Theatre Washington is thrilled to announce participants for the 2026 Mentorship Program Cohort.
Theatre Washington’s Mentorship Program matches artists and administrators who are in a period of growth or transition in their careers to established artists and administrators with the talents to support their growth. The 2026 Cohort is composed of 40 artists/administrators, 20 mentees and 20 mentors.
Mentor Program Lead Alissa Klusky shares, “The mentorship program was created to meet artists where they are in their journey – whether stepping into something new, returning after a pause, or seeking guidance in a moment of transition. This cohort reflects a community that believes deeply in lifting each other up and I can’t wait to witness the collaborations that emerge.”
Theatre Washington President and CEO Amy Austin adds, “When we talk about the strength and vibrancy of the Washington, DC theatre community, the Theatre Washington Mentorship Program offers a powerful example. It brings together both emerging and established theatremakers in a meaningful exchange of ideas and experience. Through this collaboration, participants not only grow individually, their collaboration strengthens the local theatre industry as a whole.”
The 2026 Mentorship Cohort represents a diverse array of artistic disciplines, spanning all ages and career stages, and is a reflection of our vibrant DC-area theatre community.
The 2026 Mentorship Cohort:
Drew Okoye and Kanysha Williams
Michelle Shin and Sarah Anne Sillers
Kenneth Edwards and James J. Johnson
Melissa Shohet and Tracey Erbacher
Youri Kim and Elizabeth Dinkova
Leah Packer and Danica Rodriguez
Hellen Paredes-Jeronimo and Saraniya Tharmarajah
G Weiss and Paris Francesca
Cody von Ruden and Rex Daugherty
Maeve Reilly and Aria Velz
Theo Yu and Ethan Heard
Alexi Renée Jefferson and Deidra La Wan Starnes
Terrell Chambers and Alina Collins Maldonado
Aysha Zackria and Lauren Halvorsen
Seshat Yon’Shea Walker and Nina Angela Mercer
Bella Panciocco and Tristan Willis
Chandler Jordan and Savina Barini
Miele Murray and Matt Reckeweg
Margarita Syrocheva and Daniel Pinha
Nandini Sen and Sivagami “Shiva” Subbaraman
In the mentorship program, participants are asked to commit to a 4-month mentorship together. Though these relationships may continue beyond the program, we ask mentees to set program goals with their mentors to help them with a “next step” in their artistic development. Over 16 weeks, mentees and mentors meet a minimum of four times to work towards these goals. These meetings are tailored to the work of each individual pairing and vary from shadowing their mentor in the field, seeing and responding to local theater, advice and visioning sessions, accountability checks for artistic projects, and more. In all of this work, we encourage our participants to engage in the “Practice of Questioning.”
Learn more about these mentorship pairs, their focus areas, and artistic backgrounds.
