DAVID WATTS BARTON (playwright/performer) is a writer who made the leap to New York in 2012 after a long career in Sacramento’s arts and media scene, where he wrote for The Sacramento Bee, was editor-in-chief of Sacramento Press.com, and hosted the live talk show, Insight on Capital Public Radio. Barton won the first Sacramento Arts and Business Council’s Arts Journalist of the Year Award in 2011. Since moving to New York, he has written and begun performing his one-hour, semi-autobiographical monologue, Underwater: The 100-Year Flood, about his adventures in Sacramento’s housing collapse. He is writing a book on the history of sexuality and social media, Personal Electronics, and hopes to have a publisher soon. Barton is also a singer/songwriter, and is writing and recording the follow-up to his debut album, Straight.

KEL HANNEY (director) is a freelance director, who focuses on developing new plays, musicals, & solo work. Current/recent solo-work collaborators include: David Watts Barton (Underwater: The 100 Year Flood, All For One), Gardiner Comfort (You're Not Enough, Dixon Place; Currently Untitled, Mabou Mines), Adam Lerman (Pod Corkin: Professional Motivator and Fear Specialist, Ars Nova – ANT FEST ‘13), Ronna Levy (Is This Gonna Be On The Test, Miss?, Capital Fringe ’14), Gloria Rosen (Listen...Can You Hear Me Now?, Stage Left – May ‘14), Ann Talman (Woody's Order, United Solo Encore Series ‘14). Other recent directing credits include: Jonathan Caren’s The Recommendation (The Flea), Jessica Dickey’s Row After Row, Rachel Bonds’ Little Rock (both at Williamstown Theatre Festival), Nathan Leigh (music & lyrics) & Kyle Jarrow’s (book, music & lyrics) The Consequences (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre) & Edith Freni’s El Fuego (Partial Comfort Productions). Upcoming world premieres: Zack Calhoon’s Friday Nigh at Jimmy's (Rising Phoenix Rep) & James Christy’s Liberty Live (Premiere Stages). She has also directed and developed new work at Ars Nova, Atlantic Theater Company, The Directors Company, Cherry Lane Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre and Youngblood, The Flea, Keen Company, The Lark, Ma-Yi, Missing Bolts Productions, Naked Angels, New Dramatists, New Georges, NY Fringe Festival, Partial Comfort Productions, Premiere Stages, Primary Stages, Rattlestick, Rising Phoenix, Studio 42, Vampire Cowboys, Westport Country Playhouse, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, & the 52nd Street Project.

Additional artistic affiliations: Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellow, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Old Vic/New Voices Exchange Program, and a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre. kelhaney.com