What do you do when facts become subjective and every solution divisive?
How do you build consensus when no one can agree on truth? This wildly relevant and bitingly funny Tony
Award-winning play is set in an elementary school where a mumps outbreak threatens the community’s
progressive ideals. Join us for a timely Michigan premiere!
Eureka Day
A wildly relevant and bitingly funny play about parenting and public health
Join us for our Season 12 opener!
Stay Tuned for the Eureka Day Cast Announcement!
Meet The Cast
Tobin Hissong
Tobin is thrilled to be making his Detroit Public Theatre debut in this wonderful play. Tobin has also been seen on stage at Meadow Brook Theatre, Williamston Theatre, and The Purple Rose Theatre. When not on stage, Tobin enjoys spending time with his wife Chris, their two cats, and writing songs. Ki Sakee!
Matt Hollerbach
Matt is thrilled to be making his debut at the Detroit Public Theatre. He has a B.A. in Drama from the University of Michigan, he apprenticed with the Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, MI and the Barrow Group in New York, and studied acting with Labyrinth Theatre and T. Schreiber Studios in New York. He has performed on stages around Southeast Michigan and in New York and appeared most recently in Spit in Your Face at the Detroit Repertory Theatre. In addition to acting, Matt is the Director of Finance and Administration at the Detroit Repertory Theatre and an organizer with Detroit Will Breathe. He is also a bicycle commuter and would love to talk to you about that. Thanks to Courtney, Leah, Clarissa, Mom, Dad, Katie, Jon, and Noah.
Jala Jackson
Jala Jackson is an actress, director and writer from Detroit, MI. Starting at the age of 6, Jala found her passion for entertainment at a very young age. She continued to follow acting well into college and graduated with her BFA in Theatre from Michigan State University in May 2020. She has worked on various plays onstage and backstage as well as film projects. She played Dot in Dot’s Home with A Host of People, E.M. Lewis in The Gun Show, which was a one woman show tour she did in partnership with the Michigan Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, and most recently Poppy in upcoming film, Scruggs. She has directed several shows for the Detroit Youth Choir Performing Arts Company including Four Little Girls: Birmingham, Ruby: The Ruby Bridges Story, Once on this Island, Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough, Oil Sheen and The Color Purple and Oil Sheen. She has also written and directed two stage plays, E-Race-Sure, which is a youth play set in a future where Black History Month doesn’t exist and Party in the Park, a play about the 1963 Birmingham Children’s Crusade. She has worked as the Director of Theatre for the world-renowned Detroit Youth Choir Performing Arts Company since 2020 where she received the Spirit of Detroit Award for her involvement and dedication to Detroit youth and joined the Detroit Public Theatre in the Fall of 2024.
Mona Moriya
Detroit Public Theatre debut! Mona Moriya is a queer, first-gen Japanese-American actor, filmmaker, and producer. She wrote, directed and starred in her film, “Maki”, that won Best Short at the Brightside Film Festival and recently had its New York premiere at New Faces New Voices. Performing credits include “Law & Order: SVU,” national commercials and work
with New York Theatre Workshop, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Flea, and others. She is currently the Managing Producer at National Asian American Theatre Company in NYC where they most recently produced HENRY VI, presented at The Public Theater. BFA: Emerson College. www.monamoriya.com
Halimah Nurullah
From a young age Halimah has always belonged in her own world, unapologetically sharing her view through her multifaceted forms of expression. She pulls her biggest inspiration from surrealist and impressionist art, her African and Asian family heritage, the city, music, cinema and animation. A classically trained performer she received her B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from Illinois Wesleyan University.
As a performer Halimah relishes the ability to bring a bit of herself to whatever role she’s undertaking. She’s performed across stages in Michigan, NYC, and internationally from the Detroit Institute of Arts to the Apollo theatre in Harlem as well as producing and performing solo shows at the Music Hall.
Halimah has two singles currently streaming on all platforms.
This is Halimah’s DPT debut and she’s so grateful to the cast and crew of “Eureka Day” for making this such a spectacular return to the stage!
Sarah Winkler
[she/her] A proud co-founder of Detroit Public Theatre, Sarah has more than 30 years’ experience as a theatre and film producer, performer, and teaching artist. Prior to her work with DPT, Sarah was a producing artist with the Obie, Drama Desk, and Lucille Lortel award-winning Off-Broadway Epic Theatre Ensemble. While at Epic, she oversaw the company’s development department during a period of rapid growth as the budget nearly quadrupled in size, and was also a member of Epic’s acting ensemble, where she performed in more than a dozen Off-Broadway productions, workshops, readings, and Shakespeare Remix productions, and she was a Teaching Artist in Epic’s programs in the New York City Public Schools. In 2013, Sarah relocated to Metro Detroit and worked as an actor with a number of Michigan theatres while developing Detroit Public Theatre alongside DPT’s artistic leadership team and founding board. It was her great honor to have worked as a facilitator in the Shakespeare in Prison program at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and to have played a role in the program’s choosing DPT as its home. Sarah has been seen onstage at DPT in THE HARASSMENT OF IRIS MALLOY, CRY IT OUT, and EIGHT NIGHTS. She has produced and performed in numerous other critically-acclaimed films and plays in New York City, Michigan, and around the country, and was a founder of Step Up Women’s Network in New York City, where she developed the organization’s arts education programming. Sarah earned her Bachelor of Science in Theatre from Skidmore College.
