Hooked on theatre since age seven when she saw her first Broadway show, playwright, lyricist and composer Andrea Markowitz earned degrees in English, music and psychology, and pursued careers in advertising, human resources, academia, and freelance writing and editing before authoring her first play, FEEDING THE FURIES, a social satire that took third place in the Baltimore Playwrights Festival. Her latest work, FAIR GAME: OR THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING HONEST (a musical satire based on a true story about fake news) was just nominated for the best new script and best new score by the ariZoni Theatre Awards of Excellence committee (winner will be announced October, 2022). Andrea wrote both the script and the score! She’s also thrilled to have been awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2022 Jewish Plays Project contest, for her comedy/drama, APHRAH-CADABRA. Andrea is intrigued by the complexities of human nature and the interrelationships between seemingly discrete fields such as science, spirituality, politics, archaeology, history and fiction, and loves to create characters who are thrust into situations that require them to examine the world and themselves through multiple perspectives. Her recurring theme revolves around creating community through mutual respect and understanding. Andrea is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, ASCAP, Honor Roll, International Centre for Women Playwrights, Alliance for Jewish Theatre, The Playwrights’ Center, and Maestra, and is Playwright in Residence at Desert Foothills Theater.

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Website: http://www.feedingthefuries.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010319160490

MORE ABOUT ME
My most gratifying moment in the theatre was watching the rapt attention the audience paid to the staged reading I was awarded by the Arizona Women's Theatre Company for my very first play, FEEDING THE FURIES. I wrote FURIES in response to a competition for Arizona women playwrights, after thinking about writing a play for 20 years! (I'd seen tons of shows but never took a playwriting class nor held any theatre-related jobs.) I had four months to write the script before the submission deadline. I figured, if the play's not completed by the deadline, at least I've started to write it. But I "finished" it, and then discovered it was one of only two full-lengths to be selected for a staged reading. This acknowledgement was more exciting to me than anything else I'd accomplished in my life. And when I watched the audience's emotional emersion, heard their enthusiastic applause, and listened to their feedback about how deeply they identified with one of the characters, or knew someone like them, I realized, I can do this. I can write plays, and even more important, I can write plays that mean something to the audience. So I sought professional feedback on the script, learned how to polish the action and dialogue, and after many rewrites over the next two years, FEEDING THE FURIES received Third Prize in the Baltimore Playwrights Festival.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON
I'm working on a play that's based on the true story of a rising star in the jewelry business who becomes a convicted felon after being found guilty of securities fraud. When the prison medical staff’s indifference to her cellmate’s declining health contributes to the cellmate’s untimely death, the former jewelry entrepreneur has an epiphany and devotes the rest of her life to prison reform advocacy.

KEYWORDS
​Jewish, Family, Mystery, Political, Equality, Historical, Biography, Musical, Period, Mixed Genre

Lisa B. Thompson’s satirical comedies, poignant dramas and engaging scholarship challenges stereotypes about Black life in the US, particularly the experiences of the middle class. The award-winning artist, scholar and teacher is the author of four books: Beyond the Black Lady: Sexuality and the New African American Middle Class (2009), Single Black Female (2012), Underground, Monroe, and The Mamalogues: Three Plays (2020), and The Mamalogues (2021). Thompson’s plays have been produced Off-Broadway, throughout the US, and internationally and has been recognized with an Austin Critics Circle David Mark Cohen New Play Award, a Broadway World Regional Awards Best Writing of an Original Work, a LA Weekly Theatre Award for Best Comedy nomination, and an Irma P. Hall Black Theatre Best Play Award. Her articles and reviews examining performances of race, gender, sexuality in theatre, film and popular culture have appeared in Theatre Journal, Journal of American Drama, Theatre Survey, NPR, Criterion Collection, Clutch, Huffington Post and The Washington Post. Her art and scholarship have received support from a number of institutions including the American Council of Learned Societies, Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, Hedgebrook, MacDowell, Michele R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Millay Arts, National Performance Network, and the W. E. B. DuBois Research Institute at the Hutchins Center. The California native is currently the Bobby and Sherri Patton Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies, and the College of Liberal Arts’ Advisor to the Dean for Faculty Mentoring and Support at the University of Texas at Austin. Thompson also co-hosts and co-produces, Black Austin Matters, a podcast and radio segment on KUT: Austin’s NPR station that explores Black life, culture, and politics in Central Texas. She was recently appointed a Presidential Visiting Scholar at The New School for the 2022-2023 academic year.

