Group photo of our masked Staff and Teaching Artists in a dance studio, with online participants projected on the wall behind.

Upstream Arts Leadership Team

Julie Guidry, Executive Director

Julie Guidry

Julie Guidry (she/her/hers), Co-Founder, Executive Director, Teaching Artist
Julie has worked in the disability and nonprofit communities since 1997. She is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Upstream Arts, an innovative nonprofit organization which uses the arts to develop the social and communication skills of individuals with disabilities. Founded in 2006, Upstream Arts has rapidly become an emerging, cross-sector leader at the intersection of disability, arts and learning. Julie and her husband Matt Guidry conceived of Upstream Arts after seeing the positive impact of the arts on their son’s self expression and communication with those around him. Upstream Arts now annually works with 100+ partners and serves 5000+ people of all ages and abilities. Since Upstream Arts’ inception, Julie has worked closely with disability service providers, community organizations, as well as Minneapolis Public Schools’ Special Education Directors and Arts Department to develop a model for integrating Upstream Arts’ unique arts-based curriculum into social skills learning, vocational and career development training, and other disability services. She facilitates trainings for social service organizations, schools, districts, and arts organizations on arts based instructional strategies, universal design for learning, access and inclusion. Previously, she held management positions with several disability and youth organizations, including Wilderness Inquiry and Youth Frontiers. Julie is a previous member of both the District Parent Advisory Council and Access Advisory Council for Minneapolis Public Schools; and she is a current member of the Special Education Advisory Council. She also has been on the Arts on Chicago Leadership team for the last eight years; and she is a founding board member and former Board Chair of Wonderlust Productions.

 

Matt Guidry, Artistic Director

Matt Guidry

Matt Guidry, Co-Founder, Artistic Director, Teaching Artist | Actor, Director, Choreographer, Producer
Matt co-founded Upstream Arts in 2006 and serves as the organization’s Artistic Director. Matt leads the design of Upstream Arts’ multidisciplinary curriculum, manages 100+ program residencies a year, and oversees the training of the organization’s Teaching Artists, and develops programs and professional development in line with need and emerging trends in arts, education and the disability sector. Matt has been working as an actor, director, choreographer, producer, and educator in the Twin Cities since 1992. Matt is a founding member and Co-Artistic Director of The Burning House Group Theater Company where he has acted, directed and helped create original works for the stage since 1994 (Twelfth Night, 3 Parts Dead, Waiting for Godot, What the Butler Saw, Say What You Mean, Oops! You’re President, Knock Knock, among others). As a former member of the Acting Core of Ten Thousand Things Theatre Company, Matt was seen in Man of La Mancha, A Winter’s Tale, Good Person of Szechwan, Merchant of Venice, The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol and Carousel. In the Twin Cities, Matt has also performed with The Guthrie Theatre (Dollhouse), Pillsbury House Theatre (Far Away), Park Square (Or), Frank Theatre (Tottering House), History Theatre (Farm Boys), The Theatre Exchange (Colquhoun and MacBride), Actor’s Theatre of MN (Woman in Black) and spent two years as a company member of the Margolis Brown Company (Vanishing Point, Bed Experiment). He holds an MFA from the University of Minnesota, where he has been an affiliated faculty member of the University of Minnesota’s Theater Arts and Dance Department. Matt’s film credits include roles in the films World and Time Enough, Ramming Speed, Sugar & Spice and in David Lynch’s The Straight Story.

 

Bree Sieplinga

Bree Sieplinga, Associate Executive Director | Writer
Bree has worked in the non-profit sector since 1997. Since its founding in 2006, Bree has served as the Associate Director of Upstream Arts, a cross sector arts organization that has the mission to use the power of the creative arts to activate and amplify the voice and choice of individuals with disabilities. She has been integral in the development and growth of Upstream Arts spearheading its fundraising, grant writing, finances and program evaluation. As part of the three-person leadership team, she develops programs and professional development in line with need and emerging trends in arts, education and the disability sector. Prior to this work, Bree worked in the Program and Advocacy Department at the New York office of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) where she coordinated advocacy activities with the United Nations and US government offices on conflict situations and global public health issues, was the liaison to MSF’s European offices on private grant-making, and oversaw 95 million dollars in private grants to international field projects. Previously, Bree held development positions at the Center for Assistive Technology and San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, both in the Bay Area. Bree holds a B.A. in Literature from Northwestern University and a Masters Degree in Social Sciences from the University of Amsterdam.

Teaching Artists and Administrative Staff

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Ryan Ander-Evans

Ryan Ander-Evans (he/them), Teaching Artist | Community Artist, Music-Maker

Christian Bardin headshot

Christian Bardin

Christian Bardin (she/her, they/them), Teaching Artist | Actor/Director, Musician

Christian (she/her and they/them) originally hails from Houston, Texas. They’ve called the Twin Cities home since graduating from Ken Washington’s BFA program at the U in 2011 and have acted professionally in the Twin Cities since 2009. She believes the best work in any discipline comes at the intersection of great risk, great craft, and great love. Favorite “art jobs” are ones where she gets to use her powers for good, including relationships with CornerHouse’s Forensic Interview trainings, Pillsbury House + Theatre’s Breaking Ice workshops, and traditional performance work with the Jungle Theater, Minnesota Opera, Guthrie Theater, The Moving Company, Park Square Theatre, and Sandbox Theatre. Christian is proud to have co-directed the devised work The Nature Crown and to have assisted on the regional premiere of Redwood at the Jungle. Their first full-length album of original music is entitled Shorts – here’s a preview. Christian has been working with Upstream Arts since 2020.

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Sarah Brown

Sarah Brown (she/her/hers), Principal Teaching Artist/Interpreter | Actor, Improviser, Dancer, ASL Interpreter
Sarah’s passion lies in the intersection of theater and community where she can inspire people‘s creativity and confidence using the powerful tool of the arts. She is currently a professional ASL Interpreter working in a variety of settings including Upstream Arts. She can also be seen interpreting across the Twin City stages including Guthrie Theater and Penumbra Theater. She received her Master of Arts in Theatre Education from Emerson College in Boston, MA in 2004. There she worked for Wheelock Family Theatre, Theater Espresso, and Improv Asylum. She then took the leap to Los Angeles where she studied and performed at IO West in Hollywood. Realizing TV and film were not for her, she returned to her home state of Minnesota. Locally she has performed at HUGE Theater, the Guthrie Theater, Gremlin Theatre, The National Theater for Children, Brave New Workshop, Savage Umbrella, and Tiger Lion Arts. Sarah has had the honor of working with Upstream Arts as both a TA and ASL Interpreter since 2010.

Headshot of Also Bruno, a Black man with short black hair and goatee, gazing over his rectangle framed spectacles

 Alsa Bruno

Alsa Bruno (he/him/his), Teaching Artist | Actor, Improvisor, Youthworker, Stunna 
Alsa began his life as an artist drawing shy pictures in torn envelopes under the pews at church. He began his comedy career with stand up, spoken word, and workshop facilitation, blending a portrait of his experience with a guided focus toward intercultural dialogue – Alsa really prides himself on using comedy to create space for honesty. An avid comedian with a sensitive outlook, Alsa is a founding member of Blackout Improv, the Creative Counsel, and co-founder of the Black and Funny Improv Festival. He is a behavioral coach with international drama-based consultancy Bi-Jingo, one half of the improv troupe The Unpronounceables as well as the Serendipity Comedy Duo, comedic consultant with Funworks, an enthusiastic member of the Black Improv Alliance, & somebody’s favorite uncle. Alsa loves storytelling and creating programs, so you can often find him at HUGE Improv Theater.

