Playwright

Phanésia Pharel is a Haitian-American playwright from a Dragon Fruit farm in Miami. The proud daughter of an immigrant teacher and farmer, she writes to honor people.

Full lengths; LUCKY (New York Stage and Film, Kennedy Center Latinx Playwriting Award, Kennedy Center Rosa Parks Playwriting Award, Kennedy Center Lorraine Hansberry Distinguished Achievement). BLACK GIRL JOY (Frank Moffett Mosier Fellowship for Works in Heightened Finalist Prize, Jane Chambers Finalist, Bay Area Playwrights Festival Finalist).

Other Honors include New Harmony 2023 Finalist and City Theatre National Short Playwriting Finalist.

Phanésia is a member of the Obie award-winning EST/ Youngblood group. Commissions include City Theatre Miami, the Latinx Playwrights Circle & Pregones/PRTT Greater Good Commission and Thrown Stone Theatre. Her work has been developed with the Old Globe, New York Stage and Film, Shattered Globe, Echo Theater Company of Los Angeles, and the Playwrights Center.

Publishing: Concord Theatricals, Smith and Kraus Best Plays of 2020, Reset Coalition 2020 Anthology and the City Theatre Anthology.

BA: Urban Studies, Barnard College of Columbia University. MFA: Playwriting, UCSD 25’

Agent (theatre): Bonnie Davis @ Bret Adams Manager (TV, Film & the whole shabang): Brandy Rivers @ Industry Entertainment

Playwright

Nia Akilah Robinson (she/her) is a playwright and actor who reps Harlem with all her might. She is a graduating second year playwright at The Juilliard School (studying under David Lindsay-Abaire & Tanya Barfield). She has been awarded the 2024 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival, 2023 Miranda Family Fund Commission (Lin-Manuel Miranda-Luis A. Miranda, Jr., Dr. Luz Towns-Miranda), 2023 Next Wave Initiative Lorraine Hansberry Writing Scholarship, 2023 NYSAF Artist-In-Residence, 2023 National Black Theater Soul Series, 2023 Residency at The Pocantico Center through YoungArts, 2023 NYSCA Grant Awardee (CCCADI), 2023 Film & TV Mentorship by Mitzi Miller (Vice President of Warner Bros.). Updates: 2023 Workshop at The Hearth, 48th Samuel French OOB Short Play Festival, (in process) Finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Nia is shortlisted for the 2023 Theatre503’s International Playwriting Award. Her work has been seen and developed with The Ground Floor: Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Great Plains Theater Conference, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Ensemble Studio Theater, Waterwell, Classical Theater of Harlem, Urbanite, and New Georges. She has been a MacDowell Fellow, Travis Bogard Eugene O'Neill Foundation Fellow, a writer for PEN America and EST/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (short play). She was a shortlisted finalist for the 2023 Audible Commission, the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Blue Ink Playwriting Award, New York Theater Workshop 2050 Artistic Fellowship. She is a member or alumna of EST's Youngblood, I-73 at Page 73, The Orchard Project NYC Greenhouse, The Wish Collective, and TheBlackHERthePen.

Agent (Theatre): Alex Gold @ CAA https://www.niaakilahrobinson.com

Playwright

Justice Hehir is a playwright whose work explores sexuality, feminism, and the formation and rupture of human bonds. She is a member of Youngblood at EST, a 2023/2024 New Georges Cycle 9 Audrey Resident, and a 2023 New York Theater Workshop Adelphi Resident. She is currently commissioned by Clubbed Thumb developing a piece for Winterworks 2023, as well as developing her play "the deodand" with The Alcove New Play Program at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. She received a Clubbed Thumb Constitution Commission from Heidi Shreck and the producers of "What the Constitution Means to Me" in 2021, and with the support of New Georges co-authored “the wish: a manual for a last-ditch effort to save abortion in the united states through theater,” a free, downloadable play about abortion rights released May 2022. She is currently under commission by Lin Manuel Miranda's Family Foundation, along with her co-authors, creating a companion piece for "the wish" to be released later this year. She graduated from Hunter College in 2018 with an MFA in Playwriting (under the tutelage of Annie Baker and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins) and from Rutgers University/Douglass College in 2016 with a BA in Women’s and Gender Studies and English.

Playwright

Julia Specht is a fiction writer, playwright, screenwriter, and performer, who only cares about making art with revolutionary potential. Her work is about maintaining hope in the face of existential peril, and using the lessons of mental illness to navigate the cultural moments that feel like the end of the world. It is often interdisciplinary, and it is always rooted in providing comfort and clarity.

