Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi

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Dubbed the Ancient Jazz Priestess of Mother Africa, Lady Dane is a Black Nigerian, Cuban, Indigenous, American Performance Artist, Author, Poet, Educator, Cultural Worker, Producer, Film Maker, Dramaturg, a Helen Hayes Award winning Playwright (Klytmnestra: An Epic Slam Poem), a 2021 Helen Merrill Award Winner, a 3x Helen Hayes Award nominated choreographer, and a Princess Grace Honoraria Award winner. She is the co-founder and Co-director of the Black Trans Prayer Book, whose award winning short film, A New Creation Story, is making the festival rounds.

She is the curator and associate producer of Black Trans Women At The Center and is a Long Wharf Theatre Artistic Ensemble Member as well.

Meredith Suttles

Managing Director
She/Her

Meredith Suttles (she/her) is the Managing Director of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut. She is an arts leader with more than two decades of experience spanning development, management, fundraising, strategic planning, and performance. Suttles has held executive and senior leadership roles at organizations across the country, including Marin Theatre Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, TheatreWorksUSA, Soho Repertory Theatre, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), and New York City Opera.

She is a graduate of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and a former EmcArts: Arts Leaders as Cultural Innovators (ALACI) Fellow. Suttles is also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., serves on the Advisory Circle of TCG’s THRIVE! Program, and is a Steering Committee Member of the Black Theatre Commons. She is passionate about using theatre to spark dialogue, foster belonging, and create spaces where artists and audiences can thrive.

Originally from the Midwest, Suttles brings to her work a lifelong love of performance and a deep belief in the power of the arts to strengthen communities.

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Garnet Williams

She/They

Garnet Williams is a writer, actor, filmmaker, and singer originally from Atlanta, Ga. She can currently be seen starring in Cats: The Jellicle Ball on Broadway. Some other favorite roles include, Nina Simone: Nina Simone Four Women, Pythio in Head Over Heels, and Trix the Aviatrix in a one night concert at Carnegie Hall. For Lucile.

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