DIRECTOR, WRITER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Shariffa Chelimo Ali is an international creative leader committed to working with an open heart at the intersection of the performing arts and humanitarianism. Originally from Kenya and raised in South Africa, Shariffa has been a New York resident since 2013, working primarily as a director, community organizer and administrator at The Public Theater and The New Group, among others. Her debut virtual reality short ATOMU was part of the official selection at the Sundance Festival 2020. She’s lectured and directed at NYU, Brooklyn College, Yale University and Princeton University, where her productions include Eclipsed, Detroit ’67, Intimate Apparel, We Are Proud to Present…, and an original new musical We Were Everywhere. Shariffa served as assistant director to her mentor Cynthia Nixon for Rasheeda Speaking, Steve (The New Group) and Motherstruck! (Culture Project).

Off-Broadway: Mies Julie (Classic Stage Company). Regional: School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (Pittsburgh Public Theatre), The Copper Children, (Oregon Shakespeare Festival) Mlima’s Tale (St Louis Rep). Film/VR: Ash Land, Atomu, Sink Sank Sunk, You Go Girl!, O-Dogg (upcoming)

Honors: New Frontier Fellow, Sundance Institute Lab and the Royal National Theater (UK); POV/PBS Spark Grant.

Education: BA with Honors, Theatre and Performance, University of Cape Town. South Africa

www.shariffa.com

@chocolate_tart

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, PRODUCER

Adrian A. Alea is a creative producer and director in commercial and non-profit industries of Theater, Live Events, Music Videos, and Film. He recently was the Associate Director of NBC's ANNIE LIVE! and currently serves as the Creative Associate of New York City Center’s ENCORES! where he creative produced the “Inside The Revival” digital series on THE LIFE (Billy Porter), THE TAP DANCE KID (Dulé Hill), and INTO THE WOODS (Laura Benanti). As a co-founder of ALIALEA PRODUCTIONS, Adrian produced short films "ASH LAND" and "YOU GO GIRL” with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (official selections at the Academy Award qualifying Pan African Film Festival, BRONZELENS Film Festival, Brooklyn Film Festival and Sundance). Previously he was a Management Associate for Jennifer Lopez and Benny Medina (ALL I HAVE Las Vegas Residency; “Ain’t Your Mama” music video) and now starting in 2023, he will also be the resident director for new Disney Theatricals musical production and international tour to be announced.

Film/VR: You Go Girl! (EP, Producer), Ash Land (Producer), O-Dogg (Producer), Music Videos: Jennifer Lopez's "Ain't Your Mama" (Creative Management Associate), Christian Nyampeta's "Time-Zones" (Dir.), La Obra's "American Girl" (EP, Dir.) TV: Annie Live! (Associate Dir; NBC) Theater: LATINXoXo (Dir; The Public Theater, Miami Light Project), The Palacios Sisters (Dir; Brava Theater Center, Hercules (Assoc. Dir; Disney Theatricals, Public Theater), Up, Up, and Away (Dir; Fordham University), Henry VIII (Dir; Play On, CSC), Fucking A (Dir; Yale University), The Spanking Machine (Dir; Brava Theater Center, Syracuse Stage).

Education: Columbia University (BA); Northwestern University (M.S.)

www.adrianalea.com

@adrian_a_alea

WRITER, PRODUCER

Kamilah L. Long is an innovative leader and dynamic theatrical professional. Her multifaceted theater career includes roles as an actor, director, producer, educator, fundraiser, activist, and speaker. She started her career in theatre as a storyteller, which led her to joining Actors Equity and becoming a professional actor before completing her undergraduate theatre degree from Alabama State University. Kamilah went on to receive her Master’s Degree in Fine Arts in performance along with a Certificate in African American Theatre from the University of Louisville. Kamilah is a world-class orator, having traveled as far as South Africa to speak and perform.

