The small, downtown theatre company Clubbed Thumb has become a force in new American plays. The woman behind all of this is Maria Striar, founder and Producing Artistic Director of Clubbed Thumb. Maria started the company in 1996, with the mission of doing “funny, strange, and provocative new plays by living American writers,” and has been with it ever since as it has continued to grow and evolve. We speak to Maria about the history of Clubbed Thumb, producing What the Constitution Means to Me, the company’s development programs, and more.

Kamilah Forbes is currently making her Signature Theatre debut directing a revival of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark. A theatre and television producer, as well as director, Kamilah is also in the midst of her third season as Executive Producer of the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem. We speak with Kamilah about her experience working on By The Way, Meet Vera Stark, her experience as a woman in a leadership position in the entertainment industry, and more.

In 2015, Dr. Indira Etwaroo became Executive Director of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation and The Billie Holiday Theatre, which is part of the organization and was founded in 1972 as a destination and breeding ground for black artists. Only a few years into her tenure, she has already led a major renovation of the theatre’s physical space and re-invigorated its programming. We spoke to her about running a large arts institution, working with the community, funding, and being a woman in a leadership position.