Broke-ology

MELVIN ABSTON (William King) (He/Him) KCRep: debut. Broadway: Purlie Victorious, Death of a Salesman, Skittles Commercial The Broadway Musical and Sister Act The Musical. National Tours: The Little Mermaid, Sister Act the Musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and The Lion King. Regional: Broke-ology (B Street Theatre); ABCD (Barrington Stage Company); Toni Stone, Spunk (Roundabout Theatre); The Color Purple (Drury Lane); Animal Farm (Baltimore Center Stage/Milwaukee Rep); All The Way (ZACH Theatre); Memphis (La Jolla Playhouse/5th Avenue Theatre); Let Me Live, The Amen Corner (Goodman Theatre). Film/TV: Law & Order: SVU, Blue Bloods, Gotham, Weeds, Awake, Raising Hope, Grey’s Anatomy, ER, Early Edition, Solace and Chastity Bites. Awards: Winner: Austin Critics Table Award-Best Supporting Actor for All The Way; Central Texas Excellence in Theatre Award-Best Supporting Actor for All The Way; 5th Ave Theatre Subscriber Choice Award-Outstanding Male Actor in a Featured Role for The Little Mermaid; BTAA-Best Featured Actor in a Musical for The Color Purple. Member, SAG/AFTRA.
AEA Member

ROBERT COPPAGE III (Ennis King) (He/Him) KCRep: Peter Pan & Wendy. Local: Toni Stone (Unicorn Theatre); Grapes of Wrath (Arts Asylum); We Shall Not Be Moved (The Coterie); A Raisin in the Sun, Two Trains Running (KC Melting Pot Theatre); Fair Ball (Theatre for Young America); Trouble In Mind (Kansas City Actors Theatre). Film: The Devil Comes to Kansas City (Tubi), Deadlock (Tubi), The Unseen (Amazon Prime), Winterset (TBA), Rise & Shine (TBA). Television: Love at First Bite (HSTV), Family Feud (CBS). Instagram: @robertecoppageiii tribeuniversity.org AEA Member

RAFFEAL SEARS (Malcolm King) (He/Him) KCRep: debut. Local: Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (The Coterie). Regional: Twelfth Night (Yale Repertory Theatre); Amazing the Change (Atlantic Theater Company); A Christmas Carol (St. Louis Rep); The African Company Presents Richard III, Twelfth Night (Great River Shakespeare Festival); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cymbeline (Illinois Shakespeare Festival); Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea, The Grapes of Wrath (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). Voiceover: Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Rockstar Games). Television: Chicago Fire (NBC). Awards: Shozo Sato: Excellence in Performance Award Recipient. Education: MFA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; BS, Belmont University. Instagram: @raffeal.sears, raffealsears.com AEA Member

TEONNA WESLEY (Sonia King) (She/Her) KCRep: the ripple, the wave that carried me home (Understudy/Janice), The Royale, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, A Christmas Carol. Local: Honky!, The Colored Museum (The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City); Tomorrow Inshallah (The Living Room Theatre); Regional: Steel Magnolias, Cinderella, The Royale, Mountain Octopus (Creede Repertory Theatre). Education: New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. @Tefamous AEA Member

UNDERSTUDIES

ASHLEY BOWEN (Sonia King Understudy) (She/They) KCRep: A Christmas Carol, Cyrano de Bergerac u/s. Local: Not I, Fixing King John, The 39 Steps, Thinner than Water (UMKC Theatre). Regional: War of the Roses- Part II: Curses & Queens, The Tempest (Advice to the Players); Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hoosier Shakespeare Festival); Tamale Season (workshop at KC Public Theatre); As You Like It, Imbroglio, The African Company Presents Richard III, Twelfth Night, Romeo & Juliet, Romeo & Juliet podcast, The Tempest u/s (Great River Shakespeare Festival); The Session u/s (KC Melting Pot); The Battlefields of Clara Barton (workshop at Zach Theatre). Playwriting: Smile, You’re on Camera (staged reading at KC Public Theatre). Education: BA in Government, BA in Theatre & Dance with an emphasis in Performer’s Process, University of Texas at Austin; MFA in Acting & Directing, University of Missouri- Kansas City. Instagram: @teao3 ashbowen.com

CAMERON FERGUSON (William King Understudy) (He/Him) KCRep: debut. Regional: All the Rage, Oscar and Felix (Playhouse West). International: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Universal Studios Japan). TV/Film: The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS). Education: MBA, MS Marketing and MA Arts Administration, University of Cincinnati; BM in Vocal Arts, University of Southern California. Upcoming: Turandot (Lyric Opera of Kansas City). Affiliations: SAG-AFTRA, AGMA. AEA Member

