Artistic Director: Boomie Pedersen
was born and raised in New York City and was for many years a professional-track scholarship student with the Joffrey Ballet. She gave up the dance to attend Princeton University, where she eventually majored in English and Theater and won the Frances LeMoyne Paige Prize at graduation for both theater and dance. She spent 10 years on and off in Tokyo, Japan, where she did professional voice-over work, ran Tokyo Theater for Children, was an actor, director and board member for Tokyo International Players and wrote several commissioned pieces for Earth Day and other special events. She also taught English at several Tokyo colleges and worked with a group using drama to teach language skills, as well as doing a stint at Temple University as a theater teacher. Next came a brief 18 months in Los Angeles, where she was involved in the Asian Theater Lab and acted in the premiere performance of Widescreen Version of the World by Han Ong, as well as working with the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival.
Resident Playwright 2024: Tanya K (AKA Miss K)
As a teen, she penned obits and nuptials for the Payson Chronicle, a Utah weekly
publication. Tanya K toured the western states as a singer/guitarist in a road band,
leading to a decade immersed in Nashville, TN’s songwriter community, before
relocating to Virginia.
As faculty at Phoenix University, Manwill facilitates academic writing courses. She
holds a MA in English Literature from Tennessee State University, a traditionally
African American institute of learning; and was enrolled at Marshall University,
Huntington, W.VA. as a music composition major.
Resident Playwright 2020-2023
Royal Shiree
Board of Directors:
Chris Baumer
Abena Foreman-Trice
Tanya Manwill
Community Collaborators:
