Drew Gasparini is a songwriter and musical theatre composer/lyricist, best known for his work in musical theatre. Including writing songs for season 2 of Smash, as well as the scores for the Broadway musicals The Karate Kid, Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical, It's Kind of a Funny Story, and more. 

Richard Oberacker. Richard Oberacker is currently conducting Cirque du Soleil’s Kà in Las Vegas. Mr. Oberacker’s conducting credits include Cirque’s Dralion and national tours of Disney’s The Lion King, Show Boat, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Music of the Night and Cats. As a composer, co-lyricist, and co-librettist, his original musicals include Bandstand (Broadway, Paper Mill Playhouse), A Little Theater (Aurelia Theater), In That Valley (NAMT), Dracula (Corbett Theater), The Gospel According to Fishman (Signature Theatre), Ace (NAMT, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Cincinnati Playhouse, Old Globe, Signature Theatre), Journey to the West (NYMF), The Parenting Project (Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati) and The Sandman (NAMT, Fredericia Theater of Denmark). Mr. Oberacker recently composed the score for a new musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby which made its world premiere in Tokyo, Japan in 2017.

Robert Taylor. Robert Taylor's musicals include Bandstand (Broadway, Paper Mill Playhouse), Ace (NAMT, Cincinnati Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Old Globe Theatre, Signature Theatre), Journey to the West (NYMF), The Parenting Project (Cincinnati Fringe Festival, Ensemble Theatre) and The Sandman (NAMT, Fredericia Theater of Denmark). He has taught foreign languages and ornithology in New York, English and music in China, served as music critic for the Albany Times Union, founded and directed several nonprofits and worked as a freelance musician and writer in Manhattan and as a translator in Europe and Asia.

Nick Blaemire is a writer and performer based in Brooklyn. At 23 years old, Nick made his Broadway debut twice over, at the same time — as an actor, he was in the original cast of Cry-Baby, and he also wrote the score to the Broadway one-night sensation rock musical Glory Days (book by James Gardiner), which has since had over 50 productions around the world, and re-opened in Japan in Fall 2021.He has since written six other original musicals: Space Dogs  (with Van Hughes); A Little More Alive; Soon; Fallout (with Kyle Jarrow); Edge of the World (with Ethan Slater); Quixote (with Daniel J. Watts). He also wrote the stage adaptation for the Disney film The Descendants. As an actor, other credits include: BROADWAY: Godspell (Original Revival Cast); Cry-Baby (Original Broadway Cast); NATIONAL TOUR: Falsettos (1st National); Altar Boyz (1st National): OFF-BROADWAY: Tick Tick Boom! (Keen Company, Drama Desk Nomination); Dogfight (2ndStage); Found (Atlantic); The Black Suits (SPF @ The Public)

EGOT-winning songwriters/producers Benj Pasek & Justin Paul are best known for their work on La La Land, Dear Evan Hansen, and The Greatest Showman. Their songs “City of Stars” and “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” (co-written with Justin Hurwitz) from La La Land were both nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, with “City of Stars” winning the Academy Award as well as the Golden Globe in the same category. The following year, in 2018, Pasek & Paul won their second Golden Globe for Best Original Song for “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman, which was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. In 2024, Pasek & Paul won an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for “Which Of The Pickwick Triplets Did It?” from he third season of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building.

Heather Headley is a Trinidadian-born American singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the title role of Aida. She also won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album for her album Audience of One. 

Kait Kerrigan. Kait Kerrigan is the book writer of Broadway's The Great Gatsby. Other musicals include The Time Traveller's Wife (additional lyrics) in the West End and book/lyrics for The Mad Ones and Henry & Mudge Off-Broadway. Other recent plays include Father/Daughter, Indigo and Justice. 

Bree Lowdermilk. Bree Lowdermilk is a queer, gender non-conforming musical theater writer, YouTube creator, songwriter, and dramatist. 

