Denise is very excited to return to Amphibian Stage to tell this story. As a Dallas based actress for a little over 30 years, she is proud to say she has performed on almost every theater stage in the metroplex, She is the CEO of Denise Lee Onstage and founder of the Dallas Cabaret Festival and the DLO Cabaret series.. For her one-woman shows ‘Divas of American Music’ and ‘Too Old, Too Fat, Too Black – Songs I’ll Never Sing On Broadway” she was awarded Broadway World Awards for Best Cabaret Performer. She is also the recipient of the Sammons Center for the Arts Cabaret Artist of the Year and multiple Dallas Theater Critic Forum and Dallas Readers Voice Awards.

Lee has also added ‘playwright’ to her list of accomplishments. Her first play ‘Funny, You Don’t Act Like A Negro’ had its World Premiere at the historic Theatre Three in February 2020.

In addition to her career as an Artist, Denise Lee is a fierce Social Justice activist. She established ‘Community Conversation’ through her non-profit organization Visions For Change, Inc. Since 2016, these monthly gatherings have brought people together for respectful, open, honest dialogue in order to heal racial and community tension. VFC also hosts and sponsors Anti-Racist and Diversity Workshops for Arts Organizations, Schools and Corporations. For these efforts, she has received several awards including the Black Tie Dinner’s 2022 Dale Hansen Ally of the Year Award, the 2019 Cathedral of Hope’s Hero of Hope Award. She also serves as the Social Justice Strategist for the Dallas Children’s Theater and is a on the Board of Directors for the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

Denise Jackson is a talented performer from Chicago, IL, with a strong background in Music, Music Theater, and Acting. Four-time contestant on American Idol with successful appearances in the Hollywood rounds. Recipient of the 2018 Irma P Hall Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Nominated for a Regional Broadway Dallas Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and currently nominated for Best Actress in Musical for her role as Celie in the musical The Color Purple for The 2023 Irma P Hall Awards and The 2023 Wilmington Theater Guild Awards.

George Brant’s plays include Grounded, Marie and Rosetta, Into the Breeches!, Elephant’s Graveyard, The Prince of Providence, Tender Age, The Land of Oz, Dark Room, Grizzly Mama, Good on Paper, The Mourners’ Bench, Salvage, Three Voyages of the Lobotomobile, Any Other Name, Defiant, Miracle: A Tragedy,  Ashes, NOK, The Lonesome Hoboes, All Talk, One Hand Clapping, The Royal Historian of Oz, Lovely Letters, Three Men in a Boat, Borglum! The Mount Rushmore Musical, Tights on a Wire and Night of the Mime. 

Brant’s work has been produced internationally by such companies as the Public Theater, The Atlantic Theater Company, Trinity Repertory Company, Cleveland Play House, The Alley Theatre, Studio Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory, City Theatre, Gate Theatre of London, Page 73, Traverse Theatre, Dobama Theatre, and the Disney Channel, among others. 

His plays have been generously developed by the Metropolitan Opera, The Playwrights’ Center, Asolo Rep, McCarter Theatre Center, New Harmony Project, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, WordBRIDGE Playwright’s Lab, InterAct Theatre, Theatre @ Boston Court, Playwright and Director Center of Moscow, Florida Studio Theatre, Contemporary Drama Festival of Hungary, the Hangar Theatre, and Equity Library Theatre, among others.

His scripts have been awarded a Lucille Lortel Award, an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, a Scotsman Fringe First Award, an Off-West End Theatre Award for Best Production, an NNPN Rolling World Premiere, the Smith Prize, the Keene Prize for Literature, a Theatre Netto Festival Prize, a Creative Workforce Fellowship, the David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award from the Kennedy Center and three Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards.  He has received writing fellowships from the James A. Michener Center for Writers, the McCarter Theatre Sallie B. Goodman Artist’s Retreat, the MacDowell Colony, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, the Hermitage Artists’ Retreat and the Blue Mountain Center as well as commissions from the Metropolitan Opera, Trinity Repertory Company, Dobama Theatre and Theatre 4, and Cleveland Play House .

George received his MFA in Writing from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin and is a member of the Dramatists Guild.  He is published by Samuel French, Oberon Books, Fisher Verlage and Smith & Kraus.

Egla Birmingham Hassan is an accomplished director and professor of theatre whose 32-year career at Western Illinois University includes heading the MFA program in directing and helping young theatre artists find their own voice.

Since retiring from her academic endeavors, Egla Hassan has maintained an active theatrical life as a freelance director. Some of her recent productions include The Mountaintop, Sweat, Sweeney Todd, Steel Magnolias, and The Marvelous Wonderettes.

