Artistic Staff

Jean-Remy Monnay, Artistic Director

Jean-Remy Monnay (Remy) is the founder and the Producing Artistic Director of the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY (BTTUNY), founded in 2010, which mission is to promote performances and theatrical pieces by, and about, artists of color. In highlighting these works, we hope to foster greater understanding, appreciation and participation in the performing arts within communities of color. Remy was born in Haiti and raised in a small town called, Ville Bonheur also known as Saut-D’Eau. Remy, as a little boy, was very active in theatre, doing Shakespeare and reading poetry on stage in his native tongue, French. In 1982 at the age of 18, he moved to New York, where he found the English language barrier difficult as a stage performer. He joined a Haitian Theater Troupe and performed in French and Creole, traveling to Montreal and other French and Creole speaking communities.

In 1997, he decided to move from Brooklyn to the Capital Region. He took a break from theatre for about two years, but in early 1999 he decided not to let language or anything else get in his way of becoming an English-speaking stage actor. He enrolled in Schenectady Community College to study performing arts in English.

In late 1999, Remy auditioned for the Hubbard Hall Theatre Company in Cambridge, NY, where he met Kevin McGuire, the resident Artistic Director. Kevin offered Remy a part in his first major production at the theatre, “Saint Joan”.

From February of 2000 to the present time, Jean-Remy has appeared in over 200 plays, films (including Grand Army – Episode 4 in Netflix), Follow Her, Time Crunch, commercials and a documentary for the History Channel. He has directed The Piano Lesson, TopDog/UnderDog, Hoodoo Love, Sweat, The Light, Flyin’ West, Yours For The Oppressed, Barbecue, Dead and Breathing, AIN’T Misbehavin’, A Lesson Before Dying, The Niceties, Mountaintop, Camp Logan, Fences, Eclipsed, Harriet Tubman Visits A Therapist, Medal Of Honor Rag, Slow Dance On The Killing Ground, Intimate Apparel, The Exonerated, American Dream, Wedding Band, Reunion in Bartersville, Meridian Mississippi,  American Dream and many more.

Diaka Kaba Hill, Assistant Artistic DIrector

Born in Mali and raised in Brooklyn, Diaka has decades of experience spanning the globe as a theater teacher and performer.

Diaka was a founding member and Actor-Teacher at the Creative Arts Team (CAT) youth theater program, then in partnership with NYU. In 2008, she became one of the final graduates produced by the prestigious New Actors Workshop conservatory founded by Mike Nichols, George Morrison, and Paul Sills. She has also been a longtime collaborator with Piper Theatre in its annual youth playwriting festival at William Alexander Middle School (M.S. 51) in Brooklyn.

Diaka played lead roles in the nationally touring performance of Platanos Y Collard Greens as well as The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (UK) in 2017.
Diaka arrived in Albany in 2018, quickly earning roles in a range of regional productions including Shakespeare In Love (Capital Repertory Theatre), The Treasurer (Steamer No. 10 Theatre), and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Players of Utica). She first became involved with BTTUNY as a Production Assistant in its 2019 presentation of August Wilson's Fences at Siena College.

Diaka is also credited with multiple TV and film roles, most recently the 2021 film adaptation of the collaborative performance piece Whitewashed (Creative Action Unlimited).
Diaka lives in Albany with her husband and two daughters.
www.diaka.com

Sheilah London Miller, Board President

Sheilah is inspired and grateful for the support, guidance and dedication of BTTUNY founder and board members. As the company continues to expands we vow to continue our efforts to Black Excellence!! follow us, as we continuously present educational, entertaining, quality and informational works written, and performed by people of color to enjoy for all.

Let the magic continue!