Shows & Events

Lynn Nottage (Playwright) is a playwright and a screenwriter, and the first woman in history to win two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. Her plays have been produced widely in the United States and throughout the world. Recent work includes the book for MJ the Musical (Broadway), the libretto for the Intimate Apparel Opera (LCT), and Clyde’s (Broadway, 2ST, Goodman Theatre), and co-curating the performance installation The Watering Hole (Signature Theatre). Past work includes Sweat, Ruined, the book for The Secret Life of Bees; Mlima's Tale; By the Way, Meet Vera Stark; Intimate Apparel; Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine; Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Las Meninas; Mud, River, Stone; Por’knockers; and POOF!. She has also developed This is Reading, a performance installation in Reading, Pennsylvania. Ms. Nottage is a member of the Theater Hall of Fame, and the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellowship (among other awards). She is also an Associate Professor at Columbia University School of the Arts and is a member of the Dramatists Guild. www.lynnnottage.net

Elizabeth Carter† (Director) is thrilled to return to Aurora Theatre Company after directing Stoop Stories in 2021 and performing numerous times on its stage. Some of her favorite productions include Fat Ham (OSF), Confederates (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), Wolf Play (Shotgun Players), Sweat and The Legend of Georgia McBride (Center Rep), Steel Magnolias (TheatreWorks SV), As You Like It (California Shakespeare Theater), for colored girls... (African American Shakespeare Co.)  and the new musical Sign My Name to Freedom (SF Bay Area Theatre Co.). She was associate director on the ripple the wave that carried me home (Berkeley Rep/Goodman Theatre) and assistant director on How I Learned What I Learned (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). She directed the groundbreaking 2020 virtual King Lear (SF Shakespeare Festival) and Feel the Spirit (Shotgun Players/Colt Couer NYC). Her directorial film debut Bottled Spirits won Best Narrative at the London Pan African Film Festival. She was the inaugural SDCF Lloyd Richards New Futures Resident Director at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and a current Lucas Arts Fellow.

Jamella Cross* (Ermina Crump) is a Bay Area performer, clown, and drag artist that has worked with companies like Bay Area Children's Theater, Magic Theater, Aurora Theater, Marin Shakespeare Company, Oakland Theater Project, SF Playhouse, Princess at Oasis, and Royales Drag Show. They just closed a world premiere production of Froggy at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek. Find updates of their work at JamellaCross.com 

Asia Nicole Jackson* (Lily Ann Green) is thrilled to make her debut at Aurora in Crumbs from the Table of Joy. Some of her credits include: The Black Feminist Guide to the Human Body at the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Nollywood Dreams at SF Playhouse, and The Cake at New Conservatory Theatre Center. When Asia is offstage, she enjoys working as a standardized patient at various medical schools in the Bay Area, doing volunteer work with the Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano counties and NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), salsa dancing, and cooking. Asia would like to thank The Most High and all her loved ones for their continual love and support.

David Everett Moore* (Godfrey Crump) is excited to return to the Aurora stage, where he was last seen in Safe House. David is a longtime Bay Area artist who has worked with local theaters including Crowded Fire, Center Rep, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Magic Theatre, Marin Shakespeare Company, African-American Shakespeare Company, SPARC, Word for Word, and Marin Theatre Company. Regional credits include work with Capital Stage Company, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and Colorado Shakespeare Festival. David is a Resident Artist of the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival and a proud graduate of UC Berkeley, where he earned his BA in Theater and Performance Studies.

Carrie Paff* (Gerte Schulte) is thrilled to return to Aurora for her eighth show! She previously appeared in The Lifespan of a Fact, The Real Thing, This Is How It Goes, A Delicate Balance, Collapse, Small Tragedy, and Betrayal. Off-Broadway: About Alice (Theatre for a New Audience), Ideation (59E59). Regional: A Distinct Society (TheatreWorks, Pioneer Theatre Company), King Charles III and After the War (A.C.T.), The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin, Stage Kiss, and Stupid Fucking Bird (SF Playhouse), Double Indemnity (ACT Seattle), Holmes & Watson and Jekyll & Hyde (Arizona Theatre Company), A Streetcar Named Desire and Tiny Alice (Marin Theatre Company), The Other Place (Magic Theatre), The Big Meal (San Jose Rep), How the Other Half Loves (Center Rep), Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress (Leicester Square Theatre, London). Carrie holds a master's degree from New York University. She can be heard in Pixar’s Finding Dory, The Good Dinosaur and Lamp Life.

Anna Marie Sharpe* (Ernestine Crump) is a Black and Filipino actor and teaching artist in the Bay Area. Sharpe is very excited to make her return to Aurora in Crumbs from the Table of Joy. Theatre highlights include San Francisco Playhouse (Nollywood Dreams - Fayola), Aurora Theatre Company (Paradise Blue - Pumpkin), American Conservatory Theatre (A Christmas Carol - Annabelle). Film highlights include (Sorry We’re Dead - Monica), (A Praise Chorus - Liz), (The Best Time - Sydney). When not acting, Anna writes screenplays. She is currently in pre-production making her directorial debut for her short film, “For the Culture.” Sharpe received a double B.A. in Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies from UC Berkeley. She is grateful for Quinn, Lucian, and Mia for their love and support. IG: @_amarie3

Courtney Williams (u/s Ernestine Crump) is so grateful to make her Aurora Theatre Company debut! She's an actress, voice artist and arts educator originally from Oakland, CA. She has a colorful background working in the downtown New York theater scene where she developed and performed in new works with Daniel Alexander Jones, Kaneza Schaal, Mike Iveson, Tea Alagic and other artists who have enriched her collaborative process. Select theatre credits: Fat Ham (SF Playhouse), Scientific Method (Rivendell Theater), Go Forth (PS 122), A Walrus in the Body of a Crocodile (Clubbed Thumb), Tania in the Getaway Van (The Flea Theater), The Tear Drinkers (The Kitchen), Ruined (Fordham Theater). Select TV/Film credits: Blindspotting, Empire, Chicago Med, Edendale, Civic (New Orleans Film, IFFR, Clermont-Ferrand Int'l). She is a graduate of Fordham University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater as well as an alumna of the Steppenwolf Conservatory. She thanks her family, friends and reps for their support! Instagram @letcourtneytellit