Danielle Drakes

Danielle Drakes

Director, Red Velvet

Danielle Drakes as worked as an artist and educator in the DC area for more than 15 years. Most recently, she directed Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill at Rep Stage in Columbia, MD. She directed Breath, Boom, Miss Evers Boys, and Mixed Babies at Howard University; The Trojan Women and A Song for Coretta at Bowie State University.

As the founder and producing artistic director of the Hegira for three seasons, she produced staged readings of new plays: Anna K by Jacqueline Lawton, Dirty by Carla Ching, Julius by Design by Kara Lee Corthron, and Lyme Park: An Austonian Romance of an Indian Nature by Nandita Shenoy. She also directed Helen Hayes Recommended productions of Lawton's Deep Belly Beautiful and Paige in Full written and performed by Paige Hernandez.  Her DC acting credits include Arena Stage, The Kennedy Center, and originating the role of Elizabeth Keckley in Ford's Theatre's History on Foot and new play, Papa Day, both written by Jennifer L. Nelson. 

Ms. Drakes is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and manager of schools and community partnerships at the Folger Shakespeare Library. She received her BA from Goucher College and MFA from The Catholic University of America.