JESSICA CREANE is an interactive experience designer dedicated to the idea that the things we are most serious about in life often benefit the most from our playfulness. She is the founder of IKantKoan Play/s, a game and immersive experience studio exploring complex subject matter like climate change, ethics, chaos theory, metaphysics, philosophy and love through games and interactive storytelling. Jessica is a Professor of Game Design at Drexel University and CUNY City Tech, a climate change game designer with The National Parks Service, a 2021 Arctic Circle Artist-in-Residence, a founding member of the Rachael Carson Center Climate Change Existential Toolkit and she recently gave a TEDx talk about embracing uncertainty through play. She is a graduate of The Pig Iron School of Advanced Performance Training and her work has been presented at Caveat (NYC), HERE Arts (NYC), The World Economic Forum (NYC), Fastaval (Copenhagen, Denmark), IndieCade (LA), Bandwi/d/th International, Tanween Creativity Festival (Ithra, Saudi Arabia), BostonFIG (Boston) and on KQED (San Francisco). Her New York Times recommended playable theater show, Chaos Theory, recently won the Best Social Immersion Award from Immersion Nation.

JENNY KOONS is a theater director and organizer. Theater Projects: Now Becomes Then (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Men on Boats (Baltimore Center Stage), Speechless (New Blue Man Group North American Tour), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Public Theater Mobile Unit), Burn All Night (American Repertory Theatre), Gimme Shelter (Why Not Theatre, 2015 Pan Am Games commission), A Sucker Emcee (National Black Theatre, LAByrinth Theater Company). Jenny was the 2017 curator of the Encores! Off-Center Lobby Project, co-curator of the 2016 ThisGen Conference and co-founder of Artists 4 Change NYC (National Black Theatre). She has been a facilitator and educator in creating anti-racist spaces and engaging in conversations around race and equity for over a decade, in both non-profit and artistic spaces. She is a steering committee member of The Ghostlight Project, founded and leads Let’s Talk About Hard Stuff, an AAPI anti-racist affinity space and is co-author of the open letter to Biden/Harris demanding cabinet-level representation for Arts and Culture.

NEHEMIAH LUCKETT is originally from Jackson, Mississippi and has been performing, composing and conducting for over 30 years. From an early age, he connected his deep love of music to the transformative power of building community through breathing and singing with family and friends. He has been a featured soloist at the National Cathedral, Carnegie Hall and has performed on six continents. He has composed solo, choral and instrumental pieces. From 2011 to 2020 Nehemiah served as the Music Director and Composer for Rev. Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir. Full productions include three full-length musicals: Hamlet: Prince of Funk (1999) with collaborators Owen Beverly (Evans) and Matthew Smith; Brick by Brick (2006) with Ross Wade; and jazz singer (2019) with Joshua William Gelb presented at Abrons Arts Center. Projects currently in development include Triple Threats with Tracey Conyer Lee and A Burning Church with Zhailon Levingston and Alex Hare.

TYLER THOMAS is a director and choreographer currently based in NYC. Her work has most recently been presented by The Vineyard Theatre, Rattlestick Theater, New Ohio Theatre and NYMF. As an associate and assistant, she has worked with directors such as Whitney White, Taibi Magar, Young Jean Lee, Lear deBessonet, Lee Sunday Evans and the Builders Association. Tyler is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors’ Lab, current 2050 NYTW Fellow, Foeller Fellow at Williamstown Theatre Festival, Visiting Artist at the Athens Conservatoire in Greece, Resident Director of The Commissary and recipient of the 2021 Susan Stroman Directing Award from The Vineyard Theatre. BFA in Drama/MA in Arts Politics from NYU Tisch.

VIDCO (VIRTUAL DESIGN COLLECTIVE) was founded in the middle of the pandemic, and is a collective of over 20 designers, programmers and technicians innovating new ways to tell stories and create communities online. Focusing its core values on audience engagement and live design, ViDCo generates entirely live performances with heightened design elements that bridge theater, TV and cinema tricks into an online hybrid form. We strategize to use the strongest elements of every discipline to inspire the artistic community to use their tools while we provide them the platforms and expertise to tell their stories.