ARTIST BIOS:



MARCUS WALLER (book writer & lyricist)

Marcus Waller is a born and bred Chicagoan who has a passion for spoken word performing. He has performed his pieces at various venues throughout the Chicagoland area. Most recently one of his works was chosen to be performed at the Goodman Theatre GeNarrations stage. An early outspoken advocate for HIV representation for communities of color, Waller has worked at BEHIV and Regional Care in Joliet, Illinois. A retired U.S. postal worker, he believes that the era that he grew up in, although rife with prejudice, was also one of the most prolific in terms of music, the arts and coming together as a community here in Chicago.





SCOTT FREE (composer & lyricist)

Scott Free is a Chicago-based composer, performer, and live music and theatrical event producer. His first musical, Witches Among Us (book by Rick Karlin) was produced by the New American Folk Theatre at The Call in 2014. His own Campsongs Productions staged his Zombie Bathhouse musical (book by Brian Kirst) at the Center On Halsted's Hoover-Leppen Theatre in 2017. He produced origal cast albums of both of these productions. He has twice been named Outmusician of the Year by the OUTMusic Awards (OMA), in 2005 and 2009. He received two Stonewall Society Pride in the Arts Awards in 2005 - Song of the Year and Producer of the Year in 2005, and Album of the Year in 2009 - and was inducted into the Stonewall Society's GLBT Hall Of Fame. His music videos have appeared on the national cable stations BET and LOGO. He has appeared in the national magazines The Advocate and OUT magazine. His 2008 release 'Pink Album (A Pop Opera)' was the #1 CD of 2009 at Outvoice.net. He hosted the LGBT performance series ‘Homolatte‘ from 2000 to 2020, and the annual ‘ALT Q‘ LGBT music festival from 2000 to 2012, both in Chicago. In 2010 he was inducted into the City of Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.





DION WALTON (director)

Dion Walton is a 69-year-old performing artist from Chicago. He has performed for over 50 years, nationally and has been a writer for 30 years. He is currently working on his autobiography, entitled "The Happening." Dion is also a 20-year veteran of 2nd Story where he is a writer, reader, and director. He is a 30-year veteran of the Goodman Theater's GeNarrations Program. He also worked at the Center on Halsted for 2 years where he helped inspire some of Chicago's gay homeless youth of color by creating and directing the Queer Cabaret program. He performed in Palliative Neglect: The World Spelled Backwards, a dance performance piece about navigating the health system with HIV. He is a working singer, actor and artist that has presented artwork in galleries throughout the Chicagoland area.