Chicago’s Shattered Globe Theatre, currently celebrating its 35th year of redefining what it means to be an ensemble theater, is pleased to announce the addition of three new Ensemble Members and five new Artistic Associates.
Ellie Fey, Kotryna Hilko and Jeff Rodriguez are Shattered Globe’s newest Ensemble Members.
Fey, a 2023 graduate of the Theatre School at DePaul, was Jeff-nominated for her lighting design of Shattered Globe’s Lobby Hero. She has also served as lead electrician for Becky Nurse of Salem, Ugly Lies the Bone, Morning, Noon, and Night, and SGT’s spring world premiere, Eelpout!
Hilko won a Jeff Award for Costume Design for Shattered Globe’s A Tale of Two Cities. She also designed costumes for Ugly Lies the Bone and Morning, Noon, and Night.
Rodriguez turned heads on stage in SGT’s Jump and A Tale of Two Cities, and is now in rehearsal as Sven for Shattered Globe’s upcoming world premiere, Eelpout!
"What drew me to Shattered Globe was their focus on ensemble and storytelling,” said Hilko. “I’ve always aimed to uplift the stories and experiences of those whose voices are not traditionally celebrated. Getting to work with Shattered Globe and support my fellow artists as we tell bold and challenging stories has already been an honor and I can’t wait to continue creating art as part of this incredible ensemble."
Shattered Globe Theatre announces three new ensemble members: (top, from left) Ellie Fey, Kotryna Hilko and Jeff Rodriguez, and five new Artistic Associates: (bottom, from left) Elliot Esquivel, Ronald Hale, Lydia Moss, Cage Sebastian Pierre and Hershey Suri.
In addition, Shattered Globe welcomes Elliot Esquivel, Ronald Hale, Lydia Moss, Cage Sebastian Pierre and Hershey Suri as new Artistic Associates.
“SGT is thrilled to continue to expand our Ensemble and network of Artistic Associates with these talented Chicago artists who we respect so much,” said Producing Artistic Director Sandy Shinner. “We welcome them into our company, we look forward to sharing the collective support that can only happen at an ensemble-based theater, and we’re excited to create new opportunities to showcase their many talents.”
Currently, Shattered Globe is in rehearsal for the hilarious and surreal fantasia on Midwestern masculinity, Eelpout!, a world premiere comedy by Paul W. Kruse, directed by Jeremy Ohringer. When best friends Sven and Ole come together to celebrate at an ice-fishing bachelor party on a frozen lake in Minnesota, an unexpected confession hooks into deeper truths, along with a talking fish. Previews start April 17. Press opening is Thursday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through May 30 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Tickets are $20-$60. For tickets and information, visit sgtheatre.org.
Meet Shattered Globe Theatre New Ensemble Members
Ellie Fey (she/her) is a lighting designer and electrician based in Chicago. Originally from South Florida, she attended and graduated from The Theatre School at DePaul University in 2023 with a BFA in lighting design. Since then, she has been nominated for two Jeff Awards for Outstanding Lighting Design and worked in theater, opera and with companies such as Shattered Globe Theatre, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, Timeline Theatre, The Artistic Home, and Chicago Fringe Opera.
Kotryna Hilko (she/her) is a Chicago based costume and set designer, who previously designed Morning, Noon, and Night, Ugly Lies the Bone and Tale of Two Cities (Jeff Award winner) at Shattered Globe. Other design credits include Taming of the Shrew (Court Theatre), Hedda Gabler, Love Song, and Dear Elizabeth (Remy Bumppo), Peter and the Starcatcher (Paramount Theatre), The Cave, In Quietness, Revolution, Killing Game, The Room and The Haven Place (A Red Orchid Theatre), Lifespan of a Fact (TimeLine Theater Company), Cygnus (The Gift Theatre), Black Bone (Definition Theatre Company), and Tambo and Bones (Refracted Theatre Company, Jeff nominated). She received her MFA in Stage Design from Northwestern University. kotrynahilko.com
Jeff Rodriguez (she/her) CHICAGO: Eelpout!, A Tale of Two Cities, nominated for a Jeff Award for Best Ensemble, and Jump (Shattered Globe); As You Like It (Writer's Theatre); Support Group for Men, Revolutions (Goodman Theater); All’s Well That End’s Well, Shakespeare in Love, As You Like It, The Comedy of Errors (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); The Legend of Georgia McBride (Northlight Theatre); 33 to Nothing (Red Orchid); Cygnus (The Gift). REGIONAL: As You Like It (Milwaukee Rep); Richard III, Twelfth Night (Arkansas Shakespeare Festival). FILM/TV: Mayor of Kingstown (Paramount+), Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Crisis (NBC), Proven Innocent (FOX). Rodriguez is a graduate of Illinois State University and The School at Steppenwolf.
Meet Shattered Globe’s New Artistic Associates
Elliot Esquivel (he/him) won the 2025 Jeff Award for Performer in Principal Role in his Shattered Globe debut as Jeff in Shattered Globe’s Lobby Hero. Other Chicago credits include White Rooster (Lookingglass Theatre); As You Like It (Writers Theatre); and Alice By Heart (Kokandy Productions). Esquivel studied at Texas Tech University where he received a BFA in Musical Theater.
Ronald Hale (he/him) has previously worked with Shattered Globe as technical director for Becky Nurse of Salem and Lobby Hero. Hale is also a photographer and sound technician. He has mixed sound for bands and events for over 25 years, and has worked with Eclectic Full Contact Theatre and THEatre HEIST as a sound designer.
