Drew Fornarola is a composer, lyricist, and playwright living in New York City. His work includes COLLEGE The Musical (NYMF Award for Excellence, published by Dramatic Publishing Company); THUCYDIDES (2009 Samuel French Festival Winner, Published by Samuel French); UNCLE PIRATE (Vital Theater) and VOTE FOR ME – A MUSICAL DEBATE (commissioned by Tony award-winning producer Robyn Goodman). His original underscore and sound design for Buddy Thomas’ DEVIL BOYS FROM BEYOND is also published by Samuel French. Drew is the recipient of the NYMF Award for Excellence in Lyrics, was named a Richard Rodgers Award Finalist in 2008. He is currently teaming with Marshall Pailet on a new “video game musical” commissioned by the New Musical Foundation, and is developing a new full-length play with Scott Elmegreen. Drew has studied at Princeton University and the BMI Workshop. www.drewfornarola.com

Dan Lipton holds a degree in music composition from Northwestern University. Lipton wrote music for the off-Broadway play Prometheus Bound (Aquila) and orchestrations for the musical Most Wanted (La Jolla). He performed onstage as music director of The Coast of Utopia (Lincoln Center), Herringbone (Williamstown, McCarter) and The Bridge Project (BAM, Old Vic). As a pianist, Lipton accompanies Audra McDonald in concerts across the country. He also performs with Kelli O’Hara as her music director/arranger. His solo albums — ZEITGEIST, Life In Pictures and Travelogue – have earned four ASCAPlus Awards for Popular Music. He played on three Grammy-nominated albums: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty and John Lithgow’s Sunny Side of the Street.

Lipton & Rossmer are also currently working on one musical with stage writer Wayne Rawley for producer AJ Epstein, and another with TV writer Janis Hirsch for producer Jayson Raitt. They write special material regularly for singers including Kelli O’Hara (Lincoln Center American Songbook, Café Carlyle) and Sutton Foster (Joe’s Pub). And the duo co-created, with Steve Rosen and Sarah Saltzberg, the comedy improv variety show Don’t Quit Your Night Job, which began at Joe’s Pub in downtown NYC and has run off-Broadway in Times Square and at the Zipper Theater.

Shawn Northrip is a playwright and composer with an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from New York University and BA in Theatre Education from Catholic University. His punk rock musical TITUS X has had several critically-acclaimed productions in DC and New York, was nominated for an Innovative Theatre Award, and is anthologized by New York Theatre Experience. His follow-up show, LUNCH, was developed by the Kennedy Center’s Kenan Foundation, earned the Anna Sosenko Assist Trust Grant, premiered at the New York Musical Festival, and is published by Playscripts, Inc. CAUTIONARY TALES FOR ADULTS AND THE MANY ADVENTURES OF TRIXIE TICKLES, his parody of children’s shows, earned the Pick of the Fringe for Best Musical at the Second Annual Capital Fringe Festival, and was remounted in Round House Theatre’s Silver Spring Series. He collaboration with the Brazen-faced Varlets, RAMONA AND JULIET, earned the company three Artie Awards and an Iffy Award. His other projects include: THE PLAYDOH GOLEM (commissioned by Theatre J); DREAM DATE, THE MUSICAL and LOST SOCK for the Madcap Players; OF ALL THE TESTS I TOOK IN HIGH SCHOOL for the Source Theatre Festival; and IZANAMI AND IZANAGI for Rorschach Theatre Company’s Myth Appropriations. Shawn Northrip is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.

Marshall Pailet – recent writing credits include On a Glorious Day (formerly The Chocolate Tree) and Where It’s At. Upcoming writing projects include Trinity, Funk Pond, and Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire. Recent directing credits include Stuck, The 49 Project, Thursday, With Kings in the Back, The 70 Scenes of Halloween, The Darq Knight, and Bat Boy. His work has been showcased at the NY Fringe Festival, NYMF, Prospect and TRU (New Voices Finalist). As an actor, he has performed on Broadway in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Sound of Music, and A Christmas Carol. He is a proud graduate of Yale University, and received the V. Browne Irish Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts in 2009, and the John Thoroun Fellowship for Special Study at Cambridge University in 2007. He is embarrassed to have a website, but does have one, and it is www.marshallpailet.com.

Mike Pettry is a New York-based composer/lyricist and musician. He is a 2007 Jonathan Larson Award Winner. Musicals include The Time Travelers Convention, Long Distance, World of Heroes, The Wonderful World of Zidney (featured highlight at Kennedy Center Page to Stage Festival), and Flipside (2007 NYU Frederick Loewe Award winner). Mike’s songs have been performed in readings and cabarets all over the country. Muzz Skillings (formerly of Living Colour) is producing several of Mike’s songs for a forthcoming Lin McEwan album. Mike’s solo album “The Voices In My Head” is available on iTunes. He also scored music for the film The Promise of New York (Big Muddy Film Festival Audience Choice Best Documentary). Mike toured the country with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2007-2008) as assistant conductor, and off-Broadway musician credits include Rooms: A Rock Romance (Time Life cast album available on Amazon and iTunes) and Signs of Life (music director). Other music direction includes RENT and Miracle on 34th Street at the John W. Engeman Theater. Other NY performances include The Black Suits (SPF – Public), Green Eyes (Fringe), and Things To Ruin: The Songs of Joe Iconis (Second Stage). BA from Shepherd University, MFA in musical theatre writing from NYU/Tisch. www.mikepettry.com

David Rossmer holds a degree in theater from Penn State University. He composed music for the off-Broadway play Spain (SPF) and has performed numerously on and off-Broadway, in films and TV shows (Barrymore Award nominee, Nerds). Rossmer is author of the play When the Dog Comes Knockin’ at Your Door and is developing a TV show with Steve Rosen called SAY AH. Along with Lipton and filmmaker Jeff Yorkes, Rossmer co-wrote and produced the film A Bathroom Story, which won the Robot Media Film Festival. He is singer, songwriter and keyboardist for the rock band The Misconceptions, whose second album Super Orange Happy Sauce was just released.

David Rossmer & Dan Lipton have created several original musicals together, jointly writing all lyrics, book and music. They are currently under commission with Broadway Across America, developing their original musical comedy The Blonde Streak. They are also working for the Araca Group on a musical adaptation of a bestselling memoir. Their dramatic fairy tale notes to MariAnne received a workshop in the summer of 2008 at New York Stage & Film. MariAnne was previously featured in the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s summer 2007 National Musical Theater Conference, where the team received the Georgia Bogardus Holof Award, for their lyrics. Their form-bending musical satire JOE! received a production in the summer of 2007, by Equity Library Theatre in Chicago. JOE! has also been seen at the Kennedy Center’s Theater Lab and the NAMT Festival in New York.