WRITER BIOS (Alphabetically)
Simone Brazzini (they/them)
This is Simone’s debut with Phamaly. Originally Simone was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Dallas, Texas before moving to Chicago, Illinois to get their BFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. Although Simone considers themselves to be primarily an actor, they also enjoy writing and filmmaking. When not creating,they love to rock climb, hike, and travel. Learn more about Simone at www.simonebrazzini.com. Thank you!
A.A. Brenner (they/them/he)
This is A.A. Brenner’s debut with Phamaly. A.A. is a Brooklyn-based playwright, dramaturg, and actor whose writing blends naturalistic dialogue with heightened realism to explore queer, trans, Jewish, and Disability themes. A.A.’s plays have been presented or commissioned by La Jolla Playhouse, National Disability Theatre, Lincoln Center, the Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival @ Theatre Row, Queens Theatre, CO/LAB Theatre Group, and more, and they’re a recent graduate of Columbia University School of the Arts' MFA Playwriting program.
Sxr OM Dxtchxss-Davis Oya Mae/ O$sain Mars (they/them)
Is a playwright from Minneapolis, MN. Sxr is the recipient of the Lark/ Queen and Apothetae Fellowship, and the I Am Soul residency at the National Black Theatre. They are excited to work with Phamaly for the first time; it’s been a pleasure to have the space to work with my souls. They live with MS.
Ryan J. Haddad (he/him)
Ryan is an actor and playwright. His play Hi, Are You Single? recently completed its world premiere run at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and his new play Dark Disabled Stories will debut in the 2022-23 season at The Public Theater, co-produced by The Bushwick Starr. His TV credits include “The Politician” and the upcoming FX miniseries “Retreat.”
Kalyn Heffernan (all pronouns)
Kalyn Rose Heffernan is the wheelchair using, rap heavy, many arts, tiny queer cyborg. Kalyn, who fronts the internationally acclaimed band Wheelchair Sports Camp, has recently stretched into theatre, performance art, public television, politics, permanent installations, prison tours, and who knows what's next… Regardless of the medium, Kalyn is well known for raising hell in a very distinctly loud and filthy, tenderly loving high-pitched sense of humor. Kalyn lives with osteogenesis imperfecta, hard of hearing, and anxiety disorder.
Twanna LaTrice Hill (she/her)
Twanna has been acting and writing since age 5. She first acted with PHAMALY in “Beauty & the Beast” in 2010 and favorites include “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Taking Leave.” She is thrilled to showcase her playwriting chops with “Love Multiplied.” With degrees from Princeton, Harvard, & Regis Universities, she resides in Denver with her service dog, Roxi. Twanna lives with Lupus, Degenerative Disc Disease, Chronic Pain Syndrome, CPTSD, and DID.
Marcelina Ramirez - she/her/hers/ella
Marcelina by original trade is an Indigenous (Mescalero Apache-Pueblo)/Latine actress in Colorado, having performed in theatres such as Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Town Hall Arts Center, Su Teatro, Phamaly among others. Most recently Marcelina is the indoctural artist in residence for Colorado College Mobile Arts Program educating southern Colorado about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Pandemic as well as domestic violence, for which Marcelina is a survivor, and how it effects women of the global majority. Marcelina is also a published poet: her pieces having been featured in Red Coyote Vermillion Literary Project and ICE Colony. Marcelina lives with ulcerative colitis and PTSD.
Sheila Ivy Traister (she/her)
“Much Ado About Something” is Sheila’s first commissioned piece as a writer for Phamaly. She directed 7 shorts in last year’s “CoronaVox”; and in 2019 directed “Where There's Smoke" in Come to Your Senses and directed and performed in “Ellis Island: The Dream of America”. She graced the stage as multiple characters in “Ascher Lev” (2021) and as Effy in Phamaly’s “Spitfire Grill”, Spring 2022. Sheila’s honored to be a part of the Phamaly legacy.