Linda S. Chapman
Linda (she/her) served as the associate Artistic Director at New York Theatre Workshop since 1995; Co-adapted Ann Bannon’s Lesbian classic, The Beebo Brinker Chronicles (GLAAD Media Award winner and nominated for a LAMBDA Literary Award) for the stage with playwright Kate Moira Ryan. Co-writer/performer of OBIE Award winning Gertrude and Alice: A Likeness to Loving with Lola Pashalinski; Associate member of The Wooster Group 1983-94 as Managing Director and performer; Founding Artistic Director of Sang-Froid, Ltd.; Co-founding producer of Dyke TV and DTV Productions. Administrator at Theater For The New City; Member of Sonia Moore’s American Stanislavski Theatre; Founding board president of Youth Arts NY - ICAN coalition member; Served on numerous funding, awards and advisory panels for the NEA, TCG, The Princess Grace Fnd., The Mellon Fnd., The Fox Fnd., The Drama League, CEC Arts/Link, and LMCC among others. Professional memberships include: The League of Professional Theater Women, Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, The National Theatre Conference, The Dramatists Guild.
Shannon TL Kearns
Shannon (he/him) is a transgender man who's playwriting is obsessed with big questions told through small stories. He is committed to work by and for marginalized communities, using writing to create a new future for all of us. He founded Uprising Theatre Company in Minneapolis, MN. Shannon is a recipient of the Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellowship in 20/21 and a Lambda Literary Fellow for 2019. Shannon was selected for Seven Devils Playwrights’ Conference 2021. He was awarded a spot in the HBMG Foundations’ Winter Playwright Retreat in 2018 and 2019. He and his plays have been: a finalist for the Equity Library Theatre of Chicago’s Reading Series, 2019 TransLab, and American Stages 2019 New Play Festival. He was a semi-finalist for SPACE on Ryder farm in 2020. Shannon’s plays include Body+Blood, in a stand of dying trees, Line of Sight, Beautiful Twisted Deaths, The Resistance of My Skin, and Who Has Eyes To See. Shannon has two television pilots: Transformed and Family Unit.
Andrea Prestinario - Board Chair
Andrea (she/her) is an award-winning actress, singer, and activist who is NYC-based and Chicago-grown. Regional – Baltimore Center Stage: Fun Home (Alison); Weston Playhouse: Fun Home (Alison), Guys & Dolls (Sarah Brown); Asolo Rep: My Fair Lady (Eliza) dir. Frank Galati; A.C.T. San Francisco: 1776 (Martha) dir. Frank Galati; Paramount Theatre Aurora: RENT (Maureen), My Fair Lady (Eliza); Lyric Opera Chicago: Oklahoma! (Gertie) dir. Gary Griffin; Drury Lane Oakbrook: Gypsy (Louise), Curtains, Sugar, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; Writers’ Theatre: Oh, Coward!; Boho Theatre Company: Side Show (Violet – Jeff Award, Leading Actress). Solo show – sMOkeyTOWN: The Songs of Smokey Robinson: Laurie Beechman, Mayne Stage Chicago, Feinstein’s/54 Below, Beverly Arts Center Chicago, Metropolis (Arlington Heights) Arts Center. Andrea is a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf and holds a BFA in Musical Theatre and Gender Studies from Ball State University. She is the Co-founder and former executive Director of Ring of Keys, a national network of queer women, trans, and gender non-conforming artists working in the musical theatre industry. www.andreaprestinario.com | @andreaprestinario