Josh Kornbluth was raised in New York City, then worked as a copy editor at a series of alternative newspapers before moving to San Francisco on May 11, 1987. While supporting himself as a temp (at his peak he typed better than 80 words per minute, with very few errors), he performed at open mikes around the Bay Area and was completely miserable. Then, in 1989, he opened his first autobiographical monologue, Josh Kornbluth's Daily World, at Enrico Banducci's hungry id in North Beach. Since then he has created and performed several more solo shows, including Haiku Tunnel, The Mathematics of Change, Red Diaper Baby, Ben Franklin: Unplugged, and Love & Taxes. He has also appeared in several films: the back of his head was seen briefly in Searching for Bobby Fischer; the front of his head (and little else) was seen for a minute or two in Francis Ford Coppola's Jack, in which he played the pivotal character of Cigarette Pack Man; in addition, he had slightly more extensive parts in Lynn Hershman Leeson's Teknolust (he was seduced by Tilda Swinton) and Jonathan Parker's Bartleby (no seductions whatsoever). In 2001 a feature-film version of Haiku Tunnel, starring Josh and co-directed by Josh and his brother Jacob, was selected for the Sundance Film Festival and then released nationally by Sony Pictures Classics; it is now available on video and DVD, and is priced to move. In 2002 Josh collaborated with the San Francisco Mime Troupe on their summer show, Mr. Smith Goes to Obscuristan. And this past year -- on May Day, no less! -- a concert film of Red Diaper Baby, directed by Doug Pray, debuted on the Sundance Channel; it will be available on DVD in the near future. Josh will be seen in three upcoming feature films: Strange Culture, Faith, and The Darwin Awards. A book titled Red Diaper Baby, collecting three of Josh's early monologues, has just come out in a second edition. Currently the host of an interview program on KQED-TV, cleverly titled "The Josh Kornbluth Show," Josh lives in Berkeley with his wife and son. His website is at www.joshkornbluth.com.

David Dower has taken on the position of Artistic Associate at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C after serving as the Founding Artistic Director of the Z Space Studio for 16 years. He has developed and directed over twenty world premiere works through the studio. With Mr. Hill, he directed the award winning Say Grace, 8 Bob Off, and The Real Cheese. With monologist Josh Kornbluth he developed and directed Love and Taxes and Ben Franklin: Unplugged, both of which enjoyed nationwide success, and the films Haiku Tunnel and Red Diaper Baby. He was an artistic mentor for Leigh Fondakopwski and company on Stories from Jonestown, Brian Freeman’s Here and There, and Sara Felder’s interview-based play Keeping Up With the Joans, all currently in development at Z Space.Other directorial credits with the Z include Anne Galjour’s Okra, Charlie Varon’s Ralph Nader is Missing, and What to Call Home by Nina Wise.