What we do
Through our work, Theatre [502] seeks to build a theatre community that strives for excellence, creating opportunities for artists to grow by challenging each other to always reach just a little farther beyond what we know we can achieve every time we step on stage. Our Membership consists of individuals who make it possible for us to push the limits of theatre arts in Louisville while making the work widely accessible by keeping ticket costs low. Our productions of recent and relevant plays tell stories that inspire audiences to examine their relationships and lifestyles – they speak to Louisville audience and get people talking.
Who we are
We are longtime collaborators who came together with a shared aesthetic and passion, Louisvillians who have chosen to make theatre in our hometown. We are committed to creating the kind of theatre we want to make and you want to see.
Theatre [502]’s Artistic Directors
Amy Attaway is co-founder and Co-Artistic Director of Theatre [502]. She is a freelance director, actor, and teacher based in Louisville and Associate Artistic Director for Kentucky Shakespeare. For [502], Amy directed The Two Lobbyists of Verona, Red Speedo, The Stranger and Ludlow Quinn, Auctioning the Ainsleys, Broadsword: a heavy metal play, and Futura. Other directing credits include Sleep Rock Thy Brain in the 2013 Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre; Oh,Gastronomy!, The End, Post Wave Spectacular, and 3:59am: a drag race for two actors (Humana Festival); The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful… (Hope Summer Repertory Theatre, Holland, MI); and Steel Magnolias (Mount Baker Theatre, Bellingham, WA). Amy directed Henry V (2014), Taming of the Shrew (2015), and A Winter’s Tale as part of the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival. Amy spent five seasons as Associate Director of the Apprentice/Intern Company at Actors, where she trained young actors and developed new work for the theatre. Amy is a graduate of the University of Evansville, and a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Gil Reyes is co-founder and Co-Artistic Director of [502] and Senior Manager of External Affairs at The Kentucky Science Center. He just finished two years as Director of Development for StageOne Family Theatre where he won two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, created the organization’s now signature event Play It Forward Night, and increased annual fund revenue and number of donors. He also directed Petite Rouge: A Cajun Little Riding Hood in their 2014-15 Season. Prior to that, Gil served six years in the office of Kentucky’s Third District Congressman John Yarmuth, where responsibilities included community outreach and casework in the areas of veteran affairs, health care, grants, and the arts. Gil served in multiple capacities in both the D.C. and Louisville offices, and as Director of Communications and Policy on the 2010 Yarmuth for Congress Campaign. Gil is on the Leadership Council of the Fairness Campaign and works on the allocations committee for the Louisville AIDS Walk. For [502] he directed The Debate Over Courtney O’Connell of Columbus Nebraska, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, The 13th of Paris, Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, Rich Girl, Failure: A Love Story. He’s worked with many theatre companies in Louisville and has significant experience in new plays.
Theatre [502]’s Artists
Diana Grisanti is a Writer in Residence at Vanderbilt University (2016-17) and a Playwright in Residence at Theatre [502], where she co-wrote The Stranger and Ludlow Quinn and The Two Lobbyists of Verona with Steve Moulds. Her play The Patron Saint of Sleep premiered at Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte, and her play River City received a Rolling World Premiere through the National New Play Network. Her other plays include The Class of ‘94, Abilele, Semantics, Dorina and the Plague, and many shorter works. Diana was a Core Apprentice at the Playwrights’ Center, the inaugural recipient of the Marsha Norman Spirit of Achievement Lilly Award, a finalist for the Lanford Wilson Award, and a runner-up for the Leah Ryan Prize. She is an Al Smith Fellow through the Kentucky Arts Council. M.F.A.: Michener Center for Writers, University of Texas at Austin.
Steve Moulds is a Playwright in Residence at Theatre [502]. With Diana Grisanti, he has written two premieres for [502]—The Two Lobbyists of Verona, co-presented with Kentucky Shakespeare, and the serialized epic The Stranger and Ludlow Quinn. Elsewhere in Louisville, his plays have been produced at Actors Theatre (the Humana Festival anthology Oh, Gastronomy!, directed by Amy Attaway, The Wedding Guest, and multiple ten-minutes) and at Walden/Blue Apple (The Baker Goes to War, cowritten with Diana Grisanti, and adaptations of Six Characters in Search of an Author and Kafka’s Metamorphosis). Steve has been a Jerome Fellow at The Playwrights’ Center, a National New Play Network Playwright-in-Residence at Curious Theatre Company, a Fred Coe Playwright in Residence at Vanderbilt University, and an Al Smith Fellow through the Kentucky Arts Council. His plays have been produced by The Hypocrites, the Illusion Theater, and Walking Shadow Theatre Company, and developed by The Playwrights’ Center, The Inkwell, Performance Network Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, and the Lark. Two of his full-lengths (Emergency Prom and Six Characters) are published by Playscripts, and shorter work has been published in collections by Samuel French and Smith and Kraus. He holds an M.F.A. from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin.
Jesse AlFord is the Resident Lighting Designer of Theatre [502]. He is a transplant to Kentucky from California via Washington State. When he isn’t working with Theatre [502], he can be found providing light for various other Louisville entities, and teaching youth all over the country how to juggle and unicycle. Jesse has a degree in Theatre Arts from Washington State University, and is the President of the American Youth Circus Organization.
Starr Peters is the Resident Stage Manager at Theatre [502]. She is originally from Washington State where she has a degree in Theatre Arts and Drama from Washington State University. Since moving to Louisville some years ago she has found her theatre home with Theatre [502] where she serves as the production stage manager. During daylight hours she can be found at the Kentucky Science Center where she puts all of her theatre technical skills to use as an operations specialist.
Theatre [502]’s Founders
Mike Brooks is co-founder and Co-Artistic Director of [502] through the 5th Season. Mike is a recognized theatre practitioner and experienced arts administrator, also serving as Business Manager for StageOne Family Theatre. Before joining StageOne, he served for three years as grants manager for the Kentucky Arts Council. Prior to his time with the arts council, Mike spent 10 years at Actors, where he served in many roles including coordinator of the Humana Festival, co-founding producer and emcee of The Late Seating, and manager of foundation and government relations. His directing credits include boom (Necessary Theatre); Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Alley Theatre, 2010 LEO Readers’ Choice – Best Theatre Production); … Cuckoo’s Nest (LRC); Hunter Gatherers, The Aliens, Edgewise, Thom Pain, Bull ([502]). At Actors, Mike directed numerous ten-minutes and radio plays, and served as assistant director on four mainstage productions. He was the winner of Louisville’s 2013 Moth GrandSLAM and serves on the Board of Louisville Grows.