Mackenzie Jones (She/Her) is overjoyed to devise with this ensemble. As a founding member of afterdog, you may have seen her work in Field of Flesh (Bootsie) this past summer. As an Artistic Associate with American Blues Theater she was seen in It’s a Wonderful Life (Mary/Violet US), Trouble (Lila), Wayward (Mayflower), and 17 Minutes (Mary). Mackenzie recently produced Coronation with Refracted Theatre Company after appearing in A Play About David Mamet Writing A Play About Harvey Weinstein (Francine). NYC: The Dream: Midsummer (Helena), Head Over Heels (Ensemble); Regional: A Streetcar Named Desire (Stella), Constellations (Marianne), Rabbit Hole (Becca), Heathers (Heather Chandler), Looking Through The Glass (White Queen). Next up, the feature film, OMRO; in screenings now. Mackenzie is represented by Shirley Hamilton Talent. www.MackenzieRainaJones.com

Alex Benito Rodriguez (He/Him) is a Chicago-based actor and teaching artist with a background in ensemble-driven and physical theatre. He is thrilled to collaborate on Briefly Breathless! Chicago credits include Inherit the Wind(Goodman Theatre), Short Shakespeare! Romeo & Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), The Lifespan of a Fact (TimeLine Theatre), and Anna in the Tropics (Remy Bumppo). Regional: The Crucible, Noises Off (Asolo Repertory). TV: Chicago Fire (NBC). Alex is a Jeff Award nominee for Botticelli in the Fire (First Floor Theater).

Claribel Gross (She/Her) is a theater maker and teaching artist in Chicago. She loves experimental, collaborative theater projects and working with artists who are curious and unafraid. Claribel is currently daydreaming about a life where she can make theater, kick ass and also pay the bills. She's grateful for you, the audience and to the magnificent women that keep the world spinning around.  As a performer, teaching artist and arts administrator Claribel has worked in communities in the United States, Latin America and Europe. Claribel is a founding member of The Midwives Artistic Collective, whose mission is to nurture the public creative spirit. She holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College and a BA in Theater from the University of Minnesota. 

Dustin Valenta (He/Him)  is a cold shower enthusiast who was born in Vermont and grew up in Minnesota. As a traveling yoga teacher, Dustin spent four years living all over the world from Australia to Italy, and he is the 2019 USA Yoga National Champion. Education: MFA DePaul University, The School at Steppenwolf and the Stella Adler Physical Theatre training program. Select Theatre: The Cabinet (Cabo Curiosity), Inanimate (Theater Wit ), Mesmerized (Chicago Children’s Theatre), The Secret Lives of Coats (Red Eye Theatre, Minneapolis) The History of Invulnerability (Six Points Theatre, St. Paul), The Feast: An Intimate Tempest (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre). Film: Ponderosa, Beyond Belief. TV: Crisis. Dustin is represented by the great team at DDO. Love to Marbles.

Chris Acevedo (He/Him) is thrilled to be collaborating with this lovely group of artists! CHICAGO: #Enough (Goodman Theatre), Gather, Uncorker of Ocean Bottles, Cinderella (Filament Theatre), Plano (First Floor Theatre), The Undeniable Sound of Right Now (Raven Theatre), You Got Older (US, Steppenwolf Theatre), as well as work with A Red Orchid, Court, Lookingglass, The Hypocrites, The Gift, Teatro Vista, Steep, Adventure Stage and many others. He is a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf and is represented by Grossman & Jack Talent. FILM: El Algun Lugar.

Lauren Paige (She/Her) is a Chicago based actor/ comedian. She received a BFA in Classical Acting from Southern Utah University, she also has spent the last ten years studying improv and comedy under a number of talented mentors/companies such as: David Razowsky, Rachael Mason, and The Second City Conservatory. Lauren is an ensemble member with Babes With Blades Theater Company. Recent roles include A Midsummer Night's Dream (BWBTC), What the Weird Sisters Saw (Idle Muse), Jane: Abortion and the Underground (Idle Muse), and Think Fast Jordan Chase (Filament Theater). For updates on upcoming projects please follow, @rennpaige.

