Meet the Creative Team

Shane Turner he/him (Composer) is a 22 year-old composer, lyricist, pianist, orchestrator, and arranger from northern California. He began active work on "Spotlight" in March of 2021 when he was still a junior at NYU, pursuing a degree in Music Composition; the show began to take real shape after his senior year, wherein he worked as a music director in Tisch New Theatre's Amélie alongside many of the cast and crew in this iteration of Spotlight. He's worked as an arranger and orchestrator for 54 Below alongside talents such as Henry Platt, Ben Fankhauser, and Alyssa Wray. In the future, he intends to continue work on Spotlight, and hopes to work in shows on and off Broadway.

Emily Trend she/her (Librettist) is a 2022 graduate of New York University’s Gallatin School. At Gallatin, Emily majored in Historical Narratives— studying english, history, and theater. While her past credits include a majority of acting roles, Emily is excited to be working as part of the creative team for SPOTLIGHT. Previous writing projects include plays, essays, fiction, and poetry. Most recently, she was awarded Gallatin Senior Honors for her one-act play, By Any Other Name.

In her spare time, Emily enjoys watching 80s movies, and pretending to follow baseball.

Zoë Elizabeth Lillis she/her (Producer/Director) is a director and producer living and working in New York City. She earned her B.A. in Directing and Dramatizing History at NYU Gallatin, where she focused on the relationship between narrative and the process of production. She is so beyond excited to bring Spotlight to life for the first time with this incredible team. Zoë has worked on Broadway with Manhattan Theatre Club and Second Stage, Off-Broadway with the cell and Tisch New Theatre at Theatre Row, and regionally with the Huntington Theatre and Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. This fall, she will serve as the Artistic Fellow for Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Her select directing credits include: Amélie (TNT), Offstage (TNT), Unplugged (TNT), and Lovesong (Gallatin Theatre Troupe). Assistant directing credits include the world premiere of Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom (Irish Repertory Theatre), Orpheus in the Underworld (HPAF), and Legally Blonde (TNT). Love to Shane and Emily for trusting her at the helm of this production, and an extra shoutout to the World’s Best Bros for being her forever collaborators. “Savor the best part of that dream you had for one more second.” –LMM. zoelillis.com

Katie Cooper she/her (Production Stage Manager) is an NYC-based Stage Manager, Educator, and Theatre Artist. NYC credits: Fun Home, Legally Blonde, Daylight, Montrose Station, Pippin, The Dungeon, Ibrahim and June. Educational credits: Seussical, Shrek, High School Musical, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Annie, Aristocats. Love and thanks to L, S, M, E, & C.

Tyler Arle he/him (Music Director) is a composer/lyricist, arranger and music director based in New York and the greater Boston area. He is currently studying music composition at NYU Steinhardt, concentrating in contemporary songwriting. He is passionate about the use of music as both a supplement to storytelling and as a storytelling device itself. Other music directing credits include: Songs For A New World, Amélie, The Little Mermaid and Heathers. Tyler is so excited to be working alongside this incredible team of artists.

Janine Leslie she/her (Dramaturg) is from Atlanta, Georgia. She graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Dramatic Writing. She is now working on a MA in Arts Administration at Columbia University. While at NYU she interned at the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and worked with two student production groups, TNT and The Collective. Through these organizations she has worked in venues such as Theatre Row, The Skirball Theatre, and Radio City Music Hall. Her work as a writer and director has led to many conversations about racial representation and wealth disparities within the arts.

Natalie Collat she/her (Assistant Producer/Assistant Director) is a junior at NYU Tisch School of the Arts for Film & Television Production. She has worked with NYU's Tisch New Theatre as a composer for Offstage, as the director of We Aren't Kids Anymore, and as an assistant director for Amélie. She will be reprising her role of director for their upcoming fall production. During the year, Natalie works as a digital archivist and a digital media librarian. She is also the secretary and risk management chair for NYU's professional cinematic fraternity, Delta Kappa Alpha.

Jon-Cesar Ignacio he/him (Associate Music Director) is a songwriter, pianist, producer, and a junior in the Songwriting program in NYU Steinhardt’s Music Theory and Composition Major. From southern California, JC has grown up with a love for music and theatre. Making music in New York is a fulfillment of longtime dreams and goals. In the future, JC hopes to grow as a musician and as a songwriter, and he considers it a great honor to serve as the pianist and associate music director of the reading of Spotlight.

Katie Reif she/her (A1) is a 3rd year Production and Design student in Tisch focusing in Sound Design and Engineering. She works professionally as a stagehand, mixer, and assistant sound designer at venues across New York City, Houston, and Charleston including Spoleto Festival USA, The Shed, The Signature Theatre, the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, and the Alley Theatre. She was the Production Audio Head of Tisch New Theatre's Amèlie in 2022. She is excited to be the Production Manager this year for Tisch New Theatre. @marykatereif @katiereifsound

Olivia Kormos she/her (Intimacy Consultant) is an emerging intimacy coordinator based in NYC who is thrilled to be a part of the Spotlight team! Her previous credits include intimacy work in both film and theater, working with Tisch New Theatre and Gallatin Theatre Troupe while at NYU, and she is planning on continuing her training this fall with Theatrical Intimacy Education. Outside of intimacy work, she is an emerging museum professional, focusing on accessibility, education, and diversity in institutional spaces.

Jake Capriotti he/him (Production Photographer) is a photographer based in New York City specializing in performance, portraiture, and film unit stills photography. Jake began his photography career in high school and has continued to photograph for shows and films around the city since moving to New York in 2019. His work has been featured on Broadwayworld.com as well as credits at the Tribeca Film Festival. Outside of photography, he has a degree in film and television from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. He is excited to be working with Zoë again on another production!

Harper Arle (Assistant Music Director) is ecstatic to be working on this project at her youthful age of 3 months old. She began immersing herself in music at the age of 2 months by listening to her human sob-sing Taylor Swift at 2 AM every night. Since then, she has grown into quite the artist of her own, concentrating on bringing joy to the process by merely existing. When Harper isn't working, she can probably be found eating something she's not supposed to, sleeping on her humans face or stopped by a group of people on the street who are telling her she's the cutest dog they've ever seen.

Reese Villella she/her (Graphic Designer) is a Sophomore at Gallatin. Reese’s concentration focuses on film theory, as well as the workings of the film industry and business. In the past, she has worked as the marketing coordinator for author Emma Kress and music collective Tonic Afterglow. She is currently working as the marketing coordinator for the Tisch advanced pilot Acting Human, as well as NYU’s cinematic fraternity Delta Kappa Alpha. She is very excited to document and share the development of Spotlight with you all!

Sam Novotny he/him (Drummer) is a Drummer and Bassist in New York City and New Jersey. He is a Junior in the Jazz Studies program at NYU Steinhardt, with a focus on Upright Bass. Sam has played in workshops for other musicals by NYU songwriters, including Skin and My Pet Dragon, and is excited to be playing for Spotlight!