A LETTER FROM OUR ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

IAMA’s 14th season is dedicated to further developing what it means to be theatre-makers now and for the future. We believe that it is our responsibility to find the balance between storytelling that honors the moment and ensuring space for an equitable future. We continue to move through a global pandemic, fighting for social/racial justice and finding our way through political chaos, all the while allowing further exploration of the past, present and future. This is where our storytelling will continue. As sole Artistic Director of IAMA, for the first time, it is my great honor to bring us all back together, safely, in person, and continue to push the boundaries of what we are capable of, while continuing to explore the new digital theater medium.  We will also focus on developing new voices and a new educational platform that will not only help train future theatre makers, but future theatre leaders for this country.  IAMA is dedicated to matching our external output of content with our internal input of education, training, and firm dedication to the dismantling of white supremacy and oppressive barriers that have long been a part of the American Theatre. Please join us... our work has just begun.

With much respect,
Stefanie Black
IAMA Artistic Director

IAMA Theatre Company Presents

* Indicates member of IAMA Theatre Company

CAST & CREATIVE

Tom DeTrinis* (Writer/Performer, I Hate New York)

Originally from Long Island, Tom came to Los Angeles by way of Buffalo, and is no stranger to the stage - on and off. From producing, directing and/or performing to working in television, film and on the web, he has enjoyed being stupid and making others laugh at his own expense. Favorite credits include, THEATRE: Found (IAMA Theatre Company), Making Friends (IAMA Theatre Company Digital Stage), Die, Mommie, Die! (CTG/Celebration), The SantaLand Diaries (Virginia Stage Company 2018, 2019), 30 Minute Musicals (All 16+ of them); TV: Rutherford Falls, 90210, Switched at Birth, Greek, Community; FILM: Squirrel (New Hampshire Film Festival Best Narrative Feature), Pretty Problems (SXSW - Audience Award), 12 Hour Shift, Wedding Dance, Adjust-a-Dream; WEB: Finding the Asshole Series (co-creator/producer/actor - Official Selection of Slamdance 2019), Edgar Allen Poe's Murder Mystery Party, Fig and Ford, Headless. Detrinis.com

Melissa Stephens* (Writer/Performer, Hot Dogs & Tears)

Melissa Stephens is a comedian, writer, director and was commissioned by eOne and Mark Gordon productions to write a pilot this year. She was also a writer on Brett Goldstein’s & Will Bridges “Soulmates” on AMC. Melissa will be performing her one-hour special at the 75th Anniversary of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022. Her original series “Finding the Asshole” premiered at Slamdance and her directorial debut “Peen” was a Vimeo staff pick. She is a founding member of IAMA Theatre Company, Groundlings Sunday Company Alumni, UCB and regularly performs stand up in Los Angeles.  She’s currently in development on multiple film and TV projects. www.melmstephens.com

Drew Droege (Director, I Hate New York)

Drew Droege is best known for his online Chloe Sevigny videos, plus his shorts with Mitch Silpa, including “Two Old Queens Who’ve Only A Minute to Catch Up”. He’s written and performed two solo shows Off-Broadway, “Bright Colors And Bold Patterns” (for which he received Best Performance at Outfest 2018) and “Happy Birthday Doug”, both of which are currently streaming on BroadwayHD. His most recent credits include “Search Party”, “The Great North”, “Q-Force”, “Bob’s Burgers”, “Drunk History”, and upcoming films “Me Time”, “El Tonto”, and “The Extinction of Fireflies”. He’s an alum/regular performer at The Groundlings, Celebration Theatre, and Casita del Campo, where he plays Rose in the LA parody, “The Golden Girlz”.

Deanna Cheng (Director, Hot Dogs & Tears)

Deanna Cheng is an actress, writer and director. She co-created Comedy Central’s digital series UNSEND with Matt McConkey and Paul Scheer. UNSEND showcases comedians’ most humiliating internet mistakes starring hosts Joel Kim Booster and Patti Harrison. 

She can be seen in all three seasons of BLACK MONDAY (Showtime). Deanna played Ms.Fleming in the reboot of HEATHERS (Paramount Network) and guest starred on: GLOW (Netflix), BAJILLION DOLLAR PROPERTIES (Seeso) and the upcoming interactive series SCROLL THE WHEEL of TIME (EKO).

She is really looking forward to taking Hot Dogs & Tears to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival!

Marnie Price (Producer)

Marnie is an LA based actor, singer, writer, and producer. She holds a BFA in musical theatre from Belmont University in Nashville and has trained at other distinguished schools including New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, Stella Adler in NYC and Lee Strasburg institute in LA. A multi-faceted creative, she has choreographed award winning music videos and toured the world with renowned musicians. Marnie and her partner Kellan Meador released an original children’s album, The Magenta Rainbow presents The Tale of Purple Wilson which can be found anywhere you get your music. Currently Marnie can be seen throughout Los Angeles performing her one of a kind campy country variety show at various venues, as well as on stage and behind the scenes producing “For Good”; a quarterly evening of show tunes to benefit local charities.

