Omar Sangare

FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Omar Sangare graduated from the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, Poland, where he studied with the Oscar-winning director, Andrzej Wajda. He was awarded a scholarship to The British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England. While there, he worked with Derek Jacobi, Alan Rickman, Michael Kahn, and Jeremy Irons. Dr. Sangare holds many film, television, and radio credits. For his one-man drama “True Theater Critic,” he was voted The Best in Acting by The New York International Fringe Festival. The New York press acclaimed his lead part in the Arena Players Repertory Theater production of “Othello.” Barbara Delatiner wrote for The New York Times—“Omar Sangare was born to play Othello!” His published literary work includes six books and many essays and articles for various magazines and newspapers. Accompanied by great American writers such as Robert Pinsky, and Susan Sontag, he promoted Polish literature in the United States. In 2011, he was selected by the U.S. Department of State for a video project that appeared as part of President Obama’s trip to Poland. In 2012, he was named “Person of the Year” by nytheatre.com for “a significant contribution to the NYC theater landscape.” In 2013, Sangare performed along John Guare in Atlantic Theatre’s “Three Kinds of Exile,” in a role, which Guare wrote especially for him. Dr. Sangare is a founder and artistic director of UNITED SOLO, the world’s largest solo theatre festival, a resident company at Theatre Row on 42nd Street in New York City. Currently, he serves as Chair of the Theatre Department at Williams College.

Wendy Lane Bailey

ASSISTANT ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Wendy Lane Bailey is a singer, actor, writer, director, producer, and arts educator whose performances in venues across the country have earned critical praise for versatility and sophistication. She has appeared as a guest artist on several recordings, including those of Leslie Gore and Susan Egan. Her debut solo recording, Breathing, was produced by Michele Brourman.In addition, she is the founder the Washington, DC Area Cabaret Network and was the Associate Director of the Cabaret Conference at Yale University. She served on the board of Pioneer Productions, for whom she produced and directed plays and oversaw the company’s Social Media outreach and education programs. She is currently collaborating with Michele Brourman on “Hot Coffee, Mississippi”, a multimedia solo theatre piece with music, and has returned to the recording studio to create an album based on that project. www.wendylanebailey.com.

Will Titus

CO-DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Will is a graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, MA, with a B.A. in Political Economy. Will is a cyclist, firefighter, EMT, and small business owner. He is the Founder and President of Hopewell Helpers LLC and Titus Strategy LLC. He has one black cat named Shebah.

Russell Blakey

CO-DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Russell Blakey graduated from Williams College in 2023 with a degree in physics. During his time as a student, he studied computational chemistry, genetic engineering, and atomic spectroscopy, the latter of which became his specialty under the guidance of Protik Majumder. In the spring and summer of his junior year of college, he studied abroad in Switzerland and conducted research at CERN, the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Although his background is primarily in science, he has always considered himself a creative type, and was unabashedly a theatre nerd in high school. He is very excited to jump back into that world as the interim Co-Director of Operations for United Solo. In his free time he runs, writes fiction, and bakes the best brownies you will ever taste.

Shane Matthews

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Shane Mathews has been the resident Technical Director for United Solo for the past four seasons. He is also an assistant engineer in the   Recording Department at the Juilliard School. Most recently Shane designed lighting for Exit the King for the New School. In addition to his work with United Solo and  Juilliard, he enjoys remixing/editing music and doing live sound and lighting design for renowned performers and entertainers across the country. He also continues a nearly 20-year career as a professional D.J. He is the former Co-owner and resident technical director for Helen’s cabaret room NYC..

Donald Molosi

PROJECT ADVISOR

Donald Molosi is an award-winning actor in film and theatre based in London. Molosi has written and performed original solo shows off-Broadway to great critical acclaim. When he premiered his 2010 show called Today It’s Me, Molosi made history as the first person from Botswana to perform in New York City’s prestigious Theatre District. He followed it up with Blue, Black and White in 2011 which won him the Best Actor Award at Dialogue One Festival and the Best Solo Award at United Solo. In 2016 Molosi published his off-Broadway plays in a collection called We Are All Blue which won the African Authors Award in the Best Narrative Category and is currently taught in universities around the world. To commemorate his 21-year career in theatre, in 2022 Molosi will debut his drag queen alter-ego called Dumêla Fella in London’s West End. Dumêla Fella is the first mainstream drag queen from Botswana. Molosi’s film credits include A United Kingdom, opposite Academy Award nominee Rosamund Pike, the award-winning 2064 and the upcoming Boy Boy filmed in London and Gaborone. Molosi holds an MA in Creative Writing from Brunel University London, MA in Theatre and Performance Studies (University of California, Santa Barbara), a BA in Theatre and Political Science from Williams College. He trained in Classical Acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). 

Dana McCoy

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Dana McCoy is an award-winning Singer, Songwriter, Playwright, Director, Actor, Theater and Film Composer. She has topped Billboard charts with her songs, toured, directed and performed her own and others’ works internationally. McCoy’s theater production experience is also considerable, having run several Off and Off-Off-Broadway Theaters, (45Bleecker and it’s adjoining Cabaret, The Green Room, and the Historic Theatre 80 Saint Marks) where she worked with performers from Jerry Seinfeld and Colin Quinn to Russell Brand, Eddie Izzard, Patrick Stewart, Improvised Shakespeare, and on. At the Green Room McCoy founded and curated the Pillowfight Theatre Festival which featured luminaries such as Leslie Gore, Gretchen Cryer, Evelyn Page, and included a piece of her own, “Cube Rat” co-written and directed by Gordon Steward who directed Broadway’s Elephant Man and Sam Shepard’s Cowboy Mouth. Dana is excited and proud to join the outstanding team of professionals at United Solo to partake in her greatest passion: supporting the development of original works. www.danamccoy.com. Member of The Dramatists Guild of America, BMI, and Maestra.

Stephanie Eagan

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

Stephanie Eagan joined United Solo in 2022. She is a professional writer, editor, and communications guru who specializes in non-profit marketing and diversity, equity, and inclusion. You may recognize Stephanie from the last few festivals where she assistant-managed front-of-house and supported festival performers. In addition, Stephanie reviews solo theater for allaboutsolo.com.