Laurie Woolery is an OBIE award winning director, playwright, citizen artist who works at the intersection of theater and civic engagement. She has worked in theaters local, regional and international such as The Public Theater, National Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale Repertory, Weiwuying National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, Trinity Repertory, Goodman Theatre, Cornerstone Theater Company, and South Coast Repertory. Projects include the world premiere of Mary Kathryn Nagle’s Manahatta at The Public, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Yale Repertory Theater. Laurie has a long history of working on new plays with notable playwrights like Tanya Saracho, Charise Castro Smith, Marisela Trevino Orta, Aditi Brennan Kapil, Vauhini Vara, Maria Irene Fornes, Julie Marie Myatt, Julia Cho, KJ Sanchez, Alison Carey, etc. Her adaptations of Shakespeare plays into musicals, such as As You Like It co-created with Shaina Taub and The Tempest with Benjamin Velez received world premiere at The Public’s Delacorte Theater. In 2020 as a response to the global pandemic and antiracist uprising, Laurie produced the documentaryUnder The Greenwood Tree that tells the story of the Public Works community banded together during this global crisis while simultaneously curating a community public art installation The Seed Project on the façade of The Public Theater that featured 164 Public Works community members sharing their hopes for the future. Laurie has a long history developing new work with diverse communities ranging from incarcerated women, veterans, domestic workers, immigrants, and intergenerational communities as well as residents of a Kansas town devastated by a tornado. She creates site-specific work ranging from a working sawmill in Eureka to the banks of the Los Angeles River. Laurie is the Former Director of Public Works at The Public Theater, a program that seeks to engage the people of New York by making them creators and not just spectators. Laurie is the former Associate Artistic Director of Cornerstone Theater Company and Conservatory Director at South Coast Repertory. Laurie is founding member of The Sol Project, 2020 United States Artist recipient, 2021 American for the Arts Johnson Fellow and was named Person of the Year at the 2022 National Theatre Conference.

Shaina Taub's credits include Broadway: Author/Star of Suffs (Tony Awards: Best Score, Best Book; Outer Critics Circle Awards: Best Book, Best Score, Best Musical; Drama Desk Award: Outstanding Music, Frederick Loewe Award, Grammy nomination). Shakespeare in the Park: Twelfth Night (Composer/Lyricist/Feste), As You Like It (Composer/Lyricist/Jaques, Obie Award). NYCC: Ragtime (Emma Goldman); Off-Bway: Old Hats (ft., her original songs); Hadestown (Fate); Great Comet (Mary, Lortel nom). Solo albums: Visitors, Die Happy, and Songs of the Great Hill on Atlantic Records. Activism Awards/Recognition: 2024 Time100 Next rising leader; Workers Circle Activism Award; League of Women Voters’ Tribute Award; ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award; Jonathan Larson Grant, Kleban Prize; Girls Inc. Honoree; Fred Ebb Award; NYCLU’s Michael Friedman Freedom Award. www.shainataub.com

Braden Abraham joined Writers Theatre as the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Artistic Director in 2023. He comes to Writers from Seattle Rep, the largest resident theatre in the Pacific Northwest, where he advanced the organization as a director and producer, including the development and premiere of many new plays. He directed six world premieres for Seattle Rep and over 20 productions including: True West, Clybourne Park, Photograph 51, Ibsen in Chicago, Betrayal, Luna Gale, A View from the Bridge, A Great Wilderness, Breakin’ Hearts and Takin’ Names, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. 

Among his initiatives as Artistic Director, Braden committed Seattle Rep as one of the first partner theaters to bring the Public Theater’s model for the Public Works program across the country. Seattle Rep’s Public Works strengthens community connection through making ambitious productions of participatory theater. Braden also re-envisioned the New Play Program, commissioning and premiering plays by Anna Zeigler, Samuel D. Hunter, David Grimm, Justin Huertas, Samantha Silva, Cheryl L. West, and Karen Hartman, and supported the work of dozens of playwrights and directors through premieres and the Other Season development lab. Many projects developed through this program went on to acclaimed runs at Seattle Rep and around the country including Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s Come From Away, Cheryl L. West’s Shout Sister Shout!, Erica Schmidt’s Mac Beth, and Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice.  Under his leadership, Seattle Rep was the only theater outside New York and London to present David Byrne’s Here Lies Love. Most recently, Braden initiated 20x30: Reimagine the Anthropocene, to commission twenty new plays by the year 2030, and New Directions, a unique commissioning program designed to support generative work from directors. 

