Emily Atef ”Inspire”

Emily Atef (IG:@emily.atef) is a French-Iranian filmmaker born in Berlin. At the age of seven, she moved with her parents and brother to Los Angeles. At the age of thirteen, she settled in the Jura, the land where her mother grew up. Later, she attended a theatre school in London for several years. Finally, she moved to Germany to study filmmaking at the German Film Academy in Berlin.
Her first feature film, MOLLY’S WAY, like her next two films, was co-written by Esther Bernstorff and won the Best Screenplay Award at the Munich Film Festival in2005 Munich Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at the Mar del Plata Film Festival as well as several other awards.
His second feature film, THE STRANGER IN ME, about a young mother suffering from postnatal depression, had its world premiere at the Critics’ Week in Cannes and won severalawarded several times.
She was offered a grant from the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation to write TUE-MOI. The film was voted Best Foreign Language Drama at the Bradford Film Festival2013.
In 2017, Emily Atef wrote and directed the feature film THREE DAYS IN QUIBERON. It depicts three emotional days of Romy Schneider during which she gave her last German interview to STERN magazine. THREE DAYS IN QUIBERON was in competition at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival and won 7 Lolas at the German Film Academy Awards Night 2018, including Best Film and Best Director.

Marc Turtletaub ”Carpe Diem”

Marc Turtletaub (bigbeach.com) has been a producer for over twenty years with two production companies, including Big Beach which he co-founded in 2004. He is also a director, whose most recent film, Jules, is now streaming.

Estefanía Fadul ”You Are Alive”

Estefanía Fadul (estefaniafadul.com) is a Colombian-born, New Hampshire-raised, NYC-based director and creative producer with a passion for new work. Recent directing includes the world premieres of Eva Luna adapted by Caridad Svich from the novel by Isabel Allende (Repertorio Español), The Garbologists by Lindsay Joelle (Philadelphia Theatre Company), The Same Day by Stefan Ivanov (Sfumato Theatre, Bulgaria), Scissoring by C. Quintana (INTAR), and the Drama League-nominated Carla’s Quince, which she conceived and developed with The Voting Project Ensemble to mobilize Latiné voters to the polls. She has developed new plays and musicals off-Broadway and regionally at the Public Theater, Chautauqua, Latinx Playwrights Circle, Playwrights’ Realm, NYTW, Audible, Goodspeed, Long Wharf, Juilliard, and more. She was on the producing team for Soho Rep.’s first all-ages, site-specific show Washeteria, and is a co-producer on the upcoming world premiere of Raquel Almazan’s La Paloma Prisoner. Estefanía is a member of the leadership circle of the Center for Performance and Civic Practice (CPCP), the Drama League Board of Directors, Latinx Theatre Commons advisory committee, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and SDC. She was the 2020 recipient of New York Stage and Film’s Pfaelzer Award, is a New Georges Affiliated Artist, and an alumna of the Advocacy and Leadership Institutes of the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, the Drama League Directors Project, O’Neill/NNPN National Directors Fellowship, Clubbed Thumb Directing Fellowship, Civilians’ R&D Group, Foeller Fellowship at Williamstown, and Van Lier Fellowship at Repertorio Español. She has a B.A. from Vassar College, where she co-founded Idlewild Theatre Ensemble to create and uplift work by women/fem-aligning artists.

Luke Yankee ”Forgiveness Is A Gift You Give Yourself”

Luke Yankee (yankeehillproductions.com)(IG:@lukebyankee)is a playwright, director, author, producer, actor, and teacher. He has assistant directed six Broadway shows, run two regional theatres,and  directed, produced, performed and taught all over the world.  His latest play, MARILYN, MOM & ME is the recipient of the Stanley Award and will receive its world premiere on the west coast in February of 2024.  

Liz Carlson ”New York Stage and Film”

Liz Carlson (elizabethjcarlson.com) is an NYC-based creative producer and director committed to the development of new stories. Prior to stepping in as Interim Artistic Director, Liz produced and directed with NYSAF in various capacities over the past 15 years, notably as the full-time Artistic Producer for the past seven, supporting artists such as César Alvarez, Jaki Bradley, Lyndsey Bourne, Lily Houghton, Keelay Gipson, Jessica Huang, Melissa Li & Kit Yan, Don Nguyen, Brian Quijada & Nygel D. Robinson, Kirya Traber, Lauren Yee, and hundreds more. Liz also served as the Artistic Director for the new works incubator Naked Angels from 2013-2016. As a director, Liz has developed plays and musicals with Ars Nova, The Dramatists’ Guild, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Flea, Keen Company, Manhattan School of Music, Manhattan Theatre Club, The New Group, Playwrights Horizons, The Playwrights Realm, Signature Theatre Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and more. Upcoming directing projects include a new-play workshop with Minita Gandhi at Berkeley Rep’s The Ground Floor, and the final installment of a musical podcast with the Drama Desk-nominated folk band The Lobbyists. MFA The New School for the Performing Arts, Drama. Recipient of The Drama League Fellowship. 

