BURN BOOK BIOS

WILLIAM

PLAYWRIGHT

JJ McGlone is an actor and writer. Film: A Different Man, Human Theories. Training: BFA DePaul; MFA Yale School of Drama; BADA. 

TY

Off-Broadway: The Tune Up (Lincoln Center & Little Island); Sally & Tom, Plays for the Plague Year, Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Public); This Land Was Made (Vineyard); one in two (The New Group); Novenas for a Lost Hospital (Rattlestick); If Pretty Hurts, Ugly Must Be a Muhfucka (Playwrights Horizons); Measure for Measure (TFANA). Leland has also performed at Williamstown, Dorset Theatre Festival, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Westport Country Playhouse, McCarter Theatre Center, Yale Rep, and Alliance Theatre. TV: “City on a Hill.” BA: Morehouse College; MFA: Yale School of Drama. Leland is a member of the Actor’s Center.

LEWIS

Daniel Liu is a graduate from the Yale School of Drama and Northwestern University. Previous theater credits include: Little Island’s Counterfeit Opera and Marriage of Figaro, directed by Dustin Wills, NAATCO’s Romeo and Juliet, directed by Dustin Wills and Hansol Jung, in a performance where the New York Times noted him as “an actor to keep an eye on,” Roundabout Theatre Company’s You Will Get Sick by Noah Diaz, directed by Sam Pinkleton, and Yale Repertory Theatre’s Girls, by Brendan Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz. Daniel was recently in Jim Cumming’s short Is Now a Good Time?, Sohrob Nayebaziz’s short Hot Seat, and Isabel Perry and Adam Yates’ short Fishbowl. He will soon be seen in the upcoming film The Devil Wears Prada 2. Daniel has also appeared on the hit series Search Party. 

WARREN

Previous theatre credits include Maia Novi’s Invasive Species (Vineyard Theatre/The Tank, dir. by Pulitzer finalist Michael Breslin), Sarah Ruhl’s Becky Nurse of Salem (Lincoln Center Theatre, dir. by Rebecca Taichman), Jeremy O. Harris’ Spirit of the People (Williamstown Theatre Festival, dir. by Katina Medina Mora), Tennessee Williams’ Camino Real (WTF, dir. by Dustin Wills), Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Girls (Yale Rep, dir. by Lilleana Blain-Cruz), and Jacob Wasson’s Other People’s Dead Dads (Dixon Place, dir. by Rory Pelsue). Training: Yale School of Drama.

DIRECTOR

Rory Pelsue is an Obie-winning director of new and classic plays, operas, musicals, and live-stream performances. He is the Resident Director of Fake Friends, where he has helmed The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse at the New Group, This American Wife and Pulitzer Prize Finalist and Drama League Nominee Circle Jerk (and its Obie-winning in-person remount at the Connelly Theater). Other recent and upcoming credits include directing Manon at Heartbeat Opera, Read to Me at Portland Stage, The Show on the Roof at Boise Contemporary Theater, Deathbed Edition at Ars Nova ANT Fest, and workshops and readings at Ojai Playwrights Festival, Ars Nova, Southcoast Repertory Theater, Studio Theater, Primary Stages, CultureHub, and Mercury Store. rorypelsue.com

SET DESIGNER

Lily Guerin is a production and scenic designer living in Brooklyn. Some favorite recent credits are: Production Designer of feature films Bad Shabbos (Tribeca '24 Audience Award;) and Miranda’s Victim (SBIFF ‘23;) Scenic Designer of the world premiere of Happy Life (Walker Space Theatre;) and Associate Scenic Designer on The Skin of Our Teeth (Lincoln Center, '22 Tony Nominee.) A graduate of SUNY Purchase ‘14 and Yale School of Drama ‘20. Member of IATSE local USA 829.