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
FB: https: @drlisabthompson
TW: @drlisabthompson
IG: @drlisabthompson

MORE ABOUT ME:
After over 20 years, I keep doing theater because of the ability to “do theater” simply by writing words and inviting others to perform them. It’s beautiful that theater making can happen in your living room, in your backyard, or around your dining room table. I’m fortunate that all of those readings in my living room have gone on to become fully staged plays in theaters across the world. That has brought me great joy because that means people who look like me get to see their stories on stage. It has also been deeply gratifying that artists that look like me also get to be the ones to tell those stories. I’ve begun to realize that being a playwright has incredible power. I get to collaborate with other artists to tell stories that have been hidden in plain sight but deserving of a spotlight. I keep doing theatre because I have artistic homes that support my vision. Those creative partners provide a space for me to tell complex stories about Black people that rarely appear on stage, screen, or on the pages of novels. Theater is a gift to my community and to my soul. I can’t live fully without it.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON 
I'm working on THE BLACK FEMINIST GUIDE TO THE HUMAN BODY, a performance piece about life and death for Black women. I'm also completing two dramas--GOLD and FLOOD-- which are part of my Great Migration trilogy that explores the experience of Black people's movement from the south to the west and the reverse migration back down south.

KEYWORDS
​Black, African American, woman, Queer, comedy, satire, professor, artist/scholar, historical, Afro-futurism, science fiction, political, thriller, southern, performance art, motherhood, sexuality, the Great Migration, Black Lives Matter.

I have been writing since I was a little girl, poems, short stories, plays. My life took a different direction and for 35 years I worked in the financial industry and raised my children. During that whole time my true passion kept tugging at me, but responsibilities, life and lack of confidence kept me on the wrong path. During those years I dabbled in short stories, took a few classes, and even had a few magazine articles published. Stress and a health crisis made me realize that it was time to follow my inner voice. I retired from my financial profession and embarked on the second act of my life. I attended the Yale Writers Conference which happened to have a Playwriting tract and slowly began to find my voice. It was exciting to hear Yale actors read my work on stage; it was a wonderful experience. Trying to expand my knowledge of the theatre I signed up to be part of a staged reading group as an actor. And while I won’t be receiving a Tony anytime soon, I learned much from that experience. I became a member of the Dramatist Guild and began classes towards their certificate program. I joined a theatre group in Norwalk, CT filled with many wonderful actors who read my work and shared their feedback with me. Among many rejection notices there have been some high points. One of my plays was published, one won a short play competition, and a full length was a semi-finalist for the Garry Marshall Theatre in LA. Since then, I’ve had several works produced at a local theatre and am currently working on a play that will highlight my Cuban heritage.

MORE ABOUT ME
I joined a theatre group in Norwalk Connecticut that included some well-known actors. Needless to say, I was intimidated; imposter syndrome was alive and well taking residence in my head. Over a few weeks I started to feel comfortable and even brought in some work for actors to read. I enjoyed watching pieces being performed at these meetings and learned from the feedback given. Working in the corporate world for many years I developed a tough skin but felt very exposed the first time one of my pieces was read. While some of the feedback was difficult to hear it helped me move my work forward. I submitted a piece to be considered for their playwrights’ festival and was excited when it was chosen. The president of the board wanted to direct it and had already asked two seasoned members to perform. My euphoria ended when the president had to take a step back and I had no one to direct. Lucky for me one of my actors also directed so he directed and acted in my piece. As rehearsals went on I learned to change lines where needed and how to work a scene more efficiently. My husband proudly invited all our friends to the performances, I felt almost naked! Opening night, I felt like I had jumping beans in my stomach and had trouble putting a whole sentence together. All my stress was needless, the performance of my piece went wonderfully well with the audience laughing in all the right places and giving loud applause for the performance. This was the validation I needed to know that writing plays not only made me happy but that I had talent and something to share with the audience.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON
I am working on a full length play that revolves around a Cuban mother and daughter and how their experiences after leaving their homeland changed both their lives.

