Dontá McGilvery is a Ph.D. Theatre For Youth student at Arizona State University. He is the winner of the 2019 ASU MLK Jr. Student Servant-Leadership Award, a 2018-2019 ASU Spirit of Service Scholar, and he is recognized as an ASU "Changemaker". Mr. McGilvery has led drama workshops and plays for 21 years. His plays have toured throughout several cities on the West coast and has been presented in theaters, universities, churches, k-12 schools, and various other community spaces. He is currently the director of the drama ministry at First Institutional Baptist Church and his desire is to continue using theatre to amplify voices of people within marginalized communities.
Claire K. Redfield Co-Artistic Director
Claire K. Redfield is a director, educator, and community-engaged artist who believes in groups’ abilities to make lasting change in their communities. Originally hailing from Chicago, Claire worked as a professional teaching artist and freelance director for six years at several companies including the Tony Award winning Lookingglass Theatre, Adventure Stage Chicago, and Northlight Theatre. Claire is currently pursuing her MFA in Theatre for Youth at Arizona State University.
For over 10 years, nationally recognized performance artist, Lady Caress has dedicated her life to the art of communication as both a poet and public speaker. With her unique set of comedy, music, beatboxing and theatrics, she truly is a mesmerizing performer. As a National Poetry Champion in 2010 at Pi Kappa Delta, Lady Caress has continued to impact audiences outside of the performance realm. Caress is a MFA Performance major at Arizona State University.
Shay Woods is a North Carolina native with a BA in Business Management from Wingate University. She is currently pursuing her MA in Global Affairs and Management at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and is looking forward to pursuing a career in nonprofit.