Morgan LeClaire

Morgan Bruno (LeClaire) (she/her/hers), Teaching Artist | Actor, Facilitator, Mental Health Advocate, Playmate

Morgan grew up in the northern woods of Minnesota, using her imagination and access to nature to fuel her love of play. She has been trained as an actor and drama therapist and currently uses her skills to help various community members process traumatic moments, develop intimacy, and transform relationships through play. Morgan particularly enjoys finding moments of playfulness with strangers or almost strangers. She is a founding member of the Creative Counsel with her husband, Alsa, and lives together with him and their two really great cats.
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Cristina Castro

Cristina Castro (she/her/hers), Principal Teaching Artist | Playwright, Performer
Cristina Florencia Castro is a playwright/performer who hails from San Antonio, Texas and has been based in Minneapolis since 2007. Her recent short play May Yamoe… was produced as part of Pillsbury House Theater’s She Persists: The Great Divide III. Cristina was a 2017-2018 Nashville Repertory Theatre Ingram New Works Playwright and 2015-2016 Jerome Many Voices Fellow at the Playwrights’ Center. Cristina’s play, How The Colds Were Razed (As Told By Gorilla Girl), was a finalist for the 2018 Latinx Theatre Commons Carnaval, and her play The Very Last Wishes of Grandpa Joe or Mia & Hector Go Sightseeing, is available to audio stream via Season Four of The Parsnip Ship. Cristina has taught playwriting for Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Arts and for the Jungle Theater’s Jungle Writes program. As a performer, she has acted in the Twin Cities with theaters such as Ten Thousand Things (The Winter’s Tale), TransAtlantic Love Affair (The Devout), Penumbra Theatre (For Colored Girls…), Artistry (Wit), the Jungle Theater (Anna in the Tropics), Daleko Arts (The Shape of Things), Market Garden Theater (Three Days of Rain), Mixed Blood (The House of Spirits), Park Square (August: Osage County), and others. Cristina was a 2008 National YoungArts Foundation Silver Award Winner in Playwriting and is a 2011 alumna of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program. Cristina is currently in pursuit of her MFA in Creative Writing at Augsburg University.

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Uchenna Chidozie

Uchenna Chidozie (he/him), Teaching Artist | Musician
Uchenna Chidozie has been a gigging musician in the Twin Cities for a little over the past decade. He has played in a variety of ensembles playing anything from Celtic rock to videogame covers. The instruments he can play are but aren’t limited to: cello, violin, viola, flute, piano and ukulele. He has also worked with many local theaters, both in the cast and on the production team.

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Evelyn Digirolamo

Evelyn Digirolamo (she/they), Principal Teaching Artist | Collaborative Theatre Maker, Aerial Artist
Evie is a collaborative artist always looking to engage with something physically impossible, thought-provoking, healing, and bizarre. Combining her passion for aerial arts and theatre, she is the founder of The Swingset —an endeavor dedicated to telling stories up in the air. She choreographs and directs pieces performed on her portable aerial rig which she purchased after receiving the Next Step Fund for individual artists from the Minnesota Regional Arts Council. Her home base for creating new work is Sandbox Theatre, a company dedicated to producing visually rich, all new, ensemble-created work. Sandbox was named Best Theatre Troupe 2017 by the City Pages. She was also a co-founder and actor/creator/director for AEthem Theatre Company with whom she created for three years. Utilizing her passion for using theatre to create empathy, develop courage, and process life, she has taught for many prestigious organizations including: SteppingStone Theatre, Youth Performance Company, Stages Theatre, ALIVE Schools, and East Side Neighborhood Services. She also teaches aerial silks weekly at Escalate Dance and Theatre Studio. Companies she has performed with include: Off-Leash Area, Mad Munchkin Productions, Teatro del Pueblo, Pangea World Theater, The Gonzo Group Theatre, Shakespeare and Company, Historical Perspectives for Children, the Murder Mystery Company, and the Barbara Schneider Foundation, with whom she does de-escalation trainings for first responders. She was featured in the film Ghost Light, which received the award Best Ensemble in a Feature Dramedy at the Best Actor’s Film Festival in San Francisco. She has been working with Upstream Arts since 2013.

