Playwright / Co-Composer | ADRIAN ENZASTIGA** Adrian Enzastiga is a third-year in the University of Iowa MFA Playwrights Workshop, and he is so excited to share his thesis play, Drag'daLore: The Musical Ballroom Epic. Previous works include Bopbo's Play (UI Reading Series '26), Go! (NPF '25 Reading), and Flashes: a Fantasy Play (UI Gallery Series '24). He teaches Playwriting at the Riverside Playmaker Project and the Iowa Young Writers Studio. Outside of the theatre, he teaches Rhetoric at the University of Iowa. Thank you to everyone's support! Social @aenzastiga4 |
Director / Choreographer | MICHAEL C. FLORES** Michael C. Flores is a third-year MFA candidate in directing at the University of Iowa. Michael has directed and choreographed across California prior to his graduate studies. While at the University of Iowa Michael has directed productions including Head Over Heels, In This Sepulcher, We Are Fed, by Eli Campbell, Flashes: A Fantasy Play by Adrian Enzastiga, Razor Creek: A Folk Rock Musical by KT Peterson and Paige Scott (UI New Play Festival), And Tell Sad Stories of the Death of Queens by Tennessee Williams for Iowa Directors Festival, and 3 Cubes And A Ghostlight by the undergraduate playwrights workshop (UI New Play Festival). For the past 2 years Michael has served as the director and choreographer of the Musical Theatre Ambassadors, a subgroup within the university’s musical theatre track. As a queer artist, Michael’s directorial approach is shaped by his work reflecting a commitment to investigating the preservation of queer spaces. Union: SDC (Associate Member) For more visit www.michaelcflores.com |
Music Director / Composer | MARK BRUCKNER Mark Bruckner (Composer / Music Director / Keyboardist / Conductor) is an Assistant Professor of Instruction and Resident Music Director in the Department of Theatre Arts, University of Iowa. A New York Innovative Theater and Audelco Award-winning composer, musician, sound artist, and a Henry Hewes American Theatre Wing design nominee. Prof. Bruckner is known for his work in new play development, musical theatre adaptations and revivals, and the development of wearable sound technology for production. He has received commissions from off-Broadway, regional theaters, colleges, and producing organizations across the US. Recent work includes: Electro-acoustic score and ambisonic sound design for Body Concert by master puppeteer Kevin Augustine of New York’s Lone Wolf Tribe, which was featured at the 2025 Festival Du Mondial des Theatre Marionettes in France (world’s largest puppetry festival), and which received the Grand Prize for Best Music at the 2024 17th International Lalka Też Człowiek festival in Warsaw, Poland; ARatorio for the Mis-Remembered, an immersive virtual reality oratorio based on stories from UI Veterans, directed by Mary Beth Easley with creative direction by UI alum Kaelen Novak; Music Direction, Arranging, and Conducting for Head Over Heels with music by the Go Gos, original book by Jeff Whitty, adapted by James MacGruder (Mabie Theatre, University of Iowa, March 20252; directed by Michael C. Flores); Original Music and Sound Design for The People vs. Nature by Kevin Augustine and LWT (LaMama ETC, New York, Nov. 2024); Original Music and Sound Design for David Adjmi’s Marie Antoinette directed by Mary Beth Easley (Thayer Theatre, University of Iowa, Oct 2024). Prof. With Mary Beth Easley and Kaelen Novak, Prof. Bruckner is lead author for “Making the Unimaginable Real,” an article about the creation of ARatorio for the Mi-Remembered published in the summer 2025 edition of Theatre Design & Technology (TD&T). The authors received the 2026 USITT Herbert D. Greggs Merit Award for their writing and research featured in this article. |
Stage Manager | ELLA CROSBY* Ella is a third-year English & creative writing and theatre arts major with a focus in stage management. This is her 8th show with the department, previous works including assistant stage managing the musical Head Over Heels this spring and stage managing the workshop Drill, Drill, Drill in the fall. She is so excited to be working on this production with a fantastic cast and creative team. She is thankful for her friends and family who have supported her in her theater journey and hopes you enjoy the show! |
Scenic Designer | NAZANIN VAKILI** Nazanin is a theatre artist pursuing an MFA in Scenic Design with a secondary focus in Media Design at the University of Iowa. She is thrilled to be part of the creative team on Drag’daLore in the 2026 New Play Festival, and she is so grateful for their trust, collaboration, and inspiration. |
Costume Designer | RO KIVETT*
