Danielle Lee Greaves (Griot) Broadway: A Streetcar Named Desire, Rent, Hairspray, Sunset Boulevard, Show Boat. New York: Public Works’ Hercules, Civil War Voices, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Purlie, The Wizard of Oz. National Tours: Once on this Island, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, The Lion King, Rent. International Tours: Rent, Show Boat, Hair.

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Avia Fields (Lil Bit) is very excited to be performing with Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences!  She has played roles such as Ti Moune and Andrea in Once on this Island, Martha in Spring Awakening, Brenda in The Waiting Room and Lorraine in All Shook Up among others. She has also appeared in several short films, as well as voiceover projects and is the voice of Ben in the Netflix original, Motown Magic.  She is so thankful for this return to the stage!

Angela Birchett (Mama) (she/her/hers): Select Theatre credits: Broadway: The Color Purple 2015 Revival. Tours: The Color Purple 2015 Revival, Hairspray. Regional: Once On This Island; Smokey Joe’s Café; Rent; Dreamgirls and Ain’t Misbehavin’. TV: "Kevin Can Wait” (CBS); “Blindspot” (NBC); “The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel” and “Kirk Franklin’s “A Gospel Christmas” (Lifetime). www.AngelaBirchett.com.

Danyel Fulton (Auntie) is a Brooklyn born and bred actor/singer. She's been seen performing in Tokyo, Zurich, Off Broadway, regionally, and touring the U.S. Some of her favorite credits include: Ruby, (Broadbend, Arkansas, Transport Group), Dorothy, (The Wiz, The Muny '18 & Harlem Rep '09), Dionne, (Hair, 2nd National Tour), Charlayne (Ain't Misbehavin', Harlem Rep), Aisha (A Time to Love, National Black Theater), and Sarah (Ragtime, The 5th '17, Asolo Rep '18, and TUTS '19).

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Emmanuel Elliot Key (Brother), he/they, New York: Roundabout Theatre Company: …What the End Will Be (reading). D.C. Area: Signature Theatre: She Loves Me. Working in D.C: Working in D.C.  Artscentric: La Cage Aux Folles. Signature: Hamiltunes Cabaret Sing-Along. Pittsburgh: Alumni Theatre Company: Passing Strange. Howard University: Urinetown, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Flyin’ West. Education: Howard University, BFA Musical Theater; British American Drama Academy 2018.

Theresa Cunningham (Elder Mother) Baltimore-born Theresa Cunningham attended Syracuse University where she studied musical theatre. She moved to Atlanta to perform and teach, before moving back to the DMV in 2012. Select roles include: Arena Stage: Nina Simone: Four Women (Sarah); Round House Theatre: School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (Headmistress Francis), Caroline, or Change (Washing Machine); Imagination Stage: Wiley and the Hairy Man (Mama);

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Catrina Brenae (Understudy) is a classically trained visual and performing artist from Baltimore, Md. Notable performances. Regional: Baltimore Centerstage: Soundcheck (Catrina Brenae in Concert), Virginia Repertory Theatre: Have You Filled a Bucket Today? (Bucket Filling Fairy), ArtsCentric: Dreamgirls (Effie Melody White), ArtsCentric: Hair (Dionne Cover/Ensemble), Little Shop of Horrors (Crystal u/s), Baltimore Centerstage: The Christians (Ensemble). Film/TV: The Black Joy Experience (Docu-Series), Legal Enterprise (Web Series). Education: Clark Atlanta University Bachelors of Art, Music: Vocal Performance.

Andre Hinds (Understudy) Show Way is Andre Hinds Kennedy Center Debut! REGIONAL: Mill Mountain Theater: Legally Blonde (Emmett Forrest). Alabama Shakespeare Festival: Cinderella. DC AREA: SIgnature Theatre: She Loves Me, After Midnight, Scottsboro Boys, Crazy For You, Jesus Christ Superstar. Olney Theater Center: Singing In The Rain, Cabaret, Matilda, Elf, In The Heights, Guys & Dolls. Keegan Theater: Chicago. Toby's Dinner Theater: Showboat, Sister Act, Hairspray (Seaweed J. Stubbs), Peter Pan, Addams Family, Mary Poppins (Neleus), Memphis. 