Lydia Moss (She/Her) is a theater maker, playwright, and actor, who's called Chicago home since 2020. Lydia's work spans scenic painting, Shakespeare education, and Theater for Young Audiences, and her recent performance credits include Celia in As You Like It (Montana Shakespeare, 2023) and Ensemble/Puppeteer in Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins (Strawdog Theatre, 2024). In her playwriting and research, she centers the complexities of love, loss, and existence. She is a finalist for the Amplify New Play Commission at Definition Theater for her full-length play, Death of Eve. She is excited to collaborate with this ensemble of incredible artists and creators, and is grateful for your support. Thank you!  

Jeremy Ohringer  (Director) (He/Him)  is a Chicago-based theatre-maker and educator. He is an adjunct Professor of Theatre Studies at DePaul University. Directing credits include: Ride the Cyclone, Tristan and Iseult, Constellations, The Importance of Being Earnest, and A Devil Comes to Town (North Central College); Stupid F#@%ing Bird, Monica and The Moors (DePaul University); Angels in America: Perestroika, Mother Courage and Her Children (Boston University); Who Walked All Night (Rhino Fest); Sad Songs For Bad People (Rough House Theater); and Who Rowed Across Oceans (Edinburgh Fringe Festival). He is a teaching artist at Steppenwolf Theater Company.  He is a graduate of Skidmore College and holds an MFA in directing from Boston University. Thank you to this incredible ensemble of artists and designers!

Ethan Korvne (Composer & Co-Sound Designer) (He/Him) is a composer and sound designer from Akron, OH and based in Chicago. Recent composition/design credits include: Coronation at Refracted Theatre Company, Beneath the Willow Tree at Pulse Theatre Chicago, Short Shakes! Romeo & Juliet at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and the Chicago premiere of Tambo & Bones at Refracted Theatre Company (2 Joseph Jefferson Awards – Original Music in a Play and Best Sound Design). Ethan graduated in 2024 from The Theatre School at DePaul University with a BFA in Sound Design. Listen to his work and more at: ethankorvne.com

Emily Hayman  (Co-Sound Designer) (She/Her) is a Chicago-based sound designer and composer. Recent sound design credits include, Henry V (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); Pro-Am (First Floor Theater); Seagulls (Oak Park Festival Theatre); Dracula, and Museum (Northwestern University); Measure for Measure (Montana Shakespeare in the Park); Extra Yarn, and Dooby Dooby Moo (Lifeline Theatre). Associate sound design for Ride (The Old Globe); Dream Girls (McCarter Theatre). Assistant sound design for Winters Tale (Hartford Stage); POTUS, Describe the Night, Choir Boy, and Seagull (Steppenwolf); A Christmas Carol 24’,  New Stages 2022 (Goodman Theatre); Richard III, and The Notebook (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre). Emily received her BFA in Sound Design from The Theatre School at DePaul University. 

Kelsey Didion (Additional Music) (She/Her) is a Chicago-based artist and somatic therapist in private practice. She enjoys TTRPGs, yoga, and her dog. Prior to her clinical work, she spent years as an actor (the Guthrie, PlayMakers Rep, the Jungle, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Playwrights’ Center). She writes and performs original music and is a founding member of The Midwives Artistic Collective. Education: BS, University of Evansville; MFA, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; MA, Northeastern Illinois University. 

Luke Venegas (Video & Projections) (He/Him) Luke is a Chicago-based cinematographer with a background in writing and directing short-form narrative films. His experience spans the production of music videos, documentaries, wedding films, and corporate videography. Through his work, Luke highlights the power of independent creators while capturing the beauty in life’s small moments.

Colin Covert  (Understudy) (He/Him) is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA program and moved to Chicago at the beginning of 2025! He has worked regionally at American Players Theatre (King Lear, u/s Constellations, Much Ado About Nothing, Ring Round the Moon, and coming up in the 2025 season Picnic and A Midsummer Night's Dream), Writers Theatre (u/s Translations), and Curious Theatre Company (Admissions and Your Best One). He has received additional training with Tadashi Suzuki in Japan, SITI Company, and Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre. He is represented by Stewart Talent.