Susan Banyas is a writer, performance artist, teacher, and mother who has worked for 30 years to weave stories and images from everyday life into art -- monologues, essays, dance-theater, and currently a non-fiction book, The Hillsboro Story. Her performance work, "No Strangers Here Today," was recently produced at LaMaMa E.T.C. following engagements in LA and Portland, Oregon. www.susanbanyas.com

David Ornette Cherry is a jazz and world music composer, raised in the vibrant music landscapes of Watts, NYC, and on the road with his father, the late trumpeter, Don Cherry. His evocative sound scores are featured in "No Strangers Here Today" and will be forthcoming in Terry Wolverton's opera theater work titled "Embers." His recently released "Organic Roots" and "Ensemble for Improvisers" (review in current issue of JAZZIZ)are available at www.davidornettecherry.com

Slash Coleman is an award winning playwright, storyteller, artist, educator, surfer, and musician. He is best known for his one-man show, The Neon Man and Me, which will debut as a PBS special on stations in 2008. Slash studied writing and jazz piano at Radford University, Middlesex University in London, and at Columbia College in Chicago where he received his Master’s Degree. For more visit www.slashcoleman.com.

Gregory Ramos began his professional career as a dancer and has performed in the U.S and Europe. He completed his MFA in playwriting at UCLA and has directed at various venues around the country. He is currently an assistant professor at The University of Vermont where he teaches directing and theatre diversity.