Stephanie Alison Walker (Playwright) is an internationally-produced, award-winning playwright whose work is known for the personalization of the political, humor in darkness and the dramatization of the resilience of women. She is a native Chicagoburbian who has lived all over including London, Buenos Aires, San Juan Island, and fifteen years in Los Angeles. She received her Bachelors in English/Creative Writing and Spanish from the University of Colorado and her Master of Professional Writing from the University of California. She began writing plays while working for Fox Theatricals in Chicago. Her play about the housing crisis, AMERICAN HOME, was the inaugural winner of American Blues Theatre’s Blue Ink Award, her play about the mothers of the disappeared in Argentina, THE MADRES, received a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere at Teatro Vista in Chicago, Skylight Theatre Company in L.A., Moxie Theatre in San Diego, and Shrewd Theatre Company in Austin. It was the 2019 Winner of the Francesca Primus Prize, winner of the Ashland New Plays Festival, the Generations Prize and semi-finalist for the CTG/ Humanitas Prize for playwriting. Her follow-up play THE ABUELAS, premiered at Teatro Vista and was recently adapted into a short film titled THE BIRTHDAY GIFT. THE ART OF DISAPPEARING was a finalist for the Primus Prize and enjoyed critical praise for the world premiere in Chicago by 16th Street Theater in 2015. FRIENDS WITH GUNS, her play about liberals and gun ownership was an O’Neill Finalist, winner of Best New Play at the 2019 Valley Theatre Awards, and had its Chicago premiere by A Short Leap Theatre Company in 2025. SOPHIA HAYDEN DESERVES BETTER tells the story of the architect of the Woman’s Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and was recently a part of Gglassfest by Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago. THE ORDEAL OF WATER, inspired by the first women to work as Longshoremen at the Port of Los Angeles, was most recently a part of Bay Street Theater’s New Works Festival. ADIRONDACK CHAIR CIRCLE, her play that tackles suburban book-banning moms, was developed at The Inkwell Theater Company and A Red Orchid’s Studio at A Red Orchid. Her short plays have been anthologized by Smith & Kraus. Her full-lengths are published by Broadway Publishing, Inc. In addition to writing plays, she is currently adapting FRIENDS WITH GUNS and THE ABUELAS as features while raising two spirited boys and selling real estate in the suburbs of Chicago. She is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Honor Roll Playwrights, NNPN Affiliated Artist, and a proud alumni of the Playwrights Union. Stephaniealisonwalker.com

Pam MacKinnon (Director) is a Tony, Drama Desk and multi-Obie Award winning director. She is the artistic director of American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. She has directed more than eighty productions. Her Tony Award winning production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? originated at Steppenwolf. Her production of Bruce Norris’s Downstate (Steppenwolf, National Theatre and Playwrights Horizons) was celebrated with several Jeff Awards and won Pam her second Obie. She served as president of SDC, the national Union of choreographers and directors.

Todd Rosenthal (Scenic Design) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Fool for Love, Noises Off, Purpose, Downstate, The Doppelgänger (an international farce), Mary Page Marlowe and many others. Select Broadway: August Osage County (Tony), The Motherfucker with the Hat (Tony Nom), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Of Mice and Men, This is Our Youth, Linda Vista and the upcoming Princess Bride and Three Days of Rain. International: August Osage County (London, Australia); Nice Fish, Downstate (London); Madama Butterfly, The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Ireland). Rosenthal also designs in Chicago and at many regional theaters. Awards: USITT Distinguished Achievement, Olivier, Helen Hayes, Ovation, Joseph Jefferson, Michael Merritt. Professor, Northwestern. Graduate, Yale Drama.

Izumi Inaba (Costume Design) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Constellations, A Doll’s House, Part 2, Animal Farm, The Crucible, We Are Proud…, Miz Martha, Bald Sisters, Last Night and the Night Before, Sanctuary City, Noises Off, and Catch As Catch Can. Recent Chicago: Front Page (Northlight Theatre). Recent Regional: Estate Sale (Barrington Center Stage), Macbeth (Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival). Upcoming: Christmas Carol (Paramount), The Boys From Baraboo (Next Act Theatre). Izumi is a member of United Scenic Artists Local USA829 and represented by Gersh.

Barbara Samuels (Lighting Design) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Premiere. Regional: OSF, Pig Iron, Woolly Mammoth, The Alley, South Coast Rep, Long Wharf, ACT, Playmakers, Kansas City Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, Shakespeare Theater Company, and Trinity Rep. Off Broadway: Soho Rep, The Public, Playwrights Horizons, Signature, Little Island, Lincoln Center, National Asian American Theatre Company, Ma-Yi, NYTW, MCC, Ars Nova, TFANA, WP, Bushwick Starr, Target Margin, Beth Morrison Projects, New Georges and Clubbed Thumb. Touring: Monica Bill Barnes & Company, Erin Markey. Awards: Obie and Henry Hewes Design Awards, Lortel and Drama Desk Award nominations. BA, Fordham; MFA, NYU. Proud Member USA829. www.barbarasamuels.com

Mikhail Fiksel (Sound Design and Original Music) is excited to return to Steppenwolf having previously worked on Catch as Catch Can, Fool For Love, Little Bear Ridge Road, No Man’s Land, 1919, Dance Nation. Other collaborations include Broadway productions of Little Bear Ridge Road, Uncle Vanya, Dana H (2022 Tony Award); Mexodus (Audible); How To Defend Yourself, I Love You So Much I Could Die (NYTW); Mother Russia, Cambodian Rock Band (Signature Theatre), Tambo & Bones, This Flat Earth, The Treasurer And A Life (Playwrights Horizons); and multiple releases with Audible Originals and Make Believe Association and original scores for various independent films. He is a member of TSDCA, and an Assistant Professor at Columbia College Chicago. www.mikhailfiksel.com

