Membership Spotlight – December 2025

I’m currently working on my senior honors thesis for the theatre department at Northwestern! I am analyzing the pedagogical methods of theatre organizations that work with migrant youth with the purpose of developing an adaptable theatre education framework specifically for refugee adolescents. My project spans Copenhagen, Denmark—where I am currently studying abroad—and Chicago, IL. Thus, I am also interested in the insights these case studies can provide into how theatremaking adapts to differing institutional, political, and cultural contexts. I am currently in the middle of ethnographic research with the incredible theatre organization C:NTACT, based in Copenhagen, which works in partnership with young people and schools to devise theatre through personal storytelling. So cool!

Bharti Kher’s sculpture exhibit ‘Mythologies’ at the Thorvaldsens Museum in Copenhagen is amazing. It includes unique materials such as bindis, mirrors, and sari fabric, and is juxtaposed so fascinatingly against Thorvaldsens’ own work. I’ve also really enjoyed the illustrations of Marta Matus, a Slovakian artist who creates some of the most wonderful and whimsical children’s books I’ve ever seen. I am also a forever fan of Julia Masli’s show ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. And, I want to shout out my mom, who is an artist as well and my forever inspiration: her creations are beautiful and they never fail to astound me.

I work with a student club called Seesaw Theatre at Northwestern, and I’m very excited for our winter show happening in March. We have an incredible team of student designers, directors, and actors working on it! Seesaw shows always have so much love and innovation poured into them, and I feel so lucky to be a part of the process.

A dream project would involve translating some of Finnigan Kruckmeyer’s plays to Indian languages and staging them in South Asia. Perhaps we could also translate some Indian plays to English and perform them in the States…. I am very excited about international collaborations through storytelling and TYA!

Theatre is such an expansive, exploratory, multimodal form of art, and the possibilities are endless. Some of the most innovative, advanced, beautifully complex shows I’ve witnessed have been TYA—and I want to stay engaged in such art forever. I am also passionate about access and inclusion in TYA: how can theatre serve as a form of access to all kinds of learning, and how can we present stories that truly make every child feel represented? Performance and art is political, whether we intend it to be or not, and I firmly believe in the power of theatre to serve as a space for young people to dream, create, and learn how to engage with the world around them.

Kennedy Naseem – my forever friend and collaborator! Kennedy and I met in the first term of college, and she constantly inspires me with her passion, talent, and genuine compassion. We’ve worked on a variety of projects together, both in and out of the TYA world, and she is constantly the first person I go to for feedback and advice on anything related to theatre. Her way of engaging with children through performance is truly magical, and I am confident that she will take the TYA world by storm with her work!

Professor Lynn Kelso at Northwestern is truly my guiding light. She has been the most incredible mentor to me for the past four years, and I am grateful everyday for her constant guidance and support. I knew very little about TYA, especially in the American context, when I first came to the States for college, and Lynn has helped me navigate the world (and future pathways!) throughout my time here. I am grateful to have her as a teacher, and she is a constant source of inspiration, enthusiasm, and comfort in my theatre journey.

aashnaraiofficial@gmail.com, or on LinkedIn!

I am just coming up for air after two (well, three technically) exciting projects at once! I directed two casts together of A Charlie Brown Christmas– one cast performs at Orlando Family Stage,  while the other cast embarks on a 30+ city national tour, in coordination with Gershwin Entertainment Corp. While rehearsing Charlie Brown in the day, I was writing the 3-hour television broadcast script for the 6abc Dunkin’ Thanksgiving Day Parade for Philadelphia’s ABC affiliates. The parade features music performances from popular artists and Broadway touring productions, and leans heavily into ABC talent from across all its platforms.

A podcast titled “Notes With Jack” where screenwriter Alan Fox has conversations with the legendary theatre director Jack O’Brien. Jack is in his mid-80s and his career is so varied. The podcast delves so much into process. I had already read his memoir Jack Be Nimble, but had missed its follow-up, Jack in the Box, Or How to *#$$@%* Direct, so when it was mentioned in the podcast, I ordered it immediately and am thoroughly enjoying it. Do yourself a favor and dive in, and stick with it as it only gets better and better.

