Our newest edition spotlights theatre workers in Arizona. If you would like to recommend a theatre artist (from anywhere) for a future Role Call, fill out our open Google Form here.
Chanel Bragg (she/her)
Director, actor, producer, vocal coach
Hometown and current home: Phoenix
Known for: Bragg is the founder of United Colours of Arizona Theatre, an affinity space for BIPOC actors, and The Soul of Broadway performance troupe. She is also a vocalist with Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra and an artist in residence at Arizona State University. Bragg is part of the music theatre and opera faculty at Mesa Community College and producing artistic associate for Black Theatre Troupe. She was also previously an associate artistic director for Arizona Theatre Company for three seasons, where she oversaw the educational department and worked alongside Elaine Romero to update the National Latinx Playwright Award to include a larger award for first place and bilingual community readers.
What’s next: After wrapping up 2025 directing James Still’s Looking Over the President’s Shoulder at Phoenix Theatre Company, Bragg is taking the company’s stage as Hannah in its production of Come From Away, currently running through March 29. Additionally, she is teaching at ASU and Mesa Community College and working with Black Theatre Troupe executive director David Hemphill on the company’s 2025-26 season production and artistic needs.
What makes her special: “She has been a stalwart and dynamic presence in Phoenix for years,” said playwright and ASU associate professor of dramatic writing Idris Goodwin. Ron May, artistic director of Stray Cat Theatre in Tempe, said Bragg is “easily one of the most sought after artists locally.” Added fellow Phoenix artist Felicia Penza, “She’s an artist who doesn’t just create performances—she creates possibilities and opportunities. Her legacy is already in motion, transforming how Arizona and the larger theatre community see inclusion, artistry, and the power of voice.”
Reflecting the real world: Bragg’s work has always been inspired by talented artists who are often overlooked. That’s what led her to create The Soul of Broadway, with Mitchell Vantrease, “to prove that there was more than enough local talent to cast Black actors in our community’s shows,” Bragg said. “My vision of theatre is pretty simple: It should reflect the world we actually live in. When an artist feels seen and accepted, they stop asking for permission and start taking up space. That shift is electric. That’s when creativity is truly unlocked. That is when theatre is at its most powerful.”
Connie Furr (she/her)
Costume designer, educator
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Current home: Phoenix
Known for: Furr has designed 11 productions for Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival, including Lucas Hnath’s The Christians (“Although I worked on three productions of The Christians, I never tired of listening to the dialogue,” she said) and Charles Mee’s Glory of the World (“During the pre-production process, Les Waters asked for a rhinoceros on stage; to my delight, he was serious”). Other favorite productions include a Marc Masterson-directed production of Macbeth at Actors Theatre of Louisville, José Cruz González’s The Sun Serpent at Childsplay, and producer Riff Markowitz’s The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, which featured performers 55 and older. Furr also published Liberace Extravaganza, a book detailing the magnificence of Liberace’s costumes and the designers and individuals who created them. Her three decades as an educator include teaching at the University of Florida-Gainesville and then at Arizona State University.
What’s next: After working on Idris Goodwin’s JSonic and The Unknown at Childsplay in late 2025, Furr is gearing up for Daddy Long Legs at Phoenix Theatre Company (April 1-May 3). She is also working on writing and illustrating a children’s book.
What makes her special: Kristin Hunt, ASU’s assistant director of theatre, praised Furr as a dedicated mentor, inspiring designer, and visionary leader. “Her unique combination of exacting standards of artistry, precision of craftsmanship, unfettered imagination, and the sheer joy she takes in creating theatre made an indelible impact on our program,” said Hunt. “Those of us lucky enough to be her colleagues also got to enjoy her easy laugh, brilliant vision for leading theatre into the future, and the endless flow of new ideas whether it be for a new course on cosplay, a mentorship program, a fabrication technique we’d never tried before, or a brilliant way to execute a grisly death scene.”
Imagination runs free: For her first professional job out of grad school, Furr was the resident designer for StageOne, a TYA company in Louisville under now retired producing director Moses Goldberg. “It was a dream having the opportunity to design theatre for youth, as my imagination was allowed to run free,” said Furr. “My vision of theatre is that which elevates the human experience by inspiring thought-provoking conversations. It entertains, challenges, and perhaps most importantly makes you feel.”
Lindsay Joelle (she/her)
Playwright, librettist, educator, potter
Hometown: Chicago
Current home: Tucson, Arizona
Known for: Joelle is known for writing big-hearted comedies about the collision of different worldviews, especially those that center the rituals and routines of insular communities underrepresented in the American theatre. Her play The Garbologists, a buddy comedy set in a NYC garbage truck, was inspired by her interviews with sanitation workers across the country and will receive its 19th regional production this season. TRAYF, a coming-of-age bromance born from fieldwork with the Chasidic community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, was produced at the Geffen in 2022, where it received an L.A. Drama Critics Circle nomination for Best Writing.
What’s next: Joelle has two new plays scheduled for development/production in the 26-27 season: one a feminist rom-com prequel to Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, the other a modern comedy set in a Tucson pottery studio as immigration policy and climate change impact a small desert community.
What makes her special: “Every play Lindsay writes feels vital,” said fellow playwright and host of The Subtext podcast Brian James Polak. “She has a deft ability to craft characters and circumstances that are incredibly unique and specific but are also relatable. Lastly, no other playwright I know is as kick-ass at making pottery as they are writing plays.”
Stoking respectful curiosity: “I don’t believe in the advice to write what you know,” Joelle said. “I try to do the opposite. Through the process of writing a play, I want to learn about communities other than my own and ways of living that are outside my experience. As writers, I believe we all have greater range than perhaps the industry or our educational institutions encourage us to explore; I envision a future in which theatre writers take big swings in style and content, as long as it’s grounded in respectful curiosity of the unknown and sound research, inviting those with knowledge and experiences that differ from ours into the process of co-creation.”
Matt Denney (he/him)
Intimacy director, director, theatre educator
Hometown: Las Vegas
Current home: Tucson, Arizona
Known for: Denney is the co-founder of Consent Creatives of Arizona, a collective of intimacy professionals in Arizona who work in film and live performance. Denney leads workshops around consent, power dynamics, and ethical rehearsal practices. He has served as intimacy director for Desert Stages Theatre’s production of Spring Awakening and as the resident intimacy director for Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre, Arts Express Theatre, Ghosteater, and Pima Community College. Denney has also taught classes on intimacy direction at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University. He has also been known for his work in the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, leading the Theatre and Social Change focus group.
What’s next: Denney recently wrapped up directing a staged reading of Julia Izumi’s Regretfully, So the Birds Are at Scoundrel and Scamp and he’s intimacy directing the upcoming productions of All Shook Up (March 6-29) and Newsies (April 17-May 10) at Arts Express Theatre. He also has a few short films currently in post-production, including Runaway (written, produced, and led by Edward T. Varela) and Almost Us (produced by WatchVIM). Denney is also focused on writing his dissertation as a PhD candidate in higher education at the University of Arizona.
What makes him special: “Matt Denney offers a powerful vision for how theatre can and should be made in the future,” said Matthew Watkins, artistic director of Ghosteater, a Phoenix-based contemporary theatre ensemble. “Matt is transforming how we make theatre not only in the rehearsal room, but also in the broader community through his leadership as a community builder, advocate, educator, and scholar. He is creating space for intimacy professionals to connect, advocating for consent-based practices, training artists across disciplines, and working tirelessly to make our creative processes more just, equitable, and empowering.”
