THEATER LEADERSHIP
Ari Roth (Artistic Director) is concluding his 11th season as Artistic Director at Theater J where, together with a dedicated staff, he has produced over 70 productions, including 25 world premieres by the likes of Wendy Wasserstein, Joyce Carol Oates, Ariel Dorfman, Richard Greenberg, Deb Filler, Robert Brustein, Neena Beber, Mark Medoff, Yehuda Hyman, Daniel Hoffman, and the professional debuts of writers like Jeanette Buck and Joshua Ford.. Also a playwright, Mr. Roth has staged seven of his own plays at Theater J including Still Waiting (companion to Waiting for Lefty, co-written by Adam McKay and Shira Piven); Goodnight Irene; Life In Refusal; Love & Yearning in the Not-for-Profits (currently optioned by John O’Boyle for production Off-Broadway), a repertory production of Born Guilty, based on the book by Peter Sichrovsky (first produced at Arena Stage, directed by Zelda Fichandler), together with its sequel, Peter and the Wolf; as well as his play with music, Oh, The Innocents (first produced at Geva Theatre, directed by Joe Mantello). His current work-in-perpetual-progress, Ali Salem Drives To Israel (based on the memoir, “A Drive To Israel: An Egyptian Meets His Neighbors”) will be workshopped this coming fall. His plays have been nominated for five Helen Hayes Awards, including Best Resident Production, and two Charles A. MacArthur Awards. He is a 1998 and 2003 recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts playwriting grant; three-time winner of the Helen Eisner Award, two-time winner of the Avery Hopwood, four-time recipient of commissions from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, and recipient of the Mertyl Wreath Award from Hadassah. He has taught for the University of Michigan for 12 years, currently for their “Michigan in DC” internship program, as well as for Brandeis, NYU and Carnegie Mellon Universities.
Patricia Jenson (Managing Director) is pleased to be working her fifth season with Theater J. After over 500 performances as an actress on stages of regional theaters and opera companies in Minnesota, her second career has her overseeing personnel, budgets, ticket services, fundraising and council relations. She graduated with a degree in both Theater and Economics from The George Washington University and interned with the Arena Stage.
Delia Taylor (Production Manager) works regularly at Washington theaters as an actor, director, stage manager, technician and production manager. She directed the world premieres of There Are No Strangers and Sleeping Arrangements at Theater J. She has been teaching for The Theatre Lab for 10 years now.
Thomas Howley (Technical Director) holds a BFA from Central Michigan University and a MFA from The Catholic University of America. While pursuing two degrees in acting, Tom did extensive tech work on the side as an electrician and stage carpenter, which has served him well over the intervening years. After spending fifteen years working happily in the dinner theater community, Tom is now in his fourth season at Theater J, endeavoring to bring the sets in on time and under budget.
Shane Wallis (Assistant Technical Director) a native Mississippian, graduate of the U. of Southern Miss, and newcomer to the DCJCC, has been working on and off-stage professionally for almost six years serving as actor, director, teacher, fight choreographer, stunt performer, and technician. He has worked for such DC area companies as The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth, The American Century Theater, Washington Shakespeare Company, Rorschach Theatre, Imagination Stage, and Baltimore Shakespeare Festival.
Naomi Robin (Casting Director) performed for many years as a stage actress in New York and across North America. Some years ago, she moved into voice-over work exclusively, with such clients as PBS, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, AFL-CIO and the National Park Service. Since then, her voice has been heard on thousands of TV and radio spots, including a host of political ads. More recently, she has also returned to her theatrical roots through work with Theater J, the Sprenger-Lang national playwriting competition, the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and the Helen Hayes Awards.
Rebecca Ende (Director of Marketing and Communications) is thrilled to join the Theater J team after working in marketing at Ford's Theatre. She holds a BA from Georgetown University and an MA in Arts Administration from Columbia University. She also serves as a judge for the Helen Hayes Awards on the New Play Committee.
Hannah Hessel (Literary Director, Outreach and Education Associate) is pleased to be in her fifth season at Theater J. She directed readings of new plays by Shirley Lauro, Neena Beber and Itamar Moses. She collaborated with Paata Tsikurishvili to adapt The Dybbuk (Synetic Theater/Theater J). She assistant directed and dramaturged multiple productions including Welcome to My Rash & Third, Hannah and Martin and The Disputation. She has dramaturged shows with Rorschach Theater and The Hatchery New Play Festival. She is a company member at Forum Theater and is a producing artist with the political theater group Extreme Exchange. She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and a member of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.
Tara Brady (Director of Patron Services) is thrilled to be back at Theater J after serving as an assistant stage manager for the 2002-2003 season. She has worked in production and patron services positions at a number of area theaters, including the Folger Theater, Round House, Woolly Mammoth and Arena Stage. She holds an MA in Stage Management from Purdue University.
Catherine Frels (Development Associate) first came to Theater J as an audience member and is excited to join its administrative team this season. A graduate of Duke University with a degree in International Comparative Studies and a member of the Theatre Lab's (School of the Dramatic Arts) Honors Conservatory Class of 2008, she also enjoyed participating in Theater J's Voices from a Changing Middle East Festival this past summer.