Her work has been performed at Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST Marathon, 2017 & 2019), The Brick, The Tank, Kraine Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and elsewhere. Her plays have also been performed in colleges, including Long Island University, Ohio State University, Ball State University, and DePaul University. Her fiction has been published in cream city review, TriQuarterly Review, Visions ("Dinner", Skylight Books staff pick), and elsewhere. She has written commissions for Long Island University, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and others. She is an alum of EST Youngblood. She holds an MFA in Fiction from CUNY Hunter, and a BA in Psychology and Ancient Greek from Wellesley College.

Playwright

Dena Igusti is a queer non binary Indonesian Muslim poet, playwright, filmmaker and producer born and raised in Queens, New York. They are the author of CUT WOMAN (Game Over Books, 2020), which has been listed as a 2022 Perennial Award Winner and 2020 Harvard Bookstore Staff Pick and a Entropy Mag’s Best Of 2020-2021, and I NEED THIS TO NOT SWALLOW ME ALIVE (Gingerbug Press, 2021). They are the co-playwright of the wish: a manual for a last-ditch effort to save abortion in the united states through theater. They are the founder of Dearest Mearest.

Their work has been featured in BOAAT Press, Peregrine Journal, Colorbloq, and several other publications. Their work has been produced and performed at LA Times, The Brooklyn Museum, The Apollo Theater, Women Deliver, the 2018 Teen Vogue Summit, Players Theatre (SHARUM, 2019), Prelude Festival (Cut Woman, 2020), Center At West Park (CON DOUGH, 2021), The Tank (First Sight 2021 at LimeFest), Connelly Theater (First Sight at SheNYC Summer Festival, 2023) and several other venues internationally.

They are a 2023 NYFA Women’s Fund Recipient, 2023 NYFA Queens Art Grant Recipient, 2023 Asian American Writers’ Workshop Open City Fellow, 2023 Culture Push Fellow, 2023 More Arts Engaging Artist Fellow, 2022 NeXt Doc Fellow, 2022 Lime Arts Unfinished Resident Playwright and Synesthesia Resident Artist, 2022 Sundress Arts Resident, 2022 Best of the Net Nominee, 2021 Baldwin For The Arts Resident, 2021 Hook Arts Media Digital Connections Fellow, 2021 Rogue Theater Festival Playwright-in-Residence, 2021 City Artist Corps, 2021 Stories Award Finalist, 2021 LMCC Governor’s Island Resident, 2021 Broadway For Racial Justice Inaugural Casting Directive Fellow, 2020 Seventh Wave Editorial Resident, 2020 Ars Nova Emerging Leaders Fellow, 2020 Spotify Sound Up cohort member, 2019 Player’s Theatre Resident Playwright, and 2018 NYC Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador. They are a Converse All Stars Artist and UN #TOGETHERBAND Global Ambassador.

Broadway - Eclipsed by Danai Gurira (2016 Tony-nominee, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play), The Trip to Bountiful with the late Ms. Cicely Tyson, Off Bway - Merry Wives, Belleville, An Octoroon, Relevance. Film & TV - East New York,The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Chicago Med, Prodigal Son, The Blacklist, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Quick Silver Theater core member, NYU Tisch Graduate Acting Program alumna. Developing her one-woman show, $#!thole Country Clapback, into a series. pascalearmand.com

THEATER: The Sign In Sidney Brustein's Window at BAM and transferred to Broadway. OFF-BROADWAY: The Rose Tattoo (Williamstown Theater Festival), Connected (59E59). TV: Shining Vale (Saturn Award Nominee), Dickinson, The Mist, Indsatiable, Jessica Jones, The Blacklist, Bull, Blue Bloods, Law and Order. FILMS: I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Netflix), Rainy Day in New York, Here and Now, Plan B (Hulu), Happiness for Beginners (Netflix), Asleep in My Palm, Three Birthdays. Upcoming: OUR CLASS at BAM starting in January

Renee Anna Byrne is proud to be a member of this ensemble. Favorite credits include the shorts THE CALLING and OF STEEL AND WATER, JULIUS CAESAR at the GLOBE THEATER, and the workshop of WP MEANS WHITE PEOPLE at WATERWELL. They are an actor, archery coach, and teaching artist with PLAYHOUSE CREATURES. They have their BFA in Acting from Rutgers University .

Samy Figaredo (he/him, they/them) is an actor, print model, consultant, and community organizer of over a decade. He recently season 3 of the HBO Max series The Other Two, and narrated the audiobook for the Lambda Literary award-winning novel The 30 Names of Night. Other recent appearances include Chonburi International Hotel & Butterfly Club (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Well-Intentioned White People (Barrington Stage Company), and Into the Woods (Ford’s Theatre). As a commercial and print model, he has participated in campaigns for CitiBank, Gilead Sciences, and JUST Water. For more information, visit www.samyfigaredo.com.

