Crystal Skillman (Playwright) is an internationally award-winning dramatist. She is the author of the NYTimes Critics’ Pick Open, which just closed a critically acclaimed run Off-Broadway at WP Theater. Her other plays, which have also earned praise from the NYTimes include: Cut, Geek, and King Kirby, co-written with Fred Van Lente about the life of Marvel’s co-creator, artist Jack Kirby, which is now a podcast series on Broadway Podcast Network. Her new play commission, The Rocket Men, has won awards from Venturous and EST/Sloan. The play is currently receiving a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere at three NNPN theatres around the country in their 2025-2026 seasons, starting this fall (Phoenix Theatre, Indianapolis; Synchronicity Theatre, Atlanta; Angels Theatre, Nebraska). Crystal’s plays made their international debut with Rain and Zoe Save the World (Jermyn Street Theater, UK) and Open’s tour with the Onstage Festival in Italy in 2022. Musicals in the next stage of development include: Mary and Max (Composer: Bobby Cronin), and Black-Eyed Susan (Composer: Matthew McCollum). Crystal’s first graphic novel has just come out from Rocketship Entertainment; she has previously written for Wondery Kids, Adventure Time comics, and Marvel comics. She is a proud alum of the WP Lab, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, and Youngblood at EST, where she is a member. She is represented by Brian T. Sherman (IPEX Artists Agency). https://www.crystalskillman.com/ Instagram @crystalskillman

Rachel May, a New Englander now based in Atlanta, is the co-founder and Producing Artistic Director of Synchronicity Theatre, where she has directed over a dozen productions, including the ensemble-created Women + War and Kia Corthron’s Breath, Boom. She also leads the ongoing Playmaking for Girls workshops with young women in youth centers. Her work has earned praise from playwrights Naomi Wallace and José Rivera for its emotional depth, political sensitivity, and artistry.

Beyond Synchronicity, May has directed for leading Atlanta theatres and regional stages, earning Creative Loafing’s “Best Director” honor in 2002 and a prestigious NEA/TCG Career Development Fellowship. A magna cum laude graduate of Drew University, she previously produced award-winning PBS documentaries on the lives of teen girls and continues to teach, mentor, and inspire the next generation of theatre artists.