Brittani McNeill (Understudy) is excited to be returning to the Kennedy Center TYA for Show Way! She made her Kennedy Center Debut this season in the world premiere of Beastgirl. Area credits include Jubilee with Arena Stage, Faust, The Magic Flute, and Samson and Delilah with Washington National Opera, and the U.S. premiere of the opera Mansfield Park at The Baltimore Theater Project, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Jane Austin novel. Other past performances include Cendrillon, The Medium, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and The Consul. Brittani graduated from East Carolina University, Morgan State University and the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University.

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Jaqueline Woodson (Playwright) is the recipient of a 2020 MacArthur Fellowship, the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Award, the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and the 2018 Children’s Literature Legacy Award. She was the 2018–2019 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, and in 2015, she was named the Young People’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation.

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Tyrone L. Robinson (Composer) is honored to be making his Kennedy Center composing debut with Show Way. His music has been featured at New York’s Public Theatre and The Vital Theatre (Off-Broadway Alliance Award Best Musical nomination). Recent commissions include Children’s Theatre Charlotte, First Stage Milwaukee, and TheatreWorks USA.

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Schele Williams (Director) Recently profiled as Variety's 2020 Top 10 Broadway to Watch, Schele Williams is a director committed to cultivating new musicals and devised work with authentic representation on stage and off. She will be helming Hidden Figures currently in development by Disney Theatrical Group. 

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Tiffany Underwood Holmes (Music Director/Keys) is pleased to make her Kennedy Center TYA debut. Selected area music direction credits include Miss You Like Hell (Baltimore Center Stage), Big River, Winnie the Pooh (Adventure Theatre), As You Like It (Keegan Theatre), The Last Five Years, john & jen, Mad Libs Live! (Red Branch Theatre) among many others.

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Tiffany Quinn (Choreographer) is currently the Director of Dance at Elizabeth Seton High School (MD). She is also on faculty in the Department of Theatre Arts at Howard University, where she also earned her BFA in Dance Arts. Performance credits: Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, A Dance Company, B.Moore Dance, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, and Francine E. Ott/The Walk. Choreography credits: A Chorus Within Her, The Blackest Battle, Blood at the Root (Theater Alliance), Zomo the Rabbit: A Hip Hop Creation Myth (Imagination Stage), The Diary of Anne Frank (National Players Tour), Earthrise (The Kennedy Center), Les Deux Noirs (Mosaic Theater), The Frederick Douglass Project (Solas Nua), Trojan Women, The Children’s Hour, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Howard University), In The Heights (Montgomery Community College), The Mail Order Bride (University of Maryland Baltimore County). Assistant to Choreographer - Ronald K. Brown Dancing Spirit (The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) and For Truth (Phiadanco!), Restaged A Winter’s Tale (Shakespeare Theater Company) - Camille A. Brown, Choreographer. Awards: Helen Hayes for Outstanding Choreography in a Play (Helen) - Blood at the Root - Theater Alliance.

Nadia Guevara (Associate Director) For Kennedy Center TYA: Acoustic Rooster’s Barnyard Boogie (Assistant Director), Beastgirl (Dramaturg). Directing credits include: N (Keegan Theatre), Palabras de encanto: Tales of Borikén (The Academy for Classical Acting at the Shakespeare Theatre and George Washington University), Little Women (Johns Hopkins University Barnstormers), El encuentro (Old Globe Arts Engagement), Guadalupe in the Guest Room, Cinderella Eats Rice and Beans: A Salsa Fairy Tale (New Village Arts). Guest director: Fefu and her Friends (American University), Readings: L'HÔTEL (Fulton Theatre Stories in Diversity Playwriting Festival), Azul (San Diego Repertory Theatre Latinx New Play Festival) Assisting: Daphne’s Dive (Signature Theatre, dir. Paige Hernandez), Put Your House In Order (La Jolla Playhouse, dir Lili-Anne Brown). Upcoming: Fantastagirl and the Math Monster (Adventure Theatre) www.nadiaguevara.com

