YOU SOUND LIKE A GIRL started by our dear friend from the Signature Theatre Days, Colleen Hughes, brought her amazing show to the ACS Theatre! There was a cast of 5 amazing she/her/hers identifying actors who shared very personal stories for an hour at the Children’s Center.

Thanks to all the amazing performers.

You Sound Like a Girl
Created and directed by: Colleen E. Hughes
Written and performed by: Sara Jane Munford, Alessandra Ruiz, Alexandria Smalls, and Rev. Yolanda
Produced by: Emily Rose Prats
Dramaturgy by: Rachel Levens

Colleen E. Hughes(she/her/hers) is a Brooklyn based director and arts administrator, and creator of You Sound Like a Girl. Her select directing credits include, What Screams I Hear are Mine by Annalise Cain (reading, The Tribe Theatre Company), The Shapes We Make With Our Bodies by Meg Whiteford (The Hive), Jelly Bean Junkyard by Sean Pollock (Under St. Marks), Chatroom by Enda Walsh (The Hive), Let Them Eat Cake by Ted Malawer (TinyRhino), and Disco Pigs by Enda Walsh (A.R.T.’s Oberon). Her assisting credits include 12th Night by William Shakespeare, directed by Shira Millikowsky (A.R.T. Institute) and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, directed by Phil Soltanoff (Skidmore College). Colleen studied directing at the National Theatre Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and theater at Skidmore College. www.colleenehughes.com

Sara Jane Munford(she/her/hers) is a multimedia performance artist, designer and puppeteer based in Brooklyn, New York. She is the resident set designer and puppet captain of Little Did Productions. Currently, Sara Jane is working on birth/control/project, a community based art making process and art installation intended to create a space to empower female identifying participants in the pursuit of autonomy over their bodies. For more information please email [email protected].

Alessandra Ruiz(she/her/hers) is a NY Latina actress who moved from Los Angeles this January. She graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a B.A. in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Devised/Physical Theatre. She begun her NYC debuts working with projects performed at the Gene Frankel Theatre and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. She wants to use theatre to open up minds and hearts for a better understanding society. Alessandra believes theatre is a powerful art form that can truly help make a change. Alessandra is very excited to be creating with the “”You Sound Like a Girl”” cast and crew and hopes to empower women everywhere. www.alessandraruiz.com

Alexandria Joesica Smalls(she/her/hers) is an actor, writer and director who hails from Brooklyn, NY. She has an AS in theater from BMCC and a BA in Drama and Africana Studies with a focus on Prison Studies. She is an activist with a passion for social justice issues and uses her creative work to explore difficult conversations on topics such as race, economic inequality, and education. 

Rev. Yolanda(she/her/hers) is a singer/songwriter/trans-femme genderqueer performance artist and interfaith minister, originally from Muscle Shoals Alabama- The Hit Recording Capital Of The World. Rev. Yolanda and husband Rev. Glen Ganaway are the founders of the monthly “spiritual happening” Church With A 2 Drink Minimum. Rev. Yolanda’s ministry and body of musical work has been captured on film by Avaiya Media with the movie “”Rev. Yolanda’s Old Time Gospel Hour”” (available on Amazon), and has been honored with induction into the The GLBT Hall Of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame, and two MAC Awards. (MAC-Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs). Rev. Yolanda is currently working on a full length, autobiographical musical theater piece entitled “The Church Of The Alien Love Child Presents: The Passion of Rev. Yolanda.”

Emily Rose Prats(she/her/hers) came to NY more than a decade ago to get her BFA in Drama from NYU/Tisch. Since then, she’s produced an EP, performed Shakespeare, voiced commercials, taught music to children, and now works in marketing for startups. She believes in theatre as a teaching tool and hopes You Sound Like a Girl can empower women and girls to stop internalizing misogyny and make themselves heard. Follow her adventures on insta @the_gremily and/or offer to publish her children’s book.Rachel Levens(she/her/hers) is a Brooklyn based new play director, dramaturg, and applied theater artist. Rachel’s directing has been seen at La MaMa, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, United Solo, The Tank, Dixon Place, Hudson Guild, and The International Human Rights Festival at The Wild Project. Her dramaturgy work has ranged from production dramaturgy, new play development, literature performance, and dance dramaturgy. She is the resident dramaturg for The Holding Project, a dance company based in Portland, Oregon. Rachel holds a BFA in Theater with an emphasis in Original Works from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA.