Rachel Zake

Rachel Zake is a writer, actor, and director. A native of Cleveland, Ohio and a graduate of Boston University, Rachel used her degree in advertising and psychology for a few years before moving to Madrid and traveling the world. She landed in LA in 2010 to pursue her first love, acting, before stumbling into published writing. Rachel has published three books: Two People are Coming out of a Building(2014, fiction), The Nomad Diaries(2017, nonfiction), and Pants Off/Dance Off: A Gentleman's Guide(2019, nonfiction). Her plays have been seen onstage at Playwrights Local and other local venues. Rachel has been acting for over 27 years, having performed on numerous stages, including (locally): Dobama Theatre, Ensemble Theatre, Cain Park, Playwrights Local, and Halle Theatre. A member of SAG-AFTRA, she has appeared in many TV shows, films, and commercials. She also served as Director of Playmakers Youth Theatre in Beachwood, OH for approximately four years. During that time, she directed over 40 casts of kids (ages 5 to 22) in musicals and straight shows and oversaw 17 other casts in various shows. Beyond the theatre, Rachel proudly serves on the Hathaway Brown Alumnae Committee.

Greg Vovos

Greg Vovos is a playwright and director who has worked in Cleveland theater since he returned in 1998, after earning his MFA in Playwriting from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  He has worked as a director and playwright for Dobama, Cleveland Public Theatre, the Beck Center, Cleveland Play House, Charenton Theater Co., TITLEWave theatre, Baldwin Wallace University, Tri-C and others on many critically-acclaimed productions.  He has taught playwriting at Baldwin Wallace University, Cuyahoga Community College West, UNLV and various theatres in the area. He also writes screenplays and is a writer at American Greetings. His plays have been seen all over the world and published by Dramatic Publishing and PPT Press.  His most satisfying work has been for the Theatre for Healthy Living, where he has written plays about difficult issues facing youth today.  These plays — performed by the young people themselves — have been produced at high schools, detention centers and youth prisons, among others, and address issues such as racism, teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, heroin abuse, obesity and the challenges of transitioning back to society. Greg was awarded an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award for Playwriting for 2014. Beyond writing, he is married to his best friend and together they have two awesome kids.