Julia Rae Maldonado (Facilitator, Muses, Little Machine) is a Bronx based playwright from San Antonio, Texas. Her work has been developed & produced in NYC by companies including Theatre East & the LAByrinth Theatre and internationally (MUT! Theatre, Hamburg & Interkultural Festival, Stuttgart). Her play Juntos was a finalist in the 2021 Samuel French OOB Festival and her play Buskers! was a finalist for the Heideman Award (Actors Theatre Louisville). Her play Real Life is included in Gary Garrison’s A (More) Perfect 10 & A Younger 10. She is also the author of a collection of short plays for teens commissioned and produced by the Stella Adler Studio. She is a founding member of the GirlSOUP Collective and currently a faculty member at the Actors Studio Drama School. Member of the Dramatist Guild. BFA- NYU, Tisch, MFA - Actors Studio Drama School.www.juliaraemaldonado.com

Oliver Palmer (Coal Oil Light) loves Theatre East. Theater: AMERICAN BUFFALO (Dorset Theater Festival dir. John Gould Rubin), OVER THERE (Harold Clurman LAB Productions dir. Scott Illingworth and Bill Bowers), THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI (Stella Adler Studio dir. John Gould Rubin), TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, TITUS ANDRONICUS, HENRY V, ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (Shakespeare in the Square), CORIOLANUS (Combative Theater Co.), AS YOU LIKE IT (No Stone Productions), HAMLET (Playwrights Horizons Theater School), RICHARD III & THE TEMPEST (Smith Street Stage). Tv: Daredevil, Orange is the New Black. Film: Life After You, Faith Community. Oliver grew up on a farm in Daviess County, KY, and owes his work to its community. More at olivercpalmer.com.

Benedetta Spinetti is a New York based artist, born and raised in a small town called Pistoia in Tuscany, Italy. She is so deeply grateful to be part of the wonderful Theatre East Community and to be giving the opportunity to be one of the writers in residency. She graduated at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting after attending the 3 year Conservatory. Her professional work in New York includes Lucy in After Eden (TheatreEast), Rita in Background (Sundog Theater), Gonzalo and Caliban (NYU Company educational tour), The Sea Lady (Metropolitan Playhouse, understudy). She is now working on her first play. Thank you to my grandma Anna, her kind and beautiful heart taught everything that I know.

Natalie Estelle Marsan is an actor, singer, and writer based in Brooklyn, NY. Originally from the Midwest, Natalie received a BA in Psychology and Theater from Boston College and has been studying voice at Tamagini Voice Studio in conjunction with her masters degree at the Actors Studio Drama School. Recent Off-Broadway theater credits include The Senator and His Wife Go On Retreat at Blank Page Theater Company and Reflection of a Shadow at the New York Theater Festival.

Niall Estevan Martinez Ridgley (Cairns) is a New York City-based playwright by way of New Mexico. His plays have been developed at The Pan Asian Repertory and The Playground Experiment. Mr. Ridgley received an MFA in Playwriting at The Actors Studio Drama School and a BA from Sarah Lawrence College. His play The Helsinki Cycle was published by Smith & Krauss in Best Male Monologues of 2021. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

Riley Jo Payne (The Pigeon) (They/She) is a non-binary AEA actor, creator, & writer based in Brooklyn, NY. Riley holds an MFA in Acting from The New School of Drama, where they cultivated their love for collaboration, devised work, and Shakespeare. They have worked with NY based companies that include New Perspectives Theatre Co, Company of Fools, GOLD Comedy, and is an ensemble member of the Underground Skills Exchange (USE). Having worked on styles from classical to contemporary, and many in between, some of their favorite NY credits include: Richard III (Richard III, New School), 10,000 Moor (Chiron/Lucius/Saturninus, New School), EARTHSHINE (H, NPTC) , Blackout (Annie, Company of Fools). I’m very thankful to Theatre East for giving me the opportunity to join this great group of writers. You can see more of Riley’s work at www.rileyjopayne.com.

Kelechi Udenkwo is an actor based in New York City, but his roots come from Dallas, TX. Acting found him when he was a senior in high school, and since then he has pursued this career with hopes of paying forward the opportunities he has been given to his family, loved ones, and the next generation. He has appeared in productions such as The Altruist, Hamlet, A Doll's House, and this June he will portray Hero in the Suzan Lori-Parks play Father Comes Home From The Wars Parts 1, 2, and 3 at the Quintessence Theater Group in Philadelphia, PA. He is managed by Maxx Maulion of Kreativ Arts Media.