Bryce Pinkham Part 2 ”Laugh More. Worry Less.”

Bryce Pinkham (IG:@thebrycecapades)(TW:@TheBryceCapades) is a Grammy and Tony-nominated American stage and screen actor. He is perhaps best known for originating the role of “Monty Navarro” in the Broadway production of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. The performance earned him a Grammy nomination, as well as a Tony nomination for “Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical.” Bryce played this role on Broadway for more than 700 performances, and the show was named “Best Musical of 2014.” Bryce went on to star in the Broadway revival of The Heidi Chronicles as “Peter Patrone,” for which he was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award, as well as the Drama League Award for “Distinguished Performance” in 2015. In the fall of 2016, he returned to Broadway, leading the cast of Roundabout Theater and Universal Pictures’s Holiday Inn, performing in the role originally played by Bing Crosby in the classic 1942 movie. Bryce also originated roles in Ghost the Musical and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson on Broadway. Recent film and television appearances include performances in the Robert DeNiro comedy The Comedian and Baz Lurman’s Netflix drama The Get Down, as well as a regular role in the PBS series Mercy Street. Bryce has also appeared on The Good Wife, Person of Interest, and the PBS miniseries God in America.
In 2012, Bryce was awarded the prestigious Leonore Annenberg Fellowship, which is given to “a limited number of exceptionally talented young dancers, musicians, actors and visual artists as they complete their training and begin their professional life.” In 2012, Bryce and fellow actor Lucas Caleb Rooney co-founded Zara Aina, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping at-risk children expand their capacity for achievement through theatrical performance and storytelling. Lucas and Bryce regularly travel to Madagascar to help empower at-risk students through theatrical storytelling techniques and performance and provide them with much-needed medical and educational assistance. Bryce also performs regularly with the theater company Outside the Wire, which takes performances of Greek tragedy to American military audiences around the world to foster discussion about PTSD and soldier suicide. Bryce is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and Boston College.

Bryce Pinkham Part 1 ”A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”

Bryce Pinkham (IG:@thebrycecapades)(TW:@TheBryceCapades) is a Grammy and Tony-nominated American stage and screen actor. He is perhaps best known for originating the role of “Monty Navarro” in the Broadway production of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. The performance earned him a Grammy nomination, as well as a Tony nomination for “Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical.” Bryce played this role on Broadway for more than 700 performances, and the show was named “Best Musical of 2014.” Bryce went on to star in the Broadway revival of The Heidi Chronicles as “Peter Patrone,” for which he was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award, as well as the Drama League Award for “Distinguished Performance” in 2015. In the fall of 2016, he returned to Broadway, leading the cast of Roundabout Theater and Universal Pictures’s Holiday Inn, performing in the role originally played by Bing Crosby in the classic 1942 movie. Bryce also originated roles in Ghost the Musical and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson on Broadway. Recent film and television appearances include performances in the Robert DeNiro comedy The Comedian and Baz Lurman’s Netflix drama The Get Down, as well as a regular role in the PBS series Mercy Street. Bryce has also appeared on The Good Wife, Person of Interest, and the PBS miniseries God in America.
In 2012, Bryce was awarded the prestigious Leonore Annenberg Fellowship, which is given to “a limited number of exceptionally talented young dancers, musicians, actors and visual artists as they complete their training and begin their professional life.” In 2012, Bryce and fellow actor Lucas Caleb Rooney co-founded Zara Aina, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping at-risk children expand their capacity for achievement through theatrical performance and storytelling. Lucas and Bryce regularly travel to Madagascar to help empower at-risk students through theatrical storytelling techniques and performance and provide them with much-needed medical and educational assistance. Bryce also performs regularly with the theater company Outside the Wire, which takes performances of Greek tragedy to American military audiences around the world to foster discussion about PTSD and soldier suicide. Bryce is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and Boston College.

