Natka Bianchini is the Managing Director of Iron Crow Theatre having previously served on the theatre’s board of directors and having directed the critically acclaimed and award-winning productions of Hurricane Diane, Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties, The Mystery of Love and Sex, and Cloud 9. Under her leadership, Natka oversaw the historic transfer of Iron Crow’s production of RENT to the M&T Bank Exchange, making the company the first small professional theatre in Baltimore to perform in the space. Natka is a Baltimore-based director, scholar, and theatre educator with more than 40 directing credits including plays, musicals, devised pieces, and new work. Previous credits include Us/Them (Sisters Freehold), God of Vengeance (Gordon Center for the Performing Arts), John Proctor is the Villain, The Thanksgiving Play, The Wolves, Spring Awakening, Waiting for Godot (Loyola University), A Delicate Balance(Tufts University), among many others. She is the author of two books (Samuel Beckett’s Theatre in America, Palgrave McMillan 2015 and Albee and Influence, Brill 2021) and numerous reviews and articles on theatre and performance. She has presented various keynote speeches and presentations on her research at symposiums across the country and abroad. As the founding Vice President of the Edward Albee Society, she oversaw the publication of the series New Perspectives on Edward Albee Studies. Natka is a professor of theatre and the current head of the theatre program at Loyola University Maryland where she teaches directing, theatre history, American musical theatre, and queer theatre and film. She is an affiliate with the Center for International Theatre Development (CITD) and a graduate of the HERS leadership institute for women in higher education. Natka holds a B.A. in sociology from Wellesley College and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in drama from Tufts University. www.natkabianchini.com
Ian Gallanar is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in Baltimore, Maryland and is proud member of the distinguished National Theatre Conference, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (the union for professional stage directors) and the Dramatists Guild of America. Ian founded the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in 2002, directed its first production Twelfth Night, and has directed over 50 productions for the company over its 20+ year history iShakespeare Beyond is Ian’s latest creation, designed to provide additional access to arts and culture to communities across the State of Maryland with the innovative Shakespeare Wagon. Ian is a Distinguished Alumni of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a Telly Award Winner, a Howie Award Winner for Outstanding Artist and a Helen Hayes Tribute Award winner. He is the recipient the Berger Award, given annually by the international Shakespeare Theatre Association for outstanding lifetime achievement as an Artistic Director of a Shakespeare company. He served as President of that organization from 2019-2021.
Cat Ramirez is a director and producer who loves logistical puzzles, community meals, and bisexual lighting. Some of their favorite directing projects include She Was a Conquistawhore with Rachel O’Hanlon Rodriguez and Die Cast, Letters to the Moon with Mel Hsu and Intercultural Journeys, Half Magic with Joseph Ahmed, Meet Murasaki Shikibu with Tiny Dynamite (Barrymore nomination for Outstanding Direction), Young Americans with Theatre Horizon, and Space Opera with Obvious Agency. They have produced with the Bearded Ladies Cabaret, Asian Arts Initiative, InterAct Theatre Company, and more. Cat is the Creative Director for Philly Asian Performing Artists, the Creative Producer and a worker-owner for Obvious Agency, and a Board Member of the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation and Theatre Philadelphia. catramirez.com (Photo by Emily Schuman)