LOU BELLAMY (Director) is the founder and artistic director of Penumbra. He has been a member of the University of Minnesota's faculty for 31 years and is currently appointed to the rank of Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance. Recent awards include the 2007 OBIE for Direction and the 2006 McKnight Distinguished Artist Award. Recent directing credits include Two Trains Running at the Signature Theatre in New York, Jitney at Kansas City Repertory Theatre and Arizona Theatre Company, and Penumbra's production of Gem of the Ocean presented at the Guthrie Theater. Other recent Penumbra credits include The Piano Lesson and REDSHIRTS.

AUSTENE VAN (Black Mary/ Choreography) is a Penumbra Theatre company member. She was the director for this season's Black Nativity: Twenty Years of Holiday Cheer! and co-director for Black Nativity - A Homecoming in 2006. Recently, she directed and choreographed Blues in the Night at the Ordway Center. Select credits at Penumbra include Get Ready, Blue, Ain't Misbehavin', Zooman and the Sign, Dinah Was, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Seven Guitars, The Last Minstrel Show and Lost in the Stars, and Penumbra's co-production with the Guthrie of The Darker Face of the Earth. She has also performed at The Children’s Theatre, Pantages, Mixed Blood and the Saint Louis Black Repertory Theatre. Television credits include Happiness, Vernie and The Shake Down. Musical recordings include Van Album, Gift of Love and Kef.

SANFORD MOORE (Musical Director) has been the musical director for several productions at Penumbra Theatre including Black Nativity: Twenty Years of Holiday Cheer!, Get Ready, Blue, Black Nativity–A Homecoming, and Ain't Misbehavin'. Select musical direction credits also include Crowns, Dream on Monkey Mountain, Triumph of Love, and As You Like It at the Guthrie Theater, and Two Queens, One Castle at Mixed Blood Theatre. Sanford is an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota School of Music and Minister of Music for Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

URI SANDS (Choreographer) A principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for five years, he also danced with Minnesota Dance Theatre and James Sewell Ballet, as a guest artist with Complexions under the direction of Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, and as a principal dancer with North Carolina Dance Theatre. Recent choreographic commissions include Zenon Dance, North Carolina Dance Theater, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He was awarded a 2004 McKnight Artist Fellowship, and a 2005 Princess Grace Award in choreography. Uri Sands and Toni Pierce-Sands received the 2005 Sage Cowles Best Performance Award and were named 2005 Artists of the Year by the Star Tribune.

MARY K. WINCHELL (Stage Manager) is in her 22nd season with Penumbra. Most recently, she stage managed Penumbra's production of Gem of the Ocean presented at the Guthrie. Other Penumbra credits include The Piano Lesson, Get Ready, Black Nativity: Twenty Years of Holiday Cheer!, Fences, Seven Guitars, Jitney, Two Trains Running, King Hedley II, and Dinah Was. She has stage managed at the Orpheum Theatre, State Theatre, Pantages Theatre, Children's Theatre Company, Jungle Theater and the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami. She has served as production stage manager for Macy's Glamorama, Dorothy Hamill's Nutcracker on Ice, Aveda's 20th Anniversary Celebration at Radio City Music Hall, and Super Bowl XXVI Winter Magic.

MAY MAHALA (Dramaturge) is a PhD candidate in Theatre Arts at the University of Minnesota. Her writing has appeared in The Blue Earth Review, California Quarterly, Colere, NYU’s Women and Performance Journal, Theatre Journal, and Xcp: Cross Cultural Poetics. She has worked with The Illusion Theatre, New World Theatre, The Pillsbury House Theatre, The San Francisco Mime Troupe, Theatre Unbound, and Works/Plays. Her fellowships and awards include The August Wilson Fellowship at Penumbra Theatre, two Many Voices residencies from the Playwrights’ Center, and first place in Garrison Keillor’s Festival of Romantic Writing.

