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It is our mission to transform Chicago through ambitious, entertaining, and impactful works of theatre. It is our aim to explore the State of theatre, to cultivate a State of defiance against the norm, and to celebrate the state of the human condition. We will never cringe when faced with adversity. It is only through the aggressive pursuit of risk and failure that we will find our greatest successes. And even in those rare, fleeting moments, when we are lauded and pat ourselves on the back, we will still cultivate dissatisfaction with our accomplishments, taking comfort only in the spectacular. We are brazen. We are tenacious. We are The State. The Company
Lisa Siciliano (Executive Director) is an actress, director, writer, producer, and educator. Since moving to the Windy City in the fall of 2008, Lisa has taught with Lifeline Theatre, American Theatre Company, ARCC Ballet, Emerald City Theatre, Lasalle Language Academy, the Swedish American Museum, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and with the Columbia College Summer Arts Camp. Previously, Lisa co-founded Lively Productions, a New York-based theatre company, and produced each of their shows including Paper Dolls, the winner of the 2008 New York Fringe Festival Award for Outstanding Ensemble. She also served as the Cleveland Coordinator for the national arts collective, SLIGHTLYaskew Theatre Company, and as the associate artistic director of the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival. Currently, Lisa is the Education Coordinator at Emerald City Theatre. As an actress in Chicago, she's worked with Stockyards Theatre Project (Three Card Memory), Hubris Productions (Red Noses), Rascal Children's Theatre (Tam Lin, Annalee Jones and the Meanie Jeanie), American Theatre Company (Big Shoulders Festival), and Point of Contention (The Wonder: A Woman Keeps a Secret). She graduated cum laude and with distinction in the theatre studies major from Yale University.
Tim Speicher (Artistic Director) holds a B.A. in Theatre and Drama from Indiana University. He has directed A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Island (both at Indiana University), Immigrant Stories (Chicago Children's Theatre at Jane Addams Hull House), Moby Dick...Rehearsed, and AjaxAntigone (The State Theatre), was Company Manager and appeared as Alonso in The African Tempest Project (Hexagon Theatre, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa), and Assistant Directed The Red Kite Project (Chicago Children's Theatre). He has written Southern Hospitality, Crowbar, Thirty-Eight, Heat in the Kitchen, and now AjaxAntigone. Tim is currently employed as the Marketing Manager for Victory Gardens Theater. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Christopher Jones (Communications Director) holds a B.S. in Advertising from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has worked in Marketing and PR for Goodman Theatre, Cathy Taylor Public Relations, and The League of Chicago Theatres. At the League he managed the cooperative advertising program and served on the Theatre Thursdays and marketing committee. He also has provided various freelance marketing and public relations services to theatre companies in Chicago. Previously he was the publicity coordinator for the Penny Dreadful Players in Champaign, IL. As an artist he has performed in Chicago with Dramatis Personae, and Halcyon Theatre; in addition to a number of productions at the University of Illinois, including Waiting for Godot (Vladimir) and Angels in America (Louis). In the fall of 2007 he directed Catholic School Girls by Casey Kurti with the Penny Dreadful Players. Currently Chris is a graduate student at DePaul University in Media Studies. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Goli Rahimi (Director of Development) A Chicago native, Goli has worked in Development at both Goodman Theatre and the Chicago Children's Theatre, and has spent the past four years teaching improvisation and musical theatre to young children at the Improv Playhouse in Libertyville. Previously, Goli served as an Usher Coordinator at Ravinia Festival and a News Writer for Best Friends Animal Network. As a playwright, Goli has written Network and From The Desk Of-, two original works which both premiered at the Mary Arrchie Theatre in 2008. Her full length play Earwig was presented at the University of Michigan 2009 Playfest and she recently completed The Inheritance, winner of the 2010 Dennis McIntyre Prize for Distinction in Undergraduate Playwriting. Goli is also the recent recipient of the Joyce Foundation's Young Leaders of Color Scholarship toward the 2010 TCG National Conference. Goli holds a B.A. in English and Theatre, with a concentration in Playwriting. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Ariel M. Trocino (Social Media Director) In Chicago, Ariel has worked with Hubris Productions (Red Noses, Annee Pocalypse), Li'l Buds Theatre Co (Santa... Deux?), Tympanic Theatre (Musing), International Bedlam Society (Festival of Dionysius), and Ludicrous Theatre (Hippolytus). She was an Education Artist with Maryland Shakespeare Festival, and a literary management/house management intern with Florida Studio Theatre. Ariel served as Assistant Director and Dramaturge for Waiting for Godot, which was performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Ariel is a graduate from Albright College in Reading, PA with a degree in Theatre. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Annie Litchfield (Special Events Director) Annie hails from the south suburbs of Chicago and is currently acting in and around the city and is employed by Smart Resources, Inc. as their Candidate Concierge. Annie was recently in City of Angels (Drama Group), TMI: A Hollywood Love Story (Gorilla Tango Theatre), Song For A Future Generation (Lights Out Theatre Company), RENT (Drama Group) and Into The Woods (SLATE Theatre). Annie has previously worked with Remy Bumppo Theatre in Special Events and Northlight Theatre in Education. At Indiana University, Annie was in productions such as Measure for Measure, Tommy, Foosicle the Musical and also Amadeus (Cardinal Stage Productions). Annie is a graduate of Indiana University with a B.A. in Theatre & Drama and Communication & Culture. She can be reached at
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Ross Matsuda (Artistic Associate) is a director from Evanston living in Chicago. Previous directing credits include Paul Shoulberg’s Tweaked (Viaduct Theatre), Slip, Stumble, Fall (Indiana University) and David Mamet’s Sexual Perversity in Chicago. Assistant credits include The Clay Cart and Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Twelfth Night (Indiana University) and King Lear (Shakespeare Santa Cruz). He’s honored to be a part of creating fresh, invigorating art with this talented crew. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Mbongeni N. Mtshali (Artistic Associate) is a multi-disciplinary performer, stylist, production designer, writer, director and choreographer. He originally hails from South Africa where he received his M.A. and B.A. in Drama and Performance Studies from the University of Kwazulu-Natal. In addition to graduating Cum Laude in his Honours year, he is a recipient of the 2009 Fulbright Scholarship, under the auspices of which he is currently reading in a PhD in Performance Studies at Northwestern. He was most recently the choreographer and production designer for The Tempest at the Wells-Metz Theatre. Before that, he choreographed Cabaret and designed Animal Farm at the Hexagon Theatre in South Africa, as well as produced/directed/
Brian Bullington (Grants Consultant) moved to Chicago in 2008, where he instantly began frequenting the rich small-theatre scene by virtue of having a roommate, a coworker, and a close friend who are a local actor, a comedy theatre performer, and a budding artistic director, respectively. Brian is a grant writer for America SCORES, which teaches inner-city youth how to write poetry and play soccer. Brian joined The State’s board in the spring of 2010 as a grants consultant. He brings with him two years of experience in non-profit fundraising, grant writing, and editing.
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