Neighborhood Theatre Group
Voted “Best Theatre Company” in Current Magazine’s 2021 & 2018 Best of Washtenaw
Meet The NTG Company
(in alphabetical order)
Kristin Anne Danko* – Artistic Director
kristin@ntgypsi.org
Kristin Anne Danko (NTG Artistic Director) moved to Ypsilanti from Chicago in 2013. She holds an MA in Arts Administration from EMU and BA Degrees in Theatre and Music from Converse College. In Chicago, Kristin trained at iO, The Annoyance, and Act One Studios. In New York City, she completed the CAP 21 Professional Musical Theatre Training Program. Kristin has performed with Water Works Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare in Detroit, Upstate Shakespeare Festival, Actor’s Theatre Company, and the Jeff Award Winning Quest Theatre Ensemble and Polarity Theatre Ensemble. As a teaching artist, Kristin has worked with Dream Big Performing Arts Workshop and Chicago Kids Company. Kristin is a part-time lecturer at Eastern Michigan University and a private voice and piano instructor. Fun fact about Kristin – Every winter she falls at least once on the ice. Ouch!
A.M. Dean* – Literary Manager
aaron@ntgypsi.org
A.M. Dean is a writer, actor, and musician. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre from Michigan State University. He was the runner-up for “Best Writer” in Current Magazine’s Best of Washtenaw 2018 and 2021. His first musical, Beaver’s Long Strange Trip was performed in June 2015 at The Back Office Studio in downtown Ypsilanti. He’s had numerous plays produced in Michigan and Chicago including Thoughts and Prayers (Ypsilanti), Cryptic (Ypsilanti), Carl, Baby (Ypsilanti), The Former Things (Ypsilanti and Chicago), Escape from the Haltzburg Boy’s Choir and 15 Minutes (Chicago) and his second full length musical, Dispatches from the Dumb Decade (Ypsilanti). In Chicago, he was a company member with Brain Surgeon Theatre and Literary Manager for The Ruckus Theatre Company from 2009-2012. Originally from Whitehall, Michigan, A.M. Dean is a proud resident of Ypsilanti and the Literary Manager and co-founder of Neighborhood Theatre Group. Fun fact about A.M. Dean – his top walking speed has been clocked at 5 mph.
Kylista Geiger – Development Director
kylista@ntgypsi.org
Kylista Geiger made her NTG debut in Black Cat Cabaret in 2017 and then originated the role of Linda Barrett in Cryptic. She has also starred in Dispatches from the Dumb Decade, A Man for Christmas, and Trending Now. Kylista grew up in a family of performers, but it wasn’t until a hesitant performance of a Dan Fogelberg song when she was 13 that the performing bug bit. Since then Kylista has performed, directed, and stage managed. After taking a break from theatre for six years to sing with a local jazz band, she is beyond pleased to have found Neighborhood Theatre Group. Kylista has a BS in Literature and a Master of Library and Information Science. Fun fact about Kylista – her name came from a gravestone her mother saw while pregnant with her. However, her mother can’t remember which cemetery it was in, so Kylista is on a constant search for the correct tombstone.
Dawn Peterson* – Stage Manager
dawn@ntgypsi.org
Dawn Peterson has been with Neighborhood Theatre Group since our first show in 2015 and is a founding member of NTG! You probably haven’t seen Dawn on stage because she’s usually doing something behind the curtain. She’s stage managed nearly every NTG show! Dawn is also a graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a BS in Speech Language Pathology and Linguistics. Fun fact about Dawn – She has an amazing collection of toe socks and her name is the MOST fun to sing!!
Greg Pizzino – Technical Director
greg@ntgypsi.org
Greg Pizzino is a multi-talented theatre artist originally from Dearborn, Michigan, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tulane University and a certification from the Motion Picture Institute of Michigan. As NTG’s Technical Director, he successfully built the set for A.M. Dean’s original musical Dispatches from the Dumb Decade which included two revolving platforms and several other large moving set pieces. He has also constructed storage units for our stage lights and cables and is responsible for our technical production inventory. On the NTG stage, Greg has appeared in Black Cat Cabaret and as Bud Steeves in Cryptic. His first one-act play, Whatever Happened to Captain Future? was performed as a staged reading in December 2018. Fun Fact about Greg – In addition to performing with Neighborhood Theater Group, Greg also hosts the bizarre film podcast Cinema Guano (available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify).
THE NTG ENSEMBLE OF ARTISTS
Crysta Coburn joined the NTG Ensemble in June 2019. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing from Western Michigan University and is an award-winning author. Her 10-minute play, Letting Go, was selected for NTG’s Virtual 10-minute play Festival, Inspired By. Her first short story was published at the age of sixteen after winning runner-up in a local writing contest. Crysta works for the Ann Arbor Public Library and writes for their publication, Pulp. She also has a regular column “Crysta Goes Visiting” with the Crazy Wisdom Community Journal. Crysta is an experienced journalist, fiction writer, poet, editor, podcast co-host, and blogger. Crysta serves as the dramaturg for many NTG shows including Thoughts and Prayers and Headlines.
