Tim Rhoze

has been the Producing Artistic Director of Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre since 2010.His regional and FJT directing credits include: PASSOVER, HONEYPOT: BLACK SOUTHERN WOMEN WHO LOVE WOMEN, UNTIL THE FLOOD, THE LIGHT, AMERICAN SON, HOME, TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES 1992, THE MEETING, FIRES IN THE MIRROR, BLACK BALLERINA (co-writer), NUTCRACKER(ISH), CROWNS, HAVING OUR SAY, FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA, FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF, WOZA ALBERT!, GOING TO ST. IVES, SINGLE BLACK FEMALE, A SONG FOR CORETTA, YELLOWMAN, SWEET, LADY DAY AT EMERSON BAR & GRILL, BEAR COUNTRY, NOBODY, FENCES, PIANO LESSON, AIN'T MISBEHAVIN, K2, THE GLASS MENAGERIE, et. al. Most recently, Tim directed PASSING STRANGE for Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre. He is also the writer/director of WHY NOT ME? A SAMMY DAVIS JR. STORY, and MAYA’S LAST POEM, both produced at FJT; and BLACK BALLERINA, produced at FJT and Pittsburgh Public Theatre. He was co-writer and director of A HOME ON THE LAKE, co-produced with the Piven Theatre Workshop.

Tara Malpass

is thrilled to make her return to the stage management booth with Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre. Since moving to Chicago in 2005, she has been fortunate to have worked with many talented artists and designers, as well as extraordinary Chicago theatre companies such as Raven Theatre, Stage Left, Circle Theatre, Trap Door, Collaboraction, InFusion Theatre Company, Babes With Blades, New Leaf, Sinnerman, Eclipse, and The Side Project. Love to Mike!

Mary Dixon

(she/her) is delighted to be joining Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre on such an incredible show with such incredible people! Her other stage management credits include: Top Girls (Raven Theatre), Ugly Lies The Bone (Shattered Globe Theatre), Twihard: The Musical (Otherworld Theatre), TL;DR, Thelma & Louise; Dyke Remix (Theo), Artaserse (Haymarket Opera Company), A Tale of Two Cities (Shattered Globe Theatre), We Will Rock You (The Beautiful City Project), and a few lovely productions at her alma mater Loyola University Chicago. When she’s not backstage, she’s onstage at The Annoyance Theatre hosting the Scenic Improv Jam or getting silly with her improv team The Hail Marys."

Shane Rogers

This is Shane’s fourth season with Fleetwood- Jourdain. He has worked in technical theatre for 28 years at places including: Indy Convergence in Indianapolis, Indiana; Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon; Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City, Utah; Shadowland Stages and Bard College, both located in the Hudson Valley in New York.

David Goodman-Edberg

is delighted to be working with Fleetwood-Jourdain again after lighting Until the Flood, The 1619 Project, This Bitter Earth, American Son, and Home. Elsewhere in Chicago his work has been seen with Adventure Stage, Cerqua Rivera, Chicago Fringe Opera, Chicago Repertory Ballet, Definition Theatre, The Gift Theatre, Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Co., Grant Park Music Festival, LEVELdance, Manual Cinema, Theo, Third Eye, Thodos Dance, Visceral Dance, and others. Regional: Bay View Music Festival, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, Opera Idaho, Opera Mississippi, Water Street Dance Milwaukee, and others. David has also worked on various rides and shows at Disney and Universal theme parks in the U.S. and internationally.

dglxdesign.com

Kate Parker-Barrows

is delighted to be back at Fleetwood-Jourdain Theater for her 4th production. She has previously designed costumes on 'For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enfu', 'Until the Flood', and 'Passover.' She works as the Costumes and Props Designer at Niles West High School. Kate is a founding and long-time member of Improvised Jane Austen, which performs at the famed iO Theater every Saturday at 7:30 PM. She'd like to thank her loving family: Jeremy, Shay, & Ambika, for putting up with her crazy theatre schedule!

Rick Sims

Steppenwolf: The Thanksgiving Play, Domesticated, The Qualms, The Fundamentals. Chicago: Frankenstein (Jeff Award), Moby Dick (Jeff Award; St. Louis Circle Award) (Lookingglass Theatre Co.); Brothers of the Dust (BTA Award) (Congo Square). Regional: Roundhouse Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Boston Playwrights, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Arden Theatre Company, Portland Playhouse, Actors Theatre of Louisville, McCarter Theatre Center. Broadway: The Thanksgiving Play (2nd Stage). Off Broadway: The Qualms (Playwrights Horizons). Rick is an Artistic Associate Lookingglass Theatre Co., and Artistic Affiliate of American Blues Theatre Co.

Howard Godfrey, Jr.

is a musical theatre writer, composer, and vocalist from Evanston, Illinois. He attended Berklee College of Music where he received his BM in contemporary writing and production. Since graduating in May of 2025, Howard has returned to Evanston, where he’s continued to produce new work. He’s incredibly grateful to be involved in Gee’s Bend, and honored to work with all of the passionate and talented artists that are bringing this incredible show to life.

Tuesdai B. Perry

is thrilled to return to Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre to work behind the scenes for the first time!  Previous FJT credits: HONEYPOT;  FOR COLORED GIRLS;  OBAMA-OLOGY;  HOME;  CROWNS;  THE NUTCRACKER(ISH). Hailing from Gary, Indiana, she holds a BA in Directing and Writing from Western Illinois University.  Tuesdai B. is an active director, choreographer, performer, and educator in the Chicagoland area.    "This one is for my grandmothers, aunts, and their quilts, their stories." #RepresentationMatters 

Phil Timberlake

has taught actors for over 20 years, most recently as the Head of Voice and Speech at the Theatre School, DePaul University. He is an Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework and a Roy Hart Voice Centre Teacher. Voice and dialect coaching credits include the Goodman Theatre (Gas For Less), Victory Gardens (Mies Julie, Sucker Punch), American Players Theatre (The Doctor’s Dilemma), and First Folio Theatre (Romeo & Juliet, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, Taming of the Shrew). Phil is an ensemble member of Lifeline Theatre where he has received four Non-Equity Jeff Nominations: Pride & Prejudice and Busman's Honeymoon (Best Supporting Actor – Play), Queen Lucia (Best Supporting Actor – Musical), and Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol (Best Performance – Short Run). 

