Amanda L. Andrei is a playwright, literary translator, and theater critic/journalist residing in L.A. by way of Virginia/Washington D.C. She writes epic, irreverent plays that center concealed, wounded places of history from the perspectives of diasporic Filipina women. Her play Mama, I wish I were silver won the 2022 Jane Chambers Award for Feminist Playwriting. She co-translates from Romanian to English with her father, and their translations of Tatiana Niculescu and Oana Hodade appear in Asymptote Journal and Another Chicago Magazine. She was named a Rising Leader of Color by Theatre Communications Group in 2023. MFA: University of Southern California.

Dr. Shanaé Burch (she/her) is an arts in public health liberation scholar who resides in Brooklyn with her service dog, Dodger. As restful research, she listens and creates healthful narratives as an artist and public health creative, and this takes shape as theatre, poetry, collage, and play. She serves as a Deacon of Double Love Experience Church, board member of Community Conversations: Sister 2 Sister and co-associate editor of Poetry for The Public’s Health (Health Promotion Practice). She is a proud union-member of Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union and Actors Equity Association, and has run three world-major marathons. www.shanaeburch.com

Lindsley Howard is a Texas-born, Brooklyn-based actor, storyteller, and cultural observer. As a mixed-race artist and an avid traveler, a throughline in all her creative pursuits is the intersectionality of our culture; the crossroads of human experience where many things can be true at once. Select artistic credits include collaborations and developmental work with EST, The Huntington, The Lark, and Studio Theatre. She holds a BFA in Acting from St. Edward's University.

Regina Madanguit is a multimedia storyteller, born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, where she met her first love: video. She has created a number of short films and competed in local festivals. She studied people and place at the University of California, Berkeley, earning degrees in American Studies and Environmental Design. She’s written about the inventor of banana ketchup, the house she lived in when the pandemic began, and various topics in global health for Common Thread. She makes things that people can connect to. She is currently based in the Philippines, exploring the island her parents left behind.

Zoe Marín (she/her) is an Argentine-American theatre artist and comedian, who is based in Toronto. She has a BFA in Theatre from York University. Recent credits include: GRINGAS (director; Toronto Fringe, Hamilton Fringe), Internet Sensation (director/creator; Paprika Theatre Festival), and Do You Think You’re Better Than Me? (performer/creator; Toronto Fringe, Hamilton Fringe, Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival). She is First Born Theatre Company’s (@firstborntheatre) Artistic Producer and the co-creator of sketch-comedy troupe Small Friend Tall Friend (@smallfriend.tallfriend). Marín loves: horror, comedy, music, politics, and pop culture, and hopes you see that in her work. 

e.jin is an adoptee writer who is based in New York. They have received nominations for a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best New Poets, and their work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Nashville Review, The Margins, TriQuarterly, and others. They are a Roots. Wounds. Words., Lambda Literary, and Asian American Writers Workshop Margins Fellow.

Miranda Purcell is a Puerto Rican actress and writer, best known for her lead role in the award-winning film Antes que Cante el Gallo. She earned her B.F.A. in Theater Arts from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, where she specialized in the Meisner technique, and furthered her craft with studies in Shakespearean acting at the Globe Theater in London. After graduating, she worked as a screenwriter for "The Writer's Gang," as a reporter at Puerto Rico's leading newspaper El Nuevo Día, and as a content creator for Caribbean Cinemas, the fourth-largest movie theater franchise in Latin America. These roles deepened her interest in exploring diverse forms of storytelling. Currently, Purcell is pursuing a master’s degree in journalism at Harvard University, finalizing a communications internship at art non-profit Art Bridges Foundation, and continuing to develop her acting career starring in both local and international productions. She is excited to be a part of the 2024-2025 Critic's Lab Cohort and looks forward to exchanging insightful perspectives with other BIPOC writers. 

Katsuto Sakogashira (he/him) is an actor, writer, and lighting designer from Amakusa, Japan. He is currently pursuing a MFA in Acting at Brown University/Trinity Repertory Theater. Katsuto holds a BA in Theater and a BS in Biology from Albright College. Additionally, he is an alumnus of the National Theater Institute and a recipient of The Miranda Family Fellowship.

Ciaran Short is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, and activist born and raised in NYC. His work explores New York culture and tackles issues of race and masculinity. His multifaceted creative practice stems from an interest in holistic storytelling using a multimedia approach. He co-founded All Street, an art collective and protest group utilizing art to raise visibility and support social movements in NY. In the spring of 2022, All Street established a permanent gallery space for emerging and underrepresented artists in the East Village. He holds a master’s degree in Media Studies from the New School.

Angie Shin (they/she) is a paralegal at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, as well as a 2023 graduate of Harvard College where she double-majored in Physics and Government. They've read all but three of Shakespeare's plays by age eighteen, and dramaturged for the Hyperion Shakespeare Company's 2022 production of King John. They're excited to learn about the art of criticism with the 2024-2025 BIPOC Critics Lab cohort, and to learn how to contribute to the world of contemporary Shakespearean critique!

Soumya Tadepalli (she/her) is a theater maker, comedian, and administrator based in New York City and is passionate about telling new stories that uplift underrepresented voices and inspire social and political change. Previously, Soumya worked as the Public Relations Fellow for the two-time Tony Award-winning musical Hell’s Kitchen on Broadway. She also worked as the Development Operations and Database Coordinator at Oregon Ballet Theatre, an administrative intern at The Tank NYC, and as an artistic intern at Syracuse Stage. Soumya is a graduate of Syracuse University's theater management program.

Dezi Tibbs (they/she) is a New York-based theatre artist specializing in deepening our relationship with dramatic text. Dezi believes in the theatre's ability to inspire. As a reflection of life, the theatre allows an arena for audiences to better understand the world around them. To emphasize this power, Dezi created their blog "Dezi's Thought Bubble" to engage with the theatre scene critically and encourage audiences to view the theatre as a place that challenges their mind and opens their hearts. They’ve also written for the Media Theater, the Wilma Theater, and the Civlians’ Extended Play.