Keynote Speakers and Presenters
Troy Kotsur earned the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Frank, the Deaf fisherman father of a hearing daughter who wants to be a singer in director Sian Heder's CODA (2021.) The film also won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Kotsur is the first Deaf male actor and only the second Deaf actor overall to win the Oscar, after his CODA co-star Marlee Matin for her role in Children of a Lesser God (1986.) Kotsur also earned BAFTA, Critics' Choice, Gotham, Independent Spirit and Screen Actors Guild awards, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his role in CODA. In television, Kotsur was most recently seen in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, for which he created the Tusken sign language, and was also used in the show's spinoff series The Book of Boba Fett. Other television roles include CSI: NY, Scrubs, Criminal Minds, Strong Medicine, Doc,and Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye.
Stephen Schwartz, American musical theatre lyricist and composer, has written such hit musicals as Godspell, Pippin, and Wicked, among others. He has contributed lyrics for a number of successful films, including Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Prince of Egypt, and Enchanted. Schwartz has won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, four Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards and has been nominated for six Tony Awards. He received the 2015 Isabelle Stevenson Award, a special Tony Award for his commitment to serving artists and fostering new talent. Mr. Schwartz has been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2015, he received the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for his humanitarian and mentorship contributions to the theatre. A book about his career, "Defying Gravity," has been released by Applause Books.
Ayesis Clay, distinguished theatre educator and professional theatre artist, is best known for her solo show Mother of Unicorns, a fantastical look at one teacher's epic journey through education battling compassion fatigue and burnout while finding hope on the other side. She has also written and developed curricula for school districts and many local and regional theatre companies. Combining her extensive background in theatre and education, Ayesis founded Sculpted Clay Productions LLC, where she uses theatre-infused residencies and professional development workshops to help schools address teacher and student mental wellness and inspire deeper conversations around creativity and humanity in education.
Ellen Degeneres has called him "smart, hilarious and funny." Variety has said, "Alec Mapa is a freak. No one should be this talented." With uproarious live performances and groundbreaking television roles, actor and comedian Alec Mapa has entertained audiences worldwide in every imaginable medium. Audiences first discovered Alec on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning production of M. Butterfly. He guest starred on over 40 television series, including Alias, Friends, Roseanne, Seinfeld, and NYPD Blue. Alec played network television's very first gay Asian series regular role on the CBS sitcom Some Of My Best Friends. He then starred in four seasons of the UPN sitcom Half & Half. Alec went on to appear in the ABC hit Ugly Betty and was a frequent guest star on Desperate Housewives.You can currently see Alec in his recurring role as Animal Vegetable Mineral Man on the hit series Doom Patrol now streaming on DC Universe. Alec stars opposite Danny Trejo in Grand Daddy Day Care. He co-stars with Ellen Burstyn in the highly-anticipated film Welcome to Pine Grove. His comedy special Alec Mapa: Baby Daddy premiered on Showtime June 12, 2015. Based on his award-winning solo show, Alec Mapa: Baby Daddy hilariously, irreverently chronicles Alec's journey to fatherhood via foster adoption.
Kevin grew up in Moorestown, NJ. In 2000, Kevin originated the role of Charlie in Claudia Shear's Dirty Blonde which earned him his first Tony Nomination and Drama Desk Nomination. The following year, he received his second Tony Nomination, Drama Desk and Grammy nomination for playing Horton the Elephant in Seussical. In 2010, he received his third Tony nomination for his portrayal of Uncle Fester in The Addams Family. In Los Angeles, Kevin has starred in productions of Hair, Spamalot and West Side Story at The Hollywood Bowl - as well as Little Shop of Horrors at Pasadena Playhouse.
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