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.
Vickie Chang
The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Vickie Chang was born and raised in the SF Bay Area on unceded Ohlone territory. She sees liberation as rooted in connection— the capacity to live with 心 胸 寬 大 (xīn xiōng kuān dà), with a vast heart that includes honoring our human and nonhuman family, known and unknown. Trained at UCLA and Stanford University, her work as a psychologist, facilitator, and writer is guided by Chinese ancestral wisdom including Buddhism and Taoism; Indigenous teachings; and 大 地 母 親 (the Great Earth Mother).
She is passionate about supporting social change and is a member of Sacred Roots (a BIPOC femme healing collective) and the national climate justice group, Fierce Vulnerability Network. She offers therapy; facilitates groups and teaches workshops; and consults with organizations using restorative justice practices. She is member of an Asian Diaspora writing group and a co-editor on a forthcoming anthology titled Renewal. www.vickiechangphd.com
christina michelle watkins
christina michelle watkins (she/her), is a BlackQueer writer, performer, tarot reader, and licensed clinical social worker. Stories and relationships— listening to them, creating them, reconstructing them, connecting them— are the consistent threads in her work. As a Community Care Facilitator, she works with leadership to plan, implement, and maintain mentally and emotionally supportive practices that hold creativity with care. She loves exploring the non-linear nature of time, mysticism, and how to survive the end of this world while creating the next. Artistic highlights include: By the Banks (Bay Area Play Festival 2026; Finalist, Fault Line’s Irons in the Fire 2025); The New Harmony Project (selected writer, 2022; Community Care Facilitator 2023-present; kumrad's won't, (Overall Excellence in Playwriting Award, New York International Fringe Festival 2013). Popsicles are her dessert of choice. Find her at christinamichellewatkins.com
Blake Elliott
Blake Elliott is an artist, advocate, academic, and proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Xe endeavors to use xyr work in the arts to uplift voices from the margins to build a better world, and there is no place better than New Harmony to continue this work. Xe is thrilled to continue xyr tenure with The New Harmony Project as Company Manager. Outside of The Project, Blake has had the privilege of working with Roundabout Theatre Company, The Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, iTheatrics, and Disney Theatrical Group. Blake recently completed xyr MFA in Stage Management at the University of California, Irvine and has a Bachelor’s from the University of Evansville. More Life.
Brian Balcom
Brian Balcom is a disabled, Asian-American Director who specializes in contemporary, muscular, relationship-driven plays. He enjoys working with playwrights and thinks that entertainment is underrated. He has directed 12 world premieres, 6 of which were personally commissioned, and has helped develop work at The Playwrights Center, Victory Gardens Theater, NNPN, Chicago Dramatists, and La Jolla Rep. He most recently served as Access Project Coordinator at Victory Gardens where he worked to enhance access services for patrons and develop the next generation of disabled stories and artists. Brian has sat on artistic advisory committees for Park Square Theater, Writers Theatre, National New Play Network, and American Theater Magazine and served as panel speaker on disability and theater for TCG, American Theater Magazine, Shakespeare Theater Association, The Voice and Speech Trainers Association, 3Arts, The Lark, and Victory Gardens Theater. BFA, Carnegie-Mellon. MFA, DePaul.
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
Gavin Ramirez
Gavin Ramirez is currently wrapping up his last year at the University of Evansville as a Theatre Performance major with a minor in Creative Technology and Visual Communications. Alongside acting, he enjoys running, thrifting, and digital design. He values collaboration and being part of a strong artistic team.
Kaylea Jo Egnor
Kaylea Jo Egnor is a 2027 candidate for a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Directing at University of Memphis. A coal miner’s daughter from the hills of Appalachia, she is a proud graduate of West Virginia University, where she earned dual BAs in Theatre and Criminology. There, she was recognized as the 2023 Outstanding Graduating Senior by the Canady College of Creative Arts. She is the Founding Artistic Director of Montani StageLab in Memphis, Tennessee, where she produces and directs experimental work that challenges digital oppression. On Substack, she runs a national interview series called A.D.E.T- American Divas of Experimental Theatre. She also plays on a co-ed softball team because, you know, balance.
Aditri Khadilkar
Aditri Khadilkar is a dramaturg, director, and stage manager based in New York and is delighted to be at New Harmony this year! As a recent a graduate of SUNY New Paltz studying Theatre Studies and Art History, they spent their time unlocking a passion for new work development and focused on student produced projects. She additionally studied international relations and its connection to the theater, and plans to continue to champion causes important to them through theatre making and other advocacy work. Previous credits include The Inseparables, 7 Homeless Mammoths Wander New England, Artaud Artaud, and Spies are Forever. Outside of theater, she loves to wander around museums, watch F1 as a Ferrari fan, and is not so patiently waiting to be a contestant on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. aditrikhadilkar.com
Autumn Mohring
Autumn Mohring is a student at Purdue University pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Video Production, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Animation and VFX. She serves as President of Purdue’s chapter of Women in Animation and is passionate about uplifting underrepresented gender identities in the entertainment industry. She is interested in a career in production management after graduation and is actively involved in producing student films. In her free time, she loves to dance and cook.
