Fellowship
Program

Amiah McGinty is an emerging Black woman director, producer, and arts administrator passionate about community-building through authentic Black storytelling. Through her work, she aims to uplift stories that reflect the rich diasporic culture and multitextured lives of Black people in a way that makes us feel truly seen, heard, and celebrated. Amiah left her home in Augusta, Georgia for Washington, D.C. to attend the illustrious Howard University where she majored in acting and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts. Although her entry point to the theatre was through performance, her tenure at Howard unearthed a love for directing and arts administration. Her newfound passions led her to work at companies and theatres such as New York Theatre Workshop (Artistic Workshop Fellow), Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Connectivity Assistant/ Intern), National Black Theatre (Micro Development Intern), and Monkeypaw Productions (Podcast Development Intern).

Claire Talbott is a Brooklyn based, multi-disciplinary designer and artist. With her directing degree from Fordham University and her experience in video design, she offers a unique, well rounded voice to any artistic collaboration. Ultimately, Claire aspires to direct live interactive artist experiences. In addition to creative work, Claire identifies as an advocate for underrepresented groups. She was a leader and co-founder of The Fordham BIPOC Theatre Alliance and co-president of the Fordham Asian-American and Pacific-Islander (AAPI) Theatre Affinity Group. She has worked extensively to confront racism, sexism, and homophobia within her community. In her rare moments of free time, you can find Claire surfing in odd corners of the world, scouring eBay for rare British music magazines, or spoiling her chihuahua, Lenny.

Frederick Philp is a sound designer and audio engineer from Somerset, NJ. Some of his credits include Sweeney Todd (Broadway/Design Membership Candidate), Rock of Ages (Mountain Theatre Company), and Urinetown (Actor’s Express/Assistant Sound Designer). Philp believes in creating a fully immersive audio experience for the listener without compromising the quality needed to execute the vision. After witnessing Jeremiah Davison, a black sound designer in Atlanta, GA - Philp sought out to study under Davison to bridge his knowledge as a former actor with his career as an audio engineer; He looks to inspire young and upcoming black designers and engineers through his work.

Nasha Harris Santiago is a performer, choreographer, and arts-education teacher born and raised in San Francisco, CA. She is a Posse Scholar and a recent Boston University alumna where she studied communications and arts leadership. She was executive director of a top hip-hop team at Boston University, Fusion Dance Troupe. Her time at BU reawakened her passion for the entertainment industry and opened a door for further learning and leadership within the performing arts. Most recently, Nasha did a teaching residency with San Francisco Arts Education Project where she was the director of West Portal Elementary School’s spring musical. During this semester, she was also the Director of Choreography for San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO) where she choreographed pieces for I, Too, Sing America and The Day The Sky Turned Orange. She then moved to Coordinator and dance captain for their professional production De Mangagá that premiered at the Annual New Roots Theater Festival in Fall 2023. She was awarded the African American Art & Culture Complex grant: Enterprising Creatives Cohort Program. The program consisted of a 30-day boot camp for Black artists and creative entrepreneurs, where she engaged in a rapid review and re-evaluation of her original vision as a creative while building on her existing knowledge. Nasha is now an apprentice to renowned choreographer Camille A. Brown, and had the privilege to shadow her work on The Met Opera’s grammy nominated production of Champion and the new hit musical The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical. Nasha wants to expand her learnings and experience as a Black artist to find her role in the entertainment industry where change happens and progress continues.

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Sammy Womack (she/her) is a Mexican-American arts administrator and producer, who is so thrilled to be making her Broadway debut with Hell’s Kitchen! Sammy was previously a New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Executive Fellow, a Company Management Intern with Hamilton’s Eliza Tour, an NBCU Production Operations Intern, and the Executive Producer/Artistic Director of HOOLIGAN Theatre Company at UCLA. UCLA (’23) – Bachelor’s in Business Economics.