Off-Broadway: The Mad Ones and Henry and Mudge, which toured the country for over a decade, both with longtime collaborator Kait Kerrigan. Upcoming projects include the immersive house party The Bad Years, Republic directed by Michael Arden, Kill The Boy Band with Jiehae Park and Justice with Lauren Gunderson. Other musicals include Flash of Time, an immersive art / puppet installation-musical hybrid at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful and Her Dog and Earthrise at The Kennedy Center in DC, and Rosie Revere, Engineer & Friends, written with playwright Lauren Gunderson, which is currently touring the US.

Jessica Boevers Bogart is a theatrical director, teacher of many disciplines, and actor who served as an associate artistic director at Chicago’s Apple Tree Theater. She has played leading roles on Broadway in Les Miserables, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Rent, Oklahoma, Beauty & the Beast, Boeing Boeing, Brief Encounter, In My Life, Dear Evan Hansen, and performed with NYCO in A Little Night Music at Lincoln Center. She has rehearsed and collaborated on creating new works with some of the most brilliant artists of our time including Andy Blankenbuehler, Sam Mendes, Stephen Sondheim, Trevor Nunn, and Tina Landau. Additionally, she has shared the stage with greats like Mark Rylance, Zoe Caldwell, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, and Whoopi Goldberg. Jessica has directed award-winning regional theater productions in Chicago, Raleigh, and New York. She holds a B.F.A. from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music where both she and her husband Matt Bogart have been honored as distinguished alumni. She also holds an M.A. from New York University in Educational Theatre. She previously lived in New York and is the mother of two sons, Tru and Easton.

Matt Bogart is an actor, singer, writer, and producer. As an Actor, TV & Film credits include reprising his role as Nick Massi in the feature live-capture film of Jersey Boys starring Nick Jonas as Frankie Valli, a recurring role as Robert Goulet on HBO's VINYL (producers, Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger), producing and starring in an indie feature Stargazer (8 Film Festival Laurels, 2 Best Actor Noms), playing opposite his brother, Dominic Bogart, in the indie feature Mistake, The Good Fight on CBS, Smash on NBC, Law & Order, L&O: SVU, Livin' On A Prairie (Tribecca FFest plus 5 additional FFest Laurels) TV Short, Summer Nuts feature film by Mickey Fisher (Reverie, Extant, Mars executive producer/writer), Smokey Joe's Cafe' (Live Broadway Show recorded for TV/Film), Kennedy Center Honors on PBS (honoring Elizabeth Taylor), The Tony Awards (5 occasions) and The Today Show (5 occasions). Broadway shows include starring as Willie O'Brien in Paradise Square, opposite Tony Award winner Joaquina Kalukango, Nick Massi (bass player of The Four Seasons) in Jersey Boys, Radames in Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, Chris in Miss Saigon (after originating the 2nd National Touring "Engineer" Company), original Broadway cast in Frank Wildhorn's The Civil War (also originated at the Alley Theatre) and as Michael in Smokey Joe's Cafe, which was live-captured on film.

James Vincent Meredith received critical acclaim as John Proctor in The Crucible, his first role as an ensemble member. At Steppenwolf he has also appeared in Clybourne Park, The Hot L Baltimore, The Bluest Eye (also Off-Broadway at the New Victory Theater), The Pain and the Itch, Carter's Way and Superior Donuts. Other Chicagoland appearances include Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting at Lookingglass Theatre and Much Ado About Nothing at Chicago Shakespeare Theater,as well as work at About Face Theatre, Writer's Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook and Piven Theatre Workshop, where he is a member of the company ensemble.

JEFF BLUMENKRANTZ has performed on Broadway in Into the Woods (1987), Threepenny Opera (1989), Damn Yankees (1994), How to Succeed in Business… (1995), A Class Act, and Bright Star, as well as Off-Broadway in Murder for Two (Lortel Award nomination), Forever Plaid, and in the City Center Encores productions of The Golden Apple, Anyone Can Whistle, and God Bless You Mr. Rosewater. Regionally, he has appeared in productions at La Jolla Playhouse, Old Globe, Ahmanson, Geffen Playhouse, Kennedy Center, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf, Pioneer, and Asolo. Film and TV credits include Succession, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Pose, Mr. Robot, Fosse/Verdon, The Big Sick, The Detour, 30 Rock, The Good Wife, Ugly Betty, Joseph … Dreamcoat, Will and Grace, Law and Order, and the PBS telecasts of the New York Philharmonic concerts of Sweeney Todd and Candide.