Lydia Moss (she/her) is a Chicago actor, playwright, and dramaturg. She first encountered Shattered Globe through their Protégé Program and is a 2024 graduate. Since completing the program she understudied for Shattered Globe’s A Tale of Two Cities, and she is currently performing in their spring production, Eelpout! She is a winner of the Amplify New Play Commission at Definition Theatre for her full-length play, Death of Eve, which examines evolving AI technologies and its impact on memory and loss. Her play Hero Gero explores miscategorizations of Black experiences—doubt and mistrust—through two siblings embarking on a psychosis induced hero’s journey, was workshopped as a part of Subtext Studios Playwriting festival, culminating in a staged reading in the summer of 2025. She’s been a grant writer since 2024, and has worked with companies like Definition Theatre and Congo Square Theatre, drafting grant proposals, organizing community events, and assisting with fundraising efforts. She also serves as a member of the Independent Productions Initiative, which provides small grants to Chicago theater artists and producers to mount independently produced productions, readings, and festivals.
Cage Sebastian Pierre (he/him) is a Houston-born actor and theater maker whose work spans Chicago, regional, and television stages. Select credits include Q Brothers: Rome Sweet Rome, Romeo & Juliet, Posner & Teller’s Macbeth, and DREAM (director/devisor) at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Antigone at Court Theatre; Too Heavy for Your Pocket and Kill Move Paradise at TimeLine Theatre; and multiple seasons at American Players Theatre, including Pericles, King Lear, Eurydice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Comedy of Errors, and Cyrano de Bergerac. On screen, he has appeared in Empire and Chicago P.D. As a teaching artist, Pierre has worked with The Q Brothers, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, TimeLine Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, and American Players Theatre, and spent over three years as creative lead and MC for Chicago Shakespeare’s Shakes SLAM!, an annual high school performance festival. He is also the Director of Programs for Berridge Programs, a creative community based in Normandy, France, dedicated to cultivating both creative and life skills for high school and early college-aged students. He holds a BFA from the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program and an MA in Design for Social Impact from Paris College of Art.
Hershey Suri (she/her) is a Chicago-based director, actor, and producer. She grew up in San Diego, graduated from Pomona College with a B.A. in theatre and politics and moved to Chicago in 2021 to work as a paralegal in wrongful conviction and exoneration. She now attends the University of Chicago Law School, hoping to work in Civil Rights Litigation upon her graduation in 2027. She is a 2023 Protege with Shattered Globe Theatre and launched her theatre company, Pop Up! Productions, in February 2024 — a theatre company that “pops up” in cities across the globe. She is a 2024 Jeff Impact Fellow recipient and a member of the Theatre Broadway Producers of Color class of 2026. Currently, she is developing a joint community based theatre program through her previous place of work and the law school called "Story to Stage" - an incubator project that utilizes restorative justice practices to create scripts from the stories of those impacted by our criminal justice system through wrongful incarceration.
About Shattered Globe Theatre
Shattered Globe Theatre seeks to redefine what it means to be an ensemble theatre, discover new connections between story, artist and audience, and explore drama from bold, challenging perspectives.
Shattered Globe Theatre was born in a storefront space on Halsted Street in 1991. Since then, SGT has produced more than 80 plays, including nine American and world premieres, and garnered an impressive 53 Jeff Awards and 132 Jeff Award nominations, as well as the acclaim of critics and audiences alike.
Guided by Producing Artistic Director Sandy Shinner since 2013, Shattered Globe’s values are rooted in a commitment to racial equity, respect for all artists and support for the ensemble, while creating new opportunities to amplify traditionally marginalized voices and collaborate in all aspects of its work. Through initiatives such as the Protégé Program, Shattered Globe creates a space which allows emerging artists to grow and share in the ensemble experience. Earlier this year, Shinner announced she is stepping down as Producing Artistic Director, while remaining an active member of Shattered Globe’s ensemble. A search for Shinner’s replacement is currently underway, with plans to announce Shinner’s successor later this spring.
Shattered Globe Theatre’s Ensemble includes Judy Anderson, Louis Contey, David Dastmalchian, Demetra Dee, Ellie Fey, Joe Forbrich, Christina Gorman, Daria Harper, Kotryna Hilko, Tina M. Jach, Rebecca Jordan, Steve Kleinedler, Vivian Knouse, AmBer Montgomery, Tina Muñoz Pandya, Eileen Niccolai, Jazzma Pryor, Deanna Reed-Foster, Linda Reiter, Jeff Rodriguez, Drew Schad, Adam Schulmerich, Leslie Ann Sheppard, Sandy Shinner, Joe Sikora, Shelley Strasser, Devonte E. Washington, Sarah Jo White, Joseph Wiens and Brad Woodard.
SGT’s Artistic Associates includes Daniela Colucci, Elliot Esquivel, Mikey Gray, Lawrence Grimm, Ronald Hale, Darren Jones, Christopher Kriz, Jason Lynch, Elizabeth Margolius, Kelsey Melvin, Lydia Moss, Tim Newell, Jane Nix, Winter Olamina, Aila Peck, Steve Peebles, Cage Sebastian Pierre, David Antonio Reed, Jasmine Cheri Rush, Angie Shriner, Abbey Smith, Becca Smith, Hershey Suri, Michael Trudeau and Ayanna Wimberley.
SGT is supported in part by generous grants from the Shulman-Rochambeau Charitable Foundation, Brenda and James Grusecki, The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Carol P. Eastin, The Shubert Foundation, Judith and David Sensibar, the Illinois Arts Council, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and Americans for the Arts.
Visit SGTheatre.org for subscriptions, tickets and information, and follow the company @shatteredglobe on Facebook and Instagram.