About Us

The Justice Theater Project is an advocacy, activist theater group. The mission of The Justice Theater Project is to use the dramatic arts as a way to call to the fore of public attention the needs of the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed.

Our Partners

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church
Cardinal Gibbons High School
The Franciscan School
North Carolina Justice Center
Passage Home, Inc.
People of Faith Against the Death Penalty
UNC Chapel Hill Department of Communication Studies
UNC Chapel Hill Apples Service Learning Project
The Franciscan Coalition for Justice and Peace
The Emily K Center
Saint Mary’s School

Triangle Community Foundation
Our projects received support from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Cultural Resources and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.     
Our projects are funded in part by the City of Raleigh based on recommendations of the Raleigh Arts Commission, and by The United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County,  Franciscan Coalition, and the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province Benevolence Trust.
Mary Duke Biddle Foundation
Paul Green Foundation

Our Board Members

Deb Royals-Mizerk - Artistic Director
Melissa Zeph - Managing Director
Julio De La Rosa -  Financial Director
Barbara “bj” Avent-Farmer- Chairperson
Richard Derrenbacher- Vice Chairperson
Tom Wolf
Michael Keough
Shalon Maxile
Jules Weber

Advisory Board Members:

David McBriar, O.F.M
Jeanne Tedrow
Tim Throndson
Julie Jones
Freddie Lee Heath
Chris Graebe

Staff Biographies:

Deb Royals Artistic Director -

Deb has been the Artistic Director since 2004 and received a BFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and finished her graduate work in Theatre and Performance Studies at Northwestern University.  She has worked extensively with the gang and homeless population here in the triangle area.  Simultaneous to this she has worked within the prison system, from the development of performance work at Central Prison to facilitating and teaching liturgical dance at the Raleigh Correctional Center for Women.  Deb is currently a doctoral candidate in the department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Performance Studies; where she also teaches courses in performance studies, ethnography and oral traditions.  In addition to her work with and around the Death Penalty and its legacy here in the state of North Carolina, she has been working with the Latina/Latino youth in Durham for over a year to develop performance that perpetuates discourse around identity, agency and democratic citizenship as it manifests itself within their community.  In early April 2007 she began working with Project Levante, a component of Student Action for Farm Workers (SAF); incorporating performance in an effort to “shake off” fear and obstacles existent in their lives.  The performance work addresses concerns about health, housing, environmental conditions and the need for just immigration reform.  In addition to the Justice Theater Project, Deb also worked to found the town of Cary’s “Applause” Cary Youth Theatre and served as Managing/Marketing Director for Raleigh Ensemble Players.  She continues to perform and collaborate with REP, Burning Coal and other triangle theatre companies.

Julio De La Rosa - Financial Director

Julio has been the Volunteer Financial Director since 2005, and is a retired IBM executive.  Julio worked as Director of Finance and Administration on the staff of The Catholic Community of St. Francis of Assisi for eleven years.  He served as Treasurer of Passage Home Community Development Corporation for 5 years.  Julio is a member of the Diocese Finance Council of the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh and a member of the School Advisory Council of The Franciscan School.  Julio is a graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor’s Degree Electrical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Industrial Administration.

Melissa Zeph - Managing Director

Melissa was previously the Marketing and Development Coordinator, and has been with JTP since January of 2006.  She holds a BA in Business from the University of South Florida and has a 20-year history of marketing in the arts and non-profit sector including The American Red Cross, The National Drowning Prevention Coalition, the Town of Cary Cultural Resources Department; many other arts organizations.