VAUGHAN W. HARRISON (Malcolm King Understudy) (He/Him) KCRep: debut. KCRep: debut. Local: Hip Hop Cinderella, Thoughts of a Colored Man, Blues in The Night (Black Rep KC); Sweeney Todd, Secret Garden (Music Theater Heritage); Parade (Metropolitan Ensemble Theater). Awards: The Kansas City Pitch – Best Debut for Parade. Upcoming: Thoughts of a Colored Man Reprisal (Black Rep KC). Instagram: @ImagineerVaughan

SHANE ST. JAMES (Ennis King Understudy) (He/Him) KCRep: debut. Local: Christmas Ain’t A Drag (The Black Box Kansas City); The Disappointments (Kansas City Public Theatre); Joseph…Dreamcoat (Theatre Atchison Pro); Porgy and Bess, It’s A Wonderful Life: Radio, Gypsy (Music Theater Heritage); Beautiful: Carole King, Rocky: The Musical (MTKC Pro), Oliver!, Judgement at Nuremberg (Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre); Ragtime: Concert (The Barn Players); Bright Star, Sweeney Todd (STG); Kinky Boots, The Addams Family (The White Theatre); Clue: On Stage (Encore Theatre); Disney Descendants (TTIP); and more. TV/Commerical: Rally House (Rally House, Inc.); T-Mobile (Panay Films, Inc.); 2023 NFL Draft Featured Documentary (NFL Productions). Affiliations: Moxie Talent Agency (KC); TalentPlus (StL). @stshanejames

NATHAN LOUIS JACKSON (Playwright) Nathan Louis Jackson was an alum of Kansas City Kansas Community College and Kansas State University. He received the Lila Acheson Wallace fellowship and did his graduate work at The Juilliard School. His plays include Broke-ology (Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival and Lincoln Center), When I Come to Die (Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Lincoln Center), Sticky Traps, Brother Toad (Kansas City Repertory Theatre), The Mancherios, and The Last Black Play. Jackson received commissions from Lincoln Center, The Roundabout Theater Company, and Manhattan Theatre Club. At Kansas State University, he was actively involved with the Ebony Theatre (as a director and as president) and participated in The Kennedy Center Summer Playwriting Intensive. Jackson twice won the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, was the recipient of the Mark Twain Comedy Playwriting Award, and was awarded the Kennedy Center’s Gold Medallion. Jackson wrote for television as well, with credits for Southland (NBC), Shameless (Showtime), Luke Cage (Netflix), and 13 Reasons Why (Netflix), and for the film, Genius: Aretha. Nathan was an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Artist-in-Residence at Kansas City Repertory Theatre for six years.

FRANCOIS BATTISTE (Director) (He/Him) Other Directing Credits include: Broke-ology (B-Street Theater Company), Hospice (Illinois State University). Acting Credits: Broadway: Bronx Bombers (Circle in the Square), Prelude to a Kiss (Roundabout), Magic/Bird (Longacre) directed by Tommy Kail. Off-Broadway: The Merchant of Venice w/ Al Pacino, and The Winter’s Tale w/ Jesse Tyler Furgeson in Shakespeare in the Park. Francois won the OBIE Award for his performance in The Good Negro at the Public Theater. World premiere of Broke-ology w/ Wendell Pierce (Lincoln Center), Head of Passes w/ Phylicia Rashad (Mark Taper), Dominique Morriseu’s Paradise Blue (Signature Theater), and Detroit ’67 (The Public). Francois received the 2023 Best Leading Actor AUDELCO award for Walter Lee Younger in A Raisin in the Sun at The Public Theater, where he appeared alongside his then ten-year-old son, Toussaint F. Battiste, who was making his stage debut as Travis Younger. Raisin’ received the 2023 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Revival, and was directed by the TONY-nominated director Robert O’ Hara. Last season he originated the role of Colonel Jock Martin in the World Premiere of Here We Are, Stephen Sondheim’s final musical, written by David Ives, Directed by Joe Mantello. Malcolm X in the London premiere of One Night in Miami at the Donmar Warehouse, (Olivier nomination). Broadway National Tour: TONY-Award winning production of August Wilson’s Jitney. TV: The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (Showtime); NBC’s Law & Order Organized Crime, and SVU; ABC’s 10 Days in the Valley, Godfather of Harlem (MGM+), New Amsterdam (NBC), Station 19 (ABC), EVIL (CBS), The Family (ABC), The Normal Heart (HBO), Person of Interest (CBS), Are We There Yet? (TBS), and The Good Wife (CBS). Training: Juilliard, BADA at Oxford University, and Illinois State University (ISU College of Fine Art Hall of Fame).

