
Creating a New Canon
Pink Umbrella is proud to announce its inaugural Disability Cohort, a group of 10 actors and 10 writers, committed to creating best practices and new works.
About the Disability Cohort
Pink Umbrella Theater Company is aware of a hole in the theater cannon when it comes to shows written to be performed by Disabled Actors and Artists. In an effort to fill this gap, we received a grant from the Ruth Foundation for the Arts Fund to create a cohort of writers, composers, and actors from across the nation to create best practices and write shows for actors to perform. 2025 marks the inaugural cohort and we look for many more iterations in the future.
Our work is made possible by a generous grant from the Ruth Arts Foundation for the Arts Fund. Thank you to Ruth Arts for believing in us and in our community.
This project is a collaborative effort focused on creating accessible content and materials for performers, theatremakers, and audiences with disabilities. Writers will create new original material based on the prompts in the exploration sessions. Actors will receive these materials and interpret them. Actors will offer feedback on the materials and writers will observe the interpretations.Participants will work individually and collaboratively across both cohorts completely prompt-based work. These will be shorter form creations that will lay the groundwork for longer works. As this is the first iteration of the cohort, there will be flexibility as we discover together what is successful and important for this type of work.
Learn more about our inaugural cohort, and hear from key people involved in the project, here:
Cohort Showcase
Save the date! Our inaugural cohort will showcase their work sometime between October 10th - 12th, 2025. Stay tuned!
Meet the Actors

Ali Meisinger
Wisconsin, USA
Ali Meisinger is thrilled to return to the Pink Umbrella stage for her third production!!
Previous performances include Kaleidoscope 2023 as Yara and Portraits as Pen. Ali has participated in Em's Ensemble Poetry Slam and has been an Artistic Ally in Pink's classes.
She’s excited to be in this cohort! She’s excited to be back on stage and lifting up other voices to the community! She hopes you enjoy the show!

Ash Mulholland
Wisconsin, USA
Ash Mulholland (she/her), who is known as Pink Umbrella’s “Good Luck Charm” in the Milwaukee area, is very ecstatic for her newfound position in Pink’s Theater Disability Cohort as one of the actors. Her more recent appearance in Pink Umbrella Theater’s "A Christmas Carol" as a special cameo as well her title as Costume Designer. She is hard to miss in the Pink Umbrella Theater productions including her role in "Portraits" (2024) as Ellen, "Kaleidoscope" (2023) as Ruthie, "SHINE!" (2021), and its Remount in 2022 as Pickle. She would like to thank Katie C. and Patrick T. for granting her the opportunity to change the narrative with her contribution as well as being
closers to her fellow actors and playwrights. http://ashmulholland.com/

Jack Allen
Wisconsin, USA
Jack is a Milwaukee actor with Down syndrome and thrilled to be a part of the cohort bringing new theater by and for people with disabilities to life. Jack performed in Pink Umbrella Theater Company’s original 2024 musical Portraits as SPENCER, as GREYSON in the musical Kaleidoscope, HONK in Bigger Top, and SUNSHINE in SHINE!; Jack has also performed as an actor with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Jack is a Clinic Aide at Children’s Hospital Wisconsin and is a member of the Milwaukee Bucks 414 Crew. He is a ‘23 graduate of Nicolet High School, where he performed in multiple theater and musical productions. Jack says this is a great opportunity to represent people with intellectual disabilities in theater in a way they haven’t been included before. HUGE thanks to Katie, Patrick, and the entire 2025 Disability Theater Cohort, and The Ruth Arts Foundation for making this important work possible.

Jude Smith
Wisconsin, USA
Jude Smith (he/him/his) is a disabled actor, musician, writer, and performance artist based out of Caledonia, Wisconsin. He strives to promote disability awareness through his podcast, “FOCUS ON DISABILITIES”, which he hosted with Spencer Carlson, an Educational Assistant at Case High School where Smith is a senior, until funding was cut for that show in September of 2024. Past theatrical work he has done includes Seussical KIDS (Gifford School; Judge Yertle the Turtle), The Lion King KIDS (Gifford School; Zazu); Frozen Jr. (Gifford School; original cast member; Butler); HONK! (Case High School; Turkey), The Jungle Book KIDS (Racine Theatre Guild; Vulture), Kaleidoscope (Pink Umbrella Theater Company; Paulie), Monty Python’s Spamalot (Case High School; Historian), William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet (Case High School; Messenger). He dedicates his work to disability equality and also eradication of prejudice.

