OMAR METWALLY created the role of Humayun in Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere production of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj. He has appeared on Broadway in Sixteen Wounded (Tony Award nomination, Outer Critics Circle nomination) and in numerous Off-Broadway productions with The Public Theater, Steppenwolf, Williamstown Theatre Festival and many others. Omar played Vik on “The Affair”(Showtime) for four seasons, and has also been seen on television in “Ramy” (Hulu), “Mr. Robot” (USA), “Treadstone” (USA) and many others. Film appearances include Breakable You, Munich, Rendition, Non-Stop, Miral, Day Ten and Complete Unkown. Omar was the recipient of the Chopard Trophy at the Cannes Film Festival for his performance in Rendition. He directed the world premiere of Sharif Abu Hamdeh’s play Habibi with Campo Santo in San Francisco, one of his artistic homes. Omar is a graduate of UC Berkeley and received his MFA in acting from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.

ARIAN MOAYED. Iranian-born, Award-winning actor Arian Moayed is the co-Founder of Waterwell, a civic-minded and socially conscious non-profit theater and education company. He is also a Partner of Waterwell Films, a for-profit film and television company. With the Waterwell non-profit, recent productions include The Flores Exhibits, a series of videos in which artists, lawyers, advocates, and immigrants read the sworn testimonies of children held in detention facilities at the U.S./Mexico border (flores-exhibits.org), The Courtroom: a re-enactment of one woman’s deportation proceedings, named “Best Theater of 2019” by The New York Times, and a dual-language Hamlet (Arian played the title role). Waterwell also created Fleet Week Follies, an annual festival of music, food, and kid-friendly activities, free to military service members and their families.  At the Waterwell Education Program, over 250 students per year receive world-class arts training and education in advocacy at the Professional Performing Arts School, all free of charge. He has been a faculty member for nearly 15 years. With Waterwell Films, Arian has written/directed the Emmy-nominated, short-form thriller, The Accidental Wolf. Current writing projects include 28 Mordad, Barstool Santa, and The Courtroom. Notable acting credits: The Humans (Drama Desk Award), Guards at the Taj (Obie Award), Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Tony nomination), Emmy-winning “Succession” (HBO), and an upcoming Shonda Rhimes series, “Inventing Anna” (Netflix).

RAJIV JOSEPH’s play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama and also awarded a grant for Outstanding New American Play by the National Endowment for the Arts. He has twice won the Obie Award for Best New American Play, first in 2016 with Guards at the Taj (also a 2016 Lortel Winner for Best Play) and then in 2018, for Describe the Night.  Other plays include Archduke, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Animals Out of Paper, The Lake Effect, The North Pool and Mr. Wolf. Joseph has been awarded artistic grants from the Whiting Foundation, United States Artists and the Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. He is a board member of the Lark Play Development Center in New York City, where he develops all his plays. He served for three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal and now lives in Brooklyn, NY.

AMY MORTON is a director, actor and associate artist at Steppenwolf Theatre. She has directed or performed in over 30 plays at Steppenwolf. As actor: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Tony nomination), August: Osage County (Tony nomination), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (also on Broadway), Hir, The Cherry Orchard, The Berlin Circle, Three Days of Rain, The Unmentionables, Space, The Royal Family and many others.

She’s directed Guards at the Taj (both Atlantic and Steppenwolf theatres); Glengarry Glen Ross, Clybourne Park, American Buffalo, The Dresser, The Pillowman, Topdog/ Underdog, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?(Alliance Theatre); Awake and Sing (Northlight Theatre); and many others. Film: Rookie of the Year, 8mm, Falling Down, Backdraft, Up in the Air, Bluebird. Television: “Bluebloods,” “Girls,” “Homeland,” currently on “Chicago PD” as Trudy Platt. Before joining Steppenwolf, Amy was a member of the Remains Theatre for 15 years.