Meet the collaborators

Lynreshay Johnson (she/her) is excited to be joining the Collab24 Collective for the first time! A born native of Nassau, Bahamas, Lynreshay ventured to the United States in 2016 to obtain her BA in Theatre Arts from Taylor University. After graduating, she worked as the Artistic Apprentice at Olney Theatre Center for their 2020-2021 season. During her time at OTC, she worked more closely with the administrative aspect of theatre, something that merged her business interest with her artistic ones. Working in this capacity during the pandemic and the movements taking place in the country surrounded by George Floyd’s death, Lynreshay realized that the power to truly change the industry came from the positions of the policy makers, which are still predominantly white spaces today. This led to her application and acceptance to Columbia College Chicago’s Master of Arts Management program, where she is currently excelling in her studies. For the past year, she has worked as an Audience Services intern with The House Theatre Chicago and is now an administrative intern at Mentalhaus. Each step taken in her life is motivated by her personal belief that, “inclusivity is an exhilarating experience, unequaled by anything else, as it provides the ability to create space for those individuals who have not been allowed to do what they are truly passionate about”. Her aspiration is to open up her own theatre center in The Bahamas and industrialize the performing arts in her country. She is grateful for the opportunity to work on this virtual festival and looks forward to the good work that will be produced and the incredible stories that will be told.

Zoe Rose Kriegler-Wenk (she/her) is a Chicago-based writer, educator, theatre-maker and multi-media artist. She enjoys layering visual, sonic and textual components to create multi-sensory experiences for her audience. She combines her passion for the written word with her interest in media and movement to celebrate hybrid forms of artistic expression. She looks forward to adapting material from her MFA Thesis Project as part of Mentalhaus' 2021-2022 season! Learn more about Zoe: https://www.zoerosekrieglerwenk.com/

Mike Silverman (he/him/his) is a second year Master of Arts Management candidate who is a creative that endeavors to professionally combine two of his passions, the arts and social justice/responsibility. He is fluent in American Sign Language, has the ability to memorize ridiculously minute details (e.g. movie quotes), and has a wonderful wife and three fur babies who mean the world to him. Mike is also interested in many art mediums, particularly theatre, documentary film making, photography, and video games.

Mariah Suarez (she/her) is a Chicago-based actor and teaching artist. She is passionate about mental heath awareness in theatre. She is a Columbia graduate with a degree in acting and a minor in education where she spent her time honing her skills in devising, stage combat, and developmental psychology. Outside of her professional work she is passionate about reconnecting with her Puerto Rican roots, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and cuddling with her dog.  

Jessa DeLuca (she/her) is currently based in Chicago, IL. She has a degree in Dramatic Arts and Anthropology and is currently working as a educator at a Living History Museum. In theatre, she specializes as an actor but also has experience in costume design and construction, stage management, carpentry and electrics. She has a passion for collaboration, creating art, and working as an ensemble. Her best work is in comedies and Theatre for Young Audiences. She is so excited to be working with such an amazing group of creators! See Jessa’s full portfolio at www.jessadeluca.com

Katherine Tanner Silverman (she/her) is delighted to perform in our first season of shows. Cheers to pursuing the dream.

Mariah Suarez (she/her) is a Chicago-based actor and teaching artist. She is passionate about mental heath awareness in theatre. She is a Columbia graduate with a degree in acting and a minor in education where she spent her time honing her skills in devising, stage combat, and developmental psychology. Outside of her professional work she is passionate about reconnecting with her Puerto Rican roots, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and cuddling with her dog.

Zoe Rose Kriegler-Wenk (she/her) is a Chicago-based writer, theatre-maker and teacher. She enjoys layering visual, sonic and textual components to create multi-sensory experiences for her audience. She combines her passion for the written word with her interest in media and movement to celebrate hybrid forms of artistic expression. She looks forward to adapting material from her MFA Thesis Project as part of Mentalhaus' 2020-2021 virtual season! Learn more about Zoe: https://www.zoerosekrieglerwenk.com/

Gregory Chase is an actor from Locust Fork, Alabama where he began his theater training at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. He began doing theater with church Christmas musicals when he was younger and discovered the ability theater has on captivating people. He continues to study Acting so that he can help others forget about their problems for a little bit and immerse them in a different world from their own. When not working on a project he enjoys quietly fishing, roaming with friends and the occasional bar fight. While unable to enjoy these during the Covid pandemic he enjoys reading plays and being bad at video games.

Zoe Rose Kriegler-Wenk is a writer, deviser and theatre-maker based in Chicago. She approaches her work through a series of interdisciplinary exercises that integrate physical, vocal, and text-based practices in order to generate embodied creative material. She is interested in blending the narrative and poetic voice, and enjoys exploring the ways in which live performers can interact with pre-recorded text and film to provide the audience with an engaging theatrical experience. She combines her passion for the written word with her interest in media and movement to produce pieces that challenge preconceived definitions of “text” and celebrate hybrid forms of artistic expression. She recently returned from studying physical theatre with an international ensemble at Arthaus Berlin, and looks forward to premiering a social-distance friendly version of her graduate thesis project, Of Water and Wings, ​in May of 2020.

Website:https://www.zoerosekrieglerwenk.com/

Alimmah started theatre because she realized she loves to tell stories and bring them to life through action. Her long list of hobbies includes painting, sewing, and photography. She uses her art to explore who she is.

CJ is a Chicago-based creative and storyteller. She found her way to theatre through dance, when she first started telling stories on stage. Since then, she’s especially come to love the layers of visual storytelling, especially through writing or costuming. You can usually find her working on a costume piece, reading a novel for her MFA, drinking far too much tea, or streaming a show from the National Theatre.

For Mariah, theatre was love at first rehearsal. From there, a love of acting and creating was born driven by a desire to bring theatre to everyone. Years later she has become a Teaching Artist and Actor. In these trying times, Mariah has been taking the time to improve her sewing skills and make face masks to donate. She also runs a Dungeons and Dragons campaign to keep in touch with friends and have a chance to get away from this world and go fight a gelationous cube. Mariah takes a lot of pride in her kindness and drive to help others in as many ways as she can, whether that be an epic adventure or coming up with terrible puns.