Faculty

Justin Brown
Volunteer

Justin began teaching at Sitar Arts Center as an instructor for the "Play Acting" class for 5-7 year olds and now co-instructs the Arena Stage Playwriting Project. During business hours, he works for an international development agency, Development Alternatives Inc., as a contracts administrator handling projects all around the world. Before moving to D.C., he worked with artisans as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco. His other artistic interests include graphic design, orchestra, and hip hop dance.

Arena Stage Playwriting

Melissa D'Lando
Arena Stage Teacher

Bio Forthcoming

Screenplay Writing

Helen McMahon
Volunteer

Helen found Sitar Arts Center in 2003, on a sunny spring day in early May, when on a walk on a side street in Adams Morgan neighborhood she stumbled upon a group of young jazz musicians, hip hop dancers, face-paint artists, and poets participating in their spring semester performance week. After learning more about the Center’s mission, she thought the Center would provide a perfect avenue to put her theater background back into practice again (it had gone dormant far too long and she always enjoyed working with youth). Ever since that fateful walk on spring day, she has been coming to Sitar Arts Center where – even better than a spring day – new blossoms can be seen every season. Helen received a B.A. degree in Speech and Drama from Catholic University with a minor in Secondary Education. She has previously taught creative dramatics to teenagers at the Columbia School for the Performing Arts in Maryland.

Arena Stage Playwriting

Sam Miller
Volunteer

Sam has been volunteering at Sitar Arts Center since 2000. He enjoys teaching adults, especially English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students. Sam has also written original lyrics for the Center’s Opera class.

Poetry Creations