ANSA AKYEA (Boy Willie) was last seen on stage as the angel in Penumbra Theatre’s Black Nativity: Twenty Years of Holiday Cheer! He has also appeared at Mixed Blood Theatre, History Theatre, Black Ensemble Theatre, Chicago Theatre Company, Frank Theatre, and many other stages around the country. He can be seen and heard on radio and television for Gillette Hospital, Goodwill Industries, Great Clips, Qwest, and on the big screen in movies such as Repetition and Zora Neale Hurston’s The Gilded Six Bits. Ansa was named City Pages 2007 Best Actor.

AIMEE K. BRYANT (Ensemble) is a founding ensemble member of Congo Square Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, and a graduate of Howard University.  Recent theatre credits include Two Queens, One Castle with Mixed Blood Theatre, Seussical the Musical at the Children's Theatre Company, and Ain't Misbehavin’ at Penumbra. www.aimeekbryant.com

GINGER COMMODORE (Ensemble) has performed with the Grammy award-winning Sounds of Blackness, the JD Steele Singers, Women Who Cook, Minnesota Opera Company, Moore By Four Jazz Ensemble and in several productions at Penumbra. This year marks her third production of Black Nativity. Other theater appearances include Smokey Joe’s Café at Hey City Theater and Stampin’ Shoutin’ & Singin’ Home with the Children’s Theatre Company. Ginger can be found performing around the Twin Cities with her quartet Ginger Commodore & GCQ.  She has just released a live recording that includes “My Funny Valentine” and “Unchained Melody.” www.gingercommodore.com.

CAMERON HUGHES (Ensemble) was last seen at Penumbra in Black Nativity-A Homecoming. Cameron has been a featured performer on the nationally syndicated Maury Povich Show.  In 2003, Cameron won first place in the Minnesota State Fair Talent Competition, and also performed the National Anthem at a Minnesota Lynx WNBA game.  Cameron’s most renowned accomplishment to date is a personal invitation from Stevie Wonder to perform at his annual House of Toys Event in Los Angeles, California in December 2003.  Cameron shared the same stage with Stevie Wonder, Natalie Cole, Michael McDonald, India.Arie and a host of other artists and legends.

TONIA HUGHES KENDRICK (Ensemble) has been a featured soloist in live concerts and recordings, including background vocals for Mary J. Blige’s single "No More Drama," vocals for gospel artist Judith McCalister, and opening for gospel artist Fred Hammond.  This propelled Tonia into a full-fledged career as a gospel artist. Tonia released her solo project, “Just For Hymn,” and was also nominated by Minnesota Music Academy for the 2004 Gospel Artist of the Year. Tonia seized the opportunity to add theatre to her list of accomplishments. She landed a supporting role in the debut of Encounters at Minneapolis' Southern Theatre.  This is Tonia’s fourth consecutive year performing in Black Nativity at Penumbra Theatre.

GRETA OGLESBY (Berniece) has performed in several productions at Penumbra Theatre including Black Nativity: Twenty Years of Holiday Cheer!, Dinah Was, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and A Love Song for Miss Lydia. She has also performed at the Guthrie Theater, Goodman Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Steppenwolf Theatre, Dreamstreet Theatre, ETA Theatre, Chicago Theatre Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and played the role of “Aunt Ester” in the world premiere of August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean. Television credits include Early Edition and Unsolved Mysteries. Film credits include Passing Minds, Time Saved, Four-way Stop, The Fugitive, My Life, and most recently, Conversations with God. Awards include the Joseph Jefferson Award and two Black Theatre Alliance Awards for Best Actress.

XAVIER RICE (Ensemble) recently appeared on stage at Penumbra in Ain’t Misbehavin’. Other theatre credits include Hud in Hair at Pantages, Nice-Nicely in Guys and Dolls at Paul Bunyan Playhouse, and as Ed Bishop in Floyd Collins with Theatre Latte Da. Xavier will perform a one-man show, I Can’t Believe I set my Alarm for This! in January at the Bryant Lake Bowl.

