Susan Stroupe (she/her) is a Baltimore-based collaborative director and theater maker who specializes in new, immersive, and devised works. Susan has worked in the Twin Cities, LA, NYC, Albuquerque, Baltimore and her hometown Atlanta as a director, performer, writer, puppeteer, dramaturg, and deviser in professional and community-based professional companies, collaborating with artists and nonartists of many ages, disciplines, identities, and abilities. In Baltimore, Susan has worked as a freelance director for many companies, and is a founding member and Core Creator for Submersive Productions. She works with the Center For International Theatre Development (CITD), and is a long-time teaching and guest artist for Baltimore Center Stage, Everyman Theatre, and the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). She is a proud Associate Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Perisphere: Premiere; DC: “Julius X,” “Valor, Agravio, Y Mujer” (Folger); “Marjorie Prime” (Prologue); “Daddy’s Jazz” (MLK Library); “29th & Oakes” (Capital Fringe); Regional: “Sweeney Todd,” “Peter and the Starcatcher,” “Twelfth Night,” “Macbeth,” “Kiss Me Kate” (Texas Shakespeare Festival); “Beauty and The Beast,” “The Prince of Egypt,” “Finding Neverland” (Hale Centre).

Shana is a director, actor, choreographer, and dramaturg in residency with Perisphere for the 2026 season. Her dramaturgy has been featured by Round House Theatre, Theatre J, Mosaic Theatre Company, and others. She is so excited to be working with Perisphere for the 2026 season as the Resident Dramaturg and looks forward to more community programming!

Tyler (He/Him) is a scenic designer and technical director based out of Western Maryland. He received his BA in Theatre Design and Production from UMBC (2022). Currently, he works for the UMBC Department of Theatre as a lead carpenter and scenic charge artist, on top of freelance scenic design and technical directing work. Past credits include: “Shakespeare in Harlem” (Lead Carpenter / Scenic Artist; UMBC); “The America Play” (Scenic Designer / Technical Director, Perisphere Theater); “Tiny Lights” (Scenic Designer, Theater Jr); “shOUT” (Co-Scenic Designer, UMBC); and “Katalepsis” (Technical Director, Submersive Productions). His portfolio can be found at: tylerbrust.com

JESSICA is a DC based Costume Designer and Technician whose upcoming productions can be seen at Rorschach Theatre (Costume Designer: “Drago Play”) and whose work has also be seen at: Rorschach Theatre (Costume Designer: “So Late Into The Night”); NextStop Theatre Company (Costume Designer: “Reefer Madness,” “Lucky Stiff”); Woolly Mammoth Theatre (Associate Costume Designer: “The Comeuppance,” “Incendiary”); Theater J (Associate Costume Designer: “This Much I Know”); Signature Theatre (Assistant Costume Designer: “Play On!”); The Wilma Theater (Assistant Costume Designer: “The Half-God of Rainfall,” “Archduke”); Constellation Theatre Company (Assistant Costume Designer: “Orlando”); and as a stitcher, craftsperson, first hand, and tailor at Signature Theatre, Arena Stage, Round House Theatre, and many more. You can also see her work on Instagram @jessicautzcostumes

Dean is a freelance Lighting Designer from the Washington DC area. Design credits include: “The Infinite Tales” (4615 Theatre Co.); “Chemical Exile: Synthesis,” “Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea,” “Sleeping Giant” and “So Late Into The Night” (Rorschach Theater Co.); “Fitting In” (Arts on the Horizon); “Webster’s Bitch!” (The Keegan Theatre); “Mary Stuart” (Chesapeake Shakespeare Company). Associate and Assistant Design credits include: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Frankenstein,” “The Immigrant,” and “Romeo & Juliet” (Synetic Theater Co.). He would like to thank his wife and daughter for their constant love and support.

Mark is a Baltimore-based Filipino sound artist, composer, and two-time Baker Artist Award finalist. Drawing from his Filipino heritage and Baltimore roots, he creates immersive sonic environments that explore cultural memory, identity, and shared stories while bridging diverse musical traditions with contemporary experimentation. Navarro’s theatrical work spans a wide range of genres and emotional landscapes. His original scores and sound designs have enhanced science-fiction worlds (“Lyra & The Ferocious Beast,” Truepenny Projects, 2023), illuminated intimate trauma and resilience (“How I Learned to Drive,” The Vagabond Players, 2024), and shaped atmospheric horror rooted in political unrest (“Crocodile Fever,” The Strand Theatre, 2024). Most recently, in “Salty” (Truepenny Projects, 2025), he created a score that underscores the surreal urgency of climate catastrophe through the quiet persistence of two penguins in a dystopian future. His compositions and sound design have also been featured in works presented at regional festivals and venues, including the Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival, the Maryland Film Festival, and The Voxel.

Gerrad (he/him/his) is an award-winning director and multidisciplinary theatre artist based out of the Greater Baltimore region and an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His current creative work and research centers around creating space that preserves history and celebrates culture of the Global Majority. In 2021 he was named one of Baltimore’s “40 Under 40” by the Washington Business Journal. In 2020, he founded Chesapeake Shakespeare’s Black Classical Acting Ensemble (BCAE), an affinity space for black actors interested in training and exposure of the “classics” and what an expansion of the classical canon may look like today. In 2024, Gerrad joined colleague Lizzi Albert to take on the roles of Co-Artistic Directors of Perisphere Theater in Montgomery County, MD. He is a member of the Actors’ Equity Association and an Advanced Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors.

Enzo is a local actor and fight choreographer from Annapolis, MD. He is excited to be working on his first show at Perisphere, and honored to work with Susan and Gerrad on such a wonderful production. Enzo is a recent BFA graduate from UMBC and has recent credits from understudying and professionally debuting as Luke/Mr. Nuggy in the Imagination Stage’s production of “Dory Fantasmagory” and understudying Romeo in Folger Shakespeare Theatre’s production of “Romeo and Juliet.” Enzo has also trained with the Studio Acting Conservatory and is a certified actor combatant through the Society of American Fight Directors.

La'Trelle is an actor in the DMV area. He is excited to be returning to Perisphere as an Assistant Stage Manager with this production, and would like to thank the entire team for having him. His last show at Perisphere was “Marie Antoinette: The Color of Flesh.” La’Trelle has recently graduated from UMBC with a BFA in Acting. This year, he will be returning to his passion for writing and directing with the goal of creating new works highlighting under-represented stories.