LIGHTING DESIGNER

YICHEN ZHOU is a theatre designer working with lighting and scenery. Recent credits include: Invasive Species (Vineyard Theatre); Faust (Heartbeat Opera); The Return of Benjamin Lay (The Sheen Center, The Sedgwick Theatre), Your Name Means Dream (TheaterWorks Hartford); Vile Isle (The Tank); Kin (Chain Theatre); The Woman in Black (Weston Theatre Company); The Far Country (Yale Rep); The Rasa Project (National Sawdust); Julius Caesar (Juilliard School); National Playwrights Conference (The O'Neill). Website: www.zhouyichen.design

VIDEO DESIGNER (& PRODUCER)

Erin Sullivan is a video designer and Emmy award editor working in film, theater, and technology. Her sculptural media installation Spine Lines was a world selection at The Prague Quadrennial Performance of Design and Space. She was the Visual Effects Editor for HBO’s The Penguin. Recent theater credits include Dilaria for DR2 theater.  

M.F.A. in Design: The Yale School of Drama.  ErinMSullivan.com

COSTUME DESIGNER

RECENT: American Sing Song presents HOLE!: The Musical (NYC/LA/Edinburgh); Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta (Yale Opera),  Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea (The New School/NYC), Thebes (Rattlestick/NYC), 26 Miles (Gulfshore Playhouse/FL), Love’s Labour’s Lost (Island Shakespeare Festival/WA), Today is My Birthday (Yale Rep/CT). 

TRAINING: MFA, Acting: American Repertory Theater / Moscow Art Theater Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University; MFA, Costume Design: Yale School of Drama 

SOUND DESIGNER

Bailey Trierweiler (he/him) is a New York based sound designer. Select design credits include Becoming Eve (NYTW); On The Evolutionary Function of Shame (Second Stage); Breaking the Binary - 2024; Blood of the Lamb (59E59); Dangerous Days (Miami New Drama); already there (The REACH at the Kennedy Center), Riverside (IndyShakes),  among others. Select associate design credits include Liberation (James Earl Jones); Liberation (Roundabout Theater Co); The Blood Quilt (Lincoln Center Theatre); Valour: A Drag Spectacular (La Jolla Playhouse); The Welkin (Atlantic Theater Co); The Comeuppance (Signature Theatre Company); among others. M.F.A - Yale School of Drama.

SOUND DESIGNER

Tim White is a Sound Designer and Engineer based in Brooklyn, NY. He also professionally Tour Directs a drum corps out of Chicago. Burn Book is Tim’s first design in New York  and he is very excited to be a part of the show.

PRODUCTION MANAGER & PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN

Hesler Garcia is a versatile live events technician with a strong focus on lighting design. He holds a BFA in Entertainment Technology from NYC College of Technology, where he built a solid foundation in both the technical and creative aspects of production. Driven by a passion for live music and performance, his goal is to become a lighting designer specializing in concerts and large-scale events.

For the past year, Hesler has served as the in-house Lighting Designer and Programmer at Teatro LATEA, where he brings storytelling to life through dynamic and expressive lighting. His recent credits include lighting design for New York Fashion Week Fall/ Winter and Spring/ Summer 2025, along with numerous theatrical productions and community-driven performances.

As a proud advocate for the Latin theatre community in New York City, Hesler continues to collaborate with various Spanish-language and Latino-centered theatres across the city, sharing his artistry and expanding representation within the performing arts.

MOVEMENT DIRECTOR / CHOREOGRAPHER

Allison Jones’ movement philosophy draws from over a decade of professional experience in dance and choreography as well as personal experience in energy work. Allison holds a BFA from the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase, where she formally studied choreography under Kazuko Hirabayashi (Martha Graham, Juilliard); appeared with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet for five years; and has presented her choreography on stages including the Shanghai World Expo USA Pavilion. Allison has also performed in and choreographed for the NYC nightclub and DIY venue scene.

Allison’s movement direction work is centered on sensation, energy and presence just as much as it is on shape, form and structure. She brings this approach to her work as a certified Intimacy Coordinator as well, creating consent-based workspaces for actors engaged in charged scenes of physical intimacy (YOU Season 5, Netflix). After a lifetime of working with dancers, Allison is greatly enjoying the experience of working with actors, particularly those as gifted in their movement as the cast of Burn Book.