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Costume Designer | ALEXANDRA RUNNELLS* Alexandra Runnells is a senior undergraduate student here at the University of Iowa, double majoring in screenwriting arts and history, with a minor in theatre arts. This is Alexandra’s fourth production here at the university, and her second New Play Festival. She has had such a blast working with her team and can’t wait to see what’s in store next! |
Hair & Makeup Designer | GRACE PUCHALLA* Grace is a second-year theatre arts major with a focus in hair, makeup, and costume design and getting her minor in American sign language. This is her second show designing, having worked previously on Head Over Heels as hair and makeup designer as well. She would like to thank her teachers such as Cathy Parrott and her costume two class. She's super excited to keep working in this department and hopes you enjoy the show! |
Lighting Designer | GABBY JOHNSON*
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Dramaturg | MARGARET SMITH** |
Intimacy Director | CRISTINA GOYENECHE |
Rehearsal Pianist | CANLIN QIU** Dr. Canlin Qiu is a pianist, scholar, and educator who actively performs in concerts, masterclasses, and conferences across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. She has received top prizes in several competitions, among them the Austria Mozart International Klavierwettbewerb. Her lecture-recitals and research have been presented nationally and internationally and have earned honors such as the CMS Northeast Chapter Follett Outstanding Student Scholarship Award. Dr. Qiu holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Iowa and previously studied at Indiana University and the China Conservatory of Music. |
Drums | SETH REZEK* |
Guitar | JOSEPH NORMAN Joseph Norman completed the Doctoral degree in Music Composition at the University of Iowa in 2019. During his studies there he was also Research Assistant/Composer/Sound Technician to the Department of Dance. In 2020 he was Visiting Lecturer at Grinnell College where he taught digital music. His music has been performed at the Exchange of Midwest Collegiate Composers UMKC and University of Colorado in Boulder, the Midwest Composers Symposium in the University of Michigan and the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, SCI at the University of Iowa, and the Alba Music Festival in Alba, Italy. He has also had works read and premiered by the JACK Quartet, Accroche Note, LIGAMENT, Sonic Apricity, the Center for New Music at the University of Iowa, and LOUi, the Lap Top Orchestra also from University of Iowa. He continues to compose and perform collaboratively with actors, dancers, choreographers, and filmmakers. |
Associate Choreographer | CHLOE SCHWAB*
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Assistant Choreographer | LUIS AVALOS*
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Assistant Stage Manager | JESSICA PFEIFER* Jessica Pfeifer is a first-year English and creative writing major with a theatre arts minor. She is thrilled to join such an incredible team for her first show with the department! She is part of the Iowa Writers LLC, serves as the Creative Director for Ink Lit Mag, and works as a stagehand at Hancher Auditorium. In her free time, you might find her junk journaling in her hammock or birdwatching by the river. |
Assistant Stage Manager | ATIANA PILIPOVIC* Atiana is a first-year double majoring in theatre arts and English with an interest in secondary education. This is her first production as an assistant stage manager and she could not be more excited! She is forever grateful for the kindness the entire Drag’daLore team has shown. |
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Assistant Costume Designer | BRYTON HAHN*
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Assistant Costume Designer | SARAH MORGAN* Sarah Morgan (she/her) is a third-year undergraduate majoring in art and theatre, with a focus in costume design. She has previously been a costume design assistant for Stained Glass by Randy Jackson-Alvarenga and University of Iowa’s spring musical, Head Over Heels, with costumes designed by Bella Fortunato. She would like to thank the costume team of Drag’daLore, Johanna Specht, Bella Fortunato, and Professor Cathy Parrott for their continued support and mentorship. She is proud of the hard work that everyone has done on this fun production, and hopes you enjoy the show! |
*Undergraduate student.
**Graduate student.
§Member of Actors’ Equity Association, The Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
UI Theatre is dedicated to providing hands-on theatre experience for both undergraduate and graduate students.