Jess Johnson (Kaila)is a Philadelphia-based performer and teaching artist. She began her artistic career in Philadelphia as a Dorothy Haas Acting Apprentice at the Walnut Street Theatre. She has performed in readings, workshops, and full-length productions all over the region. She is Barrymore nominated for her work in A Hit Dog Will Holler and received a Barrymore Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical as Celie in The Color Purple. During her time in Philadelphia, she was awarded an Independence Foundation Fellowship, Jilline Ringle Residency, and the HATCH residency to develop independent work. For Mikean.

Scott R. Sheppard (Louis)  is an Obie award-winning theater artist and a Founding Co-Artistic Director of Philadelphia-based theater company Lightning Rod Special (2019 Barrymore Award for Evolving Theatre Company). He is the co-creator and performer of Underground Railroad Game at Ars Nova (Edinburgh Fringe First Award, 25 Best Plays of the past 25 Years- NYTimes, toured to 11 cities in 5 countries). He is a lead writer/performer in Lightning Rod Special’s The Appointment (Best of 2019 Time Out NY, NY Mag, New York times and 2023 NY Times Critics’ Pick). Other credits include: lead writer/performer of SPEECH with Lightning Rod Special; writer of Blood Meal (NY Times Critics’ Pick) and Topside with Theater in Quarantine; creator/performer of Holden with George and Co. Scott graduated from Pig Iron’s School for Advanced Performance Training and has collaborated on several works with Pig Iron including: Period of Animate Existence and 99 Breakups (deviser/performer) and Gentlemen Volunteers (performer). Scott was an Independence Foundation Fellow, a Guild Hall Resident Artist, a Bric Lab Resident, and a member of Page 73’s Interstate 73 Writer’s Group.

Abdul Sesay (Marc) is a Philadelphia based actor who has had the opportunity to work with EgoPo, Delaware Shakespeare, Theatre Ariel and Philadelphia Artist Collective. He is honored and overjoyed to play Marc in InterAct Theatre’s production of Step Mom, Step Mom, Step Mom.

Donovan Lockett (Tichelle) is an actor-writer-educator who proudly hails from New Orleans but has made Philly her artistic home! Selected credits: Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming! (Shakespeare in Clark Park); The Wolves (Philadelphia Theatre Co); Significant Other (Mauckingbird Theatre Co); All’s Well That Ends Well (PAC); Troilus & Cressida (Revolution Shakespeare); Measure for Measure (Scranton Shakespeare); A Christmas Carol (Walnut); Oedipus (Hangar). She’s beyond grateful to be making her InterAct debut! BFA: Ithaca College.

Jahna Ferron-Smith (Playwright) is a recent alumna of the Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Fellowship at The Juilliard School, the Obie Award-winning playwrights collective, Youngblood, as well as Interstate 73. Her plays have been performed at Ensemble Studio Theatre, Pendragon Theatre, and InterAct Theatre. Jahna’s plays have also been developed with Second Stage Theater, The Lark, Ojai Playwrights Conference, The Playwrights’ Center, Page 73 and Clubbed Thumb. Her plays include, THE WOODS. (Venturous Playwright Fellowship winner; Judith Champion New Voices Reading Series [Second Stage Theater]; written with support from SPACE on Ryder Farm), Running While Black (Ojai Playwrights Conference), Step Mom, Step Mom, Step Mom. (InterAct Theatre Company; New York State Council on the Arts Grant recipient) and SIR. (published by Samuel French).

Matt Dickson (Director) is a freelance director based in Brooklyn with a focus on new work, classics and musicals. Upcoming: WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS? by Brian Quijada (Denver Center), Recent: SMART by Mary Hamilton (Ensemble Studio Theatre), EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL by Chelsea Marcantel (Juilliard), A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Queens College), WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS? (Cleveland Playhouse / a digital creation w/Satya Chávez for Actors Theatre, nom. for Drama League Award). As an actor he has appeared on Broadway in WAR HORSE and THE COAST OF UTOPIA (Lincoln Center Theater). He is a 2022-2023 recipient of the Drama League Next Stage Residency, a Drama League Fellow, a Jonathan Alper Directing Fellow (Manhattan Theatre Club) and member of Ensemble Studio Theatre. He is currently an adjunct professor at NYU teaching, "Theatremaking in the Digital Age". B.F.A. from Boston University. mattjdickson.com

Hunter Smith (Stage Manager) is a Philadelphia based Stage Manager, Production Manager, Props Master, and all around theater lover who is from Medford Lakes, New Jersey. Hunter graduated from Rutgers University in 2019 with concentrations in Stage Management and Light Design. Previous stage management credits are from InterAct Theatre, Azuka Theatre, Passage Theatre Company, Three Oaks Opera, Wolf Performing Arts Center, 24 Hour Plays, Philadelphia Artist Collective, South Camden Theater Company, and the Woodstock Playhouse (50th Anniversary of the Woodstock Concert).

Hunter works also partly as an Assistant Stage Manager for Opera Philadelphia and as a Freelance Production Manager for The Kimmel Cultural Campus. When not working in the arts, he works as the Activities Director of Four Seasons Campground in Pilesgrove, New Jersey!

