mad fellowships

SUPPORTING EMERGING THEATER ARTISTS

Starting a career in theater? Want to get paid while also receiving a hand-on learning experience with professional designers? Shotgun Players offers MAD fellowships for early-career and emerging theater artists in Theatrical Design (lighting, sound, costumes, scenic, props), stage management, and more!

2025

MAD Fellows

Bella Campos Hintzman

BELLA CAMPOS-HINTZMAN

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE – MAD Directing Observer

Bella Campos Hintzman is a theatre artist and teacher from the Bay Area. Since graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University with BAs in Theatre and History, she has primarily held roles in education, stage management and production management, specializing in new work development. She is currently the executive producer for BAMN.TV and by day she works as a substitute teacher. Credits include shows with Aurora Theatre, San Francisco Sketchfest and Woodminster Theatre, among others. She is so excited to be a part of the MAD Fellowship program!

BELLA CAMPOS-HINTZMAN

Directing Observer

She/Her

Espen Garner

ESPEN GARNER

THE MOTION – MAD Lighting Fellow

Espen is excited to be the MAD lighting design fellow for The Motion. He’s a Bay Area-based lighting designer who graduates from Stanford in June of 2025 with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering and a minor in Theater and Performance Studies. In the Fall of 2024, Espen interned for Justin Townsend during Death Becomes Her on Broadway. Recent works include Assassins (Stanford University), Omelas (Stanford University), Mary Poppins (Stanford Light Opera Company), and Snow in Midsummer (Stanford University). Espen’s next show is Stanford University’s mainstage production, Spring Rise Up: A Dance Sensorium, in May of 2025. espengarner.com

ESPEN GARNER

Lighting Design

He/Him

Kiki Hood

KIKI HOOD

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE – MAD Scenic Fellow

Kiki Hood is the MAD scenic design fellow for Sunday in the Park with George. She is also the Scenic and Props Design Associate at the American Conservatory Theater. Kiki is a recent graduate from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater and Performance Studies with an emphasis in Theater-Making and English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. She won the Robert M. Golden Medal for Excellence in the Humanities and Creative Arts for her honors thesis scenic design for Snow in Midsummer: A New Adaptation and her accompanying paper entitled The Doing of Set Design. She also won the Theater and Performance Studies department award for Service to Production. Her recent design credits include: Carrie (ACT Young Conservatory), Footloose (Coeur d’Alene Summer Theater), Pride and Prejudice (Coeur d’Alene Summer Theater), and Snow in Midsummer: A New Adaptation (Stanford). She has also assisted on many Bay Area shows including Nobody Loves You (ACT), Curious Incident (SF Playhouse), A Why Not Christmas Carol (ACT), and Private Lives (ACT). Kiki’s next design is ACT’s Young Conservatory’s Hadestown in August 2025. kikihood.com @kiki.hood

KIKI HOOD

Scenic Design

She/Her

Avery Jones

AVERY JONES

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE – MAD Costume Fellow

Avery is thrilled to be making her Shotgun Players debut as a costume fellow on Sunday in the Park with George. With an immense passion of theater and fashion history, she could not have hoped for a better show. She is a junior at UC Berkeley with a Major in Theater and Performance Studies (concentration in costuming) and a French minor. She has spent most of the post-COVID years designing several shows for BareStage Productions and McLaughlin Theater Company. Avery has also interned at Broadway at Music Circus where she got her first professional experience in theater. She hopes to continue this path into a career in costuming theater and/or film. When she is not in class or rehearsal, she can be found watching every movie known to man, cooking, or hosting dinner parties. “It’s not so much do what you like as it is that you like what you do.” – Stephen Sondheim

AVERY JONES

Costume Design

She/Her

Justin Kelley-Cahill

Justin Kelley-Cahill

YELLOW FACE – MAD Lighting Fellow

JUSTIN KELLEY-CAHILL is a queer theatrical set and lighting designer based in California. He grew up in Alameda, CA, with his two dads and brother, where he developed a love for art and performance after seeing shows in downtown San Francisco. After graduating high school, he went on to study scenic and lighting design for entertainment at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television. After graduating, Justin has been able to work in both the LA and Bay Area theater scenes, working with queer artists alike on new, exciting plays that explore and criticize our crazy world. He thanks his friends and family for their support and looks forward to learning all he can from the crew at Shotgun Players!

Justin Kelley-Cahill

Lighting Design

He/Him

LaRae Mays-Hardy

LaRAE J. MAYS-HARDY

THE MAGNOLIA BALLET – MAD Directing Observer

LaRae J. Mays-Hardy is a multidisciplinary artist and equity advocate based in Oakland, California, on unceded Ohlone land. She strongly believes in the transformative power of the arts and its role in promoting meaningful social change. They are passionate about supporting artists at all stages of development, creating equitable systems, and fostering collaborative environments where creativity can thrive. When LaRae isn’t working, you can find them catching up on reality TV or searching for their next pair of quirky animal slippers.

Larae j. mays-hardy

Directing Observer

She/They

Sophie Ruf

SOPHIE RUF

THE MAGNOLIA BALLET – MAD Scenic Fellow

Sophie Ruf is an Oakland-based creative. She works as an architect, loves local theatre, and will gladly decorate your home with handcrafted origami ornaments any day. Prior to being an architect she worked as an installation artist and jewelry designer in Seattle and metro-Detroit, respectively. She also acts and writes poetry.

SOPHIE RUF

Scenic Design

She/Her

Erica Strand

ERICA STRAND

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE – MAD Stage Management Fellow

Erica is a theatre artist from Washington state. They recently graduated from Southern Oregon University. There they spent the last couple years working in various theaters in the community. Recently they moved to the Bay to continue their career in theatre and event production.

ERICA STRAND

Stage Management

They/Them

Chava Suarez

Chava Suarez

THE MOTION – MAD Sound Fellow

Chava Suarez is a growing artist in the Bay Area with big plans of moving to New York in the near future. They love any opportunity they have to create and collaborate with artists and they cannot wait to work with many to come!

CHAVA SUAREZ

Sound Design

He/They

Saman Wright

SAMAN WRIGHT

‘ART’ – MAD Lighting Fellow

Saman is a senior at UC Berkeley studying Theater & Performance Stud- ies. She has a passion for bringing shows to life through lighting design and loves to work with color. This is Saman’s first production outside of the university and she is very excited to continue to learn more about the field as a theater professional.

SAMAN WRIGHT

Lighting Design

She/Her

APPLICATIONS FOR 2025 MAD FELLOWSHIPS ARE CLOSED!   

Check back here later this year for information on 2026 fellowships. Any questions? Reach out to MAD program coordinator, Alejandra Maria Rivas at [email protected].

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