T. MYCHAEL RAMBO (Caesar) is an actor, vocalist and educator. He has performed at Penumbra Theatre since 1989 and is now a company member. His most recent Penumbra credits include The Piano Lesson, Black Nativity: Twenty Years of Holiday Cheer!, Get Ready and Ain't Misbehavin'. He has performed with the Guthrie Theater, Illusion Theater, Minnesota Opera, Ordway Music Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Park Square Theatre, Hey City Theatre, a number of regional theater companies, at Carnegie Hall with the Minnesota Orchestra and internationally throughout Canada, Europe, Africa and Brazil. He has appeared in several local and national television commercials and in HBO miniseries including Laurel Avenue, Endeavor and I Led Two Lives. Film credits include The Mighty Ducks, Crossing the Bridge, Grumpy Old Men, The Cure, Equinox, Wooly Boys and Justice. Rambo also has to his credit two CDs: Simply and The Gift.

THOMASINA PETRUS (Ensemble) was most recently seen at Penumbra in Ain’t Misbehavin’.  She has also performed at Mixed Blood, Illusion, and Old Arizona Theater.  Thomasina cultivated her talents as an actor and jazz vocalist through mentorship and friendship with some of the Twin Cities most beloved artists including James “Cornbread” Harris, Sr., Jevetta Steele, Stokley, Regina Williams, Prince, T. Mychael Rambo, and Lou Bellamy.  Thomasina established her own production company where her first production, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill by Lanie Robertson, allowed her to portray Billie Holiday, her musical muse. Her tribute CD “If Only...Billie Unsung” continues to sell locally and worldwide. Thomasina can be seen regularly performing in local jazz venues.

DENNIS W. SPEARS (Wining Boy) most recently performed in Penumbra Theatre’s Black Nativity: Twenty Years of Holiday Cheer! Other Penumbra credits include Ain’t Misbehavin’, Black Nativity–A Homecoming, Blue and Get Ready. He has also performed in Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Crowns at the Guthrie Theater and Smokey Joe’s Café at Hey City Theater. An accomplished jazz vocalist, Dennis made his splash with the jazz vocal ensemble Moore By Four. Minnesota Jazz Music Awards named him Best Male Jazz Vocalist. He has performed in jazz festivals nationally and internationally with such legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Joe Williams, Carmen McCrae and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Solo recordings include “I Hear It,” “Why Try to Change Me Now,” and his first national release, “Evening Candlelight.”

JENNIFER WHITLOCK (Ensemble) is celebrating her 17th production year as an ensemble member of Penumbra’s Black Nativity.  Other Penumbra credits include Purlie, Tambourines to Glory, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Selma, Bubblin’ Brown Sugar, and A Soldiers Play.  Jennifer has been a member of the Grammy award-winning Sounds of Blackness for 30 years. She directed and performed in the 2003 – 2005 production of The Night before Christmas a Musical Fantasy, and performed vocals on “Unity,” “Soul Symphony,” “Reconciliation,” “Time for Healing,” “Africa to America,”  “The Night Before Christmas,” and “The Evolution of Gospel.”  She has provided vocal support on recordings for the Crusadors, Quincy Jones, and Stevie Wonder to name a few.  Motion picture soundtracks include Batman, Mo’ Money, Posse, Panther, Rabbit Ears Project, and John Henry.

JACK YATES (Ensemble) is a member of the renowned James Grear and Company of Minneapolis where he serves as one of the lead singers and staff songwriters of GrearCo Productions. He has toured and recorded extensively with this ensemble. Several of these recordings have reached national acclaim. Jack has worked with the famous duo, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, performing on The Prince of Egypt and Emperor’s New Groove soundtracks. He is well known for his vocals on “Don’t Give Up (1998), “Set Me Free” (2000) and “Peace Be Still” (2002), all of which he recorded on the James Grear Projects. Jack provided the lead vocals on a remake of Youngblood’s classic from the 70s, “Get Together,” which has received rave reviews in both the gospel and mainstream markets. Jack graduated from St. Olaf College in 1994.

YVONNE GLENN (Dancer) was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. She began her dance training in college and received her B.A. in Dance from the University of Minnesota. At the U of M, Yvonne performed works by choreographers such as Merce Cunningham and Jawole Will Jo Zollar. She has danced with Ballet of the Dolls, Black Label Movement, and TU Dance. She is currently dancing with Lula Washington Dance Theatre and Santa Monica Contemporary Ballet.

