DAVE MALLOY (Playwright) is a composer/writer/performer/orchestrator. He has written thirteen musicals, including Octet, a chamber choir musical about internet addiction; Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, an electropop opera based on a slice of Tolstoy’s War & Peace (12 Tony nominations, including Best Musical, Score, Book, and Orchestrations); Ghost Quartet, a song cycle about love, death, and whiskey; Preludes, a musical fantasia set in the hypnotized mind of Sergei Rachmaninoff; Little Bunny Foo Foo, a forest entertainment for small people; Three Pianos, a drunken romp through Schubert’s “Winterreise”; Black Wizard/BlueWizard, an escapist RPG fantasy; Beowulf - A Thousand Years of Baggage, an anti-academia rock opera; Beardo, a reinterpretation of the Rasputin myth; Sandwich, a musical about killing animals; and Clown Bible, Genesis to Revelation told through clowns. He has won two Obie Awards, a Smithsonian Ingenuity Award, a Theater World Award, the Richard Rodgers Award, an ASCAP New Horizons Award, and a Jonathan Larson Grant, and has been a MacDowell fellow and Composer-in-Residence at Ars Nova and the Signature Theatre. Future projects include an adaptation of Moby-Dick. He lives in Brooklyn.

KATIE SPELMAN (Director/Choreographer) is a Chicago-born choreographer and director, thrilled to be returning to Writers. Spelman made her Broadway choreographic debut this season with The Notebook.  Recent credits include The Music Man (Marriott Theatre, 8 Jeff Nominations), Cabaret (Barrington Stage Company, Berkie Award for Best Choreography); the world premiere of An American Tail (CTC); Hello Kitty Must Die (Edinburgh Fringe), Day 365 - Live from the Rainbow Room with Dylan Mulvaney, Once (Writers Theatre), Swearing in English (Ars Nova), aren’t you glad you stayed in(TEAM Petri Project),  AD 16 (Olney Theater, Helen Hayes Award for Best Choreography), The Beautiful Game (Tokyo, TOHO Productions), The Who’s Tommy (DCPA), and Oklahoma! (Goodspeed). She was the Associate Choreographer on Moulin Rouge for the Boston, Broadway, and Australian companies, as well as an associate on the Broadway productions of Amelie, American Psycho, and Once; she was the Associate Choreographer on RENT Live! on Fox, and the Associate Director for Close To You on the West End. Katie has also collaborated with Lookingglass, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Camerata Bern, Court Theatre, The Hypocrites, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Timeline Theatre, and Northwestern University. 

MATT DEITCHMAN (Music Director) returns to Writers Theatre, where his previous credits include: Once (Jeff Nom., Music Direction/Ensemble), Into The Woods (Jeff Nom., Music Direction), Trevor, Parade, and The Hunter And The Bear. Matt is a NYC based music director, actor, composer, orchestrator/arranger, and multi-instrumentalist whose credits include: Broadway — The Heart Of Rock And Roll, Parade, A Strange Loop, Almost Famous. Off-Broadway — Trevor (Disney+ and Original Cast Recording). Chicago — Marriott Theatre (recently, Jeff Nom., Music Direction for Buddy), Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Paramount Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Mercury Theatre, Griffin Theatre, and many others. Add'l select regional: Arena Stage (DC), Shakespeare Theatre Company (DC), Asolo Repertory Theatre (FL), American Stage Theatre (FL), South Coast Repertory (CA), Ogunquit Playhouse (ME), Norwegian Cruise Lines. Northwestern University Grad. 

COURTNEY O'NEILL (Scenic Designer) is thrilled to return to Writers Theatre, having previously designed Eurydice, Wife of a Salesman, The Niceties, A Number, and Julius Caesar. She’s an award-winning Scenic Designer who works extensively in Regional Theatre and considers Chicago her artistic home. Don’t miss their upcoming production of Circus Quixote at Lookingglass Theatre. Chicago: Steppenwolf, Lookingglass Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Writers Theatre, Court Theatre, Paramount, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Northlight, among others. Regional: KC Rep, Denver Center, Baltimore Center Stage, The Apollo Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Marin Theatre Company, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Awards: Jeff Award, USITT Scene Design Award, Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award. Education: MFA, Northwestern University and BFA, DePaul University. She lives in France with her husband Kirby and enjoys riding her bicycle through the mountains.