EDWARD E. HAYNES, JR. (Scenic Design) (He/Him) KCRep: debut. Regional: Several projects at The Muny Opera, The Pasadena Playhouse, Laguna Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, Geffen Playhouse, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Mark Taper Forum, Ebony Repertory Theatre Co., South Coast Rep, Kirk Douglas Theatre, Berkeley Rep, East West Players, Hollywood Bowl, Marin Theatre Co., TheatreWorks, Intiman Theatre, Trinity Rep, Pittsburg City Theater, Alley Theatre, Alliance Theatre, and more. Televison: Spring Break (MTV, 2011-2012), Hip Hop Harry, The Tony Rock Project, and Culture Clash. edhaynes.carbonmade.com

JESSICA TEAIRA CRAWFORD (Costume Design) (She/Her) KCRep: debut. Regional: Pippin (SU Drama), Pippin (Weston Playhouse), The Fairy Queen (Manhattan School of Music), Singing In The Rain, Hair (Weston Playhouse), Hamlet (The Public Theater). Associate Design: El Nino, Champion (The Metropolitan Opera), Love Love Love (Studio Theater), Rigoletto (The Atlanta Opera), The Skin Of Our Teeth (Lincoln Center -Broadway). Television: Power (S4), November (The Shed). Education: Syracuse University 2017. Upcoming: Princess Ida (Manhattan School of Music). Instagram: @Jessibaxx, jessicatcrawford.com.

MICHELLE HARVEY (Lighting Design) (She/Her) KCRep: Stillwater, Fire in Dreamland, Lot’s Wife, What Would Crazy Horse Do?, Unreliable. Local: The Glass Menagerie (Musical Theatre Heritage). Regional: ShakesFear, Our Town (Nebraska Repertory Theatre); Dance Nation, POTUS (Bluebarn Theatre); The Wilds (Unreal Collaboration); Limitless (Mirage Theatre, Las Vegas); Presto (The Show Co.); The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, The Merry Widow (Show-Me Opera). Lighting Director/Supervisor: Coal+Ice (Kennedy Center), Rose. Rabbit. Lie. (Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas). Upcoming: Carousel (Musical Theatre Heritage); The Wild Party (Bluebarn Theatre). Education: MFA, University of Nevada-Las Vegas; BFA, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. michelleharveyld.com

JOSHUA NGUYEN (Sound Design) (He/They) KCRep: debut. (Sound Regional: Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors (Dallas Theater Center). Associate Designer: Diary of a Tap Dancer (American Repertory Theater); Clue, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, The Rocky Horror Show (Dallas Theater Center); In the Heights (Cleveland Playhouse); Side by Side by Sondheim (Repertory Theater of St. Louis). Education: BFA, Baylor University. Affiliations: TSDCA, CAATA.
Instagram: @jashngooyen joshuanguyen.net

MELONNIE WALKER (Associate Director/Dramaturg) (She/Her) KCRep: Freedom Rider, Fences. Local: The Colored Museum, Memphis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,How I Learned What I Learned (The Black Repertory Theater of Kansas City); Eclipsed (Unicorn Theatre); Caroline, or Change (Spinning Tree Theatre); Radio Golf, Funnyhouse of a Negro, King Hedley II, For Colored Girls, A Raisin in the Sun,Two Trains Running, The Piano Lesson, Fairview, The Amen Corner, Is God Is, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Seven Guitars (KC Melting Pot Theatre). Education: MA Theatre History, UMKC. Upcoming: Fences (KC Melting Pot Theatre). Affiliations: Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas

TERRACE WYATT, JR. (Assistant Director) (He/Him) KCRep: A Christmas Carol (2014 & 2015), The Royale, Peter Pan & Wendy. Local: Finding Nemo TYA (The Coterie Theatre), Horse Power: Tom Bass’ American Story, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (The Coterie Theatre); The Grapes of Wrath (The Arts Asylum); Boxed (Whim Productions); Is God Is (KC Melting Pot Theatre); Dreamgirls (New Theatre & Restaurant); A Raisin in the Sun (The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City); Smart People (Kansas City Actors Theatre); Toni Stone (The Unicorn Theatre); Titanic: The Musical (Music Theatre Heritage); Something Rotten! (The White Theatre at the J), and many more. Film: Wide Awake Films, Bark Productions, Tech N9ne’s Fatha Fig Ya (FoodFor Thought). Awards: Winner: KC Fringe 2024 – Best of Venue for Black Man, Missouri. Nomination: BroadwayWorld KC – Best Play for Black Man, Missouri. Upcoming: Fences (KC Melting Pot Theatre)
Instagram: @terracewyatt.jr / @terr.studios
Facebook: Terrace Wyatt, Jr. / Terr. Studios