Taylor Williams (Electronic Music Designer) is an electronic music designer whose work has been heard in theatres around the world, as well as television and recorded media. He’s had the great pleasure of contributing to Grammy Award®-winning projects such as Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, and the 2016 Broadway revival of The Color Purple starring Cynthia Erivo and Jennifer Hudson. He has also toured as a keyboard technician with Sara Bareilles. Recent stage work includes European and Mexican productions of Disney’s Aladdin and Beauty & The Beast. He is a co-founder of KeyboardTEK.com which provides regional theaters with world-class keyboard programming. Additionally he is the owner of Midiomatic, currently represented on Broadway and in the West End with Moulin Rouge and on tour in the US with An Officer & A Gentleman and the 50th Anniversary Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar. For more please visit www.taylorjwilliams.com

Wilkie Ferugson (Orchestrator) is thrilled to be at the Kennedy Center! A native of Miami, Florida and a graduate of New World School of the Arts, Ferugson majored in mathematics and music at Morehouse College, studied classical piano performance at Eastman School of Music, and served on the faculty of the Boys’ Choir of Harlem as assistant director, piano accompanist, and music theory instructor. Ferugson’s compositions, arrangements, and musical direction can be heard in film and theatre, including Parrotheads, the Netflix Jimmy Buffet documentary; and The First Colored Circus at Restoration Stage. As a singer, dancer and actor, Wilkie was a part of the original broadway casts of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Motown the Musical, Wonderland, and has toured with In the Heights and Hairspray. The recent NYC premiere of his original musical, Take On Me, features big band arrangements of 80’s pop songs by Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston, and more. 
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter: @wilkieferguson, @takeonmemusical

Tony Cisek (Scenic Designer) has contributed designs to the Kennedy Center productions of Long Way Down, Orphie & the Book of Heroes, The Light of Excalibur, Dreams in the Golden Country, Color Me Dark, The Great Quillow, and Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse.  Recent and upcoming productions include Toni Stone with Milwaukee Rep and Alliance Theatre, The Great Leap at Round House Theatre, Choir Boy at Denver Center, The Color Purple with Signature Theatre, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Folger Theatre at the National Building Museum.  Cisek’s work has also been seen at Roundabout Theatre, Arena Stage, Guthrie Theatre, Goodman Theatre, South Coast Rep, Portland Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, Ford’s Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Baltimore Center Stage, Indiana Rep, Syracuse Stage, New York Theatre Workshop, Cleveland Play House, Pioneer Theatre, Peoples Light, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and Studio Theatre.  He has received four Helen Hayes Awards and numerous other citations for outstanding design.  He was the principal theatre consultant for the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Northeast Washington, DC.  tonycisek.com

Jeannette Christensen (Costume Designer) is thrilled to be returning to the Family Theater! Previous credits at The Kennedy Center include - Me Jane: The Adventures of a Young Jane Goodall, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, How to Catch a Star, and Earthrise. Adventure Theater MTC - Luchadora, Elephant & Piggie: We are in a Play! (Helen Hayes Nominated - Outstanding Costume Design), Blueberries for Sal, and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Gala Hispanic Theater - Que las Hay!, Picasso, El Perro del Hortelano, and Ella es Tango. Theater Alliance - The Blackest Battle, Quadrant Series, Protest in 8, and Day of Absence. 4615 Theater -  Museum 2040, Lion in Winter, King John, Separate Rooms, and The Infinite Tales.  Olney Theater Center - National Players Tour 70 and Thanksgiving. Other regional credits include Pointless Theater, Imagination Stage, Monumental Theater, Dance Exchange, and Mosaic Theater. She has assisted with costume designs for American Players Theater, Roundhouse Theatre, Folger Theatre, Wolf Trap Opera, and Studio Theater. She has worked as a costume designer/mentor with Arizona State University, University of Maryland, Bowie State University, American University, and George Washington University. Christensen is a current resident artist at 4615 Theater Co. and runs her own sustainable clothing brand called Ronni-X. Education: BA in Design & Production from Arizona State University, MFA in Design from the University of Maryland. Find more of her work at jchristensendesign.com.