Her experiences ultimately led her to become the current Executive Director of Play On Shakespeare. Before that she worked for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where she was awarded a producing fellowship and rose from an entry-level artistic assistant to Senior Director of Development. Kamilah is also a proud member of the Board of Directors for Southern Oregon Public Television (SOPTV).

Recently she was the founder and CEO of The Black Whole, a multimedia company focused on centering the Black global community through art and storytelling. The Black Whole recently has co-produced the short film You Go Girl! which has been selected for the Sundance Film Festival.

WRITER, PRODUCER, 1st AD

Courtney Williams is a writer, producer and digital content creator, pursuing stories that stretch our ideas about gender roles, social conventions, and the unseen world. Courtney came up as a first assistant director in NYC in the late 90s, imbibing the independent spirit on indie films and commercials. She brought forward her early dramatic training at the Martha Graham School and the Moscow Art Theatre, to move into story development and producing. Now in the PNW, she brings over 20 years of experience to her work as a creative collaborator and producer, and originator of digital content. Her writing ranges from short digital content to full-length narrative scripts and structuring documentaries. A graduate of Harvard, Courtney has taught film production at Southern Oregon University and served on the boards of the Oregon Media Production Association and Film Southern Oregon.

Recent collaborations as a writer-producer include the short films Ash Land and You Go Girl! with AliAlea Productions and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. As a Producing Partner with Oregon Shakespeare Festival, she teamed up with the Innovation & Strategy team to pioneer the festival's inaugural Theatre on Film season.

www.courtneywilliams.net

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

A change-maker and trailblazer, Nataki Garrett is a nationally recognized director and the sixth Artistic Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), the first woman to artistically lead a $44 million theater company and OSF’s first Black female in this role.

Born and raised in Oakland, stemming from a family of educators, artists and community organizers—she garnered a deep appreciation for theater and for telling the untold stories not typically seen on the main stage.

Prior to her role at OSF, she served as Acting Artistic Director at the Denver Center Theatre Company, as well as Associate Dean and the co-head of the undergraduate acting program at CalArts School of Theater.

Garrett’s forté and passion is in fostering and developing new work, including those that adapt and devise new ways of performing the classics. An example of her innovative approach to traditional theater is “Quills Fest,” Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s first immersive digital event using virtual reality technology, which she launched in November 2021. She has directed and produced the world premieres of many well-known and important playwriting voices of our time, including Katori Hall, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Dominique Morriseau and Aziza Barnes.

Garrett has served on nominating committees for the MacArthur Award, the Kilroys, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust Distinguished Playwright Award, Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship panel, Mellon Foundation Playwrights Award Panel, the Hermitage Greenfield Prize, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, several NEA panels, and countless juries supporting artists around the world.

Garrett served as executive producer for You Go Girl!, a short film that was selected to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2022. A frequently sought-out voice for her thought leadership and subject matter expertise, Garrett can be read, watched, or listened to regularly across regional and national news media.

Media Inquiries:

NatakiGarrettPR@navaltamedia.com

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Part creative. Part technical. Creatnical? Technitive? Sure, why not. My job requires a healthy dose of both and I’m split right down the middle. I’ve been known to roll up my sleeves and build a 7 axis motion controlled robotic camera, carry 80lbs of camera gear up snowy mountains, and ride motorcycles through 500 miles of Mexican wilderness just to get the right shot. Adventure? Early mornings? Collaboration? The impossible shot? Long days? Yes, please. I love it all.

High energy. Positive. Friendly. Handy. Creative. Chicken legs. Yup, those things have been used to describe me and I’ll claim all of them.

Steadicam. Gimbals. Motion control. Timelapse. Drones. Lights. Big Cameras and iPhones. I’m well versed and own them all. I often find myself skipping back and forth between all those things on set.

People often ask me why I’m always smiling. My job has been creating images my entire adult life and it feels like I’ve never had to work a day. I live it, breath it, and dream it. There’s nothing I’d rather be doing.

Wanna know more? Follow my Instagram @tydox or check out this fun Budweiser commercial I somehow found myself in.

http://tylermaddox.tv