Portrait of Dupree Edwards

Dupree Edwards

Dupree Edwards, Teaching Artist, Program Support Assistant | Actor, DJ, MC
After asking Upstream Arts if they would consider hiring a regular participant, Dupree jumped at the chance to join the organization. Dupree is a creative and aspiring Actor. He has acted in three local productions sponsored by Partnership Resources, Inc. Dupree had a radio show with KFAI, Dupe Ed that raised awareness of disability issues. While attending the Transition Plus program for Minneapolis Public Schools, he started a Talent Show for people with disabilities. Dupree likes to sing and freestyle rap his own songs.  “My experience with Upstream Arts as a participant has given me courage to be a Teaching Artist Apprentice.  Tena May Gallivan and Gregory Parks have motived me to explore the power of creativity.  I am excited to give back to my community as part of the team at Upstream Arts.”

Jay Eisenberg headshot

 Jay Eisenberg

Jay Eisenberg (he/him/his), Teaching Artist | Actor, Director, Facilitator

Jay Owen Eisenberg is a Minneapolis-based actor, educator, director, and facilitator. Jay’s backgrounds in sex education and theatre have supported him in designing dynamic, inclusive curriculum in Health, Wellness, and Consent for young performers in training. He currently teaches with a wide variety of organizations across the arts and education sectors, including Penumbra Theatre’s RACE Workshop and Summer Institute programs, Upstream Arts, the University of Minnesota, and Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, among others. Here in the Twin Cities, he has performed at regionally and nationally acclaimed theaters including the Guthrie Theater, Penumbra Theatre, Theater Latte Da, Jungle Theater, Pillsbury House + Theatre, Mixed Blood Theater, Open Eye Figure Theater, and Red Eye Theater, and he is a regular collaborator with the Playwrights’ Center. He was the recipient of a 2017 Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative grant. Jay holds a BFA in Acting from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and he is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Aaron Fiskradatz headshot

Aaron Fiskradatz

Aaron Fiskradatz (he/him/his), Program Manager | Theatre Artist and Educator

Aaron is a theatre artist and educator who regularly works with multiple organizations around the Twin Cities metro area. As an artist, he frequently works as a puppeteer, and a director and playwright of theatre for young actors. He has also become a consultant and technician for artists looking to take their work to Zoom and other online platforms. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in Theatre Arts in 2005, Aaron was inspired by his experience growing up with a sister on the autism spectrum, and worked for several years in St. Paul Public Schools as a paraprofessional for students with disabilities. His career has combined education and art for all ever since. He has been working with Upstream Arts since 2015.
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Dylan Fresco

Dylan Fresco (he/him/his), Principal Teaching Artist | Actor, Writer, Musician
Dylan is an actor, writer, musician, and educator. His solo shows have been audience favorites at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, with his latest, Domino’s Pizza Saved My Life, selling out its run and earning rave reviews at the Capital Fringe Festival in Washington D.C.  Dylan helped create The Kid’s Clubhouse, an interactive TV program for patients at Children’s Hospital, and writes and performs educational concerts for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. As an actor, Dylan has worked with the Children’s Theater, Penumbra, Ten Thousand Things, the Guthrie, Pillsbury House Theatre, Theater Latte Da, and the Minnesota Orchestra, among others. He tells tales, sings romantic Russian ballads, and plays guitar and ukulele at public and private events. His stories have also been heard on Minnesota Public Radio. Dylan has been a teaching artist with the Guthrie, Steppingstone Theater, and Minneapolis Public Schools. He is a graduate of Carleton College and of the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre. Dylan has been working with Upstream Arts since 2007. More: http://dylanfresco.com

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Jane Froiland

Jane Froiland (she/her), Teaching Artist | Performer, Actor, Director, Facilitator, Theatre Maker
Jane has been working professionally as an actor and teaching artist since 2009. As an actor, she has appeared onstage with The Children’s Theatre, Park Square Theatre, Theatre Latte Da, Old Log Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Jungle Theatre, Yellow Tree Theatre, Ten Thousand Things, Dark and Stormy Productions, Gremlin Theatre, and Walking Shadow, and many more. She has also appeared onscreen in many films, industrials, commercials and voiceovers. As a director, she has directed or assistant directed for many companies, including Lakeshore Players, History Theatre, Ten Thousand Things, and Woodbury High School. As a teaching artist, Jane has taught residencies, workshops, and master classes all over Minnesota, collaborating often with Spotlight Education, Steppingstone Theatre, Youth Performance Company, Onstage Minnesota, and many others. She is a performer with Science Live at the Science Museum of Minnesota, and a Puppet Program Coordinator for PACER Center.  She considers every job she has to be the best job in the world.

