Respite Theater offers momentary shelter from the storm through theater, comedy, music and community.

Peter Gwinn (President) won two Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards as a writer for The Colbert Report, and wrote for the Amazon series Alpha House. He co-wrote (with Bobby Mort) the Christmas Carol homage Twist Your Dickens, which has run for six years in seven cities, including the Goodman Theater in Chicago and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. He has written three musicals: The Story of a Story (The Untold Story) (Underscore Theater, Chicago); Moulin Scrooge! (iO Theater, Chicago & WreckingBall Theater, Denver) and Listen, Kid! (UCB Theater, NYC; iO Theater, Chicago). He is the founder of Baby Wants Candy, a comedy troupe that creates fully improvised hour-long musicals, which was a New York Times Critic’s Pick and has sold out multiple runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He currently writes for the NPR comedy news quiz Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.

Bobby Mort (Treasurer) is an Emmy and WGA award-winning writer for his work on The Colbert Report. He's also the co-creator and showrunner of the series Loudermilk, which is currently enjoying a resurgence on Netflix. His first TV writing gig was for the Bozo the Clown Super Sunday Show, which involved devising a variety of ways to hit people in the face with pies. Besides his work in television, Bobby's the screenwriter behind the feature films Circle of Pain, Beatdown, and Scorched Earth. He’s also the co-author (with Peter Gwinn) of Second City’s Twist Your Dickens, which has had successful runs at venues including L.A.'s Kirk Douglas Theater, Chicago’s Goodman Theater and The Kennedy Center Theater in D.C.

Jody Shelton (Secretary) is a music producer, composer, director, and musician based in New York City. He has contributed music and production to Sesame Street (HBO), The President Show (Comedy Central), and The Break with Michelle Wolf (Netflix), and wrote lyrics and voiced the narrator and Zombie Captain America for Marvel’s What The…  Jody wrote the music and lyrics for 50 Shades! The Musical Parody, The Story of a Story (The Untold Story) (Jeff Award Nominee), and Star Wars: The Farce Awakens, and arranged and orchestrated House on Fire and The Village of Vale at Lincoln Center. He has produced music for podcasts including Sunstorm, Thank You for Coming Out, and Peloton: Fitness Flipped. As a director and musical director, Jody has worked with a wide range of artists, shows, and theater companies, including Jeff Hiller, Baby Wants Candy, Your Love, Our Musical, North Coast, and The Second City.