Matt Williams

Matt Williams is best known as the creator and Executive Producer of the hit series Roseanne and the co-creator and Executive Producer of Home Improvement. Williams started his television career when he joined The Cosby Show during its premiere season and worked as a writer/producer on the show for three subsequent seasons. He also co-created the series A Different World. During his time with The Cosby Show, Matt’s work was nominated for Emmy and Humanitas Awards and won a Peabody Award for Outstanding Achievement in Television Writing. 

In 1989, Williams formed the bi-coastal production company Wind Dancer Films with principals Carmen Finestra and David McFadzean. Williams’ projects under the Wind Dancer banner include the television programs Carol & Company, Soul Man, Buddies, and the PBS children’s program Ready Jet Go! In film, Matt wrote or produced Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken, Firelight, Where the Heart Is, What Women Want, Bernie, and The Keeping Room. 

Matt has directed numerous productions in regional and Off-Broadway theatres. He directed the world premiere of Robby Benson’s musical Open Heart at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Along with Daryl Roth Productions and his partners at Wind Dancer, he co-produced the stage production of Camping with Henry and Tom. He and Wind Dancer co-produced The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin at Playwrights Horizons.

 Matt is a founding board member of The New Harmony Project and the Cherry Lane Theatre and is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University School of the Arts Theatre Program. He lives in New York with his wife, actress Angelina Fiordellisi, former Artistic Director of the Cherry Lane Theatre.

Angelo Pizzo

Angelo Pizzo (b. 1948) is a celebrated American screenwriter, producer, and director, best known for crafting iconic sports-dramas inspired by true stories. Born in Wilmette, Illinois, he grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, the grandson of a Sicilian immigrant. Pizzo earned a BA in political science from Indiana University Bloomington in 1971, where he joined Sigma Nu fraternity and met future collaborator David Anspaugh. After contemplating law school, he followed his passion for storytelling and attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

His early career included roles at Warner Brothers Television and TimeLife Films, eventually becoming Vice President of Feature Film Productions. Inspired by Indiana’s deep basketball culture, Pizzo wrote, then collaborated with Anspaugh to create Hoosiers (1986), nominated for two Oscars and later added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry. It has since been named the best sports film of all time by USA Today and ESPN.

Their next collaboration was Rudy (1993), where Pizzo portrayed the aspirational journey of Notre Dame hopeful Rudy Ruettiger. Overshadowed by doubts initially, the project eventually came to fruition and became a beloved staple of American cinema. In 2005, Pizzo wrote The Game of Their Lives, recounting the true story of the 1950 U.S. soccer team’s improbable victory over England. He expanded his role behind the camera with the 2015 feature My All-American, then penned the 2023 biopic The Hill. Most recently, Pizzo wrote and directed his most personal film, Someone Saved My Life (2024), shot entirely in Bloomington. 

After three decades in Southern California, Pizzo moved back to Bloomington in 2004 to raise his two sons and reconnect with his roots. There, he met his current life partner, Bobbi Bowden, in 2011. A dedicated Hoosiers fan, he holds season tickets to IU basketball. Over his career, Pizzo has received numerous honors—including Indiana’s Sagamore of the Wabash, Governor’s Arts Award, an honorary doctorate, induction into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame (2013), and the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame (2014).

Pizzo’s work resonates far beyond sports, touching on themes of redemption, community, and perseverance, making him one of the most influential storytellers in American film.

Aurin Squire

Aurin Squire is currently a Co-Executive Producer on the fall 2026 legal drama Cupertino and was a Co-EP/writer on Evil and The Good Fight, as well as a writer on This is Us and Braindead. He has been nominated for two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series, a BlackReel Award, and a WGA Award.

In theatre, Squire wrote the Tony-nominated Broadway musical A Wonderful World that premiered in October 2024 at Studio 54. His dark comedy My Favorite Sociopath is getting its premiere at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in July 2026. His plays have been produced in London, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and Dallas. Squire was awarded the Helen Merrill Prize for Emerging Writers, Fiat Lux Writing Award from the Catholic Church in New York, Toronto’s INSPIRATO’S prize for international plays, Seattle’s Emerald Prize for American Drama, and the Drama Desk Award.