RAQUEL ADORNO (Costume Designer) is a costume designer and educator based in Chicago. Selected credits: CHICAGO: The Music Man* (Marriott Theatre); PERSONALITY: The Lloyd Price Musical* (Hard Kill LLC); The Thanksgiving Play, POTUS, Describe the Night (Steppenwolf Theater); Measure for Measure, I, Banquo (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); Georgiana and Kitty*, Intimate Apparel* (Northlight Theatre); Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Antigone, Gospel at Colonus, The Island, The Tragedy Of Othello, The Moor of Venice (Court Theatre); The Band’s Visit, Wife of a Salesman (Writers Theatre); Mies Julie (Victory Gardens Theater); Unelectable You (The Second City); Plano (First Floor Theater); Top Girls (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company); D.O.A*., The Long Christmas Ride Home, Desperate Dolls (Strawdog Theatre Company); Murder Ballad, Princess Mary Demands Your Attention, CARRIE: The Musical (Bailiwick Chicago); Angry Fags (Steppenwolf Garage) The Submission, Songs from an Unmade Bed (Pride Films and Plays); Barefoot in the Park, Crimes of the Heart, Dead Accounts (Step Up Productions); A Number, Scenes from an Execution (Runcible Theatre). REGIONAL: Waitress, Rent (The MUNY); Choice, The Wolves (McCarter Theatre Center); The Tempest, Intimate Apparel (Utah Shakespeare Festival); August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, A Raisin in the Sun, The Taming of the Shrew, Cymbeline, A Doll’s House, A Doll’s House, Part 2 ( American Players Theatre); Small Mouth Sounds (UCCS Theatreworks). FILM: Curio, Limerence. EDUCATION: Postdoctoral Scholar in Theatre, MFA in Stage Design (Northwestern University); MM in Opera Performance,  BM in Opera, Vocal Performance and Vocal Pedagogy (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign). AWARDS: The Michael Maggio Award 2022, The Michael Merritt Academic Achievement Prize for Collaborative Design 2019. *denotes Jeff Award Nomination. www.raqueladorno.com

YAEL LUBETZKY (Lighting Designer) Returns to Writer’s theatre after previously designing past season’s production of Once, (Jeff Award Nomination). Design credits include The Broadway production of Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam which won a Tony award for Best Special Theatrical Event; Off-Broadway productions with The New Group, The Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, WP Theatre, York Theatre Company, The Joyce, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. Regional design credits include productions at American Conservatory Theatre, The 5th Avenue Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Paramount Theatre, Drury Lane, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Trinity Repertory Company, Arizona Theatre Company, Arkansas Rep, Children’s Theatre Company, Pioneer Theatre Company.  Most Recent designs include Matilda (Wichita Music Theatre); On Your Feet, Kinky Boots, (Riverside Theatre); Master Class (Arizona Theatre Company); Amid Falling Walls (NYTF).  Yael is a recipient of the NEA/TCG Career Development Grant for Designers. 

ERIC BACKUS (Sound Designer) is a Jeff-Award winning composer and sound designer, returning to Writers after previously designing Pearl's Rollin' with the Blues. Off-Broadway: Hollow/Wave (United Solo Festival), Churchill (New World Stages); Regional credits include productions at Milwaukee Rep., Northern Stage, TheatreSquared, and The Rev. Chicago credits include productions at Goodman, Chicago Shakes, Steppenwolf, Paramount, Northlight, and many others. In addition to theatre, Eric composes and sound designs for film, video, and podcasts. www.ericbackus.com