Around the country, Braden has developed new work at Ojai, O’Neill, Denver Center, and Perseverance Theatre. He has been a guest artist at Stanford, Gonzaga, Seattle University, and the University of Idaho. He conceived and developed Way Stations, a series of interactive walking tours in Seattle for the Northwest New Works Festival at On the Boards and is the co-creator of Gordon Hempton: Let it Happen, an audio installation about the life and work of Emmy-Award winning sound ecologist Gordon Hempton. He is married to Cheyenne Casebier and the proud papa of Phoenix Faye Abraham.

At Writers Theatre: As You Like It, Into the Woods, and Parade

Michael performed as The Baker in Into the Woods at Writers Theatre. He is an Ensemble member of American Blues and has performed there in It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!, Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story (Jeff Award – Best Music Direction), Little Shop of Horrors, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, and Side Man. Other recent roles include The Baker in Into the Woods (Writers); Jim Hardy in Holiday Inn, and Jack Singer in Honeymoon in Vegas (Marriott Theatre). Michael co-wrote the songs for the Netflix movie My Little Pony: A New Generation and contributed additional lyrics to Cameron Mackintosh’s most recent Broadway production of Miss Saigon. Other works as a composer/lyricist include The Secret of My Success, Miracle (Jeff Award – Best New Work), Diary of a Wimpy Kid, October Sky, The Man Who Murdered Sherlock Holmes (Jeff Award – Best New Work), and Hero (Jeff Award – Best New Work). Michael is married to Dara Cameron and proud father to their son Ezra.

[Bio as of October 2025]

Her choreographic credits include theatrical productions with Court Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and About Face Theater, among others. Her original dance work has been presented and platformed by The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Thalia Hall, Steppenwolf 1700, Links Hall, artTheater-Kobe (Japan), Lollapalooza, DCASE / Chicago Cultural Center, Lucky Plush Productions, and is recognized with a 2024 United States Artist Fellowship (Dance) and 2023 Illinois Arts Council Agency Fellowship (Choreography). Erin is the director / choreographer of The Fly Honey Show.

Jacelyn is primarily based in the Twin Cities where she received her Master’s Degree in Scenic Design. Recent work includes scenic designs for Pride & Prejudice at the University of Minnesota, Soft Sediment at the Cowles Center, The Ferryman at Park Square Theatre, and Kiss of the Spider Woman at The Southern Theatre. Jacelyn is also passionate about prop-making and regularly crafts specialty props and contributes to productions as a props designer throughout the Twin Cities. Jacelyn is thrilled to be able to be a part of bringing this wonderful story to life.

[Bio as of October 2025]

At Writers Theatre: As You Like It, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, The Band's Visit, and Wife of a Salesman.

RAQUEL ADORNO is a costume designer and educator. Selected costume design credits: CHICAGO: Writers Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Court Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Victory Gardens REGIONAL: The MUNY, McCarter Theatre Center, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, American Players Theatre, Utah Shakespeare Festival, St Louis Shakespeare Festival FILM: Curio, Limerence, Cheap Plastic Mask. Raquel is the recipient of the Joseph Jefferson Awards for Best Costume Design and The Michael Merritt Emerging Designer Award. www.raqueladorno.com

[Bio as of October 2025]

Eric Southern is a lighting designer working in theater, opera, music, and dance.  Recent Chicago projects include) Amadeus (Steppenwolf Theater), Waitress (Paramount Theater Swing State (Goodman Theater); The King and I (Drury Lane Theater) Pipeline (Victory Gardens); Buyer and Cellar (Broadway Playhouse). He has designed many world premier plays at numerous theater theater companies including Lincoln Center, The Goodman, BAM, MTC, The New Group, Rattlestick Theater, Primary Stages, La Mama, Atlantic Theater Company, Center Theater Group, and The Guthrie among others. He is a longtime collaborator with the theater group 600 HIGHWAYMEN where he has collaborate on many projects that have extensively toured throughout the US and internationally. He received both his BFA and MFA at NYU and teaches in the MFA Stage Design Program at Northwestern University. www.ericsouthern.com 

