KAITLIN BARNETT PROCTOR (Audio Director) is a sound designer and audio engineer with an MFA in Sound Design and Technology from the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. She has a passion for live experiences and has always sought to bring stories to life through sound. Kaitlin has a degree in audio engineering technology from Belmont University. When not designing, you can find her working concerts, esports events or tour managing. Selected design credits include CAMELOT (Human Race Theatre Company), WITCH (The Carnegie), EMILIA, IN THE GREEN, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (University of Cincinnati, CCM), THE LIGHTNING THIEF, SECRET SOLDIERS (Nashville Children's Theatre), LITTLE WOMEN, PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, and 42ND STREET at (Belmont University). Engineer credits include: A1 for A WRINKLE IN TIME and PARADISE BALLROOM at New York Stage and Film. Production Sound Engineer for FRANKENSTEIN, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND (University of Cincinnati, CCM). 

GENEVIEVE BELLAVANCE (Stage Management Apprentice)  is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley pursuing stage and general management. They are ecstatic to join the team at NYSAF after interning at RCI Theatricals in the spring! Stage management credits include NONE: A PRACTICAL BREVIARY (NYSAF), MOTHER ROAD (Berkeley Rep), and A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Santa Cruz Shakespeare). They have also served as a Catering Manager and Production Assistant for The Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep. Genevieve is a proud member of Baseline Theatrical’s Beyond the Stage Door and the Cody Renard Richard Scholarship Program’s 2024 cohorts.

JONAH BOBILIN (Lighting Director) (He/They) is thrilled to be returning to Poughkeepsie this summer as NYSAF's Lighting Director! He is fascinated by the spectator/performer encounter and new stories that examine the important contradictions of our society, and which induce the audience to enact meaningful change after leaving the playing space. Some places Jonah has designed at include Hawaii Theatre, Queens Theatre, Mānoa Valley Theatre, and the Kennedy Theatre. They have received two Poʻokela Awards for Excellence in Lighting Design from the Hawai‘i State Theatre Council. Jonah was the associate lighting designer for “Stereophonic” on Broadway, with additional associate/assistant credits at Seattle Rep, Playwrights Horizons, Shakespeare Theatre Company, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and TheatreWorks SV. Since 2021, Jonah has proudly served on the Executive Board of Design Action, an intergenerational coalition of BIPOC and white designers working to end racial inequities in the North American Theatre.

KRISTY BODALL (Company Manager) (She/Her) is a NYC-based producer, arts administrator, and stage manager, and is one of the Co-Directors of Pipeline Theatre Company. Company management credits include JES TOM: LESS LONELY and THIS BEAUTIFUL FUTURE; producing credits include HOUSE OF TELESCOPES, BABY JESSICA'S WELL-MADE PLAY, and BRUISE & THORN with Pipeline; NOVA BALL 2024; and a workshop of Alan Menken’s ATINA: EVIL QUEEN OF THE GALAXY. Notable stage management credits include PARIS at the Atlantic Theatre Company, GHOST QUARTET at New York Theatre Workshop, three Summerworks shows with Clubbed Thumb: SPINDLE, SHUTTLE, NEEDLE, KING PHILIP’S HEAD IS STILL ON THAT PIKE JUST DOWN THE ROAD, and PLANO; five shows with Pipeline: PLAYING HOT, FOLK WANDERING, BEARDO, THE GRAY MAN, and CLOWN BAR; and development work with New York Stage and Film (NYSAF), The Public Theater, Second Stage, Playwrights Horizons, Center Theatre Group, Ars Nova, and Fresh Ground Pepper. Kristy holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Dickinson College.

TAYLOR BRAY (Assistant Company Manager) (They/Them) is a company manager focused on clear communication and accessibility. They most recently spent 10 months working in Company Management with Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, gaining hands-on experience with some of the largest and most technologically advanced shows currently open. As a recent graduate of the University of Central Florida’s BFA Stage Management Program, they worked on shows such as SWEENEY TODD, THE CHERRY ORCHARD, and NYSAF’s own, THE WOLVES. They are excited to return to Upstate New York after spending the summer of 2023 in Cooperstown with the Glimmerglass Festival, helping keep the company happy and healthy while managing housing and transportation logistics