Nina Ceccato
Wisconsin, USA
Nina Ceccato is an aspiring actress. She's been with Pink Umbrella almost from the very start. She was in the staged reading of BITh and was an Understudy for Kaleidescope. She has chosen to lend her writing talents to Em's Ensemble for the first time this year and is of course excited and beyond grateful to be chosen as an actress in the first ever cohort!!

Amanda Lojeski
Wisconsin, USA
Amanda is excited to be doing this cohort with Pink Umbrella! She was last seen in Pink Umbrella’s production of A Christmas Carol where she played Foley. Some of her other theater credits include ACAP Playmakers and high school musicals. When she’s not in the theater you can find her going for bike rides and spending time with her friends and family. Amanda would like to thank her friends, family, and Katie Cummings for always believing in her. She would also like to thank Patrick and all the wonderful teachers at Pink Umbrella Theater.

Clayton Mortl
Wisconsin, USA
Clayton Mortl (he/him/his) is honored and excited to be working with Pink Umbrella Theater Company on this new project. He has performed in numerous productions with Pink Umbrella, including "SHINE!", "Bigger Top", and "A Christmas Carol", and has worked with them in a behind-the-scenes capacity on other productions, including "Kaleidoscope". He looks forward to working with his fellow actors and writers over the next year, and he can't wait to see what we can come up with.

Jackson Hoemann
Minnesota, USA
Jackson Hoemann (he/him) is a Twin Cities-based actor, director, and playwright. He was most recently seen as Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest, while as a director worked with Fearless Theatrical on The Laser Tag Play as part of their 2025 Fearless Five festival. As an autistic artist, he is so happy to be apart of this cohort!

Maureen Henderson
Wisconsin, USA
Maureen is very excited to be involved in Pink Umbrella’s Disability Cohort. Maureen first became involved with Pink in 2019 when she took a Musical Theatre class. Since then, Maureen has gone on to be professionally involved in Pink. In 2021 she originated the role of Emily Walz in “All in Your Head”. She was an Understudy in 2023 for the musical Kaleidoscope. Last year, Maureen served as the Assistant Director & OCD Consultant for the stage production of BITh and wrote a piece for Magic Mud Out Loud. Maureen would like to thank Katie, Patrick, and the Ruth Foundation for the Arts for this wonderful opportunity. Let’s change the narrative!

Peregrine "Pip" Buffington
Wisconsin, USA
Peregrine “Pip” Buffington is overjoyed to return to work with Pink Umbrella Theater Company as part of the new Actor’s Cohort. Pip made their debut with Pink Umbrella as Ollie in Kaleidoscope (2023) and continued to perform with them as Tony in Portraits (2024). They also had the pleasure of performing in MSO’s Sensory Friendly Concert (2024) and as Edgar Allen Poe in MagicMud Outloud (Fall 2024). Pip is a writer and has worked with Pink Umbrella on Em’s Ensemble. They have also been published in a few poetry journals and a post-apocalyptic short story anthology. Pip has a love for art in many forms, both writing and performing. Pip loves to create characters and to participate in connecting to others through one of the most powerful tools we have as humans - the art of oral storytelling. They cannot wait to do that in this Cohort.
Meet the Writers

Abbie Goldberg
New York, USA
Abbie Goldberg is a trans, disabled, Jewish multidisciplinary artist from the mountains of rural Maine. They are an alumnus of Broadway Advocacy Coalition’s Theater of Change program, the New Opera and Musical Theater Initiative, the Join for Justice Community Organizing Fellowship, and New York University’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program. Their work has been performed at Joe's Pub, Lincoln Center, Theatre Creation in Tokyo, Japan, Rattlestick Theater, Musical Theatre Factory, Salt Tree Eco Puppetry Festival, Rockwood Music Hall, as part of Adding Our Voices: The Jewish Feminist Songbook and Gender Inclusion Initiative, and more. Their writing has been published by HowlRound, Autostraddle, Dame, Waif Magazine, The Theatre Times, Sinister Wisdom, AK Press, and Ben Yehuda Press, among others. They have been reviewed by their psychiatrist as "such a good storyteller". They believe in using the power of stories and spectacle for social change.