Jenn Gambatese is an actor, singer, teacher, and writer whose work has enabled her to see the world and collaborate with some of the most wonderful artists imaginable.

Originally from outside Cleveland, Ohio, Jenn came to New York to study at NYU where she double majored in Drama and Sociology. She graduated magna cum laude and had the distinction of being one of four "Artists and Scholars" from the Tisch School of the Arts. Both her theatrical training and scholastic endeavors provided Jenn with the best possible foundation upon which to build her career.

Jenn's Broadway debut was in the musical Footloose. She then went on to appear as one of the nicest kids in town in the original company of Hairspray (a show she happily returned to in the role of everyone's favorite saddle-shoed sidekick, 'Penny Pingleton'.) Between those stints in Baltimore, she forayed into the forest to play 'Mouse' and other woodland creatures in the enchanting A Year with Frog and Toad. 

Next up, Jenn originated her first leading role playing 'Natalie' (and her alter-ego, 'Ed') in All Shook Up, a portrayal that earned her an Outer Critics Circle nomination. Her next incredible opportunities were creating the role of Jane in Disney's Tarzan and playing opposite Norbert Leo Butz in Is He Dead?, the hilarious farce by Mark Twain (aided by the incomparable David Ives). Jenn had the good fortune of doing another fantastic David Ives' play, The School for Lies, at Classic Stage Company.

After becoming a Mom, Jenn had the incredible opportunity to travel across America "by bubble" as Glinda in the national tour of Wicked.  She also had the great privilege of starring to critical acclaim as both Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music, and Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel with the esteemed Lyric Opera of Chicago. Returning to Broadway, she also starred as Principal Rosalie Mullins in School of Rock and originated the role of Miranda Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire.

Being back in New York also made it possible for Jenn to create her first solo album Jenn Gambatese: Cockeyed Optimist, a celebration of her love for the legendary writing team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It debuted on February 1, 2017, and is available on all streaming platforms.

The majority of Jenn's regional work has been in the great neighboring "nutmeg state", Connecticut. She was delighted to play Chloe Haddock in Terence McNally's Lips Together Teeth Apart at the Westport Country Playhouse. She won a Connecticut Critics Circle award for her portrayal of Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun at the Goodspeed Opera House, and she was nominated for another CCC for playing Constance Blackwood in We Have Always Lived in the Castle at the Yale Repertory Theater.

As a concert performer, Jenn has sung across the country with great orchestras such as The Atlanta Symphony, West Michigan Symphony, The Long Island Philharmonic, and The Grand Teton Music Festival. She also enjoys teaching master classes to young performers in both high school and university settings.

As a writer, Jenn frequently collaborates with the extraordinary playwright, Howard Emanuel as well as with the extremely talented composer, Paul Fujimoto. 

Jonathan Butler-Duplessis is a member of the Broadway cast of Hamilton and a winner of a Joseph Jefferson Award. He was previously in the Chicago premiere of the new musical, The Notebook. 

Kathleen Butler-Duplessis is a Chicago-based composer and actress.  She is the composer and lyricist of Chicago's new hit holiday musical, "Eleanor's Very Merry Christmas Wish."  Other work includes a song featured in the musical "Girlhood," with CPA theatricals; her song “None of My Business," which premiered at the Chicago Humanities Festival; and and the viral internet hit “Gimme That Fat Cat,” which appeared in People magazine, Buzzfeed, Vice, and more.  She is music director for The Second City, an improvisor, and AEA actress whose favorite theatres include Peninsula Players, TimeLine, and Theatre At The Center. You can find more on her YouTube channel, “Kathleen Sings Stuff.” 

Adam Gwon is a musical theater writer named one of "50 to Watch" by The Dramatist magazine and hailed "a promising newcomer to our talent-hungry musical theater" whose songs are “funny, urbane, with a sweetness that doesn’t cloy” by The New York Times.

