Our Values
We value inclusivity – in casting, hiring and scope of work. We seek to represent the whole array of American lives.
We value community. We believe in serving Indy by selecting plays that speak urgently to our city. This is a factor in play selection, and it is why the majority of our artists and leadership will always consist of Indy residents.
We value colleagues and friends in Indianapolis theater, and therefore seek to produce work that is either entirely new to Indianapolis or is ready to be revisited.
We Hold Sacred… the transformative power of art and vow only to produce work that reaches deeply within to reflect, question, and examine who we are as individuals, human beings, and Americans.
Performing in the city of Indianapolis, American Lives Theatre (ALT) acknowledges and respects Indiana land as the ancestral home of the Miami and Potawatomi, the Lenape (Delaware) and Shawnee. We further acknowledge and respect the transformative power of art as tradition in hopes of honoring our native predecessors and their traditions, cultures, and art. It is central to ALT’s mission that we create an inclusive environment on and off stage. ALT explicitly articulates unending gratitude to our colleagues and our ever-growing community in understanding that anti-racist work is living, active, and always in-process. We passionately acknowledge the vital need to address systemic issues of inequity and inequality, and declare our commitment to educating our entire organization - including our audiences- about how to continuously uphold inclusivity, respect, and compassion.
ALT commits to: • Offer dynamic and diverse stories on our stage. • Support marginalized and underrepresented voices, especially those from the queer BIPOC community. • Ensure that all hiring decisions accurately reflect the diversity of our city and world. • Hold staff, artists, and audiences accountable in deepening the understanding of civility, generosity, safety and compassion. • Promote and advocate for a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion within our organization.
PAST PRODUCTIONS
‘SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS’ DECEMBER 2021
SPF: ‘SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL’ 2020
SPF: 'SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL’ 2021
‘GLORIA’ JANURARY 2020
Creative Team
Chris Saunders | Artistic Director
Chris Saunders has been acting, directing, and writing for the theater his whole adult life. In New York, he appeared in several off-off Broadway plays and completed a literary internship with the off-Broadway company The New Group. He also appeared in several plays in Chicago, where he graduated from The Academy at Black Box Acting and was represented by Hayes Talent. The plays he has written have been produced in theaters in Indy, New York and New Jersey as well as universities throughout the country. Locally, he has appeared in plays at many theaters including Phoenix, Indiana Repertory Theatre and Theatre on the Square. In addition to being the Artistic Director for ALT, he works as a Behavioral Therapist, and hangs out with his Italian Greyhound, Mister.
chris@americanlivestheatre.org
he/him/his
Bridget Haight | Programming Director
Bridget Haight is an actor, voiceover artist, and educator. Her last stage role was Gloria/Nan in 'Gloria' with American Lives Theatre. Other theatre credits include the title role in Summit Performance's production of 'MaryJane', Rebecca in 'Apropos of Nothing' with Bloomington Playwrights Project, and Sicinius Velutus in 'Coriolanus' with Indy Shakes. Bridget holds an MFA in Acting from DePaul University in Chicago and currently teaches Acting and Theatre Genres and Script Analysis at Anderson University.
bridget@americanlivestheatre.org
Brandi Underwood | Creative Director
Brandi is someone who loves to leverage design and creative storytelling. She is also a playwright and librettist who loves avant-garde musical theatre, and theatre that pushes the envelope in more ways than one.
She studied theatre at Marian University. At Marian, she learned how to be able to work with many different types of theatre artists and fill many different roles within the theatre world.
brandi@americanlivestheatre.org
she/her/hers
Joe Barsanti | Technical Director
Joe is a actor, vocalist, composer, and theatre artist. He was most recently on stage as Dean/Devin in American Lives Theatre production of ‘Gloria’. Along with acting, Joe has spent most of his theatre career involved with tech. He has acted as technical director, sounds designer, set designer, set builder, and light designer for various theatre’s around the Indianapolis area.
Joe got his B.A. in Vocal Performance, with a minor in theatre from Marian University, where he currently works running educational simulations. He is also a musical theatre composer/lyricist currently working on a new original musical with his partner Brandi Underwood.
joe@americanlivestheatre.org
he/him/his
Board of Directors
Phillip Fischer
Judy Fye
Cheyenna Irwin
Jen Johansen
Stephen Roger Kitts II
Marc Mendonca, Ph.D.
Britni Saunders
Georgianna Tutwiler
