Dubbed the Ancient Jazz Priestess of Mother Africa, Lady  Dane is a Black Nigerian, Cuban, Indigenous, American Performance Artist,  Author, Poet, Educator, Advocate, producer, a Helen Hayes Award winning  Playwright (Klytmnestra: An Epic Slam Poem), a 2021 Helen Merrill Award  Winner, Film Maker, Advocate, Dramaturg, a 3x Helen Hayes Award nominated  choreographer (2016, 2018, 2023), and a Princess Grace Honoria Award winner. She is the co-founder/ Co-director of the Black Trans Prayer Book. 

She is the curator and associate producer of Longwharf Theatre’s Black Trans  Women At The Center: An Evening of Short Plays and is an artistic ensemble  member of the company as well.

Tim Hoover (he/him) ROBERT is delighted to work with TTO again after appearing in the staged reading of HelloGoodbyePeace by Abe Rybeck. You may have recently seen him in Umbrella Stage Co.’s Network, Revolution’s Edge with Plays in Place, or Burn This at Hub Theatre. Look for him later this summer in M: Refractions from an Evil Act by James Wilkinson with Exiled Theatre, and in Theater Uncorked’s Beauty Queen of Leenane this November.

NATHANIEL MYLES is elated to be making his debut at the The Theater Offensive! Graduating from Savannah College of Art and Design, Nathaniel moved to New York City shortly after. Since his arrival he has performed in Bone Soup (The Black Lady Theatre), Oliver! The Musical as Mr Sowerberry (Greenwood Lake Theatre), Into The Woods as The Narrator/Old Man (Greenwood Lake Theatre). He also co-directed Constellations as an independent project. Over the last few years he has choreographed his own projects and recorded original music which can be found on any social media platform @iamnatemyles. He will be releasing a new album this year. He would like to thank TTO for the opportunity and the cast and crew of SMOKE.

Goldie E. Patrick  is a multifaceted Detroit-born award-winning writer, director, dramaturg and cultural worker and scholar based in New York City. With a BFA from Howard University and a MFA in playwriting from Columbia, for over 20 years, she has been a prominent voice in Black theater, focusing on stories that illuminate the Black experience. She is the founder and former Producing Executive Director of FRESHH Inc (Females Representing every side of hip hop) Theater company, for Black womxn and girls in Washington DC. Both as an artist she is an activist and advocate for Black women and girls globally, as a self-proclaimed, “hip-hop womanist”.

Stetson Pierre is a multidisciplinary artist who combines his love for theatre, film, tv, and photography to advance accurate historical and cultural narratives. Through his work, he continually explores storytelling that uplifts, educates, entertains, and connects communities. On and off stage, he is deeply committed to supporting institutions that inspire excellence, expand access, and strengthen engagement.

Ianne Fields Stewart (they/she) is a multi-hyphenate creative working at the intersection of art, activism, and pleasure. Their work spans across many fields including: theatre, film, dance, creative writing, arts administration, and social justice. She is dedicated to creating art, facilitating spaces, and influencing organizational practices that allow Black queer and trans people to radically luxuriate in our own joy. To put it simply, she wants to make their people feel good.