Janefroiland.net

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Tena May Gallivan

Tena May Gallivan (she/her/hers), Principal Teaching Artist | Actor, Dancer, Voice Over Artist
After asking if Upstream Arts was hiring for two years, and realizing that no one ever left, Tena May Gallivan felt so strongly that she belonged there, she asked if she could volunteer, just to be a part of this amazing organization. Fortunately, this eventually did lead to a Teaching Artist position, and she counts it as one of the best decisions she has ever made (after deciding that tube tops weren’t for her). Tena May comes from a theatrical family, made her stage debut at age 4, and hasn’t looked back since. She has been fortunate enough to work at many local theaters throughout the years, most notably The Guthrie Theatre, Chanhassen Dinner Theater, Park Square Theater, Theatre In The Round, Na Fianna Irish Theater (with whom she won “Best Actress” at the Acting Irish International Theatre Festival) and The History Theater. Tena May was a member of The Comedy Troupe for many years and toured the Twin Cities as well as the state, spreading cheer to all. She is also a national Voice Over Artist who has been heard around the country, with clients such as Subaru, Tresemme, Target, Nordstrom, Macy’s, General Mills and Petsmart. She has even been seen on TV and the big screen! Tena May is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists and serves on the local board. In non-acting related news, Tena May teaches strength training, fitness and dance (mostly because if she is teaching, she has to be there and can’t roll over, hit the snooze alarm and tell herself she’ll do it later. Which, of course, she won’t). Tena May has been working with Upstream Arts since 2012.

Phyllis Genest-Stein headshot

Phyllis Genest-Stein

Phyllis Genest-Stein (she/her/hers), Teaching Artist/Interpreter | ASL Interpreter
Phyllis is a nationally certified American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter. She worked with Deaf/Hard of Hearing students in Minneapolis Public Schools for many years and is passionate about going beyond accessibility to communication equality. In 2010 she had the extreme good fortune of being introduced to Upstream Arts co-founders, Julie and Matt Guidry. Their commitment to providing creative, fun, high quality opportunities for individual growth and expression hooked Phyllis and she has been working with them ever since. She finds the amazing artists at Upstream Arts to be energizing and a constant source of inspiration. In addition to her work interpreting for Upstream Arts, Phyllis is a community interpreter, working in business, medical, and educational settings. She serves as a mentor for new educational interpreters and is the chair of the Minnesota Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Freelance Committee.

Skailer Huffman

 Skailer Huffman

Skailer Huffman Teaching Artist | Actor, Singer, Dancer
Skailer is an Eden Prairie High School graduate of 2017. She also went through 2 years of Transition Program, where she was a participant in the Upstream Arts program. She grew up loving music such as Donny Osmond, Abba, and many more who influence her artistry today.  She has experience in acting since 7th grade, joined crew in high school, and has been part of a musical theater camp in Chanhassen. She has been working with Upstream Arts since 2019.  

Avery Danger Hunter Headshot

Avery Danger Hunter

Avery Danger Hunter (he/him/his), Teaching Artist | Visual Artist, Actor
Avery is a visual artist specializing in painting, mixed media work and printmaking. His work mostly focuses on his experience within the LGBTQ+ and disability communities, in effort to provide more representation. He moved to the U.S. from England in 2004 at the age of 18. He found a surprising abundance of creative opportunities here in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Before leaving England, he earned A levels in Drama, English Literature and General Studies. He has since been participating in several art fairs and shows within Minnesota and the US. He received an Associate of Fine Arts from Minneapolis Community and Technical College in 2010 and continued on to receive his Bachelor’s degree in Studio Arts from Metropolitan State University in 2021. He is a husband, a dad to two wonderful children on the spectrum and loving his position with Upstream Arts as a teaching artist. He is now in pursuit of his Master’s in Professional Studies in Sexual Health at the University of Minnesota.

