Mo Faya (2009)

is a leading singer, songwriter and performer from Nairobi Kenya. His music, a blend of modern and traditional Kenyan sounds, speaks on issues of social justice. His accolades are numerous and include several Pan African awards. Recently the Guardian Newspaper in the United Kingdom called him a living national icon. In 2002 the African Almanac listed him as one of the 100 most influential Africans after he took on rampant corruption prevalent in the government of the day. He is an ambassador for several local and international organizations including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. He was recently awarded an Escopetarra- a guitar made out of a decommissioned AK-47 assault rifle. Other recipients of that award include Koffi Annan, Bob Geldof and the Colombian superstar, Juanes. Eric’s interest in musical theatre began in primary school where he participated in several Gilbert & Sullivan and Rogers and Hammerstein musicals. He took an interest in writing for musical theatre while at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. In the summer of 2008 he was an Artist in Residence at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab. He graduated from Berklee in 2002. He lives in Nairobi with his wife, Sheba, and child, Seben.  

John Sibi-Okumu’s theatrical journey has been defined more by experience from performing rather than by formal training. Having first trod the boards as a very young schoolboy in 1960’s London, he   has gone on to appear in major roles on the stage, including Sophocles’ King Oedipus; Shakespeare’s Romeo, Oberon and Shylock; Beckett’s Krapp and Vladimir; Sophocles’ King Oedipus; Creon in Anouilh’s “Antigone,” Percy in Mtwa/Ngema/Simon’s “Woza, Albert!” and Robert Mugabe in Fraser Grace’s “Breakfast with Mugabe.” He has narrated and voiced award-winning documentaries and commercials in English and French and acted in a number of films, including “The Constant Gardener” as  Dr. Joshua Ngaba  and “Shake Hands with the Devil” as the UN special envoy Jacques Roger Boh-Boh. He himself has devised “In Search of the Drum Major” and “Like Ripples on a Pond,” both on the American civil rights movement as well as “Milestones - a Showcase for African Poetry.”

 He has written two wholly original plays:“Role Play – A Journey into the Kenyan Psyche,” and “Minister, karibu!” The first mentioned was hailed by Newsweek International as “….an unapologetic look at racial stereotypes in modern Kenya.” In his native country, Mr. Sibi-Okumu also has a considerable reputation both as a newspaper and magazine columnist and as a radio and television presenter. He has been made an honorary Chevalier des Palmes Academiques, for services to French culture as a teacher.

Mike Inwood (Lighting Designer). NYMF: STEP (Soul Steps). NYC: The Smoking Gun (dir. Drew Barr); Booksmart (dir. Michael Barakiva); Thirteen Near Death Experiences (dir. Emma Griffin); Big Love (dir. Pirronne Yousefzadeh); Journey of the Fifth Horse (dir. Michael Sexton); Bus Stop (dir. Pamela Berlin); Fool For Love, Tomorrow It Will Be a Memory, Ward No.6. (Columbia University Stages); Othello (Firebird Productions); Persona (Second Avenue Dance Company). Utah: The Mikado (Utah Festival Opera). Canada: Gallery (Amber Funk Barton); Hinged Memory (Emily Molnar); Vancouver New Music Festival; Pacifique en Chanson (Radio-Canada); Manitowapan (Gaetan Gingras). Television: “American Morning”, “Issue #1” (CNN New York, Assistant Lighting Director).  MFA NYU. www.mikeinwood.com

Tim Rimbui BioTim Rimbui (28) better known as "Ennovator" is a Kenyan record producer and songwriter who has worked with many prominent Kenyan and East African artists, as well international record companies; he is generally thought of as one of the leading music producers in Kenya. With the foresight of being creative, innovative and unique he chose the moniker Ennovator, which would best describe his sound and approach to songwriting and music production.

Bernita Robinson (Stage Manager) Credits include Jelly's Last Jam, Ragtime (world premier, original Broadway and tour) Thurgood, Man of La Mancha (recent Broadway revival), A Moon for the Misbegotten (recent London transfer) Scrooge (tour), On Golden Pond (tour), Drumstruck (US premiere), West Side Story (tour), Me and Mrs. Jones, Sarafina and most recently White Noise.

