CURRENT PROJECTS

FISHING FOR STARS

Created by Megan Alrutz, Claire Derriennic, ​Sarah Jean Elliott, Renita James, and Xinyue Zhang

Fishing for Stars is an interactive, world premiere production that welcomes children ages 2-6 and their families into a world of wonder and play. In this visually exquisite, non-verbal performance, two travelling companions—Moore and Enuf—dance between the sea and sky, collecting unexpected treasures. They play with water, laugh with the stars, and lasso the moon. But when their buckets are full of light and the sky begins to dim, they have to reimagine the meaning of “more” and “enough.”

Fishing for Stars will be co-produced with 1st Stage in Tyson’s, VA during the 2026-27 season ​and will tour nationally during the 2027-28 season.

Meet The Artists

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Fishing for Stars is made possible with commissioning support from the TYA Tour Development Collective with contributions from Charleston Gaillard Center, Des Moines Performing Arts, New 42 and the New Victory Theater, Gogue Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Wharton Center, and Wheeler Opera House.

The Artists

Click on the artist’s name or photo to learn more about them.

CreateD BY

MEGAN ALRUTZ

Co-Creator

Claire Derriennic

Co-Creator

S. Elliott

Co-Creator

Renita James

Co-Creator

Xinyue Zhang

Co-Creator

CAST

Natalie Cutcher

Enuf

Ryan Sellers

Moore

Sam Slottow

Enuf u/s

Joshua Cole Lucas

Moore u/s

COMPOSER

Emily Erickson

DESIGNERS

Headshot-Megan Alrutz

Megan Alrutz

Co-Director
Set & Props Designer

Headshot- Claire Derriennic

Claire Derriennic

Co-Director

Headshot - S. Elliiot

S. Elliott

Co-Director
Set/Props Designer

Headshot-Renita James

Renita James

Co-Director

Julie Cray Leong

Costume Designer

Nitsan Scharf

Projections Designer

Justin Schmitz*

Sound Designer

Headshot - Xinyue Zhang

Xinyue Zhang

Dramaturg

Navi

Music Producer

*Sound Designer is represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the IATSE.

STAGE MANAGEMENT

Emilie Knudsen

Stage Manager

Emilie Knudsen

Stage Manager

Emilie Knudsen (Stage Manger) (she/her) is a stage manager and theatre artist from Reston, Virginia. For the 2026-27 season, she is a resident Stage Manager at George Mason University. Recently, she SMed The Play that Goes Wrong, Everything is Wonderful, and An Irish Carol at Keegan Theatre and she’s been crewing at STC’s The Wild Duck, Synetic’s Antony & Cleopatra, and with VA Opera at GMU. Her previous credits include Apropos of Nothing (Production Manager, Keegan), Noises Off (ASM, SM Sub, Keegan), Muffed (SM, Prologue), The Nance (ASM, 1st Stage), Merrily We Roll Along (ASM, Keegan), The Waverley Gallery (Crew Swing, 1st Stage). She has also acted as Rehearsal Stage Manager for 1st Stage’s productions of The Lake Effect, Hang, The Piano Lesson and is a scenic painter with credits from Keegan, NextStop, and New World Stage. Recently, she graduated from GMU with her MFA in Fiction Writing.

Sam Slottow

Enuf u/s

Sam Slottow (Enuf U/S) (they/he) is a Baltimore-based actor, musician and puppeteer. Credits include performances with Kennedy Center TYA, Arts on the Horizon, InterAct Story Theatre, Prologue Theatre, Rorschach Theatre, Iron Crow Theatre, Compass Rose Theater, Glass Canon Theatre Company, and more. Company member, Only Make Believe DC. @samslottow

Joshua Cole Lucas

Moore u/s

Joshua Cole Lucas (Moore U/S) (he/him) is a DC based actor, dancer, teaching artist, and theatrical carpenter. Credits include: Arts on the Horizon: Off the Page, Birds of a Feather (understudy), and Fitting In (understudy). Synetic Theater: The Immigrant, Little Comedies, Hamlet, The Telltale Heart, The Golden Fish, The Tempest, Snow Queen, The Phantom of the Opera, Shakespeare Revue, Midsummer Nights Dream, Host and Guest, Dracula, Cinderella (understudy), and Servant of Two Masters (understudy). Other credits include Round House Theater: Tempest (Caliban understudy) Instagram: @jok_lucious

