S T A R R Busby (receives all pronouns said with respect) is a Black experimental artist who sings, acts, composes, educates, and is committed to the liberation of all people. Raised in the southern Black church and a graduate of Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) and Northwestern University, S T A R R ’s creative expression carries vastly varied influences from South African hymns to Appalachian folk. S T A R R is also the lead singer of Brooklyn-based dance&b band, People’s Champs (peopleschamps.com). S T A R R has also supported and collaborated with artists such as The Gorillaz, Esperanza Spalding, X Ambassadors, Kimbra, Alice Smith, and Quelle Chris. They are an Ars Nova 2020 – 2021 Vision Resident. Her April 2021 residency programming culminated with the release of her latest EP and accompanying film 9 C u p s i n t h e M o o N “…her otherworldly voice beautifully blurring the lines of R&B, avant-garde and the experimental that soothes and stuns” – Earl Douglas for Interrobang. 9 C u p s… is available via Bandcamp and all streaming services. S T A R R has also performed extensively in the New York theatre scene where they were awarded a 2020 Special Drama Desk Ensemble Award for their work in Octet at Signature Theatre. They also co-composed the music for the world premiere of Aleshea Harris’s On Sugarland at NYTW. Other selected appearances include Moby Dick (American Repertory Theatre; Starbuck); Where Love Lies Fallow (The Shed; Nia 1); Apollo Cafe Live: Soul Cypher; #BlackGirlMagic Show (Jack; composer/performer); Mikrokosmos (Steirischer Herbst, Graz and Nottingham Contemporary); The Girl with the Incredible Feeling (Spoleto Festival dei due di Mondi) as well as various concerts and solo shows. S T A R R also enjoys working as an arts educator through Carnegie Hall and Long Island University where she is a member of the musical theatre voice faculty. starrbusby.onuniverse.com

nicHi douglas is a Brooklyn-based artist, educator, activist, and 2021 Princess Grace Award winner. you can refer to her/him/them/us using any pronoun said with Respect. we have developed original theater work at The Public Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, New Victory, Lincoln Center, Long Wharf, Pig Iron, Denver Center, and Berkeley Rep, among others; our work is multigenerational, working with folx ages 2-82. they have created interactive dance exhibits for the National Museum of African-American Music and the New York Hall of Science. nicHi’s mutual aid fund, nicHi’s SuSu, launched in 2020 and has raised over $14K for Black artists. nicHi has been commissioned by Tony Award-winning scenic designer Mimi Lien & Itohan Edoloyi to develop an original piece of dance theater to be performed at Lincoln Center in Summer 2023. nicHi is a member of the Faculty Leadership Committee in the Playwrights Horizons studio at NYU Tisch Drama (Undergrad), where she teaches in the Movement Area and Advanced Training Project Track. nicHi also guest lectures at Yale School of Drama. stage credits: Girl From the North Country (Public Theater, Associate Choreographer), SKiNFoLK: An American Show (NYT Critic’s Pick//The Bushwick Starr/National Black Theater, Choreographer), The Watering Hole (Signature Theatre, Choreographer) upcoming: Weightless (WP Theater, Choreographer), The Harriet Holland Social Club Presents … (The Movement Theatre Company/New Georges, Choreographer) | www.mynameisnichi.com

JJJJJerome Ellis is an animal, stutterer, and artist. He was raised by Jamaican and Grenadian immigrants in Tidewater, VA, where he prays, gardens, and resides among the egrets and asters. Through music, literature, performance, and video he researches relationships among blackness, disabled speech, divinity, nature, sound, and time. He dreams of building a sonic bath house!