Meet the Coaches
Carlos Garcia
Carlos Garcia is a comedian/actor and the co-host of his regular podcast show, the FratChat Podcast. Prior to the COVID-19 shutdown, Carlos also hosted a weekly comedy show "The Greatest Comedy Show of All Time" at the Broadway Comedy Club. He likes creating characters, as well as making up and trying out jokes or comedic bits for stand-up comedy gigs at clubs across the United States. Originally from Venezuela, Carlos was educated in the USA and also formerly served as a PR rep for other artists.
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Sarah Congress
Sarah Congress writes plays, television spec scripts, and books for musicals. Most notably, her play The Angel Manual received a reading at the HBMG National Winter Playwright's Retreat in Creede, Colorado (2019), and a portion of her book for the musical Lars's Hostel was selected to be in the New Work Series' Emerging Artist Theatre Program at Tada Theatre (Forthcoming, 2020/2021). Her comedy The Legal Secretary was presented as a staged reading at The Road Theatre Lankershim Center for the Arts in LA (2017) and her full-length drama No Knowing Where We're Rowing was selected by the UP Theatre to be a part of their Summer Heat Reading Series (2016).
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Sarah is a former Resident Playwright at Manhattan Repertory Theatre and the former Literary Manager of the New Jersey Repertory Theatre. She holds a BFA in Dramatic Writing (2013) from the conservatory at SUNY Purchase College, and was honored to take three independent studies in playwriting with her wonderful mentor David Henry Hwang (2017-18). She currently works in the Dean's office at Columbia University, School of the Arts as the Executive Assistant to the Deans, Manager of Academic Administration.
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José A. Esquea
Jose A. Esquea is a New York Film and Theater Professional and a Bronx Native. He is currently co-producing The One Festival (in its 16th year). Ten new one-act plays are scheduled to stream in March. He is the instructor/coach for The Knowledge Project's online course "Make A Movie in 24 Hours." In February, he produced and directed a special, live-streamed reading event of the James Baldwin screenplay, "ONE DAY WHEN I WAS LOST" about the life of Malcolm X. He served as the Artistic Director of Teatro LATEA from 2006-2013 and is a consultant, instructor, and coach for The Knowledge Project since 2006. He recently served as a production consultant for Oye for My Dear Brooklyn by Modesto Jimenez and presented at The Public Theater, Under The Radar, and Beauteous written by Craig Grant and directed by Walter Puryear. He is A Dad, A Martial Artist, A Story Teller.
David Tabatsky
David is a writer, editor, and performing artist. He has authored, co-authored and/or edited more than 60 books and numerous magazine pieces and essays. His memoir, American Misfit, was released in 2017. He is the author of Write for Life: Communicating Your Way Through Cancer and Chronic Disease. David has taught at The Cooper Union, Adelphi University, The United Nations International School, and throughout the New York City public school system.
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Lisa A Chambers
Lisa A Chambers is a nonfiction writer, journalist, and award-winning editorial professional who, through storytelling, creates original and informative content for magazines in print and digital platforms. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. Currently, she is writing a true-crime memoir set in the South. She is the Coach and Editor for Teens Mind zine, created by students from Professional Performing Arts (PPAS) and The Anderson School.
Baghir Ohlu
Baghir Ohlu is a composer/producer and music educator, based in Brooklyn, NY. He grew up between the Middle East and NYC, which played a major role in his perspective on the origins of modern and ancient music. Watching a documentary on the origins of hip-hop while growing up, Baghir could not imagine that he would relocate to NYC one day and have one of the godfathers of Hip-Hop as his landlord. He has produced music for some notable artists within the U.S.A. like Erykah Badu and Phony Ppl and abroad and has held numerous workshops in Indonesia and Russia.
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Rachel Burkhardt
Rachel Burkhardt is an actress, fitness instructor and social media consultant. She has appeared in commercials, films and onstage in plays, most recently, the feature film Adam (2019) directed by Rhys Ernst, which premiered at Sundance.
