Jessica Ernst has been collaborating with Joyce Van Dyke to develop The Women Who Mapped The Stars through four workshops over two years, and is looking forward to bringing the world premiere to the Central Square Theater stage. Her directing credits include Daughter of Venus (Artists’ Theatre of Boston), The Love of the Nightingale (Open Theatre Project), The Weaver of Raveloe (Oberon, world premiere), and Hedda Gabler (The Longwood Players), as well as various short plays and staged readings. In the past, she has worked as an assistant director and artistic intern with several Boston area companies, including the Huntington Theatre Company, New Repertory Theatre, and Actors’ Shakespeare Project. With The Poets’ Theatre, she produced, curated, and directed The Ghostlight Series from 2015-2016 – a monthly performance series exploring poetry in performance, new plays, and more. Jessica is a graduate of Gettysburg College, where her work included classics, contemporary work, and new plays and adaptations. This summer, she will be directing Henry IV with Praxis Stage, performing in multiple parks in Cambridge and Brookline.

April 2018.

Patrick Gabridge is an MIT graduate and the son of a microbiologist—he grew up around biology labs in the 70s and 80s. He is the producing artistic director and founder of Plays in Place and has created site-specific plays in partnership with many museums and historic sites, including Mount Auburn Cemetery, Boston’s Old State House, the National Parks of Boston, Historic Northampton, and Old North Church, among others. He is an award-winning playwright and has written more than two dozen historical plays, along with many contemporary plays that have received productions from theatres and schools around the world (17 countries so far). He’s also a novelist, screenwriter, and writer of audio plays. In addition to Cambridge, look for additional site-specific plays this summer and fall in Newport, Deerfield, Northampton, and at the Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine in Connecticut.

Dawn M. Simmons (she/her/hers) is an award-winning Director, Playwright, Producer, Administrator, Consultant, Advocate and Co-founder of The Front Porch Arts Collective. In recent years, she served as the Executive Director of StageSource, and Director of Performing Arts at Boston Center for the Arts. She has worked regionally with The Alliance Theater, the Huntington, Play On Shakespeare, Boston Lyric Opera, The Front Porch Arts Collective, The Hangar Theatre, WAM Theater, Central Square Theater, Lyric Stage Company, Greater Boston Stage Company, SpeakEasy Stage, New Repertory Theatre, Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Bad Habit Productions, New Exhibition Room, Boston Public Works, Fresh Ink Theatre, The Theater Offensive, Our Place Theatre Project, and Fort Point Theatre Channel. She serves on the board of ArtsBoston.

Keith Mascoll is a founding member and a part of the artistic team for The Front Porch Arts Collective. Keith has a New York Critics Choice Award for his performance as Bradley in Paula Caplin’s play, The Test. Keith received the Best Actor Award in John Adekoje’s one man play Love Jones. Keith’s favorite credits include The Whipping Man, Intimate Apparel, The Colored Museum, Six Rounds Six Lessons, The Dutchman, and Hamlet.  Keith has been seen in numerous commercial and film projects. Look for Keith in the lead role in 2017  in the movie Confused by Love, and in the Polka King directed by Maya Forbes.  Keith is producing and starring in a one-man show in 2017, and a short film called Argyles.  Keith earned his B.A. in Theatre at The University of Massachusetts.  Keith’s love of his craft, and  experience as a Founding Staff Member of the Citizen Schools Program has lead him to be a Teaching Artist with the Huntington Theatre Company.  Keith is also helping students develop historically focused theatrical scripts with the Moffitt-Ladd House and Garden in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  (Exploring the Issue of Slavery in the Era of American Revolution Project) Keith’s Passion to create work for himself as a full time Actor, while also creating opportunities for others is what fueled his involvement in this exciting new Company. The idea of  creating  Work in two different Mediums for Actors, while giving lesser known talent the platform to be seen has not been done in Boston. Keith is Humbled to be working with Maurice and Dawn to make that idea a reality.