SUSAN V. BOOTH (Jennings Hertz Artistic Director) joined the Alliance Theatre in 2001 and has initiated the Palefsky Collision Project for teens, the Alliance/ Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab and commercial partnerships on such projects as The Prom; Tuck Everlasting; Ghost Brothers of Darkland County; The Color Purple; Bring It On: The Musical; Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away; Sister Act: The Musical; Bring in ’da Noise, Bring in ’da Funk; and Jesus Christ Superstar GOSPEL. She has directed nationally at the Goodman Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, New York Stage and Film, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Northlight Theatre, Victory Gardens, Court Theatre and many others. She holds degrees from Denison and Northwestern universities and was a fellow of the National Critics Institute and the Kemper Foundation. She has held teaching positions at Northwestern, DePaul and Emory universities and is a past president of the board of directors for the Theatre Communications Group, the national service organization for the field. Booth’s leadership is underwritten by the BOLD Theater Women’s Leadership Circle, an initiative to support and promote women’s theater leadership funded by the Pussycat Foundation. She is married to Max Leventhal and is the proud mother of Moira Rose Leventhal.

COURTENAY COLLINS (Courtenay) is thrilled to be returning to celebrate the holidays on The Hertz Stage in the comfort of her own faux living room with all of her best friends. The
Prom (Broadway) The Prom, Cinderella and Fella, The Geller Girls, Jacques Brel..., Into the Woods, Smart Cookie, Managing Maxine (Alliance) Calendar Girls, Hello Dolly!, Comedy of Tenors (GET) Catch Me if You Can, Evita, (Atlanta Lyric) Eating Raoul (Off Broadway) Ken Hill’s The Phantom of the Opera (National Tour) Beauty and the Beast (Toronto). Recordings: Nightingale, One For My Baby, A Merry Little Christmas. Education: Converse College, Juilliard Drama Division. In her spare time, she teaches private lessons and makes jewelry and other ephemera. Instagram: @courtenaygoestobroadway @vintagespiritdesig

APRIL ANDREW (Costume Designer) is a freelance costume designer and the Assistant Costume Shop Manager at the Alliance Theatre. She received her M.F.A. in Costume Design/ Technology from the University of South Carolina before joining the Alliance staff as a Design Assistant in 2014. She enjoys freelance costume production and design work around Atlanta with recent local design credits including Slur, Knead (The Alliance Theatre); Bye Bye Birdie, Macbeth, Disaster: The Musical!, The Diary of Anne Frank (The Walker School); An Octoroon, Head Over Heels, Downstairs (Actor’s Express); Much Ado About Nothing (Oglethorpe University); Gimme Please!, Hey Willy, See The Pyramids (Alliance Theatre for the Very Young); Bring it On: The Musical (Kennesaw State University). Upcoming projects include Ella Enchanted (Synchronicty) and The Servant of Two Masters (Oglethorpe University).

CLAY BENNING (Sound Designer) has been the Resident Sound Designer at the Alliance Theatre for 19 years and has designed more than 100 productions for the Alliance, including 30 world premieres, 35 musicals, and 30 Theater for Young Audiences productions. Recent works include Candide, Wizard of Oz, Ride the Cyclone, and Max Make A Million. Other design work has included Georgia Shakespeare, Atlanta Ballet, Cincinnati Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Theatrical Outfit, Geva Theatre, Synchronicity Theatre, and the Georgia Aquarium. Awards: Seven Suzi Bass awards for outstanding sound design with 16 nominations. He is a graduate of Presbyterian College (B.A.), North Carolina School of the Arts (M.F.A.) and a member of IATSE/USA829 and TSDCA.

JO LYNN BURKS (Music Director/ Conductor) first met Courtenay when they were college-gals, working as singer/dancers at Six Flags Over Georgia. They bonded over pirouettes and funnel cakes, supported each other competing in Pageants, and shared nail-polish/boyfriend advice for debutant and sorority formals. Their paths have REMAINED crossed, frequently performing together, including in each others’ weddings! Burks’ story: B.A. at U. of Alabama (where she was Miss University of Alabama). M.M. at University of Miami, FL (Miss University of Miami/ Homecoming Queen). Broadway: Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (originated role), Smokey Joe’s Café, Hairspray, All Shook Up, The Full Monty, The Color Purple. National Tours: Fame, Smokey Joe’s Café, Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair. Toured with Gladys Knight, the lead singers of The Temptations, and Roger Daltrey of The Who. Pianist/Singer Engagements: New York’s The Carlyle, the Waldorf-Astoria, The Plaza, and Pat O’Brien’s in New Orleans. Current professor at Belmont University.

KAT CONLEY (Scenic Designer) is ecstatic to return to the Alliance and Courtenay’s Cabaret. She has designed more than 30 Alliance productions, including last year’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Wizard of Oz. Kat has designed scenery for Arena Stage, Orlando Shakespeare, the Kennedy Center, Georgia Shakespeare, Marin Theatre Company, Actor’s Express, The Atlanta Ballet, The Center for Puppetry Arts, 7 Stages, Theatrical Outfit, Synchronicity Theatre, Theatre in the Square, and Aurora Theatre. She continues to be the Charge Scenic Artist for the Alliance Theatre. Whether dramatically challenging, visionary of escapist, all theater and art is important, thank you for supporting it in our community.

LIZ LEE (Lighting Designer) always enjoys her work with the Alliance. Her previous designs include Max Makes a Million, Goodnight Tyler, Sheltered, Hand to God, Too Heavy for Your Pocket, Ugly Lies the Bone, Ethel, The C.A. Lyons Project, Steel Magnolias, In Love & Warcraft, The Whipping Man, God of Carnage, Sleuth, Cuttin’Up, Tick, Tick ... Boom!, and Top Dog/Under Dog. Based in Atlanta, she was producer at the Center for Puppetry Arts for 20 years and continues as their resident lighting designer, where she’s working on a design for their new production of Stellalun.

JAYSON T. WADDELL (Stage Manager) is proud to return to the Alliance Theatre for his tenth season. At the Alliance, he’s worked on such productions as Becoming Nancy, Approval Junkie, Ever After, Nick’s Flamingo Grill, Candide, Crossing Delancey, Troubadour, Moby Dick, Born for This, Tuck Everlasting, The Geller Girls, A Christmas Carol, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, Broke, Sex and the Second City, Next to Normal, Holidays With the Chalks, and Bike America. At Atlanta Lyric Theatre: Oliver, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Full Monty, and Young Frankeinstein. At the Illinois Shakespeare Festival: Shakespeare in Love, I <3 Juliet, Hamlet, Q Gents, Antony & Cleopatra, Macbeth, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and A Winter’s Tale. Jayson graduated from the Gainesville Theatre Alliance and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.