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Nicki Jones

Nicki Jones (she/her/hers), Operations Manager
Nicki has been working in non-profits regularly since 2019, and she joined Upstream Arts late 2022. She got her operations experience as a small business owner of 15 years before running away to the non-profit world. Originally from Charlotte, NC, Nicki has been living, working, and raising a family in St. Paul since 1996. Artistically, she’s an amateur dabbler in fiber arts, drawing and painting, singing, and writing.

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Abby Magalee

Abigail Magalee (she/her/hers), Principal Teaching Artist | Choreographer, Dancer
Abby is a Baltimore native who moved to Minneapolis in 2014. She has been dancing for 26 years, and holds a BFA in Dance and a BS in Deaf Studies from Towson University. Upon graduation, she trained extensively with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Steps on Broadway. Abby is so grateful to have been a part of several productions at The Ordway Theater, including White Christmas, West Side Story, In The Heights, and Mamma Mia! She has also danced as a company member of Deviated Theater, Threads Dance Project, and Shapeshift Theatrical. Abby is a certified yoga teacher, and proud member of Actors Equity.

Portrait of Theresa Madaus

Theresa Madaus

Theresa Madaus, Communications and Development Associate | Choreographer, Dancer, Writer, Arts Administrator
Theresa Madaus is a Minneapolis-based dance-maker and performer. Best know for her work as one-third of the choreographic collaboration Mad King Thomas (begun in 2004), she also moonlights as drag sensation Rock Scissors and creates individual dance works that investigate queer longing and embodiment. Her interest in dance writing led her to co-found the Criticism Exchange in 2014, a reciprocal dance writing mechanism housed at https://criticismexchange.wordpress.com. For seven years she served on the board of DanceMN, a dance service organization that produces the weekly dance community news, for which she was also chair and editor at varying points. In addition to working for Upstream Arts, she does arts administration for Link Vostok, an East/West arts exchange, and Grace Minnesota, the home of behavioral artist Marcus Young. She is an avid practitioner of Don’t You Feel It Too? and is part of the organizing team for this public dance practice/work of art and resistance. She has been working for Upstream Arts since 2017.

Tracey Maloney headshot

Tracey Maloney

Tracey Maloney, Teaching Artist | Actor, Voice Over Artist
Tracey Maloney is thrilled to be teaching with Upstream Arts. A Minneapolis-based theater artist, Tracey has acted at many local theaters, including the Guthrie, Ten Thousand Things, the Jungle, Park Square, the Illusion, Torch, Pillsbury Theater, Dark and Stormy, The Playwrights’ Center, Workhaus Theater and more. A proud member of actor’s equity and SAG-AFTRA, Tracey has been involved in many commercials and has been the voice of companies such as Purina, Macy’s, Nexxus, TCF bank, K-mart and others. Her film work includes David Lynch’s The Straight Story and Cedar Rapids. She is the co-founder of Thirst Theater, which pairs great playwrights with equity actors. Tracey has taught for the Guthrie Theater and the MPS school system. She loves her family (including husband and 2 dogs), volunteering, boxing, and reading. Tracey has been working with Upstream Arts since 2015.

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Meagan Manning

Meagan Manning, Operations Associate | Educator
Meagan comes to Upstream Arts from the world of higher education. She taught many courses in media studies at The University of Minnesota, Columbia College, and Quinnipiac University. She has also managed several Minneapolis restaurants. She loves cooking, cycling, photography, acrylic painting, and audio engineering.

Asian American male with black hair

 Clay Man Soo

Clay Man Soo (he/him), Teaching Artist | Actor
Clay Man Soo (he/him) is an Asian-American actor and teaching artist in Minneapolis, MN. He has acted or taught with The Guthrie Theater, The Children’s Theatre Company, Alliance Theatre, Theater Mu, Great River Shakespeare Festival, History Theater, Park Square Theatre, Jungle Theater, Pangea World Theater, The Lab Theater, Penumbra Theatre, Playwright’s Center, Artistry, New Arab-American Theater, Full Circle Theater Company, Theatre Coup D’Etat, Lyric Arts, BARd Shakespeare Company, and South Dakota Shakespeare Festival. UPCOMING Ten Thousand Things: Mlima’s Tale, Tiger Lion Arts: The Buddha Prince. TRAINING B.A. Gustavus Adolphus College; Great River Shakespeare Festival Actor Apprenticeship; Theater Mu Institute; Children’s Theatre Company Internship; Penumbra Theatre Internship; Encompass Collective NYC from the Yale School of Drama. Clay is represented by Wehmann Talent Agency. www.claymansoo.com

