Shows Tag: First-Read

Shyama Nithiananda is a Dallas-based playwright, director, dramaturg, and actor. Her writing was most recently featured in the 2021 New Visions, New Voices festival at Southern Methodist University, where she earned her BFA in Theatre Studies with emphases in acting, directing, and playwriting. She is thrilled to participate in SparkFest as a playwright after appearing as an actor in SparkFest in 2021 and 2022. Recent credits include He’s Born, He’s Borne at Undermain Theatre (dramaturg / associate director), reading of LITTLELAMB at Teatro Dallas (director), and Guards at the Taj at Stage West (director).

Katie Ibrahim is thrilled to be directing such an incredible new play, and to work at Amphibian Stage for the first time! Select credits: Assistant Director/Stage Manager for Man Cave (Kitchen Dog), Director for Sleep/Wake (Echo Reads), Assistant Director for Hamlet (Shakespeare Dallas). She has also stage managed several past shows at Second Thought and is currently stage managing Next to Normal at Theatre Three. Huge thank you to Shyama for her amazing artistry, to the actors for their hard work bringing this play to life, and to the team at Amphibian for their dedication to new work.

Kaitlin Hatton is excited to be working with Amphibian Stage again! Recent props designs include Ann (WaterTower Theatre), La Medium (FW Opera), Baba, Spaceman, Marie Antoinette (Amphibian Stage Productions), Kodachrome, Fences, Young Frankenstein, An Empty Plate in the Cafe du Grand Boeuf, The Glass Menagerie, The Last Wide Open, and One Man, Two Guvnors (Circle Theatre). Recent stage management includes I’m Proud of You, The Other Josh Cohen, Tiny Beautiful Things (Circle Theatre), Marjorie Prime, Handle With Care, Between Riverside and Crazy, Witch, On The Exhale (Stage West), Baba, Spaceman, The Hollow, Egress, Hans & Sophie, She-Wolf, Gutenberg! The Musical!, Babette’s Feast, Lonely Planet, and Artist Descending A Staircase (Amphibian Stage Productions). Kaitlin holds a BFA in Theatre – Design and Technology from Texas Wesleyan University and teaches Stage Management there. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and received the 2019 Live Theatre League Bill Garber Young Artist Award.

Jeff Stanfield is a graduate of Texas Christian University. After spending eight and a half seasons with Dallas Children’s Theater, he is pleased to have returned to Fort Worth with Amphibian Stage. You may have seen him on stage under the open Texas sky at the Hip Pocket Theatre in such productions as Love Letters to a Raven, Loop the Loop, In Watermelon Sugar, The Lake Worth Monster and Don Quixote.

Soria is a proud Iranian American born and raised in Arlington, Texas. With a background in sustainability and environmental planning, this is Soria’s first entry working in theatre, and she is bursting with appreciation to Amphibian Stage for the opportunity to be immersed in the creative arts while amplifying the diversity of MENASA experiences. Soria holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science and Masters degrees in City and Regional Planning, both from the University of Texas at Arlington.

When not playing around in the garden, Soria enjoys observing people and culture through media, food, and politics. Connect on LinkedIn to stay in touch.

Amber Rossi Strasser is a graduate of SMU’s BFA Acting program, and is thrilled to return to DFW to work with Amphibian and some very dear friends. Past credits include: The Wolves, A Christmas Carol (Dallas Theater Center), Into the Breeches! (Stage West), Spring Awakening (SMU), and Madame Bovary (Undermain). She currently lives in Nashville, TN with her husband where she’s a member of the 4th Wall Acting Studio. Big thanks to Shyama, Katie, and Amphibian for bringing her back and for the opportunity to tell this story. 

Thomas Magee is a DFW native, born and raised, and graduated from SMU with his BFA in 2020. He was recently seen as He/Buddy in the world premiere of Sweetpea (Second Thought), Man/Tristan in in a word (Echo Theatre Dallas), Donalbain/ Murderer in Macbeth (Fair Assembly), and as the voice of George in The Cake (Theatre Arlington).

Celeste Perez (She/Her) is a voice/stage actor and producer. Recent stage work includes Stronger Than Arms (Undermain Theatre), The Hamlet Project (Shakespeare Dallas), and Pride & Prejudice (Shakespeare Dallas). As a voice actor, her work can be heard in several Crunchyroll titles such as Sugar Apple Fairy Tale, Laid Back Camp, Horimiya, and The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent. Celeste is also the associate producer at Fold Studios, a Documentary Film production company based here in Dallas. To learn more, visit Celeste-Perez.com

This will be Danny’s first time in an Amphibian Stage production! He previously participated in Sparkfest 2023. Work outside Amphibian includes Francis in Poor Clare (Stage West), Justice in The Persians, Justin in Madame Bovary (Undermain Theatre), Touchstone in As You Like It (Fair Assembly), Elmar in The 22+ Weddings of Hugo Multiple, Raymond in The Merit System (Teatro Dallas), Ensemble in To DIE:GO in Leaves (Cara Mía Theatre), Marcus in Feeding the Cat […] (Echo Theatre Dallas) Juan Julian in Anna in the Tropics (Mainstage Irving), Firs in The Cherry Orchard, Jany/David in We the Invisibles, Male Greek Chorus in How I Learned to Drive, Anther in Phoebe in Winter (Southern Methodist University). He graduated from SMU in 2020 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre with a specialization in Acting. Dannylovelle.com

Jakie Cabe has been in Time Stands Still, Fiction, and the staged reading of Rajiv Joseph’s All This Intimacy at Amphibian Stage. Currently Jakie can be seen as Letter Writer #1 in Tiny Beautiful Things at Circle Theatre. Jakie was most recently seen in Noises Off! And Black Comedy at Theatre Arlington, Dry Powder at Second Thought Theatre, and the world premiere of Matt Lyle’s Raptured at Theatre 3. He has performed in the DFW area w/ the Dallas Theater Center, Theatre 3, Second Thought, WaterTower Theatre, Stage West, Casa Manana, Amphibian Productions, Trinity Shakespeare, Ft. Worth Shakespeare in the Park, and Theatre Arlington. He is represented for film and television by the Kim Dawson Agency. Jakie has an MFA in Acting from Louisiana State University and is currently Associate Professor of Drama at TCC-Northeast.