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Nicole Hodges Persley is the Associate Artistic Director of the KC Meltingpot Theatre. She is a transplant to Kansas City from Los Angeles, California. Hodges Persley has directed shows at renown venues including P.S. 122 in New York, Highways Performance Space in Los Angeles and now Just Off Broadway Theatre in Kansas City. Her local directing credits include critically acclaimed productions of A Raisin in the Sun, Welcome to Arroyo’s, Sister Cities, and A Comedy of Sorrows. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre at The University of Kansas with a forthcoming book in 2017 on Hip-hop Theater entitled Sampling and Remixing Hip-hop in Contemporary Theater and Performance. Please join us in November 2016 for her production of Angelina Grimke’s Rachel and in February 2017 for Leroi Jones’ The Dutchman.
Warren Deckert, Technical Director/Designer -- Warren’s 45 years of theatre experience include being the Artistic/Technical Director for Great Bend Community Theatre, technical director/designer for the Bethel College Drama Department and union membership in I.A.T.S.E., Local 190, Wichita, KS. He has designed the lighting and/or sets for over 170 productions. Currently he is an assistant house manager for Kansas City Repertory Theatre, the resident technical director/designer for KC MeltingPot Theatre and technical director for Just Off Broadway Theatre. In Kansas City he has directed Bernice At Bay/The Butterfly Effect, Gidion’s Knot, and “Sue Aside...” (KC Fringe Festival), Waiting To Be Invited and The Taste Test (co-productions with KC MeltingPot).
Shawna Downing, As a professional performance artist, Shawna has worked with a variety of prominent KC theatre companies: the Coterie Theatre, KC Melting Pot Theatre, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Theatre for Young America, & Egads! Theatre Company.
Shawna is a teaching artist with the Coterie Theatre and the KC Black Repertory Theatre; as well as a peer educator with the Dramatic Health Education Project. She’s a co-director of education & community programs with KC Melting Pot Theatre and is signed with Exposure Model and Talent agency.
Shawna loves to spend her time, energy and free spirit being an educator, laughing, eating and giving back. She lives to create and perform quality work that has the ability to inspire, entertain and educate.
She would like to thank Nicole, Linda, and Harvey for the guidance, and her friends and family for their love and support.
Aishah Ogbeh (Reatha) – is a student at UMKC, studying Theatre and Clack Studies. She has performed in quite a few plays such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Titania, Seven Guitars as Louise, The Cover of Life as Sybil, A Letter to the Black as Chanel, Echoes of Octavia as Octavia, and The Wizard of Oz as The Wicked Witch of the West.
Aishah plans to move to California after graduating to fulfill her destiny of being a phenomenal actress and role model.
Lewis Morrow, is a native of Kansas City, KS who has written and appeared in one-off productions since 2013, most recently "Between Us" in March of this year. He is extremely excited to share the stage with this talented cast in a play with such a rich history and enduring relevance. Lewis would especially like to think Mr. And Mrs. Williams and KC Melting Pot for this incredible opportunity as well as those who have continued to support his acting and writing endeavors.
Angelina Grimke’s anti-lynching play Rachel is one of the first plays written by an African American woman to be produced for the stage. Produced by the NAACP in March 1916 and published in 1920, Rachel tells the story of Rachel Loving, a hopeful young woman coming of age who imagines a life helping others and raising a family. Rachel’s life is never the same after she discovers the devastating effects of racism on the children she cares for and the truth about the deaths of her late father and brother.
Sam Salary, is a Kansas City native, who found his love for theatre performing in church plays at an early age. His love for theatre and acting followed him to the stages of state fair community collage as well as north west Missouri state university. Sam made his professional debut at the unicorn theatre in 2014 in the production of Hands on a hardbody. Since then he has been in August Wilson Jitney at the Kansas City metropolitan theatre, the Christmas carol at the Kansas City repertory theater as well as a goat song at the Westport Center of the Arts, Parade at the MET, he was also apart of the first production put on by the black repertory theater dream girls in concert. Sam Salary would like to thank the Kansas City Melting Pot theatre for allowing to him to continue to express his love for the art.
Lynn King is a proud Kansas City native and has appeared onstage for Theatre for Young America, InPlay Theatre Co., Coterie Theatre, New Theatre Restaurant, KC Repertory Theatre, The Unicorn Theatre, JCCC and UMKC Theatre Depts. (her alma mater), and with the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre. She has previously performed with KC MeltingPot in productions of The Session, Waiting To Be Invited, Old School Ghetto Gospel, and JFK - A Ghostly Evening. Lynn is proud to have been honored with a Best in KC award for acting and has appeared in several film projects including the recently released JAYHAWKERS directed by Kevin Willmott.
A special thanks to Nicole, Harvey, Linda and this incredibly talented cast. Thanks too, to Dennis and to my family for their love and support. Lynn feels truly blessed and deeply grateful for the opportunity to do what she loves most.