J. Holtham

J. Holtham writes things. TV: The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu), Marvel’s Jessica Jones (Netflix), Supergirl (CW), Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger (Freeform), Pitch (Fox). Theatre: Ensemble Studio Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Second Stage Theater, Bespoke Plays, Hollywood Fringe Festival 2024, Theatre 68. Comics: Epitaphs from the Abyss/Cruel Universe/Cruel Kingdom/Catacomb of Torment (Oni Press/EC Comics), Night Thrasher: Remix (Marvel Comics), Bishop: War College (Marvel Comics), Star Trek: The Mirror War (IDW), Marvel Voices: Legacy (2022) (Marvel Comics), Spider-verse Unlimited/Venomverse Unlimited (Marvel Unlimited/Marvel Comics), Marvel Voices: Loki Presents (Marvel Unlimited). Upcoming:They Bleed Black (Gungnir Books). Podcasts: Marvel’s Wastelanders: Hawkeye, Marvel’s Wastelanders. He is a proud product of public education.

Erika Kennair

Erika Kennair is currently Head of Scripted, US and Canada at The Mediapro Studio. She was recently the President of Production for Extracurricular, working with Malala Yousafzai to provide scripted and unscripted film and television content in an exclusive overall deal with AppleTV+. Their film, Joyland, won an Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film, and Stranger at the Gate was nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Documentary.

Prior to Extracurricular, Erika was Senior Vice President, Development, at Berlanti Productions, overseeing the procurement and development of new scripted and unscripted series for both network and cable/streaming. She produced Emmy, Golden Globe, Critics Choice, PGA, DGA and SAG nominated, The Flight Attendant for HBO Max (which she was nominated for a PGA Award and an Emmy for), You for Netflix, docu-series Helter Skelter for Epix, Prodigal Son for FOX, and Incarnate for Netflix.

As Vice President, Comedy Development, ABC Entertainment Group, Erika was responsible for identifying and developing comedy series for ABC Network. She oversaw creative for American Housewife, Splitting Up Together, Roseanne, and The Connors. Erika was also very active in the international comedy space, eyeing formats, attending festivals, and establishing relationships with key comedy talent around the world.

Prior to joining ABC, Ms. Kennair was Vice President, Original Programming and Development, Syfy, since July 2010. She was responsible for developing new original programming and talent for Syfy and shepherded the series The Magicians, 12 Monkeys, and Killjoys. Kennair joined Syfy in 2008 as director of Development, overseeing all creative aspects of original series, including Helix, Dominion, Defiance, Stargate: Universe, and the Syfy mini-series, Alice and Neverland. She also served as creative point on WWE Friday Night Smackdown! and was made an honorary “Diva.”

Previously Ms. Kennair was manager, Entertainment Diversity Programs, NBC Entertainment, since 2006. She was responsible for identifying diverse writing talent and created and oversaw the network’s competitive writing program, Writers on the Verge, an initiative aimed at developing and marketing new writers for placement on NBC series.

A Cuban-American, Ms. Kennair was voted one of the Most Influential and Powerful Latinos in Media by the Imagen Foundation four times. In 2013, she was named one of Hollywood Reporter’s Top Young Latino Decision Makers. In 2012, she was named to Multichannel News’s 40 under Forty, Variety’s New Leaders, CableFAX’s Most Influential Minorities in Cable, and was honored as a NAMIC Luminary.

Melanie Marnich

Melanie Marnich is a Golden Globe-winning television writer-producer and playwright. She most recently served as the creator, showrunner and executive producer of Apples Never Fall, for Peacock. Prior to that, she was an executive producer on the FX drama, A Murder at the End of the World. She’s also served as co-executive producer on The OA for Netflix and The Affair on Showtime. She’s written for Big Love on HBO, Showtime’s The Big C, and for AMC’s Low Winter Sun and The Son. She’s currently developing projects for 20th Century Studios and AMC.

Her episode, “Come, Ye Saints” for Big Love earned a Writers’ Guild award nomination for best drama episode. It was also named Best Television Episode of 2009 by Entertainment Weekly, rated third in TIME Magazine’s list of 10 Best TV episodes of 2009, and ranked in TV Guide’s 100 Best Episodes of All Time. She received a Golden Globe for her work on The Affair. 

An award-winning playwright, her work has been produced at Manhattan Theatre Club, The Kennedy Center, Dallas Theater Center, Baltimore Center Stage, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and The Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival. She is an alum of New Dramatists and serves on the Advisory Council of Humanitas. 

Sharyn Rothstein

Sharyn Rothstein is an award-winning playwright and television writer. Her newest play Best for Baby, about the Johnson & Johnson baby powder scandal, will premiere this summer at the Chautauqua Institution. Her play Bad Books is a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere play and winner of the David Goldman Prize for New American Plays. Bad Books was first produced by Florida Studio Theatre (Sarasota, FL), Round House Theatre (Bethesda, MD), Williamston Theatre (Williamston, MI), and Curious Theatre Company (Denver, CO) and will be produced at other theaters across America this year.

Sharyn’s Helen Hayes Award-nominated musical adaptation of the beloved film Hester Street (with music and lyrics by Joel Waggoner) was produced at Washington DC's Theater J. Her play By The Water was first produced by Manhattan Theater Club and Ars Nova and was the recipient of the American Theater Critic’s Association Francesca Primus Prize. Her plays have also been produced at Williamstown Theatre Festival, Arena Stage, McCarter Theatre Center, Ensemble Studio Theater, as well as Raven Theater and Northlight Theater in Chicago. Her audio drama Deep Fake is available on Audible.

Sharyn is a proud member of the Writers Guild of America East Council. She is currently a writer and Co-Executive Producer on CBS’s new show Einstein. She has also written for Suits LA, the spin-off of the hit legal drama Suits, for which she wrote and produced for five seasons. Sharyn was a writer and Co-Executive Producer on AMC's Orphan Black: Echoes, and has developed shows for Apple, AMC and Bravo.

Sharyn holds an MFA in dramatic writing from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and a Masters in Public Health from Hunter College. She teaches television writing at NYU and Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, two kids, two cats, and a mountain of laundry.

Alena Smith

Alena Smith is a writer, director, and showrunner. She created the Peabody Award-winning series Dickinson, which ran for three seasons on Apple TV. Currently, she is developing All Boys, a new original drama for Netflix. She is also an Executive Producer on FX’s limited series Cry Wolf, and will write the upcoming Audrey Hepburn biopic from Imagine, starring Lily Collins. Costumes, props, and set pieces from the critically-acclaimed Dickinson are on permanent view at the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, MA, and an archive of the show's creation is featured in the collection of Harvard's Houghton Library. 

Previously, Smith served as writer and producer on Showtime’s The Affair and HBO’s The Newsroom. In addition to her writing for the screen, Smith's essays have been featured in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. She studied playwriting at the Yale School of Drama; her plays have been produced around the world. Published plays include Icebergs, The Bad Guys, Plucker, The Lacy Project, and The New Sincerity, which The New York Times called “Splendid... entertaining and thought-provoking... comedy with a poignant edge.”

Jonathan Feuer

Jonathan Feuer is an actor based in Washington, DC. He last appeared at Mosaic Theater Company in Psalmayene 24’s Monumental Travesties. Shakespeare Theatre Company: Richard III, As You Like It; Signature Theatre: John; Round House Theatre: Rules for Living; Theater J: Eureka Day, The Call; Rep Stage: Antigone Project; Kennedy Center TYA: How to Catch a Star, Flowers Stink; Imagination Stage: The Freshest Snow Whyte (written by Psalmayene 24), Charlotte’s Web. Other DC credits include Arena Stage, Studio Theatre, Prologue Theatre, Solas Nua, Spooky Action Theatre, The Keegan Theatre, Adventure Theatre, and more. MFA George Washington University.

Nia Savoy-Dock

Nia Savoy-Dock’s recent theater credits include Young John Lewis at Mosaic Theater Company; Shout Sister Shout!, Little Shop of Horrors, and Sister Act at Ford’s Theatre; The Color Purple at Signature Theatre; and Day of Absence at Theater Alliance. Additional credits include Aida and Mysticism & Music at Constellation Theatre Company; Grease and Mamma Mia! at Toby’s Dinner Theatre; Crowns at Ocala Civic Theatre; and Ragtime at StageCenter Community Theatre.

Her honors include 1st Place in American Pops NextGen: Finding the Voice of Tomorrow and The Great American Songbook Academy Inspiration Award. Nia holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Howard University.

