Jonathan Norton is the Playwright in Residence at Dallas Theater Center where his plays penny candy and Cake Ladies have made their world premiere. His work has also been produced or developed by Actors Theatre of Louisville (44th Humana Festival), LaJolla Playhouse, TheatreSquared, Primary Stages, PlayPenn, National New Play Network, National Performance Network, Jacob’s Pillow, Pyramid Theatre Company, Black and Latino Playwrights Conference, Bishop Arts Theatre Center, African American Repertory Theater, Soul Rep, Kitchen Dog Theater, Undermain Theatre, and the South Dallas Cultural Center. Jonathan’s play Mississippi Goddamn was a Finalist for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award and won the 2016 M. Elizabeth Osborn Award given by the American Theatre Critics Association. Other awards include: Artistic Innovations Grant from the Mid-America Arts Alliance, South Dallas Cultural Center Diaspora Performing Arts Commission, and the TACA Donna Wilhelm Family New Works Fund. He is also the recipient of the 2019 Eastman Visionary Award given by Jubilee Theatre. His play penny candy is published by Deep Vellum Publishing. Jonathan is a proud member of the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group at Primary Stages.

DEXTER J. SINGLETON is from Detroit, MI. He is a director, producer, actor, activist, and educator. He is the Founding Executive Artistic Director of Collective Consciousness Theatre (CCT), a multicultural theatre for social justice in New Haven, CT and the Senior Artistic Associate/Director of New Play Development at TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, AR. Since 2007, Collective Consciousness Theatre has reached thousands of youth and adults with plays and workshops across the U.S. and Europe. They have produced the work of playwrights Dominique Morisseau, Robert O’Hara, Idris Goodwin, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Katori Hall and many others. At TheatreSquared, he leads all new play development efforts which include playwright commissions and being the lead producer of the nationally recognized Arkansas New Play Festival that takes place every season and invites playwrights from around the country to develop new work. As a director, Dexter’s work has been seen at TheatreSquared, UConn/Connecticut Repertory Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, University of Michigan, University of Arkansas, Long Wharf Theatre, Passage Theatre and others. Recent credits include A Christmas Carol, Detroit ’67, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Blood at the Root, Kill Move Paradise, Skeleton Crew, The Royale, Flint, Black Book and Topdog/Underdog. Dexter is a member of the Artistic Ensemble at Long Wharf Theatre and teaches undergraduate Directing courses at Yale University. Awards: Broadway World Regional Best Director of a Streaming Production (Kill Move Paradise), Artistic Excellence Award from the State of Connecticut, and The Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival Distinguished Director of a Play (Black Book).