Courtney Baker-Oliver
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/SONGWRITER
AS A PRODUCER, DIRECTOR, WRITER, AND TEACHER COURTNEY HAS SPENT MORE THAN TWENTY YEARS TRAINING YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE THEATRE. FROM HIS ROLE AS A FACULTY MEMBER AT DUKE ELLINGTON SCHOOL OF THE ARTS (WHERE HE TRAINED FUTURE STARS INCLUDING COREY HAWKINS (THE COLOR PURPLE), SAMIRA WILEY (HANDMAID’S TALE), SERENA REEDER (GET RICH OR DIE TRYING), AMELIA WORKMAN (A THOUSAND AND ONE) AMONG MANY OTHERS TO HIS WORK AS EDUCATION DIRECTOR OF THEATRE WASHINGTON (THE HELEN HAYES AWARDS) AND BEYOND, HE’S LONG BEEN DEVELOPING THE SKILLS SET REQUIRED TO DIRECT AND PRODUCE LARGE SCALE PRODUCTIONS ON THE WORLD’S STAGE. ALWAYS PUSHING FOR POSITIVE IMAGES OF BLACKS IN THE ARTS, COURTNEY HAS DEVELOPED TRIBUTES PRESENTED BEFORE LEGENDARY LEADERS MAYA ANGELOU, CICELY TYSON AND CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS AMONG OTHERS. COURTNEY WROTE AND DIRECTED THE DEBUT TRIBUTES FOR THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE’S AFRICAN AMERICAN STAMPS HONORING PAUL ROBESON (2004) AND MARIAN ANDERSON (2005). HE WAS A MASTER TEACHER AT BRITNEY SPEARS’ SUMMER ARTS CAMP ON CAPE COD. COURTNEY HAS WORKED WITH DIANA ROSS, JASMINE GUY, RUBY DEE AND OSSIE DAVIS, TARAJI P. HENSON AND MORE. HE HAS DIRECTED TRAVINA SPRINGER (THE IRRATIONAL) CORNELIUS SMITH, JR. (SCANDAL), ISAIAH JOHNSON (DAVID MAKES MAN) AND ASHLEY JENKINS (PASSING) AND NUMEROUS OTHERS IN HIS VARIOUS PROJECTS. WITH STEVEN A BUTLER, JR., COURTNEY CO-FOUNDED RESTORATION STAGE, INC., THE PREMIER BLACK-OWNED AND OPERATED PROFESSIONAL THEATER COMPANY IN THE WASHINGTON, DC METRO AREA. PERHAPS BEST KNOWN FOR THE HELEN HAYES AWARDS RECOMMENDED PRODUCTIONS “CHOCOLATE COVERED ANTS” AND “THE VERY LAST DAYS OF THE FIRST COLORED CIRCUS, ” RESTORATION STAGE’S WORK HAS BEEN PRODUCED IN NEW YORK CITY, LOS ANGELES, MIAMI, GREENSBORO, AND ATLANTA. IN 2013, RESTORATION STAGE,PROVIDED THE ENTERTAINMENT FOR MARTIN LUTHER KING III'S CELEBRATION OF HIS FATHER'S LEGACY AS PART OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION OF THE HISTORIC MARCH ON WASHINGTON. COURTNEY RECEIVED THE DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD FROM THE CHADWICK BOSEMAN COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY AND THE ALAN SHARPE CULTURAL AWARD FROM THE CENTER FOR BLACK EQUITY IN 2022 AND 2023 RESPECTIVELY.
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Steven A. Butler, Jr.
SCREENWRITER/ACTOR/PRODUCER/AI SET DESIGNER
Andre Strong
CINEMATOGRAPHER/EDITOR
Steven A. Butler, Jr. is a former Arena Stage Playwright's Arena Playwriting Fellow and actor, whose plays have been viewed and taught around the world. He is the co-founder of Restoration Stage and a proud graduate of Howard University, where he enjoyed a close relationship with his artistic mentor, the legendary stage, television, and film actor Al Freeman, Jr. Steven’s plays include The Truth, Chocolate Covered Ants, All That Glitters, Veils, Requiem for Trayvon, The Katrina Project, Drag On!, The Very Last Days of the First Colored Circus, Silver Foxxes, Live from the Whitelaw Hotel, Our Town?, and Somethin' Bout The Water.