ETHAN DEPPE (Electronic Music Designer) Trevor, Next to Normal (Writers Theatre); MJ (West End/First National Tour); Moulin Rouge (First National Tour); Beetlejuice (1st National Tour); Million Dollar Quartet (Chicago/1st National Tour); Jesus Christ Superstar (Lyric Opera/50th Anniversary Tour); Mamma Mia! (25th Anniversary Tour); Waitress (Broadway/2nd National Tour); Paradise Square, The Devil Wears Prada (Broadway in Chicago); Once Upon A One More Time (Shakespeare Theatre Company); Les Miserables, Dreamgirls, The Little Mermaid, Fiddler on the Roof, Waitress, In the Heights, Anything Goes (The Muny); Maggie (Goodspeed); Hairspray, Once on this Island, Rent (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Mamma Mia! (5th Avenue); Assassins (Signature); 42nd Street, Rock of Ages (Drury Lane); Once, The Tempest, Ride the Cyclone, Follies, Sunday in the Park with George (Chicago Shakespeare); School of Rock, Into the Woods, Kinky Boots, Beauty and the Beast, Legally Blonde, Once, Cabaret (Paramount).

AMBER WUTTKE (Violence Director) is delighted to join Writers Theatre and this production! She has choreographed for movement, dance, and fights for over a decade, including being a co-founder of Violent Delights, a stage combat and intimacy design team in Chicago. Recent credits include: The Full Monty (Paramount Theatre), Carousel, Brigadoon, Pippin (Music Theater Works), Jeff Award Nominated The Crucible (Invictus Theatre), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Frankie & Johnny in the Claire de Lune (Elsinore Ensemble). | @violentdelights_chi

MIRANDA ANDERSON (Stage Manager) is delighted to be back at Writers where she has previously worked as the stage manager for The Band's Visit, Once, and Athena. She has frequently worked with TimeLine Theatre where selected credits include: What The Constitution Means to Me,Trouble in Mino, Campaigns, Inc., and Relentless. She has also worked at Rivendell Theatre, The House Theatre, First Folio Theatre, and The Hypocrites, among others. From 2012 to 2018, she toured with The Hypocrites’ Gilbert and Sullivan productions to regional theaters including Olney Theatre Company, Pasadena Playhouse, Skirball Center at NYU, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and American Repertory Theatre in Boston. Miranda is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

CHARLOTTE RIVARD-HOSTER (Conductor and Assistant Music Director) As a music director, conductor, pianist, and educator, Charlotte is most interested in what grows in the shape of “we" through each unique collaboration. Favorite theatre credits include Beauty and the Beast (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Beauty and the Beast (Paramount Theatre), Into the Woods (Writers Theatre), Queen of the Mist (Firebrand), Wizard of Oz (Paramount Theatre), Legally Blonde (Paramount Theatre), Fun Home (Victory Gardens), Urinetown (BoHo Theatre, Jeff Nomination — Outstanding Music Direction). Charlotte also collaborates with young people of all ages in music, theatre and early learning institutions across the city. Thanks to my loves, especially Ron and Toussaint.

ROGER ELLIS (Associate Director) is a movement director, filmmaker, and the original director of Nikki Lynette’s Get Out Alive (Steppenwolf Theatre Company, film adaptation, National Alliance for Musical Theatre). Ellis’ film work has screened internationally at Cinequest, Black Harvest (Gene Siskel Center), Melbourne Lift-off, San Francisco IndieFest’s Decibels Music Film Festival, African Diaspora International Film Festival, and Pan African Arts and Film Festival. Current projects include Happy Songs About Unhappy Things (co-director), Interstitial (director), and Emergency/Contact (director).

NATALIE COHEN (Assistant Stage Manager) is thrilled to return to Writers Theatre again this season. Recent credits include The Band's Visit, Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol, Once, and Athena (Writers Theatre); Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Paramount Theatre); The Gospel at Colonus (Court Theatre); Clyde's (Goodman Theatre). Natalie is a graduate of Truman State University and a proud member of Actors' Equity Association. Love to Molly, always.