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Shivanna Sooknanan is Scenic and Costume Designer based, born, and raised New Yorker. She started reading music and South Asian dancing at the age of 5. Her theatre career started in high school where she worked with the late Tony Bennett, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and Lady Gaga. She went on receiving a BFA in Scenic and Costume Design and BA in Art History from Ithaca College. Other than her designing her own shows she has worked with established designers such as Derek McLane, Clint Ramos, Alexander Dodge, Arnulfo Maldonado, Wilson Chin, Dede Ayite etc. amongst others. Along with theatre design she has partnered and designed with clients including Saks, Tiffany and Co.,Hudson Bay Co., Bergdorf Goodman and Bloomingdale. She is proud to be a South Asian designer working in a field that lacks representation. Bollywood was her Broadway growing up and believes in creating similar full environments using all aspects of design, music, emotion and collaboration. She wants to continue to grow and excel in her career so everyone including  the next generation can see that all are welcome in the theatre.

Soumya Tadepalli (she/her) is a theater maker and administrator based in New York City and is passionate about telling new stories that uplift underrepresented voices and inspire social and political change. Prior to joining the Hell's Kitchen team as the PR Fellow, Soumya worked as the Development Operations and Database Coordinator for Oregon Ballet Theatre, and as an artistic and administrative intern at The Tank NYC. She also worked as a marketing intern at Syracuse Stage, and as an artistic intern under the mentorship of associate artistic directors, Melissa Crespo and Kyle Bass. Soumya is a graduate of Syracuse University's theater management program.

Sunshine de Castro is a lighting designer and electrician from Batangas, Philippines with a Californian upbringing. She is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a B.A. in Theatre Design/Technology. Her designs have been seen by audiences all over California’s Central Valley. For her, light is an essential storytelling vehicle. It is one of the first things we experience when we are born. She hopes to continue in the innately human tradition of storytelling; playing, exploring, and exemplifying it through light. Sunshine is committed to emphasizing equity and diversity in her work. Her undergraduate thesis “Lighting Design for All Skin Tones” was most recently presented at the Juilliard School in collaboration with their Office of EDIB. Recent design/technical credits include Assistant Head Electrician at the Juilliard School (Importance of Being Earnest, Later the Same Evening), Lighting Supervisor at the Santa Fe Opera (Apprentice Scenes), Lighting Designer at the Madera Theatre Project (Anna in the Tropics), Lighting Designer at Fresno State (The Pillowman, Electricidad).

Tyler Alexander Arnold hails from the South, as a Georgia-born and Texas raised artist. They are a graduate of The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University, c/o 2017, with a BFA in Costume Design. Shortly after moving to NYC, they were the Playwrights Horizons ‘Van Lier’ Costume Fellow for the 2018-2019 season. Recent work includes Costume designing  “iNegro, a rhapsody” by Kareem Lucas at the new Ohio theater, & “Dream crossed,” a short film for The Juilliard School directed by Zoey Martinson.  They have also been Assistant Costume designer on “Shadowland” at the Public theater, designed by Azalea Fairley, and a costume assistant on Broadway’s “A Strange Loop” designed by Montana Levi Blanco . They’ve also assisted Dede Ayite on “The Last of the Love Letters” at Atlantic Theatre. Other production credits include Broadway’s “Slave Play,” “American Buffalo,” and “Law & Order SVU” as a costume PA.

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Zoë Elizabeth Lillis (Writer’s Associate & Playwriting Fellow) is a New York City-based director, dramaturg and playwright. After spending time as the Allen Lee Hughes Artistic Fellow with Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., she is thrilled to have been welcomed home as a part of the Broadway company of Hell’s Kitchen. She previously served as the Hell’s Kitchen Writer’s Associate at the Public Theater, as well as throughout the show’s development. Zoë’s directing credits include the sold-out staged reading of Angels in America Part Two: Perestroika and Sharing Sondheim: Old Friends, both at Arena Stage, as well as Offstage, a three night original concert in New York dedicated to uplifting the voices of young artists. Dramaturgy credits include the world premiere of Kenneth Lin’s Exclusion and Arena’s critically acclaimed revival of Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches. Zoë earned her B.A. in Directing and Dramatizing History at NYU Gallatin, where she focused on the relationship between narrative and the process of production.