Kyle Grant (Lighting Designer) For KCTYA: Elephant & Piggie’s We are in a Play!; Jason Invisible. Select Regional: Cincinnati Playhouse, GEVA Theatre Center, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, Texas Shakespeare Festival, Rochester University, Cabrillo Stage. Select DC: The Washington Ballet, Theater J. Studio Theatre, Theater Alliance. Broadway: Associate designer, STICKFLY. Other: The Juilliard School, The Washington National Opera, Martha Graham Dance Co., Trinity Rep, The Humana Festival, The Vail Dance Festival, International Performing Arts for the Youth. Member: United Scenic Artists. www.kylegrantdesign.com

Cresent Haynes (Sound Designer) In 2012, Haynes received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Arts Technology, with a focus in Sound Design. In 2014, she received her first theatre review for her work as Sound Designer on the production Not About Nightingales directed by Eric Ruffin, describing her sound design as “an omniscient, foreboding force, ambitious in scope…”

Since then, her credits include: Fabulation (Mosaic Theater Company), HER-story (Kennedy Center), The Laramie Project (Duke Ellington School of the Arts), BLKS, A Strange Loop (Woolly Mammoth Theater), N (Keegan Theatre), Use All Available Doors (Pinky Swear Productions), Hope in the Hood (Amazing Grace Conservatory) and more.

Cresent Haynes is also a freelance Live Audio Engineer and Visual Artist. She has aspirations to one-day design on Broadway and continue touring with various performing artists as their Live Audio Engineer, all while continuing to fill spaces with her original art exhibits and paintings. Training: Howard University. (www.linktr.ee/cresentrochelle)

Jeremy Bennett (Projection Designer) is a DC area based projection designer and theatre artist. He is most recently an MFA recipient in design from the University of Maryland College Park. Some of his work has been featured at The Keegan Theatre in Dupont Circle: Trans Am, From Gumbo to Mumbo, and the DC premier of Boy. Other credits include UMD Clarice Performing Arts Center productions: The Visit, and The Heidi Chronicles.

Hailey LaRoe (Animator/Content Creator) is so excited to be back at the Kennedy Center for this powerful show. LaRoe is a lighting and projection designer based in the D.C. area since 2018. Recent credits include; Lighting design for Nat Turner in Jerusalem (Next Stop Theatre), Rhinoceros (Pointless theatre co.), Man Covets Bird (Spooky Action Theater), Lighting and Projection design for Christmas Eve (ExPats Theater), Assoc. projections for The Phlebotomist (1st Stage), and Ass. Projections for La Casa De La Laguna (Gala Hispanic Theatre). LaRoe is so happy to have worked with such an incredible team of artists on this show, Enjoy! Haileylaroedesigns.com. 

Chelsea Dean (Properties Artisan) is proud and excited to begin her relationship with The Kennedy Center! Dean was prop master for Round House Theatre’s The Great Leap, is a past props apprentice for Olney Theatre Center, and served as prop master and prop designer for two seasons at Muhlenberg College's Summer Musical Theatre. Dean currently works as the costume shop manager and occasional prop master for her alma mater, Salisbury University, where she is also a co-founder and artistic director at the university's resident theatre ensemble, Fultontown Theatre Company.  Instagram: @chelsea.maker.of.theatre @fultontowntheatre

Victor Vazquez (Casting Director) CSA (he/him) is the founder and lead casting director of X Casting (www.xcastingnyc.com) and sits on the national board of the Casting Society of America. He has cast projects for Broadway, Off-Broadway, London’s West End, and Film. He is the proud son of Mexican immigrants.

