Our Mission:
telling Queer stories, across all barriers.
Our Vision:
art and art making processes that are accessible to all, regardless of identity, ability, training, or class.
Our Team
Meet the Magpies
James T. Washburn
Founding Artistic Director
James T. Washburn (he/him) is a Queer, dynamically disabled Storyteller-Activist born and raised in Seattle, Washington. He is currently studying for his Master's in Folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland, with an emphasis on pre-Christian Slavic performance traditions.
James was raised in a multi-disciplinary artistic environment, with a traditional Waldorf education that sparked his love for folklore and community storytelling. He began his theatrical journey at the Bellevue Youth Theatre, where he became passionate about accessibility for theatre artists. His first theatre company, Bellevue Teen Productions, was founded to provide opportunities for other marginalized teens in all aspects of musical theatre.
James earned his degree in Theatre Original Works at Cornish College of the Arts in 2020. While studying at Cornish, he developed an ensemble devising process rooted in Viewpoints methodology, drawing on traditional folkloric canons. This process eventually became the foundation for intersectional Queer artistic collective Magpie Artists' Ensemble, where he serves as Artistic Director and resident playwright-director.
James’ pandemic project, an epistolary novel sent through the mail to international readers in real-time, was named a "Kickstarter Project We Love." As a member of the inaugural cohort for Seattle Opera’s Jane Lang Davis Creation Lab James wrote the libretto for Queer chamber opera Achilles + Patroclus, currently being adapted into a graphic novel with local artist Chess Amade. He later wrote its "sister project," experimental chapbook/script Persephonai: An Analysis in Verse and Movement, during his time as a Hugo House Fellow. His most recent script, Arthuriana: Arthurian Legends for a New Age, was written during his 2025 Seattle Library Writer's Room Residency.
From 2024-2026, James was a soloist with Syrena Seattle Polish Folk Dance Ensemble, where he embodied his love of folklore and represented his heritage on stages across the country. He currently works with the Polish Folk Dance Association of the Americas as a member of the Media & Communications team.
Jae Kinsman
Interim Artistic Director
Jae Kinsman (they/them) is a Seattle-based jack-of-all-trades.
Graduating from Cornish College of the Arts in 2020 with a BFA in musical theatre, they helped found Magpie Artists' Ensemble amidst the artistic chaos of the pandemic. Their work at Magpie and with other collaborators has found them onstage, on both sides of the camera, and folding and shipping hundreds of Victorian-style handwritten letters every month.
Jae is a Founding Core Company Member, Interim Artistic Director, and resident DP at Magpie.
Past roles: Prince Alister (Briar/Rose), Percy (RUST), The Sun (Fable 2024), Mordred (Arthuriana & Camelot).
Jae is a Founding Core Company Member, fulfillment coordinator, and resident DP at Magpie. They are serving as Interim Artistic Director from 2026-28.
Alexandra Angelova
Interim Managing Director
Alexandra Angelova (she/her) is a Bulgarian American stage manager and event coordinator based in Seattle. She has been stage managing James' crazy ideas since 2016, when she co-founded their first company, Bellevue Teen Productions.
Favorite projects include the NYE festivities at the Space Needle and FABLE: tales from another world (Magpie and Theatre Off Jackson).
Alexandra is a Founding Member and resident stage manager at Magpie. She is serving as Interim Managing Director from 2026-28.
Michelle Marais
Resident Costume Designer & Artist
Michelle Marais (she/they) is a Native American (Ojibwe) actor, painter, and costume designer. Originally from the rural Midwest, she studied theater and visual art at the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley, MN, graduating in 2016. In 2020, Michelle received her BFA in Theater from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA, where she presently resides.
Michelle is a Founding Core Company Member, resident costumer, and visual artist at Magpie.
Selected credits: Magpie’s Briar/Rose, Arthuriana, and Fable 2024; Achilles in Sparta at Cornish; Blue to Blue at Annex.
Kyle Morrow
Resident Music Director
Kyle Morrow (he/they) is a Filipino American musical storyteller currently based in Seattle, Washington and Cebu in the Philippines.
Although he comes from a primarily classical and “post-tonal” music background, Kyle’s recent work also draws on his Filipino and Cajun cultures; these contrasting traditions create a distinctly identifiable style. He is particularly interested in the use of traditional instrumentation and storytelling in folk music. He is also deeply inspired by minimalist composer Julius Eastman, whose organic music influence can be heard in much of Kyle’s work.
Kyle received his Bachelor of Music with an emphasis in composition from Cornish College of the Arts in 2020. Since then, he has thrown himself into expanding his musical horizons; he has explored traditional musical theatre as a music director, and his ever-growing list of instruments includes piano, percussion, mandolin, banjo, and accordion.
As Resident Music Director with Magpie Artists’ Ensemble, Kyle has developed a unique method for improvised scores to accompany physical theatre pieces. His credits with Magpie include stories and music for Fable: Tales from Another World (2024) & The Endless Tour (2026), music direction for Camelot (2025), and composition/conducting of the improvised live score for Arthuriana: Arthurian Legends for a New Age (2025).
Beyond his work in music, Kyle is an avid craftsman. When not in the rehearsal room, you can find him hand-binding books, painting D&D minis, and woodworking (you may have seen his infamous hand-crafted six foot windchimes onstage during Arthuriana!).
Next up: Magpie’s Q4baret: The 4th (sort-of) Annual Queer Cabaret at The Armory, June 27th.
Tony Holzwarth
Finance Officer
Originally growing up in the suburbs of the Chicago-land area, Tony Holzwarth (They/He) is a long time appreciator and seldom participant of the arts. Their acting history started off with Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, Roger in Rent, and Emmet in Legally Blonde The Musical.
Recently relocated to the PNW, they are excited to explore what the local theatre scene has to offer.
Tony is the very first Technical Apprentice at Magpie Artists' Ensemble.