ANDRE’ IS FOUNDER OF LIFORM FILM-N-SOUND, A LOS ANGELES BASED PRODUCTION COMPANY FOUNDED IN WASHINGTON, D.C IN 2011. LIFORM CREATES AND PRODUCES FILM/TELEVISION FROM CONCEPT TO PRE-PRODUCTION, TO FILMING THROUGH POST. HE IS A GRADUATE OF DUKE ELLINGTON SCHOOL OF THE ARTS AND SUNY PURCHASE.
Christopher John
MUSIC SUPERVISOR/COMPOSER
Justin Thompson
COMPOSER/MUSIC ENGERNER
Kyra DaCosta
CHOREOGPHER
AS THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND CHOREOGRAPHER FOR GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD WINNING AND OSCAR NOMINATED SINGER/ACTRESS ANDRA DAY, KYRA HAS PERFORMED WITH AND CHOREOGRAPHED FOR DAY, COMMON AND JUDITH HILL. IN ADDITION, SHE HAS PERFORMED AS ONE OF BETTE MIDLER’S ‘HARLETTES’ BOTH ON STAGE, IN VEGAS, AND IN MIDLER’S HBO TV SPECIAL. OTHER SHOWBIZ GREATS WITH WHOM KYRA HAS PERFORMED INCLUDE: STING, BILLY JOEL, INDIA ARIE, PINK, ARETHA FRANKLIN, MANHATTAN TRANSFER, AL JARREAU, DIANNE REEVES, AND WYNTON MARSALIS. KYRA HAS ALSO CO-STARRED WITH TARAJI P. HENSON, ANIKA NONI ROSE, L.L. COOL J, AND MONIQUE, TO NAME A FEW. KYRA’S TELEVISION CREDITS INCLUDE MANY NATIONAL COMMERCIALS AND SEVERAL GUEST STAR, CO-STAR, AND RECURRING ROLES IN SHOWS SUCH AS, GREY’S ANATOMY, THE PARKERS, LOVE THY NEIGHBOR, PASSIONS, AND HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER. SHE HAS ALSO APPEARED ON THE ACADEMY AWARDS SHOW, THE TONY AWARDS, THE IMAGE AWARDS, THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT, THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO, JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE, THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW, THE TODAY SHOW, THE ROSIE O’DONNELL SHOW, GOOD MORNING AMERICA AND THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW. KYRA WAS A FEATURED BACKGROUND VOCALIST ON THE X FACTOR AND HOSTED THE TV SHOW, A MAKEOVER STORY. SHE WAS A LEADVOCALIST ON THE ALBUM AND THE WORLD GOES ROUND: THE SONGS OF KANDER & EBB, AND ON SEVERAL ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDINGS. KYRA HAS WORKED AS ASSISTANT CHOREOGRAPHER TO TONY AWARD WINNING CHOREOGRAPHER GEORGE FAISON FOR AND ASSISTANT CHOREOGRAPHER TO THE ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATRE COMPANY. MOST RECENTLY, KYRA HAS BEEN BOTH A FEATURED PERFORMER AND CHOREOGRAPHER IN THE FILM ADAPTATION OF “VEILS, REQUIEM FOR TRAYVON.” KYRA IS EXCITIED AND HUMBLIED TO BE A PART OF SUCH AN SIGNIFICANT AND TIMELY REMEMBRANCE OF‘BEING BLACK IN AMERICA. SHE LOOKS FORWARD TO SHARING THIS INCREDIBLE PRODUCTION WITH THE WORLD.
Mimi Machado-Luces
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Mimi Machado-Luces, Emmy award-winning producer/writer/ and director. Mimi is President & CEO of MimiTVA Media with an array of experiences from music videos to political campaigns, feature length films to documentaries. An engaging storyteller, MimiTVA draws narratives from genuine stories that entertain and engage diverse audiences. The pride of MimiTVA exists in the power to reach a global audience, speaking fluent Spanish, English, and dabbling in the language of the Akan, Twi. She is currently producing a documentary about her Afro-Latin family entitled Trini-Vene Tribe. Machado-Luces continues to freelance as a producer, publicist, film director and media arts educator. She graduated from Howard University, School of Communications, Class of 1990.