April Sigman-Marx (she/her) is a neurodivergent, multi-regional actor, director, devisor, clown, intimacy coordinator, and educator with a BFA in Musical Theatre Performance, an MFA in Acting & Performance Pedagogy and a teacher training certificate from MICHA: The Michael Chekhov Association. Additionally, she received certification with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC) a SAG-AFTRA accredited program; and is a proud member of the Screen Actors Guild- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the Dramatists Guild, Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), Association of Theatre Movement Educators (ATME) and Theatre for Young Audiences USA (TYA-USA).

Fervent about individualized performance education, particularly amongst emerging artists—April formed youth performing arts academy & theatre company Take the Stage Productions (2012-2019), has taught Theatre performance courses at California State University, Long Beach (2016-2019), the University of Northern Colorado (2022), and recently joined the faculty at Columbia College Chicago (2023)—as well as—co-founded Thumbprint Studios, a digital performance training program, artistic community and theatre company (2020-present) where she is a Co-Founding Artistic Director.

Specializing in new work development, April has created/written, directed, produced and performed in several original solo shows, web series, films, plays and virtual theatre productions—many of which focus on social justice issues. She is a strong believer in generating the work you are interested in verses waiting for someone to give you permission to create.

Carolina Pilar Xique (she/her) is a Los Angeles-based Afro-Latina theatrical artist. She has worked with acclaimed LA arts organizations, including Independent Shakespeare Co., LA Female Playwrights Initiative, Playwrights' Arena, Playground-LA, the Music Center, Robey Theatre Company, and BLKLST. Carolina specializes in devised theatre-making, working on productions like Dreamers: Aquí y Allá (voted “Best Play” by OC Weekly), Generation XYZ, and Contigo Theatre Company's Stitching Stardust. She previously led Streamlight Theatre Company as artistic director and produced multiple successful productions, including the online new play festival, the Festival of Healing, and the COVID-safe Halloween spectacular, Chiu's Haunted Drive-Thru, acclaimed by LA Times in Espanol & the Long Beach Post. She was awarded the Individual Artist Fellowship Grant from the California Arts Council to produce a reading of her play, Wilber's Dream, in September 2022. Her artistic work reflects her mission to voice Latinx/Afro-Latine experiences and uplift the LA theatre community.

Jaina Alexander (she/her) is a singer, actor, educator, dog mom and a Founding Artistic Director of Thumbprint Studios Chicago. A multi-genre artist, Jaina has sung with theatres, opera companies, and choirs all around the Midwest, at award-winning cabaret and jazz clubs, and with The Rolling Stones. Her work as an educator focuses on vocal confidence and flexibility to allow for bold and brave artistic choices. Select projects include: The Secret Garden (Lily, Guest Artist Residency with Cloud County Community College & Manchester Theatres), Chicago Premiere of Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line To Freedom (Ensemble, South Shore Opera Company), The Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin (Chorus, a multimedia benefit for Holocaust survivors with The Defiant Requiem Foundation). She is also a proud member of Estill Voice (EMT-C), MICHA, VASTA, and Lola Bard Productions.

Lauren Heyboer (she/her) is a theatre maker based in Michigan. She is involved with her local community theatres as a stage manager, dramaturg, and actor, and also works for YouthPLAYS, a script publishing company. She is passionate about theatre for social change and theatre for young audiences. Lauren has worked with Thumbprint Studios before as a production assistant mentee and with Collab24 as an audience engagement coordinator, and she's so excited to join the festival this year as Managing Director.

Photo credit: Ashley Wierenga | Sincerely Ashley

Marcia Eastmond (she/her): Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Marcia Eastmond is an actor, photographer, creative director, and poet. Her multidisciplinary storytelling often explores identity, mental health, womanism, philosophy, psychology, and spirituality. In 2020, she received her BA in Acting from Columbia College-Chicago. Likewise, Eastmond has had numerous performances as an actor and poet, including her featured performance alongside Useni Eugene Perkins and Dr. Haki Madhubuti; her role as Liz in "His Life Matters" at Goodman Theatre; and at many other venues such as weddings, festivals, libraries, etc.

Currently, she is the facilitator and founder of a series of global poetry workshops called Penman's Poetic License and a board member of Poet's Perspective Network, a Chicago-based poetry collective. As of this year, she has been happy to join Collab24 as the Artistic Director and hopes to continue to expand as a visionary.

Marla Alpert (she/they) is a seasoned actor and singer, having performed in the national tours of Jekyll and Hyde and Ragtime, as well as with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s The Sorceress, and over a dozen regional shows throughout the country. Her recent performances include playing the role of Stephanie Wolcott in the world premiere of A Leg Up, the first LGBTQ+ farce, as well as playing the lead role of Pam in Playwrights Horizons’ reading of the musical, Miss Step. She is also the host of her own podcast about legendary Broadway disasters, Flop of the Heap, and is a popular content creator on TikTok, advocating for transgender representation in media and educating on trans issues. You can find her on Instagram or Tiktok, @thefloorismarlava.