Producing Artistic Director

Deborah Block (She/They) has been a consistent figure in the Philadelphia arts community for over 30 years as a dramaturg, producer, curator, choreographer, educator and a director. She has received much recognition for her professional and educational work including receiving the Independence Fellowship in the Arts and the Albert Benzwie Award for playwriting. She received her MFA at Temple University where she taught for nine years. She is one of the founders of the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe (now FringeArts) and was the program director for ten years. Deborah has been with Theatre Exile since 2006 and assumed the role of Producing Artistic Director in 2013.

Director of Operations

Darnelle Radford (He/Him) has been active in the Philadelphia theater community for 20 years. In 2005, he founded Represented Theatre Company. In 2009, he formed Em3ry, a media company that produces arts-centered content such as Rep Radio (2009-), Broad Street Review, Podcast (2016-) and The Business of Theater, A Working Title (2022-). Darnelle studied Arts Administration at NYU and Multimedia and Web Design at The Art Institute of Philadelphia. Learn more about him at

www.em3ry.com and www.darnelleradford.com

Operations Consultant / Rental Coordinator

Carolyn Schlecker (She/Her) has been working with Theatre Exile since 2019. Areas of responsibility include management of rental partnerships, contracts, vendor negotiations, risk management, and governmental compliance matters. Schlecker has more than 20 years experience in arts management and administration in Philadelphia. Prior to that experience she practiced law in several areas including civil litigation in private practice, an appointed governmental position, and public interest law.

RENTAL INQUIRIES: rentals@theatreexile.org

Director of Individual Giving

Denise Cavaliere (she/her) is Theatre Exile’s Director of Individual Giving and works to support events and initiatives to sustain the organization.

A South Philly native, Denise is an arts and culture worker that has worked in Philadelphia, New York and San Francisco in the performing arts, music and social justice communities.

She has worked with many organizations and nonprofits such as St. Ann’s Warehouse, the Mann Center for Performing Arts, Painted Bride Arts Center, Wilma Theater,

LaMaMa, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Center for Traditional Music & Dance, Theater for the New City, Intersection for the Arts, Brava! For Women in the Arts, Fifth Avenue Committee, WBAI, Partnership for the Homeless, Bread and Puppet Theater and the Robotic Church.

Denise has had the pleasure to work with artists such as The Wooster Group, Penny Arcade, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, National Theatre of Scotland, Enda Walsh/Druid Theatre, Mx. Justin Vivian Bond, Emma Rice/Kneehigh Theatre, Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Cynthia Hopkins, Daniel Kitson, Young@Heart Chorus, TR Warszawa, Nico Muhly, Antony, Karen O, Glen Hansard, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Thievery Corporation, Antibalas, Lee Breuer/Mabou Mines, Philip Glass, The Tiger Lillies, Rosanne Cash, Kelli O’Hara, Judy Collins, Erik Ehn, Rob Nilsson/Tenderloin Action Group, Chico Mac Murtrie, and Greg Giovanni/Big Mess Theater, among others.

Director of Education

TS HAWKINS (they/them) is an international author, performance poet, art activist, playwright, trauma-informed & award winning educator, and member of the Dramatists Guild. Plays, short works, and books include Seeking Silence, sweet bread peaches (formerly, Cartons of Ultrasounds), Too Late to Apologize, In Their Silence (formerly, They’ll Neglect to Tell You), #RM2B, The Secret Life of Wonder: a prologue in G, AGAIN, #SuiteReality, “don’t wanna dance with ghosts...”, #SuiteTea, the Are We Free Yet? project, Sugar Lumps & Black Eye Blues, Confectionately Yours, Mahogany Nectar, Lil Blaek Book: all the long stories short, The Hotel Haikus, and Becoming Saturn: a collection of rhymes, roses, and resistance. Hawkins’ plays, short works, and powerful performances have been praised by the PGN - 48 Most Influential LGBTQ+ Leaders, UPenn LGBT Center as a Scholar-in-Residence, the Barrymore Awards - Victory Foundation for Excellence in Theatre Education recipient, Philadelphia Magazine - Best of Philly, BroadwayWorld, Philly Voice, NPR, WHYY, WURD Radio, Philadelphia Weekly, Chicago Tribune, The Dramatist, and dosageMagazine. Featured playwriting opportunities include Frank Moffett Mosier Fellowship for Works in Heightened Language Semifinalist & Dramatists Guild Foundation National Fellowship Finalist for 2024-25. Ongoing interactive projects: TrailOff, Community Capital: an Afrofuturism South Philly Walking Experience, and Becoming Saturn; Hawkins’s first studio poetry album with HawkHatt Music.

Marketing Director

Hassiem “Frank” Cliett (he/him) is a marketer second and a creator first with a few years of marketing experience and even more experience doing portrait photography using film and digital methods. You will see him at every art show or gallery reception known to man and if you ever want to talk about creating anything from photos to furniture he is the perfect guy to talk to. Besides working on photos or ad campaigns he also has a background in event management and has worked with companies like Google, Amuse, Soho House, Roots Picnic, and more.

Artist-In-Residence

Matt is a long time resident artist here at Theatre Exile, having directed and/or acted in over 20 productions. Other credits include Arden Theatre, People’s Light&Theatre, Lantern Theatre, 1812 Productions, Interact, Delaware Theatre Co, Theatre Horizon, Walnut St Theatre, Bristol Riverside, and 25 seasons with the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, among others. Matt is a 13 time Barrymore nominee and winner for best Director for The Whale and The Invisible Hand both with Theatre Exile. He’s also the recipient of the F. Otto Haas Award. Love to Kim, John, and Annie.

Production Manager

Ella Namour (she/her) has been so pleased to join Theatre Exile as their Production Manager for the '24-'25 season. She served as a Production assistant on Exile’s previous season, working on Camp Siegfried, Case for the Existence of God, Philly Grit, The Ever Present, and a number of special events. Before that, she graduated from Haverford College, where she worked in the Bryn Mawr theatre department in a variety of production roles. Outside Exile, she works freelance in production around Philadelphia. When not at work, you can find her cross-stitching and watching bad tv with her beloved partner.