Welcome to Season 2 of the Alliance Theatre Podcast: An exploration of theater and the people who make it happen.

Join Dr. Margarita Kompelmakher in conversation with community organizers Deborah Scott (CEO of Georgia STAND UP) and Eric Richardson (President of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists,) plus, Alexis Woodard (Assistant Director of WORKING: A MUSICAL,) as they explore the innovative ways Atlanta stories and voices gave shape to this production of WORKING.

MARGARITA KOMPELMAKHER, PhD, is a Mellon/ACLS Public Fellow and Community Engagement Manager at the Alliance Theatre, where she runs programs that connect theatre to issues that matter most to communities across Atlanta. She is a regular contributor to the Alliance Theatre blog and her writing also appears in Modern Drama and various scholarly anthologies. She believes theatre is a “rehearsal” for realizing the society we want to live in!

DEBORAH SCOTT, CEO of Georgia STAND-UP, a “think and act tank” for working families, and a 2012 “White House Champion of Change,” is an accomplished advocate of economic inclusion, community empowerment, and progressive civic engagement. A master organizer, strategist, and highly skilled trainer, she has been on the front lines of progressive social transformation for more than 25 years. Deborah has shaped and molded a generation of social activists. https://www.georgiastandup.org/about-us

ERIC RICHARDSON is the President of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, a fiercely independent voice of black workers within the trade union movement, challenging organized labor to be more relevant to the needs and aspirations of Black and poor workers. https://cbtu.nationbuilder.com/

ALEXIS WOODARD is an Atlanta-based Director, proud Spelman College Alumna and current Spelman Leadership Fellow at the Alliance Theatre. Her Directing Credits include: Romeo + Juliet, Eurydice (Spelman College), Finished What We Started (Morehouse College), Hamlet (The Tiny Theatre Company), as well as assistant directing for the Suzi Award winning play, Hands of Color (Synchronicity Theatre), A Kids Play About Racism (Bay Area Children’s Theatre), and Associate Director for A Christmas Carol: The Live Radio Play (Alliance Theatre). Upcoming Credits include: Co-Director for Hands Up (Alliance Theatre), and Co-Director for Othello (The Tiny Theatre Company). She has also worked backstage on several productions such as Holler If You Hear Me (True Colors Theatre) and Hospice + Pointing At The Moon (Alliance Theatre). Film Credits include: Hands Up Teasers (Co-Director) and When Morning Comes (Writer). She also wrote and shot her first short film, When Morning Comes, which discusses sexual assault on college campuses.

Learn more about WORKING: A Musical.

For more information about the Alliance Theatre Podcast please click here.