Berton Averre as the lead guitarist and co-writer in the band The Knack, best known for
the 1979 song of the year, My Sharona.  Berton also is the composer of the musical Helldrivers of
Daytona, produced in Chicago at the Royal George, the composer and co-bookwriter of
Jungle Man, two productions at Stage One in Wichita and the composer and musical
director for Setup and Punch at The Blank Theater.

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Brad Beaver has been writing book and lyrics for the musical theater since his college days at
the University of Minnesota. He has also written comedy material, parodies and sketches.
Brad had a brief career as an actor before succumbing to the universally-held opinion that his
acting time would be better spent writing. He is a long-term member of the Academy for New
Musical Theatre where he has studied under Lehman Engel and John Sparks. He has also studied
lyric writing at UCLA and is a member of the Dramatists Guild. Brad (with composer Ann Reid)
won a VATEA grant to write the one-act musical Computer Games, which was performed at
Genesee Community College in New York State. Other musicals for which he has written book
and/or lyrics include The Magical Wind, For Fun and Profit, Killing Time, My Last Halloween,
Searching for the Rabbit Prince, Swiss Family Robinson, Wind in the Willows (winner of the
Theatre for Youth class of the Chameleon Theatre Circle’s 13th Annual New Play Contest and
Honorable Mention in the Jackie White Memorial National Children’s Playwriting Contest,
2012), Wild Space a Go-Go and Upon a Winter Road.

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Christina Biggs is an officer at Global Wildlife Conservation (Re:wild), managing the Search for Lost
Species program. Formerly a senior marine biologist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, her research
focuses on biodiversity loss, cephalopods, and deep-sea invertebrates. Having previously worked as a
journalist, she continues to enjoy writing, especially musicals for young audiences. Christina holds
degrees from the University of California Santa Cruz, DePaul University, and Northwestern University. Her
favorite activity is hiking along the ocean with her husband Rob, their three kids, and an energetic dog named Bear.

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Susan-Kate Heaney is an actor, writer and filmmaker. Originally from New York she now resides
in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of New York University Tisch School of the Arts. She has appeared
most recently as Darlene in The Idol, Nurse Mackenzie on The Mindy Project (HULU),  Renee
in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (HULU), Shirley in Masters of Sex (Showtime), and opposite Bryce Dallas
Howard in the comedy Pant Suits. Most recently, Buster, Baby (a film she wrote and directed) won
Best Short Short at the Cannes Short Film Festival. Susan-Kate also performs regularly in improv,
sketch, one-woman shows and voiceover, and hosts a podcast called The Quirks.

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Joan Mazzonelli is a free-lance director who has produced, directed, and designed for the theater
in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. Theater pieces she has written include: Border
Crossing with Marianne Kallen, Reasonable Terms, a musical with Marianne Kallen and Karena
Mendoza, and the operas: Bottom’s Dream with James L. Kurtz, an adaptation of All in the
Laundry by Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood; and High Fidelity and The Proposal with
Philip Seward. She is the treasurer for City Lit Theater, a board member of ShPIel Performing
Identity, a board member of Season of Concern, and a member of the Dramatists Guild. She has
happily served in leadership roles with Griffin Theatre, Midwest New Musicals at Light Opera

Works (now Music Theatre Works), Athenaeum Theatre, Theatre Building Chicago, New Tuners
Theatre, Illinois Theatre Association, National Alliance for Musical Theatre, Chicago Dance and
Music Alliance, Child's Play Touring Theatre, League of Chicago Theatres, Season of Concern,
On Stage Productions, Opera Shop at the Vineyard Theatre, and National Shakespeare Company.
Outside the lively arts, she was a credit officer in the World-Wide Banking Division of Chemical
Bank (now J. P. Morgan Chase). She has taught as an adjunct instructor at Columbia College
Chicago and lectured at DePaul University, Fordham University and Roosevelt University. B. A.,
Fine Arts, Fordham University, and work toward M. A., Art History, Queens College CUNY.

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Bridget McDonough was employed in arts management from 1978, when she graduated from
Northwestern University, until her 2019 retirement as general manager of Music Theater Works,
which she co-founded (as Light Opera Works) in 1980 with Philip Kraus and others. Prior to
founding Light Opera Works she worked for The Organic Theater Company in Chicago, The
Troupe in Colorado Springs and Actors Equity Association.She has served on the boards of
many arts and civic organizations both nationally and locally in the Chicago area.  She is past
president of the Rotary Club of Evanston and the North Shore International Network, where she
still holds memberships. She served on the boards of the Evanston Convention and Visitors’
Bureau, Evanston Chamber of Commerce, Evanston Arts Alliance, National Alliance for
Musical Theatre, Chicago Music Alliance, Around the Coyote, as well as the School of
Communication Alumni Board at Northwestern University and the tourism committee of
Chicago’s North Shore Convention and Visitors’ Bureau.

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Paul Tauger has been an experienced intellectual property and litigation attorney for

the past 30 years.  Prior to becoming a lawyer, Paul was a professional
actor performing in film, television and on stage.  In addition to his JD, Paul has a BA
in theatre, an MFA in acting and directing and a PhD (ABD) in theatre.  Paul taught
acting professionally with noted acting coach, Ivana Chubbuck.  Paul also composes

for the musical stage, and studied with the late Lehman Engel at the Lehman Engel
Music Theater Workshop in Los Angeles.

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Arline “Arlo” Williams has recently retired from a major music company working in International
Royalties. In addition to being a writer and performer in the Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop,
she was also the Executive Director for over four years. In the past she has appeared Off-Broadway, as well
as in productions throughout the U.S. and Europe. She is happy to join the Write 4 Arts organization.

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Marlene Zuccaro received a BA in Speech and Theater from Northern Illinois University and a BA in directing and theater education from Vermont College. In Chicago, she founded Zebra Crossing Theater and spent many years there directing as well as directing at other theaters around the city.  She taught acting at Victory Gardens Theater and gave private lessons. In addition, Marlene taught Humanities and Communication at Columbia College. She met John Sparks in Chicago while directing a play for the New Tuners Theatre.  In LA, she reunited with John who convinced her to direct the mini musicals for NMI, which she did for many years. She directed the staged reading of Seagull Song and its workshop reading. She has directed over 150 productions.