Naila Ansari is the dance director at Ujima Company. An assistant professor in Theatre and Africana Studies at SUNY Buffalo State College, Naila is an award-winning choreographer, dancer, and performing artist, and the former principal dancer for the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble.

Director

Marissa Biondolillo is an Ujima Company member and recording secretary who first performed with the Company in 2016’s Free Fred Brown and also directed the devised piece, Legacy of Lead. When not engaged theatrically, she is a social worker, dancer, and yogi.

Production Manager

Brian Brown is the associate managing director at Ujima Company and has appeared and starred in many Ujima productions, including Free Fred Brown and Passing Strange.

Ben Caldwell has been working with Ujima since 2015 and became a company member in 2020. His Ujima productions include Free Fred Brown and In the Red and Brown Water.

Production Assistant

Mariah Faulkner, a recent graduate from Buffalo State’s Theatre program, has worked with Ujima as lighting board operator and stage manager.

Christina Foster is a community activist and artist. She is known for her performances in August Wilson’s Jitney and Dominique Morisseau’s Skeleton Crew, for which she received the 2018 Artie Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress.

Rachel Jamison is a member of Ujima Company and has worked with the organization for many years, performing as well as serving as costume designer and props master.

Production Assistant

London Lee is an Ujima company member who has appeared in Passing Strange, The Gospel at Colonus, and The Trojan Women and who also works in film production.

Director

Curtis Lovell, an Ujima Company member, has directed and starred in many Ujima productions. She is also a full-time singer-songwriter.

Executive Producer

Sam Magavern is senior policy fellow at Partnership for the Public Good. He teaches at University at Buffalo Law School and Cornell University ILR School, where he served as the Visiting Activist Scholar in 2020. His publications include a non-fiction book, Primo Levi’s Universe (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) and a book of poetry, Noah’s Ark (BlazeVOX, 2014).

Gerald Ramsey is a longstanding Ujima Company member who debuted in Opportunity Please Knock! in 1985. His many roles include the lead in Before It Hits Home, by Cheryl L. West and Ujima favorite SPUNK.

Director of Photography

Stephen Rosenthal a director of photography, editor, digital colorist, sound designer, and FAA licensed remote pilot. Steve has filmed most of Ujima’s productions in the past several years. His documentary Go Gentle has been viewed more than 60,000 times on Amazon Prime

Executive Producer

Margaret Smith is managing director at Ujima Company. She is an early and longtime Ujima Company member, with many years of experience in fundraising and development for the arts and for social justice movements.

Brandon Williamson is the president of Ujima Company and the founder of Pure Ink Poetry. In addition to performing in multiple Ujima productions, such as Ruined, The Scavenger’s Daughter, and The Green Pastures, Brandon is an internationally acclaimed spoken word artist who has performed in the United States, Canada, Iceland, Great Britain, France, and Germany.