ESTHER OMEGBA
Playwright
Esther Omegba is a third-year Political Science and Theatre double major at the University of Colorado Boulder. She was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and moved with her family to the United States when she was four years old. Esther has always had a love for the arts and has been expressing it through different artistic mediums since she was a young child. Although The Lotus is her first official play, Esther has always had a passion for writing and has been creating short stories ever since she was eight years old. She wrote The Lotus as a final project for her Playwriting class at CU Boulder and at her professor's encouragement, decided to submit the script to CU's New Play Festival-- where it was chosen as a finalist. As a result of the New Play Festival, Esther was contacted by representatives at Local Theatre to be part of Local Lab 2022.

LISA MARIE ROLLINS
Director
Lisa Marie Rollins is a freelance director, writer and new play developer. She is a Sundance Institute Theatre Lab Fellow (Directing) and an Associate member of Stage Directors and Choreographers. Regional directing /dramaturg work include Hedgebrook Women’s Play Festival, Crowded Fire Theater, American Conservatory Theatre, Playwrights Foundation, TheatreFirst, Berkeley Repertory Theater, Shotgun Players, Magic Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, TheaterWorks (CO). She has been a writing fellow with Hedgebrook, Djerassi, SF Writers Grotto, CALLALOO London, VONA, Just Theater Play Lab and Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency. She has received a Gerbode Special Award in the Arts for playwriting in 2020. She was the Artistic Associate for Intiman Theater in Seattle, WA, is a Community Arts Panelist for Zellerbach Family Foundation and a Resident Artist with Crowded Fire Theater in San Francisco.

BETTY HART
Post-Show Facilitator
Betty has acted in Local Lab and has facilitated audience conversatioons and salons for Local Theater Company. In 2020, Betty directed Josh Kroenig’s Vroom Vroom for Local Lab, which audiences never saw due to the theatre wide shut down. In June 2021, Betty directed the one person play An Iliad for Creede Repertory Theatre (CRT) and in spring, directed a virtual offering of To the Moon by Beth Kander for CRT as well. In spring of 2021, Betty directed an original devised theatrical film for the University of Northern Colorado called 2020 Speaks. Upcoming projects include directing Polaroid Stories for Metropolitan State University, By the way, Meet Vera Stark for the Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, Once on this Island for Town Hall Arts Center and Blackademics for Vintage Theatre. In November of 2020, Betty gave a Ted Talk on compassion culture instead of cancel culture. You can view the talk here: go.ted.com/bettyhart

Appearing through an Agreement between Local Theater Company and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.