Hailing from Cameroon, Benjamin MAMBOU is a dynamic jazz musician, composer, and vocalist. Leading the acclaimed jazz band ANGWA, his debut album Finally Free ranked among the top 100 jazz albums of 2022. Benjamin has collaborated with Grammy winners Arturo O'Farrill and Wynton Marsalis in Musicians for Justice and performed at top U.S. venues like Rockwood Music Hall. Recently, he delivered a powerful set at the Juneteenth Festival, where his performance was a standout moment, drawing a captivated audience and receiving high praise.
Passionate about music education, he attended NAMM Show 2025, working with the O Guitar family from Argentina. His latest single, Born To Shine, continues his mission of spreading love and unity through music. He is now gearing up for his debut solo album release this year.
Beyond music, Benjamin is also making waves in fashion with his brand OSSU Wear, featuring original, sustainable, and unique designs that he creates and prints in Cameroon. The brand gained significant attention at the Juneteenth Festival, further solidifying his artistic influence.
Prepare to be inspired by Benjamin MAMBOU’s soulful melodies, heartfelt lyrics, and distinctive fashion.
Dale Hobson writes in and about the Adirondack North Country of New York State. Previous publications include the chapbooks Nickelodeon, Second Growth and The Water I Carry. A Drop of Ink, 2012, was his first full-length collection of poetry. His second full-length collection, Light Year, illustrated by Suzanne Langelier-Lebeda, was released in August 2019. A third full-length collection, The Other Village, making the rounds in search of a publisher.
He shares a home on Sugar Island Flow in Potsdam, New York with his wife, Terry de la Vega. They have a daughter, Elena, living in Boston, MA.
JESSICA AMMIRATI (she/her) is a theater/film artist focusing on female driven work. In 2008 she created Going to Tahiti Productions (GTTP), a company dedicated to providing more opportunities for women in entertainment. Through GTTP, Jessica has directed / produced numerous original works (mostly world premieres) including: SKIN. FLESH. BONE., IN THE EBB, JANE AUSTEN'S PERSUASION, and BELLA'S DREAM, at venues all over NYC. Two of her productions: DREAMERS OF THE DAY and WITHIN ARM’S REACH started as novels (by Mary Doria Russell and Ann Napolitano, respectively) which Jessica adapted for the stage. Along with her theater work, Jessica has also directed / produced two podcasts: TAHITI DISPATCHES and COMFORT MEASURES, a music video: THE BALLAD OF CHICKEN MCGANN, a short film: SKIN. FLESH. BONE., a web series: THE JANE GAMES, and an hour long independent dramatic television pilot: FARM STORY. Her work has earned a Puffin Foundation grant, a spot in the 2012 NY International Fringe Festival, two NY Innovative Theater Award nominations, and nominations at the DC and NYC WebFests. After the one-two punch of her father passing and the Coronavirus shutting down the world, Jessica started writing a new play, PHYSICS FROM MY FATHER as a way to connect with her beloved physicist dad. She hopes to mount a full production of it in 2026. Jessica is currently working on the short film, MEET CUTE IN THE CCU which started as a scene in PHYSICS FROM MY FATHER that she cut and then just couldn’t let go of. You can keep up to date with Jessica at: http://goingtotahitiproductions.com/ and https://www.jessicaammirati.com/.
Rivka Eckert is an educator, mother/artist, scholar activist, and abolitionist theatre-maker. She received her M.F.A in Theatre for Youth and Communities from Arizona State University and her B.A. in Theatre Education and Writing, Literature and Publishing from Emerson College. Eckert has taught Theatre and English in colleges and universities, prisons, high schools, and middle schools and worked with the Peace Corps in Samoa and Liberia. Her last book project, Into Abolitionist Theatre: A Guidebook for Liberatory Theatre-making, explores theatre-making as disruption to capitalism and highlights theatre projects/programs in prisons, higher education, secondary education, and with marginalized youth.