Dakota Darnell is an actor, playwright and creative from central Florida. The writer is currently attending Rollins College studying theatre arts, English and history. Writing credits include a production of original play ‘There’s Still Time’ by AKA collective, and a production of another original play, ‘Honeybee’ by The Blank’s Young Playwrights Festival.

Ruby Dickerson started her journey in theatre in high school, and from her first foot on the stage she knew she was home. Taking a brief pause to tend to her growing family, she returned to performing in 2021 with the audio play “Riders of the Sea”. In 2023 she acted in her first Whiskey Theatre Factory show “What’s in the Basement Honey Seven Short Plays on Marriage, Feminism, and Zombies” , and has since been seen in “Night on Zoom: A Night of Short Plays Set in the Virtual World”, and in WTF’s 2024 Orlando Fringe show, “The Saints of West Orange County”. Venturing out from acting, she stage managed “Bi Bi Bi”, and assistant directed “How It Gets In” and “Here and Queer”. Tapping into her inner writer, she has brought several pieces to various salons and is excited at the challenge that this 1 minute playfest brings. Outside of the theatre, Ruby is a mother to 2 children and is passionate about helping parents rediscover themselves after parenthood. Chase after your spark, and remember you can’t pour from an empty cup.

Ilana Jael is a playwright and actress who has studied at Sarah Lawrence College, where she earned her MFA in Creative Nonfiction, which follows a BA in Writing and Psychology from Florida Atlantic University. Her short plays have been produced in person and virtually throughout  South Florida, and she has also served as a theatre critic in South Florida, Baltimore, and Orlando.  Catch her work onstage next in Karma’s A Bitch at the Orlando Fringe Festival!

Clark Levi (any/all) is a creator and producer for theatre, film and online content based in Orlando, and a longtime Fringer as artist, intern and staff member. They create art and events under their company name, “Lightup Shoebox”, with a mission of encouraging people of all backgrounds to collaborate and discover through art. This includes the recent critically acclaimed “Silence”, the weekly open-to-all artistic club “Play Date” that roams Central Florida, as well as recent productions of the made-in-Central-Florida new shows TAWC-TTOTS, Ink Addicted, The Devil’s Coda, Leviticus and Carmilla: An American Gothic. They’re also the producer for the annual events Play-In-A-Day (formerly produced by Beth Marshall Presents) and Dickens by Candlelight with Three Hats Studios/RS&C. They’ve led workshops on devising, writing and collaborative creation with Orlando Fringe, Florida Theatre Conference, Central Florida Community Arts, Timucua Arts Foundation, Beth Marshall Presents and more. They love Whiskey Theatre Factory for its commitment to fostering new talent and great writers, and connecting artists of all kinds. @lightupshoebox on Facebook and Instagram!

Ray has been writing for decades, but has found no outlet for his creative fiction until now. This is his very first attempt to write fiction for a particular audience, except of course, for all the other stuff he has kept to himself. Ray was once the editor of a weekly magazine in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel as well as a public relations professional and fundraiser for various charities. Currently he is semi-retired, working on a science fiction novel and 2nd Fringe play, which he hopes will someday be performed at Fringe.

Komal Patel is grateful to have been a part of Orlando’s vibrant theater community since 2023 and for having had the opportunity to work with so many talented artists throughout her career. In her free time, she enjoys playing guitar and practicing Muay Thai. She wants to thank Whiskey Theater Factory for creating a fun and safe environment to express creativity, her mentors, Marco DiGeorge and Robb Maus, for inspiring her love for the art, and her friends and family for their unwavering support..

Max Pinsky has been a frequent artist collaborator of Whiskey Theatre Factory since June 2022 and has served as Artistic Director since May 2025. His play La Medéa was produced by The Renaissance Theatre Company in January 2022, which has been listed in the Orlando Sentinel in several of its "Orlando's Best of 2022" theatre articles. His work focuses on intersections of multiculturalism, multilingualism, and revitalizing our classics for the audience of today.

Ken Preuss is a Florida-based writer and performer who became a teacher to guarantee an audience 5 days a week. Although his published one-acts and his collection of short plays have been produced in schools and festivals in Australia, Canada, China, England, Germany, Guatemala, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Thailand, and all 50 States, Ken can be found rooted near Orlando with his wife, sons, and assorted pets.

