Tim received his training at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City and has appeared on stage throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. For ten years, Tim served as a founding member of the Maryland-based clown theatre troupe Theatricks. He has appeared as a silent comic character for the Washington National Opera and the Maryland Lyric Opera.
SOLE Defined is the Washington Metro area’s leading arts organization specializing in percussive dance – using the body as an instrument to create musical expression. Advancing styles such as Tap, Stepping, Body Percussion, Sand Dance, and Gumboot; this BIPOC led company infuses powerful skill to delight and inspire audiences. SOLE Defined was founded under the joint leadership of Ryan Johnson and Quynn Johnson.
Founded in 1980, Black Cherry Puppet Theater has performed and presented puppetry-based activities to thousands across Maryland and the Mid Atlantic. The company is committed to the advancement of puppetry through collaborations with artists of other disciplines, presenting educational, as well as community-focused arts programming, and by sustaining a performance space that brings a very special theatrical experience to a growing and very diverse audience in “Baltimore’s coziest little theater.”
Kwame Shaka Opare is a classically trained West African dancer with an MFA in Dance from the University of Maryland. At 14, he became a principal dancer with Kankouran West African Dance Company (Washington DC). As a young adult, Kwame Shaka moved to New York where he established himself as a dynamic instructor and choreographer. In the late 90s, he began touring with the Broadway show STOMP, in the lead role and as rehearsal director where he remained for 8 years.
Debra Mims has been a Performing Artist for over thirty years. She has a B.F. A in Theatre Performance from Marygrove College, in Detroit , Michigan. With training in Dance, She has performed at the Georgetown Theatre Company, the Children’s Theatre in Madison, Wisconsin, and the Detroit-Windsor Dance Company. Debra is the 2010 Individual Artist Award winner for solo performance She worked as an Arts producer for PBS in Detroit and Madison, Wisconsin and has produced arts programs nationally.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and resident of the Greater Washington DC area, Yvette Spears is a performing artist who has numerous recognitions through her collaborations with many renowned Jazz artists. Yvette was introduced to performance at an early age growing up in NOLA as a Jazz Vocalist, in theatre, and also an opportunity as an "on-air" talent for former BETonJazz.
Mark Lohr New Vaudevillian Extraordinaire has trained in art of the Traditional American Circus Clown. He performs without makeup and the large shoes of his trade but with all the zany antics of the roots of his profession. His trade of silliness consists of some serious disciplines! Acting, slapstick comedy, pratfalls, comedic movement, and acrobatics, juggling, hat manipulation, spinning plates, fire juggling and manipulation, stilt walking... a veritable smorgasbord of theatre and circus skills!
Ms. Kim Poole is a Soul-Fusion Performing Artivist and Founding Fellow of the Teaching Artist Institute, providing an opportunity for artists to learn techniques for social transformation while fostering outlets for socially engaged art. Operating in the USA, Ghana, Liberia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and The Gambia through TAI Kim Poole and an international team of Teaching Artists are originating the Art for Social Transformation: Teaching Artistry in Action curriculum & workbook for change agents and universities interested in exploring the “Art of Possibility.”
Mark Phillips and Ryan Phillips are two snarky magicians, battling to become a self-proclaimed champion in "The Magic Duel Comedy Show." This show is full of seriously funny magic that will fool you. Badly. During the performance, audience members select the styles of magic the contestants must perform. The whole audience casts their votes electronically to determine the winner of the coveted 'Golden Wand.' Funny, amazing, and interactive from start to finish, The Magic Duel has earned 5-star rankings on Yelp and TripAdvisor every year since 2015.