Ryan Sellers

Moore

Ryan Sellers (Moore) (he/him) SIGNATURE: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Pacific Overtures, West Side Story, The Threepenny Opera, Miss Saigon. DC AREA: Round House Theatre: The Tempest (Helen Hayes, Best Supporting Performer); Ford’s Theatre: Little Shop of Horrors; Folger Theatre: The Second Shepherds’ Play; Studio Theater: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; Shakespeare Theatre Company: Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Adventure Theatre: Not Your Mother’s Goose (Helen Hayes Nomination, Outstanding Supporting Performer); Imagination Stage: The Snowman and the Snowdog, Ballad of Mu Lan, The Night Fairy, Anime Momotaro; Arts on the Horizon: Off the Page, Birds of a Feather, Swept Away, Adventures with Mr. Bear, and Sunny and Licorice; Keegan Theatre: Noises Off (Helen Hayes Nomination, Outstanding Supporting Performer), Apropos of Nothing, The Undeniable Sound of Right Now, Shakespeare in Love.

Natalie Cutcher

Enuf

Natalie Cutcher (Enuf) (she/her) is a DMV based theatre artist and previous company member with Arts on the Horizon. There she collaborated on premiere TYA productions including Snow Day, Point A to Point B, By the Seashore, Jingle Journey, Off the Page, Fitting In, and the Helen Hayes nominated Squeakers and Mr. Gumdrop, which she co-wrote and directed. Natalie also devised and was a showrunner for the educational series Let’s Learn Lazzi! and tours A Commedia Romeo and Juliet with Faction of Fools. Other DMV collaborators include Constellation Theatre Company, 1st Stage, Kennedy Center TYA, Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Solas Nua, Theater Alliance, Rorschach, Avant Bard, Synetic Theater, and others. Education: Commedia dell’Arte & Clown via Academia dell’Arte in Italy, MFA in Classical Acting with Shakespeare Theatre Company Academy. Ongoing development: TYA adaptation of Emil and the Detectives.

Emily Erickson

Composer

Emily Erickson (Composer) (she/her) is an actor, music director, composer, and educator based in DC and NY. Recent: Once (NextStop Theatre), Apropos of Nothing (Keegan Theatre), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Arts Center of Coastal Carolina), Noises Off (Keegan Theatre – Helen Hayes Award), Fitting In (Arts on the Horizon), The Honey Trap (Solas Nua – HHN.) Emily’s musical adaptation of The Tempest (co-written with Séamus Miller) had its world premiere in 2024. She has composed music for dozens of plays, original musicals, Shakespeare adaptations, and TYA and TVY productions. Emily is an adjunct professor at NYU and has taught at NTI, IAMT, Atlantic Acting School, and The Academy at STC. She is the Founding Executive Director of Glass Canon Theatre Company in Washington, DC and Resident Music Director of Devil’s Isle Shakespeare Co. in Bermuda. MFA: The Academy at STC/GWU. BFA: NYU Tisch. @emierickson // www.emilynerickson.com

Megan Alrutz

Co-Creator

Megan Alrutz (Co-Creator) (she/her) is full professor and Associate Chair for the Department of Theatre and Dance, where she teaches in the Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities / UTeach Theatre programs. Her research and practice focus on creating new and interdisciplinary performance for stage and screen, storytelling (live and digital) and drama-based pedagogy. She teaches courses in applied theatre, theatre for youth and theatre for the very young, new play dramaturgy, devising and movement-based performance and research methods.

A graduate of Arizona State University and Rutgers University, Alrutz works nationally and internationally as a director, theatre-maker and dramaturg for theatre and film/TV. She creates visually dynamic and poetic theatre for the very young and is the dramaturg for award-winning author/illustrator, playwright and screenwriter Mo Willems. Alrutz’s theatre work has premiered at the Alliance Theatre, Arts on the Horizon, Metro Theatre, Orlando Family Stage (previously: Orlando Repertory Theater), The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and presenting houses throughout the U.S.

As a thought leader in applied theatre with/for young people, Alrutz also leads interactive workshops and trainings in K-12 schools and higher education; as well as with organizations focused on gender and racial justice, community engagement, digital storytelling and curriculum innovation. She is a co-founder of the Center for Imagining and Performing Justice, and co-directs long-term applied theatre programs, such as Patchwork Stories and the Performing Justice Project. She dramaturgs projects across multiple mediums and is the creative producer for interactive museum exhibits, including Mo Willems Presents: Opposites Abstract (touring nationally).

Alrutz is the author or co-author of three books: Devising Critically Engaged Theatre with Youth: The Performing Justice Project (Routledge 2020); Digital Storytelling, Applied Theatre & Youth: Performing Possibility (Routledge 2015) and Playing with Theory in Theatre Practice (Palgrave 2010). Her scholarship has also been featured in several edited collections, as well as Research in Drama Education, Youth Theatre Journal, Teaching Artist Journal and Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship.

