ABOUT OUR LEADERSHIP AND STAFF
Board of Directors, 2011-2012
Lynn San Andres, Sandy Berger, Mary Churchill, Mik Chwalek, Joanne V. Graham,
Ellie Hartz, Thomas Hehman, Frances Hill, John Mueller, Peggy O’Brien, Martha Sproule,
Stanley Zareff.
Urban Stages Staff
FRANCES HILL (Founding Artistic Director) began her theatrical career in California
as an actress. Since 1983, Ms. Hill has overseen more than 600 staged readings/workshops
and 75 productions of new works for the stage. She has directed over 30 workshops
and productions. Her favorite directing credits include: Gino DiIorio’s Apostasy,
Roma Greth’s Our Summer Days, Jim Lehrer’s Chili Queen, (directed at Urban Stages
and Kennedy Center), John Picardi’s Seven Rabbits on a Pole and The Sweepers (directed
at Urban Stages and Capital Rep); and Comfort Women by Chugmi Kim (Urban Stages 2004),
27 Rue De Fleurs. Two of her plays have been produced, Our Bench and Life Lines.
Under the guidance of Ms. Hill, Playwrights’ Preview Productions/URBAN STAGES have moved
two plays into commercial Off-Broadway successes. Minor Demons opened the new Century
Center Theater and Men on the Verge of His-Panic Breakdown won an Outer Critic’s Circle
Award while playing to capacity audiences at the 47th Street Theater. Urban Stages’ African
American Poets as Playwrights won eight Audelco Nominations and Coyote On a Fence received
two Drama Desk nominations and a Pilgrim’s Project Award. Eisa Davis’ Bulrusher was one of
three nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. 2010 production of Langston in Harlem won several drama
desk nominations, a John Calloway award, several Audelco nominations including a win for best
music production of the year (2010), along with several other awards.
RACHEL SULLIVAN (Program Director) is a director, performer, facilitator and educator.
At Urban Stages she manages the 300 yearly library bookings, tours the libraries as
Rosie the Riveter, and has directed/created/costumed many of the shows including: Jungle
Explorers, Blown Away By Poetry, South of the Border: Latin American Folktales and O’Sullivan
Stew. In addition, she manages the residency programs at Harlem Day Charter School,
Groundwork Inc., Lycee Francais, and co-directs the theatre program at Teen Central/Spring
Creek Towers. Rachel enjoys working with professionals and non-actors alike to create
original theatre. She has directed and created new shows with the Creative Arts Team (CAT)
Youth Theatre, Jewish Association and Services for the Aged (JASA) on 72nd Street, Public
Space Public Voice, and Girls Education Mentoring Service (GEMS). As a performer she has
worked with Capital Rep, Gloucester Stage, Horton by the Stream, Hudson/Stageworks,
Sojourn Theatre, among others. Rachel studied theatre at Northwestern University and
holds a Masters in Applied Theatre from SPS/CUNY where she received training in creating
original works as well as arts in education. She has been a fan of Bill Bowers for many years
and is extremely excited to see him on the Urban Stages Mainstage.
OLGA DEVYATISILNAYA (Company Manager/Financial Administrator) has worked with Urban
Stages for eight years as wardrobe supervisor on all productions produced on our Main Stage.
In Russia, she worked as an assistant costume designer in many films. She assisted Farrah
Fawcett as her dresser in Moscow on the film Margaret Bourke-White. Olga has many
talents including bookkeeping and worked for us in this capacity since 2007. She currently
serves as our financial administrator and Company Manager.
ANTOINETTE MULLINS (Development/Marketing Associate and Writer) is a playwright and
screenwriter with experience as an Administrative Assistant inside and outside the arts
community. Antoinette came to Urban Stages in September 2010 directly after obtaining her
MFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University’s new graduate school in Singapore, TISCH
ASIA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS. Before then, she graduated from Vassar College (May 2007) with
a BA in Psychology and Film and worked as a Compliance Administrator for Cooper Square
Reality. She has performed duties as a reader and screenplay consultant for THE NEW YORK
OFFICE and TRIBORO PICTURES. Her 2007 screenplay, THE HERMIT OF FAR ROCKAWAY,
was a semifinalist in the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Her 2009 short stage play,
LOVE AND ROBBERY, was a finalist in Singapore’s Short and Sweet, an international
playwright competition, and was published in an Australian textbook, Drama: A Resource
for Units 1A-1B, aimed at promoting drama in Australian high schools. Recently her full-length
play, MOST OF US, was a semi-finalist for the Princess Grace Awards 2011. She is currently
writing a play about the first Female African American astronaut for Urban Stages’ Outreach
Program.
PETER NAPOLITANO (Producing Associate) has received the BMI Bistro Award (director) and
two MAC Awards (lyricist, producer) for his recent work in leading NY cabaret venues,
including Feinstein’s at Loews Regency, the Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel and the
Metropolitan Room. He was lyricist of Tropicana, book and direction by the legendary George
Abbott, produced by Musical Theatre Works; and lyricist/librettist of The Lady in Penthouse B,
music by Matthew Ward, produced “Mufti Style” by the York Theatre, starring Nancy Dussault.
With composer and celebrated musical director Barry Levitt, he’s currently developing the book
and lyrics of Nicky’s Wedding (adapted from his prize-winning play) at the BMI Lehman Engel
Musical Theatre Workshop, while writing special material for some of NY’s outstanding cabaret
artists. Other highlights of his varied career: working with the ground-breaking
Off-Broadway Ridiculous Theatrical Co. and The Glines; directing the early solo work of Charles
Busch; contributing editor of THE BLOCKBUSTER GUIDE TO MOVIES ON VIDEO (Dell); and author
of a Modern Love essay for The New York Times. For Urban Stages, he helped produce this
year’s Musical Legends Tribute series, directed Grand Illusions: The Music of Marlene Dietrich
starring Bistro Award Winner Janice Hall, and looks forward to producing the theatre’s Third
Annual Music Festival this December.