34th Young Playwrights Festival

RESHMI HAZRA RUSTEBAKKE (Director – A Lady’s Facade) is a multi-faceted film and theater maker who develops work as a creator, director, producer, storyteller and curator. She has her BFA from New York University, Playwrights Horizons Theatre School. During her time in New York, she received the Robert Moss Directing Fellow at Playwrights Horizons Theatre, as well as the Artist of Color Fellowship at New York Theatre Workshop. She works creatively developing new work, and also directing, producing, and production managing many varieties of shoots and plays. She has worked at The Vineyard, Playwrights Horizons Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Free Street, and many more. She is the co-director of critically acclaimed BRUJOS, and director for 8,000, FOBia, The Haven, Ethel and Agnes, Geeta’s Guide to Moving On, and several more projects in development. She is currently a regular Contributing Editor with The Everymom and has just completed her Pop Culture Collaborative Fellowship administered through OTV.

ALEX LEVY (Director – Containment) has directed several show for Pegasus including numerous productions of The Young Playwrights Festival. Alex is currently the Artistic Director of 1st Stage in Northern Virginia. Since joining, the company has won several awards including the American Theatre Wing’s National Theatre Company Grant and was named “One of America’s most impressive smaller theater companies” by The Wall Street Journal. In 2020, 1st Stage won five Helen Hayes Awards including “Outstanding Production.”  Alex is a three time Helen Hayes Award nominee for best director and his production of Lobby Hero was named best regional revival of 2016 by The Wall Street Journal.  Previously, Levy served as Artistic Director of Ballybeg Theatre in New York City and the managing director of The Watts Village Theater Company in Los Angeles.  In March 2017, his award-winning play Safe at Home was produced at Mixed Blood Theater at CHA Field, the home of the St. Paul Saints in St. Paul, Minnesota. Formerly artistic director at Pegasus, Mr. Levy holds an MFA in Directing from The University of California-Los Angeles.

ILESA DUNCAN (Director-These Glass Lives) is the executive/producing director at Pegasus Theatre Chicago. Her recent directing work at Pegasus includes Eclipsed (and Theatre on the Lake | Jeff Nominated), Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery (Jeff Nominated), the Green Book, Rutherford’s Travels (Jeff-Recommended) and For Her as a Piano.  Other recent credits include Neverwhereat Lifeline Theatre (Jeff-Recommended), Broken Fencesat 16th Street Theater, Jeff Award-nominated The Nativitywith Congo Square and the Jeff Award-winning Jar the Floorat ETA Creative Arts. Duncan has also worked with The Goodman, Writers Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Lifeline Theater, Stage Left and Chicago Dramatists, as well as Contemporary American Theatre Company (Ohio). The Alliance Theatre (Atlanta), Arena Stage (Washington DC) and Lincoln Center Theater (New York). Duncan’s creative nonfiction short stories have been published (Columbia College Chicago) and she’s written poems and screenplays.  For the stage, she co-adapted Rutherford’s Travelsfrom the National Book Award-winning novel Middle Passage, co-wrote and directed Blakk Love: Storeez of A Darker Hue and facilitated the devised project Do You See What I’m Saying for Chameleon. Duncan is the artistic director at Lifeline Theatre.

JOSH BERNASKI is very excited to be working with Pegasus Theatre for the first time!  Throughout the city, Josh has worked with Lifeline Theatre, Drury Lane, Theatre at the Center, First Folio, Akvavit Theatre, and The Shakespeare Project.  Outside of Chicago, Josh has performed at regional theatres across the country, and toured four years throughout South America and the Middle East performing with Artspot Educational Theatre.  Proud graduate of Temple University.  Founder of The Connecting Routes Project. Much love to his supportive family and friends. www.joshbernaski.com

NASTASCIA GUIMONT – Notable theatre company credits include: Guthrie Theatre, Children’s Theatre Company, MN Fringe Festival, Indiana Repertory Theatre, ACT Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, and Seattle Shakespeare Company.  National commercials include Microsoft, Groupon, Lowe’s and Quicken Loans. She has played television roles on both GRIMM and CHICAGO MED. A graduate of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities with a BA in Theatre, Nastacia is currently based in Chicago where she lives with her husband and rescue dog Shenzi.  She is a proud SAG-AFTRA member represented by Paonessa Talent.

JAMES LEWIS is excited to be participating in his first production with Pegasus Theatre! Was last seen in Haven’s Titus Andronicus and Brown Paper Box’s Grace or the art of climbing. Represented by DDO Artist Agency.