Creative Team

Dahlak Braithwaite

Writer | Composer

Dahlak is an award-winning dramatic auteur: playwright, composer, performer, director, and filmmaker. His work has been presented at The Smithsonian, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, REDCAT, MCA Chicago, Ars Nova, The Public Theater, The Apollo, SXSW, by Creative Time, and on HBO’s last two seasons of  Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry. Dahlak’s trilogy of works - Spiritrials (solo play), Try/Step/Trip  (musical), Adapting History  (documentary film) - take a personal look into the criminal justice system and the relationship between Black American music and Black American subjugation. Development of the work has been supported by CalArts, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Victory Gardens, and Montalvo Arts Center. Dahlak has received awards and support from NEFA, the Doris Duke Foundation, The U.S. State Department, NYU Tisch, and MAP Fund. He was a Creative Capital finalist, a United States Artist nominee, and a member of The Public Theater's 2023 DTWG cohort. He is a graduate of NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, where he was awarded the Dean’s Full-Tuition Fellowship, and served as the Assistant Director for the national tour of the Tony-winning revival of  Oklahoma!

Khiyon Hursey

Writer | Composer

Khiyon is a writer and composer. He recently finished co-penning songs with Oscar and Grammy winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Lala Land, Dear Evan Hansen) for the major motion picture SPIRITED starring Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell and Octavia Spencer. The song "Good Afternoon" from the film was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Khiyon is also collaborating with Pharrell on a Netflix movie musical produced by Chernin Entertainment. He is currently co-writing LOVE IN AMERICA, a movie musical produced by Issa Rae at Universal Pictures. Since getting his start as the music assistant on the off-Broadway and Broadway productions of HAMILTON, Khiyon has since worked with Universal Studios, HBOmax, Netflix, Apple, Nickelodeon, Andre 3000, and Kevin Hart on various film and television projects. He is based in Los Angeles and New York.

Ken-Matt Martin

Director | Choreographer

Ken-Matt has established himself as a preeminent theater director, cultural worker, and collaborator who has worked with some of industry’s most formidable artists. He began his life in the performing arts as a child actor after booking an appearance on Nickelodeon’s landmark series All That. As an actor, Martin has appeared in dozens of regional productions across the country. Notable directing credits include productions of August Wilson’s Fences and The Piano Lesson (Pyramid Theatre Company), Jonathan Larson’s tick…tick…Boom (Brown/Trinity Rep), A Son, Come Home and Brotherhood at Williamstown Theatre Festival, Tiny Beautiful Things (Baltimore Center Stage), Hello, Dolly! (Arkansas Repertory Theatre), and the forthcoming musical Long Way Down, which will play engagements at Olney Theatre Center and New York’s Apollo Theatre. In addition, Ken-Matt created the 20/50 New Play Festival, the Ignite Chicago Festival, Goodman Theatre’s Live @Five Show, and was the co-founder of the Pyramid Theatre Company. A highly sought-after thought leader, he has served in key positions at Baltimore Center Stage, Victory Gardens Theatre, Goodman Theatre, and Williamstown Theatre Festival. M.F.A., Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company.

Victor Musoni

Co-Choreographer

Victor is an actor, writer and dancer based in Chicago. Select theater credits include: Toni Stone (Goodman); The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington, Columbinus (Steppenwolf); What to Send Up When it Goes Down (Congo Square); Queen of the Night (Victory Gardens); America V2.1, are you ready to smash white things?, No Child (Definition Theatre Company); La Havana Madrid (The Den Theater); Television and film: Me, We; The Tensile Strength of Air; 61st Street; WHOLE; Chicago Med and 6×9. Choreography: Alaiyo (Definition); Musoni is an ensemble member of Definition Theatre and is represented by Paonessa Talent Agency.

Simean “Sim” is an award-winning, African-American scenic, lighting and production designer from Baltimore, MD. He has worked as a freelance teaching artist, creative director/designer and has toured with theater companies and music groups throughout North America. Sim holds a deep passion for social equality. His goal as a designer is to use his many mediums to captivate the audience and reveal the too often disregarded stories of marginalized groups.  Recent credits include: D.R.E.A.D., Tiny Beautiful Things, The Folks at Home, NDSF Romeo & Juliet, RENT, Queen of the Night, When Harry Met Rehab, The Last Pair of Earlies, Hoodoo Love, Middle Passage, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Native Son. REGIONAL Credits Include: Baltimore Center Stage, Marriott Theatre and Pittsburgh Public Theatre. Sim holds a B.F.A. in Stage Design from DePaul University and is currently pursuing an M.F.A. in Design for Stage & Film from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.