Headshot of Andrew Newman

Andrew Newman

Andrew Newman, Development Manager | Actor, Singer
Andrew Newman has been working in fundraising and development for the past ten years. His recent work has involved supporting development and writing grants for early childhood education and arts programming. As an actor and singer in the Twin Cities, he has appeared on a variety of stages. His work has been seen at Lyric Arts, Zephyr Theatre, Park Square Theatre, Minneapolis Musical Theatre, Artistry, Theatre in the Round and more. He has been a Minneapolis native since his days at the University of Minnesota, where he earned a BA in Journalism. He is excited to be joining Upstream Arts and to combine his love of theatre with his passion of supporting and enriching his community.

Atim Opoka

Atim Opoka

Atim Opoka (she/they), Teaching Artist | Ugandan American Artist
There is power in storytelling. That if we listen to sounds around us, the stories would just unfold. The power of imagination, and being able to dream. To let your mind wonder, and your heart to feel. That is how I create my stories. Whether they be songs, scenes, music, or with bodies. Allowing yourself to be open to all emotions, and all stories. As a Songwriter, Vocalist, Composer, Producer, Actress, and Teaching Artist she is inspired to share authentic stories. She believes that everyone has the power of being an artist. Storytelling is a birthright. It all depends on the environment that surrounds the individual. “There is value in learning foundations, and building things traditionally. But there is something refreshing in breaking the rules. Trying new ways to use the tools that you have mastered or been given. That is how I approach creating art.” – Atim Opoka

Akiko Ostlund

Akiko Ostlund

Akiko Ostlund, Teaching Artist | Dancer, Poet, Puppeteer, Performing Artist, Collage Artist, Curator, Activist
Akiko Ostlund is a dancer, poet, puppeteer, performing artist, collage artist, curator, and activist. She began dancing as a tribal fusion belly dancer and cross-studies many dance forms such as salsa, bachata, hula, and tutting. She is also a student of Ragamala school and has trained in the classical Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam since 2014. She often collaborates with puppeteers in various projects includes Barebones Halloween Extravaganza, Mayday Parade, and Puppet Cabaret as well as projects with individual puppeteers. All of her works focus on community and reflect her voice as an immigrant woman of color. She is heavily invested in connecting with poc youth in her community. As a curator she regularly visits local high school showcases to familiarize herself with the new generation, and presents young artists in the shows she curates. 

Heather Peebles

Heather Peebles

Heather Peebles (she/her or they/them), Teaching Artist | Interdisciplinary Artist and Facilitator
Heather is a Twin Cities based artist and facilitator from the East Coast. Mental health and trauma are running themes in their artwork and lifework.  Since 2016, they have been holding space for people who have experienced sexual trauma to regain agency and reconnect with their body using movement, writing, drawing, coloring, fabrics and photography. Heather has held sessions at libraries, Pillsbury House and Theatre, Tapestry Folkdance Center, along the Mississippi river, in parks and virtually. In tandem with this community-based work, their personal practice focuses on processing and healing through writing, movement, singing, doodling, therapy and research. Heather’s healing journey and practice would not be possible without the rest, magic, grief, joy and self-reflection experienced with Don’t You Feel It Too?, MidWest Mixed, the Minnesota Healing Justice Network and Break the Silence.

