Sarah Bellamy
SARAH BELLAMY is the Director of Education at Penumbra Theatre Company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, while there she studied creative writing and postcolonial theory. She holds an M.A. from The University of Chicago in Caribbean colonial history from 1400-1800. Sarah writes contextual essays that accompany each production available on Penumbra’s website.

T. Mychael Rambo
T. MYCHAEL RAMBO, a residency artist/educator, and an affiliate professor at the University of Minnesota in the School of Theatre Arts and Dance, is best known to the Twin Cities for his role as the Minister in past performances of Penumbra Theatre’s Black Nativity. He is also well known for his role(s) in the critically acclaimed Dinah Was; Zooman and The Sign; and Ain’t Misbehavin’ also produced by Penumbra. Another of his more memorable performances was in the highly praised Guthrie Theatre production of Crowns. As a theatre professional, T. Mychael has performed internationally; from Africa to Brazil, Canada to Europe and made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Minnesota Orchestra in October of 2000. Rambo has maintained an indelible name for himself in Twin Cites theatre, performing at: Illusion Theatre, Minnesota Opera, North Star Opera, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Mixed Blood Theatre, Orchestra Hall, Park Square Theatre and Hey City Theatre in their production of Smokey Joe’s Café. T. Mychael has taken on the role of producer as well working in concert with Minnesota Public Radio to create a number of celebrated productions at the Fitzgerald Theatre. He has also performed with numerous regional theatre companies and been a cast member of several national and regional tours. T. Mychael continues to work as an arts educator, entertain and educate through his various one-man productions, and present a national tour on the life of Thurgood Marshall entitled Thurgood Marshall’s Coming.

Making his mark in major feature films, on cable and syndicated television, numerous regional and national television commercials as well as carving out a strong following as a jazz vocalist and recording artist, with two disc available in stores (“Simply” and “The Gift A Christmas With Love”) and on line - T. Mychael Rambo resides as a valued and respected member of our rich Twin Cities arts community.

Eliza Rasheed
ELIZA RASHEED is a performing artist who uses theater to promote diversity and build communities. She has worked with Pillsbury House Theater, Youth Farm and Market, Pangae World Theater, Exposed Brick Theater and schools in the Twin Cities. She works with artists and teachers in the Twin Cities to create a safe environment for the youth and, because of that, you can often mistake her for a teenager. Eliza is also Jerome Foundation Many Voices Fellow at the Playwright’s Center, 2006-07.

Shana Davis
SHANA DAVIS was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. She is currently a senior at Macalester College. Not only is this her first time working with Penumbra Theater, but this is also her first holistic experience within the theatre. As an American Studies major, Shana primarily engages with the topics of race and racism in America. Shana is excited to work with Penumbra Theater, with it's socially conscious mission, and is eager to merge her academic knowledge and personal interests with her work.

Robert Karimi
ROBERT KARIMI is an Iranian interdisciplinary artist/Guatemalan educator, playwright, troublemaker. His performance work has been featured from Australia to Alaska. National poetry slam champion, Def Poetry Jam performer, NPN residency recipient, NPN creation fund award recipient, Karimi received the Illinois Arts Council fellowship for excellence in New Performance Forms in 2006. At Pangea World Theater and Asian Arts Initiative, he will premiere Cooking con Karimi and the Quest for the Secret Ingredient. Karimi directs film/theater and teaches workshops about comedy, mixed race issues, performance, and cross-cultural spirituality. He has collaborated with Laurie Carlos, Guillermo Gomez Peña, and Freestreet Theater in Chicago. A UCLA graduate, he has trained with Plasticene, 500 Clown, and Second City. Informed by the methods of Spolin and Boal, Karimi believes in the power of humor to engage audiences to find the joy within their personal chaos.

James Craven
JAMES CRAVEN is a 2005 recipient of the Spenser Cherashore Fund. James used his grant to research Native American culture and the experiences of the Buffalo Soldiers circa 1880’s in the greater southwestern United States. Last season he performed the role of Craig Robe in Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers in the Penumbra Theatre/ Trinity Rep Theater production and subsequent national tour of the William S. Yellow Robe Jr. play. He also performed last season in Penumbra’s production of Stage Directions, and in the role of Hambone in the Kansas City Rep Theater production of Two Trains Running. Most recently, he appeared in The Trial of Osama Bin Laden at Old Arizona Theater, directed by John Donahue.

Maren Ward
MAREN WARD is a creator, director, and performer living in the Twin Cities. She is co-artistic director of Bedlam Theatre, an experimental theater company she co-founded in 1993. Her directing credits with the company include West Bank Story, an original musical about the Cedar/Riverside neighborhood where Bedlam is located, Unhinged!!, a collaborative rumination on the horror genre, and Mahoney’s Mirror: a sci-fi rock and roll musical with puppets. Since ‘98 Maren has been pageant director for the Barebones Productions Annual Halloween Outdoor Puppet Extravaganza which involves the coordination of over 100 volunteer artists on a spectacular nighttime pageant of puppetry, live music, and pyrotechnics. Maren has also been involved in a number of educational and issue based projects including the zAmya Theater project, a collaboration of homeless and housed individuals and Puppet Camp OUT, a project with GLBT questioning and allied youth. As a performer, Maren has worked with Bedlam Theater, Bright Eye Productions, Frank Theater, Heart of the Beast, Open Eye Figure Theater, and 10,000 Things Theater Company. Maren is a recipient of a 2005 Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. She has a BA in Dramatic Arts from Macalester College and has also trained at the Moscow Arts Theater School. This spring she joined the University of Minnesota Theater and Dance Department affiliate faculty to teach “Collaborative Creation”.