Nicholas Hussong (Projection Design) Regional: You are Cordially Invited to the End of World (South Coast Rep, OSF), Fiddler on the Roof (Alliance, Atlanta Opera), An American Soldier (PAC NYC), Next to Normal (Round House Theatre, Barrington Stage Company, Helen Hayes Nomination), Magic Flute, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Cabaret (Atlanta Opera), Vietgone (The Guthrie), Until the Flood (15 regional and international locations). Broadway: Skeleton Crew (Tony Nomination). Off-Broadway: Skeleton Crew, These Paper Bullets (Atlantic, Drama Desk Nomination), Wet Brain (Playwrights Horizons, Obie & Lucille Lortel award), On That Day in Amsterdam (Primary Stages, Drama Desk Nomination). Other work includes; Atlanta Opera, Grey___matter, Apollo Exhibit, Virginia Museum of Art, David Zwirner Gallery, Virgin Voyages, Marc Jacobs, Mass MoCA, Complex Magazine, AMC+, San Diego Shell, Pacific Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Hartford Symphony, Tony Awards (CBS), Ask Ronna Podcast. He also designed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, China, Canada, Senegal and Vienna. Co-Creator of FEAST, an immersive dining experience with Listen&Breathe (Nantucket, Ireland). nickhussong.com

Steph Paul (Choreographer) Steppenwolf: Sanctuary City. Chicago: Billie Jean (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); The Last Match (Writers Theatre). Regional: Estate Sale (Barrington Stage); Nobody Loves You (American Conservatory Theater); The Royale (Kansas City Repertory Theatre), The Wolves (Studio Theatre). Off Broadway: My Joy is Heavy, How to Defend Yourself (New York Theatre Workshop); Where the Mountain Meets the Sea (Manhattan Theatre Club). International: Be the Groove (Royal Opera House Muscat); The Reality Show (NYU Abu Dhabi). Awards: Princess Grace Award, Helen Hayes Award. Steph is a NYTW Usual Suspect, SDC member and a 2026 Woman to Watch on Broadway selected by the Broadway Women’s Fund. Steph is also a fan of making playlists and watching all of the sports. www.stephpaul.com

Kate DeVore (Voice Coach) returns to Steppenwolf Theatre Company where she coached Topdog/Underdog, Catch as Catch Can, Amadeus, Mr. Wolf, You Will Get Sick, The Book of Grace, Fool For Love, Noises Off, The Thanksgiving Play, Purpose, a home what howls (or the house what was ravine), POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, Sanctuary City, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life. Kate also happily taught Voice at The School at Steppenwolf for 11 years. She has served as voice and/or dialect coach at Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Lyric Opera of Chicago, A Red Orchid Theatre, Drury Lane, Second City, Writers Theatre, Piven Theatre Workshop, Theo Ubique, and Chicago Dramatists. Film/TV credits include The Outfit, Ripley, A Prayer for Dying, Last Days, and Caddo Lake. More about her books and coaching services at TotalVoice.net.

Bryar Barborka (Dramaturg) (they/them) is the Literary Manager and Casting Associate at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and the Literary Manager of the Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival. They have also worked with: Second Stage Theater, The Playwrights' Center, Goodman Theatre, TimeLine Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, Teatro Vista, Definition Theatre, Interrobang Theatre Project, Seven Devils New Play Foundry, and the Ojai Playwrights Conference in various capacities. Steppenwolf Theatre Company dramaturgy credits include: Windfall, Amadeus, You Will Get Sick, a home what howls (or the house what was ravine), I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (audio adaptation), and Wally World (Assistant Dramaturg). Education: B.F.A from DePaul University.

Michelle Medvin (Production Stage Manager) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Favorites over the past 25 years include Windfall, Mr. Wolf, Leroy and Lucy, Sanctuary City, 1919, Choir Boy, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (stage and audio-play versions), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, two versions of The Crucible, August: Osage County, Clybourne Park, Art, Purple Heart (also at Ireland’s Galway Arts Festival), The Pillowman, and many others. Chicago: Northlight Theatre, Drury Lane, Victory Gardens, Chicago Children's Theatre. Regional: Hartford Stage, Dallas Theater Center, Portland Center Stage. Education: Smith College. Michelle has taught stage management at Columbia College Chicago and Governors State University and is proud to be a member of Actors’ Equity, wife to Mary, and mama to Elliott, Lena, and Sam.

Kathleen Barrett (Assistant Stage Manager) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Windfall, The Dance of Death, Mr. Wolf, You Will Get Sick, Fool for Love, Noises Off, The Thanksgiving Play, a home what howls, POTUS, Another Marriage, Describe the Night, Miz Martha, Seagull, BUG, Dance Nation, The Great Leap, MS. BLAKK FOR PRESIDENT, The Crucible, Pass Over, Constellations, East of Eden, The Herd, Airline Highway. Chicago: The Steadfast Tin Soldier 2018 & 2022, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas (Lookingglass Theatre Company); Groundhog Day, The Secret of My Success (Paramount Theatre); additional work for The Hypocrites, Victory Gardens Theater, Porchlight Music Theatre, Broadway in Chicago. Regional: Over twelve productions including the world premieres of Cambodian Rock Band, A Doll’s House Part 2, and Office Hour at South Coast Repertory. Additional productions with Geva Theatre Center, Florida Repertory Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Mason Street Warehouse. Kat is a graduate of Kalamazoo College in Michigan.