Chanell Bell is an American storyteller and humanitarian. Born in Portsmouth Virginia, Chanell made her theatrical debut at nine years old. She received her BFA from Howard University and her MFA from DePaul. Previous performances include She The People (Second City), Crumbs from the Table of Joy (Raven), and Moon Man Walk (Definition) winning her the BTAA Most Promising Actress Award. Chanell can currently be seen on POWER IV (STARZ). Recent nominations include Best Supporting Actress at the New Jersey Film Awards. Chanell teaches young artists throughout the southside of Chicago and is proudly repped by Paonessa Talent & ATA Management.

Al’Jaleel McGhee is excited to return to Northlight Theatre so soon! He is a proud Chicago built actor- having received his B.A. in Theatre & Performance from UIC and his MFA in Acting from Northwestern University as a member of the inaugural Acting program cohort. He is represented by Gray Talent Group. Theatre credits include: Fireflies (Northlight), Wolf Play(The Gift), Hamlet (Chi. Shakespeare), Graveyard Shift (Goodman New Stages), To Catch A Fish, Paradise Blue (TimeLine), Breach (Victory Gardens Theater) and Blues For An Alabama Sky (Court Theatre). Film/Television credits include: Shining Girls (Apple), 61st Street (AMC), The Red Line (CBS), Chicago Med (NBC), Empire (FOX), The Chi (Showtime), Proud Mary (Sony Pictures).

Donja R. Love is an Afro-Queer playwright, poet, and filmmaker from Philadelphia. He’s the recipient of the 2018 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award, the 2017 Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship, The Lark’s 2016 Van Lier New Voices Playwriting Fellowship, The Playwrights Realm’s 2016-2017 Writing Fellowship, and the 2016 Arch and Bruce Brown Playwriting Award. He is a Eugene O’Neill 2018/2017 National Playwrights Conference finalist and the 2011 Philadelphia Adult Grand Slam Poetry Champion. His work has been developed at Manhattan Theatre Club, Rising Circle Theater Collective, The Lark, and The Playwrights Realm. He’s the co-founder of The Each-Other Project, an organization that helps build community and provide visibility, through art and advocacy, for LGBTQ People of Color. Select stage-plays include: The Love* Plays (Sugar in Our Wounds, Fireflies, and In The Middle), a trilogy which explores Queer Love* during pivotal moments in Black History; and Soft. Select film work includes: Modern Day Black Gay (web series), and Once A Star (short film). Training: Juilliard, Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program.

Mikael Burke is a Chicago-based director, deviser, and educator, and was the inaugural Artistic Fellow at Northlight in their 2018/2019 season. A Princess Grace Award-winner in Theatre and Jeff Award-nominated director, Mikael’s worked with Victory Gardens Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Jackalope Theatre Company, Windy City Playhouse, About Face Theatre, First Floor Theater, American Theatre Company, Chicago Dramatists, and The Story Theatre in Chicago, and regionally with Indiana Repertory Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Geva Theatre Center, and Phoenix Theatre. When not directing, Mikael serves as Associate Artistic Director at About Face Theatre in Chicago. Recent directing credits include Mrs. Harrison by R. Eric Thomas; The Island by Athol Fugard; we are continuous by Harrison David Rivers; Kill Move Paradise by James Ijames; The Agitators by Mat Smart | mklburke.com

Scott Penner (Scenic Design) For Northlight: Fireflies, Intimate Apparel. Selected Credits: Job (Broadway, Helen Hayes Theater); The Extinction Therapist, ShirleyValentine (Theatre Aquarius); Cymbeline (Stratford Shakespeare Festival); Rasheeda Speaking (Jeff Nomination, Shattered Globe Chicago); Shakespeare’s Will (Indiana Rep); Body Politic (Buddies in Bad Times, Toronto); Hair, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Grand Theatre London); Constellations, The Merry Wives of Windsor, A Raisin in the Sun, Love’s Labour’s Lost, (American Players Theatre); Happy Days, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Flint Rep); DION: A New Musical (Coalmine Theatre Toronto); Guys & Dolls (Arts Club Vancouver); Small Mouth Sounds, The Little Prince (Theatreworks Colorado Springs). Scott is a member of Iatse Local ADC 659. @scottpennerdesign