Marisa Dluge is an ensemble member with Neighborhood Theatre Group. With NTG she directed A.M. Dean’s original plays The Former Things (2016), Cryptic (2017), and Thoughts and Prayers (2020) as well as the staged reading of Whatever Happened to Captain Future? (2018) by Greg Pizzino. She has also worked as a writer/actor in our sketch comedy shows Sketchual Healing and Can I Help You? and was most recently seen on the NTG stage in Dispatches from the Dumb Decade. Marisa is a performance artist and Ypsilanti resident who works with interpretive and movement performance, rhetoric, adaptation, and public speaking. She holds a Master of Arts in Interpretive Performance Studies at Eastern Michigan University. Marisa has worked with theatres and performance collaboratives throughout Detroit and Ann Arbor. She performed with Black Bird Theatre in Twelfth Night (Olivia) and Macbeth (Lady Macduff, Weird Sister). As a member of BrendaLinda Performance Collaborative, she performed in Brash Menagerie, Woyzeck, Do You Ever Wish You Were Better at Things?, and Itemization and Discipline: A Celebration. She has worked with Detroit based group, A Host of People, and was a founding member of Nerve.
Myah Gaither is very excited to be joining the Neighborhood Theatre Group ensemble after being her summer marketing internship! She is a senior in the Arts and Entertainment Management program at Eastern Michigan University who loves theatre. Myah was also the assistant stage manager for NTG’s summer production of Finding Joy by Ken MacGregor. She’s excited to continue working with all the wonderful people at NTG!
Tom Hett joined NTG in 2016. His first production with us was Rise Up Cabaret where he played piano. When not working on music for NTG, Tom has been seen on the stage in Trending Now, Dispatches from the Dumb Decade (2017 workshop), and the staged readings of A Touch Awkward and Last Day in Paradise. Tom is from Plymouth, is an Eagle scout from Troop 1537, and is an accomplished pianist who has been studying for the past 16 years. Tom loves working with other amazing artists in NTG and having an artistic outlet where he can spend time with his friends. He is excited to work on many more shows with Neighborhood Theatre Group! Fun fact about Tom – By 10 years old, he was already playing “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov on the piano! – To that we say, “Hit it, Tom!”
Morgan “Mo” Hoeffel graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a BA in Theatre Arts and Musical Theatre. Mo performed in 17 plays and musicals at Eastern Michigan University. She made her NTG debut in Black Cat Cabaret (2019). She also performed in Juliet at the University of Michigan and Pippin with Horizon Performing Arts. She has worked behind the scenes with Pennyseats Theatre and EMU Theatre styling and designing wigs and makeup looks. Mo’s very first role was “Mustardseed” the fairy in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and she’s been hooked on performing ever since. Mo is originally from the Flint area but moved to Ypsilanti 7 years ago and has been a resident ever since. Mo was so thankful to have come upon auditions for Black Cat Cabaret and met the lovely company at NTG. Fun Fact about Mo- she volunteers with a company named Crowns Against Cancer who dresses up as princesses and superheroes and visits pediatric patients who need a little extra magic in their day.”
Maegan Murphy is a local performer who made her Neighborhood Theatre Group debut in the workshop performance of Dispatches from the Dumb Decade in 2017. Since then she has performed in Black Cat Cabaret, A Man for Christmas, and Coffeehouse Theatre: Words and Songs. Maegan joined the ensemble in 2018. She has also performed in numerous productions in the Ann Arbor area with The Brass Tacks Ensemble and Ann Arbor Civic Theatre. While she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and enjoys writing, performing has always been her first love. Fun fact about Maegan – She has lived in 6 different states throughout her life!
Rodney Rice, originally from Southfield, MI, has been performing since High School. For the past couple of years, he’s been performing professionally at the Michigan Renaissance Festival and with the Brainstormer’s, a school assembly program aimed at youth literacy. With NTG, Rodney acted in the staged reading of Last Day in Paradise and the virtual 10-minute play, The Gillman Problem. He’s very adept at singing, dancing, and basically making a fool of himself on stage. He looks forward to bringing that energy to the Neighborhood Theatre Group.
Cynthia Wilson is originally from San Antonio, TX and moved to Ypsilanti in 2016. She has worked with the Ann Arbor Film Festival, serving on the Green Room Committee focused on hospitality for film makers and the Dead Center Film Festival in Oklahoma City serving on a variety of committees including recycling, hospitality, and AV/Tech site management. When not with NTG, she can be seen singing with the Ypsilanti Community Choir. Cynthia is passionate about working with children, local art organizations, social justice, writing poetry, painting, and all outdoor activities. She loves to travel and experience new places and people. “One of my favorite places I have been is the Amazon!”
The NTG Board of Directors
Christopher Zavac, Board Chair
Sun Chao, Treasurer
Susan Whitlock, Secretary
Susan Badger Booth, Member at Large
Darrow Bernick, Member at Large
Dianne Bernick, Member at Large
Kristin Anne Danko, Member at Large
Aaron Dean, Member at Large
Adrienne Frank, Member at Large
*denotes founding member