Nicole Oglesby (Co-Founder, Producer, Playwright) is a playwright and performer who creates poetic and political works about women. Upon graduating from UT Austin’s Theatre & Dance program in 2016, she founded the Heartland Theatre Collective with co-collaborator, Marian Kansas, in order to produce her play, Dust. Dust received critical acclaim, was nominated for the Austin Critic’s Table’s David Mark Cohen New Play Award, and won first place in Stage West’s Southwest Playwriting Competition. More recently, the Heartland Theatre Collective premiered Nicole’s critically acclaimed play, Little Bird. Also a performer, Nicole has acted professionally in the Austin-area and performed at four different improv theaters. More info can be found at www.nicoleoglesby.com 

Marian Kansas (Co-Founder, Producer, Director) is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin where she studied Theatre & Dance with a focus in directing and Advertising. Since graduating Marian has directed and produced the Heartland Theatre Collective’s two plays, Dust and Little Bird. Marian also directed Dry Land for Permanent Record Theatre, 2017 and 2018 Frontera Fest, and the One Minute Play Festival. Marian seeks to continue creating inherently theatrical, smart and accessible plays that features substantial and complex female characters.

Katy Matz (Producer, Dramaturg) graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in the Spring of 2016 with a Bachelors of Arts in English and Linguistics, focusing her studies on the impact of language and culture in literature and drama. Hailing from the rich cultural region of the Rio Grande Valley, Katy finds inspiration in stories shared by the subverted, mistreated, and forgotten, and sees the importance in these stories being told. With an interest in modern and contemporary literature, and a soft spot for non-fiction historical writing, Katy hopes to provide a strong foundation as dramaturg for the team of artists at the Heartland Theatre Collective.