His musicals have been produced on six continents, in nine languages.  Off-Broadway: Scotland, PA (Roundabout Theatre, Drama Desk Award nomination, NYT Critic’s Pick), Ordinary Days (Roundabout Theatre; Keen Company, Drama League Award nomination, Best Revival), Old Jews Telling Jokes (Westside Theatre, NYT Critic’s Pick); Regional: Witnesses (California Center for the Arts, Craig Noel Award winner, Outstanding New Musical), String (Village Theatre), Cake Off (Signature Theatre, Helen Hayes Award nomination; Bucks County Playhouse), Cloudlands (South Coast Repertory, LA Times Critic’s Pick), The Boy Detective Fails (Signature Theatre), Bernice Bobs Her Hair (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma); West End: Ordinary Days (Trafalgar Studios).

Barbara Pitts McAdams is co-author of MOMENT WORK: Tectonic Theater Project's Process of Devising Theater. Barb was an actor/co-creator in the original company of Tectonic's The Laramie Project and appears in the HBO film version (shared Emmy Nomination, Best Adapted Screenplay).

Nathan Gunn is widely acclaimed for his diverse performing career bridging the genres of opera, musical theatre, and recital. Gunn grew up in South Bend, Indiana doing what most Midwestern boys do: playing sports, working hard at school, and spending time with his family. His interest in music became a passion during his junior year of high school when he was introduced to Mozart’s opera, Die Zauberflöte. Consumed by a desire to learn more, Nathan attended the University of Illinois (the third generation in his family to attend the school) to study music.

As a performer, Nathan is respected as an artist, musician, and singing actor. He has performed many of opera and musical theater’s greatest roles on the world’s most prestigious stages. Nathan has also been seen and heard on television, radio, video, and live simulcast performances, including the first ever Met in HD broadcast (The Magic Flute), in which he sang Papageno, one of his signature roles. In addition to Papageno, Nathan has reinterpreted classic roles such as Billy Budd, Figaro, and Don Giovanni, garnering many awards, including the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording (Billy Budd) and the Metropolitan Opera’s first ever Beverly Sills Award. Additionally, Nathan has been widely acclaimed for his ability to crossover into musical theater, including performances with the New York Philharmonic in Carousel and Camelot, as well as a televised celebration of Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday. Nathan has frequently collaborated with many stars of musical theater, including Mandy Patinkin, Kelli O’Hara, Audra McDonald, and Kristin Chenoweth.

Nathan believes that music is a living art form and must be nurtured to remain relevant.  He has championed dozens of new songs, operas, and sung theater in a multitude of venues. He recently debuted his one-man autobiographical show produced and written by Hershey Felder, entitled Flying Solo, which has been lauded as a “riveting autobiographical musical [that] is a stunner both with its touching, relatable, family-centric narrative and Gunn’s entertaining, charismatic performing style (Broadway World review).” Nathan and Julie Gunn created their production company, Shot in the Dark, to produce and perform cabaret shows which entertain the public, and give young artists and hometown celebrities a platform to showcase their talents. Nathan and Julie are also often seen in recital and cabaret settings where they enjoy creating programs uniquely tailored to the special event.  This season, Nathan will perform new roles with Pittsburgh Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Beth Morrison Projects and PROTOTYPE Festival, and will debut Drytown: A Living Room Vaudeville with Julie Gunn.

Nathan is a professor and Swandlund Chair at the University of Illinois where he is co-director of Lyric Theatre @ Illinois, a comprehensive program embracing a broad continuum of opera and musical theatre, as well as the development of new works. At the Lyric Theatre @ Illinois, Nathan developed and founded the first ever Bachelor of Musical Arts in Lyric Theatre curriculum in the nation. The program is part of the School of Music at the University of Illinois and housed in the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

