May 11 Guests

Kenya Mitchell was born in New Orleans, and began writing at age ten, spurred by a love of words and an analytical mind.  Since then, Mitchell has published poetry, essays, short stories, poetry reviews and  salacious tidbits for New York Magazine, Stanford University’s Black Arts Quarterly, The Adirondack Review and Tribes Magazine. She has also given performances at CBGBs and other venues in the East Village. Mitchell is currently pursuing a Masters in Education at Harvard and a Ph D in Education at the University of California, Davis.

Gia Battista, in addition to her duties as Associate Artistic Director, is one of the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble’s most featured actors, playing both Juliet in Romeo and Julietand Viola in Twelfth Night. Additionally, she is fostering the growth of the Ensemble’s educational outreach programs, having served as an instructor for the Mondavi Center’s ArtsBridge program while completing her studies at UC Davis. Other acting credits include Gallathea in Gallathea, Isabella inMeasure for Measure, Perdita in A Winter’s Tale, and Sheila in Hair. Ms. Battista’s directing credits include Love’s Labour’s Lost at North Coast Repertory in San Diego as well as Fuddy Meers andMacbeth at UC Davis.

Stephanie Hankinson is the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble’s founding Managing Director. She has been instrumental in maintaining a strong relationship with the UC Davis Arboretum, the Ensemble’s primary performance space. In addition to her duties as Managing Director, she has also acted in the Ensemble’s productions , portraying Nurse in Romeo and Juliet and Maria in Twelfth Night. She will be devising and directing the Ensemble’s Sonnet Project. Directing credits include UC Davis’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, and Hair. Ms. Hankinson is currently completing her MA in Literature and TESOL at CSU Sacramento.