Yusef Komunyakaa was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana, in 1947. His numerous books of poems include Neon Vernacular, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award.

In addition to his works of poetry, Komunyakaa has written the libretto for Testimony, an opera based on the life and music of Charlie Parker which premiered at the Sydney Opera House.

Komunyakaa also co-edited The Jazz Poetry Anthology and co-translated The Insomnia of Fire by Nguyen Quang Thieu. His honors include the William Faulkner Prize, the Thomas Forcade Award, the Hanes Poetry Prize, fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, the Louisiana Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam, where he served as a correspondent and managing editor of the Southern Cross.

In 1999 he was elected Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets. Yusef Komunyakaa is currently Distinguished Senior Poet at NYU.

Chad Gracia is the former Executive Director of Inverse Theater, where he acted as producer and dramaturg to the award winning playwright Kirk Wood Bromley.

His 10 acclaimed productions at Inverse include The American Revolution (2002, winner, Best of Fringe), Midnight Brainwash Revival (dir. Joshua Spafford; "sparkles and shines..." - NY Times), and the hit musical by the late Jessica Grace Wing, Lost (winner, Best of Fringe 2003; "Perfect!" - The New Yorker).

Gracia has also published and edited six of Mr. Bromley's verse plays and written a book on the business of acting. He is the creator of ActorTips, a weekly newsletter read by over 30,000 actors.

In addition to his work in the theater, Gracia maintains an interest in ancient history and the culture and politics of the modern Middle East. As a communications consultant, he has worked with the Pentagon, the royal families of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, as well as many other businesses of the Persian Gulf. He has published extensively on Middle Eastern society and politics.

Elizabeth Peterson-Vita is a New York City native and is co-founder and Creative Director of Actors Scene Unseen, the pioneering theatre company with work spanning Internet radio, audio CD, and stage performances.

She has directed many Actors Scene Unseen productions, including Nijinsky’s Last Dance (2007 Metrolina Theatre Association Award for Best Production - Special Event),  A Shakespeare Christmas Carol, Miller’s Court, An Uncertain Hour, Radiance of a Thousand Suns: The Hiroshima Project, The Canterbury Tales, Slaughterhouse-Five and the American premiere of Jack – The Musical, The Ripper Pursued.  

Peterson-Vita has also been seen on-stage as an actor, and is a dialect coach and freelance writer and theatre critic.

In addition, she holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and her work is informed by her interests in cultural competence, mythology, literature, and world history.

Rahim AlHaj, virtuoso oud musician and composer, was born in Baghdad, Iraq and began playing the oud (the grandfather of all stringed instruments) at age nine. Early on, it was evident that he had a remarkable talent for playing the oud. Mr. Alhaj studied under the renowned Munir Bashir, considered by many to be the greatest oud player ever, and Salim Abdul Kareem, at the Institute of Music in Baghdad, Iraq. Mr. AlHaj won various awards at the Conservatory and graduated in 1990 with a diploma in composition. He also holds a degree in Arabic Literature from Mustunsariya University in Baghdad. In 1991, after the first Gulf War, Mr. AlHaj was forced to leave Iraq due to his activism against the Saddam Hussein regime and began his life in Jordan and Syria. He moved to the US in 2000 as a political refugee and has resided in Albuquerque, NM ever since.

Rahim AlHaj was recently nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for his album When the Soul is Settled: Music of Iraq, produced by Smithsonian Folkways.