[Bio as of October 2025]

Daphne Agosin is a theater lighting designer. Some of her works include Circus Quixote (Lookinglass, '25), STOKELY: The Unfinished Revolution (Court, ‘24), Dead as a Dodo (The Biograph ‘24; Baruch NYC ‘25), The Snow Queen (Marriott ‘24) Albert Herring (Athenaeum ‘23) the US premiere of Tebas Land (Chicago Dramatists ‘22) and Intimate Apparel (Northlight ‘22). She holds a Stage Design MFA from Northwestern University. She is the recipient of a Non-Equity JEFF Award for Tebas Land. She co-founded the outdoor performance group Grass Studio Theatre with Hamid Dehghani, and the dance/puppetry company Dawn Theatre Project with Chih-Jou Cheng.

[Bio as of October 2025]

Broadway: Slave Play (Tony nominations for Best Original Score, Best Sound Design of a Play), The Nap, Bronx Bombers, A Time to Kill. Off Broadway: Privacy (Public Theater), Bootycandy (Playwrights Horizons), Feeding the Dragon (Primary Stages), many others. Regional: Guthrie, Center Stage, ACT, Hartford Stage, Alliance, Goodman, many others. International: Noel Coward (London West End), Stratford Festival (Canada), Royal Shakespeare Company (England), many others. Audio dramas: Disney, Marvel, DC, Penguin/Random House, Audible, Next Chapter Podcasts. Film/television scoring: HBO Films’ A Note of Triumph (2006 Academy Award for Best Documentary, Short Subject). Other: Co-Chair of Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association (TSDCA). lindsayjones.com.

[Bio as of October 2025]

Max holds Advanced Actor Combatant certification with Fight Directors of Canada from Rapier Wit in Toronto and is trained in multiple weapon forms with the Society of American Fight Directors. Recent stage fight and intimacy credits include Turret (A Red Orchid), Judgement Day and Comedy of Errors (Chicago Shakes), Into the Woods, and Little Shop of Horrors (Paramount Theatre). On screen, Max has served as SAG Stunt Coordinator for Soldier Survivor Sinner Saint, Best in the World, The Big Audition, and Bayfield. He earned his BFA from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

[Bio as of October 2025]

At Writers Theatre: As You Like It, Translations, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, The Band's Visit, Once, and Athena

MIRANDA ANDERSON is happy to be back at Writers where she has previously worked as the stage manager for Translations, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, The Band's Visit, Once and Athena. She has frequently worked with TimeLine Theatre where selected credits include: What the Constitution Means to Me, Trouble in Mind, Campaigns Inc., and Relentless. She has also worked at Rivendell Theatre, The House Theatre, First Folio Theatre, and The Hypocrites, among others. From 2012 to 2018, she toured with The Hypocrites’ Gilbert and Sullivan productions to regional theaters including Olney Theatre Company, Pasadena Playhouse, Skirball Center at NYU, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and American Repertory Theatre in Boston. Miranda is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

[Bio as of October 2025]

Eva Breneman (Text Coach) is delighted to be back at Writers. Writers credits include: Translations, The Last Match, The Importance of Being Earnest, Arcadia. CHICAGO: Billie Jean (Chicago Shakespeare); Primary Trust (Goodman); Becky Nurse of Salem (Shattered Globe); Dear Elizabeth (Remy Bumppo); Fen (Court Theatre); Murder on the Orient Express (Drury Lane); The Chinese Lady (Timeline). BROADWAY: Airline Highway (Samuel Friedman Theatre). OFF-BROADWAY: Boswell (59E59). REGIONAL: Romeo and Juliet (Milwaukee Repertory Theater); The Children (Next Act); ten seasons -- American Repertory Theater; The Chinese Lady (Denver Center); Love’s Labour’s Lost (Actor’s Theatre of Louisville). EDUCATION: MA, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama; BFA, NYU. Ms. Breneman is an associate artist at TimeLine Theatre Company.

