Pun Bandhu * Michael Jung * John Gould Rubin * Elyse Singer * Nina Steiger

Pun Bandhu

Pun Bandhu is an award-winning actor and two time Tony Award-winning Broadway producer. He graduated with his MFA in Acting from the Yale School of Drama and has appeared on Broadway, Off Broadway and at regional theaters across the country. He has a special interest in new work and has originated roles in world premiere plays by playwrights such as Theresa Rebeck, AR Gurney, John Pielmiere and David Henry Hwang among others. In 2010, he received the Colorado Theatre Guild's Henry Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Play. He has played guest star and co-starring roles on TV shows such as Body of Proof, Without a Trace, White Collar, Nurse Jackie, and all Law and Orders (including Conviction). In movies he can be seen in Michael Clayton, Burn After Reading and the upcoming Two Days in New York starring Chris Rock (summer 2012).

As a producer, Pun has started his own theatre company, a shorts film festival, and as a partner in ZenDog Productions, has produced two Tony Award-winning projects on Broadway, GlenGarry Glen Ross (Best Play Revival 2005) and Spring Awakening (Best Musical, 2007). Spring Awakening also won the Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, toured the US for two years and has been translated and seen in over 40 productions around the world. In addition to Broadway, ZenDog Productions has also been involved in productions in London, most recently with the first revival of Fiddler on the Roof. Pun was given the "Star of Asia" award by the Austin Asian American Chamber of Commerce and was honored at the New York Musical Theatre Festival Gala as one of "The Next Generation of Broadway Producers." He is a frequent speaker on theatre and marketing panels, is called upon to adjudicate festivals and competitions and has been featured in periodicals such as Variety, The New York Times, American Theatre and Fast Company Magazine.

Michael Jung

As Vice President of Creative Development for Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment, Michael Jung is in charge of developing theatrical experiences for the Disney Theme Parks, Cruise Lines and Resorts around the world. Most recently, Michael launched the inaugural entertainment program for the Disney’s newest Cruise Ship, The Disney Fantasy. Jung spearheaded the creation of The American Idol Experience at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. Michael was the principal Creative Director on "Finding Nemo - The Musical" at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. He spearheaded the successful development and execution of the entertainment program for Hong Kong Disneyland and was the principal Creative Director on "The Lion King" and "Once Upon a Dream" parade, both for Disneyland Paris. He has been a key figure in driving the theatrical Blue Sky projects forward, integrating new artists into the Disney fold, crafting and shaping scripts, and spearheading the design concepts for Disney Parks’ theatrical productions. Michael has very successfully worked with the Parks' entertainment teams on a wide variety of projects including “Playhouse Disney” in both Anaheim and Orlando. Michael trained at the Children’s Theatre Conservatory in Minneapolis. He was appointed resident associate director at the Guthrie Theatre under the artistic direction of Garland Wright. Michael earned his MFA from the California Institute of the Arts in directing and locally has produced and directed at The Mark Taper Forum, The Tiffany Theatre, The Matrix, Actor’s Gang, West Coast Ensemble, Long Beach Playhouse and the Taper New Work Festival. In 1994 he joined the artistic staff of the Mark Taper Forum, where he spent five years coordinating the new play development programs and acting as associate producer for the New Work Festival. Michael has also branched into producing, writing and directing television. He was the co-producer for the ACE award winning series Intimate Portrait on Lifetime Television.