Meet The Creatives
Courtney Burkett
Director
Courtney is a member of the artistic leadership team at Detroit Public Theatre, where she regularly directs productions. In her role as Producing Artistic Director, she oversees production and marketing. Prior to co-founding DPT, Courtney was the Director of Theatre Programs with Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, directing the internationally-acclaimed Mosaic Acting Company. Courtney was a founding Artistic Partner with Breathe Art Theatre Project and also served as Managing Director of the CRLT Players at the University of Michigan, and as Business Manager for the University of Detroit Mercy Theatre Company. Courtney is a fourth generation native Detroiter. She holds a BFA from Webster Conservatory of Theatre Arts in St. Louis, and and MFA from Wayne State University’s Hilberry Theatre program.
Jala Jackson
Assistant Director
Jala Jackson is an actress, director and writer from Detroit, MI. Starting at the age of 6, Jala found her passion for entertainment at a very young age. She continued to follow acting well into college and graduated with her BFA in Theatre from Michigan State University in May 2020. She has worked on various plays onstage and backstage as well as film projects. She played Dot in Dot’s Home with A Host of People, E.M. Lewis in The Gun Show, which was a one woman show tour she did in partnership with the Michigan Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, and most recently Poppy in upcoming film, Scruggs. She has directed several shows for the Detroit Youth Choir Performing Arts Company including Four Little Girls: Birmingham, Ruby: The Ruby Bridges Story, Once on this Island, Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough, Oil Sheen and The Color Purple and Oil Sheen. She has also written and directed two stage plays, E-Race-Sure, which is a youth play set in a future where Black History Month doesn’t exist and Party in the Park, a play about the 1963 Birmingham Children’s Crusade. She has worked as the Director of Theatre for the world-renowned Detroit Youth Choir Performing Arts Company since 2020 where she received the Spirit of Detroit Award for her involvement and dedication to Detroit youth and joined the Detroit Public Theatre in the Fall of 2024.
Angeline Ayriss
Production Stage Manager
Angeline has recently made her way back to the great city of Detroit after graduating with an MFA in Stage Management at Wayne State University in 2004. She is thrilled to be joining DPT’s eleventh season as Resident Stage Manager. Angeline has had the privilege of working across the country with The Midnight Circus, Circus Smirkus, and The Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She is so grateful for the support and love of her mom, partner and two amazing kiddos!
Tia K. Spicer
Assistant Stage Manger
Tia K. Spicer graduated from Michigan State University in 2025 with a BFA in Stage Management. Recent show credits include Green Day’s American Idiot, produced by Flint Repertory Theatre, Our Town, produced by Lost Nation Theater (Production Stage Manager), and 9 to 5 the Musical, produced by MSU Department of Theatre (Stage Manager/Sub Show Caller). They are super excited to be working their first show with Detroit Public Theatre!
Moníka Essen
Scenic & Props Designer
Moníka Essen is an award-winning, nationally recognized artist and designer. The recipient of the prestigious Lawrence DeVine Award for Outstanding Contribution to Theatre, she studied Interior Architecture and Environmental Design at Parsons School of Design NYC and received her MFA in Scenography from the renowned Hilberry Repertory Co. Moníka has designed over 300 productions in theatre, opera and film, and is currently the Resident Designer at the Detroit Opera where she has just recently designed their highly acclaimed productions of Frida and Bliss. She has also designed for the Atlanta Opera, Florida Grand Opera, and Cincinnati Opera. Some local favorite productions include The Impossibility of Now and A Christmas Carol at Tipping Point Theatre, Alabaster and Be Here Now at Williamston Theatre, and American Hero, Paradise Blue, and Blues for an Alabama Sky here at Detroit Public Theatre. She is currently designing projections for “Turandot ” at the Music Hall Theatre. Additionally, she creates art, furniture, museum exhibits, interiors, and full-sensory, multimedia environments for residential and commercial clients, including the Detroit Zoo. All her design work can be viewed at www.studioepoque.com.
Kate Hopgood
Audio Designer
Bio Coming Soon.
Jen Pan
Intimacy & Fight Director
Jen Pan (she/they) is thrilled to be back at DPT. Jen is a Michigan-based fight and intimacy director, movement teaching artist, actor, and stunt performer. Recent credits include Seattle Children’s Theatre (“Young Dragon: A Bruce Lee Story”), Detroit Public Theatre (“Fat Ham”, “Clyde’s”), Obsidian Theatre Festival (“Soul of the Senator”), Detroit Opera House (“Highways & Valleys”), University of Michigan SMTD (“Julius Caesar”), Oakland University (“Pipeline”, “Jesus Christ Superstar”), The Dio (“Misery”, “The Play That Goes Wrong”), and Croswell Opera House (“Singing in the Rain”, “Parade”). They’re a Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD), co-founder and lead instructor of Theatrica Gladiatoria (www.fightglad.com), and co-coordinator of the annual Mitten Mayhem Stage Combat Workshop. IG @itsjenpan
Matt Taylor
Lighting Designer
MATT TAYLOR is a professional lighting designer for live entertainment and an associate professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. He’s thrilled to return to Detroit Public Theatre, where previous credits include Eight Nights and the 2023 Holiday Cabaret. His work spans theatre, dance, concerts, and cruise ships, with his work seen on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and at major regional theatres including the Old Globe (San Diego), Ford’s Theatre (Washington, DC), and internationally at Centro de Convenciones Figali (Panamá City, Panamá). Additional credits include Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Matt is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829. Visit www.matttaylordesign.lighting. Instagram @tailormadesc313
Sarah Webb
Projections Designer
Bio Coming Soon.
