Ruby Nancy is a writer, educator, minister, activist and entrepreneur.

As one of "the lucky ones," she gets to do things she loves for her work, rather than working so that she can do the things she loves. A strong sense of personal values motivate many of her interests, and she believes fully in the idea that "to whom much is given, much is required."

Her work with Iowa State University Extension's Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) involves teaching adults, teens and children about nutrition, cooking and food safety.  In March 2009, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., she was one of 8 educators who received national recognition with an EFNEP 40th Anniversary Award.

Ruby also operates Uncommon Ceremony, a wedding services business that specializes in creating inter-faith, ethnic, eclectic and contemporary weddings.  A universalist, ordained in 2000, Rev. Nancy is the part-time minister at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Clinton, Iowa.  She is also a member of Metropolitan Community Church of the Quad-Cities and the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches.

As a committee chair for QC PrideFest 2009: "Winds of Change," Ruby coordinated the involvement of dozens of community organizations in producing nearly 50 pride events during the month of June.  Ruby has volunteered for One Iowa and served as the style commentator for the Minority Women's Health Collective/United Neighbors 2009 fashion show.

She earned a B.A. from Mercer University's College of Liberal Arts, in Macon, Georgia -- studying communications, writing, theater and religion -- and received an M.P.A. degree with an executive leadership emphasis at Drake University's College of Business and Public Administration (Des Moines, Iowa). She has completed additional graduate coursework in the Adult Learning, Performance and Development program at Drake's School of Education.

Ruby Nancy published reviews on this site from December 2007 until January 2009 (click on the Archived Reviews tab to read any of them).  Previously, she reviewed hundreds of theater productions during the ten years she free-lanced for the Quad-City Times, where she also wrote page-one stories, personality profiles, columns, features and religion stories.

Her past production credits include the benefit concert series BRING IN THE HARVEST, which she hopes -- one day -- to revive.  Prior to writing about theater, Ruby worked with several community theater organizations in the QC, and has theater and music credits from the Midwest, the Southeast, the East Coast and Europe. She has worked in college, university, community, nonprofit and other theaters in a wide variety of roles.  Experiences as producer, director, makeup designer, set designer, actor, singer, dancer, technical director, house manager, dialect coach, costumer's assistant, understudy, playwright, script editor, artistic director, public relations manager, set painter and more have enhanced her love of this powerful and eclectic performing art. 

Some of her favorite experiences include playing Fran/Molly/Betsy/April in THE HEIDI CHRONICLES (regional premiere) and Trudy in THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE, designing makeup for the principals of WAITING FOR GODOT, singing in LIES AND LEGENDS: THE MUSICAL STORIES OF HARRY CHAPIN and playing the Widow Douglas/Aunt Polly in BIG RIVER -- all at Macon College Theatre. She also designed the set and assistant directed a production of BRIDGES and acted in the ensemble of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW – both of which had state tours while she attended Mercer University.

Ruby Nancy has also performed, toured and recorded with Hersong: the Quad Cities Women’s Chorus – sharing the stage with Holly Near, the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus, The Quire and other musicians. In 2003, she performed Haydn’s "Mass in Time of War" with BCF’s international chorus at Salzburg Cathedral and produced THE LYSISTRATA PROJECT QUAD-CITIES. 

Apprentice critic Briana Byrd is a student at the University of Iowa and a principal dancer with the Davenport-based Imani! Dancers. A journalism major pursuing a minor in dance, she is also a news reporter for the Daily Iowan and a sound and camera technician with Daily Iowan Television.

Byrd has a varied background of modern, ballet and multi-cultural dance performance, and works as a dance instructor at the Imani! Dancers Studio for Cultural Arts. A member of the National Association of Black Journalists, she also writes for their university-based magazine, NURU.

Other projects have included work as a summer journalism camp advisor, and Byrd was editor of her yearbook and minority magazine while in high school. She won an Al Neuharth Free Spirit Award for excellence in journalism, and was named Iowa High School Press Association’s Journalist of the Year. Ranked as one of the top 40 young minority journalists in the country, Byrd was also chosen to attend the Asian American Journalists Association’s J Camp in New York City.