Company
Our Mission
Simpatico Theatre explores stories that celebrate, challenge, and expand our definitions of community and compassion. We stage thought-provoking work that’s grounded in social justice, civil rights, and community service. Our grassroots dedication to bridging communities fuels our work, reveals avenues of advocacy for our audiences, and leads to transformative collaborations in our city.
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Expand your definition of community.
"Sensational, passionate, fearless!" Toby Zinman, The Inquirer
"If this is the future of American theatre, count me in!" David Fox, Philly Mag
Simpatico Theatre explores stories that celebrate, challenge, and expand our definitions of community and compassion. We stage thought-provoking work that’s grounded in social justice, civil rights, and community service. Our grassroots dedication to bridging communities fuels our work, reveals avenues of advocacy for our audiences, and leads to transformative collaborations in our city.
Meet the Staff
Allison Heishman (Artistic Director) is a director and educator who has been a part of the Philadelphia artistic community since 2003. With Azuka Theatre (former Associate Artistic Director): Ready, Steady, Yeti, Go (NNPN Rolling World Premiere), The Arsonists (NNPN Rolling World Premiere), Local Girls (WP), The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence, Skin & Bone (WP), Failure: A Love Story, Hazard County, the terrible girls (WP), Azuka One Acts. Other credits: Tartuffe (Commonwealth Classic), Macbeth (Revolution Shakespeare), Rabbit Hole, Eurydice (Ruhl, Arcadia University), No Reservations (PNAA Productions, WP), Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll (Plays & Players), Pinkalicious, the musical (Walnut Street Theater, Kids’ Series), A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity, Spacewang (Tiny Dynamite, A Play A Pie A Pint, Barnes Foundation). Heishman was the Assistant Director under Blanka Zizka for the Wilma Theater’s productions of Angels in America, parts I and II. She has written and directed for Theatre Programs at the National Constitution Center, where she is the director of Living News, a fast-paced show geared towards middle and high school students that discusses current events and the Constitution. Senior Lecturer at the University of the Arts and Rowan University. Proud alumna of Washington College, Chestertown, MD. 2017 nominee for the F. Otto Haas Barrymore Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist. www.allisonheishman.org
Meet the Board of Directors
Mike Gumbel, JD - Board President // Owner - Bainbridge Law Center
Kelly Colarelli // Director, Customer Strategy and Governance - PECO Energy
Emily Esten // Judaica Digital Humanities Coordinator at Penn Libraries
Melissa Hewitt // Tax Manager - Fujirebio Diagnostics, Inc.
Jenna Pinchbeck // Actor, Real Estate Agent with Compass RE
Erin Read // Implementation Leader - CIC Health
Janet Riser // First Vice President, Investments - The Riser Hartman Group, Janney Montgomery Scott
