2025-2026 FEATURED ARTISTS
We are excited to usher in our upcoming season alongside a talented slate of artists and organizations
Dr. Valli Meeks
Book, Dr. Smile
The ideals of leadership and service to others fostered and instilled in Valli Meeks '77 by Springfield College became innate and a part of her professional growth as an oral health care provider and educator for more than 40 years.
Meeks recently retired after 34 years of service at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD). In 1989, Meeks founded the PLUS Clinic, the first clinic in Maryland dedicated to providing dental treatment to patients living with HIV/AIDS. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to serve those patients and to inspire her students with a deep understanding of the importance of compassionate and inclusive care. About 650 patients each year receive treatment at UMSOD's PLUS Clinic, and almost 98 percent of them receive care at no cost due to Meeks' efforts. Meeks has lectured extensively about the impact of the virus on oral health and presents training clinics and workshops nationally and internationally.
Meeks is most passionate about ensuring access to oral health care for people living with HIV disease and breaking down the barriers that prevent HIV+ people from receiving dental care. She is a champion for prevention/awareness of chronic diseases, such as hypertension and diabetes, and global oral health care, particularly as it affects training oral health care providers, especially in dental education.
Ingrained in our Humanics philosophy, Meeks was determined to expand her commitment to educating future oral health care providers globally. She helped create the first dental degree program at the University of Rwanda College of Medicine and Health Sciences. This is the first and only dental school in Rwanda to offer a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree. She has continued to visit Rwanda, assisting with the dental school's curriculum and bringing donated dental equipment for the clinics.
Meeks has been recognized by many organizations for her outstanding accomplishments. Some awards include the American Dental Education Association Gies Award for Achievement-Dental Educator, the University Systems of Maryland Board of Regents' Faculty Award for Public Service, "Heroes Among Us Award" for Years of Service to People Living With HIV/AIDS in Baltimore from the Greater Baltimore HIV Health Services Planning Council, and the Faculty of the Year Award, Department of Oncology and Diagnostic Services from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in recognition of outstanding service to the Department of Oncology and Diagnostic Sciences.
Dr. Valli Meeks
Clyde Santana
Book, Music Dr. Smile
Clyde Santana worked in state and local government, and the military for over 40 years. He has co-authored plays for three children’s theaters. Also, two Equity-produced plays, “Bo! The Musical,” and “Phantom of the 87th Street Playground at Bushfire Theater in Philadelphia, Pa. and was the co-recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Creation and Presentation Award in 2000 for the musical theater play, "Bo!" Clyde has taught design, mural painting, and playwriting courses at Norfolk State University as an adjunct professor. Also, he founded and taught the Attucks Writers Workshop from 2009 to 2017. Since 2017, he coordinated the Z Playwrights Lab at Zeiders American Dream Theater. Recently, his screenplay, “A Playground Miracle” won the Virginia Film Office’s “Virginia Screenplay Competition,” and won the sci fi / fantasy feature screenplay category at the International Family Friendly Film Festival (IFFF) 2016. His second screenplay entry, "Angels in Hip Hop and" as selected as a finalist by the Peachtree Village Film Festival Feature 2018 Screenplay category, then a finalist in the Beverly Hills International Film Festival, and a finalist in the Virginia Film Office’s “Virginia Screenwriting Competition 2019.” Recently, Clyde has had two stage workshop productions of two plays written by him in 2019 and 2022, and his 2-act comedy stage play "Likker Outta Control" story created by him and co-written with Buddy White won the Zeiders American Dream Theater's Proteus Festival 2022 Audience Favorite award and a full two weekend November 2022.
Clyde Santana
Kira Sirai-Helper
Book, Music Dr. Smile
Kira Sarai Helper (she/her) is a director, playwright, songwriter, Equity actor, and board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) hailing proudly from The Bronx, NY. She holds an MFA in Musical Theater from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.
Favorite past credits include: Sister Act The Musical, South Korea Tour (Deloris); WILD: A Musical Becoming (ldina Menzel Standby/ Swing) and Macbeth in Stride (Witch) for the American Repertory Theater; #MATTER (Kim) for Barrington Stage Company; and Once On This Island (Beaxhomme/ Storyteller) for Speakeasy Stage Co.
https://www.mdplayhouse.com/8785-2/
Kira Sirai-Helper
Patti Veconi
Playwright, Nolan's Wake
Patti Veconi
VBGIGS: Globally Inspired Gatherings
VBGIGs encourages learning about neighbors near and far and sparks cultural curiosity through the performing arts. Children receive a VBGIGs passport and stickers to track the world regions they “visit” at each performance. Shows are free, but registration is required as space is limited.
VBGIGS: Globally Inspired Gatherings
UPAC
UPAC
Z RESIDENT GROUPS
PLAN B COMEDY
Plan B Comedy is very proud to be the resident comedy group at The Z. Performing regularly in both the Studio and the Main Stage, Plan B Comedy provides a high energy, fast paced and exciting experience. Plan B Comedy’s brand is “FUN” and it shows.
PLAN B COMEDY
Z PLAYWRIGHT'S LAB
Z PLAYWRIGHTS LAB
ROŨGE THEATER
ROŪGE’s mission is to revolutionize live performance art, making it universally accessible and, in doing so, build a world in which the magic of theater can reach, enrich, and connect all people.
ROŨGE THEATER
CHILDREN'S THEATRE OF HAMPTON ROADS
FAMILY TIME SERIES, RESIDENT ARTIST
Children’s Theatre of Hampton Roads is a troupe of adult actors that has been providing the region with affordable family entertainment since 2005. Currently in residence at Zeiders American Dream Theater, CTHR presents original productions that offer an opportunity for audiences of all ages to come together and enjoy interactive shows that rouse laughter, ignite the mind and touch the heart.
CTHR’s staff of skilled performers write, direct, and produce each original play, making the company a distinctive addition to the Hampton Roads cultural community. From innovative adaptations of classic tales to delightfully inventive new stories, children and adults alike can rediscover again and again the joys of live theatre.
CHILDREN'S THEATRE OF HAMPTON ROADS
FEATURED ARTISTS ARCHIVE
JORDAN NOBLE
JORDAN NOBLE
BIG JUICY ENTERTAINMENT
LIVE AT THE Z MUSIC SERIES RESIDENT ARTIST
Big Juicy Entertainment is a multifaceted company that facilitates high quality productions in the performing arts industry. BJE also provides innovative and unique management services for artists focusing on developing brand awareness.
As a company, we handle every performance that we craft and every artist we work for with a distinct approach. We believe that it is important to attend to the needs of the performers and the audiences. Through incorporating known successful practices and adapting to the ever changing entertainment industry we can help our clients achieve their goals no matter how big or small.
BIG JUICY ENTERTAINMENT
ADAM KRAAR
Adam Kraar writes plays about cross-cultural clashes and connections, including works about American families in Asia, the Civil Rights Movement, and quixotic rebels who challenge societal boundaries.
Recent productions include ALTERNATING CURRENTS (The Working Theater); DANCING ON THE EDGE
(Theatre Novi Most); EMPIRE OF THE TREES (NY Innovative Theatre Awards' Outstanding Script Nominee); NEW WORLD RHAPSODY (Bloomington Plays Project); WILD TERRAIN (EST Marathon of One-Act Plays); FREEDOM HIGH (Queens Theatre in the Park); THE KARPOVSKY VARIATIONS (Boomerang Theatre Co.); and DON'T LOOK BA CK (Voyage Theatre Company at HERE Arts Center, NYC).
Adam's plays have been developed and/or produced at Primary Stages, The Public Theatre, Theater for the New City, Theatreworks U.S.A., The New Group, N.Y. Theatre Workshop, Cherry Lane, LaMama, Stella Adler Studio, Geva Theatre, and many others.
Fellowships from: Manhattan Theatre Club, Bogliasco Foundation, Millay Colony, and Sewanee Writers' Conference. Adam's plays are published by Dramatic Publishing, Smith & Kraus (BEST 10-MINUTE PLAYS 2022 and other collections), and Applause Books (including six BEST AMERICAN SHORT PLAYS anthologies).
An Affiliated Writer of The Playwrights' Center and a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, Adam was previously a Playwrights' Workshop Fellow at the Lark Play Development Center, Featured Artist at the Last Frontier Theatre Conference, and was twice a resident playwright at the Inge Center for the Arts.
He grew up in India, Thailand, Singapore and the U.S. He earned an M.F.A. at Columbia University, and teaches playwriting at Primary Stages and The New Group Acting Studio at Long Island University.
ADAM KRAAR
ROŨGE THEATER
ROŪGE’s mission is to revolutionize live performance art, making it universally accessible and, in doing so, build a world in which the magic of theater can reach, enrich, and connect all people.
ROŨGE THEATER
ROBERTA LEA
Live at The Z Concert, February 2024
With a voice like cinnamon and a pen like butter, Roberta Lea is an award-winning songwriter with a style and flavor that everyone enjoys. Known as the 757’s best kept secret, the Virginia native follows a long list of hit-makers and aims to be considered next. The “Country-Neo-Pop” artist gears up to release her debut album “Too Much of a Woman” thanks to her goal shattering Kickstarter and the support of global superstars like Brandi Carlile and Allison Russell. She has been featured in major publications such as The Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, The Boot, and the Nashville Scene, receiving praise for her ability to “score hits with her catchy, textured and beautifully sung originals” and naming her “Artist To Watch.” She’s a member of the Black Opry which was recently inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, a inductee into CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2023, and a brand new member of The Recording Academy.
Described as “country-new-pop”, Roberta Lea has a song and style for everyone. The Nashville Scene praises Lea’s ability to ‘score hits with her catchy, textured and beautifully sung originals.” Her live performance achieves the difficult task of crossing pop, country and jazz styles seamlessly while keeping the audience captivated with her unique storytelling.
ROBERTA LEA
säje
The GRAMMY® nominated vocal supergroup, säje (rhymes with “beige”), is the brainchild of vocalist/composers Sara Gazarek, Amanda Taylor, Johnaye Kendrick, and Erin Bentlage. Born out of close friendship and deep admiration, these world-renowned artists, composers, and arrangers have come together to explore, create, and celebrate the music that moves them. As individuals, each artist has crafted their own notable solo career, and now are delighted to bring their collective voices to this union, traversing a vast array of compelling original material, beloved jazz standards, and contemporary re-imaginings (The Bad Plus, YEBBA, Björk, etc). After debuting an inspiring and energized set at the 2020 Jazz Education Network Conference in New Orleans, säje went on to tour multiple jazz festivals and clubs from January to March. During quarantine, säje received their first GRAMMY® nomination, for their composition “Desert Song” in the Best Arrangement Instruments and Vocals category. They were awarded the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize Award for their second composition “Wisteria”, as well as their first Jazz Journalists Association Award Nomination for “Best Vocal Jazz Group”. The collective also recently received gracious support for their continued work through the Chamber Music of America New Jazz Works grant, the Super Patron Grant, the Jazz Road Creative Residencies grant, and the USC Visions + Voices grant. The union of säje is rooted in the tradition of joy, curiosity, lush harmony, heart-felt expression, and profound sisterhood.
säje
MARISSA ALANIZ
To Listen Past The Quiet, January 2024
Originally an actor, Marissa Alaniz fell into playwriting out of frustration with the female characters she was always cast as or was reading for. Focusing on big questions, her work lives in the world of dark comedy and often explores queerness, trauma, a nd misfits. She holds an Associate's degree from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she received an award for Excellence in Drama from the Lee Strasberg studio. She is a founding member of the Imaginarium Theater Company, which advocates for equity and sustainability in the theater. She is currently working towards her MFA in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
MARISSA ALANIZ
BRIANNA BARNES
Rathskeller: A Musical Elixir, May 2024
BRIANNA KOTHARI BARNES is a multi-dimensional artist who works professionally as an actor, singer-songwriter, and composer/lyricist. She is a 2022 NYC Women's Fund Grant Recipient and 2021 Finalist for The Jonathan Larson Grant. Her debut album, Hierophanies: Manifestations of the Sacred, made the first round on the 2021 GRAMMY Awards® ballot for consideration under Best Contemporary Christian Album. Writing Credits: Walking With Bubbles (Music & Lyrics) - Drama Desk Nomination, Off-Broadway Alliance Award Winner - Best Solo Performance 2023; Let There Be Light (Book, Music, & Lyrics) - Best Musical & Best Score at The New York Theatre Festival 2018; Rathskeller: A Musical Elixir (Book, Music, & Lyrics) - Best Musical in BroadwayWorld’s Off-Off-Broadway Awards 2021. A graduate of the esteemed College Conservatory of Music - The University of Cincinnati (CCM), Brianna has performed professionally around the country at Florida Studio Theater, The Engeman Theater, The Wick Theater, Theatre Aspen, and Capital Repertory Theater, and starred as Lucy in The National Tour of A Charlie Brown Christmas. She has headlined in NYC at The Cutting Room and Green Room 42 with her solo show. Literary Rep: Amy Wagner of A3 Artists Agency. www.Brianna-Barnes.com. @brianna_barnes_
BRIANNA BARNES
CHLOE YOUTSEY
Live at The Z Concert, April 2024
Chloe Youtsey ("yahtzee") is the daughter of an Air Force pilot, a military brat who always thought it would be too good to be true to be a professional musician. Singer-songwriter, jazz vocalist, pianist, podcast host, mother of two, she began seriously pursuing her musical education while attending Grafton High Schoo in York County and continued at James Madison University, eventually moving to Austin, Texas to work in the Live Music Capital of the World in 2018. In late 2022, she relocated back to her final PCS location in Virginia to be nearer to family, with her own in tow. Notable performances include the Kennedy Center, the Elephant Room, Monk's Jazz, and the Cavalier Hotel, among others. In October 2023, she won the Zeider's American Dream Theater's Proteus Songwriting Competition, which awarded her a headliner show at the Z as part of its Live at the Z Series in April 2024. Visit chloeyoutsey.com for a comprehensive look at Chloe's career and for tickets to her big debut.
CHLOE YOUTSEY
