), The T Party (Company One), La Llorona (Fresh Ink), Blood Wedding (Apollinaire Theatre Company). Film/TV: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Rookie (ABC), True Story with Ed & Randall (Peacock), Mr. Mayor (NBC), The Shrink Next Door (Apple TV+). Education: BFA in Acting (Boston University). He is a co-producer of Boston Theater Company’s “The Road of Rainbows” — an annual Pride 5k and performance festival. Representation: Entertainment Lab/MTA. A Boston native, currently based out of LA. @DavJCastillo 

Marshall W. Mabry IV (Juicy) [they/them] is an Atlanta native and alumni of the Alliance’s teen ensemble and Palefsky Collision Project programs and is thrilled to be making their Equity debut where it all began! Regional: A Midsummer Night's Dream in Harlem (Pittsburgh Public); The Tempest, The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival); Romeo and Juliet (Samuel Lancaster Productions), Once on this Island (Speakeasy Stage), The Music of Alan Menken (Carnegie Hall). Marshall made history as the youngest speaker in TEDxBroadway history with their talk, “The Intersectionality of Black Boys and Shakespeare.” @marshallwmabryiv 

Ebony Marshall-Oliver (Tedra) // Broadway: Ain't No Mo', Chicken & Biscuits. Off Broadway: Merry Wives, Ain't No Mo (Public Theater), 7 Minutes (Waterwell), Bodies They Ritual (Clubbed Thumb). Regional: Dreamgirls (Dallas Theater Center), Memphis (Theatre3Dallas), Sister Act (Ever Blue Arts), Color Purple (Jubilee Theatre). Film/TV: “Evil,” “The Ms. Pat Show,” Regarding Veronica. Education: AMDA-NY Alum. @ebonym_o  

Regional: Fairview (SpeakEasy Stage); The Bomb-Itty of Errors (Actors’ Shakespeare Project); Antony and Cleopatra (New York Classical Theatre); LORENA: A Tabloid Epic (Boston Playwrights Theatre). University: The Legend of Georgia McBride, In The Red and Brown Water, Othello, Are You Ready To Smash White Things (Boston University). Education: BA in Acting (Boston University). Awards: Thomas Derrah Award winner; Elliot Norton Award nominee. victoriaomoregie.com @victoriaosaku 

Lau'rie Roach (Tio) // Regional: Toni Stone (Alliance Theatre & Milwaukee Rep); The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, SLUR (Alliance Theatre); Br’er Cotton (Vanguard Repertory), Exit Strategy (True Colors Theatre); RED (Arts Center of Coastal Carolina); The Legend of Buster Neal (NC Black Repertory). Film / TV: This World Alone (Hulu, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, etc), Witnessed (Tubi), “Po’ Psi Broke” (YouTube), Rules to Rule (YouTube). Awards: Broadway World Best Supporting Performer in a Play Award; Salento International Film Festival Best Actor Award. laurieroach.com 

Atlanta based actor, singer, dancer, and playwright, Kee Horton is thrilled to be a part of this production of Fat Ham. Marking his first show at the Alliance, Kee is honored for the opportunity to work at the renowned theater. With an artistic mission to represent the underrepresented and amplify muted voices, Kee is overjoyed to join a show and theater that holds the same values. 

Brandin Jay (Juicy) is excited to be back at Alliance! Brandin studied at Berklee College of Music and is an accomplished singer-songwriter who was featured on the NBC songwriting reality series Songland. He has made a name for himself in theatre, TV, film, and music. Currently, he’s the creative director for his family’s performing arts school and entertainment company, AGI Entertainment. Brandin released his current single, “This Year,” at the top of 2024 and has reached over 1 million streams to date. Film credits: Disney Channel Original Let It Shine, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, Dirty Laundry. TV credits: House Of Payne, Meet the Browns, Reed Between The Lines, and The QUAD on BET, BRING IT on Lifetime. Regional theatre credits include: Chasin’ Dem Blues (Milwaukee Rep), The Wiz (Kenny Leon Dir), Dreamgirls (Dominion Entertainment), The Color Purple (Actors Express), Five Guys Named Moe (Theatrical Outfit), Black Nativity (Dominion Entertainment), The Boy Who Kissed the Sky (Alliance Theatre), Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters (Synchronicity Theatre), Pelagius (Legacy). Follow Brandin @brandin.jay 

