EVENT HORIZON

Heather Raffo (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright and actress whose work has been seen off-Broadway, off-West End in regional theater and in film. An American with Iraqi roots, her plays have been hailed by The New Yorker as “an example of how art can remake the world.” Raffo is the author and performer of NOURA (Weissberger Award, Helen Hayes Award Best Original New Play) which premiered in Washington D.C. before moving to Abu Dhabi, Cairo, New York City, and theaters across the nation, and 9 Parts of Desire (Lucille Lortel Award, Blackburn commendation, Helen Hayes, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nomination) which ran off-Broadway for nine months and has played across the nation and internationally for over a decade. Raffo’s libretto for the opera FALLUJAH, part of Kennedy Center’s International Theater Festival, received its world premiere at Long Beach Opera and opened at New York City Opera in 2016. A film of the opera aired on PBS accompanied by a documentary titled Fallujah: Art, Healing and PTSD. From the Kennedy Center to The Aspen Ideas Festival and from London’s House of Commons to the U.S. Islamic World Forum, Raffo continues to bring her work into diverse environments both nationally and internationally. Special thanks:  Brandon Jones, Wariboko Semenitari, Maija Garcia, Naomi Barr, Amy Raasch, Masha Tsimring, Irina Kruzhilina, Jenny Koons, Tobi Adeyemo, Anthony Adu, Nayib Felix, Corneilus Franklin and Tristan Gabriel Turner

Timothy Douglas (Director) August Wilson’s King Hedley II (Arena Stage), Nina Simone: Four Women and Disgraced (also presented at the Great Theatre of China and China tour) Premieres: August Wilson’s Radio Golf (Yale Repertory Theatre), Robert O’Hara’s Etiquette Of Vigilance (Steppenwolf), Jason Reynolds’ Long Way Down (Kennedy Center), Robert Alexander’s Last Orbit Of Billy Mars (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company), Rajiv Joseph’s The Lake Effect (Silk Road Rising), Keith Adkins’ Safe House (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park). Off-Broadway: Frankenstein (Classic Stage Company), Yellowman (Billie Holiday Theatre), Bronte: A Portrait Of Charlotte (Alloy Theatre Company), Rosmersholm (Oslo Elsewhere). Representative projects include Mules (Downstage, New Zealand), Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing (Folger Shakespeare Theatre), The 24 Hour Plays (Broadway), The Color Purple (Portland Center Stage), Father Comes Home From The Wars, August Wilson’s Gem Of The Ocean (Round House), Assassins (Berkshire Theatre Group), and projects for Actors Theatre of Louisville (Associate Artistic Director), Guthrie Theater, American Conservatory Theater, Mark Taper Forum (Director in Residence), South Coast Repertory, Sundance, The Juilliard School, The Philips Collection, and many others. Currently serving as Distinguished Artist in Residence at Emerson College. Recipient of the 2018 Lloyd Richards’/National Black Theatre Director Award. MFA: Yale School of Drama. timothydouglas.org

Jimmie "JJ" Jeter (Alex) Winston-Salem, North Carolina native, Jimmie “J.J.” Jeter is a 2016 graduate the Juilliard School in New York City. His recent theatrical credits include: Regional: (Broadway) Hamilton in Hamilton: An American Musical; Romeo and Juliet as Benvolio (Shakespeare Theatre Company); Fences as Cory (Pioneer Theatre Company). He debuted his first short film Hold On at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

Lindsay Jones (Sound Design) Broadway: Slave Play, The Nap, Bronx Bombers and A Time to Kill. Off-Broadway: Bootycandy (Playwrights Horizons), Mr. Joy (LCT3), Privacy and Dry Powder (Public Theater), and many others. Regional: Guthrie, Hartford Stage, Alliance, Goodman, Old Globe, ACT, Chicago Shakespeare, Steppenwolf, La Jolla Playhouse, Arena Stage, and many others. International: Stratford Shakespeare Festival (Canada) and Royal Shakespeare Company (England), and many others. Awards: seven Joseph Jefferson Awards and 24 nominations, two Ovation Awards and three nominations, three Drama Desk Award nominations, three Helen Hayes nominations, two Barrymore nominations, and many others. Film scoring credits include HBO Films’ A Note of Triumph (2006 Academy Award, Best Documentary), and many others. www.lindsayjones.com