JASON DIRDEN. Broadway: A Raisin In The Sun, Fences. Off-Broadway and Regional: The Piano Lesson, The First Breeze of Summer (Signature Theater), Stickfly (Huntington Theater), Every Tongue Confess (Arena Stage), Seven Guitars, Topdog/Underdog (Two River Theater).

WENDELL B. FRANKLIN. Theatre credits include Duke Solinas in A Comedy of Errors and Helicanus in Pericles at Illinois Shakespeare Festival; Lyons in Fences at Arkansas Repertory Theatre; Macon in Gee’s Bend at Cleveland Play House; Walter Lee in A Raisin in the Sun at Virginia Stage Company and Weston Playhouse Theatre Company; Willie in Master Harold… and the Boys at the Weston Playhouse; Jerome Kisembe in Ruined at La Jolla Playhouse, Huntington Theatre Company and Berkeley Repertory Theatre; The Desire and Brothers from the Bottom at the Billie Holiday Theatre; Speak Truth to Power at the Culture Project; and workshops of Dominique Morisseau’s Skeleton Crew at The Lark and Sundance Theatre Lab.

LYNDA GRAVATT. Broadway: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (with James Earl Jones), Doubt (standby), King Hedley II (u/s Ruby), 45 Seconds from Broadway. Off Broadway: The Hummingbird’s Tour (Theatre at St. Clements), The Little Foxes (NYTW), Zooman and the Sign, King Hedley II (Signature), Crowns (Second Stage), Miss Witherspoon (Playwrights Horizons), Intimate Apparel(Roundabout), The Old Settler, Dividing the Estate (Primary Stages). Regional: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (Arena Stage, Huntington), A Raisin in the Sun(Chautauqua, Westport Country Playhouse, Geva Theatre, Hartford Stage), Polk County (McCarter, Berkeley Rep), Crowns (Arena Stage), The Young Man from Atlanta (Huntington, Alley).Television: “Elementary,” “Person of Interest,” “The Good Wife,” “30 Rock,” all the “Law & Orders,” “One Life to Live,” “As The World Turns,” “All My Children.” Film: The Delivery Man, Bounty Hunter, I Hate Valentine’s Day, Who Killed Atlanta’s Children?. Three Audelco Awards, Helen Hayes Award, Connecticut Critics Circle Award. Graduate of Howard University. Proud Member of Actors Equity.

NIKIYA MATHIS. Off Broadway: Fidelis (Public Theater); The Brother Sister Plays: In the Red & Brown Water & Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet (Public Theater), Milk Like Sugar (Playwrights Horizons); Seed (Classical Theater of Harlem). Regional:  The Blood Quilt (Arena Stage); By The Way Meet Vera Stark  (Alliance Theater); The Mountaintop (Milwaukee Repertory theater); Intimate Apparel (Two River Theater);  Eclipsed (McCarter Theatre); Milk Like Sugar (La Jolla Playhouse); The Brother Sister Plays (McCarter Theater); The Continuum Company’s Romeo and Juliet (Florence, Italy). Commercials: Diet Coke “Heart Health,” Kraft Macaroni and Cheese “Pregnant,” Nationwide Insurance “Atlanta Falcon’s House.” Television: “Elementary,” “Person of Interest,” “Madam Secretary,” “Crime.” Film: Compliance (dir. Craig Zobel); Knucklehead (dir. Ben Bowman). BA: Temple University, MFA: NYU Acting Graduate.

ADESOLA OSAKALUMI starred in the original Broadway cast, national and international tours of Fela! and Fela! The Concert and the Broadway revival of Equus (Nugget U/S, ensemble). New York/Regional theater includes: In Your Arms (Old Globe Theatre), Ngwino Ubeho (Sundance Theater Lab), Eyewitness Blues (New York Theater Workshop), Jam on the Groove (Minetta Lane Theater, Drama Desk nominee). Film includes: Sex and the City 2, Crazy Beats Strong Every Time, The Accidental Husband, Across the Universe, Enchanted and Idlewild. As a choreographer for film: School of Rock, Marci X. Commercials and theater include: Broadway Bares, ESPN, Old Navy, PBS Kids, Halifax Bank, Advil. A New York native, NEA Grant recipient and Bessie Award winner, Adesola was introduced to the performing arts by his family and believes the responsibility of an artist is to enlighten and inspire. www.adesola.com

DOMINIQUE MORISSEAU is an alumna of the Public Theater Emerging Writers Group, Women’s Project Lab, and Lark Playwrights Workshop. Credits include: Skeleton Crew (Sundance; Lark Barebones); Detroit ’67 (Public Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem/NBT); Sunset Baby (Gate Theater; LAByrinth Theater); Follow Me to Nellie’s (O’Neill; Premiere Stages). She has produced other original works with the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, Penn State University, American Theatre of Harlem and The New Group. Her 3-play cycle, entitled The Detroit Projects includes Detroit ’67, Paradise Blue (developed with Voice and Vision, Hansberry Project, NYTW, McCarter Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the Public Theater), and Skeleton Crew. Awards: Steinberg Playwright Award, Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, two-time NAACP Image Award, Primus Prize commendation, Stavis Playwriting Award, Spirit of Detroit Award, U of M Emerging Leader Award, Weissberger Award, PoNY Fellowship, Sky-Cooper New American Play Prize, and the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama.