Katie Galetti is the Artistic Producer and Casting Director at Writers Theatre in Glencoe and a member of CSA. She also serves as the Casting Consultant at Remy Bumppo Theatre in Chicago, and is a freelance casting director regionally. In addition to her casting work, Katie produces and directs events of multiple genres, including opera, digital, experiential, and film. She's worked with Little Cinema Digital, 13Exp, and HERE Arts & Culture Consulting as a producer, is the founder and Artistic Director of Janus Concert Series, and is a founding member of the Chicago Opera Collective. Outside of theater, Katie is a volunteer with Resilience Chicago as a Sexual Assault Crisis Advocate and a classically trained vocalist. More information can be found at www.katiegaletti.com.

Bobby Kennedy is the Director of Artistic Development at Writers Theatre. He has been the resident dramaturg at the theatre since 2008 and has led the theatre's new work program since 2014. Highlights of his tenure include the world premieres of Dhaba on Devon Avenue by Madhuri Shekar, Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol, Wife of a Salesman by Eleanor Burgess, Dishwasher Dreams by Alauddin Ullah, Witch by Jen Silverman, Trevor by Dan Collins and Julianne Wick-Davis, The Hunter and the Bear by PigPen Theatre Co., and Death of a Streetcar Named Virginia Woolf by Tim Sniffen; the national premieres of Quixote: On the Conquest of Self by Mónica Hoth, Claudio Valdés Kuri, and Georgina Escobar, and The Dance of Death by Conor McPherson; and the Chicago premieres of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, A Distinct Society, Tiger Style!, Athena, The Last Match, The Niceties, Vietgone, Smart People, and Marjorie Prime. His dramaturgy credits also include the world premieres of Give It All Back (SideShow Theatre Company), Body and Blood (The Gift Theatre), Ibsen is Dead (Interrobang Theatre Project) and The Peacock (Jackalope Theatre Company), as well as the midwest premiere of The Luck of the Irish (Next Theatre Company). Kennedy co-founded The Spontaneous Theater Project in Boston and has also worked with Huntington Theatre Company and New Repertory Theatre. He is an alumnus of Boston University.

Mason is thrilled to make his Writers Theatre debut! A Chicago-based music director, conductor, and keyboardist, he has led and performed in productions across the country, most recently as Music Director and Conductor for the North American Tour of The Book of Mormon, conducting over 600 performances throughout the U.S. and Canada. Chicago credits include Sunny Afternoon (Chicago Shakespeare Theater – Jeff Award Nominee for Music Direction), Always Something There… (Marriott Theatre), and 42 Balloons (Chicago Shakespeare Theater). His arrangements and orchestrations have been featured in Winter Wonderland and Solitary Man: A Tribute to Neil Diamond at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse. Mason has collaborated with mentors including Stephen Oremus, Justin Mendoza, and Andrew Graham, and is a proud member of the Chicago Federation of Musicians. He’s grateful to be part of this beautiful production and the community that makes it possible.

[Bio as of October 2025]

Zoe Jennings is excited to return for another season at Writers. Previous WT credits include Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812; Every Brilliant Thing; Translations; and Dhaba on Devon Avenue.

[Bio as of October 2025]

Natalie Cohen is thrilled to return to Writers Theatre where previous credits include Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, The Band's Visit, Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol, Once, and Athena. Select credits include Cats, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Kinky Boots (Paramount Theatre); A Raisin in the Sun, The Gospel at Colonus (Court Theatre); Clyde’s (Goodman Theatre). Natalie is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. Love to Molly, always.

[Bio as of October 2025]

Devon Hayakawa is a multidisciplinary theatre artist excited to be making their Writers debut! Previous directing credits include: Come From Away (Paramount, Associate Director), Cats (Paramount, Associate Director), Frozen (Paramount, Assistant Director), 9 to 5 (Metropolis, Assistant Director), Plaid as Hell (Babes With Blades, Assistant Director), and My Big Brother Fights Monsters (Rogue Theatre Festival, Director). Devon has worked onstage and off at various theatres in the Chicagoland area - Paramount, Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Drury Lane, Remy Bumppo, and more. Much love to Rosie, Miso, & Maki. devonhayakawa.com.

[Bio as of October 2025]