Jared Mezzocchi Part 2 ”Strive”

Jared Mezzocchi (jaredmezzocchi.com)(TW:@JaredMezzocchi) is an two-time Obie Award-winning theater artist, working most notably as a director and multimedia designer. Mezzocchi’s work has appeared at theaters nationwide, including the Kennedy Center, the Geffen Playhouse, Vineyard Theater, Arena Stage, Woolly Mammoth (company member), Milwaukee Rep, South Coast Rep, Portland Centerstage, and many more. In 2016, he received an Obie, Lucille Lortel and Henry Hewes Award for his work in Qui Nguyen’s “Vietgone” at the Manhattan Theatre club. In 2020, the New York Times spotlighted his multimedia innovations during the pandemic alongside the work of four other theater artists, including Andrew Lloyd Webber and Paula Vogel. His work on Sarah Gancher’s digital premiere of “Russian Troll Farm” (co-director & multimedia designer, and second Obie) was also celebrated as a New York Times critic pick, and praised for being one of the first digitally native successes for virtual theater. Mezzocchi is a two-time Macdowell Artist Fellow, a 2012 Princess Grace Award winner, and is an Associate Professor at The University of Maryland, where he teaches in the MFA Design program for the projection and multimedia track. He grew up in New Hampshire, and returns every summer to serve as Producing Artistic Director of Andy's Summer Playhouse, an innovative children’s theater producing original work by professional artists from across the country. 

Jared Mezzocchi Part 1 ”ViDCo, Theatre, Film & Education”

Jared Mezzocchi (jaredmezzocchi.com)(TW:@JaredMezzocchi) is an two-time Obie Award-winning theater artist, working most notably as a director and multimedia designer. Mezzocchi’s work has appeared at theaters nationwide, including the Kennedy Center, the Geffen Playhouse, Vineyard Theater, Arena Stage, Woolly Mammoth (company member), Milwaukee Rep, South Coast Rep, Portland Centerstage, and many more. In 2016, he received an Obie, Lucille Lortel and Henry Hewes Award for his work in Qui Nguyen’s “Vietgone” at the Manhattan Theatre club. In 2020, the New York Times spotlighted his multimedia innovations during the pandemic alongside the work of four other theater artists, including Andrew Lloyd Webber and Paula Vogel. His work on Sarah Gancher’s digital premiere of “Russian Troll Farm” (co-director & multimedia designer, and second Obie) was also celebrated as a New York Times critic pick, and praised for being one of the first digitally native successes for virtual theater. Mezzocchi is a two-time Macdowell Artist Fellow, a 2012 Princess Grace Award winner, and is an Associate Professor at The University of Maryland, where he teaches in the MFA Design program for the projection and multimedia track. He grew up in New Hampshire, and returns every summer to serve as Producing Artistic Director of Andy's Summer Playhouse, an innovative children’s theater producing original work by professional artists from across the country. 

Andy Einhorn Part 2 ”Be True To Yourself”

Andy Einhorn (LI:@andy-einhorn) has directed concerts with the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra. He has worked as the Music Supervisor and Musical Director for the Broadway productions of Carousel and Hello Dolly!  Einhorn’s previous Broadway credits include Holiday Inn, Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Evita, Brief Encounter, The Light in the Piazza, and Sondheim on Sondheim. He recently served as music director and conductor for the Châtelet Theatre’s production of Sondheim’s Passion in Paris and Einhorn made his New York Philharmonic debut with world-renowned trumpeter Chris Botti.
Since 2011 Einhorn has served as music director and pianist for Six-Time Tony Award Winner, Audra McDonald, performing with her at such prestigious orchestras and venues including The Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall and Teatro Real, Madrid. They recently recorded performances for an upcoming telecast with the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Einhorn has also music directed for Barbara Cook at Feinstein’s and Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music.
His tour work includes Sweeney Todd, The Light in the Piazza, Mamma Mia!, and The Lion King. Einhorn’s work can be heard on the current touring production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music. Einhorn has worked at Goodspeed Opera House, Signature Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and PaperMill Playhouse. He was principal vocal coach and pianist for Houston Grand Opera’s An Evening with Audra McDonald, a double-bill of Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine and LaChiusa’s Send.
Recording credits include Bullets Over Broadway, Cinderella, Evita, Sondheim on Sondheim (Grammy Nom) Stage Door Canteen and McDonald’s newest release, Go Back Home. He served as the music director for HBO’s Peabody Award winning documentary Six by Sondheim and music supervisor for Great Performances Peabody Award winning special “Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy” on PBS.
Andy Einhorn is an honors graduate of Rice University in Houston, Texas.