Irene L. Pynn writes fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Her plays include Suture Bowl, I, Cockroach, Enter, Pursued by a Whale, The Train, How to Field Dress an Android, and several others. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, and her work has been produced throughout the United States and abroad. Irene holds an MFA in writing from Seton Hill University and a PhD in Texts and Technology from the University of Central Florida. Her other publications include short stories, short plays, interactive plays, alternate reality games, and more.

Jenn Schell is an Orlando-based playwright and actor. Her work as a playwright has been produced at Breakthrough Theatre, DTC Radio and UCF's Project Spotlight. Her previous acting credits include Shrek the Musical and Young Frankenstein, both at the Ritz Theater in Sanford, as well as shows at Playwright's Round Table and Breakthrough Theatre. She is a graduate of UCF with dual degrees in Theatre and Creative Writing and was also an officer of the Screenwriting Club at UCF.

Jena Rashid graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BA in Theatre Studies and a minor in music. She’s worked as a stage manager, director, playwright,producer, actor, dramaturg and other roles throughout her career. Since she graduated, she has interned at Orlando Shakes and Florida Studio Theatre and currently works with Jobsite Theater as a Producing Associate. She is a Collective Member of Whiskey Theatre Factory and is also an affiliated artist of the National New Play Network and currently a New Play Associate with Orlando Shakes. In addition, she still writes plays when she can, and her works can be found on the NewPlayExchange.org. Previous roles include Honey in Everyone’s Fine with Virginia Woolf (Whiskey Theatre Factory), Megan in PUFFS (Theatre South Playhouse) and Ori in Slaymaker.

Katie Thayer is an actor, improviser, director, and playwright. She has her BFA in Theatre from UCF, and is part of the Legacy Collective of Whiskey Theatre Factory. Her play, Graceland, can be found in The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2014. More of her work can be found on New Play Exchange.

Host

Liz Bernstein is a Florida local and a learning and development professional by day. She's been involved in theatre since she can remember and she's been making art with Whiskey Theatre Factory since the beginning. The first one-minute play competition was actually Liz’s first time acting with WTF! Most recently with WTF, Liz has been participating in play readings and on the creative teams for multiple productions. She’s most proud of her role as Sophie in the Orlando Fringe 2024 production of The Saints of West Orange County. Currently, Liz is co-producing The One Who Calls for Orlando Fringe 2026 with Midnight Stories.

Host

Lisa Hardt is seasoned development and fundraising professional with over a decade of administrative experience in Central Florida’s nonprofit arts and culture community. Lisa serves as the Grants Manager at the Orlando Science Center, and previously worked in development positions at Orlando Shakes and Orlando Fringe. Lisa received her BFA in Stage Management from Virginia Commonwealth University, and has locally stage managed productions and events with Orlando Shakes, Florida Theatrical Association, Come Out with Pride, WeFlip Entertainment, and BlueLaLa Events. In 2023, Lisa co-produced Multitudes at Orlando Fringe, which won both Patrons’ Pick and Critics Choice awards and was nominated for the 18th Annual International Fringe Encore Series.

Stage Manager

Meghan Pratt (she/her/hers) is a stage manager and literary manager in Central Florida. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Theatre and Media, Meghan spent some time in Pennsylvania working as an assistant stage manager for People’s Light, working on such shows as Romeo and Juliet: A Requiem and Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie. Since moving to Florida, Meghan has stage-managed two productions of The Consciousness, winning best play at the 2019 Tampa Bay Theatre Festival, was literary manager for Playwrights’ Round Tables’ three productions of Connected Voices, and stage-managed Fringe’s Best Play-Drama The Vast of Darkness in 2023.

This is Bethany Dickens Assaf’s sixth time producing the One Minute Playwriting Competition and it is one of her favorite events of the year! She has been with WTF for over six years, directing and playwriting as well as serving as a Collective Member, Producing Director, and the Director of Development and Finance. She cannot wait to see what’s next for WTF! In her spare time she enjoys seeing 80s cover bands, watching bad movies, and being a toddler mom. She also runs a lot but she wouldn’t say she enjoys it.