Blake Macias Martinez
Illinois, USA
Blake Macias Martinez (they/them) is a passionate theater educator, accessibility advocate, and artist dedicated to making the performing arts more inclusive. Currently pursuing a degree in Theater Education at Elmhurst University, they have worked extensively to create accessible and empowering theatrical experiences. As an Accessibility Aide at the Paramount School of the Arts, they support students of all abilities, ensuring that every individual can fully engage in creative expression. Their commitment to inclusion extends beyond the classroom and stage. Through their fellowship with the Kennedy Center’s Aspire Program, they developed strategies to increase accessibility in theater spaces and were recognized with the Young Artist Impact Award. They have also worked with Broadway in Chicago, served as a Facilitator with ABLE (Artists Breaking Limits & Expectations), and collaborated with ELSA students to produce inclusive performances on campus. In addition to their work in accessibility and education, they participated in the Disney College Program, gaining valuable experience in guest engagement and immersive storytelling. As a bilingual, first-generation Mexican-Latinx creative, they are passionate about fostering spaces where all individuals feel seen, valued, and empowered to share their stories.

Durra Leung
New York, USA
Durra Leung (柯杜華) is a China-born, NYC-based multilingual writer and composer for musical theatre and opera. His original musical works have been performed at NYC concert venues including 54 Below, Joe’s Pub, Symphony Space, and many others. He has provided new Cantonese lyrics and translations for a revised version of “Thoroughly Modern Millie” (2002 Tony Award for Best Musical), most recently produced by Japan’s Toho Company in Summer 2024. Durra also composes scores for dance pieces and films including “Your Smile” (dir. Haochen Yang) which entered the Cannes Film Festival in 2020. As an arts administrator, Durra has worked for The Play Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, PROTOTYPE Festival, and Dixon Place. Durra is an alum of NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program as a composer, a member of BMI Musical Theatre Workshop as a librettist, a two-time Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship Finalist, and a two-time Queens Arts Fund New Work Grant recipient. durraleung.com

Gabe Caruso
New York, USA
Gabe Caruso is an NYC based rapper/actor/playwright who enjoys nothing more than breaking expectations. After graduating from Second City’s Conservatory and Musical Conservatory in 2012 and 2013, he went on to perform dramatic improv as an ensemble member of Theatre Momentum, where he began teaching theater. He taught and performed for the up and coming comedy theatre Under the Gun in Chicago for two years. His first hip-hop-centric one man show, “The Greatest Rappers Alive” received rave reviews, and encouraged him to write a full length rap show. Self-produced, “Dundee” became a fan-favorite, earning him the accolades of “Best Playwright,” and “Best New Play” by the Chicago Reader in 2017. He then left Chicago to attend NYU Tisch, where he earned his M.F.A. in Musical Theatre Writing in 2020. His thesis, “Settle Down” won the Eric H. Weinberger award for Emerging Librettists in 2020. Gabe is currently a teaching artist with Autism Community Theater of NYC. He now resides in Harlem, New York with his wife, Colleen and dog, June.

Naomi Matlow
California, USA
Naomi Matlow is a musical theatre lyricist, writer, and educator. Her theatrical writings include A Day at the Zoo with Tidtaya Sinutoke (Catwalk Artist Residency) and Dear Mr. C with Tidtaya Sinutoke and Lily Ali-Oshatz (Polyphone Festival, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat). With composer and co-bookwriter Teresa Lotz, she has written ThreeTimesFast (Florida Festival of New Musicals, O’Neill NMTC semifinalist), and together they have contributed songwriting to Letters to the President (The Great Hall at Cooper Union, Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals) and Engineers Not Found (Honest Accomplice). She earned her BA from the University of Toronto and her MFA from NYU Tisch’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. www.naomimatlow.com