She is also a Pure Barre enthusiast, first starting as a client in 2013 and as of May 2019, an instructor as well. In the social media realm, she helps brands develop a voice, reach their audiences and embrace new technologies. She has also managed an acting studio, organized events and produced short films.
She holds a BA in Drama with a minor in Theology from the Catholic University of America and spent a semester abroad at the Moscow Art Theater School in Russia.
Adriana Davis
One day, at the Great Neck Public Access Channel, the voice talent didn’t show up to record a commercial. Adriana Davis was a producer at the station when the Program Director asked her to voice the commercial. He said, “Your voice makes me smile.” So, she did which began her career in voice acting and coaching aspiring voice actors.
Adriana Davis began work in television, film and radio as a producer, writer, editor and voice actor. Her credits include productions for MTV, A&E, History Channel, NBC News, PBS and Animal Planet.
She founded D-Squared Media, a New York City production company to produce and voice independent films, corporate videos, radio and internet programming. Her films range from the romantic comedy “PLAY IT BY EAR” starring Academy Award® winner Rita Moreno to the children’s music video “Monkey Bars” and the WNEW-FM radio series “Courageous Radio.”
Ms. Davis is also the proud co-director, editor and writer of an acclaimed documentary series about Iraq’s Jewish community that have screened at festivals and on television worldwide. In addition, her timely documentary “WHAT’S FOR LUNCH” profiles the struggling NY City school lunch program serving over 800,000 meals a day.
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Sneha Krishnan
Sneha Krishnan is an entrepreneur and visual artist who divides her time between New York and New Delhi, India. Sneha specializes in creative strategy, product design, and visual communication. She has successfully worked as a consultant for various creative start-ups and non-profits and co-founded a fashion-tech company that built 'smart bags' in 2016. Despite her diverse experience in fashion, technology, non- profit and venture capital businesses - she is an artist first. She holds her Bachelors in Design from the National Institute of Fashion Technology in Delhi and Masters of Arts Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art.
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Sadie Sheldon
Sadie Sheldon is a multimedia artist based in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is a member of the Aquarium Collective and Majaks Theatre, as well as an MFA graduate from Tulane University. Her immersive installations reflect our rapidly changing landscape, magnifying the effects of post-consumer materials and plastics on the natural world. Sourcing materials from the city in which it’s created, her works explore community identity from the things we leave behind.
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Kate Newman
Kate Newman is a Brooklyn-based beekeeper and freelance writer with nearly a decade of experience leading digital media projects for individuals and brands. She mentors young writers through Girls Write Now, and co-creates a monthly newsletter featuring thought-provoking women called The Broadcast. She'll be starting an MSW program in fall 2021, with a particular interest in narrative therapy and how the stories we tell—individually and collectively— can both harm and heal us.
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Caro Heisler
Caro is an illustrator, cartoonist and muralist. Her artwork has been exhibited internationally. She is currently the Artist in Residence at Bissel Gardens, providing virtual drawing, art and gardening classes for young adults. Previously, she taught art classes through Artists & Craftsman and in Japan.
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Virginie Bonhomme
Virginie Bonhomme is a Haitian American multidisciplinary artist whose works range from painting, photography, music production as well as a self-published author. Her work is deeply rooted in self-exploration, family, and community.
Self-taught, Virginie painted her first collection entitled Duende, then later grew the collection into a self-published book, Duende. Duende is a 3D art book. Virginie’s love for the arts encouraged her to travel abroad to study master painters. Virginie also teaches Art History to children to encourage creative confidence and knowledge of various artists.
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Brittany-Laurelle
Brittany-Laurelle is an Actress, Storyteller and Theater Creator from Harlem, NY. She has appeared in commercials, indie films and onstage in plays, musicals and multi-disciplinary pieces. Her Theatrical training at La Guardia High School for Performing Arts, Adelphi University and UCB provided safe spaces to fine tune the art of storytelling. As an artist, Brittany-Laurelle creates space for vulnerability and connection through dynamic performance.
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