KEYWORDS
woman, mother, inter-faith, Catholic, Jewish, hispanic, humor, satire, drama, family perceptions

Debra A. Cole is an award-winning playwright, director, and theatre/writing/arts educator from Kansas with degrees in journalism, education, and art history. Her one act play THE WRINKLE RANCH took AUDIENCE FAVORITE at Short + Sweet Perth, Australia. Her one act play Cold War can be found with Off The Walls Plays, and one act play SMALL TALK can be found at Heuer Publishing. Debra is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and an active member of a playwriting group for Kansas City area playwrights as well as The Literary Discourse Society out of Devon, England. Adult One-Acts: Performances/Recent Staged Readings/Conference Selections: Short + Sweet Dubai Endeavour Theatre, Perth, Australia Short + Sweet, Perth, Australia Short + Sweet, Sydney, Australia Short + Sweet, Illawarra, Australia The Talisman Theatre Group, Midlands, United Kingdom Whiskey Theatre Factory, Orlando, Florida The Secret Theatre - Long Island City, NY Potluck Productions, Kansas City, MO Midwest Dramatist Conference, Olathe, KS Herald of the Hope Theatre Company, Washington D.C. The Playground Experiment - Faces of America Monologues, NYC Grand Rapids Civic Theatre - semi finalist and finalist Mad Lab Theatre Roulette, Columbus, OH Crafton Hills College’s New Works Festival for 2022 Gi60: The International One Minute Theatre Festival - UK Live Edition 2022 Theatre Lawrence, Lawrence, KS Gi60: The international One Minute Theatre Festival - Houston, TX 2022 Debra has over 70 Children's One Act Plays Available on www.dramanotebook.com, and 4 full length children's plays, 1 children's musical, 12 monologues, and 10 adult one act plays ready for any interested company/director. She is flexible and willing to work with any company/director.

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Website: https://newplayexchange.org/users/30609/debra-cole

MORE ABOUT ME
I adore telling stories that challenge everyday thought.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON
I write daily. THAT is my current project outside of running productions.

KEYWORDS
​Humor, dark comedy, youth audiences, drama, equality, tension, one minute plays, 10 minute plays 

I had a very well spent misspent youth, thanks to my uncle, a poet. He lived on Leonard Cohen’s couch when he wasn’t homeless, and when I saw what writing did to him I vowed to flunk English. But oh, the specificity of words! I went to art school and for a decade was a painter who wrote. I became a writer who painted. Most of my writing has been original content for TV, film and stage. I’ve had TV pilots packaged with 20th Century Fox and others; a feature script was selected for the 2017 Writers Lab, funded by Meryl Streep, Oprah and Nicole Kidman; I’ve been awarded fellowships from Jentel Arts and Stowe Labs; I’ve written for an Oxygen series, LIFE ON THE LINE; I’ve been nominated for the New York Stage and Film Filmmakers’ Workshop; and in 2020 I was nominated, then a finalist for the FilmNation/WGA Fellowship. In 2016 I was a sit-in director for Wynn Handman and wrote my first play, NO LAUGHING MATTER. (In his honor I frequently name a character ‘Wynn.’) In 2017 I directed and co-wrote a short film, EN ROUTE, that played many festivals including Adirondack, Soho International, Big Apple, Lighthouse, and others. As a visual artist I’ve exhibited extensively, and after my first solo show I was interviewed for Oprah’s ‘O’ Magazine for the article, ’Make Your Dreams Come True,’ by Phoebe Kest. ​

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Website: https://pamelaharrisart.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pamela.harris.33821/
TW: @PamelaHarris33
IG: @pamelaharris339 

MORE ABOUT ME
A MEANINGFUL MOMENT IN THE THEATER: My mother wanted to be a Broadway star. When I was eight she took me to see Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’ at our local community theater. I didn’t understand what the play was about, but sitting in that dark theater, I knew I was home. I moved to NYC the second I could, and as the decades passed my mother wanted to hear about every play I saw. Her idol was Patti LuPone, but I had yet to see her on stage. When my mother passed I held on to the black mourning ribbon from her funeral. It didn’t feel like something I wanted to keep, but throwing it out felt wrong. A few months later my aunt invited me to ‘Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown’ on Broadway. It starred Patti LuPone, and going to see her made me want to bring my mother in my pocket. That’s when I knew what to do with the mourning ribbon. My aunt gets house seats, so we sat a few rows back from the stage, on the aisle. At the end of the show there was a standing ovation and I stood and flipped my seat up. The underside was hard plastic, but the edges were fabric. When I pushed on the fabric it gave slightly, just enough to pin my mother's funeral ribbon to. My mother always wanted to be on Broadway. Pinning her there was the least I could do. 

