Download Greg Allen Founding Director, Neo

IMTAL 2014 Regional Conference Keynote Panelists
Greg Allen
Founding Director, Neo-Futurists
Theatre
Greg Allen is the Founding Director of The Neo-Futurists and creator of Too Much Light Makes The Baby
Go Blind (30 Plays in 60 Minutes) and 33 other full-length Neo-Futurist productions including The Last
Two Minutes of the Complete Works of Henrik Ibsen, Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious (a
comedy to end all comedy), A Child’s History of Bombing, Crime and Punishment: A (mis)Guided
Environmental Tour with Literary Pretensions, H20, and K., his award-winning adaptation of Kafka’s The
Trial. He has written, directed, and performed more than 500 original plays for Too Much Light… in its
continuous run since opening December 2, 1988 – from Another Play Which Makes The Audience Hate
Greg to the infamous Title.
Greg has also written, directed, and performed his original work for the biggest theater companies in
Chicago – Steppenwolf, The Goodman, Northlight, The Organic, Court Theater – as well as the smallest –
Prop, Curious, Greasy Joan, Live Bait, Links Hall, Second Story, and The Building Stage. His work has also
been seen nationally at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington D.C., Dad’s Garage in Atlanta, Actors
Theatre of Louisville, The Geva Theater in Rochester, and The Empty Space in Seattle.
When he is in Chicago he teaches ongoing Neo-Futurist Master Classes, Site-Specific Performance, and
Collaborative Creation classes at The Neo-Futurarium. He is a proud graduate of Oberlin college and
even more proud father to Noah, Simone, and Tyler.
Michael Gellman
Second City Training Center Faculty
Second City Alumnus
Founder, Process Theatre
Michael J. Gellman is a founding member and current Senior Faculty Member at The Second City
Training Center, Chicago. He has worked as Program Head for IFA, Advanced Studies, Specialty Classes
and Director of the New York Training Center. He is an alumnus of The Second City Main Stage, Chicago,
and was a Resident Director for Second City in Canada and the U.S. for 25 years. He was Artistic Director
of The Second City Toronto where his shows were nominated for 7 Dora Mavor Moore Awards including
twice for Outstanding Direction. He was also nominated as Best Director for Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson
Award. Michael is also currently an Adjunct Faculty member at Columbia College in Chicago and coauthor of the book; ‘Process: An Improviser’s Journey’ (Northwestern University Press).
Michael continues to teach and direct throughout the year. Current projects include: Artistic New
Directions- NYC, The Process Theatre group, Rendition Theatre, and Apple-box Theatre in Toronto. He
has served as Artistic Associate of The Organic Theater Chicago, and founder and Artistic Director of
Theatre Works and Windy City Workshop. Since 1976, Michael has taught at Universities, Acting
Centers, Festivals and Theater Companies throughout the United States and Canada, and in London
England, Rome and Paris.
PJ Powers
Company Member & Artistic Director,
Timeline Theatre
PJ was a co-founder of TimeLine 1997 and became Artistic Director
in 1999.
During his tenure as Artistic Director, TimeLine has expanded its
programming to include an annual subscription season of four
plays, launched the TimePieces play reading series, nurtured the
Living History Educational Outreach Program in Chicago Public
Schools, and grown to employ more than 100 artists annually. PJ
has overseen the production of more than 50 plays, including eight
world premieres and 16 Chicago premieres. TimeLine has garnered
46 Jeff Awards, including eight for Outstanding Production.
A graduate of the BFA Acting Program at The Theatre School at DePaul University in 1995, PJ also served
for six years on the Board of Directors for the League of Chicago Theatres and has been featured three
times in Newcity's articles listing "Chicago Theatre's 50 Leading Characters."
Pemon Rami
Director of Educational Services and Public
Programs DuSable Museum of African American
History
Since the late 1960’s, Pemon Rami has been involved in the development of television
production, films, music concerts, documentaries, plays and multimedia. From 1968 through
1970, Rami was Associate Director of the Southside Center for the Performing Arts; in 1971 and
'72, he was director of the Kuumba Workshop; and from 1973 to 1980, he was founding
Artistic/Managing Director of the Lamont Zeno Theatre at the Better Boys Foundation. Rami
also served as Managing/Artistic Director for the Phoenix Black Theatre Troupe, and General
Manager for Marla Gibbs Crossroads National Education and Entertainment Complex in Los
Angeles.
A native of Chicago, Pemon has directed over thirty theatrical productions nationally, including
"Madame Lily” starring Gladys Knight and Dorian Harewood, "The Black Fairy," "Quiet Before
The Storm'" and "Fresh". Plays he's directed for regional theaters include: "Miss Dessa, at the
Crossroads Theatre in Los Angeles; "Thru The Eyes Of Women," at the Complex in Hollywood;
"227," at Black Theatre in Phoenix; "The Wiz," at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre; and "The Mighty
Gents," at the Kuumba Theatre in Chicago. Pemon has also directed and produced numerous
videos, documentaries, and commercials. Mr. Rami served as a 2012/2013 Illinois Humanities
Council Road Scholar and was recently selected one of the Chicago Defender Newspaper’s 50
men of excellence!