Irene Kapustina: Founder, Artistic & Executive Director
Irene Kapustina is a stage director and educator. Born and raised in Minsk, Belarus, Irene came to the US to study theater (Loyola University, Chicago) and attend Second City. Irene has directed at Goodman Theatre, The Barrow Group, The Drama League, Under St. Marks, The Kraine, Trinity Institute, Hunter College, and other venues. With a deep interest in using art to develop community and build international relations, Irene obtained an M.A. in Applied Theatre from CUNY’s School of Professional Studies in New York City.
Irene’s most recent work, Lost and Guided, is a play that she wrote and directed based on interviews with Syrian refugees living in the US. The play was produced by Conrad Fischer and The Angle Project in August 2017 and ran for 4 consecutive weeks at UNDER St. Marks Theater in New York City. Critics called it: “an incredible new play” (ABC News), “a stunning new play” (Huffington Post), “Theatre at its best…” (The Reviews Hub). The play’s production was also profiled in Entertainment Weekly.
Irene is now based in Chicago where she develops, directs, and produces professional theatre and various applied and educational theatre projects under TAP’s umbrella.
Emma Klauber: Founder Emeritus
Originally from York, PA, Emma graduated from NYU and Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with degrees in Education and Applied Theatre. She spent a decade working in the arts education field, including at The Town Hall in New York City. After a pivot to Fintech, she became a team member of the Tech for Social Good team at JPMorgan Chase and managed programs for youth to pursue technology career pathways. Currently, she works at HSBC in data infrastructure.
Tatiana Tsoir: Business Consultant and Accountant
With 10 years of professional experience behind her, Tatiana has developed particular expertise in the emerging field of startups by helping newly formed entities with great ideas to prepare business plans and develop budgets and projections for investors and by participating in investor presentations. In addition, Tatiana founded and obtained a 501(c)3 status for a non-profit organization, Society for Financial Independence Inc., which will help women and immigrants learn the basics of money management, budgeting and planning.
Graduating from Hunter College in the midst of the recession, she passed the CPA exam within a year and started working for a small CPA firm, where she got extensive hands-on experience in auditing, advisory and tax preparation for businesses & individuals. After leaving the firm, Tatiana continued working with her clients and expanded her services to them, as well as acquired new clients through referrals. To further deepen her knowledge in the accounting field she obtained MBA in Taxation at CUNY’s Baruch College and now her firm, Linza Advisors Inc., founded in 2009, is rapidly growing. A proud mother of two, Tatiana spends most of her free time with her family traveling and exploring nature.
Tasha A. F. Lemley: IT and Graphic Designer
Tasha is the founder of social enterprises Chai Wallah, LLC, and The Contributor street newspaper. She has experience as a homeless outreach worker and spent years photographing and interviewing people who live on the streets. Most recently, she’s a freelance audio producer and wants to continue telling the stories she hears. She’s the executive producer of The Mr. Mysterio Podcast—an episodic narrative podcast—and field producer for NPR affiliate WPLN’s forthcoming podcast, Versify. Passionate about community and diversity—she’s looking for the answers we have for each other and those we can find together. The more she gets outside of the familiar, the more she learns about herself. www.sanshouses.com
The Angle Project 