Artistic Governing Ensemble
The Story Theatre is committed to envisioning the future of what American theatre—and the American theatre institutions—can look like. To that end, we have dissolved the traditional hierarchical role of an artistic director, in favor of an artistic governing ensemble where every voice, and vote, is equal. Our ensemble members govern using a flat management structure based on holacracy, tailored to our own needs, strengths, and styles. By delegating the work of a traditional artistic director into organized "caucuses," then meeting altogether to create a unified vision for the company, we empower our ensemble members to take action without permission and hold stake in the future of our company. The Story Theatre isn't interested in doing theatre as it has always been done; we are interested in the radical imagination that asks, "What can we create when we share power freely?"
Meet the Artists Behind The Story
Ayanna Bria Bakari
Ayanna Bria Bakari
Ayanna Bria Bakari is a Governing Ensemble Member of The Story Theatre. She graduated with a BFA in acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University.
Some of her Chicago theatre credits include: MUD ROW (Remy Bummpo); Andy Warhol Presents: THE COCAINE PLAY (Associate Dir. & Wig Design at Jackalope Theatre); Big White Fog (Court Theatre); PURPOSE, Last Night and the Night Before (Steppenwolf); Relentless, Too Heavy for Your Pocket (TimeLine Theatre); How to Catch Creation (Goodman); As You Like It (Chicago Shakespeare); The Niceties (Black Theater Alliance Award), Stickfly (Writers Theatre); Pot Girls (Director at The Story Theatre), At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen (Asst. Director, 2019 & Wig Design, 2025 at The Story Theatre), Leave me Alone! (The Story Theatre).
Regionally, her theater credits include: Blues for an Alabama Sky (Seattle Rep); The Colored Museum (Studio Theatre); The Salvagers (Asst. Dir. at Yale Repertory Theatre); Clyde’s (TheaterWorks Hartford); Sunflowered (Northern Sky Theater); The Rainmaker (Peninsula Players); The Originalist (Indiana Repertory Theatre).
Ayanna Bria’s television credits include recurring roles in Wu-Tang: An American Saga on HULU and The CHI on Showtime along with guest roles on Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, Empire on FOX, and 61st Street now streaming on Netflix and Holiday Heist on BET.
She is represented by Stewart Talent.
@ayannabakari_ #blacklivesmatter
Brenna DiStasio
Brenna DiStasio
Brenna is an actor, educator, and founding Governing Ensemble member of The Story Theatre.
Credits at The Story include: Pot Girls (Caryl), Marie Antoinette and the Magical Negroes (Marie Antoinette); Leave Me Alone! (Anna); The Housing Situation on Neptune (Rainbow), Fires, Ohio (Elena); Artemis Books and the Well-Meaning Man (Emerson).
On stage she has worked with Oak Park Festival Theatre, First Floor Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Remy Bumppo, and Arizona Theatre Company among others.
On-screen credits include Night Sky (Amazon Studios/Legendary Television), Justified City Primeval (FX/Hulu), Christmas...Again?! (Disney Channel), Chicago Med (NBC), and Chicago Fire (NBC).
Commercial and print work includes Wendy's, Snickers, Nature Made, Fairlife, Humira, Boeing, Frigo Cheese, Carmex, and Ace Hardware.
Brenna is represented by Gray Talent Group.
Spencer Diaz Tootle
Spencer Diaz Tootle
Spencer (she/her) is an actor, poet and reproductive justice baddie raised in the swamps of South Georgia and now based in Chicago.
A 2020-2021 NBCUniversal Bob Curry Fellow, she has performed in multiple revues at The Second City, including THE BEST DECISION YOU’VE EVER MADE, GREAT ALTERCATIONS, WELCOME TO THE PARTY and PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME, a self-produced and devised work with the ensemble PREACH!.
Spencer worked with the Steppenwolf Lookout Series to produce PREACH! PRESENTS THE BLOCK PARTY and she featured as a headliner for LADYLIKE, a storytelling showcase also produced by said series. She was the featured poet for the 2018 Fifth Star Honors Awards with the City of Chicago and a 2019 Movement Maker with the National Network of Abortion Funds. She is now a co-producer of LADYLIKE, a queer and freaky storytelling cabaret at The Lincoln Lodge and she also performs with ESCÁNDALO, a queer Latiné group at iO.
You can find her on Instagram @spencerdiaztootle and if you ever need an abortion, her DMs are open.
Paul Michael Thomson
Paul Michael Thomson
Paul Michael Thomson is an actor, playwright, producer, and proud founding member of The Story Theatre.
As an actor, he has worked with Steppenwolf Theatre, Urbanite Theatre, Windy City Playhouse, Drury Lane Oakbrook, and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, among others.
On-screen credits include NBC's Chicago Med and Chicago Justice, Drawn Back Home, Blush, and OTV's Kissing Walls.
His plays include: Artemis Books & the Well-Meaning Man (Avalanche Theatre); (and i feel fine) (The Impostors Theatre Co.); Same Sects! (North Central College; Other Theatre Company); Fremont Junior High Is NOT Doing Oklahoma! (Urbanite Theatre reading); The G.O.A.T., or Who Is Ximone? (The Story Theatre reading); and Leave Me Alone! (The Story Theatre).
He is proudly represented by Gray Talent Group.
Paul Michael graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in Acting, a BA in Africana Studies, and minors in Spanish & Art History from The University of Arizona Honors College, and he never shuts up about it.
Bri Buckley
Bri Buckley
Bri Buckley (she/they) is a Michigan-born, Chicago-raised actor, activist, producer, educator and yoga facilitator. Dedicated to cultivating new works, Bri thrives on collaborating with playwrights and fellow creatives to bring fresh, innovative stories to life.
Her recent theatrical credits include Oak (Raven Theatre), That’s What Friends Are For (Black Ensemble), Milo Imagines the World (Chicago Children’s Theatre), Midnight Garden of Good and Evil (Goodman Theatre), Clyde’s (Denver Center for Performing Arts), and The Ripple, the Wave that Carried Me Home (Goodman Theatre & Berkeley Repertory Theatre), among others.
TV Credits include The Chi (Showtime) and Night Sky (Amazon Prime). Film credits include Love Language, with more in the year to come.
A passionate advocate for equity and inclusion, Bri is deeply committed to both her artistic craft and creating spaces for marginalized voices to be heard, whether on stage, in the classroom, or through her work as a producer.