Sarah Wigley is a Clinical Associate Professor of Voice for the Lyric Theatre department at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, where she instructs Lyric Theatre Studio, Musical Theatre Repertoire, Contemporary Graduate Voice, and BMA Senior Showcase while maintaining a voice studio of over 20 students.  Frequently stage directing both opera and musical theatre, directing credits with Lyric Theatre @Illinois include City of Angels, Fun Home, The Marvelous Wonderettes, Ordinary Days, Crazy for You, She Loves Me, Kiss Me Kate, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Title of Show, A Psalm of Silence, The Adventures of Little Sharp Ears, and both La Boheme and Don Giovanni in collaboration with Nathan Gunn. Wigley holds an MM in Voice Performance from Colorado State University and a BM in Voice from the University of Minnesota. While residing in Minneapolis, Wigley performed professionally with regional companies such as the Guthrie Theatre, the Skylark Opera, the Mystery Cafe, the Minnesota Centennial Showboat, and the Minnesota Opera. Ms. Wigley’s Denver credits include roles such as Aldonza in Man of LaMancha, Emma in Jekyll and Hyde, Dolores in The Wild Party, and Miss Scarlett in Clue-The Musical. Sarah Wigley has served as faculty for the Musical Theatre department at the University of Northern Colorado as well as Parlando School for the Arts in Boulder, Colorado, and has had several students appear on Broadway and in national tours and regional theaters across the nation.

As a contemporary voice specialist, Ms. Wigley is an internationally certified Estill Voice Master Trainer, frequently presenting workshops concerning flexible voice technique and crossover training for both studio voice teachers and choral educators. Sessions ranging from “Crossing Over: Contemporary Voice Technique for Solo and Ensemble Singing” to “Crossing Genres: A Classical Singer’s Guide to Jazz” have energized the International Congress of Voice Teachers (Stockholm, Sweden), the Estill World Voice Symposium (Vienna, Austria), the National Association for Teachers of Singing, Illinois Music Education Association, Iowa Choral Directors Association, and Minnesota Music Education Association. Wigley serves as the President of the Illinois Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters, the Development Liaison for the Central Region of the National Association for Teachers of Singing, and recently had the pleasure of creating Franc D’Ambrosio’s new touring show “Beyond the Chandelier.”

Jennifer Malenke just shot a pilot called ‘Vial” that is in post-production right now, playing Duffy, a series regular. She was last seen as Annabelle Lee in Jeremy Schonfeld’s emotional new musical film “The Father Who Stayed,’ which is set for release Spring of 2024. She sang at Carnegie Hall with Heather Headley and Chris Mann in Feb. She was seen on the 74th Annual Tony Awards with BIV in “What Does Your Silence Sound Like” with Jared Grimes and Daniel Watts, directed by Sergio Trujillo. Before the pandemic, she was on the First National Tour of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! She is a proud member of the Broadway Inspirational Voices (www.bivoices.org) and is the co-founder of Broadway Babysitters, LLC (www.broadwaybabysitters.com). She previously appeared in "The Last Five Years" (Cathy) opposite Nicolas Dromard at the Music Theatre of Connecticut, and "The Gold" (Gabrielle) at NYMF, "Uncle Jack" (Helena), a reading for the Manhattan Theatre Club with John Cullem, Daniel Jenkins, and Geoffrey Owens, “The Act” at 54 Below in NYC, directed by Will Nunziata with Cady Huffman, Randy Graff, Mamie Parris, Julia Murney, Anna Chlumsky, Karen Mason, and more, the 30th annual STAGE Benefit in LA with Betty Buckley, Helen Reddy, Mitzi Gaynor, Richard Chamberlain, John McDaniel, Donna McKechnie, and many more, and “Ionescopade!” at the Odyssey Theatre. She was just heard singing on ABC’s “The Neighbors” musical episode, a session that she recoded with Alan Menken. She also sang for John Williams at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in a number for a new musical called “The Sandman.” She was last seen in MTG’s “Chess,” Sacramento Music Circus’s “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” at the Cosmopolitan Cabaret, and is frequently seen in the Upright Citizens Brigade’s Gravid Water series, where she has acted opposite Matt Walsh, Tami Sagher, Ian Roberts, Dan Bakkadahl, Thomas Middleditch, and Peter Grosz.  She was recently seen on NBC’s “The Voice” as a backup singer for Florence and the Machine, and also recently featured in a pilot about her life called “The Power of Music” in which she sang a duet with Josh Groban. She was also a judge on ABC’s series “High School Musical: Get In the Picture” with Nick Lachey.