Sarah Kaiser

is a visual artist, instructor, and curator of the Grove Gallery in Evanston, IL. She has lived in Evanston since 2010. Over the past 15 years, she has been sharing her passion for painting with the artists she represents and inspiring her students. She has taught at the Evanston Art Center for over 15 years and runs her own art school, Studio 215, at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center in Evanston, IL. She’s also the director of The Grove Gallery, located in downtown Evanston. Although she began painting as a child as soon as she could hold a brush, her evolution as an artist continued after earning an MFA at the University of Chicago in 2003. She went on to get an MA in Art History in 2005. Ever since, she has been exploring and pushing the boundaries of painting in her work. She enjoys building community and supporting the arts in every way possible. 

Sholo Beverly

a mixed media intuitive artist living on the northside of Chicago. She is a 53-year-old single mother of two that has always only prioritized her children and her art for the last twenty years. She has learned embracing her mistakes makes for a better understanding of what the universe wants for her art. Her activism to right the injustices against people of color has caused her art to evolve. She is also taking her art to the streets to advocate for social changes on racism, and women's rights with the murals, painted in bright colors with hidden messages to observe and process. The mediums and techniques used are homemade inks, collage, watercolor, and the new medium of encaustic wax painting with acrylic inks. With our current situation in the world, her art has become a necessity for herself and others. There is a need for expression and discussion from POC. She is not concerned with her artwork being liked by society, but she does want her work to spark an emotion to the viewer to ask the question of why when they see her art. "I Am Aware I Am Rare" is her motto, embracing being a female black artist without boundaries for expression in her creations.

Sara Piepmeier

is an Evanston-based painter, sculptor, and writer who has maintained a working studio at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center since 1995. Her artwork is deeply influenced by Buddhist teachings, focusing on the intersection of reality, identity, and perception.

Monica Sageman

is a fine arts graduate of The University of Michigan, and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Monica has been making abstract paintings and drawings from her studio at The Noyes Cultural Arts Center for more than ten years.

Melissa Blount

is an artist, letterpress printer, writer, and licensed clinical psychologist based in Evanston, Illinois. Her work explores Black womanhood, trauma, and white supremacy in America—often using antique household linens as canvases to reimagine narratives of domesticity and resilience. Through community sewing circles and public actions, she creates spaces where collective reflection and healing take root.

A dedicated activist and cultural organizer, Melissa co-founded MEET (Making Evanston Equitable Together), OPAL (Organization for Positive Action and Leadership), and Artist Book House, working at the intersections of advocacy, politics, and the arts. She is also an experienced clinician and national lecturer on Black health, trauma, and the transformative possibilities of art for healing and community building.

Ben Blount

is a Detroit-born artist, designer and letterpress printer best known for work that explores the intersection of race, identity and American history. Ben is a believer in the power of the printed word and shares his passion for print and design by speaking and teaching to students around the country. As a designer, he has worked with a range of non-profit, educational, and creative arts clients including Cave Canem, Chicago Poetry Center, Poetry Foundation, Northwestern University and Harvard University Press. He is an active member of his local art scene and founding board member of Artists Book House. His artists’ books and prints are included in numerous collections including The Newberry Library, Chicago Field Museum and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Bria Walker-Rhoze

is a multidisciplinary artist and educator.  She is the Akram and Watfa Midani Associate Professor of Acting at Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) School of Drama and Artistic Associate at Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre in Evanston, IL.  Selected recent acting credits: Primary Trust (Pittsburgh Public Theater); The Garbologists, Crossroad, The Royale, Pop!, Marcus or the Secret of Sweet (City Theatre); The Royale (St. Louis Repertory Theatre); Fires in the Mirror, The Bougie Gentleman, Romeo & Juliet (Pittsburgh Public Theatre Playtime Series); From the Mississippi Delta (Triad Stage); By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (The Rep at Point Park); Saints Tour (Bricolage Production Company).  Selected directing credits: upcoming – Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley (City Theatre); Obama-ology, co-director of Crowns (Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre); Fury (Parker Theatre); staged reading Off With Her Maidenhead (The Pitch series for Merry-Go-Round Playhouse); John Proctor is the Villain (CMU); Emilia (Pitt); for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf (SUNY New Paltz); Avenue Q (SUNY New Paltz & Pitt). Selected writing & producing credits: co-writer of The Baldwin|Giovanni Experience (FJT); Crossroad (City Theatre Spotlight Series); You think the arts don’t matter? What about quarantine? (Pittsburgh-Post Gazette op-ed); Chant (The Monologue Project); Black Lives in Focus (Pitt Initiative). Education: MFA - Denver Center for the Performing Arts (National Theatre Conservatory); BFA - Wright State University. www.briawalker-rhoze.com

John Olson

provides marketing and public relations services to a variety of theaters and arts organizations in the Chicago area. He followed a career as an account manager and media planner in Chicago and Milwaukee advertising agencies by moving into arts marketing and publicity in 2010. He worked at ComedySportz Chicago as Marketing Director and Raven Theatre as Director of Marketing and Press before founding John Olson Communications in 2017. Additionally. John has served as Associate Editor for The Sondheim Review and Chicago reviewer for TalkinBroadway.com.