Sharon Washington '81, an actress of stage and screen and also a playwright, was nominated for a 2023 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical as co-writer of New York, New York. She made her debut as playwright at City Theatre with the world-premiere of her solo play Feeding The Dragon. On Broadway Sharon appeared in The Scottsboro Boys musical, and Off-Broadway in numerous Shakespeare in the Park productions, including Richard III, Coriolanus and Cymbeline. She has more than 60 film and TV credits, including Joker, Sing Sing, Michael Clayton, On the Basis of Sex, Die Hard with a Vengeance and Malcolm X. Her latest role is as Gertrude in a new audio drama version of Hamlet, which premiered its first episode at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival.

Daniel Kyri is a Jeff-nominated Chicago-born actor, writer/director, filmmaker and singer. Daniel currently portrays Darren Ritter, a rookie firefighter, in his second season of NBC's #1 drama Chicago Fire and is featured in Freeform's The Thing About Harry and Stephen Cone's award-winning film Henry Gamble's Birthday Party, now streaming on Hulu. He has starred in productions at Lookingglass, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare and Goodman Theatres, and was most recently seen onstage in Tarell Alvin McCraney's world premiere production of Ms Blakk for President.

Jeremy McCarter founded Make-Believe Association in 2017 after five years on the artistic staff of the Public Theater in New York. For the company, he adapted The Lost Books of the Odyssey; co-wrote City on Fire: Chicago Race Riot 1919 (with Natalie Moore); co-created and co-wrote the acclaimed epic Lake Song (Tribeca Festival Audio Premiere, winner of three Signal Awards); and adapted and directed the audacious new take on Hamlet. His books include Young Radicals; Hamilton: The Revolution (with Lin-Manuel Miranda); and Viewfinder: A Memoir of Seeing and Being Seen (with Jon M. Chu). He has written about culture and politics for New York Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other publications. He is the literary executor of the novelist and playwright Thornton Wilder.

Emilia LaPenta is a creative producer and dramaturg with a focus on artist-driven storytelling across mediums. Recent partners include Audible, Make-Believe Association, Tribeca Festival, Teatro Vista, Apollo Theater, The New Harmony Project, Chautauqua Theater Company and Village Theatre. Emilia began her career as Literary Director at McCarter Theatre and co-founded #theaternow, cultivating opportunities for early-career artists and producing work across Trenton, Philadelphia, New York City and the UK. Building on that foundation, she went on to become Director of Creative Development at Audible, where she established the Emerging Playwrights Fund.