JENISE R. COOK (Intimacy Consultant) (She/Her) KCRep: Twelfth Night. Local: West Side Story, Legally Blonde (Starlight Theatre); Romeo et Juliet (Lyric Opera of Kansas City); Smart People (KCAT); Refuge, Toni Stone (Unicorn Theatre); Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812, Collective Rage, Spilled Milk (Fishtank Theatre); She Kills Monsters, Romeo & Juliet, Stop Kiss (UCM). Regional: One Shot (Cleveland Playhouse: New Ground Festival); The Handmaid’s Tale Opera, Aida (Glow Lyric Theatre). Education: MFA: University of Missouri – Kansas City. Jenisec.com AEA Member

ANDI MEYER (Casting) (She/Her) Based in Osage/Kikapoo/Kansa/Sioux/Otoe Missouria ancestral territory (Kansas City), Andi is an award-winning Kanaka Maoli/Asian American theatre maker/activist, arts educator, and parent. She is the Producing Artistic Director of Tradewind Arts, a boutique arts organization devoted to illuminating, motivating, and amplifying the voice of Native Hawaiian, Oceanic, and Asian American artists. Andi was a 2017-18 Charlotte Street Foundation (CSF) Studio Resident. Her work has been recognized with support from ArtsKC, TCG, Asian Arts Initiative, The Kauffman Foundation, Charlotte Street Foundation, JOCO libraries, InterUrban ArtHouse, and the Dramatists Guild Fund, as well as two NEA award winning projects in partnership with The Coterie Theatre including Hana’s Suitcase and Justice at War. Andi’s directorial credits include Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them for Tradewind Arts; Justice at War at The Coterie; and Nomad Motel and Poor Clare at The Unicorn. She has appeared in productions at The Unicorn Theatre, The New Theatre, The Coterie, The Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Disney’s Spirit of Aloha, with voice and on-camera clients including Hallmark, H&R Block, Sprint, and McDonald’s. AEA Member

ALEX MURPHY (Production Stage Manager) (He/They). KCRep: Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Death of a Salesman, The Tallest Tree in the Forest, The Who and the What, The Santaland Diaries, Angels in America, Sticky Traps. Local: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical, Justice at War (Coterie Theatre); Death and the Maiden, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Blithe Spirit, Skylight, Sea Marks, A Lie of the Mind, And Then There Were None, The Realistic Joneses, My Old Lady, I’m Not Rappaort, At Home at the Zoo, The Gin Game (Kansas City Actors Theatre). Regional: The Prom (First National Tour); The Harder They Come, Romeo and Bernadette, Two’s a Crowd (Off-Broadway); Gem of the Ocean, The Scarlet Letter, Two Sisters and a Piano, Wine in the Wilderness (Two River Theater); American Prophet (Arena Stage); A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story, Still Ready (Actors Theatre of Louisville); How I Learned What I Learned, An Iliad (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival). Education: MFA, University of Missouri– Kansas City. AEA Member

ADDISON PRICE (Assistant Stage Manager) (She/Her) (KCRep: A Christmas Carol (ASM), Twelfth Night (ASM), Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Little Shop of Horrors, What the Constitution Means to Me, The Ripple The Wave that Carried Me Home, A Christmas Carol (Production Assistant), Nina Simone: Four Women, Peter Pan and Wendy (Run Crew), Ghost Light (Event Coordinator) Local: Trouble in Mind, Gaslight, Grand Horizons (ASM, Kansas City Actors Theatre) Alice’s Wonderland (Production Assistant/Deck Manager, The Coterie). Education: BA in Theatre, Kansas State University.

BROADWAY LICENSING GLOBAL (Licensor) Broadway Licensing Global and its family of imprints (Broadway Licensing, Dramatists Play Service, Playscripts, and Stageworks) is the global leader in theatrical licensing and distribution. The iconic works represented epitomize the greatest collection of authors, composers, lyricists, and underlying rights holders across the globe including Stephen King, Alan Menken, Arthur Miller, Lynn Nottage, Elvis Presley, Paula Vogel, Tennessee Williams, the Beatles, the Bee-Gees, and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions. At Broadway Licensing Global, we value diversity and believe our differences are what make us special. We continuously strive to be a culture of belonging for all team members, with the aim to create an environment where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work. As a global company, we recognize the importance of protecting our planet and fostering a sustainable future for the arts and entertainment industry. Our mission is to lead the way in promoting eco-conscious practices while continuing to inspire creativity and innovation. We are dedicated to reducing our environmental footprint and are committed to the responsible management of resources, ensuring that the magic of theater remains sustainable for generations to come.