My name is Devin McNamara and I am the Production Stage Manager of Roe Versus Wade. Currently, I’m a junior at SUNY Purchase, majoring in theatre design and technology with a concentration in Stage Management. I was raised in Long Beach, New York. Past Purchase credits include We’re Gonna Be Okay (Stage Manager) and Orestes 2.0 (Assistant Stage Manager). This is my first production as a production stage manager and it proved to be both challenging and deeply rewarding. On a typical production, a stage manager communicates to every department the productions needs, however on this production my fantastic and resilient assistant stage manager, Siobhan, and our wonderfully talented company had to fill those need. I had to become a sound designer, a props charge, and a carpenter while operating as a stage manager. Being an artist requires you to reach outside your boundaries, and I certainly was able to do that throughout our rehearsal period and grow as a technical artist. However, the only reason I was successful was because of Roz, Siobhan, and my cast, their dedication to putting on a meaningful well rehearsed show.

I’d like to thank my parents and sisters for their support, advice, and most importantly gifting me the ability to follow my passion and have an education in tech theatre. Thank you to my professors and especially to my peers for their guidance, advice, and support.

Stage Manager

Hi, my name is Siobhan Petersen and I’m the assistant stage manager for Roe Versus Wade. I’m currently a sophomore stage manager in the design/technology program at SUNY Purchase. I was born and raised in Schenectady, New York. Some past shows I’ve worked on are All Shook Up (ASM) at Proctors theatre and Ring of Fire (Wardrobe) at the Albany Capital Repertory theatre. Roe Versus Wade is my first show here at purchase and it has been a roller coaster. There is always some trepidation when you do something for the first time, when I found out that the show would also have no budget or design team there was some panic as well. Despite this, I jumped in with both feet because there was a job to be done and I was going to do it. The best part about this show is that I’ve had the company to catch me. The actors have stepped up in huge ways to make this show work and it’s awe inspiring to see. My stage manager, Devin, has been a great mentor. I feel so much more confident as a stage manager since I started working with her. Our director, Roz, is a great driving force for the company. Making this show work has been a bit like solving a puzzle box. It looked impossible to me on the outset but we came together as a company and we killed it.

I’d like to thank my parents for supporting me in all my endeavors, and my father especially for introducing me to technical theatre in the first place. I would also like to thank Bill Ziskin. You pointed me towards stage management and said ‘go’. I wouldn’t be here without you.

Director, Teacher

Rosalyn Coleman Williams best known as an actor, is the director of the award winning short films Allergic To Nuts and Drawing Angel. Both films have been seen on several TV stations nationally and in film festivals in the US and around the world. 

Rosalyn was awarded “Emerging Filmmaker” at the Cine Noir Film Festival in the busy film production city of Wilmington, North Carolina. With over a dozen film directing credits including: The Last Piece, Twinkle, BFF, Moth To A Flame, Driving Fish, Rosalyn also directed the re-enactment portion in the groundbreaking documentary Black Sorority Project.

A graduate of Howard University and an MFA from Yale School of Drama, Roz has a keen insight into actor-director relationship, she is celebrated as an “actors director.” 

She served as on-set acting coach for HBO’s 2nd season of the hit series “In 

Treatment.” Rosalyn was hired by the prestigious Cinereach Foundation to coach Sundance directors on their sophomore projects, most notably Terrance Nance, creator of HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness.

As an actor, Rosalyn’s professional experience includes Broadway, Film and TV. She has acted with Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Halle Berry and Tom Cruise. 

In the fall Roz starred in the TV pilot for the Emmy nominated web series Ctrl Alt Delete.

Rosalyn will soon be seen in the feature film“Miss Virginia”.