Pedra Pepa

Pedra Pepa (they/them), Teaching Artist | Dancer, Choreographer
Pedra Pepa (they/them) is a Venezuelan-raised, Minneapolis-based queer performance maker. Founder/director of Viva la Pepa (www.vivalapepa.org), a collective of multi-generational queer performers in the Twin Cities. Their works are fueled by the overlapping values of Latinx and Queer cultures: melodrama, passion, decadence, and sensuality. An inaugural Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, Pedra has embarked on collaborations and performances in Puerto Rico and Argentina. They are researching bodies and movements in revolution across the Americas. Pedra co-directs a children and family theater program Drag Story Hour, and entertains the adults at night as their draglesque persona Doña Pepa. Currently a teaching artist with Upstream Arts and with the Pillsbury House Theater. 

picture of Kimberly Richardson, a white ciswoman with long reddish-brown hair

 Kimberly Richardson

Kimberly Richardson, Teaching Artist | Actor/ Dancer/ Choreographer/ Theatre-Maker
Kimberly is a physical theatre artist with 21 years on the Twin Cities performance scene.  A member of Ten Thousand Things Artist Core, Kimberly has appeared frequently with the company since 2008 in productions including OthelloMusic Man, As You Like ItDirt Sticks and Scapin.   Also a regular at Open Eye Figure Theatre, Kimberly performed/ co-created My Life as a Fairytale and The Clumsy Man with Michael Sommers and played Ed Norton in Sommers’  To the Moon, and co-created and performed Joel Sass’s The Red Shoes.   Other credits include: CTC, Jungle Theater, TigerLion Arts, Interact Center and actor-driven collaborations with Sodhouse Theater, Live Action Set, Jon Ferguson and Sara Richardson. Kimberly was awarded a 2006 Sage Award for dance performance and a 2016-2017 McKnight Theatre Artist Fellowship.

Matt Sciple Headshot

Matt Sciple

Matt Sciple (he/him/his), Principal Teaching Artist | Actor, Director
Since moving to Minneapolis from Louisiana in 1990 with a B.F.A. in Acting from Southern Methodist University, Matt has directed, performed in, or written over 100 plays for theaters across Minnesota, including The Minnesota Opera, Park Square Theater, Gremlin Theater, Macalester College (where he has taught Acting as an adjunct professor,) Hamline University, STAGES Theater (where he has taught Shakespeare, acting and devised theater), and Bald Alice Theatre (which he co-founded). Sciple’s favorite audiences, though, were found in prisons, homeless shelters, and chemical dependency centers, touring with Ten Thousand Things, for whom he directed Waiting for Godot and played 30 roles in 12 plays, including Tateh in Ragtime and Edgar in King Lear. In 2007, Matt was named a City Pages’ Artist of the Year. He has been working with Upstream Arts since its inception in 2006.

Chavonn Williams Shen headshot

Chavonn Williams Shen

Chavonn Williams Shen (they/she), Teaching Artist | Writer
Chavonn Williams Shen is a 2022 McKnight Writing fellow and was a first runner-up for The Los Angeles Review Flash Fiction Contest. She was also a Best of the Net Award finalist, a Pushcart Prize nominee, a winner of the Loft Literary Center’s Mentor Series, a fellow with the Givens Foundation for African American Literature, and an instructor for the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. A Tin House and VONA workshop alum, her writing has appeared in: Diode, Anomaly, Yemassee, Cosmonauts Avenue, and others.

A petite Asian woman with long dark hair wearing a pair of glasses

Kiyoko Motoyama Sims

Kiyoko Motoyama Sims (she/her), Teaching Artist | Educator, Director, Actor, Musician, Singer
Kiyoko Motoyama Sims is originally from Tokyo and has a wealth of experience as a teaching artist, director, performing artist, arts administrator and professional development facilitator. She is currently an Adjunct Faculty member, College of Continuing and Professional Studies at the University of Minnesota. Kiyoko holds an MFA in Musical Theatre Performance from San Diego State University and an MA in Theatre Arts from the University of Minnesota. Over the last 25 years, Kiyoko has directed numerous plays, performed, taught and managed sundry arts education programs for Pre-K through colleges students and adult educators at various institutions including San Diego State University, Penumbra Theatre, Cultural Odyssey, Walker Art Center, and Children’s Theatre Company as well as guest lecturing at the University of West Indies, Mona Campus. She is also active as a violinist in a chamber music group. Kiyoko is passionate about integrating the power of arts and storytelling with cultural competence work in learning spaces.