Select Theater: Odyssey (The Acting Company); 7 Minutes (Waterwell); Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronic (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater); Will You Come With Me? (Play Company); Men on Boats (Clubbed Thumb); Dance Nation (Playwrights Horizons); Bull in a China Shop (Lincoln Center); Dido of Idaho (Ensemble Studio Theater); Nobody’s Girl (NJ Rep); Wyoming (Lesser America); I am Gordafarid (Noor Theater). TV: Instinct (CBS); FBI (CBS); All Hail Beth (BricTV), My Ex is Trending (YouTube). Film: Long Nights, Short Mornings; Bad at Birthdays, Nadia Jaan; Androgen; Bookends. MFA in Acting, Brooklyn College.

Irene Sofia Lucio: Originated the role of “Patricia” in Slave Play on Broadway and Off-Broadway. Broadway: Slave Play, Wit. Off-Broadway: Wolf Play (MCC), Romeo y Julieta (Public Theater), Slave Play, Love & Information (NYTW), Orange Julius (Rattlestick), Undertaking (BAM), King Liz (Second Stage), We Play for the Gods (WP). TV: “The Americans,” “Bartlett,” “Casi Casi.” Co-creator of “BUTS Webseries” (NBCU Short Film Festival winner, Imagen Award Nom.). Education: Princeton & Yale School of Drama. Native of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Liza is an artivist; an actress, playwright, poet, author and youth advocate. Her critically acclaimed one woman show, The Peculiar Patriot, was nominated for a Drama Desk Award, Elliot Norton and a recipient of a Lilly Award. Liza performed The Peculiar Patriot in 35 prisons across the country. Angola Do You Hear Us; Voices from a Plantation Prison, a short documentary, features her historic performance of The Peculiar Patriot at Louisiana State Penitentiary (aka Angola) and the film was shortlisted for an Academy Award and is streaming on Paramount Plus and Amazon Prime. Liza is author of a memoir, ALL DAY; A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island (Hachette publishing) and was commissioned by The Old Globe Theater to adapt the book into a stage play.

www.lizajessiep.com

Carrie Preston is currently shooting the upcoming CBS TV show Elsbeth, based on a character she played on The Good Fight and The Good Wife (for which she won an Emmy award) Other TV/film: Polly on Claws; Arlene on True Blood, Person of Interest, To the Bone, Space Oddity, They/Them and The Holdovers, currently in theaters. She has performed on Broadway, off-Broadway and regionally and has directed plays, TV shows, feature films, short films and web series.

Mirirai is happy to be here. She has worked at Actors Theatre of Louisville, MCC, New York Stage & Film, Dorset Theatre Festival, Atlantic Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley and more. TV credits include: "Broad City" "Bull" "Russian Doll" and "Black Mirror: Smithereens". She received a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Adelphi University and trained at TEMPLE143, The Flourishing Center, Shakespeare & Company, and Fiasco Theater to name a few. www.AyeDefy.net

Malika Samuel is an interdisciplinary storyteller & teaching artist, presently faculty & guest director at her alma mater NYU Tisch. Her career spans over two decades in Broadway, Television, Film, & Stage. Additionally, she applies her creative experiences & professional skills toward developing curricular interventions across the medical/healthcare education/practice continuum. Recent credits include Bite Me (WP/Colt Coeur), Bernarda’s Daughters (TNG/TNBT), Crumbs from the Table of Joy (Keen) & The Marvelous Mrs.Maisel S5 (Amazon)

Stage Manager

Broadway: A Strange Loop, Slave Play. Off-Broadway: This Land Was Made (Vineyard Theatre), Toros (Second Stage Theater), Man Cave (Page 73), What To Send Up When It Goes Down (The Movement Theatre Company, BAM, Playwrights Horizon). Regional: Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes) (En Garde Arts / La Jolla Playhouse), A Christmas Carol (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), La Egoista (Actors Theatre of Louisville.) Virtual: American Dreams (The Working Theater) International: Festival de Teatro Alternativo, Festival de Mujeres En Escena Por la Paz

Moderator

(she/they) is a social researcher, facilitator, and artist passionate about creativity, reproductive justice, and liberation from capitalism. Born and raised in the Midwest but now living in Harlem, Banuelos-Rovaris works at Broadway for Arts Education. They also serve as the Vice President of Abortion Conversation Projects and volunteer with the Audre Lorde Project.

Connect with her and read more about their work at traciabanuelos.com

Director

has directed and developed a multitude of plays, musicals, and theatrical productions with many wonderful, creative and award-winning writers and artists. She has a passion for developing and directing new work, reinventing the classics for our modern times, the telling of stories through a queer and healing lens, and is an intuitive healer and medicinal aromatherapist.