Siddons Artistic Council Presents: Leadership is Listening: A Conversation about Theatrical Leadership
Monday, Oct. 3rd, 2022 from 7pm to 8:30pm
The event will be held live at the Black Ensemble Theatre, 4450 N. Clark Street, Chicago
Immediately following the program there will be reception to continue the conversation.
While there is no charge for this program, advance registration is required (see below).
Please join us for a rich conversation about leadership in theatrical organizations in changing cultural, economic and artistic times. We will use the concept of listening as a basis for leadership that is active, forward-thinking and in responsive dialogue with artists, audiences, funders, new technologies and the media. Not only must leaders listen, they must intentionally create space for dialogue. They must consider whose voices might previously have been excluded from the conversation and they must seek out and engage with those voices. And they must take action to develop the mission of the organization and to serve the artists and audiences who engage with the mission and programming offered by the organization. Come join us in the conversation into this rich, fulfilling, and complex work!
Kaiser Ahmed
Kaiser Ahmed Bio
A director, producer, teacher, and actor. Kaiser is Artistic Director of Jackalope Theatre Company where he served as Founding Artistic Director from 2008 to 2011. Born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and raised in mid-Michigan, Kaiser holds a BA in Theatre Directing from Columbia College. Named on NewCity’s “Players 2019: Fifty People Who Really Perform For Chicago”, Kaiser is a 2016-17 Victory Gardens Directors Inclusion Initiative recipient, a 2015-16 Eugene O’Neill National Directors Fellowship Finalist, a proud member of SDC, and SAG-AFTRA, and represented by Gray Talent. As a teaching artist, Kaiser works with Northlight Theatre, Raven Theatre and Mudlark Theatre.
Christopher Chase Carter
Christopher Chase Carter Bio
Christopher Chase Carter is the Artistic Director of Mercury Theater Chicago. Before Moving to Chicago Christopher studied in Michigan, where he began his theater career performing, directing and choreographing award-winning community and college productions. He is also a graduate from Grand Valley State University achieving his bachelor of arts while on scholarship.
In 2019 Carter directed and choreographed the pilot production of “Scottsboro Boys'' working closely with Musical Theater International (MTI) and Susan Stroman at the International Thespian Festival. He followed that up by directing a history-making production of “Legally Blonde” at Northwestern University.
Christopher has been honored with many scholarships throughout his career. In 2005 he moved to Los Angeles where he was awarded a scholarship to the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. After training at DADA, he returned to Michigan to finish his degree. He was one of four dancers chosen for a scholarship to study abroad in Kingston, Jamaica to further his training and education at The Edna Manley School. After graduating, this inspired Christopher to start his own scholarship, The Christopher Carter Arts Scholarship, to help underprivileged artists pursue their dreams.
With a true passion for creativity and art Christopher is excited about the future of theater and looks forward to being part of the evolution of performance and artistry.
Cavan Hallman
Cavan Hallman Bio
Cavan Hallman's plays have been performed at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, National WWII Museum, National Czech & Slovak Museum, Strawdog Theatre, Donny’s Skybox, The Artistic Home, RhinoFest, KAPOOT, The Elm, Seattle Fringe, and Columbia College Chicago. His plays for young audiences have received over 15,000 performances in elementary schools across the country for an audience of over 5 million students and teachers. He has performed Off-Broadway, along with other roles in New York, Chicago, New Orleans, and Cork, Ireland, where he presented his solo show Not Easily Forgotten. Cavan is the founder and Producing Artistic Director for Mirrorbox Theatre, currently in its fifth season as the only company in Iowa that exclusively presents contemporary plays in their Iowa premieres. For Mirrorbox he has directed the Iowa premieres of Exit Strategy, Red Speedo, Luna Gale, There Is A Happiness That Morning Is, Sender, Orange Julius, The Parking Lot, and Love & Other Destinations. He also serves as the producer for Mirrorbox's nationally recognized online reading series, "Out the Box" directing dozens of readings, leading casts that included the stars of over a dozen Broadway shows, and an Emmy-nominee.
Recently, he wrote the Book & Lyrics for The Suffragist, a musical collaboration with Nancy Hill Cobb dramatizing the passage of the 19th Amendment. The premiere featured Tony-nominee Nancy Opel and selections from the production will soon be airing on Iowa Public Radio.
Cavan Hallman is a Resident Artist with The CRY HAVOC Company in NYC. He holds a BA from Columbia College Chicago and an MFA in Playwriting from the University of New Orleans, for whom he has also taught acting and scriptwriting.
Sana Selemon
Sana Selemon Bio
Sana Selemon (she/her) is an actor, dialect coach, and teaching artist hailing from the land of Columbus, Ohio. She attended Ohio University and graduated with a BFA in Acting and minor in Sociolinguistics, which has fueled her passion for accents and the world of language. Now located in Chicago, Sana has worked with BoHo Theatre, Pegasus Theatre, American BluesTheatre, Definition Theatre, Lifeline Theatre, Pride Films and Plays, First Floor Theater, and is a proud SAG-AFTRA member. For work, she splits her time between Marriott Theatre as their Artistic Assistant and BoHo Theatre as their Executive Director. When not in the theatre, you can find her practicing aerial silks, learning the fiddle, or reading YA fantasy/adventure stories. Learn more about her at www.sanaselemon.com.