RUBEN SANTIAGO-HUDSON most recently staged the world premieres of Dominique Morriseau’s Paradise Blue at The Williamstown Theater Festival and his own Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine at The Two River Theater Co. Other directing credits include The Piano Lesson (OBIE, Lucille Lortel, Joseph A. Callaway, Audelco), The Happiest Song Plays Last (Second Stage Theater), My Children My Africa, Seven Guitars and The First Breeze of Summer all at The Signature Theater Company. Select Regional theater credits include: A.C.T. San Francisco, The McCarter Theater and The Kennedy Center. His screenplay adaptation of his autobiographical play Lackawanna Blues garnered numerous awards including The Humanitas Prize, National Board of Reviews, NAACP Image Award and The Christopher Award as well as Emmy, Golden Globe and WGA nominations. As an actor, Mr. Santiago-Hudson is the recipient of a Tony Award®, OBIE Award, Clarence Derwent and Helen Hayes Awards among others. Ruben holds a BA from Binghamton University and an MFA from Wayne State University.

MICHAEL CARNAHAN. First National Tour: A Christmas Story The Musical; Off-Broadway: I and You (59E59); The Happiest Song Plays Last (Second Stage); The Piano Lesson (Signature Theatre); The First Breeze of Summer (Signature Theatre); Life Could Be A Dream; The Marvelous Wonderettes; Three Mo’ Tenors; Pygmalion; Howie the Rookie; Brando. Regional: Arena Stage, American Conservatory Theater, McCarter Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Pasadena Playhouse, Two River Theater, Cleveland Play House, Laguna Playhouse, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Northlight Theatre, Signature Theatre (Arlington, VA), Bucks County Playhouse, Ogunquit Playhouse, Arsht Center, Musical Theatre West, San Jose Repertory, Center Rep. Broadway (Associate Scenic Designer): Allegiance; The River, Peter and The Starcatcher; ANN: The Ann Richards Play; Cyrano de Bergerac; The Importance of Being Earnest; Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; All About Me; White Christmas; Curtains. www.michaelcarnahandesign.com.

PAUL TAZEWELL. NBC’s “The Wiz! Live.” Broadway: Hamilton; Dr. Zhivago; Side Show; A Streetcar Named Desire (Tony nom); Magic Bird: Jesus Christ Superstar; Lombardi; Memphis (Tony nom); Guys and Dolls; In The Heights (Tony nom); The Color Purple (Tony nom); Hot Feet; Caroline, or Change; A Raisin in the Sun; Drowning Crow; Bring in ‘da Noise… (Tony nom); Elaine Stritch at Liberty; On the Town; Fascinating Rhythm; Def Poetry Jam. Regional: Side Show (La Jolla Playhouse), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (Arena Stage). Off Broadway: Ruined, In The Heights, McReele, Flesh and Blood, Fame, Boston Marriage, Harlem Song. Opera: The Met, English National Opera, Washington Opera, Chicago Lyric, LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, NYC Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre. Three Helen Hayes Awards, Lucille Lortel, Jefferson, Princess Grace, and Irene Sharaff awards.

RUI RITA has designed the Broadway productions of Velocity of Autumn; Trip to Bountiful; Present Laughter; Dividing the Estate; Old Acquaintance; Enchanted April among others. His Off-Broadway premieres include Happiest Song Plays Last (Second Stage) Just Jim Dale (Roundabout), Horton Foote’s Old Friends & The Orphans’ Home Cycle (Hewes Award, Signature), Nightingale, Moonlight and Magnolias (Manhattan Theatre Club), Big Bill, The Carpetbagger’s Children, Far East (Lincoln Center Theater), The Day Emily Married (Primary Stages), and Dinner with Friends (Variety Arts Center). His Off Broadway revivals include The Piano Lesson (Signature), Talley’s Folly & The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore (Roundabout), and Engaged (Obie Award, Theatre for a New Audience). His recent regional credits include Alley Theatre, Arena Stage, American Conservatory Theater, Center Theatre Group, Ford’s Theatre, Guthrie, Huntington Theatre Company, Shakespeare Theatre, Two River, Oregon Shakespeare, Old Globe, and Williamstown Theatre Festival.

ROBERT KAPLOWITZ has been designing sound and composing for 23 years, and has been honored with an OBIE for Sustained Excellence in Sound Design and a Tony® for Fela! His work was last heard here at the Atlantic in Lucy Thurber’s The Bottom of the World. In NYC, he’s designed on Broadway, as well as for The Public, NYTW, MCC, 2nd Stage, the Vineyard, MTC, Lincoln Center 3 and just about every 99-seator-smaller venue in the five boroughs. A Philadelphian since 2010, his work has been heard there at PlayPenn, Wilma, Interact, Arden, Lucidity Suitcase, Pig Iron, Lantern, PTC, Flashpoint and Azuka; other credits include the Guthrie, the Alley, Baltimore Center Stage, Sundance, the O’Neill and The National Theatre of England.

