Our writing Team

Erim (she/her) is a North Carolina writer and entertainer. She won her first writing contest at age 16, then won a poetry competition at age 19 and has continued publishing essays and articles ever since. She enjoys performance arts of all kinds, focusing on arts events and local festivals for Chatham Life & Style. She volunteers at local festivals and artist-supporting organizations like Triangle Artworks. Erim began writing for Chatham Life & Style in 2019.

Dustin (he/they) holds a Master of Arts in Education from East Carolina University and has worked as a theatre maker in the triangle for more than twenty years as a director, actor, stage manager, playwright, producer, designer, and teacher. He specializes in student, community, and professional theatre, dance, cinema, music, and comedy as well as arts accessibility and queer politics. Dustin is a script reader for the National Playwrights Conference and adjudicates festivals and student productions regularly. He is a jury member at the Nevermore Film Festival, and sits on the boards of the OutSouth Queer Film Festival and the Durham Art Guild. His writing has appeared in Indy Week, Carolina Parent, Pedal Fuzz, and Chatham Life & Style, where he has written since its founding in 2018.

Philip (he/they) is a long-time resident of North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he studied Dramatic Art and Music with a concentration in vocal performance. He also attended the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio, where he specialized in Baroque opera and dance. He continues to perform in the area with notable previous performances with the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle and UNC Baroque Ensemble. He primarily writes about opera and classical music performance, but he also contributes to writing about a wide variety of theatre styles. Philip began writing for Chatham Life & Style in 2019.

Emory (he/him) is 11 years old and in 5th grade. His mom, staff writer Rachel Kasten, took him to his first opera at age 2, and they’ve been attending shows together ever since. He loves musicals and is a proud Cub Scout. Emory enjoys writing stories, hoping one day to publish a book. He writes as half of Chatham Life & Style’s Mom & Son writing team, which reports on educational experiences and family arts events. Emory began writing for Chatham Life & Style in 2019.

Rachel (she/her) is a producer, writer, and community organizer serving as Graduate Program Coordinator for the PhD in Geospatial Analytics at NC State University. She co-founded Cutler Bay Community Theatre in Miami, FL and served on the board of the National Women’s Theatre Festival. Rachel has previously published pieces for national publications on topics including infertility, feminism, and dismantling white supremacy. She writes as one half of Chatham Life & Style’s Mom & Son team, which reports on educational experiences and family arts events. Rachel began writing for Chatham Life & Style in 2019.

Lauren (she/her) has lived in the triangle for close to a decade and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned Bachelor's degrees in Music and Communications. She is a classically trained lyric soprano, but sings and has performed both opera and musical theatre. Lauren is the associate music director of a church, and was previously a voice teacher for four years. She covers a variety of performing arts for Chatham Life & Style, where she has been writing since 2019.

Naveed (he/him) is a British-born Pakistani and makes his home in North Carolina as an IT Business Development professional. An actor, producer, and photographer, Naveed volunteers with the American Friends Service Committee on issues of social justice and peacebuilding and serves on the Board of Directors for Raleigh-based Bare Theatre. Naveed reports on theatre and musical performance and is a photographer at www.fractalsedge.net. Naveed began writing for Chatham Life & Style in 2019.

Germôna (she/her) is a vocalist, actress, and writer originally from Pittsburgh, PA. She currently resides in Charlotte, NC and has appeared in many film and theatre productions in and around North Carolina. Germôna began writing for Chatham Life & Style in 2019.

Serayah (they/them) is an artist, writer, and dramaturg living in Durham, North Carolina. They hold a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction and Screenwriting from Queens University of Charlotte and serves as the Literary Manager and In-House Dramaturg for MOJOAA Performing Arts. Serayah's passion lies in building engaging worlds by telling resonant stories as well as encouraging and equipping Black Queer Southern Artists to do the same. They write to fund their painting, and radical rest. Their goal in life is to always be engaged in the experience of making, doing, and being Art. Serayah began writing for Chatham Life & Style in 2022.

Destiny (she/her) is a Black and Indigenous 20-year-old Femme who is a direct lineal descendant of North Carolina’s free people of color--families who originally lived in a tribal community along with enslaved African ancestors. On stage she performs as an actress and singer. Behind the scenes she works in stage management and theatre tech. In addition to being active as a performer and crew member, she is a writer and advocate for inclusivity and accessibility in the arts. Destiny began writing for Chatham Life & Style in 2020.

Byron (he/him) has served the Triangle’s live arts communities of practice as an award-winning critic and journalist for 26 years, with over 1,900 stories published – so far – in INDY Week, the News & Observer, Citysearch.com, and national publications including Back Stage, Dance Magazine, Downbeat, Howlround.com, InTheater and The Village Voice. He began contributing to Chatham Life & Style in 2021.