About Face Theatre
| MEGAN CARNEY+ | KATE WARNER+ |
| Artistic Director | Interim Managing Director |
presents
Written by
Kirsten Baity & Teddy Thomas
Devised by
Ua Smith, Sharon Pasia, Brooks Lansana, Dionne Addai & Alyssa Vera Ramos
| Performer | Ua Smith |
| Performer | Sharon Pasia |
| Swing | Haven A.J. Crawley |
| Director | Alyssa Vera Ramos |
| Costume Designer | Uriel Gomez |
| Sound Designer | Chijioke Williams |
| Lighting Designer | Chase Barron |
| Production Manager | Audrey Kleine |
| Stage Manager | Theo Wampuszyc |
Sharon is a self-made actor, writer, and producer and is suuuper excited to be working with AFT on this really cool show! They are a proud alumni of the Green Room Collective at About Face Theatre where they learned to cultivate community by producing and hosting events like G.L.O.W: a queer and open mic and Cafe Royalty at The Understudy.
Ua is an actor, artist, dancer and overall creative. She has worked with About Face Theatre before on a few readings. The magic of theatre, expression, and how it could be used to better our experiences has always interested her. So she was super excited when asked to join the company earlier this year for Advocacy Day in Springfield. There the company conducted interviews on individuals sex ed experiences. The information gathered informed the creation of We Could Be. Ua is excited for the future of this show and to work with the company again.
Alyssa is a theatre director, devising artist, cultural strategist, and blossoming intimacy director dedicated to dreaming—and living into—a liberated world. Her always-collaborative artistic work explores themes of bodily autonomy and delight, racial justice and decolonization, collective learning, and her Boricua heritage. For many years, she served as the Artistic Director of For Youth Inquiry Performance Company at the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH), where she also co-facilitated the youth organizing cohort and helped win major legislation for abortion access. She co-authored The Sex Ed Playbook: Participatory Theatre for Health Education and is a contributor to the upcoming volumes Applied Theatre and Gender Justice and Into Abolitionist Theatre: A Guidebook for Liberatory Theatre-making.
Kirsten is a multifaceted theatre person focused on intimacy design, theatre education, and playwriting. They have consulted on productions and developed consent-based workshops with The Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, For Youth Inquiry, Life Span, and Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline. Kirsten is a proud member of the Intimacy Coordinators of Color cohort and an alumn of About Face Theatre’s Green Room Collective.
Teddy Thomas is a GNC creative, filmmaker, playwright, and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. Graduate from Clark Atlanta University, Teddys passionate to create and document the stories, legacies, triumphs, and adversities of our community. Teddy continues to break through societal barriers creating moments in systematic spaces and making change for trans/gnc folk.
Dionne is a performer, writer, director, and teaching artist. They are a passionate advocate for reproductive rights, racial justice, and free comprehensive sex education. Prior to joinging About Face Theatre as Education Manager, she worked with AFT as an actor, director, and writer (KICKBACK, Power in Pride, Re/Generation Studio).
About Face Theatre advances LGBTQ+ equity through community building, education, and performance.
About Face Theatre envisions an affirming and equitable world in which all LGBTQ+ individuals are thriving and free from prejudice and discrimination.
About Face Theatre is dedicated to being an intentionally and increasingly anti-racist organization. Due to the intersectionality of our identities, we understand our work to advance LGBTQ+ equity as directly connected to movements for racial justice.
For a complete list of our donors and supporters, please visit our Support Us page.
Today, it’s more important than ever to tell bold, powerful LGBTQ+ stories on stage, in our communities, and now online. About Face Theatre’s work is a powerful catalyst for moving forward local and national conversations on sexual and gender identity. During AFT’s 2019-2020 season, we persisted through amazing challenges to continue to connect with our community and continue telling LGBTQ stories.
With your help, we will continue to adapt and expand our impact into Chicago communities and beyond.