John Keith Hall (Production Stage Manager) Olney Theatre Center:  Beauty & the Beast, Singin’ In The Rain, Cabaret, Matilda, Elf the Musical, On The Town, The Crucible, Annie, Sweeney Todd, Mary Poppins, and The Producers. The Studio Theatre:  Bad Jews, Choir Boy, Water By The Spoonful, Tribes, Torch Song Trilogy, 4000 Miles, Sucker Punch, In The Red And Brown Water, The History Boys, Adding Machine: A Musical, The Road To Mecca;  Signature Theatre:  Ain’t Misbehavin’, West Side Story, and Soon.  Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company:  Where We Belong, Hi, Are You Single, Shipwreck, The Peculiar Patriot, Gloria, Familiar, Hir, An Octoroon, and The Nether.  Regional credits include Virginia Musical Theatre, Shadowland Stages, and over 40 productions as Resident Stage Manager at the Barter Theatre. Hall is a graduate of Longwood University and a proud member of Actors Equity Association.

Chanel Johnson (Assistant Producer/Assistant Director) (she/her) is thrilled to work with the team of Show Way: The Musical. When she is not  assistant directing, she works as the assistant producer for The Kennedy Center Theatre for Young Audiences. Johnson has a BFA in Musical Theatre and is passionate about EDI work. Her previous assistant directing credits include Working The Musical and Titanic. Upcoming: Johnson worked as the casting assistant for Growing Up, a new series for Disney+ coming later this year.

Siani Nicole (Assistant Choreographer) is a New Castle, Delaware native. Nicole obtained her B.F.A. in Dance from Howard University in 2021. Throughout her college career, Nicole has had the opportunity to work with artists such as Kim Bears-Bailey, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Maleek Washington, and Sidra Bell. She has performed in various venues such as the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage and The Merriam Theater. Outside of performing, Nicole has worked as an assistant and rehearsal director in Breathe Dance Project. She has taken on many roles in arts administration including, but not limited to, programs intern at the International Association of Blacks in Dance and development administrator at Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. She is an emerging choreographer and a strong advocate for the arts. Recently, Siani worked as assistant choreographer and ensemble member for "A Chorus Within Her" at Theater Alliance.

Cidney Forkpah (Assistant Costume Designer) is an assistant costume designer and costumer in the D.M.V. area, where her credits include The Kennedy Center, Folger Theatre, and Gala Hispanic Theater. Some of her credits include Show Way, Amadeus, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Nell Gwynn, Saint Joan, and Sense & Sensibility, and On Your Feet! La Historia de Emilio Y Gloria Estefan. 

Doug Del Pizzo (Assistant Lighting Designer) works in the DC area as a lighting designer, assistant, and draftsperson. Selected lighting design: The Madness of Poe, Snow Queen, Macbeth (Synetic Theater), Ordinary Days, Act of God (NextStop), Into The Woods, 1776, Bare: A Pop Opera (Levine School of Music) Selected ALD: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Beauty and the Beast, Singin’ in the Rain, Once, Miss You Like Hell (Olney Theater Center), Passion (Signature Theater), The Tempest (Synetic). Production Electrician: Shipwreck, Teenage Dick, A Strange Loop (Woolly Mammoth). He holds a BA in Theatrical Design & Production – Elon University. | DougDelPizzo.com | He/Him/His

Adam Bravo (Copyist) Adam Bravo is a Los Angeles based keyboardist, arranger/orchestrator, and music director. Artists: BTS, The Pussycat Dolls, Eden Espinosa, Nicole Scherzinger, Nik West, Deborah Cox. Film/TV: Dear White People, Black Monday, Mank, Motown Magic.