Ariel Mitchell Williams
Wisconsin, USA
Ariel Mitchell Williams (playwright, lyricist) was named a 2023 Dramatists Guild Foundation National Fellowship for Musical Theater Finalist and a New Musical Inc. 2017 New Voices Project Finalist. She has been featured in several developmental opportunities such as the 2023 Walterdale Theatre Cradle to Stage Festival, 2018 Apples and Oranges Arts THEatre ACCELERATOR, The Dramatists Guild 2017 Baltimore Footlights Reading Series, 2016 Artist Beit Midrash Group, Prospect Theater Company’s Fall 2015 Musical Theatre Lab, and The Catwalk Residency Program. Her original works include A Second Birth (2019 NYC production, 2013 Harold and Mimi Steinberg National Student Playwriting Award, David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award, Samuel French Publication), Give Me Moonlight (2020 Baltimore Production), The Shower Principle (2021 Podcast Play), and Magician the Musical (2023 Edmonton reading). She has an MFA from NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. She enjoys stage managing local shows and her three boys in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Divya Maus
California, USA
Divya Maus is an award-winning musician whose work spans the fields of theatre, television, pop and choral music. Her pieces have been performed by renowned singers including Shoshana Bean, mezzo-soprano Geeta Novotny, and award-winning ensembles L.A. Choral Lab and Colorado’s Ars Nova Singers. The lead single ‘Salty Water’ from her debut album BIGGER earned her a finalist placement in the Great American Song Contest and led to her opening for the Beach Boys in Los Angeles in 2014. She has written songs for Nickelodeon’s BABY SHARK'S BIG SHOW, Mixed eMotion Theatrix's dance fantasia THE SHADOW, and a multitude of independent recording artists. Other works include the new musical THE MOLLYHOUSE (book & lyrics by Richard Hanson), the choral sound installations RAIN CYCLE (Griffith Park, CA; Cheesman Park, CO) and ASCENT (Scott Carpenter Park, CO) and the new opera HYSTERIA (music by Molly Pease, libretto by Maus). More info: @divyamaus www.divyamaus.com

Ella Sodam Yoon
New York, USA
Ella Sodam Yoon is deeply honored to be a part of this amazing cohort! She is a musical theater composer, arranger, and writer. Her works have been presented at venues such as 54 Below, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, Don’t Tell Mama, and more. Musical writing credits include "Echo: A Musical Quest," "After That Day," and "The Snow White Shop." "After That Day" will be filmed in 2025, which has received awards and nominations from film festivals such as WRPN.tv (Screenplay: Bronze Award), Red Flight Picture Screenplay Awards (Semi-finalist), and AIMAFF (Script: Finalist, Soundtrack: Honorable Mention). She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music and an MFA from NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing.

Liz Behnke
Minnesota, USA
Liz Behnke (she/her) is an educator and playwright from Minneapolis, MN. She has been teaching, writing, and directing at a neurodivergent charter school for the past 4 years, emphasizing storytelling and collaboration in her work. Through her time in the schools, she has struggled with finding appropriate and accessible theatre for her and her students, which inspired her to join the Disability Cohort. She holds a BA in Theatre from Augsburg University, concentrations in directing, dramaturgy, performance, and playwriting, with a minor in musical theatre. Her Masters of Education is from the University of Minnesota with a focus in Arts Education. When she is not immersed in sharing Theatre with the next generation of artists, she enjoys going on adventures with her amazing partner and two senior dogs.

Ulyana Roy
Ohio, USA
Ulyana was born in Zhovkva, Ukraine. When she was 16, she participated in amateur theater, which encouraged her to study theater theory at Lviv National University. Later, she completed a Master's Program at Warsaw National University, Poland. As a volunteer, she joined the international movement Faith and Light, which includes people with and without disabilities. There, she met people who wanted to create theater. Together with her friends, she
formed the theater group "And Laughter and Tears" and created and performed in plays for almost 18 years. Their last project, “Stone. Scissors. Paper.”, ended in January 2024. This project was very special because of the circumstances of the war in their country. They don't usually use text, but for this project, they
really needed words, and they helped them express their feelings.