G. Riley Mills & Willie Round
About
G. Riley Mills is an Emmy Award-winning producer and writer based in Chicago. His musical, The Hundred Dresses (co-written with Grammy-nominee Ralph Covert), premiered Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre Company in New York City. His play, Lift Every Voice (co-written with Willie Round) won the 2022 Distinguished Play Award from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education and was published by Dramatic Publishing. He has twice won the Jeff Award for Best New Work for his plays Sawdust and Spangles and Streeterville (co-written with Covert), and in 2022, won his third Emmy for The Lost Story of Emmett Till: Then and Now (co-written with Round). He is a producer on the feature film Blood Shine which was just acquired by Dark Sky Films. grileymills.com.
Willie Round is a Chicago-born playwright, filmmaker, hip hop artist, published author, and creative entrepreneur from the West Side of Chicago and the founder of MUD LIFE Entertainment, an initiative dedicated to motivating urban communities through storytelling and the arts. A graduate of Central State University with a degree in Mass Communications, Willie has built a dynamic career across theater, film, music, radio and television. He is an Emmy Award-winning co-creator of Trial in the Delta: The Murder Story of Emmett Till, produced in collaboration with Collaboraction Theatre Company and NBC. His original works, including The Lawndale King and Mud Life, highlight powerful narratives rooted in the Black experience, community history and social impact. As a published author, Willie contributed to Lift Every Voice, further expanding his voice into literature. As a hip hop artist, performing under the name Prince Roc (MudLife Roc), he has opened for Grammy Award-winning artists Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane, using music as another extension of his storytelling blending raw authenticity with messages of growth, resilience and purpose. Through MUD LIFE Entertainment, Willie continues to develop bold, purpose-driven content while creating opportunities for emerging artists and underserved communities.