John Gould Rubin

(Director) Rubin's recent directing credits include: Hedda Gabler which he staged in a Town House for 25 people per performance, Little Doc at Rattlestick, The Importance of Being Ernest for Twin Tiers Theatre and In the Daylight at the McGinn-Cazale. Was Co-Artistic and Executive Director of LAByrinth Theater Company for which he directed the premieres of Philip Roth in Khartoum and Penalties & Interest (both as part of Public/LAB at The Public Theater); STopless; The Trail of Her Inner Thigh by Erin Cressida Wilson; John Patrick Shanley's A Winter Party; (and co-created and directed:) Dreaming in Tongues; and Mémoire. He co-created and directed The Erotica Project for the NYSF; Trial By Water for Ma-Yi; A Taste of Honey at Playwrights Horizons; Blood in the Sink at Urban Stages; both A Matter Of Choice and NAMI for Partial Comfort; Rebecca Gilman's The Land of Little Horses, Frank McGuiness' Factory Girls, Timberlake Westenbaker's Three Birds Alighting on a Field and Richard Nelson's Franny's Way, for the Stella Adler Studio; EST's and Naked Angel's Marathons; The Fartiste for the NY Fringe Festival (Best Musical.) He wrote (and played Ivan Boesky in) The Predators' Ball (collaborating with Karole Armitage and David Salle) for the Teatro Comunale in Florence, Italy, and at BAM's Next Wave Festival. He recently directed his first film, Almost Home for Trigger Street Independent, which was presented at The Berkshire Film Festival.

(Producer) For LAByrinth Rubin produced Our Lady of 121st Street (and it's commercial production off-Broadway), and Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train at Center Stage/NY; Off-Broadway (two Drama Desk noms.); at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival (Fringe First Award); at The Donmar Warehouse; and at The Arts Theatre on the West End in London (Olivier Award nom.) Mr. Rubin produced a tour of Macbeth with Stephen Dillane playing all the roles at the Almeida Theater in London, the Sydney Theater in Australia and New Zealand.

(Actor) As an actor, Rubin appeared at The Public Theater/NYSF in the SPF production of The Sacrifices, Second Stage in John Patrick Shanley's play, Cellini, on B'way opposite Glenn Close and Gene Hackman in Death and The Maiden, under Mike Nichol's direction; in the title role of Moliere's Don Juan, at The Mark Taper Forum in L.A. under the direction of Travis Preston, for which he received the DramaLogue Award in Acting; as Jacques in John Tillinger's production of As You Like it; in Martin Crimp's adaptation of The Misanthrope, with Uma Thurman and Roger Rees; as well as in the lead role of Mr. Crimp's Play With Repeats, with Francis McDormand. Rubin's film appearances include the Spanish film by Juanma Bajo Ulloa, Frágil, The Out-of-Towners, Three Men and a Baby and Dead Again. Television appearances include New York News, Good Advice, Law & Order (all versions, many times) and The Story Behind the Story.

Elyse Singer

Elyse Singer is a director/writer/producer and the Founding Artistic Director of the OBIE-winning theatre company Hourglass Group. Her work has been seen Off-Broadway, regionally and internationally. Her original multi-media play Frequency Hopping won the International STAGE Playwriting Competition and ran at 3LD Art & Technology Center. Singer's Off-Broadway directing credits include Trouble in Paradise; the first NYC revival of Mae West's 1926 play SEX; the first US revival of West's Pleasure Man (starring Charles Busch); and Deborah Swisher's Hundreds of Sisters & One BIG Brother. Singer's other original works include Love in the Void, Care-less: Eva Tanguay and Private Property. As producer: Beebo Brinker Chronicles Off-Broadway at 37 Arts (co-produced with Lily Tomlin, Jane Wagner and Harriet Newman Leve), winner of the 2008 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding New York Theater. A Yale graduate, Singer is a Usual Suspect at NYTW, an alum of the LCT Directors Lab and a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is represented by Bret Adams, Ltd. and is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Nina Steiger

Nina Steiger is Associate Director at Soho Theatre (London) and leads the Writers' Centre there. Prior to this post, Nina worked for seven years in the New York and regional theatres with such organisations as Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York Stage & Film and Hartford Stage Company alongside freelance work with companies such as The Foundry Theatre, Roundabout Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club.

Nina also serves as a freelance dramaturg for screen writers, is on the editorial boards of Brand literary journal and Theatre Forum magazine and is a Board member for ON Theatre and proto-type theater, an International Affiliate Member of the League of Professional Theatre Women and a consultant for the UK Style Council, Theatre Sandbox, the Hospital Club and INN, an international performance project. As a writer, her work has been commissioned, produced and published in London, New York and Montreal.