Danielle Maner (u/s Tedra) is a rising star in the Atlanta market and beyond. An Arizona State University theater graduate, she is best known for her viral sensation “CoronaMan” and popular web series Cream x Coffee. This is Danielle’s first production at the Alliance Theater; her most recent film production, Here Comes the Sun, is currently streaming on Apple TV. Acting is her passion and what brings her the most joy. “I wish to be one of the greats who participated in this beautiful art form until their dying breath.” Danielle would like to thank the Alliance for believing in her abilities and trusting her with this wonderful 3-dimensional character. 

This is Stephen’s first role with the Alliance and he is excited to be making his Atlanta theatre debut. Originally hailing from Augusta, Georgia Stephen has been acting all of his life, but recently took time off to receive his BFA in Geospatial Sciences from Kennesaw State University. Now in his final semesters, Stephen has come back home to his true passion- the stage. In his free time, along with dancing Stephen enjoys writing screenplays and short films. Stephen would like to thank the Alliance for this opportunity and for welcoming him in with open arms. He would also like to thank his family and friends for their continued love and support in pursuit of his dreams! 

Raven Jalise is a bona fide triple threat, but not in the ways you would typically think. This actress, playwright, and director found herself studying at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and is now bringing her wonderful talents back to her home state of Georgia. As she received her bachelors of fine arts, during the pandemic, it prompted the creative to sharpen her skills in podcasting and filmmaking. Now wherever there is art, you will find this beautiful thespian. Though you may find her stretching her wings throughout the art scene of Atlanta she learned to be a theater kid at Tri Cities High School and that will never leave. It is a pleasure to watch her on and off stage. As this young woman has lived many lives making her storytelling alive and in full picture. Her goal is to eliminate the privilege that comes with being able to be an artist and she is doing that and more here at the Alliance. 

Tywayne Wheatt (u/s Rev/Pap) He is excited to join the cast of Fat Ham in his first project with the Alliance Theatre! Some of his credits include Paul in Six Degrees of Separation, Heraclius in Savage! , and Peter in Zoo Story. Also, his Film/TV roles include Mike from BMF, Al Jones from The Burial, and Principal Sherman from Stargirl. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Drama from UNLV. Tywayne  would like to thank his  friends and family for their support and love. You can find him  on Instagram: twheatt78. 

Septymber Whitfield (u/s Rabby), a jazz/soul vocalist, songwriter, playwright and actress is a force to be reckoned with on camera and on stage. An Atlanta native, trained at Georgia State University under prominent mentors like Dr. Shirlene Holmes and Tom Fish, she has also taken classes at Juilliard and is well versed in the art of storytelling and improvisation. She has been cast in many different stage productions and films, such as Julius Caesar as Marc Antony, Much Ado About Nothing as Don John, Trading Spaces, Sweet Auburn Blues, Black Widow, Funny People, Psycho Beach Party, and Lipstick Monologues. Her work can be found at www.Septymber.com.

Adi Cabral (Dialect Coach) // Front Porch Arts Collective: Queens Girl in the World (Hangar Theatre/Central Square Theater). Regional: keyp-ing (New Rep); A Raisin in the Sun, The Play That Goes Wrong, Emma The Musical (Utah Shakespeare Festival); Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles, A Christmas Carol (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis); A Christmas Carol: The Musical (Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities); The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano (New Hazlett Theatre); Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles (Southwest Shakespeare Company). Numerous audiobooks. Education: MFA in Theatre Performance (ASU). VASTA President-elect. Professor of Voice and Movement at the University of Nevada Reno. AdiCabral.com 

Amani Dorn (Dialect Coach) is a dialect coach/actor/singer/dancer/teacher from Austin, Texas, currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia. She got her start performing in musicals in Austin while an undergrad at the University of Texas and has since performed and coached with and for actors all over the world. She has 18 years of professional experience in performance, teaching, and coaching. Education: MFA in Acting (University of California, Irvine); while pursuing her MFA, she was introduced to Knight-Thompson Speechwork and Fitzmaurice Voicework, and has since completed certifications in both. Amanidorndialects.com 

