FOUNDERS

BIOS

Cynthia L. Dorsey (Co-Founder & Artistic Director) is a multi-disciplinary artist with a desire to create art that represents communities of color and other marginalized groups in a way that authentically speaks to their vast history and culture.

Cynthia received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater from Columbia College Chicago and her Master’s degree in Pan African Studies from Syracuse University. She currently teaches Theater in Washington, DC and was nominated for an Excellence in Theater Education Tony Award. Cynthia has directed and produced a myriad of plays, films, podcasts and new media content. She was awarded Best Inspirational Director for her work on her short film, JUST, as well as Best Social Justice film for her work on the film, Critical Missing, from the Urban Film Festival. Cynthia was a member of the 2022 Theater Producers of Color cohort and was recently named a Prince/TTLP Fellow and a Broadway League Fellow.

As a writer her work has been featured in the Billie Holiday Theatre’s 50in50 Women Writers presentation as well as on the Netflix award winning podcast, Mortified. Some of her freelance writings can be found on the popular online lifestyle publication for Black women, Madame Noire, XoNecole, and on her personal blog site Confessions of a Purse Carrier.

Cynthia is inspired by Paul Robeson’s words, “artists are the gatekeepers of truth. We are civilization’s radical voice.” This is Cynthia’s why, her artistic responsibility. It is Cynthia’s goal as an artist to use her creative gift to bring to light that which society has chosen to keep hidden. She lives and breathes the power of her art with the hopes of mass healing across generations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and communities at home and abroad.

Allycia Atania (Co-Founder & Consultant) is a multi veteran Casting Executive for Apple TV+ where she helped launch the casting department; in her current role, she provides oversight for 25 live-action and kids animated series including Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, Servant, Acapulco, Pachinko amongst many others. Prior to joining Apple, Allycia served three years at Fox Entertainment in the Casting Department.

While there she worked on scripted and animatic pilots and series such as Empire, Star, and the Resident. On the independent side, she cast short films for Film Independent’s Project Involve, SoulFly Theatre Society, and other off-broadway projects. Her critically acclaimed short, Black Boy Joy, has won awards from Cannes, NAACP, and most recently, Telly Awards. She has also worked on the casting teams for NBCUniversal and Arena Stage for the Mead Center for American Theatre.