Derek Crosby (he/him) is an actor and theater maker based in the New York/New Jersey metro area. He is an actor, deviser, drummer, beatboxer, gym enthusiast, sometimes-playwright/poet, first-time producer, and he has a knack for theatrical movement performance. His philosophy around artmaking exits fluidly through new perspective and experience, and he finds himself committed to the chaos of never quite “knowing the answer”, because.... That’s probably not the most fun choice. That said, there is consistency in his desire to center, create, and uplift work surrounding identity, transparency, community, mirth, and accessibility. Recent theatrical credits include national tours centering theater for young audiences in both the United States and in Germany. These experiences saw Derek befriending a dog puppet named Snuffles, rambling incessantly about climate advocacy, and doing his best to disturb German teenagers with his work in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When not doing any of those things, Derek enjoys reading, hiking, traveling, testing his geography skills (which are quite sharp, mind you), whipping the frisbee, and long winded Wikipedia rabbit holes. Interesting, isn’t it?

Tyler Crosby is a theater/film director, producer, actor, and deviser from New Jersey. As an artist and creator, he values collaboration, experimentation, and forging new things into existence. Original devised/directed works include Bleeding Profusely from the Mouth (Super Secret Arts), Live! From the Murder Room (Dixon Place), 99 Party Games for the Apocalypse (The Secret Theatre), and No Visitors Beyond this Point (Escape Room Center NJ). On screen, Crosby currently directs the show Samurai: Street Warrior for the ESR gaming network. He has also directed two episodes for the INSIDE docuseries on ESR. His short films Getting There, Gently Down, and Writer’s Block have been featured in the Tokyo International Short, Madrid International, Los Angeles Indie, Rome International Short, Barcelona Planet, Palermo International, Gully International, Greenville Independent, Titan International, Big Apple, Coney Island, Festival Mental - Mental Health Arts, Indie Street, Bicycle, Toronto Indie Filmmakers, Global Shorts, Vegas Shorts, Lambertville Halloween, and ProjectFX Film Festivals, among others. He has also directed three music videos for MOZIAH and the debut music video for the heavy metal band Desolation. As an actor, Crosby currently portrays the eccentric gaming expert Samurai on several programs for ESR (Samurai: Street Warrior, Next Level Play, INSIDE, etc.). On stage, previous acting credits include George Reissfelder/Myles Connor in Art Heist (Right Angle Entertainment) and Edgar in Lear’s Nightmare (Shake on the Lake). In addition to Men in Shorts, his projects this year include an anthology horror film and Season 2 of Samurai: Street Warrior. When he isn’t compulsively creating art, Crosby can be found voraciously consuming pop culture, patronizing New York’s bakeries, drinking black tea, and rooting for the New York Mets.

Joey (they/them) likes men and is short. Joey is reaaaaallly far away. The Philippines, actually. But thanks to the magic of high-speed internet and the blind trust of longtime friend and college thesis partner Derek, Joey made some sounds for Men in Shorts (collaborate with overseas artists!). Joey is a performer, musician, music producer, and a delightful menace. Since graduating from Boston University School of Theatre and working with Pomegranate Arts and Taylor Mac, Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston (AATAB), and Sanguine Theatre Company, Joey now scandalizes Manila as a host producer, director, and Boylesque performer for Burlesque PH, under the name Levity. Joey creates beep boops for aerial performers as well as for themselves. More vibrations soon. @levityjoey soundcloud.com/levitylevitylevity