ECD Travel Grant Awardees 2025
Aika Tsuda
Aika Tsuda (she/her) is a translator, an interpreter, and a dramaturg who was born and raised in Japan. Aika received her bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis in Translation at Kobe College in Japan. She studied theatre abroad for one year at Bowling Green State University in Ohio during her time at Kobe College. She graduated from San Diego State University with a master’s degree in Theatre Arts. Her interests are in dramaturgy, musical theatre, and translation in the theatre field. As she seeks to work as a translator in the musical theatre field in the future, she is interested in exploring the way to utilize the skills of a dramaturg when translating musicals. As a translator and dramaturg, she is interested in bridging the gap between the creators and the audience by providing background information on aspects that are not common knowledge. Past credits as a dramaturg at SDSU are The Long Christmas Ride Home [co-dramaturg], Cabaret [dramaturg], Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play [dramaturg], and In a Sunshine State [dramaturg]. In 2024, she served as a New York Production Staff member for ATTACK on TITAN: The Musical, directed by Go Ueki, at New York City Center. Most recently, she also worked as an Event Supervisor for the Japan Night Reception & Concert Celebrating Japan Parade, and contributed to the Japan Parade itself. In these roles, she integrated her dramaturgical expertise into producing cultural events.
Alana Victoria Murillo Arriaga
Alana Victoria is an actress, playwright and dramaturg in training and currently studying at UNAM’s Dramatic Literature and Theatre department. She is a member of the theater company Katharsis. She appeared in the Mexican film Orazal (2023). Trained in physical expression, vocal technique, jazz, improvisation, Afro dance, contemporary dance, and Broadway. She participated in an artistic residency at the Centro Cultural Helenico, as well as in the collective creation of the scenic device SPEK, contributing as a creator and performer. She authored the essay titled "Espectador: Un registro del acontecimiento vivo" in the digital book CoNfluencias: Públicos desde lo público (2024), homonymous with the artistic residency. She is currently a member of LMDA.
Alexis Iker García Jiménez
Estudiante del Colegio de Literatura Dramática y Teatro de la UNAM, bailarín y artista escénico. Como actor ha participado en los montajes universitarios Plan Z bajo la dirección de Tania Yabel, El enfermo imaginario de Moliere, y Las Aceitunas de Lope de Rueda, así como en SPEK, obra del grupo CoNfluencias en el Centro Cultural Helénico.
Ha dirigido montajes universitarios con perspectiva dramaturgista de obras como Medea de Eurípides, El Parto de Juan Rana de Francisco Lanini, y una adaptación performática de Eduardo II de Christopher Marlowe.
Participó como moderador y ponente en las mesas de Performance y Revisión Crítica del Ciclo, en el ciclo de conversaciones CoNfluencias: los públicos desde lo público, residencia del Centro Cultural Helénico. Y en el libro homónimo cuenta con la publicación de su ensayo “El abrazo que reconoce”.
Se ha desempeñado como bailarín de apoyo para artistas de pop y KPOP, incluyendo a Fey y The New Six, en escenarios entre los que destacan el Teatro Hidalgo, el Teatro Metropólitan, el Palacio de los Deportes y la Arena Ciudad de México. Dicha trayectoria resultó en su participación en comerciales nacionales, videos musicales y presentaciones en televisión. Fue ganador de un primer lugar como bailarín solista y un segundo lugar en categoría grupal por parte de la competencia internacional de baile UPA.
Desde 2025 es miembro del LMDA (Gestores Literaries y Dramaturgistas de América).
Iker Jiménez is a student at UNAM's Department of Dramatic Literature and Theater, he's a dancer and performing artist.
As an actor he has participated in the university productions of Plan Z, under the direction of Tania Yabel, The Imaginary Invalid by Moliere, and Las Aceitunas by Lope de Rueda, as well as in SPEK, a devised play by the troupe CoNfluencias at the Centro Cultural Helénico in Mexico City.
He has directed university productions with a dramaturgical perspective of works such as Medea by Euripides, El Parto de Juan Rana by Francisco Lanini, and a performance adaptation of Edward II by Christopher Marlowe.
He participated as a moderator and speaker in the congress CoNfluencias: los públicos desde lo público, artistic residence of the Centro Cultural Helénico in Mexico City. Under the same project's book, he published his essay "El abrazo que reconoce", a piece of writing that focuses on the ethical questions performers and theatre folk ought to ask themselves when putting together a show for audiences.
