Staff

Amanda Grace Ewing has spent much of her career collaborating with community driven arts organizations such as A Host of People, a Detroit based ensemble theatre company who creates original work, and BoxFest Detroit, a women's directing festival where she is the Artistic Director. She is the Director of the University of Michigan's Educational Theatre Company, where she writes, directs, and provides artistic direction for the company and across Enrollment Management and Student Life. Amanda works primarily as a director, dramaturg, and production manager. She has a Master of Arts from King’s College, London in Theatre & Performance Studies, is a third generation Arab American, and is based in Dearborn, MI.

Mari Longmire is a queer black artist/storyteller who thinks about decolonization as an educational tool and practice. They’re interested in unraveling the binaries in our everyday life as we work to creatively reveal and manifest the radical possibility that exists in every space at every moment. Mari works as the Assistant Director of the University of Michigan Educational Theatre Company. Their professional interests lie in masculinity studies, arts-based evaluation methodology, anti-oppression frameworks, Afro-futurism and interactive pedagogy (queer gaming theory and Pedagogy of the Oppressed). They have previously worked in Harm Reduction, HIV/AIDS direct service and advocacy, and journalism. They hold a Bachelor’s in Linguistics with certificates in Queer Studies and Intergroup Relations Education (Dialogue Facilitation) from the University of Michigan.