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Julie Zatko is a Northwest Ohio based theatre director and educator. She is passionate about presenting new and bold works, juxtaposed with educating and creating theatrical opportunities for young thespians. For 13 years she held the position of theatre advisor for Rossford High school (Rossford, OH). While advisor, she directed a total of 38 productions ranging from classics (Harvey, You Can’t Take It With You) to family musicals (Beauty & The Beast, The Little Mermaid). Three of her productions (Moon Over Buffalo, I Never Saw Another Butterfly, and The Boys Next Door) were chosen as full length features for the Ohio EDTA Theatre Conference.

She is currently involved with The Toledo Repertoire Theatre, where she has directed main stage (Fun Home, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) and Young Rep (West Side Story, Pirates!) productions. She holds a seats on their Education Committee, is a member of Toledo Voices, and frequently teaches Young Rep acting/directing classes. She has also created and presented numerous workshops at the Northwest Ohio and Ohio Education Theater Conference.

She holds a BA in the arts (The University of Toledo, 2000).

Kerry Trautman lives in Northwest Ohio, where she is involved in local community theater, and she travels to NYC several times each year to see shows. She has served annually as judge for the NW region of Ohio’s “Poetry Out Loud” competition since 2016. In 2025 her one-act play “Mass” received a staged reading as a winner of The Toledo Repertoire Theater’s “Toledo Voices” competition. Her books are Things That Come in Boxes (King Craft Press 2012,) To Have Hoped (Finishing Line Press 2015,) Artifacts (NightBallet Press 2017,) To be Nonchalantly Alive (Kelsay Books 2020,) Marilyn: Self-Portrait, Oil on Canvas (Gutter Snob Books 2022,) Unknowable Things (Roadside Press 2022,) Irregulars (Stanchion Books 2023,) Things to Say When You Have Nothing to Say (Roadside Press 2026,) and Days of Bees (Dancing Girl Press 2026.)

Patti L. Kullman is a written-content creator and unapologetic musical theater fangirl based in Northeast Ohio.  She was introduced to musical theater by her grandmother via Rogers & Hammerstein at a very young age.  A former theater major and self-described “theater kid who never really grew out of it,” Patti brings a deep love of storytelling, performance, and visual artistry to her writing.

While musical theater is her first love, Patti is especially fascinated by the ways lighting, staging, costuming, and vocal inflection shape audience experience.  With a background in acting, she enjoys analyzing the subtle performance choices that transform words on a page into living, breathing human stories onstage.

Patti co-hosts The Ladies Bridgerton podcast, where she leads content creation for the YouTube channel and writes the publication’s quarterly society papers for Patreon members. After spending more than 20 years in the corporate world, she recently returned to creative work to reconnect with the analytical and artistic voice she missed most.

An avid supporter of the Northeast Ohio arts scene, Patti regularly attends productions at Playhouse Square, EJ Thomas Hall, Akron Civic Theatre, and The Renaissance Theater in Mansfield.  One of her most treasured theater memories remains seeing the opening leg of the national tour of RENT from the fourth row orchestra where original Broadway stars Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp reprised their roles of Roger and Mark.

Roy Berko, a life-long Clevelander, holds degrees, through the doctorate from Kent State, University of Michigan and Case--WesternReserve/The Pennsylvania State University. Roy was an actor for many years, appearing in more than 16 plays, 8 TV commercials, and 3 films. He has directed more than 30 productions. A member of the American Critics Association and The Cleveland Critics Circle, he has been an entertainment reviewer for more than fifty years. For three years he was a regular on Channel 5, ABC-Cleveland's "Morning Exchange" and "Live on 5," serving as the stations communication consultant. He has also appeared on "Good Morning America." Roy served as the Director of Public Relations for the Volunteer Office in the White House during the first Clinton Administration. He was a professor of communication and psychology who taught at George Washington University, University of Maryland, Notre Dame College of Ohio, Towson University. and Lorain County Community College. Roy is the author of 38 books. He was selected by Cleveland Magazine as one of the most interesting people in Cleveland.  He was named the outstanding theater reviewer in the Midwest and one of the top ten reviewers in the country by Broadwayworld.  He was also recognized by Google as one of the most important and influential arts journalists/critics in the United States.

A former dancer turned arts writer and critic living in Cleveland, Ohio, Steve performed classical and modern works during his dance career, sharing the stage with noted dancers Robert LaFosse, Antonia Franceschi, Stacy Caddell, Joseph Duell, Robert Wallace, Sandra Brown, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Steve has a degree in Communications from The Pennsylvania State University and is Chairman Emeritus of the Dance Critics Association, an international association of dance journalists.

His writing credits include articles and reviews on dance and the arts for over twenty regional, national, and international publications, including The Plain Dealer (Cleveland), Dance Magazine (New York), Pointe Magazine (New York), Dance International (Vancouver), Broadway World (New York), Fjord Review (Toronto), DanceTabs (London), and CriticalDance (Seattle).

Steve was also an Associate Editor at ExploreDance.com and is the creator of the arts website artsair.art and the Facebook groups Arts Air NE Ohio - Dance Community Hub and Arts Air Dance Ohio.