Theatre’s disruptors: “I truly believe that theatre that is experimental and community-based is the future,” Denney said. “So often, we see what I call ‘commodified theatre,’ with all of the bells and whistles of what is essentially an amusement park show without any substance. Theatres are at their best when they serve as places of gathering and dialogue. I always say to new intimacy directors, it only takes one rehearsal room to make a change. One class that makes you see things different. So, make everything count. I believe theatre needs disruptors. Without disruption, we become static in our processes.”
Monica Sampson (she/her)
Actor, director, intimacy coordinator
Hometown and current home: Scottsdale, Arizona
Known for: Sampson is the founder and artistic director of All Queer Shakespeare (AQS), an all LGBTQIA+ Shakespearean theatre company that launched in 2024. Since then, AQS has marched in London Pride and Seattle Pride and given talks at universities and theatres around the U.S., U.K., and Europe. She is also the owner of the Sampson Studio, where she has worked for over a decade using trauma-informed, anatomy-based voice and acting pedagogy to train hundreds of performers, many of whom are now working on Broadway, the West End, national tours, and feature films. Sampson directs and acts locally in Arizona and has been featured on NPR, PBS, and NBC as well as at Phoenix Theatre Company, Childsplay, Arizona Theatre Company, and more.
What’s next: After AQS’s fully sold out first season, Sampson is looking forward to the company’s second season, titled “A Season of Collaboration,” with a mission to “show that the values of inclusion and diversity are not limited to a queer company, but are for all.”
What makes her special: Multiple artists voiced praise for Sampson and AQS’s work to uplift queer voices. Artist and AQS core company member Ezra Neighbors said Sampson “is changing the landscape of our hometown,” while performing artist Taryn Landis added that Sampson has “created a wonderful, welcoming, and kind community of like-minded theatre artists here, even beyond her work as a director and intimacy coordinator. Her work and talents are invaluable and unmatched in Phoenix.”
Hello, Monica: Sampson said she’ll never forget the exact moment she first knew what she wanted to do with her life. She was 8 years old and enjoying a Barbra Streisand movie marathon: Hello, Dolly!, Funny Girl, and then Yentl. “As the credits rolled,” she recalled, “seeing ‘directed by Barbra Streisand,’ ‘produced by Barbra Streisand,’ ‘starring Barbra Streisand’—in that moment, something clicked. I understood it was possible to be the creator of your own story, and I’ve been unapologetically myself ever since. As a plus-size, Jewish, queer woman, I’ve been incredibly lucky to live a life where I’ve been able to build beautiful creative opportunities and to be unapologetic in my pursuit of joy in the theatre.”
Ricky Araiza (he/him)
Director, performer, teaching artist
Hometown and current home: Phoenix
Known for: Araiza currently works as associate artistic director at Childsplay, where he’s been a longtime ensemble member. He is also the artistic director of Teatro Bravo, a Latinx theatre company based in Phoenix.
What’s next: Next up, Araiza is directing Childsplay’s production of Hare and Tortoise (Feb. 7-March 8), an adaptation of Aesop’s Fable that uses music, movement, and humor to explore what it means to grow, learn, and embrace your own pace.
What makes him special: “Ricky is a kind, thoughtful, and passionate artist and community builder,” said Dwayne Hartford, artistic director of Childsplay. “Through his work at Childsplay and Teatro Bravo, Ricky has provided opportunities and mentorship to many new theatre artists who otherwise never would have seen themselves as such. Ricky’s theatre is alive and deeply rooted in the communities he serves.”
Shoulder to shoulder: “I envision theatre that aims to push the imaginative limits of my collaborators and audiences,” Araiza said. “I create theatre that shows audiences that the possibilities in life are endless if we dream big enough. I strive to bridge gaps and create theatre that places all children and adults shoulder to shoulder in joyfully imaginative theatrical experiences. And I create theatre that strives to speak to the communities I serve. I aim to make theatre as accessible and equitable as possible for both practitioners and audiences. It never escapes me that I stand on the shoulders of those before me and continue to fight for a world that they could only dream of. I strive to be the adult that I needed when I was a young person.”