Renita James

Co-Creator

Renita James (Co-Creator) (she/they) is a TVY practitioner, director, facilitator, educator, and administrator based in New York. The ethos of their work centers vulnerability, trust, and agency. Renita graduated from UT Austin. During her tenure in graduate school Renita created performances which centered play and choice for young people. Renita currently serves on the board of TYA/USA and Spellbound. They are a theatre administrator with Disney Theatrical Group.

Xinyue Zhang

Co-Creator

Xinyue Zhang (Co-Creator) (she/her) creates artistic and educational experiences for and with young people. She has collaborated with theatres and art museums nationwide and internationally. Her work focused on facilitating art-based collaborations that activate art spaces with wonder, care, and curiosity and invite deep reflection on inclusivity and access to the arts for all ages. She holds an M.F.A. in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities from the University of Texas at Austin. She currently serves as the Community Programs Manager at the Coterie Theatre.

S. Elliott

Co-Creator

S. Elliott (Co-Creator)  (she/her) is a multi-disciplinary artist who enjoys breaking expectations to create a more inclusive theatre landscape. She takes on many roles including designer, deviser, choreographer, and educator. Her current endeavors include developing a TVY piece –  Fishing for Stars, with a collective of amazing and diverse artists, as well as serving as the Resident Lighting Designer for Ballet Vero Beach and The Barter Theatre, and various other artistic projects.

Claire Derriennic

Co-Creator

Claire Derriennic (Co-Creator) (she/her) is a playwright, director, actor, and children’s museum professional. She creates interactive performances for young audiences, including Fall(oon), developed in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and Fishing for Stars, which was workshopped at the Kennedy Center. In 2026, Claire’s play Pen Pals will be performed in pediatric hospitals in partnership with University of Central Florida. Recently, her project Postermania! was selected by a team of youth curators to be workshopped at Filament Theatre. Claire holds a teaching certification in drama and an MFA in Theatre for Youth from the University of Texas. She works as a theatre educator at North Country Children’s Museum. clairederriennic.com

JUSTIN SCHMITZ*

Sound Designer

Justin Schmitz (Sound Designer) (he/they) is excited to celebrate his first collaboration here at Joy Play Heart Productions! Justin has collaborated Off-Broadway with 59E59 Theaters and Round House Theatre, and The Dixon Place Theatre. Regionally- Village Theatre Company (WA), Chautauqua Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse In The Park, The St. Louis Black Rep, The Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth, Studio Theatre, Constellation Theatre Company, Gala Hispanic Theatre, Imagination Stage, Round House Theatre, Folger Theatre Company, Prologue Theatre Company, VOCA, amongst many others. Justin previously designed 12 national tours through The Kennedy Center’s Theatre for Young Audiences, as well as 16 additional productions in the Center including two productions with Mo Willems. He is a very strong believer in Arts for All Ages and celebrating Theatre for the Young and Very Young wherever possible. For more information and to listen to his work visit: www.justinschmitztheatre.com

*Sound Designer is represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the IATSE.

Nitsan Scharf

Projections Designer

Nitsan Scharf (Projections Designer) (he/they) is a media artist, programmer, and creative technologist, based in New York City. His work explores queer and trans narrative, bodies in digital space, and the translation of life from physical to digital. He enjoys playing in the expansive and collaborative possibilities of media design and technology in dance, opera, new theatrical works, and installation. In addition to designing media for live performance, they create work using virtual reality, creative coding, and puppetry (both digital and physical). Recent media design credits include You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World! (Company One Theatre), Cabaret (UT Austin), The Ghosts of Versailles (Butler Opera Center), Óxido (UT Austin). He received his B.A. in Theatre from the University of Maryland and M.F.A. in Theatre from the University of Texas at Austin.

Julie Cray Leong

Costume Designer

Julie Cray Leong (Costume Designer) [she/her] REGIONAL: Olney Theatre Center: Kim’s Convenience, Most Wonderful Time, and the National Players Tour 73 productions of Fences and Much Ado About Nothing. Nu Sass: Craigslisted; ArtsCentric: The Color Purple; Rorschach Theatre Company: Night of the Living Dead, She Kills Monsters, Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven; Chesapeake Shakespeare Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Arts on the Horizon: Squeakers and Mr. Gumdrop, Beep Beep; Spooky Action: The Oldest Boy; Shakespeare Theatre ACA: Romeo and Juliet, The Rover. PERSONAL: Julie serves as the Costume Shop Supervisor for The Olney Theatre Center. She is mother to a strong and inspirational 8-year-old aspiring astronaut and is a houseplant enthusiast. Training: BA in Drama from The Catholic University of America; Instagram: @yesiamjulie. JulieCrayCostumes.com