Gregory is a Chicago costume designer and milliner.. His credits include: Chicago:Garbologist, Fireflies (Northlight Theatre); Once (Writers Theatre); Anna in the Tropics, Routes (Remy Bumppo Theatre) The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre) 1919 (Steppenwolf Theatre); Enough to Let The Light In (Teatro Vista); Private Lives (Raven Theatre); Rent, Porchlight Revisits: Passing Strange (Porchlight Music Theatre); On the Greenbelt, Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins (Strawdog Theatre); The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice (Court Theatre); Dream: A Community Reimaging of A Midsummer’s Night Dream (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); The Facts of Life: Satan’s School for Girls, The Drag Seed (Hell in a Handbag Productions). Regional: Raisin (Skylight Music Theatre);  Blood at the Root (Millikin University, School of Theatre and Dance). Education: BA in Theatre Design, University of Illinois at Chicago. www.gregorygrahamdesign.com

Eric Watkins works as a lighting designer for theatre, opera, and dance across the country and occasionally around the world. Just before the pandemic he was in eastern Europe on tour of the world premiere piece Song of Home produced by Theatre Lumina. CHICAGO (selected): EthiopianAmerica (Definition Theatre Company); Sugar in Our Wounds and Hooded, Or Being Black for Dummies (First Floor Theater); Machinal (Greenhouse; Jeff nomination); In The Blood (Red Tape); A Swell In The Ground (Gift); The Man Who Was Thursday (Lifeline); Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery (Pegasus); Punk (New Colony); Fish Eye (Dandelion) The Safe House (City Lit); Bomber’s Moon (Williams Street Rep); Fallen (Mozawa); Porcelain (Prologue; Jeff nomination); The Property (Lyric Unlimited) a commissioned klezmer opera. REGIONAL/ INTERNATIONAL (selected): Mrs. Harrison (Indiana Rep); Don Pasquale (Fort Worth Opera); Show Boat,  Falstaff (Dallas Opera); A Streetcar Named Desire (Opera Santa Barbara and Kentucky Opera); The Rake’s Progress (Merola Opera); Barber of Seville (Lithuanian National Opera). Eric received his MFA from Boston University and is a proud member of USA829, the theatrical design union. ericwatkins.com

Christie Chiles Twillie is a Music Director, Sound Designer and Composer. Composition credits include A Raisin in the Sun (Invictus); America 2.0 (Definition); The Niceties (Forward), VietGone (GEVA), The Way She Spoke (Milwaukee Chamber) and Milwaukee Black Theatre Festival productions Black Butterflies, Pretty Fire, Kill Move Paradise, Stew and Home. Film credits include The Pandemic Trilogy, The Clearing and Alone. Christie won the 2019 Footlights Best Musical Direction Award for a Professional Production, and a Rachel Rockwell Fierce Women Behind The Table. She earned a BTAA nomination for Best Music Direction – Original Score (Yellowman) and was a Chicago Broadway World Finalist for Best Music Direction, (Big Fish). Regional credits include Five Guys Named Moe, Newsies, and The Gospel at Colonus (Skylight) and Minnie’s Boys (Porchlight).

Rita Vreeland has been a frequent stage manager at Northlight since 2007, with Birthday Candles marking her 42nd production here. Other favorite recent projects include Ernest Shackleton Loves Me at Porchlight Music Theatre, A Christmas Carol at Drury Lane, The Luckiest at Raven Theatre, three years of The Polar Express Train Ride, and productions at Mercury Theatre, Victory Gardens, Route 66 Theatre Company, Theatre at the Center, and The Galway International Arts Festival in Galway, Ireland. She is the proud wife of actor Tom Hickey and mom to ten-year-old Charlie, and this year she celebrated her 22nd anniversary as a member of Actors’ Equity Association. Thank you for supporting live theatre!