LEXIE WILEY (Assistant Stage Manager) is a freelance, Chicago-based stage manager. More recently she has stage managed at Lookingglass Theatre (Lucy and Charlie's Honeymoon), Token Theatre (Zac Efron), Theo Ubique (Baked! the Musical), and Capital City Theatre (Shining in Misery). She also works at Roosevelt University CCPA as production stage manager and props designer (Indecent, Spring Awakening, Pride & Prejudice, Spunk). Other credits include her work at Bristol Riverside Theatre (Cabaret, A Few Good Men, Murder for Two, Skeleton Crew), Pioneer Playhouse, and McLeod Summer Playhouse. All her love to her supportive family and friends.

BRADEN ABRAHAM (Artistic Director) joined Writers Theatre as Artistic Director in 2023. He comes to Writers from Seattle Rep, the largest resident theatre in the Pacific Northwest, where he advanced the organization as a director and producer, including the development and premiere of many new plays. He directed six world premieres for Seattle Rep and over 20 productions including: True West, Clybourne Park, Photograph 51, Ibsen in Chicago, Betrayal, Luna Gale, A View from the Bridge, A Great Wilderness, Breakin’ Hearts and Takin’ Names, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Among his initiatives as Artistic Director, Braden committed Seattle Rep as one of the first partner theaters to bring the Public Theater’s model for the Public Works program across the country. Seattle Rep’s Public Works strengthens community connection through making ambitious productions of participatory theater. Braden also re-envisioned the New Play Program, commissioning and premiering plays by Anna Zeigler, Samuel D. Hunter, David Grimm, Justin Huertas, Samantha Silva, Cheryl L. West, and Karen Hartman, and supported the work of dozens of playwrights and directors through premieres and the Other Season development lab. Many projects developed through this program went on to acclaimed runs at Seattle Rep and around the country including Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s Come From Away, Cheryl L. West’s Shout Sister Shout!, Erica Schmidt’s Mac Beth, and Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice.  Under his leadership, Seattle Rep was the only theater outside New York and London to present David Byrne’s Here Lies Love. Most recently, Braden initiated 20x30: Reimagine the Anthropocene, to commission twenty new plays by the year 2030, and New Directions, a unique commissioning program designed to support generative work from directors. Around the country, Braden has developed new work at Ojai, O’Neill, Denver Center, and Perseverance Theatre. He has been a guest artist at Stanford, Gonzaga, Seattle University, and the University of Idaho. He conceived and developed Way Stations, a series of interactive walking tours in Seattle for the Northwest New Works Festival at On the Boards and is the co-creator of Gordon Hempton: Let it Happen, an audio installation about the life and work of Emmy-Award winning sound ecologist Gordon Hempton. He is married to Cheyenne Casebier and the proud papa of Phoenix Faye Abraham.

KATHRYN M. LIPUMA (Executive Director) joined Writers Theatre as Executive Director in 2007, where she serves as lead producer, overseeing all management, administration, and operations for the company. She led the fundraising, planning and construction of Writers Theatre's new $34 million performing arts center, designed by internationally renowned architect Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects.  Prior to Writers, Kate spent nine seasons as Executive Director at the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre Company in New York. At Signature, she worked with and produced plays and programs from such acclaimed writers as Edward Albee, Lee Blessing, Horton Foote, Maria Irene Fornés, John Guare, Bill Irwin, Romulus Linney, Arthur Miller, Paula Vogel, August Wilson and Lanford Wilson. During her tenure, she helped create and launch Signature’s groundbreaking $15 Ticket Program. Prior to her time at Signature, she spent six years with Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. Kate currently is the President of the Producers’ Association of Chicago Area Theatres (PACT), an association of Chicago area theatres operating under the Chicago Area Theatre contract; is on the Board of Directors for Arts Alliance Illinois, the statewide advocacy coalition; and the Board of Directors and Past Chair of the League of Chicago Theatres, an alliance representing more than 200 Chicago-area theater companies and producers. She is also the Past Chair of the Board of Directors of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre.  She is also the co-creator of DoNorth, an umbrella organization joining four cultural neighbors—Chicago Botanic Garden, Kohl Children’s Museum, Ravinia Festival and Writers Theatre—to attract new audiences to the cultural, environmental and community activities of Chicago’s North Shore. She was born and raised in the West Suburbs of Chicago and is a graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.