Laila Ayad* (Producer)

Laila Ayad received her BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She is an actor, singer, writer, and Founding Member of Ovation award-winning IAMA Theatre Company in Los Angeles.

She developed DreamWorks’ The Prince of Egypt in the leading role of Tzipporah, and developed both Christopher Gabriel Núñez's Locusts and Stephen Belber’s Joan at the Ojai Playwrights Conference. Other world premieres include Leslye Headland’s Cult of Love, Bachelorette and Reverb, D.G. Watson’s Unbound, and Christian Durso’s Shiner, which she debuted Off-Broadway. 

Laila was most recently seen as Farida Azizi in the national tour of L.A. Theatre Works’ Seven. Other theater credits include the Los Angeles premiere of John Patrick Shanley’s French Waitress (Triptych Theatre Company), Gruesome Playground Injuries (Dairy Arts Center), The Last Days of Mary Stuart (Son of Semele Ensemble), Why We Have a Body (The Producers' Club) and The Mystery of King Tut (National Tour). Film and TV credits include four seasons as Charlotte Reid on ABC’s Scandal, and guest stars on Grey’s Anatomy, Reception, and Exodus Fall. 

Laila has taught master classes in theater performance at Middlebury College, University of Richmond, and Miami University. She is a programmer for Horrible Imaginings Film Festival, Southern California’s premiere festival showcasing the newest voices in genre cinema, and is a longtime volunteer writing mentor with Young Storytellers, a non-profit program that engages creativity and promotes literacy through the art of storytelling in the Los Angeles public school system.

Josh Epstein* (Lighting Designer)

Josh Epstein is a lighting designer for theater, opera and dance as well as environmental and event spaces. He has designed at the Guthrie Theater, Mark Taper Forum, Goodman Theater, Geffen Playhouse. Kirk Douglas Theater, Pasadena Playhouse, Philadelphia Theater Company, Baltimore Center Stage, Trinity Rep, Geva Theatre Center, Playmakers Rep, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theater, Lyric Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Actor's Theater of Louisville, Juilliard School of Drama and The Alliance Theater, to name a few. Opera and dance work include productions at Minnesota Opera, Ft. Worth Opera, Opera Saratoga, The Joyce Theater, Opera Santa Barbara, Wolf Trap, Danspace at St. Marks, The Duke Theater, Berkshire Opera festival and the Manhattan School of Music. In addition to his design work, Josh is also the creator of an innovative, digital collaboration application for live events called Cuelist. Josh received his BA from the University of Chicago and his MFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He has served as a visiting faculty member at Sarah Lawrence College and currently teaches at UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television. Josh is an LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award Winner and a recipient of the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Designers. In addition to being an IAMA Theatre Company Ensemble Member, he also currently serves on the O'Neill Playwrights Conference Artistic Council. Josh lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three daughters. www.joshepsteindesign.com

Justin Huen (Board Operator)

Justin Huen is an award-nominated actor/director/designer who ‎has worked in intimate and regional theaters across the country. He is thrilled that IAMA has hired him to once again make theatre!

Kathryn Burns (Choreographer, I Hate New York) 

Kat is a Two-time Emmy-winning choreographer, actress, dancer, director, and Co-Governor of the Television Academy. She got her start studying improv at Upright Citizen’s Brigade and gravitates towards story driven movement with joy and comedy. She has choreographed nearly 200 episodes of TV including Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2016 & 2019 Emmy winner for Outstanding Choreography), The Simpsons, Reno 911, The Other Two, Key & Peele, The Morning Show, Why Women Kill, Dancing With The Stars, Better Things, The Dropout, The Shrink Next Door, The Afterparty, Drunk History, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, and many more.

She choreographed THAT Debutant scene in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, UCB’s first feature film FREAKDANCE, Sundance darlings OTHER PEOPLE, THUNDER ROAD and just wrapped principle production on RENFIELD which will be out April 2023.

She has worked with numerous artists including, Pharrell Williams on the “HAPPY “ music video (GRAMMY for Best Music Video Of The Year),  Logic, Carly Rae Jepsen, Taboo (Black Eyed Peas), Paulo Nutini, Weird Al Yankovic, Lil’ Dicky, Bonnie McKee, Dead Man’s Bones (Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields) and once cried on a couch while Bruno Mars fed her ice cream for Funny Or Die.

Her Rockette dreams came true when she directed and performed at Radio City Musical Hall with the cast of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

Before the shutdown she was a performer at the prestigious Upright Citizens Brigade for more than a decade, where she Co-created and produced their longest running musical mainstay “Quick & Funny Musicals”.  The Q&F team was an official selection of the New York Musical Theater Festival, The San Francisco SketchFest, Edinburgh Fringe Fest, and has written over 50 original short musicals.  Her short film “Bulimia: The Musical” was an official selection of 14 film festivals and won 2.  Some of Kathryn’s acting credits include Drunk History, Adam Ruins Everything, Key & Peele, Walk The Prank, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Another Period.

IAMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Katie Lowes, Chair 
Tyler Ennis, President
Melissa Romain, Vice President
David Yanni, Secretary 
Victoria Lerner, Treasurer 

Jana Bezdek 
Gracye Cheng
Tyler Ennis 
Mike Jackson 
Victoria Lerner 
Katie Lowes 
Melissa Romain
Graham Sibley 
David Yanni

IAMA STAFF

Artistic Director: Stefanie Black 
Managing Director: Lara Myrene 
Producing Director: Cymbre Walk Sklar 
Interim Producing Director: Margaux Susi 
Associate Artistic Director: Rodney To
Director of the Ensemble: Tom DeTrinis
Basecamp Director: Christian Durso
Social Media Manager and Marketing Associate: Terry Li
Grant Writer: Laila Ayad
Literary Manager: Celia Mandela Rivera
Under 30 Lab Program Director: Nicholas Pilapil

IAMA ENSEMBLE

Anisha Adusumilli, Alexander Alcheh, Tom Amandes, Laila Ayad, Deanna Barillari, Stefanie Black, Michelle Bossy, R. S. Buck, Jon Caren, Sheila Carrasco, Dean Cechvala, Parvesh Cheena, Desi Dennis-Dylan, Tom DeTrinis, Christian Durso, James Eckhouse, Josh Epstein, Ryan Garcia, Chris Gardner, Jeff Gardner, Eli Gonda, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Heine, Laura Holloway, Anna Rose Hopkins, Tina Huang, Bailey Humiston, Alexis Jacknow, Andria Kozica, Colleen Labella, Anna LaMadrid, John Lavelle, Sharon Lawrence, Katie Lowes, Laura Mann, Burl Moseley, Karla Mosley, Louise Munson, Lara Myrene, Melissa Jane Osborne, Brian Otano, Tim Peper, Geoff Rivas, Tim Rock, Devere Rogers, Kacie Rogers, Amy Rosoff, Emily Rowan, Adriana Santos, Mark Saul, Courtney Sauls, Micah Schraft, Brandon Scott, Sonal Shah, Adam Shapiro, Graham Sibley, Cymbre Walk Sklar, Lexi Sloan, Melissa Stephens, Margaux Susi, Rodney To, Sarah Utterback, Keliher Walsh, Jamie Wollrab, Christine Woods

IAMA THEATRE COMPANY is a Los Angeles-based ensemble of artists committed to cultivating new voices and creating new works that push boundaries and take risks, while fostering an inclusive community that inspires theatre-makers of future generations. IAMA is invested in challenging our audiences with an authentic experience that reflects our complex modern world.

Founded in 2007, IAMA is a Los Angeles-based ensemble of artists committed to the creation and cultivation of new voices and artists that challenge boundaries and take risks, while fostering an inclusive community that inspires theater-makers of future generations. Los Angeles is one of the most diverse metropolitan areas in the world and IAMA's work reflects the new voices and changing attitudes that continue to shape this city, state, country and world. Designated by Playbill as “one of 20 regional houses every theater lover must know,” the award-winning company has seen many plays generated at IAMA travel to off-Broadway, including to Second Stage and Playwrights Horizons, then go on to be performed regionally and internationally. IAMA members have been featured in numerous critically acclaimed TV shows and films as well as in a vast array of theater and live performances on and off-Broadway and across the country. IAMA has been dedicated to developing new plays and musicals by emerging and established playwrights, culminating in over 25 world, West Coast and Los Angeles premieres.

HISTORICAL CULTURE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

IAMA Theatre Company is based in Los Angeles on the sacred site of the Tongva/Gabrielino Nations who have lived and continue to live here. We recognize the Tongva/Gabrielino Nations and their spiritual connection as the first stewards and the traditional caretakers of this land. We honor them as the first storytellers of our Los Angeles community and we thank them for their strength, perseverance and resistance. We respect and value the many ways their cultural heritage and beliefs continue to have significance to the living people and remind us about the sacred and spiritual relationship that has always existed here.

a special thank you to our patrons of the arts

Shonda Rhimes & the Rhimes Family Foundation

and

Jana Bezdek

IAMA THANKS OUR 2021-2022 SPONSORS

David Lee Foundation

Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Gilbert Grant

Caplin Foundation

The Shari and Les Biller Family Foundation

THANK YOU TO OUR IAMA DONORs

Adam Haracz

Adam Howard

Claire Brown

Cymbre Walk Sklar

Ginger Immerman

Irene White

Ilene Garfield

Jonathan Deering

Kristin Bongiovanni

Linda Mendelson

Lyn Leone

Martin Brekeller

Matthew Lessall

Melissa Gragert

Melissa Oren