Michael Joseph Ormond (Production Stage Manager) Recent credits include the Broadway hit Irena’s Vow, starring Tovah Feldshuh and directed by Michael Parva, The Rise of Dorothy Hale, starring Laura Koffman, and the critically acclaimed revival of Room Service. Directing credits include, Gene & Aggie Beyond the Horizon, Anna Christie, Ah Wilderness, As Is, Mornings At Seven, The Glass Menagerie, Chosen-The Musical. Acting credits include, A Little Night Music (Henrik), Little Shop of Horrors (Seymour), Tenderloin, Mousetrap, Kismet, A Tale of Cinderella, and Silver Skates. He is a two-time recipient of the Frederick Lowe Vocal Scholarship and a proud member of Actors’ Equity since 1998.

An accomplished neo soul, afrofusion artiste. She launched her debut album "Hatimaye" in May 2008 and has since then broadened her portfolio to include the performing arts and dance.She has worked closely on  number of projects with internationaly recognised artistes such as Eric Wainaina as well as award winning producer Stephen James Taylor for his work in "Why do fools fall in love"This is just the begining and greater things are expected from her in the coming years.

Ken has worked as a Set Designer, Art Director, Production Manager, Master Carpenter, Prop Master and in Special Effects both nationally and internationally. He has worked with Tri-Star pictures, Dimension Films, Universal, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Warner Bros, and several episodes of E.R., MTV and many others. Currently Ken is focusing on live theater in NYC and the greater Tri-State Area. Some of Recent design credits include Beachwood Dr, The Goldman Project (Abie award-Best Scenic Design), Rum & Coke, The Abingdon Theatre; Shaurgraun, Storm Theatre Company; Dinner with Friends, Schoolhouse Theatre; Rounding Third, An Infinite Ach, and The Mercy Seat, Stamford Theatre Works; Half & Half, Tour deFarse, 10% of Molly Brown, Penguin Repertory Theatre; and Ragtime, NJPAC. He recently completed his fourth award-winning season as the Production Manager at Theatre for a New Audience, which included productions of Chair, Othello and Hamlet. The Ken Larson Co. has just completed building its third season of the Summer Play Festival at the Public Theatre and is working with Primary Stages, The New Group, The Labyrinth Theatre Co., MCC, and many others.

Valerie Kimani is the stunning and fresh new face of contemporary African music from East Africa.  Being the winner of the first ever reality show in East Africa -Project Fame, Valerie’s incredible talent saw her introduced dramatically to the world stage. She is signed onto Gallo records in South Africa and her debut album ‘Baisikeli’ was also signed onto Warner Jazz. Valerie’s all-round talent has seen her grace several stages alongside prolific acts such as Micheal Buble, Thandiswa Mazwai, Eric Wainaina and Lira as well as grace television screens in various acting roles; the most recent being an MTV Staying Alive movie campaign. An unapologetically African, dynamic and organic young woman, Valerie’s star is rising faster every day. With an active buzz around her name, she has been set up appropriately for the world to receive her talent. A definite star to look out for!

Currently Dan is an Assistant Choreographer at the Tusker Project Fame 3 (2009) Academy (an eight week reality music TV show). Dan is also Choreographing (and is part of its cast) Eric Wainaina’s “MOFAYA” which is set to tour the USA in September/October and Kenya thereafter. He has also been a dance trainer at Nyumbani Children Home and Shabes Classics.

Cultural activist, performer, writer and producer of theatre, film and TV.

 Stage appearances include Agnes of God by John Pielmaier, Aikin Mata -The Lysistrata of Aristophanes (adaptation by T.W. Harrison and James Simmons), A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman, Betrayal by Harold Pinter, Yanagai!  Yanagai! by Andrea James, Comrade Lemma and the Black Jerusalem Boys Band by Parselelo Kantai.

Screen credits include The Constant Gardener, Die Patriarchin (for German TV) and The Knife Grinder’s Tale (Best Short Film - Vail Film Festival; Best Director, Beverley Hills Film Festival).

From 2003-2006 Mũmbi co-produced Kenya’s V-Day Worldwide Campaign, staging packed performances ofThe Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler to raise awareness and funds for Kenyan organizations working to end violence against women and girls.

Mumbi is a board member of Media Development for Africa (MEDEVA Ltd.), the Sarakasi Trust and Mira Nair’s Maisha Film Lab, all of which work to develop intellectual and physical spaces for performers and filmmakers in East Africa. 

She is currently developing They Call Me Wanjikũ, the final piece of a three-part musical performance for stage, which includes The Voice of a Dream (2001) and KigeziNdoto, (20