Roohallah Mobarez, Storyteller & Show co-producer

Roohallah Mobarez, driven by his own experience of incarceration, has dedicated himself to providing a platform for incarcerated artists. Finding solace in art, he witnessed its transformative power firsthand. Through pioneering art shows, Roohallah showcases the extraordinary talent of incarcerated artists and offers them dignified opportunities to share their life experiences. His past work has garnered media recognition, distinguishing him as an advocate who upholds integrity and refuses to exploit incarcerated artists.

With a mission to challenge stereotypes and promote inclusivity, he is reshaping the narrative around incarceration and empowering artists to reclaim their stories. Embark on an artistic journey of social change through the transformative power of art, the 6th love language. 

Ashley Furst, storyteller

Ashley is currently the Director of Marketing for Breakthrough, a 501c3 organization based in Denver, CO that prides itself in transforming the lives of people with criminal histories and the community’s perception of the incarcerated population.

Prior to this role, she was the Senior Program Manager for Employment Opportunities at the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ). She worked on the award-winning Unlock Potential hiring program, bringing in businesses to support hiring from the Opportunity Youth population, as well as Second Chance Hiring. During her time at RBIJ, she also published a “roadmap” designed to drive the adoption of Second Chance Hiring within businesses entitled “Hiring Justice-Involved Talent; Practical Steps to Becoming a Second Chance Employer.”

As an individual who justice-involved, Ashley believes in creating meaningful and sustainable employment opportunities for other justice-involved individuals, and programs in prison that help shift the cultural perspective on individuals who are, or have been, incarcerated. She has spent over 10 years in the Marketing & Communications world working for non-profits in a variety of industries. Ashley also holds an MS in Marketing from Johns Hopkins University and a BS in English from Towson University.

David Coleman, storyteller

David Coleman was honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corp. He is currently Program Manager for Support Services at the Second Chance Center in Aurora Colorado and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Psychology from Regis University. He is a Mentor and Recovery Coach, trained at the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery, and an Instructor for the acclaimed leadership course 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

David is dedicated to assisting men and women as returning citizens back to the community after incarceration. Faith, Family and Service are values that give him a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life. Spending time with family and his granddaughters is his greatest joy. He believes relationships are the most important things he has.  The quality of those connections and support is key to lasting change in his life.

Silen Wellington, Composer

Silen Wellington (they/he) is a sculptor of sound, artist of people, storyteller, witch, genderqueer shapeshifter, mercurial name collector, and lover, among other things. Avidly interdisciplinary, they like to combine music with other art mediums, be that spoken word, visual art, ritual performance, loud and fiery eye contact, otherworldly and melting trysts, or something else entirely. They were a 2022-2023 American Opera Initiative composer with Washington National Opera for a production at the Kennedy Center. In 2022, they were Bouman Fellow with the composer collective Kinds of Kings and in 2019, they were the SEAMUS Allen Strange Award recipient. Internationally performed from Hyderabad, India to Invercargill, Aotearoa New Zealand, their work has won competitions & commissions from ensembles such as Ars Nova Singers, Denver’s Playground Ensemble, Resonance Women’s Chorus, and Phoenix: Colorado’s Transgender Community Choir. They have participated in residencies and festivals such as Virginia Center for the Creative Arts & Connecticut Summerfest. Besides writing music, they enjoy writing poetry, harvesting stories, unhinged-unfettered-unapologetic dance, and falling in love.

Conrad Kehn, Composer

Conrad Kehn is a composer, performer, educator, and arts administrator. He is the founding Director of The Playground; a chamber ensemble dedicated to modern music.

An award-winning composer, his output includes contemporary and traditional chamber music, multi-media works, and popular music. His work lives comfortably in the concert hall, gallery, club and underground DIY warehouse. As a vocalist, Conrad specializes in electronic music, improvisation, and contemporary chamber music.

An advocate for arts education, Conrad is lead teaching artist and administrator for Young Composers Playground. His efforts are responsible for the creation and recording or over 50 new K12 chamber works annually. He is also the Director of the Lamont Summer Academy, a 2-week live-on-campus summer music camp for 14-18 year old musicians.

In addition to performing Conrad maintains an active schedule of speaking engagements and master classes sharing his experience in musical entrepreneurship, chamber ensemble management, music technology, composition, and creativity in the K12 music curriculum. He recently accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Music and Recording Arts at the Community College of Denver. More information, scores, videos and recordings can be found at www.conradkehn.com

Ryan Fiegl, Composer

Ryan Fiegl is a guitarist/composer/arranger and educator from and currently based in Denver.

His compositions and scoring are rooted in sparse minimalistic textures and immersive soundscapes using synthesizers, electronics, guitars, and other acoustic instruments.

For over a decade, Ryan has been an active member of The Playground Ensemble as a composer, performer, and an educator. He is a collaborator with the immersive theater and dance collective Control Group Productions and has been a long time contributor to Chadzilla’s Anonymonkey, The Bret Sexton Quartet, and also regularly works with longtime friend and mentor William Hill.

Ryan currently serves as faculty at The University of Denver, Regis University, and The Community College of Denver and was formally educated at Metro State University and The University of Denver in guitar performance and composition.