Samantha “Sam” Leahan (Production Assistant) Select regional credits include: White Christmas, Shirley Valentine, Nina Simone: Four Women, The Importance of Being Earnest, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Shrek The Musical, and Outside Mullingar (Berkshire Theatre Group). Lots of love to her family, friends, and her alma mater UNCSA! @SMSam413

William Knowles (Keys) As a composer, arranger, music director, and pianist, William Knowles has worked at regional theaters around the country and in Washington, DC, where he has received five Helen Hayes nominations for Musical Direction, winning twice. He joins the Show Way team between travelling for two productions of Ain’t Misbehavin’, at Pioneer Theatre in Utah and Idaho Shakespeare. Originally from Milwaukee, Knowles attended Howard University and the University of Massachusetts, and now resides in College Park, Maryland. In addition to performing, he has collaborated on ten original musicals with Thomas W. Jones II. Their upcoming project For Peace I Rise, is a new musical telling the story of C.T. Vivian, a key architect of the civil rights movement. Offstage he has released seven jazz cds with music partner Mark Saltman. This year will bring their eighth release, Native Speaker, a mix of originals and covers. Visit saltmanknowles.com and @saltmanknowles.

Diego Retana (Guitar/Banjo) is a guitarist residing in Brooklyn, New York. Originally from Washington D.C., he is active in both New York City and the greater D.M.V./Baltimore area.

Diego enjoys and is highly skilled in playing many genres of music including jazz, funk, rock, classical, and other popular styles. He regularly performs in weddings, recording sessions, private/corporate events, and musical productions, including Baltimore Center Stage's 2019 production of “Miss You Like Hell.” He also performs with an Irish folk band, The Pilgrims of Deep Run, in which he sings and plays mandolin and guitar.

As a bandleader, he has led all kinds of groups from alternative rock bands, to jazz combos, guitar ensembles, and experimental/fusion bands. As a side-man, he routinely accompanies singers, and instrumentalists for wedding ceremonies, cocktail hours, and happy hours, as well as playing in full bands for wedding receptions, bar gigs, and other private events.

Cyndy Elliott (Bass) A life-long resident of the Washington D.C. area, Cyndy Elliott currently works as a freelance bassist, performing many different styles of music for shows, big bands, small combos, orchestras, and chamber ensembles. Elliot leads the Django Reinhardt-inspired Trio Speevy and co-leads the jazz octet Swingtopia. She has travelled extensively, spending several years “on the road” playing bass with national tours, including the big band show In the Mood and the Broadway musicals Meet Me in Saint Louis and Sister Act. Cruise ship work took her to the Caribbean, Central America, and all over Europe. She toured Australia and New Zealand with a jazz trombone ensemble and performed in nine cities throughout China with the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony.

Elliott earned a master’s degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Maryland where she directed a number of ensembles and taught beginning jazz theory and improvisation.

Francis “Frank” Carroll (Percussion) is native of Washington, D.C., and a 27-year retired Veteran of The US Army Band, Pershing’s Own. Throughout his career, he performed thousands of missions at the White House, Pentagon, Department of State, and venues across the U.S. and abroad. Countries he’s visited and performed in include Australia, Norway, Korea, and China. Prior to his Army Career, Carroll was a music major at the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts and the University of MD, College Park. During that time, he worked as a percussionist at places such as Kings Dominion theme park, Commodore Cruise Lines’ Caribe I Orchestra, Barksdale Dinner Theatre and Touring Company, and so many more. He’s also performed with entertainment icons such as Lloyd Price, Fred Wesley, Tom “Bones” Malone, and Mark Wills. Currently, Carroll resides in the Tampa, Florida area and enjoys teaching percussion, golfing with his brother, and relaxing poolside.