Abbas Salem

Omer Abbas Salem is a Chicago-based actor and playwright whose work has been developed or produced by Steppenwolf, Goodman Theatre, Jackalope, About Face, and more. His play Mosque4Mosque premiered at About Face in 2022, and Happy Days are Here (Again) was named one of Chicago Tribune’s Top 10 Plays of 2024. He’s the recipient of the 3Arts Award, the Cunningham Commission, and First Floor Theatre’s Blueprint Commission. Current commissions include new works for Steppenwolf, Audible Theater, and Goodman Theatre’s New Stages. He is represented by Gray Talent and is an ensemble member with Steep, Jackalope, and First Floor.

Jayne Deely

Jayne Deely (they/them) is a Queens-born, Puerto Rican, queer playwright and performer. An MFA graduate in Playwriting from Indiana University Bloomington, their work includes I never asked for a gofundme, Walter Mercado Presents: A Queer Puerto Rican (Not Just) Christmxs Spectacular, unqle play, and 30 Seconds. Their plays have been developed with the New Harmony Project, Breaking the Binary, Fresh Ground Pepper, American Stage, Seattle Public Theatre, and others. As a performer, they’ve worked with BRAVA, Berkeley Rep, Aurora Theatre, and TheatreWorks. Jayne is a proud member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and the Dramatists Guild, and is based in New York City.

India Burton

India Nicole Burton is a Chicago-based director, playwright, devisor, and producer originally from Akron, Ohio. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Nebraska–Omaha and a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Akron. A two-time National New Play Network (NNPN) Producer in Residence and 2021 NNPN Bridge Program grantee, she also received an NNPN Rolling World Premiere for her acclaimed choreopoem Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation. Burton is a part of the 24’-25’ Theatre Communications Rising Leaders Color Cohort, a Drama League Award nominee (ensemble, American Dreams), and Assistant Professor at Chicago State University Communications, Media Arts & Theatre Department.

J.C. Pankratz

 J.C. Pankratz (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, transgender playwright and educator whose work explores gender, class, trauma, and magic through genre-defying forms. Their plays include Mortals (Pridefest at The Tank), Eat Your Young (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre), Little Kingdom (2nd Place, Mark Twain Award), Seahorse (2021 FMM Fellowship), and Redeemer Mine (O’Neill Finalist). They’ve developed work with CompanyOne, Kitchen Dog Theater, and Lily + Joan Theatre Company. A 2023 Core Apprentice with the Playwrights’ Center and a Visionary Playwright with Theatremasters, Pankratz holds an MFA from Boston University and has interned at New Dramatists and Clubbed Thumb.

DeLanna Studi

DeLanna Studi is a proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation and an award-winning performer, playwright, and advocate with over 25 years of experience. Her acclaimed solo play And So We Walked has toured nationally and internationally, including an off-Broadway run at Minetta Lane Theatre and a recording for Audible. She has originated roles in more than 20 world premieres, including 14 Native productions. Stage credits include August: Osage County (national tour), Gloria: A Life (off-Broadway), and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Studi is Artistic Director of Native Voices at the Autry and chairs SAG-AFTRA’s Native Americans Committee.