Jess Akin is beginning his 3rd year M.F.A. candidacy at UMKC. He received a B.A. in performance Magna Cum Laude with honors in major from the University of Houston. He cannot describe how much it means to him to be studying what makes us all human.  His recent performances include the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival’s productions of Romeo and Juliet and Othello, the Coterie Theatre’s In Spite of Thunder: The Macbeth Project, as well as numerous UMKC productions including Noises Off, The Country Wife, and Twelfth Night. In the UMKC Theatre production of Tartuffe, Jess plays Cléante.

TJ Chasteen is a 3rd-year student in UMKC’s professional actor training program where he has been seen in The Country Wife, Quindaro, and Present Laughter amongst others. He plays Peter Patrone in this season’s The Heidi Chronicles. TJ has also been seen about Kansas City in Heart of America Shakespeare’s production of Othello, The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the Unicorn Theatre, and in Midsummer playing the role of Bottom in a self-generated collaborative production with his UMKC fellows.

Patrick Du Laney is delighted to return to the UMKC M.F.A. acting program for his final year! A Native of Arizona, Patrick's university credits include the title role in Tartuffe, Pinchwife in The Country Wife, Garry in Present Laughter, and DJ in the World Premiere of The Secret Lives of Losers.  Local credits include Jud in Oklahoma! for New Theatre Restaurant, Brendan in The Lieutenant of Inishmore for Unicorn Theatre, and Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire for Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre. Proud new member of Actor's Equity!

Julane Havens is from Seattle where she was a competitive gymnast for 10 years. At UMKC she has been seen as Poppy in Noises Off, Vi in Goodnight Children Everywhere, Margery Pinchwife in The Country Wife, Fran, Debbie and Denise in The Heidi Chronicles, and Margarita in the World Premiere of Ron Hutchinson’s The Master and Margarita. Julane has spent the last two summers as a member of Kentucky Shakespeare Festival’s acting company, playing Mariana in Measure for Measure and Marina in Pericles. Other roles include Fan and Martha Cratchit in A Christmas Carol (Kansas City Rep), Lady Macbeth and Witch in The Macbeth Project (Coterie Theatre), and Past, Fan and Belle in the West Coast Premiere of The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge (Taproot Theatre). She received a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of Washington.   

Elana Kepner is in her 3rd-year of the UMKC M.F.A. Acting program where she was seen in The Cure at Troy, Present Laughter and as Mme. Pernelle in Tartuffe. In Kansas City, she appeared in The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the Unicorn, In Spite of Thunder: the Macbeth Project at the Coterie, Translations and Taking Sides with Actor’s Theatre of Kansas City, as well as understudying for Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s productions of King Lear and The Syringa Tree. Elana hails from the San Francisco Bay Area where she played the title role in the US Premier of Ariel for Wilde Irish Productions and Rosalind for the Valley Shakespeare Festival’s As You Like It.

Todd Carlton Lanker is a 3rd-year graduate student at UMKC. Previous UMKC production credits include The Cure at Troy (Neoptolemus), Quindaro (John Brown), Goodnight Children Everywhere (Peter), Noises Off (Garry Lejeune), and The Heidi Chronicles (Scoop Rosenbaum). For the last two summers, he has worked with the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival in Othello (Roderigo) and Romeo and Juliet (Paris).

Ashlee LaPine has worked for three years with the Pioneer Theatre Company.  Most recently she played Helen in Winesburg, Ohio at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, and Emily in Our Town at the nationally recognized Coterie Theatre.  At the Coterie she was also seen as both Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff in The Macbeth Project.  Recent regional work includes Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire  (Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre) and Desdemona in Desdemona; A Play About a Handkerchief (Actors Theatre of KC).  Favorite UMKC roles include Heidi in The Heidi Chronicles, Ann in Goodnight Children Everywhere, Belinda in Noises Off, Daphne in Present Laughter and Portia in The Merchant of Venice.  Other favorite roles: Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Anne in All My Sons, Maria in West Side Story. Her various film/television credits include ABC’s All My Children. 
Email:  kLapine@comcast.net
Website: www.AshleeLapine.com

Anthony Vaughn Merchant is a recent graduate of CSU Stanislaus, where he received his Bachelor’s degree with an acting concentration. He is entering his 3rd year at UMKC. Anthony has performed in a number of shows including Taming of the Shrew, King Lear, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, and The Heidi Chronicles. He played Harry Horner in The Country Wife. He has also performed in Fool for Love, The Mikado, and Extremities and sang with Carol Channing in her Salute to the Arts. He is a member of the Makeshift Militia and was last seen in Kyle Hatley’s Watering the Grave.

Jason Reynolds is a 3rd-year graduate acting student at UMKC. He received his B.F.A. in Acting/Directing from The University of Houston, School of Theatre. Past UMKC productions include: The Country Wife, Quindaro, Noises Off!, Twelfth Night, The Secret Lives of Losers, The Merchant of Venice, and Orgon in Tartuffe. He is also a Resident Teaching Artist at the Coterie Theatre where he teaches clown and acting classes. Previous acting credits include HASF: Romeo & Juliet. The Strand Theatre: Picasso in Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Houston Shakespeare Festival: Hamlet, As You Like It. Houston Children’s Theatre Festival: Snow White, The Wolf and the Foolish Little Kids, The Princess and the Pea.