ADRIAN ENSCOE (Music & Lyrics) (they/he) is a Brooklyn-based actor/instrumentalist/singer/songwriter and 1/3 of indie folk trio Bandits on the Run, an eclectic musical act that has been featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk and Rolling Stone, produced songs for the likes of Netflix’s Ask the Story Bots and The Moth Podcast, and that regularly tours nationally and internationally. Adrian is also known for starring as Austin Dickinson in the Peabody Award-winning series Dickinson (Apple TV+) and Doug in Best Medicine (Fox). They originated the role of Little Brother in Swept Away (Michael Mayer, the Avett Brothers) and the role of Lensky in Eugene Onegin (Rachel Chavkin, Theater Squared) @adrian.blake.enscoe and @banditsontherun

PETER HEDGES (Author) is a writer and filmmaker from West Des Moines, Iowa. He adapted his first novel What’s Eating Gilbert Grape for the acclaimed 1993 film. He has written and directed many films including Pieces of April, Dan in Real Life, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, and Ben is Back. Hedges’ screenplays include co-adapting Nick Hornby’s About a Boy, for which Peter received a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar® nomination. Peter’s plays include Imagining Brad (Circle Rep), Baby Anger (Playwrights Horizons), The Girl in Pink (Atlantic Theater Company) and Good as New (MCC Theater). Peter has been an active member of MCC Theater since 1987. He is married to the poet Susan Bruce and they live in Brooklyn. They have two adult sons and they are the caretakers of two aged dogs, Willy and Sadie.

ANNE KAUFFMAN (Director)’s credits include the New York Philharmonic, BAM, Ars Nova, NYTW, Roundabout Theatre Company, Encores! Off-Center, Women’s Project, Playwrights Horizons, MCC, The Public, P73 Productions, New Georges, Vineyard Theatre, LCT3, Yale Rep, Steppenwolf, Goodman Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Z Space, American Conservatory Theater, and Berkeley Rep. She is a Resident Director at Roundabout Theatre, Artistic Associate and Founding Member of The Civilians, a Clubbed Thumb Affiliated Artist and co-creator of the CT Directing Fellowship, a New Georges Affiliated Artist, an SDC Executive Board Member, Vice President and Trustee of SDCF 2020-2023, and Artistic Director of City Center’s Encores! Off-Center 2017-2020. Her awards include a 2024 Tony nomination for Best Director for Mary Jane, a 2023 Tony nomination for Best Revival for The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, three Obies, the Joan and Joseph Cullman Award for Exceptional Creativity from Lincoln Center, the Alan Schneider Director Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, a Drama League Award, and the Joe A. Callaway. She is co-creator of the Cast Album Project with Jeanine Tesori.

CHRISTOPHER SEARS (Music & Lyrics) is an actor, singer, composer, and painter in New York City. He comes from a family of theatre makers and he is a proud member of Edie’s Fairytale Theatre. He can currently be seen playing Ray Ray in Dog Day Afternoon on Broadway.  New York Theater: Cult of Love (Broadway) Only Yesterday (59E59), Gently Down the Stream (The Public Theater), The Harvest (LCT3), Stupid Fucking Bird (The Pearl Theatre). Select Regional: Life is a Dream; Bakkhai; The Folks at Home (Baltimore Center Stage), Sister Sorry (Barrington Stage Co.). Film/Television: The Wisdom Tooth (Indie), “Law & Order: SVU” (NBC). Christopher has written 3 original albums and is currently working with his sister, Sienna Sears and longtime collaborators Adrian Blake Enscoe and Sydney Shepherd on a musical event called The Opera. His latest project is a musical adaptation of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape with Bandits on the Run and Peter Hedges. @christophersearsart

SYDNEY SHEPHERD (Music & Lyrics) is a New York based actor, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and writer. Acting credits include: Broadway: First Date. Selected Regional: 2 in the World Premiere of The Ruins (Guthrie Theater) Lizzie Borden in Lizzie (Theaterworks Hartford), Lyla in the World Premiere of August Rush (Paramount Theater), Agnes in Jasper in Deadland (The 5th Avenue Theatre).

Television credits include Law and Order (NBC), Ask the Storybots (Netflix) and Red Dead Redemption II (Rockstar Games). This summer Sydney will play Olga in Eugene Onegin directed by Rachel Chavkin at TheatreSquared. Sydney is ⅓ of the critically acclaimed band Bandits on The Run, who have toured internationally and have been featured by NPR, Paste, and Rolling Stone, and are releasing their newest album Rough Magic this June. The Bandits, fellow actor/musician Christopher Sears, and Academy Award nominee Peter Hedges are currently developing the stage musical adaptation of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape at MCC Theater. Sydney and her writing partners have received many residencies and grants including the NEA Grant, Berkeley Rep Ground Floor, The Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, The Johnny Mercer Writer’s Grove at Goodspeed Musicals, and the Chautauqua Theater Company.

REGINA STRAYHORN (Music & Lyrics) (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist that views all her work through the lens of character and storytelling first. She classically trained as an actor at UNCSA, receiving a BFA in Drama, and then became a Brooklynite where she found her calling exploring art in its many forms.

She identifies as a songwriter, performer, musical theater composer, photographer, and casting professional based in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Regina is a founding member of Bandits on the Run, an indie-folk-pop-americana outfit known for their vivacious performance style, genre-defying sound, soaring harmonies, and ability to make music-magic happen everywhere from subway platforms to concert halls. They’ve appeared at the Cambridge Folk Festival, Sundance, Floydfest, Summerfest Milwaukee, Americanafest, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, the F1 Singapore Grand Prix, and more.

Currently Regina, Adrian Enscoe, Sydney Shepherd, and Christopher Sears are the composing team for the upcoming musical adaptation of WHATS EATING GILBERT GRAPE, with book by Academy Award Nominee Peter Hedges (who wrote the novel and screenplay).

She is also developing the new musical YUKON, HO! (book by Regina Strayhorn, music & lyrics by Bandits on the Run) – about a group of queer Black prospectors traversing the landscape of the infamous Yukon Gold Rush during the late 1800s.

As a casting professional, she has worked on several pilots and series for HULU, CBS, AMAZON, Apple TV+, and HBO MAX. With her photography work, she focuses on portraits and lifestyle photography, with a specific focus on capturing artists in their element . @banditsontherun // banditsontherun.com // rmsphotobrooklyn.com