See where the Accademia can take you

Julia Miller is a visual storyteller working in puppetry, theatre and film with an inexplicable interest in breathing life into the inanimate and telling stories without words. She is a director, puppeteer and designer based in Chicago, IL. Julia is founder and Co-Artistic Director of the Emmy Award winning Manual Cinema, a cinematic shadow puppet company founded in 2010.

Hailed as one of today’s most exciting singing actresses, American soprano Jacquelyn Stucker’s unanimously acclaimed debut as the title role in Ted Huffman’s inspired staging of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence firmly sealed her reputation as a fast-rising star. Her mastery of a broad range of repertoire from classical to contemporary roles has been especially evident in recent seasons where she’s made her debut at The Metropolitan Opera as Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro) under Joana Mallwitz, her role debut as The Governess (The Turn of the Screw) at Santa Fe Opera conducted by Gemma New, and her company and role debut at Opéra national de Paris as Lucia de Nobile in Thomas Adès’ The Exterminating Angel. Jacquelyn Stucker’s 2025/2026 season is no less impressive, appearing as Gineva in two new productions of Ariodante, at Opéra National de Paris under Raphaël Pichon and directed by Robert Carsen and for The Royal Ballet & Opera under Stefano Montanari and directed by Jetske Mijnssen. She’ll also appear as Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) under Enrique Mazzola at Lyric Opera of Chicago, return to The Metropolitan Opera as The Bride in the American premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence under Susanna Mälkki and close the season in Philip Venables’ We Are the Lucky Ones, directed by Ted Huffman, at Tiroler Festspiele Erl with Stucker reprising her starring role of Two under Bassem Akiki.

Sarah Shin is a Korean American theatre artist whose work lives at the intersection of cultural work, creative leadership, and community engagement. Most recently, she was an Artist-in Residence at New York Stage and Film as the 2025 Pfaelzer Award Winner where she developed her songwriting project “Dolsaem”, and at The Public Theater’s Brooklyn College Residency where she collaborated with playwright Sung Rno and performing artist Diana Oh in a reimagined production of wAve, a rock concert, quantum physic-ified adaptation of Medea. Directing Highlights: The Chinese Lady (Stages Houston, Central Square Theater), The Supreme Leader (Mile Square Theater), Silent Sky (Central Square Theater), Diana Oh Family Concert (Co-Director/Performer, PBS ALL ARTS), EMPIRE RECORDS (Associate Dir., McCarter Theater), Endlings (Assistant Dir., NYTW), Sweeney Todd the Musical (SDC Observer, Broadway). Performing Highlights: Endlings (Hedgerow Theatre), OriGen Story (Clubbed Thumb, Pan Asian Rep, La MaMa Theater), The Tempest (Catskill Mountain Shakespeare). She is also co-founder of the social collectives Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston (AATAB) and Queer Asian Babes, and a member of the fourth cohort of Roundabout Director’s Group. Www.sarah-shin.com

Will Dameron is an alumnus of the ADA and a lighting designer, programmer, and technician working primarily in the world of film and television. He is a proud member of IATSE Locals 728 and 479 as well as the International Cinema Lighting Society, and lives in Los Angeles with his wife Lizzie and their two dogs, Shortcut and Maddux. His recent notable projects include Yellowstone, The Accountant 2, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, as well as other work with Netflix, Apple TV, HBO, Disney, Paramount, and Amazon. Recent commercial clients include Prada, Kate Spade, L'Oreal, Neutrogena, and The Daily Show with Stephen Colbert. He served as the Technical Director at the ADA from 2015-2017.

Caro Daye Attayek (she/her) is a multifaceted performing artist originally from Greensboro, North Carolina. She received her Bachelor in Fine Arts in Music Theatre from Elon University, and while at Elon, Caro had the opportunity to study at the Accademia dell'Arte as a part of their summer physical theatre intensive program in 2017. Since graduating from college in 2019, she has performed around North America regionally and in the original touring casts of multiple Broadway national tours including Mamma Mia!, Disney's Aladdin, & Hairspray. Caro is currently about to make her Broadway debut in the 25th Anniversary production of Mamma Mia! at the Winter Garden Theatre starting August 2nd!

Dan Plehal is a theatre artist of many hats. He is currently performing on Broadway in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and recently completed two years playing Sven on the North American Tour of Disney’s Frozen. Dan Co-Founded Aura CuriAtlas Physical Theatre and Red Dot Physical Theatre, directing productions for both companies that toured Europe and the USA. He has also been a Movement Director and actor all around Chicago, including at Steppenwolf Theater Company and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Dan is also an acrobat, yoga instructor, theater lecturer, and writer.

Allegra Libonati (she/her) is an internationally recognized director known for her bold, genre-crossing work across theater, opera, immersive entertainment, and circus. On Broadway, she served as Assistant Director for the Tony Award-winning revival of Hair. Her production of The Light Princess at The New Victory Theater was a New York Times Critics’ Pick. Allegra has directed national and international tours including Paw Patrol: Heroes Unite and A Mighty Adventure (with Cirque du Soleil & Nickelodeon). In Las Vegas, her circus work includes Celestia (The STRAT, Best of Las Vegas Awards) and Spiegelworld’s Opium and Atomic Saloon (Resident Director). She has created immersive experiences for major artists and institutions, including Usher’s Backstory Pass, Katy Perry’s PLAY NYE show, Peter Pan’s Neverland (Broadway Asia), and was Artistic Associate on Sleep No More. Allegra served as Resident Director of The Donkey Show at A.R.T. and the Adrienne Arsht Center. Her classical and operatic directing includes Romeo & Juliet (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company), Julius Caesar (The Old Globe), The Magic Flute (Opera Columbus), The Rake’s Progress (Boston Lyric Opera), and Falstaff (Opera Omaha).