Michael Bahsil-Cook

Michael Bahsil-Cook (he/him) is a multidisciplinary artist from Atlanta’s West Metro area. Through music, poetry, theatre, and film, Michael tells stories rooted in love, celebration, southern tradition, and underrepresented, intersectional experiences. Proudly “southern bred,” he stays grounded in community service and cultural connection. Michael serves on the board of the nonprofit Youth N Focus, and co-hosts the podcast Did It for the Hood, spotlighting underrepresented professionals whilst bridging art & culture. TV credits include Law & Order on NBC. Theatre credits include Young John Lewis at Theatrical Outfit, Young John Lewis: Prodigy of Protest at Mosaic Theater. Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama: BFA in Acting with Honors. @michaelbahsil

Montel Butler

Montel Butler is a captivating DMV-based teaching artist who has performed professionally around the world. Recent credits include James Lawson and A. Phillip Randolph in Mosaic Theatre's Young John Lewis: A Prodigy of Protest, special guest vocalist for Natalie Weiss in Natalie Weiss in Concert, and the world premiere of Gun & Powder at Signature Theatre. Additional highlights include ensemble work for Phish’s 2023 New Year’s Eve concert at Madison Square Garden and background vocals for Sam Smith on Saturday Night Live.

Hudson Wolfe

Hudson Wolfe is a Philadelphia-based playwright, dramaturg, actor, and director. He’s constantly searching for and creating theatre that pushes boundaries of traditional performance styles and structures (and there’s a special place in his heart for scenic and mural painting). He aims to create works that leave audiences pondering for days, weeks, months after seeing the show, as shows that leave him that way are his favorites. Themes that are particularly interesting to him include religiosity; the narrative power of sexuality and sexual behaviors; and our societal treatments of criminals, deviants, and monsters. He’s collaborated with companies such as New Jersey Play Lab, Yellow Bike Theatre Collective, and Yes! And…Collaborative Arts.

Chelsea Radigan

Chelsea Radigan is a DC-based multi-hyphenate theater artist. She is the Associate Artistic Director of Mosaic Theater Company, where she serves as Casting Director and Resident Dramaturg. Before Mosaic, Chelsea held the title of Artistic Associate of New Work and Casting at Woolly Mammoth Theater Company for several seasons and trained as an apprentice at Studio Theatre. As a producer, director, and dramaturg, she specializes in tailoring new play development processes to the unique needs and goals of each project and creative team, and has had a hand in shaping world premiere plays by Benjamin Benne, Anne Washburn, Rhiana Yazzie, Paola Lázaro, Keiko Green, and Psalmayene 24. Chelsea is a recurring guest artist at Montgomery College and the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, and recently earned an executive leadership certificate from Georgetown University.

Phaedra Michelle Scott

Phaedra Michelle Scott is a dramaturg and writer based in New York City. Phaedra is Resident Dramaturg of The New Harmony Project and serves as a member of the Beehive Dramaturgy Studio (NYC). Selected credits include Audible Theater, American Ballet Theater, MCC Theater, New Victory, Playwrights Realm, Huntington Theater Company, Utah Shakespeare Festival, & Playwright’s Center. She is an alum of Youngblood with Ensemble Studio Theater, Pipeline’s PlayLab, and SPACE on Ryder Farm. She is an award winning playwright, crocheter, horror enthusiast, obscure history fan and member of the Writers Guild of America and Dramatists Guild. www.phaedrascott.com

Jenni Werner

Jenni Werner (she/her) has served as Executive Artistic Director at The New Harmony Project since 2023. At NHP, she's been proud to launch new programming, including a major initiative pairing NHP writers with Indianapolis theatre leaders called PlayFest Indy. Before joining NHP, Jenni was the Director of Literary and Artistic Development Programs at Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, NY. There, she developed and produced Geva’s commissioning work and led audience engagement efforts. At Geva, Jenni led the development of more than 45 new plays and served as dramaturg on more than 30 productions, including many world premieres. Prior to Geva, she was the Director of Programming at Theatre Communications Group. This season, Jenni has also served as freelance dramaturg for three world premieres: Keiko Green's WAD, Lavina Jadhwani's Ado, and Andrew Kramer’s Arlington, or Your Forgotten American Hero. B.A. in Theatre and History, Knox College. MFA in Dramaturgy, UMASS Amherst.