JIMMY “J. KEYS” KEYS is a Brooklyn based emcee hailing from Detroit. His sound blends his midwest upbringing and his years of east coast experience to create his unique rhyming style. He has performed at some of NYC’s most important and legendary spaces, including S.O.B’s, B.B. Kings, NYC SummerStage, Santos Party House, the Blue Note, Kraine Theater, Le Poisson Rouge, the Cutting Room, and Pianos. Additionally, he’s rocked stages nationally in Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, and internationally in Grahamstown, South Africa, Toronto (NXNE), and London, England. He has performed on the Mainstage at A3C Festival alongside such notables as Elzhi of Slum Village, Master Ace, and Skyzoo. A deep passionate artist with a sense of humor and a sense of purpose, J. Keys is excited to be composing original works for this production and consulting the team on Detroit hip hop culture.

NICHOLAS HUSSONG. Regional credits include Grounded (Alley Theatre); Two Trains Running (Arden Theatre Company); These Paper Bullets! (Atlantic Theater Company, Geffen Playhouse, Yale Rep); The Mountaintop (Playmakers Rep); I Saw My Neighbor on the Train and I Didn’t Even Smile (Berkshire Theatre Group), as well as productions with Abrons Art Center, Premieres NYC, Ars Nova, Heartbeat Opera, Joe’s Pub, Nashville Symphony, Hartford Symphony, I am a Boys Choir, SummerWorks Toronto and La MaMa Summer Share. Nicholas was the Artistic Associate at Triad Stage in Greensboro, North Carolina where he continues to design new works based on Appalachian life written by Preston Lane. Nickhussong.com.

LAURA WILSON. Broadway: All The Way, First Date, A Free Man of Color, The People in the Picture. Off-Broadway: Exit Strategy (Primary Stages), The Really Big Once, A Family of Perhaps Three (Target Margin Theater). Tour: Soul Doctor. Regional: Bull Durham (Alliance Theatre); August Wilson’s Seven Guitars, Ruben Santiago Hudson’s Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine, Third (Two River Theater); Period of Adjustment (Dir. by David Auburn), Moonchildren (Dir. by Karen Allen), A Thousand Clowns (Berkshire Theatre Festival); Guys and Dolls (Riverside Theatre); The Three Sisters, The Boys From Syracuse, and Naomi Wallace’s Things of Dry Hours (Centerstage, Baltimore); Lydia R. Diamond’s Stick Fly, Lee Blessing’s Lonesome Hollow, Richard Dresser’s A View Of The Harbor (Contemporary American Theater Festival); Tom Stoppard’s On the Razzle (Clarence Brown Theatre); All In The Timing, Mac Wellman’s School For Devils (The Hangar Theatre).

KELLY ICE. Off-Broadway: Skeleton Crew (ATC – Stage 2), Between Riverside and Crazy (ATC), Nora (Cherry Lane), Gloria (Vineyard), Little Children Dream of God (Roundabout Underground), Queen of the Night (Variety Worldwide), Here Lies Love (The Public Theater), The Last Seder (Rosalind Productions, Inc.), Sleep No More (Punchdrunk/Emersive), Double Falsehood (CSC), The Road To Qatar (York Theatre), Secrets of the Trade, Happy Now? (Primary Stages), My Big Gay Italian Wedding, Spirit Control (MTC), Coraline (MCC). New York: At Home Abroad, Arms and the Girl (UnSung Musicals), Smile (Singing OnStage), Deadline, Sarah At Noon, The Wife (Lark Play Development Center), The Boys Upstairs (FringeNYC, Encore Series, & Fringe BENEFITS). Regional: Tell Me On A Sunday, Wait Until Dark (Surflight Theatre), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Fulton Theatre), Sisters of Swing (PA Centre Stage). Tours: Radio City Christmas Spectacular Arena Tour. Fundraising/Charity events with BC/EFA, Broadway Dreams Foundations, ASTEP, The Actors Fund. PSU Graduate. Proud AEA member.

THE SUNDANCE INSTITUTE. The Sundance Institute Theatre Program advances the work of risk-taking theatre artists by providing developmental opportunities that support artists throughout their careers. Dedicated to meeting the changing needs of both established and emerging theater-makers, the program offers support for those creating unique and compelling work for the stage in its Labs and Retreats. Recent plays and musicals supported by the program include Annie Baker’s Circle Mirror Transformation, Dominique Morisseau’s Skeleton Crew, Doug Wright’s Posterity, Stew’s Passing Strange, Branden Jacobs Jenkins’ Appropriate, and Fun Home by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori.