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
Adam Rei Siegel
Adam (he/him) is a producer on The Other Side (Co-Producer) and Beyond Babel (Associate Producer) as well as creating immersive brand activations for HBO, Oxygen, Club Cumming, Norwood, MATTE, Spiire and more. He was an Outreach Specialist for Dancers Responding to AIDS and Classical Action, both programs of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and co-produces the Fire Island Dance Festival. He serves on the Board of Directors for New York Theater Barn. He is also a theater writer for W42ST Magazine and Broadway Roulette as well as a NextGen Advocate for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.