Aubrey Dube (Sound Designer) // The Huntington: Clyde’s, The Bluest Eye, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Regional: Paradise Blue, The Thin Place (Gloucester Stage Company); Trayf, Good (New Rep); Queens, Torch Song (Moonbox Productions); Vinegar Tom, Monster, Serious Money, Pentecost (PTP/NYC), Winter People (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre); Fences (Umbrella Theatre); Downtown Crossing, Vietgone (Company One); A Taste of Honey (Boston Center for American Performance). University: Cymbeline, Pilgrims of the Night (Suffolk University); Orlando (Brandeis University); Antipodes, Love and Information, As You Like It, Sensitive Guys (Northeastern University); Big Love, The Imaginary Invalid, In the Next Room, Man of La Mancha (Middlebury College); Delirium, Daddy Issues, The Hothouse (Boston University). Education: MFA in Sound Design (Boston University). @footballpowerhour 

Jesse Hinson (Fight Director and Intimacy Consultant) // Regional: Macbeth (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company), Heroes of the Fourth Turning (SpeakEasy Stage), Incels and Other Myths (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre), The Merchant of Venice (ASP). Current Resident Acting Company member with Actors’ Shakespeare Project. Boston-based actor, educator, violence designer, and intimacy choreographer. Also, a Teaching Professor and the Undergraduate Coordinator for the Department of Theatre at Northeastern University. 

Celeste Jennings (Costume Designer) // Off Broadway: Malvolio (Classical Theatre of Harlem). Regional: Finding Freedom (Charleston Gailliard Center). Upcoming: Blues in The Night (Alabama Shakespeare Theatre). As a playwright, her play ‘Bov Water was successfully produced at Northern Stage this past winter. Additionally, she developed her play Contentious Woman, with Play Company in NYC. Education: MFA in costume design (NYU Tish). She’s currently a 2050 artistic fellow at New York Theatre Workshop. @celestejenn_ celestejenndesigns.com 

PJ Johnnie Jr (Choreographer) // Broadway: Ain't No Mo' (Associate Director). Regional: One in Two (Signature Theatre, Associate Director); Black Odyssey (Classic Stage Company Theatre, Director). University: Associate Choreographer and teacher at NYU Tisch and Harvard University. Former Associate Director at Baltimore Center Stage. Education: BA in Theatre Arts, Directing (Grambling State University); MFA in Acting (The New School for Drama). 

Earon Nealey (Hair and Wig Designer) // The Huntington: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Broadway: Macbeth, Chicken and Biscuits, Sweat. Other design: Dames at Sea, Kinky Boots (Bucks County Playhouse); Last Super (SOPAC); Twelfth Night (Marcus Garvey Park), On Killing (Soho Rep); Fat Ham, Cullad Wattah, Mojada (Public Theater); Little Girl Blue (Goodspeed, New World Stages); Meet Vera Stark, Matilda (Colorado University); On Sugarland (NYTW); Nina Simone: Four Women (Berkshire Theatre Group); Once on This Island (Pioneer Theatre Company); Little Women (Dallas Theater Center); Oklahoma!, Patsy Cline (Weston Playhouse); Memphis, Dream Girls (Cape Fear Regional Theater); Cadillac Crew, Twelfth Night (Yale Rep). 

Evan Northrup (Illusions Designer) // The Huntington: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, I Was Most Alive with You. Regional: Fast Company (Lyric Stage Company); Carnival (Gloucester Stage Company); The Tempest (Camden Shakespeare Festival); A Bright Room Called Day (Flat Earth Theater Company); Dracula (Salem Theater Company). Other: The Spirits Speak (The National Parks Service). Education: BA (Brown University), also has studied magic at institutions including the McBride Magic & Mystery School (Las Vegas, NV) and the Real Centro Universitario María Cristina (El Escorial, Spain). Member: The Society of American Magicians. EvanNorthrup.com 

