Born in Egypt, raised in London and now based in Seattle, Yussef El Guindi’s work frequently examines the collision of ethnicities, cultures and politics that face immigrants, Arab-Americans and Muslim Americans in particular. El Guindi holds an MFA in playwriting from Carnegie-Mellon University. He is the recipient of many honors, including the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award, the Stranger’s Genius Award, and the 2010 Middle East America Distinguished Playwright Award. El Guindi’s past productions include “Hotter Than Egypt” at Marin Theatre Company, ACT in Seattle, and at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts; “People of the Book” at ACT; “Language Rooms” at Pony World Theatre in Seattle, and Broken Nose Theatre in Chicago;  “Hostages” at Radial Theater Project in Seattle; “The Talented Ones” at UCSB’s LAUNCH PAD and Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland (Santa Barbara Independent Indy Awards); “Threesome” at Portland Center Stage, ACT, and at 59E59 (winner of a Portland Drammy for Best Original Script);  “Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World” (2011 Gregory Award) also at ACT, Center Repertory Company at Walnut Creek, CA, and at Mosaic Theater Company (DC). “Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat” was produced by Silk Road Rising and won the M. Elizabeth Osborn award. His plays “Back of the Throat” (winner of L.A. Weekly’s Excellence in Playwriting Award for 2006), “Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World”, “Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes”, “Such a Beautiful Voice is Sayeda and Karima’s City” have been published by Dramatists Play Service. “Ten Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith”, “Collaborator”, “Threesome”, “The Talented Ones”, “Hostages” and  “In A Clear Concise Arabic Tongue.” have been published by Broadway Play Publishing Inc. Bloomsbury/ Methuen Drama published “Selected Works of Yussef El Guindi”.

Reena Dutt is dedicated to new and reimagined texts that catapult polarizing conversations through unexpected stories with the bodies, voices and life experiences of the under-heard. She most recently directed YELLOW FACE by David Henry Hwang at UC Riverside, and the midwestern premiere of AMERICAN FAST by Kareem Fahmy in Indiana. She was Assistant Director for the Broadway transfer of THE COLLABORATION by Anthony McCarten starring Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope. Dutt is also a filmmaker having screened films at over 80 festivals/networks worldwide including Sundance, LAFF, Outfest, NBCUniversal, and BET. Fellowships: Drama League, Film Independent and SFFilm. www.ReenaDutt.com

Levi Richey is a recent graduate from the University of Texas at Arlington with a BFA in Musical Theatre. He most recently worked on the stage management team of THE VISIT and MISS MOLLY here at Amphibian. Some recent roles include: the Beadle in SWEENEY TODD and the Emcee in CABARET.

Jeff Stanfield is a graduate of Texas Christian University. After spending eight and a half seasons with Dallas Children’s Theater, he is pleased to have returned to Fort Worth with Amphibian Stage. You may have seen him on stage under the open Texas sky at the Hip Pocket Theatre in such productions as Love Letters to a Raven, Loop the Loop, In Watermelon Sugar, The Lake Worth Monster and Don Quixote.

Ally Varitek is a dramaturg and occasional actor who recently graduated from Baylor University Theatre. She loves the intersections of the arts and is especially passionate about the literary side of theatre. She’s an interdisciplinary aficionado who finds herself enamored with approaching relationships from a place of abundance instead of competition and above all loves learning about the human experience through theatre. Find her at allyvaritek.com!

Laurel Collins began her career as a tap dancer in Tommy Tune shows on Broadway. She’s tried many other jobs and always finds her way back to the performing arts. She podcasts (Sumo Kaboom), performs all over DFW, and teaches.

Greg Holt is very happy to be returning to Amphibian Stage Productions where he last appeared in Babette’s Feast. Amphibian audiences may also remember him from Artist Descending a Staircase, Cyrano, and Time Stands Still. Other D/FW credits include leading roles at Shakespreare Dallas (The Tempest), Contemporary Theatre of Dallas (The Diviners), Theatre Three/Theatre Too (The Birds), WaterTower Theatre (The Game’s Afoot), and Circle Theatre’s digital reading of George Orwell’s 1984. In Austin, he has worked at Zachary Scott Theatre Center (Pride’s Crossing), Mary Moody Northen Theatre (Macbeth, Measure for Measure) and Live Oak Theatre (She Loves Me, for which he won the Austin Critics Table Award).

Asia Richards is a recent graduate from Baylor University, where she studied Theatre Performance and Anthropology. Her most recent credits on the Baylor Stage include Duke Solinus in The Comedy of Errors, Juror #4 in Twelve Angry Jurors. Asia is ecstatic to make her first appearance on the Amphibian stage.

Meagan Harris (She/Her/Hers) is delighted to be joining Spark Fest for her third year! She loves the opportunities Amphibian brings to playwrights to stage their works and expose audiences to new voices! She is proud to have earned her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts in Acting and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Art History from Southern Methodist University. She is also represented by the Mary Collins Agency for film and television. You may have seen her most recently at Amphibian understudying for the role of Molly in Spaceman. She’s also worked around town at Fair Assembly, the Undermain, Kitchen Dog Theatre, IMPRINT Theatreworks, Shakespeare Everywhere and Teatro Dallas as well as performing in her recently co-founded theatre company: Auriga Productions. Meagan would like to thank her family and friends for all their continued support of her work! Find more info about her at marycollins.com.