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER

Kat Rivera is thrilled to help coordinate the majestic madness that is Burn Book. With a cup of coffee in one hand, and a laptop in the other, Kat has helped coordinate and organize productions all across NYC. PSM credits include Puerto Rico es una Cama Twin (IRT Theater), Company (Rosie’s Theater Kids), and Blithe Spirit (Ghostlight Theater Company). Endless thanks and love to her friends, family, and collaborators. Follow her on insta: @katsciortino

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

 Žilvinas Jonušas is a multidisciplinary theater artist with a passion for storytelling and innovation. Originally from Lithuania, he earned a B.F.A. in Theater and Philology from Vilnius University, which laid the foundation for his creative journey. Starting as an actor and nightlife performer, Žilvinas quickly discovered a love for all aspects of theater-making. Over the years, he has explored diverse roles in the theater world, from creative direction to set design and construction. His curiosity and dedication have led him into the technical side of theater, where he continues to contribute as an Art and Technical Director. Žilvinas holds an M.A. in Media Arts and an M.F.A. in New Media Art and Performance from LIU Brooklyn. His most recent work has been featured in notable venues such as Performance Space New York, Mabou Mines, La MaMa, New Ohio Theatre, NYU Skirball, The Chocolate Factory Theater, and HERE Arts Center. For more about his work, visit zilvinasjonusas.com. ption goes here

ASSOCIATE VIDEO DESIGNER

Jamie Godwin is a video designer based in New York. Recent works include Appropriate at Gablestage (Carbonell nomination), Das Rheingold at Pacific Symphony, A Midsummer Night’s Dream with New Orleans Shakespeare Company, The Lehman Trilogy at Gablestage (Carbonell nomination), The Wizard of Oz at Geva Theater and Christmas Mountain with Pie Hole. Associate work includes Fanny and Alexander at La Monnaie/De Munt and DiscoShow with Spiegelworld. She has also edited for A&E networks and Dwight Street Book Club. 

ASSOCIATE LIGHTING DESIGNER

Eitan Acks is a NY based lighting designer. eitanacks.com

ASSOCIATE SET DESIGNER

Jimmy Stubbs (Associate Set Designer) Off-Broadway: Henry IV (Theatre for a New Audience). Regional: Wipeout (Studio Theatre), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Signature Theatre), Pipe Dream (Berkshire Theatre Group), The Band's Visit (The Huntington). Associate design credits include Sunset Blvd. and The Hills of California on Broadway and Carmen at the Glyndebourne Festival. Education: David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. Proud member of USA Local 829. @jimmystubbsdesign

PRODUCER (split/decision)

Rachel Shuey is a Brooklyn-based producer originally from New Orleans. Rachel has brought innovative projects to life across a broad range of artistic disciplines – from the Ukrainian Cultural Festival with Razom for Ukraine to work at the New York Philharmonic, Ars Nova’s ANT Fest, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, LAByrinth Theater, and Circle in the Square. She has also worked in film – In France Michelle is a Man’s Name (Grand Jury Prize at Outfest, 2020, Slamdance, 2021.) Rachel received her MFA in Theater Management from Yale School of Drama. @rshuey

PRODUCER (split/decision)

Viktorija Mickute is a New York-based producer, director, and documentary filmmaker originally from Lithuania. Her work spans continents and includes Virtual Reality films, interactive installations, and cross-platform media projects focused on human rights, climate justice, and digital equity. As a senior producer at AJ Contrast, Al Jazeera’s media innovation studio, she led award-winning teams and helped pioneer immersive storytelling formats, earning three Emmy nominations. Her work has screened at Sundance, Sheffield Doc Fest, and numerous other film festivals. Mickute is currently directing a feature documentary film on the impact of Latin American telenovela narratives on women in Eastern Europe. Her theater directing credits include The Real Real (2023, The Wooster Group), exploring autonomy and agency in a content-obsessed world. Mickute is also a former Fulbright scholar, a Mercury Store theater directing fellow, and once performed with the Vilnius-based theater group Dramateurs. @VikVicariously

PRODUCER

split/decision is the New York-based creative producing company run by Rachel Shuey, Manuel Ortiz, and Viktorija Mickute that is dedicated to supporting bold theater, film, and interdisciplinary projects.

splitdecision.co

@split.decisionco