Artistic Associates
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Charles Askenaizer (Teaching Artist) is the Founder and Artistic Director of Invictus Theatre Company in Chicago where over the course of 7 years he has lead the company to 13 Joseph Jefferson award nominations (5 awards received). He is also a freelance actor, director, producer, teacher, and acting coach. In 2018 he began Invictus' outreach programming, Shakespeare in the Courts, and later, its Lawrence Hall partnership, where he and educators from Invictus take a trauma sensitive approach to playing Shakespeare with at risk Chicago youth. In 2024 Charles was named one of Newcity Stage's "Players 50: Rising Stars and Storefront Stalwarts"
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Mahogany Beal (Teaching Artist) started dancing at the age of seven with commercial hip-hop being her first form of training. Going to Columbia College Chicago she was seeking more technique training in different styles of dance such as West African, Modern, Ballet, and advanced Hip Hop; aspired to become a more versatile dancer. Mahogany graduated from Columbia in May 2019 with a BA in dance and has continued her dance journey by teaching Hip Hop and Dancehall classes at studios such as Urbanity Dance Chicago. Mahogany has also assisted LadySol and Urban Gateways with teaching at youth programs such as Uplift Community High School, and St. Angela’s Catholic School. After School Matters is another youth program where Mahogany taught Dancehall during the summer of 2020.
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Davon Suttles(they/he), a multidisciplinary artist in Chicago, who grew up studying and performing American tap dance in Keane Sense of Rhythm’s Youth Tap Ensemble. Davon is also an actor and an alumnus of both Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists and Columbia College Chicago’s Musical Theatre Performance program. In 2019 Davon received the Cultural Community Partnership Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board for their first self-produced work MELANIZED, a multimedia tap dance show about living as a person of color. This show addressed macro- and microaggressions towards people of color, as well as showcased the beauty of living as a POC.
In 2025 Davon received an artist residency with Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble in their newly reinstated Body Passages program; with whom they had been working with as a teaching artist since 2021. Come August of 2025 Davon will begin their transition into their new role as Assistant Artistic Director of Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble; whose mission is to “engage, inspire, and challenge audiences, both onstage and in the classroom, through innovative, multidisciplinary storytelling. We do this in the genre of Tanztheatre, "which unites all art media to achieve an all- embracing, radical change in humankind." Davon is also a company member of M.A.D.D. Rhythms, a non profit tap company based on the South Side of Chicago, whose mission is to preserve, promote and contribute to this art form called tap. |
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Naomi Flores (Community Engagement Manager and Teaching Artist) (she/they) has proudly helped CDE grow and re-connect to their community and audience since 2018. Naomi graduated with her Bachelor's in Interactive and Industrial Design from Syracuse University. Although they loved their program, Naomi has always felt compelled to find ways to work with her community directly. Naomi has worked with La Casa Norte serving youth and families facing homelessness. She’s also taught at Marwen, a non-profit creating free opportunities for young people to participate in the creative arts. Now, she is dedicated to teaching students, mentoring teaching artists, and creating a community with Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble. For Naomi, the most rewarding part of their role is intentionally growing and bettering students and the community around CDE. This is where she truly thrives! Naomi is a mandated reporter, certified in adult and pediatric first aid, and mental health first aid.
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Ella Deitz (Teaching Artist) is a writer, performer, and educator from Madison, Wisconsin. She was a First Wave Scholar at the University of Wisconsin - Madison where she graduated with a BA in Creative Writing and Gender and Women’s Studies. She’s worked as a teaching artist in various capacities, facilitating writing and performance workshops in Madison for over three years. Ella moved to Chicago in September of 2023 and is thrilled to bring her teaching practices to the city as she continues to write poems and stories about the things in this world she holds close.
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David Goodloe (Ensemble, Teaching Artist), a Chicago native, has been acting professionally since 2006. At the University of Chicago, he began to hone his skills and build a repertoire which reignited his love of performing. After college and a Peace Corps stint, David started acting and has been involved in many on-camera and theatre projects. He has performed in several productions with Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, including HOPE and The Yellow Wallpaper.
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Timothy David Rey (Ensemble) is a playwright, poet, and performer. He is a 2023 Semi-Finalist for the Eugene O'Neill National Playwright Conference for his play, ZIP, and is a two-time recipient of Changing Worlds'/ Artswork Fund's- 'Survive and Thrive Grant' for his ongoing work, 'The Monologue Play' as well as a 2022 Lambda Literary Playwriting Fellow for Emerging LGBTQ+ voices. His work has been published and performed at the Poetry Foundation, Emerge! Lambda Literary's Anthology of Emerging LGBTQ+ Writing, Obsidian, Sixty Inches from Center, Steppenwolf Theater Lookout Series, and elsewhere. His book of poetry and performance, Little Victories, was published in 2012 by the LGBTQ+ imprint New Town Writers Press. He has performed at venues including the NYC Fringe Festival and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
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Wannapa P-Eubanks (Ensemble) is a Butoh artist, improviser, choreographer, movement coach, and actor who creates expressive works, including movement based interactive performances. Her work often stems from a personal experience or a specific memory that grows into a poetic image that she imbues with the memory of the moment.
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Nathaniel Swift (Teaching Artist) is the Artistic Director of Eclipse Theatre Company, where he has been involved in every Eclipse production since 1999; as a director, actor, designer and producer. He was honored with a Non-Equity Jeff Award for Directing in 2002 for Romulus Linney’s 2, and for Acting in a Supporting Role in 2009 for playing Doug in Rebecca Gilman’s BLUE SURGE. He has a Bachelor of Science in Theatre from Northwestern University. He has taught theatre at ChiArts, The Chicago Academy for the Arts, Leyden High School, and at Northside College Prep High School, and he currently teaches and directs musicals at A.N. Pritzker Elementary School. Nat lives in Chicago within walking distance of Wrigley Field.
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