GERMAUL BAINES (Dancer) is a graduate of South Mountain High School of the Arts, Phoenix, Arizona. He went on to perform in A Chorus Line and Guys & Dolls with Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and continued his dance education at the University of the Arts/ Philadelphia where he received a University Creative Grant that provided the opportunity to produce an evening of his choreography Viewsic Expression. In 1991 Germaul formed Viewsic Expressions, now based in Brooklyn, New York. A former principle dancer with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company for nine years, he received the New York Dance and Performance Award-The Bessies, and the Arts International Grant in 2003 which fostered his anthropology study in a small village called Kwahu Tafo in Ghana, West Africa. Germaul has assisted and demonstrated for the legendary Katherine Dunham and has performed around the world including Berlin, Germany and Graham Town, South Africa.

J. YOUNG III (Bass) studied with C. Scott Hood of Indiana State University and at the School of Music at the Navel Academy. Mr. Young contributes his musical talents to the Twin Cities as a freelance performer, music educator, and founder and president of Cartouche Records. Locally, he has performed at the Ordway Center, Guthrie, Children’s Theatre, Walker Art Center, and the Kool Jazz Festival. He has performed internationally in numerous concerts. He has also performed on television, radio, and in commercials. He is a recognized clinician, having appeared with Ray Brown and Malachi Favors. Mr. Young is in demand as a recording artist, and appears on scores of local and national recordings. Personal accomplishments include recognition and awards from the Minnesota Black Music Awards and the Minnesota Jazz Music Awards. Mr. Young is a founding member of the nationally recognized group, “Moore by Four.”

JASON ALLYN-SCHWERIN (Scenic Design) is the technical director for Penumbra Theatre Company and has served as scenic designer for several Penumbra productions throughout his five season tenure.  Jason received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Creative and Performing Arts from Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa.  He has studied at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and has a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Texas in Austin.  Other theatrical experience includes Actor’s Theater Company of Minnesota, Mixed Blood Theatre, and SteppingStone Theatre.  He has also worked with Texas Scenic Company of San Antonio and VEE Corporation here in Minnesota.

MARK DOUGHERTY (Light Design) has been the lighting designer for Penumbra Theatre's Black Nativity for the past three years. He is currently the Master Studio Technician at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

MARTIN GWINUP (Sound Designer) is an associate professor in the Theatre Arts and Dance Department at the University of Minnesota. He teaches audio and video technology, design and production. He has also worked in the Twin Cities area as a freelance sound/video designer and technician for 18 years. Martin has worked for the Frank Theatre, History Theatre, Children's Theatre, Cricket Theatre and Eye of the Storm. Recent design credits at Penumbra include REDSHIRTS, Get Ready, Blue, Black Nativity - A Celebration of Family, A Celebration for the Soul…Testify!, and Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers.

GREGORY J. HORTON (Costume Design) is an associate professor of Costume Design and Directing at North Carolina A&T State University. Design credits include Sweet Charity, The Visit, A Woman from the Town, Something’s Afoot, A Mid Summer Night’s Dream, A Company of Wayward Saints, The Crucible, The Heiress The Glass Menagerie, Dream girls, Foreigner, The Wiz, The Colored Museum, Crowns, Fences, Tartuffe, Waiting to be Invited and My Fair Lady. Mr. Horton has directed such plays as, Pretty Fire, A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum, Nunsense, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Godspell. Greg has worked as guest director and costume designer at Columbia Basin College, Western Washington University, Hampton University, The Ensemble, The Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Swine Palace, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, Play House on the Square, Memphis Black Repertory, Kuntu Repertory, and the St. Louis Black Repertory Company.. He is a member of Black Theatre Network (BTN) and United States Theatre Technologist (USITT).

ERIKA K. DIXON-GOSS (American Sign Language Interpreter) has been the ASL Interpreter for Penumbra Theatre for ten years. Erika has had the pleasure of interpreting works by the late August Wilson such as Seven Guitars and King Hedley II. Most recently, she interpreted Alter Boyz at the Pantages Theatre. Erika also interprets for Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Hopkins Stages Theater, Plymouth Playhouse, and Anoka’s Main Street Stage.