Seth Rozin (Producing Artistic Director) co-founded InterAct in 1988 and has directed over 60 productions for InterAct, including Eureka Day, The Great Leap, How to Use a Knife, The Nether, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Diety, Permanent Collection, It’s All True, Lebensraum, and 6221. He has also directed at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles, Blue Heron & 45th Street Theaters in New York, and at theatres across the Philadelphia region. Seth is the author of more than a dozen plays, including Settlements, Human Rites, Two Jews Walk into a War... and Black Gold, which have been produced at 28 theatres across the country and in Australia. Seth is the recipient of two playwriting fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the National New Play Network’s 2007 Smith Prize, a commission from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, and two Barrymore Award nominations. He co-founded Philadelphia Scenic Works (PhiladelphiaScenicWorks.org), a nonprofit scenic fabrication shop, and MusiCoLab (MusiCoLab.org), dedicated to the development of new musical theatre works.  Seth has twice served as President of the Board of National New Play Network, as well as Philadelphia Artists Collective, Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia and New Paradise Laboratories.

Ilycia Boatwright-Buffaloe (Costume Designer) is excited to be working at the InterAct theater Company for the first time. Although this is her first time working for the InterAct theater, she is no stranger to the Philadelphia Theater community. Ilycia recently had the pleasure of costume designing for Arden Theater Company on their Barrymore nominated show Clyde’s. Ilycia has studied Desing, Tech and Management as a recent graduate of Westchester University. In the summer of 2019 Ilycia Launched her costume design company B-Buffaloe. B-Buffaloe is a performance wear company that specializes in making costumes for anyone looking to hit the stage. As an up-and-coming designer, Ilycia has worked with some of Philadelphia’s best in drag and burlesque. Always led by her mantra, size inclusion is not an obstacle or an option, Ilycia prides herself on designing for all people regardless of shape or size.

Harbour Edney (Lighting Designer) is a freelance lighting designer, installation artist, and production manager who is nested in the Philadelphia area. Recent designs include The Elephant in the Room (Azuka), Fun Home (UArts), SUPERCELL Tour (slowdanger), Meet Murasaki Shikibu… (Tiny Dynamite), Always the Hour (Annie Wilson), The Wild Party (Eagle Theatre), a hit dog will holler (Azuka Theatre Company), Chaat (Usiloquy Dance Designs), Papa (The New Hazlett Theatre), and Bruise & Thorn (Pipeline Theatre Company). They have designed for other companies such as Obvious Agency, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret, The Pillow Projects, HONCHO Campout, The Kelly-Strayhorn Theatre, Alumni Theatre Company and INTAR NYC. They received their BFA in Lighting Design & Technology from Point Park University

Adiah Hicks (Sound Designer) is a Philly based sound designer, performer, and educator. Her design credits include Wine in the Wilderness (Philadelphia Artists Collective), A Hit Dog Will Holler (Azuka Theatre),  All My Mothers Dream in Spanish (Teatro Del Sol/ Azuka Theatre), and Natural Shocks (Hope Summer Repertory Theatre). Adiah is ecstatic to be back for her first show with InterAct.

Cole Zwilling (Props Coordinator) is excited to be working with InterAct Theatre Company again as the Props and Set Dressing Coordinator for Step Mom, Step Mom, Step Mom. They have recently graduated from DeSales University with BA in Theatre Design and Tech and a focus in Props. As a props artisan and manager in college, they were lucky enough to have been recognized by USITT with the 2023 Bernhard R. Works Master Crafts Award. Recent work includes Props Coordinator for Selling Kabul at InterAct, Associate Props Manager for The Hunchback of Notre Dame at DeSales University and props artisan for The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival's 2023 season. You can find more of their work on the website (https://colezwilling.wixsite.com/portfolio).

Tyler Rocio Ecoña (Production Assistant) is a Peruvian-American playwright and theatre artist. They have been a resident at the Kennedy Center's Playwright Discovery Competition, a Silver Medal recipient at the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and a Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Fellow at the University of the Arts. Ecoña's work has been featured at the Kennedy Center, Philly Women's Theatre Festival, the Queerbook anthology at Giovanni's Room, Susquehanna University, Ann Arbor District Library & more. Ecoña is a member of The Dramatists Guild, Latinx Playwrights' Circle, and Latinx in Animation. They hold a BFA in Directing, Playwriting, and Production from The University of the Arts.

Philadelphia Scenic Works (Scenic Fabrication) are the nation's only independent, non-profit (501c3) scene shop. We work with arts organizations all over the Greater Philadelphia area to build projects that advance their missions. At the same time, we are investing in building a healthy, sustainable workforce, and innovative resource sharing.

Cecilia Shin (Scene Designer) is a NYC-based scenic designer, born and raised in Hong Kong. She received her BFA in Scenic Design from Carnegie Mellon University. Her recent/upcoming projects include Plaster Saint (Columbia University), Searching for Abuelo (The Tank NYC), and MEG (Columbia University). Cecilia was the 2023 recipient of the USITT Richard Hay Undergraduate Scene Design Award. Website: ceciliashin.com

Shaquan Pearson (Intimacy Director) InterAct Theatre Company: Debut. Regional: Much Ado About Nothing (Chesapeake Shakespeare Company); RENT (Signature Theatre); Seven Guitars (Arena Stage). Education: B.F.A. from University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Actors' Equity Association (“Equity"), founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers. Equity fosters the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Actors' Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions.

Equity is governed by its own members through an elected Council, representing principal actors, chorus actors and stage managers living in three regions: Eastern, Central and Western. Members at large participate in Equity’s governance through a system of Regional Boards and committees. Equity has 28 designated Geographically Based Communities, metropolitan areas with a concentration of more than 100 members.