DRIA BROWN (Community Liaison) (she/her) is a Queer ArtDoula, Creative Producer, Facilitator, and Artist based in New York City. Known for her dynamic and intentional approach, Dria’s work honors the natural rhythms of creativity, fostering deep connections, sustained growth, and transformative expression. She is currently the Co-Director of Programming at the Broadway Advocacy Coalition (BAC), where she has played a pivotal role in securing BAC’s Tony Award and spearheading impactful initiatives like the Artivism Fellowship, Broadway for Black Lives, and the Arts in Action Festival. Dria’s independent creative work spans theater, live events, and digital media, with credits at venues such as Joe’s Pub, Abrons Arts Center, The Whitney Museum, New Inc Museum, The Met, Bronx Arts Space, MCC Theater, Rockwood Music Hall, and more. As an ArtDoula, Dria nurtures artists and their creations through bespoke frameworks that prioritize care, authenticity, and process. In 2024, Dria was named one of Broadway Women’s to Watch and served as a Theater of Change Facilitator at Columbia Law School. Her speaking engagements include the National Endowment for the Arts, Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival and SXSW.

VICTORIA BROWN (Assistant Company Manager) is a solution-focused servant leader who is passionate about uplifting and empowering others around her. She has extensive experience working with diverse artists in theatrical productions, ice shows, concerts, and festivals. Her business acumen has been cultivated through academia, consulting, and live entertainment endeavors. Most recently, she served as the Touring Office Coordinator for Disney on Ice Presents: FROZEN and ENCANTO, coordinating logistics and daily operations for over 300 shows across North America, Mexico, and Canada. Known for her positive attitude, strategic mindset, and ability to build strong relationships, Victoria thrives in collaborative environments that bring stories to life through live performance.

ALEX GARCIA (Stage Management Apprentice) (They/Them) is a rising senior at Middlebury College majoring in Theatrical Design and Stage Management. They're thrilled to be joining NYSAF this season to explore the world that is theatrical new works. Professional credits include the 2024 season of Dogteam Theatre Project (Associate Master Electrician). Educational stage management credits include: RHINOCEROS, AND BABY MAKES SEVEN, DESTROYING ANGELS, POLAROID STORIES, WORST MOTHER IN THE WORLD, and KING LEAR. Educational light design credits include STORM STILL and GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES. They're a proud recipient of the Posse Foundation Full Tuition Leadership Scholarship and the Wentcher Scholarship. 

LEM GOLDSTEIN (Lighting Apprentice) (They/Them/Theirs) is a Brooklyn based lighting designer. Lem received a BFA from Brooklyn College in Theater Design & Production with a focus in lighting design this May. They are also a proud alum of LaGuardia High School’s technical theater studio. Lem is a passionate and thoughtful community member who strives to leave every space they enter a little bit better than it was upon their arrival. Lem is thrilled to be the lighting apprentice at NYSAF this summer and is grateful for all of the support from their family and friends

JOI ELISE GREEN (Arts Administration Apprentice) is a director, producer, and arts administrator from Austin, TX. She enjoys developing new plays that highlight the absurdity of the human condition and finding immersive, unconventional ways to bring stories to life. Joi is so excited to spend her first season with NYSAF as the Arts Administration Apprentice. Prior to arriving at NYSAF, Joi Elise spent the 2024-25 season as a Directing & Artistic Programs Apprentice at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Her Seattle Rep credits as a Directing/Artistic Programs Apprentice include THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH, BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY, LAUGHS IN SPANISH, True Color Theatre’s Next Narrative Monologue Competition 2025 Regional Finals, a workshop of No-No Boy by John Okada, adapted by Frank Abe, and directing a staged reading of Kobe Mckelvey’s WHEN YOU SEE YOURSELF IN SUCH A WAY, I SMILE. Joi has had the pleasure of working at The Old Globe, Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, Austin Shakespeare and VORTEX Repertory Theater. Joi Elise Green is a 2020 YoungArts Winner in Theatre and a 2025 CIPA Rising Producer Fellow.

DEADRIA HARRINGTON (Community Liaison) (She/Her/Hers) is a New York City based creative producer, Producing Artistic Leader/Managing Director at The Movement Theatre Company and Director of Artistic Operations at New Georges. Harrington passionately develops and produces herculean new work by artists of color in all her endeavors. Select producing credits include: The Cotillion (The Movement/New Georges), What To Send Up When It Goes Down (The Movement and Northeast Regional Tour), At Buffalo (NYMF, UB Buffalo Creative Arts Initiative, CAP21, TED 2019 Conference participant), AFROFEMONONOMY // WORK THE ROOTS with Eisa Davis (Performance Space New York/New Georges). Harrington was a Time Warner Foundation Fellow of the 2012-2014 Producers Lab at WP Theater, Next Generation Leader of Color at the 2014 Latinx Theatre Commons National Convening, artEquity’s National Facilitator Training participant, and member of NYFA’s Executive Leaders of Color Incubator. She is the Board Co-Chair of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/NY and a Vassar College graduate.

