Staff
Whitney Weston Co-founded Greenway Arts Alliance with Pierson Blaetz in 1997. A lifelong activist, Whitney is committed to keeping the arts and community working together. She is a former Arts Commissioner for the City of West Hollywood’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission and, both within and outside of Greenway, Whitney has produced and performed in hundreds shows which have earned her recognition from the NAACP, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, LA Weekly and the 2011 Women in Theatre Red Carpet Award. Whitney has also been recognized for outstanding service by the LA Mayor’s Office, LA City Council and LAUSD’s School Board and Administrators’ Union. Whitney is also the recipient of the 2019 Rainbow Award from Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival for her dedication to diversity and contributions in fostering non-traditional and multicultural theatre works.
Pierson Blaetz
Co-Founder/Artistic Director
Pierson Blaetz co-founded Greenway Arts Alliance, along with Whitney Weston` in 1997. He has spent a lifetime bridging the worlds of art and business. As a social entrepreneur he has founded three businesses including “Free Time,” a volunteer placement service, “InfoLink,” an information retrieval service and Greenway. As an artist, Pierson has produced, directed and performed in numerous film and theatre projects and has earned recognition from The Drama Circle Critics, NAACP, Garland Awards, LA Weekly and way back when The Drama-Logue Award for best male performance. Pierson has been recognized for outstanding service by the Mayors office, LA City Council, and LAUSD’s School Board and administrators union. Current Board memberships include The Melrose Business Improvement District, Friends of Fairfax and Greenway Arts Alliance.
Mohammed Ojarigi
Producing Director
Mohammed Ali Ojarigi was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He received his bachelor’s degree in theater arts from UNLV. He is the founder/Artistic Director of the former Moments Playhouse Theater in East LA. A highly requested acting coach, Mohammed has helped introduce some of Hollywood’s top rising stars through his academy (BizB4 Show). Mohammed is an award-winning actor/playwright for his theatre works that include “Greenwood 1964” a fictional reenactment of a trip made by Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, which was commissioned by the prestigious Guthrie Theater in May 2021 (virtually). Also, for his 2012 NAACP Theater Award play, now short film, “Your Land” (available on Amazon Prime). As Producing Director of Greenway Arts Alliance his mission is to promote innovation, artistic collaboration across all spectrum of Arts; working with high school students, community artists, and professionals of diverse backgrounds to make the theater a vital hub of excellence which celebrates diversity and historically underrepresented communities. www.ojarigi.art
Jack James Lawson
Technical Director
Jack James Lawson has literally spent his entire life in theater and entertainment. Although he is also a trained actor, singer and dancer, his parents (both college theatre professors) made sure he learned the technical side as well, because in their words “You’re going to want to eat too!” In addition to having taught at several colleges, Jack has worked at theaters across the country including Dallas Theater Center. Chicago Opera Theater and the Tony Award winning regional Maltz Jupiter Theater. An award winning lighting and set designer Jack most enjoys working in smaller theaters where he can work on multiple facets of a production.
Ellora Gordon
Audience Services Coordinator
Ellora Gordon is an actor, writer, and poet from the Bay Area, CA. She moved to Los Angeles and, within a few months, found Greenway Court Theatre; starting as a Producing & Marketing Intern. Performing on stage since the age of eight, Ellora has worked with many community and professional theaters over the years, as well as studied theatre arts, filmmaking, and creative writing at several schools across California, earning multiple associate’s degrees. In her spare time, she takes classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, explores the city, and goes to the movies with fellow film fanatics, all while working on scripts and poems in between. She is honored to be a part of Greenway Court Theatre’s ethos to uplift unrepresented voices in the theatre world and looks forward to growing with the Greenway team.
Elisawon Roberts
Front of House Manager
Elisawon is an actor and writer hailing from Texas, who has been captivated by theater and the performing arts since an early age. Diving into speech & debate, competitive theater, and prose and poetry throughout middle and high school, they eventually assumed the role of head of the costume department for their high school theater. This experience sparked a deep passion for behind-the-scenes work, which continued through college alongside employment in the costume shop. While attaining a bachelor’s degree, Elisawon co-founded and served as co-president for the college’s Black Student Union, and is aspiring to extend their leadership to new possibilities. One of those possibilities has led them to become the new FOH Manager at Greenway Court Theater; they are looking forward to growing with the GCT family.
Jessica Khatib
Marketing & Producing Intern
Jessica Khatib is an actress and current undergraduate student working towards her B.A. in Theatre at the University of Southern California. Though she primarily grew up a lover of film and TV, Jessica developed an immense love for theatre while studying at the Lee Strasberg Institute in Los Angeles, where she was first introduced to the power and importance of stage performance. During her time at USC, she has been cast in an M.F.A. production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, participated in numerous short films, and worked within the school’s props and costumes departments. As GCT’s current Production and Marketing Intern, Jessica is excited to learn from an amazing team of creatives and support the organization’s mission of inspiring individuals from underrepresented communities through the arts!