WHAT I'M WORKING ON
I'm wrapping up 'Will Life,' a new full length play about a traditional wife who must learn to advocate for herself when her dying husband's Will comes into play and she's about to get cut out of it. (It's about the fall of democracy, but in an intimate setting.) I'm also working on 'Wicked Hot,' a musical about a princess who wakes after a thousand years, and with no prince around to rescue her must learn how to rescue herself. A feature I wrote, 'Joyville,' about a scientist who's devoted her life to saving mankind and now must decide, are we worth it? is bouncing around with production companies. And lastly, art-wise, I'm working on a large-scale art installation, 'We're Very Sorry,' inspired by a proposal Bruce Nauman made for a German Holocaust memorial but chose to not create. 

KEYWORDS
​comedy, drama, Jewish, non-denominational, science-fiction, mythic, musical, political, equality, environmental, class, female-centered, avant-garde, multicultural, nature, art

Jessica is an Assistant Professor of Theater at the University of Miami, where she teaches acting and theater creation. She was the Artistic Director and co-founder of Strange Sun Theater, a company in New York City dedicated to creating magical new theater that ignites in audiences and artists, the power of possibility. In addition, she was the Consulting Artistic Director of the Sheen Center, when it opened in downtown Manhattan, curating a full season for 2 theaters. Before that she served as the Artistic Director of Wingspan Arts, an arts education company in New York City. Jessica works primarily as a freelance theater director specializing in new play and musical development, her favorite credits include; Pride and Prejudice (A new musical), What Kind of Woman (American Theater Northwest),Loving Repeating (NYC Premiere), Life of the Party (NYU-Premiere Production of Larry O’Keefe & Nell Benjamin’s new musical), at NYU Steinhardt Gypsy, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, with Strange Sun Closer Than You Think (World Premiere), The Drowning Girls (NYC Premiere). Jessica began writing plays a few years ago. her plays include: "Wickedest Woman"; The story of Ann Lohman, midwife and abortionist in the 1800’s in NYC. Finalist, Scrap Mettle Arts Playwrights Festival, Production January 2019 NYC, published by Next Stage Press. "Garden of Memories" the story of siblings dealing with the loss of their mother and the acceptance of their past. Runner Up W. Keith Hedrick Award at HRC Showcase Theater and Semi-Finalist, Trustus New Playwrights Festival 2016. "Zoe", a modern retelling of Aeschylus' Oresteia, if Aeschylus cared about women at all. Jessica has a BFA in Acting from Boston University and an MFA from Goddard College, she splits her time between NYC and Miami, with her teenage child, a crazy chihuahua and a cat names Wadsworth. 

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Website: https://www.jessicabashline.com/
IG: @jessbash
FB: @jessicabashline

MORE ABOUT ME
Why do I keep doing theatre? That’s the question I ask myself every time I check my Facebook and see someone I went to high school with retiring from Goldman Sachs and I think, man—I am smarter than that guy—where did I go wrong? And then I show up in rehearsal. And the creation starts, and I cannot stop smiling. I make theater because there is nothing more incredible than being in a room of smart people trying to figure out the best way to tell a story—for a group of people who will eventually be sitting right in front of you. And they will walk away, and head down the block, and talk about that story—and if you did it right something in them has changed. Something in the audience and the actors will never be the same because of that specific story. Then I go back to FB and realize... I am so much damn happier than people who are retiring tomorrow. Because I don’t want to retire tomorrow. I get to tell stories and change lives for a living. That’s why I do it. 

WHAT I'M WORKING ON
As a playwright, I am currently working on a one-woman play about abortion. It is a way for me to make the story I told in WICKEDEST WOMAN more accessible. One person shows are easy to program. As a director, I am working on a few new plays and musicals. 

KEYWORDS
​Historical, feminist, site-specific, biography, family, adaptations

I'm a cultural critic, author, journalist, professor, and dean at Parsons School of Design. I write the "Face Forward" column for the NY Times Style section, on beauty, media, and politics. I have been working as a writing consultant on The New Look, Apple+'s new series on European fashion, Dior and Chanel. I have written books on theater, fashion, modern dance, and literature. My last book was Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History (Random House) which has a long section on Chanel's work as a theater and film costumer. I have also been a theater and dance critic, and for 4 years wrote the "Reading the Signs" column for NY Magazine's The Cut. I have been a professor of comparative literature, theater studies and performance, and have a dance background. Also ran my own consulting firm for years--specializing in women's issues, strategy, market research, and crisis intervention. Went to Yale for my PhD and BA. Spent years living, studying, and working in Paris. Born and raised in NYC, alumna of Hunter College High School. I am hoping to do more writing and consulting for film and television. 