KYDIANA JEANTY (Assistant Production Manager) (She/They) is a returning member of the NYSAF team. Kydiana graduated from FSU with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre. There, she refined her skills in stage management and acting. She also minored in Communications and Film Studies to not only learn about theatre, but entertainment in all aspects. She has worked on many memorable theatre productions and film workshops. She is very excited to be working on the production management team again at New York Stage and Film.

EUNYEONG KANG (Audio Technician) is excited to return to New York Stage and Film this summer. Originally from Jeju-do, South Korea, Eun recently graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU) with a degree in Theatre Arts. Last year, Eun served as an audio apprentice. She participated in several productions at MNSU, including ANASTASIA THE MUSICAL (Sound Mixer), DISNEY'S HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL (Sound Mixer), ROUND TRIP TICKET (Sound Designer), and MEN ON BOATS (Sound Designer).

ARIN LAYCOOK (Assistant Company Manager) is from Annapolis, MD where she was an assistant stage manager for a production of FIRST DATE at the Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre. She graduated with a BA in Drama from Kenyon College where she completed her senior thesis project in lighting design for BEOWULF:CLEANUP ON ISLE FIEVE. She spent her first semester of college abroad studying in Denmark where she stage managed the play CHEKHOV’S DREAMERS at the Copenhagen Theater Circle. At Kenyon, she was the stage manager for the yearly fall and spring dance concerts and designed the sound for ASSISTANCE and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. Last summer she studied devised theater making and performance at Rose Bruford College in Sidcup, UK. Most recently she designed the lighting for SOMERSET TAVERN at the Woodward Opera House in Mount Vernon, OH. She enjoys programming lighting consoles, and training in Taekwondo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

AMARA PAYTON MCNEIL (Head Electrician) (She/Her)  is a New York-based, Hartford-raised, theatrical lighting designer. She is a member of IASTE USA 829 and was the 2023 Howell Binkley Fellow. As a visual storyteller, she aims to create an immersive experience for the audience, using vibrant colors and dynamic angles to bring texture to the stage. She enjoys work created for and by the black community and projects that blend performance and culture. Credits include Broadway: ROMEO & JULIET (DMC), STEREOPHONIC (Asst. LD), Come From Away 2nd Nat Tour (Asst. LD), PARADE (LD Intern); Regional/Off-Broadway: Goddess (Asst. LD @ The Public), KING JAMES (LD @ George Street Playhouse), Icons Gala (LD @ PAC NYC), Fabulation, or… (LD @ The Billie Holiday), LIKE THEY DO IN THE MOVIES (Assoc. LD at PAC NYC), TEETH (Assoc. LD @ New World Stages), THE UNTITLED, UNAUTHORIZED HUNTER S. THOMPSON MUSICAL (ALD at La Jolla Playhouse).

KAIA L. MERRELL (Lighting and Design Associate) (She/Her & They/Them) is a New York based Lighting Designer for theatre, opera, and dance. They are interested in telling stories that push the envelope, and lead audiences to a catharsis through rich, compelling text or music, and striking visual composition. They are excited by the idea of ghost stories – that all theater is a kind of ghost story – and that the things which haunt us aren't necessarily scary, but are just the things we carry with us.

They received their BA in Theatre from DeSales University, and have recently gotten their MFA from NYU Tisch.

SAMARION MONTGOMERY (Assistant Company Manager) (He/Him), a native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi is a recent graduate of Howard University where he obtained a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts Administration. Continuing to apply his skills in production execution and event coordination, in contributing to various sectors of the multimedia entertainment industry—including theatre, film, and fashion, he is ecstatic to be part of New York Stage and Film this summer. Through his professional experiences in entertainment administration, he remains eager to take on opportunities that challenge him, expand his network, cultivate new skills, and solidify his presence across all creative platforms.

CRISTINA NEELY (Box Office Manager/ Front of House) (She/Her) is an NYC based theatre artist and proud former Floridian. Her time in Florida brought her a love of kitsch, a clown nose she keeps in her bag at all times, and an ability to stay chipper even under intense heat and humidity. Since moving to NYC post-grad in 2023, she’s had the privilege of working in front of house, directing, producing, and stage managing roles with New York Theatre Workshop, NYU’s MSNR Studio, New York Stage and Film, and more. She is very excited to be returning for a second season, and can’t wait to see what this summer brings!

HILARY PARDEY-HERNANDEZ  (Production Management Apprentice) (she/her) is a Orlando based artist who invests her time in directing, stage managing, producing, and dreaming of her future victory on DANCING WITH THE STARS. She is currently working as a Rehearsal Stage Manager for VIRGIN VOYAGES. When she is not sailing the seas on a big red boat, she is dedicated to creating collaborative spaces with her best friends! She is very excited to be the Production Management Apprentice for NYSAF and explore a new perspective of the production process. This is a full circle moment as she dedicated her college career to new play development and NYSAF is letting her come back home! Big shoutout to Project Spotlight at the University of Central Florida. (@hpardey)

SAMANTHA PIROH (Digital Content Creator) is a recent graduate from Marist College, having earned a degree in Media Studies and Production, with a minor in Graphic Design. Samantha is so excited to be returning to the NYSAF team this summer as the Digital Content Creator. She is/are looking forward to another summer of meeting new creatives and growing her skill set as a content creator back where it all began, her alma mater!

ALYSSA RIDER (Administration Apprentice) is from Newburgh, New York. She graduated from Brandeis University with a degree in Russian and International Studies. A relative newcomer to the world of theatre, she’s very excited to be a part of the team this summer.

DIKI SHERPA (Marketing Apprentice) (she/her) is currently pursuing a double major in Studio Arts and Economics at Kenyon College. Originally from Nepal and with very little experience in the realm of stage and film, Diki is very excited to be learning with NYSAF so far from home. She has prior experience with photography and graphic design and is looking forward to applying those skills this summer.

AMARA SKINNER (Audio Mixer) (She/They) is a sound designer and music producer who earned her bachelor’s degree at Loyola University of New Orleans in Music Industry Studies, Amara has collaborated with over 80 theaters, films, festivals and musical artists. She recently obtained a Masters of Creative Media in Live Music Production and Design at Berklee NYC in 2025. Her recent strides include sound design of CINQ, New York Bridal Fashion Week show 2025, sound design and production management of all 4 plays showcased at the inaugural 2023 We Will Dream: New Works Festival, sound design and composition of FOR COLORED GIRLS (Loyola University), and sound design of RAW FRUIT (KM Dance Project), OUTRAGED HEARTS (The Fire Weeds), A DOLL’S HOUSE (Crescent City Stage), CLYDE’S (Boise Contemporary Theater), SANCTUARY CITY (SteppenWolf Theater, assistant), THE COLORED MUSEUM (The NOLA Project) and SOLE 2 SOUL (Junebug Productions, engineer and design). Amara’s ultimate goal is to inspire other young sound artists.

PRADANYA SUBRAMANYAN  (Producing Associate) is an Indian American artist and advocate dedicated to cultivating equitable and inclusive spaces within the arts and entertainment industry. With experience in producing, intimacy choreography, and management, she champions underrepresented voices through storytelling that emphasizes agency and authenticity. Pradanya creates community-centered environments where artists are empowered to explore and share transformative stories. Her work focuses on fostering accessibility for both artists and audiences while dismantling systemic barriers to create a future where all communities can see themselves fully represented onscreen and onstage.

 pradanyasubramanyan.com

JENNA WORDEN (Production Manager) (She/Her) is a producer, director, and stage manager with a passion for storytelling, education, and access to the arts. She previously worked as the Director of Production for Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, known for producing the annual Free Shakespeare on the Common in Boston, MA. She was the artistic director and producer of Brian O'Donovan's A CELTIC SOJOURN, LIVE for the last three years of its run, including the sold-out 20th Anniversary production in 2022. Additional regional credits include Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, SpeakEasy Stage, The Gamm, New Rep Theatre, Gloucester Stage Company, Central Square Theater, Phoenix Theatre, and Childsplay AZ. She earned both her BA in Theatre Studies and BSEd in History from Northern Arizona University and is constantly looking for new ways to teach and be in conversation with the past.