We have engaged Arts Consulting Group (ACG) to aid us in our national search for a new Artistic Director. We trust ACG with supporting us in this critical task, because the firm is known for embedding inclusion, diversity, equity, and access, throughout the executive placement process, creating new opportunities for leaders and the communities and organizations that they serve.
We are proud to share with you the members of our Executive Search Committee, listed in alphabetical order.
Kimberly Fairbanks
Kimberly S. Fairbanks is a professional actor, proud member of SAG/AFTRA and AEA, and a dedicated advocate of new plays. Kimberly’s work can be seen and heard regionally, nationally, and internationally across the performance mediums of television, film, theatre, and voice over. Kimberly holds a Masters Degree in Theatre from Villanova University and is the recipient of The National Partners of the American Theatre Classical Acting Award, the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre Mad River Festival Scholarship, and the Shaw Festival Scholarship.
Willy Holtzman
Willy Holtzman is a Barrymore Award winning playwright whose work has been produced Off Broadway, regionally, and in Europe. As a screenwriter he has received the Peabody Award, the Writers Guild Award, and the Humanitas Prize. He has served on the boards of PlayPenn, New Dramatists, and Harlem Stage Company.
Daniel Ison
Daniel Ison is a sound designer, composer, and actor. He has sound designed at The Arden Theatre Company, The National Constitution Center, Quintessence, Act II Playhouse, Inis Nua, Azuka, Interact, Tiny Dynamite, Curio Theatre, Temple University, Commonwealth Classic Theatre, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, Revolution Shakespeare, Powerstreet Theatre, Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists, and Mauckingbird. As an actor he has performed with The Arden Theatre Company, Quintessence, Commonwealth Classic Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre, and White Pines, as well as a growing amount of tv/film credits. He holds a BA in Music Composition from Eastern University.
Sabrina Profitt
Sabrina Profitt (she/her), PlayPenn’s Former Acting Executive Director and General Manager, is a classically trained stage and film actress for over two decades. Her career in Philadelphia has primarily been invested in new play development. She received her MFA in Acting from Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory and her BA, magna cum laude, from DeSales University. Sabrina was recently awarded a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University.
Pamela Rainey Lawler
Although best known in the region as the founder of Philabundance, Pam Rainey Lawler has had a diverse career in the corporate, nonprofit, and education sectors as well as having been a small business owner and political candidate. She is an advisor and public speaker on social entrepreneurship, impact philanthropy, nonprofit management best practices, founder transitions, and organizational life cycles. In addition to serving on the Philabundance board of directors, she also serves as a mentor, pitch coach, and business plan competition judge for Temple University’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute. Other activities have included Art-Reach board member; Mural Arts Program ambassador and advisory committee member; and cohort advisor in the entrepreneurship program, Corzo Center for the Creative Economy at the University of the Arts.
Heidi Rose
Dr. Heidi Rose is Chair and Professor of Performance Studies, Department of Communication, Villanova University. Her teaching and research focus on performance studies, culture, and identity. Her research has been supported by grants from Villanova University, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Waterhouse Family Institute for the Study of Communication and Society. She is immediate past Editor-in-Chief of Text and Performance Quarterly, published by Taylor & Francis.
Lindsay Smiling
Lindsay Smiling is an actor/director/educator based in Philadelphia. He is a company member of the Wilma Theater’s Hothouse, an adjunct professor at Temple University and board member and co-founder of the Black Theatre Alliance of Philadelphia. He has performed Off-Broadway and across the country with over 30 different theater companies.
DeLanna Studi
DeLanna Studi is a proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation and is honored to be the new Artistic Director of Native Voices at the Autry. She has over 25 years of experience as a performer, storyteller, educator, facilitator, advocate, and activist. Her theater credits include She is a recipient of the Butcher Scholar Award, MAP Fund Grant, and Cherokee Preservation Grant. Since 2007, she has served as the chair of the SAG-AFTRA National Native Americans Committee.
Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon
Dr. Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon, PhD (Cultural Anthropology), M.A. (Anthropology), MFA (Theater), (Graduate Certificate) Women’s Studies, B.A. (Journalism); is an Associate Professor of Urban Theater and Community Engagement in the Theater Department in the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts in the Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts and President of the Faculty Senate at Temple University. An African American Theater scholar, anthropologist, playwright, director and performance poet, Williams-Witherspoon is honored to be a new member of the PlayPenn board.