Staff
Fin Coe (He/Him), Co-Artistic Director
is a Chicago theatre artist who first encountered TNC as an enraptured audience member, then as a student in the Writers’ Room, then a cast member, a part of the Ensemble, and finally as Co-Artistic Director in 2018. TNC credits include MERGE by Spenser Davis, his playwriting debut Fun Harmless Warmachine, and current instructor of the Writers’ Room. Prior to joining TNC, Fin was the Associate Artistic Director of Halcyon Theatre, and has worked with a number of other theatres in Chicago, including Jackalope, Silk Road Rising, and A-Squared.
Katy King (She/Her), Director of Education
is a Chicago-based theatre artist that fell in love with The New Coordinates’ passion for new work and ensemble-driven development after taking the inaugural Intro to TNC class. After completing the class she came on to work as TNC's Director of Marketing, but soon transitioned to serve what started her love for TNC as Director of Education. Katy’s favorite credits include her work in the American Blues 2018 Ripped! Festival and Edge of the Wood’s Resident Theatre. Katy holds B.A’s in both Theatre and Women and Gender Studies from Denison University.
Stephanie Shum (She/Her), Co-Artistic Director
is an actor, producer, and arts administrator based in Chicago. She is currently Co-Artistic Director of TNC, perviously served as Managing Director and has appeared in Small World, Merge, Kin Folk, reWILDing Genius, and Kate and Sam Are Not Breaking Up. She’s also had the pleasure of performing with Steppenwolf, Goodman, American Theater Company, The Neo-Futurists, First Folio, Cloudgate, First Folio, and Red Tape among others. She has also previously worked in marketing at Lookingglass Theatre and as a producer at Red Tape. www.stephanieshum.com
Elyse Dolan (She/Her), Director of Marketing
is a Chicago-based director, producer, and graphic designer. Most recently, she directed If/Then at Brown Paper Box Co., and she was directing Nine at Blank Theatre Company at the time of the pandemic shut-down. Elyse is the Associate Producer at American Blues Theater, where she is also an Ensemble member. Her directing work has been seen across Chicago at American Blues Theater, The New Coordinates, Broken Nose Theatre, Prop Thtr, Babes with Blades, Commission Theatre, 20% Theatre Company, and more. She has also served as Assistant Director on productions at American Blues Theater, Raven Theatre, Oracle Theatre, Redtwist Theatre, and more. Elyse holds a B.A. from Denison University.
persephone van ort (they/it), Managing Director
is the Managing Director with the New Coordinates. They're a multidisciplinary artist based in colonized Chicago on the lands of Ojibwe, Potawatomi, Odawa, and many other indigenous people. It has written and performed with theaters such as the Neo-Futurists, Prop, Walkabout, tUTA, Facility, among others. It's also an associate editor at Sixty Inches From Center and the associate artistic director at the Prop Thtr. They love cats, morning walks, slow cooks, hot beats, and extended eye contact with the universe. Their creative practice is all over the place, but I guess it's usually about culture making, narrative resistance, liminal spaces, dreaming, and spirals. They're delighted to be working with the New Coordinates.
Michael Peters (He/Him), Associate Artistic Director
is a co-founder of The New Coordinates and is proud to serve as Associate Artistic Director. He's performed in several TNC productions including PSYCHONAUT LIBRARIANS, MERGE, and THE BEAR SUIT OF HAPPINESS. Michael also works regularly as an actor on Chicago stages, with notable credits including Rudge in THE HISTORY BOYS at TimeLine Theatre (Equity Jeff Awards for Best Production, Best Ensemble) and Cliff in CABARET with The Hypocrites (Non-Equity Jeff Award for Best Production). He is a proud alumnus of Columbia College Chicago.
Andrew Hobgood (He/Him), Finance Director
is the Founding Artistic Director and currently the Finance Director of the company. His play, 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, won Outstanding Production at the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival before opening as an Off-Broadway production that Ben Brantley of the New York Times called “raw and magnetic dementia…destined to attract a cult following.” 5 Lesbians is now published with Samuel French. Hobgood’s other work with The New Coordinates includes creating the musicals Plastic Revolution, That Sordid Little Story, and Rise of The Numberless; and the play reWILDing Genius. He directed the workshops and world premieres of Amelia Earhart: Jungle Princess, FRAT, Hearts Full of Blood (2010 FringeNYC Award), B-Side Studio, Orville and Wilbur Did It!, and MERGE. When not working on a stage production, Andrew teaches classes on devising and writing new works, and is a leader at Double Good - a fundraising service for not-for-profits.