Luciana Stecconi (Scenic Designer) // The Huntington: The Art of Burning, Witch. Regional: Faith Healer, Waiting for Godot (Barrington Stage); Antonio’s Song (Goodman Theatre); Anna in the Tropics (Bay Street Theatre); Murder on the Orient Express, Antonio’s Song (Milwaukee Rep); Macbeth (Merrimack Repertory Theatre); John Proctor is the Villain (Studio Theatre); Private (Mosaic Theatre Company); A Wind in the Door (Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences). She has designed for Woolly Mammoth, Round House Theatre, Signature Theatre, Theater J, Everyman Theatre, Olney Theatre, and the Contemporary American Theatre Festival, among others. She is an Associate Professor in Scenic Design at Emerson College. Education: MFA in design from Brandeis University. Member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829, IATSE. lucianastecconi.com

Xiangfu Xiao (Lighting Designer) // New York-based Lighting Designer. Born and raised in China, he has been working nationally and abroad in the US in the theatre and live events industry and continues to expand his Chinese and international career. Off Broadway: The Diamond (Pregones/PRTT), Measure For Measure (Mark O’Donnell Theater). China: Graduate this Weekend Musical (Da Yin Theatre), Huang Liang Yi Meng (National Grand Theatre). University: King Charles III, Marisol, ’Tis Pity She’s a Housewife (NYU Tisch); Curiouser, Butterfly Play, PBS vs. Senate (Columbia University). Education: MFA in Design (NYU Tisch School of the Arts). xiangfuxiao.com @xiangfuxiao_design 

Madeline Conrad (Stage Management PA) [she/her] is so excited to work with the Alliance again! Previous credits include The Incredible Book Eating Boy (Alliance Theatre); Guys and Dolls, Matilda the Musical (Atlanta Lyric); Sweat, RENT, She Kills Monsters, The SpongeBob Musical, and Everybody (Kennesaw State University). She is a senior Theatre and Performance studies student at Kennesaw State University. Madeline is delighted to be a part of the Fat Ham team and thanks her wonderful family and mentors for their love and support.   

Lucas Dixon (Production Assistant) // The Huntington: The Lehman Trilogy, Clyde’s, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Common Ground Revisited, The Bluest Eye, Hurricane Diane, Yerma. Regional: The Play That Goes Wrong, Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Lyric Stage Company); Heroes of the Fourth Turning, BLKS (SpeakEasy Stage); Hair, Oliver!, Traf, Nixon’s Nixon (New Rep); Spamilton (Troika Entertainment). Education: BA in Theatre Studies (Ithica College, 2018). 

Myah Harper (SM PA) [she/her] is beyond excited to be a part of the Stage Management team of Fat Ham! Her recent Stage Management/Stage Operations credits at the Alliance include Oodles of Doodles, Into the Burrow, Roob and Noob, and A Tale of Two Cities. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting for the Stage and Screen from the University of Mississippi. While in school, she also took specialized classes in Theatrical Design and Production, she was the Production Manager for a student-led dance company, and she worked as a theatrical electrician for three years. Myah would like to thank her family and friends for their never-ending support and love; she would not be where she is without them. Find her on Instagram: @myahharper

Ashley Pitchford (Stage Manager) // The Huntington: Joy and Pandemic; Joe Turner’s Come and Gone; Our Daughters, Like Pillars; Teenage Dick; Witch; We All Fall Down; Man in the Ring. Regional: Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest, Richard III (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); Seven Guitars (Actors’ Shakespeare Project); The Taming of the Shrew (Lanes Coven Theatre Company); Create. Inspire. Change Theatre Company; Happy Madison Productions. Education: BFA Stage Management. 

R. Lamar Williams (Production Stage Manager) is an Atlanta native who studied theatre at Florida A&M University’s Essential Theatre. His 23-year tenure at the Alliance has included stage managing The Boy Who Kissed the Sky, Hands Up; Hospice/ Pointing at the Moon, The Temple Bombing, Choir Boy, In Love and Warcraft, Bike America, The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls, 22 years of The Palefsky Collision Project and assistant stage managing a slew of great shows. Rodney is opening a new frontier in his career with new Dramaturgy and Directing opportunities.