BIOS

Kate Danley (Playwright, Performer, Producer) is a USA TODAY Bestselling author and thirty-five year veteran of stage and screen. She sold over a million books globally. Her debut novel, The Woodcutter, was honored with the Garcia Award for the Best Fiction Book of the Year, 1st Place Fantasy Book in the Reader Views Literary Awards, and won the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Her next book, Maggie for Hire, spent five weeks on the USA Today Bestselling list as part of the boxed set Magic After Dark and is optioned for film and television development. Queen Mab won the McDougall Previews Award for Best Fantasy Book of the Year and was named the 1st Place Fantasy Book in the Reader Views Reviewers Choice Awards. It has been adapted for the stage. Her plays have been produced internationally. Her first full-length play, Building Madness, won the Panowski Playwriting Award and was nominated for 13 BroadwayWorld Seattle Regional Awards for its professional world premiere at Harlequin Productions. Her second full-length play, Working for Crumbs, won B Street Theatre 2025 New Comedies Festival and received its professional world premiere at the B Street Theatre in 2026. It was nominated for two OFFIE Awards (Off West End Awards). The Mysterious Affair at Styles was nominated for 16 BroadwayWorld Minneapolis / St. Paul Regional Awards, was named a Critic’s Pick by the Star Tribune, and was named Best of 2022 by Play Off the Page. Power won the Renegade N.O.W. Theatre Festival award. She sits on the board of Rain City Projects, advocating for Pacific Northwest Playwrights. She trained in on-camera puppetry with Mr. Snuffleupagus and played the head of a 20-foot dinosaur on an NBC pilot. She has over 300+ film, theatre, and television credits to her name, and was a member of the Acme Comedy Theatre, specializing in long-form improv and sketch, in Los Angeles. She performed her original standup at clubs across SoCal, including The Comedy Store, The Ice House, Flappers, and Comedy Union. She was a part of the Ovation Award winning cast of Blake…da Musical! written by Rick Batalla and Henry Phillips. She lost on Hollywood Squares.

Jesse R. Tendler (Technical Director) is an actor, director, writer, producer, film festival programmer, and educator. As a filmmaker, Jesse directs and produces a diverse range of projects, including short & feature length narrative fiction films, episodic projects, music videos, commercials, documentaries, and educational content. Past films (Frankie, Deadbeat, Leaving Circadia, Family On Board, 16mins) have won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Audience Choice awards at a multitude of film festivals, including being selected for consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for the 2016 Oscars. Additionally, Jesse has produced and/or directed multiple award-winning plays for FringeNYC and the Edinburgh Fringe, receiving many 4 and 5 star reviews. Jesse is also a critically acclaimed professional actor and former child star with 3+ decades of experience in film & TV (including guest starring roles on Sesame Street, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and Law & Order, among others). In addition to acting, directing, writing, and producing, Jesse is the Director of TV & Web Series Programming for the Lighthouse Int’l Film Festival, a screener of episodic pilots for SXSW (since 2018), Senior Programming Director for the Climate Film Festival, and a juror and consultant for multiple other festivals. He is also a freelance script doctor, a professional photographer and videographer, and an avid ping pong player. A graduate of UPenn’s Management & Technology Program, Jesse earned dual B.S.E. degrees in Entrepreneurial Management & Marketing (Wharton) and in Materials Science Engineering (with a research focus on renewable clean energy technology). He is the co-founder of Maximum Potential Education and is a faculty member with Pratt Young Scholars and the Science & Technology Entry Program at Pratt Institute. He is extremely passionate about filmmaking, clean energy tech, artistic expression, education, the environment, social justice, and human rights.

Judith Ozkan (PR) is a qualified journalist and accredited PR practitioner with over 30 years’ experience helping people tell stories that matter to them. She has worked across tourism, healthcare, medicine, and the arts, and has held senior communications roles with VisitScotland and leading UK health charities. As Director of OZ-PR, Judith delivers public relations, social media and all-round communications advice to support organizations and individual artists to communicate with confidence and impact. She is currently working on a major project to strengthen community inclusion and cohesion amongst residents of social housing. No website ATM as I am actually in the middle of a rebrand (long, boring story) but socials (as you most probably know) are:

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