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
TW: rkgar
IG: rhondagarelick
FB: rkgarelick
FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRhondaKGarelick/

MORE ABOUT ME
The performance that absolutely changed my life was Ariane Mnouchkine's Twelfth Night in Avignon, at the Palais des Papes. And one more: Teno Sehgal's "This Progress" at the Guggenheim. I feel most like myself when I'm writing or deep in conversation with someone who challenges me. My favorite thing to do when not writing is dancing. Stories need to engage our bodies more.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON
A very big book about the untapped power of women's culture in global politics. A very inchoate play called 'The Interview."

KEYWORDS
​Feminist, New Yorker, talker, narrative nonfiction, biography, dance, fashion, France.

For the tenth anniversary of 9/11, "E-Mail: 9-12", now published by Next Stage Press, was produced by theatres in four states. Monologues from this, Guerrera’s response to the 9/11 tragedy, are also published in “Contemporary Monologues for a New Theater,” Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2018. Annarita, was selected for the Samuel French 29th Annual Short Play ‘Festival and revised in 2012. Historic works written and directed by Midge include: "Ruth St. Denis: The Dance Continues," commissioned by Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission and Vocational High School; a bi-centennial multi-discipline reenactment, "Turnabout " commissioned by the Millstone Historic Society; "Transitions," commissioned by the Somerset County Bi-Centennial Commission, re-counts the events that occurred in the Watchung Mountains in 1776; "Crane Chronicles", commissioned by the Stephen Crane House and funded in part by the NJ Council on the Humanities; and "Stephen Crane: The Middle Years", developed to be performed through-out the house that was home to author for one third of his life, commissioned and presented by the Stephen Crane Committee at the Stephen Crane House . "Many Snows Ago," explores the tales of Eastern Woodland Indians and has been performed at numerous schools. She has written over fifty plays for children. All were produced by the Laffin’ Stock Company. "Wanda the Girl Who Cried Witch" is published by Next Stage Press. Guerrera splits her time between New Jersey and a small village in Southern Italy. Her blog, www.nonnasmulberrytree.com shares her expat experience with subscribers in Europe, United States, Canada, Australia and South America. Set against the gorgeous roads of Italy, "Cars, Castles, Cows, and Chaos" published by Read Furiously is memoir-meets-tour-guide of errors and triumphs. 

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Website: https://midgeguerrera.com/
FB:https://www.facebook.com/midge.guerrera/
TW: https://twitter.com/midgeg
INST: https://www.instagram.com/expat49/

MORE ABOUT ME
How can one not tell stories in these times! Politics, pandemics, pillage, rape, human rights twisted and pulled - the world has been telling these stories for ions. The locations may change, the characters names altered but the themes remain. That is the tragedy worth talking about. Immersion theater - the street theater of my youth - the flash mobs - bringing theater out of the academic and price gouging closet and into the streets - that is how we can tell the stories in these times. There is much to talk about and to reach today's audiences one must get out of the theater. The pandemic made us more aware of the availability of digital presentations. We have more venues today than yesterday. We just need to fill them with material that inspires dialogue and change.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON
Plays about my Aunt Cat (one of first female postmasters), Ruth St Denis (mother of modern dance who I adore), Flagtown Fem-Miltia (a play about women in their third acts keeping the home fires burning and safe). I'm also workin on a travel guide for Pontelandolfo and a cookbook based on traditional fare and never uses a measuring spoon.

KEYWORDS
​Mystery, Thriller, Political, Food, Equality, Historical, Fable/folktales, Immersive/site-specific, biography, young audiences, interactive

Angela Page is a writer, producer and author. Her short films are featured on the Shorts TV channel, FunnyorDie and Indiepix Unlimited. Her recent comedy thriller, "There's a Dead Girl in My Yard" was released in Dec 2021. She was a director at the Copenhagen Theatre Circle and founder of The Crown Players in London. Her social drama "Legal Gringa" will be staged at Powerstories theatre in July 2022.

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Website: https://angelapage.net
FB: https://www.facebook.com/angelapage5127/
TW: https://twitter.com/angelapage1200

MORE ABOUT ME
The best moment in the theatre, was directing and performing in my own one act musical, "Tapioca" about a a rebellion on a fictitious Caribbean island.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON
Revising play scheduled for performance July 2022

KEYWORDS
​Latinx, satire, comedy, drama, equality, versatile, worldly, quirky