Dream projects are too numerous to even discuss, but I have lots of irons in the fire!!! I’m currently working on a project creating a show for touring and residential sit-downs around a beloved toy brand that has been around for almost 50 years and the love is still very strong. I have some exciting television and stage writing coming up for America250 next year and am planning our next season which will celebrate 100 Years of Orlando Family Stage!!!! There will be some new works coming from Deborah Wicks La Puma and Janet Stanford, Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner, and Michael Kooman and Chris Dimond.

I absolutely love Theatre for Young Audiences and I do truly know that theatre attendance and participation changes people for the better- making them more engaged and caring global citizens. So let’s begin that positive character building as young as possible (which is also why I adore Theatre for the Very Young!). We hear often that we are building audiences of tomorrow for the arts, which I do not fully accept or rather, Yes And- yes and we are delivering for our audiences of today! Young people deserve theatre as well-produced, presented, delivered in the same or better quality than theatre for adults. There must absolutely be sophistication and elegance in the storytelling as well as physical production, as our children deserve nothing less. I believe it is a criminal act to say “well, it’s just for kids, so this is good enough.” Straight to jail, no chance of a pardon! That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but not much! We must bring our A-game to a Friday afternoon summer camp presentation, just as if the lights were dimming for the show to start at Lincoln Center- have fun, but also deliver the best work you possibly can. Our children are our treasures, so let’s share ours.

Oh my goodness, so many! Let me cheat a bit and name several. I love working with so many of my fellow Artistic Directors, two that I have co-commissioned the most with are Jeff Frank at First Stage and Adam Burke at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte. I love working with the playwrights/composers Allison Gregory, Michael Bobbitt, John MacLay, Michael Kooman & Chris Dimond. With these names, there are over 20 projects combined. I love this field and cannot wait to meet my next favorite collaborator!

This is a problem cell.These questions are so difficult because there are so, so many and I fear I will leave someone out inadvertently. I’ll begin with a very important figure in my life whose advice, personally and professionally, has always been solid gold and that is Mr. Ron Logan, who was a Senior VP at Disney World and the first president of what is now Disney Theatricals as it was his idea and vision that brought Disney into the theatre game when he shepherded Beauty and the Beast to the stage. His biggest piece of advice was to say yes, even if a project terrified you, and that many times others can see possibility in you that you haven’t seen yourself. Paul Lartonoix saw my potential as an artistic director. I learned much about management from Gene Columbus. I have learned so much from my fellow artistic directors over the years and there are too many to name and also fear of leaving someone out. I view this group of people, with new ones being added each year, as my strongest network. I have so many teachers from high school and college that I owe so much to. I am very fortunate that wonderful people have been placed along my path. I can only hope I become such a person to someone else. People are the best part of this job- well, I guess not just this job, but the best part of everything! We are all here for each other, even though many haven’t figured that out just yet.

jrevels@orlandofamilystage.com.

I am currently working on making plans for Sugarloaf Community Theatre’s summer musical and potentially adding some education based programming to our summer season.

The Lord of the Rings.

I really want to direct either the kids or jr. version of Finding Nemo someday.

Because kids are the greatest audience you will ever have, and their is nothing more magical in the world than seeing the joy on the faces of children when we create theatre for them, and the adult performers who choose to spend their time doing theatre for kids are some of the most imaginative, creative, and kind people on this planet.

My good friend Isobel Kunshek who was my Lyricist for the musical I composed and directed last summer with Sugarloaf Community Theatre. The show was called Queen of the Library, and it followed two high school students as they get trapped in a library by a group of wacky and fun ghosts who want to give them life advice.

My mother, Jamie Schwaba who taught me much of my foundational knowledge in Directing live theatre and encouraged me to go to college and study theatre for a career.

Instagram: @seamusschwaba or Email: seamusschwaba@gmail.com.