Mylan Gray (Playwright) is an Eagle Scout and Kansas State Debate champion turned playwright. He is a graduate of Stanford University, where he received the Kennell Jackson Jr. Award. Last June, Gray completed a Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting from the University of California, San Diego, after studying under Naomi Iizuka and Deborah Stein. Gray has received the Lorraine Hansberry Award from the Kennedy Center for his play, Buried in Blood. His work has been developed by the Tank Theater, the Workshop Theater, the Kansas City Public Theater, the Whim Theater Company, Cygnet Theater, the Mid-America Theater Conference, and the Writing Downtown Residency in Las Vegas. Currently, he is under commission from La Jolla Playhouse for a play about AI companions, masculinity, and intimacy.
Gray has received numerous grants to research Afro-Brazilian ritual performance. Gray’s work draws on his deep reverence for Brazil and his penchant for spiritual journeying. Since there is nothing new under the sun, what old ways of living can we learn from rituals that ground us in community?
Ludmila de Brito (Director): Motherloss (Wagner New Play Festival), The Rogue’s Trial, The Promise, Grippy Sock Vacation, The Half-Sibling Play, and Comedy of Errors (UC San Diego Theatre & Dance MFA Directing Program), Revolt She Said, Revolt Again (Boston University), Echo Chamber (Whitman College; GESA Powerhouse Theatre). Associate Director:900 Years (UC San Diego). Staged Readings/Workshops: Ama. Egg. Oyá (Latinx New Play Festival, La Jolla Playhouse), The Year It Stops (The Public Theater, Miranda Family Fellowship Industry Showcase), Como La Tierra, The Preservatives, and Daydreamer (Miranda Family Summit), Business Ideas (Cygnet Theatre), The Village/Our Childhood Sucked (The Tank), Love is the Greater Labyrinth (Revelle College). Assistant Director: The Heart Sellers (South Coast Repertory, Jennifer Chang), The Janeiad (The Old Globe, Maggie Burrows), Primary Trust (La Jolla Playhouse, Knud Adams), The Siblings Play (Rattlestick Theater, Jenna Worsham), Much Ado About Nothing (Boston Commons, Megan Sandberg-Zakian). Honors/Fellowships: Ben Rabinowitz Award; Lin-Manuel Miranda Family Fellowship; United World Colleges & Eugene O’Neill’s NTI Alum. UCSD Directing MFA. Union: (SDC) ludcabrito.com
Kara Mack (Choreographer) is a multidisciplinary performing artist, educator, theologian, and founder of the trademarked brand Africa in America®. A true Southern gal from Columbia, South Carolina, she began her artistic journey performing/choreographing for schools and conferences as a singer/songwriter, dancer, and actress. Since relocating to Los Angeles, Mack has built a dynamic career rooted in African diasporic music, dance, and storytelling.
Her performance credits include the Grammys, NAACP Image Awards, BET Awards, Billboard Music Awards, American Idol, The Voice, Coachella, and major film productions such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and The Color Purple: The Musical. An accomplished educator, she has taught nationwide, and lectures at UC San Diego.
Mack holds a B.A. in Religious Studies and a Master of Arts in Divinity, and has released three music projects, Selah, A Negroe’s Spiritual, and her new EPRuden, which honors her deceased grandmother of the same name. Her work bridges art, scholarship, and culture—reclaiming African diasporic traditions as rigorous, technical, and sacred practices.
