Biography

Sandra  Hughes - Director, Performer, Choreographer, Playwright , Teaching Artist, Artistic Director , Company Co-Founder
Sandra 's original theatre productions for the stage feature  masks, mime, dance, music  and puppetry and have been performed at theatres, festivals, museums, performing arts centers, colleges, universities, schools  and other community venues in 30 states in the U.S. and  12 other countries. Her producitons for television have been featured at the American Film Institute Video Festival in Los Angeles and distributed nationally for Public Television.  

The Sandra L. Hughes Theatre Collection, established by invitation  at the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute at Ohio State University, documents her professional achievements in the field of  theatre as well as her contribution to the emergence of the art of mime as a major theatre form in the United States.

Sandra dedicates a significant portion of her career to arts in education projects for students of all ages throughout the U.S. and in other countries. She's taught for the theatre departments at Lake Erie College, Antioch College and the University of Akron,  been an artist in residency at Emory University in Atlanta and a Fellow at the Hambidge Center for the Arts in Georgia.        

Sandra's background includes mime  training  with Marcel Marceau and Juki Arkin, dance with Valentina Litvinoff of Isadora Duncan’s Russian School, acting at Stella Adler Acting Conservatory in New York City, Japanese Noh Theatre training with Akira Matsui and Richard Emmert, a professional acting and directing apprenticeship at the Cleveland Play House and  threatre training at Ohio University.

Michael Hickey - Performer, Mask Maker, Theatrical Designer,  Company Co-Founder
Michael is a principal performer with the company and has performed in 30 states in the U.S. and 12 other  countries.  His training includes mime with Marcel Marceau and Juki Arkin, dance with Jerry Burr of the Netherlands Dance Theatre and Valentina Litvinoff  of  Isadora Duncan’s Russian School , a professional theatrical design and acting apprenticeship at Kenley Players in Ohio and theatre training at Ohio University.

Michael's mask creations won First Place and Best of of the Show at the National Maskibition in Eureka, California and have been exhibited at galleries and museums including the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Iowa State Art Museum. His work is also part of the permanent collection at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C.  He's created masks for the Center for Puppetry Arts, Emory University, Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Daystar Native American Dance Theater and the Galeria de Guadalupana in Chimayo, New Mexico. Michael's  visual art training includes study at the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Cooper School of Arts in Cleveland, and Georgia State University.

Artist Statement

Mask and mime theatre have the  power to transcend language and cultural barriers  and to provide remarkable insights into the human condition.  We  create contemporary  theatre works for these ancient dramatic forms  that are accessible to people of all  ages and backgrounds. With images, movement and music we inspire and engage through the performing arts and related applied and fine arts.   

Sandra Hughes and Michael Hickey   - Company Co-founders

I've received the most positive feedback on your performance.  Fascinating, interactive, stimulating were all words used by the parents.  Funny and different were words used by the kids.  ...  Carol Roark York,  Gadsden Public Libary,  Alabama  

Taxpayer-funded grants are rare, and they are valuable. They tell the world that your organization has earned funds through artistic excellence, organizational capacity, and community impact. This grant tells doners that you are among the best, sharing your talents with Georgians and visitors to our state. - Sonny Perdue, Governor, Georgia 

…a magical theatre experience. ...  Albuquerque Journal

...an evening of powerful songs and transfixing Mask and Mime performance. - T.M.A. Radio Thurso, Scotland