He has performed as a backup dancer for pop and KPOP artists, including Fey and The New Six, on stages including the Teatro Hidalgo, the Teatro Metropólitan, the Palacio de los Deportes, and the Mexico City Arena. This resulted in his participation in national commercials, music videos, and television performances. He was the winner of first place as a solo dancer and second place in the group category in the UPA international dance competition.
Since 2025 he has been a member of the LMDA.
Arushi Grover
Arushi Grover (she/her) is an early career dramaturg from Downingtown, Pennsylvania (in the northeastern United States). She is currently an M.A. Shakespeare and Creativity student at the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham, and she is a recent graduate of the Pennsylvania State University with B.A. degrees in Theatre Studies, English, and Comparative Literature. Her artistic and research interests lie in Shakespeare, adaptation, and textual studies/editing.
Jacey Cassandra Lozada
Jacey Lozada (she/her/siya) is a Pittsburgh and Los Angeles-based dramaturg and community maker. She received a specialized bachelor's degree combining Dramaturgy and Global Studies from Carnegie Mellon University to contextualize the histories her work centers on. In her various artistic mediums, she explores the most intimate, rotten parts of ourselves and futures of liberation. She is a recent ASPIRE Arts Leadership Fellow at the Kennedy Center's American College Theatre Festival and awarded as an Emerging Scholar at the 20th International Conference on the Arts and Society.
Jazmin Cato Sosa
Dramaturg, writer, and embroiderer.
I stitch and cut fabrics, images, texts, and stories.
I am a graduate of the Literature and Dramatic Theatre program at UNAM. I've worked as a dramaturg, researcher, writer, and director across television, film, theatre, and performance art. These stitches have taken me to international digital platforms such as the Cervantino International Festival (The Virgin, part of the Humedales Lab 2022) and Taking the Stage MX–UK (I'm Not a Robot, part of the Taking the Stage Lab 2021–2022). Since 2023 I have worked as a screenwriter at Canal Once (Channel 11). I'm the dramaturg of Being Olimpia (2025), an independent feature documentary about the life of women's rights activist Olimpia Coral.
Kelsie Ramos
Kelsie Ramos (she/her) has been in Arizona all her life. She grew up in Peoria, Arizona and is completing her undergraduate degree, a BA in Theatre, Film, and Television at The University of Arizona. Growing up in disadvantaged and underrepresented communities has inspired her to use her skills as a generative and intuitive dramaturg to pursue a career in devised social justice theater. This winter she will complete her final semester of her BA program and hopes to pursue an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Critism at Yale University.
Kemi King
Kemi King (she/her) is a writer, director, dramaturg, producer. She is the Artistic Director of YIKES Co. founded in her second year of undergrad. Working within her practice, Theatre of Critical Care, Kemi emphasizes relation and exploration in her work. This work takes from abolitionist principles in care and disability justice in order to resist formal inclusion.
Ransom Allen
Ransom Allen (they/them) started their dramaturgy journey in 2023, dramaturging and stage managing for Everything in the Garden, by Edward Albee at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Arizona. Since then, Ransom has dramaturged for Mesa Community College on She Kills Monsters, by Qui Nguyen and Appropriate, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. They are excited to attend their second LMDA conference, and proud to be presenting at the dramaturgy debut panel about their work on Appropriate.
Sidda Love (Sid Jepsen)
Sidda Love is a multi-hyphenate theatremaker in Boston, Massachusetts. They are focused on cultivating diverse artistic environments that promote integrity, equity, and accessibility. In addition to the accessibility of theatre, Sidda is passionate about sustainable alternatives for the industry and centering environmental justice in the conversation about the future of theatre. As a dramaturg, they are interested in how new works can galvanize communities – working at the intersection of theatre and social justice to promote radical change. Sidda holds a BA in Theatre and a Graduate Certificate in Gender, Leadership, and Public Policy from UMass Boston. Currently, they serve as Literary Associate for The Huntington Theatre, where they focus on expanding our theatrical canon through new works. They are also a proud member of Fork & Shoe Theatre Co-op and current dramaturg in Company One's Season 26 New Play Co-Lab.
Thomas Underdal
Thomas Underdal is an interdisciplinary theatre maker, educator, and scholar whose work spans the roles of writer, historian, dramaturg, and designer. His research and creative practice center on animal studies, creative dramaturgies for youth, and environmental justice developing pedagogies and dramaturgies for the current and future ecological realities. His creative and scholarly work centers on ecological realities, modern reimaginings, and dramaturgies of joy, imagination, and wonder. Thomas is an MFA Theatre for Youth and Community student at Arizona State University. He is also the current Play Works Coordinator for AZ Thespians.