As a director, Egla sees herself as a storyteller whose primary responsibility is to work, in partnership with a design team and the actors, to introduce audiences to characters and ideas that illuminate the human condition.

Hassan is currently a member of the Joseph Jefferson Award Committee in the city of Chicago, where she gets the opportunity to see and comment on a variety of professional theatre productions. She is honored to be a part of Amphibian Stage’s production of Marie and Rosetta.

Steven A. Taylor is a music composer, music director and songwriter who has been recognized for the diversity of his work. His extensive music background enables him to incorporate a wealth of musical genres; jazz, gospel, r&b, classical and modern styles into a theatrical setting: Steven has the gift to bring musical illumination to any theatrical script. Within the DFW metroplex Steven has been the Music Director and Composer for several Theatre productions: “The Color Purple”,“Dreamgirls”,“Southern Boys”,“It Ain’t Nothing But The Blues” and the “Last Stop On Market Street” just to name a few. Some of his most recent film work include Composer for: the Lifetime TV film “A Mother’s Intuition’, two episodes of BET’s “Kingdom Business” Season 2 and the theatrical spectacular, “The Passion Play” which can be seen on several television platforms presently. The gospel classic: ‘‘Hallelujah You’re Worthy” which has been featured on Pharrell’s “Voices of Fire” Netflix Series, is only one of his many noted songs. Steven gives all the honor and praise to God for the masterful script and score that He wrote for him! He is forever grateful to use his gifting, education and experience to educate, entertain and engage all people he is privileged to come in contact with.

Victoria received her Masters in Music in Vocal Performance in 2019 from the University of Denver Lamont School of Music where she received two awards for distinction in her degree and exceptional female recitals. She took a short break from Theatre to welcome her son Peter into the world, and has since Stage Managed Hello, Dolly! and Anne of Green Gables at the Granbury Theatre Company.

Victoria is also a founding member of the organization Opera Nova- a company focused on providing equal main stage performance opportunities to Opera Singers with disabilities.

Victoria would like to thank Amphibian Stage for welcoming her so warmly into their community and would also love to thank her Husband John for always loving and supporting her.

Jasmine is an award-winning designer and interdisciplinary artist based in Dallas, TX. She holds a BFA in Fashion Design from Howard University.

Previous design credits with Amphibian Stage include Egress in 2021. Other design credits include Bread N Gravy (Jubilee Theater), What Fits Inside a Human Heart (Soul Rep Theater), Cadillac Crew (Echo and Soul Rep Theater), I and U (Echo Theater), Natural Shocks (Echo Theater), Is Edward Snowden Single (Second Thought Theater), Moon Man Walk (Jubilee Theater), Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida (Lyric Stage), Travisville (Soul Rep Theater) Winner of the Irma P. Hall Black Theater Award for best costume design.

Professor Trout has been a faculty member at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, IL since 1990. He is the 2024 recipient of the Kemp Award for Teaching Excellence, IWU’s highest teaching honor. He has accomplished over 110 designs in scenery, lighting, costumes and sound for the University and more than 30 designs for professional venues since his appointment. He is a scene design member of United Scenic Artists, the union representing professional theatrical designers, since 1989. His academic designs for The Triumph of Love and an original play, Front, were recognized by Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival, Region III, The Triumph of Love for Meritorious Achievement.

Some professional designs include: Nutcracker and Beauty and the Beast for the Augusta Ballet in Augusta, GA; Die Fledermaus for the Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton, NY; Christmas Carol and The Hardy Boys and many recent mainstage and touring shows for the Lexington Children’s Theatre in Lexington, KY; Stella Lou and Floyd Collins for Heartland Theatre, Normal, IL; and residencies at Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL; University of Wisconsin, Green Bay; and at Dartmouth College, in Hanover NH.

As an architectural designer with The Edwards Design Group he created a new interior for St. Patrick Catholic Church in Decatur, IL. His $1.3m design for the large, 1908 neo-Gothic church, which included furniture, architectural detail, paint scheme, and an architectural lighting design, was one of two chosen for the highest level of award at the Central Illinois Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Biennial Design Awards and was recognized by the City of Decatur Historical and Sites Commission with an Award for Excellence in Architectural Restoration.

Curtis’s proudest achievement is that IWU design and technical graduates move fluidly into internship and staff positions with professional organizations such as: Santa Fe Opera, The Seattle Rep, Utah Music Theatre, Center Stage, Williamstown Theatre Festival, PCPA, The Berkshire Theatre Festival, The Glimmerglass Opera and the Goodman Theatre to name a few.

Recently Curtis proudly celebrated his 8th legal wedding anniversary or his 48th by all the ways that truly count.

Adam Chamberlin (Lighting Designer) is thrilled to be returning to Amphibian Stage Productions. He is the managing director of theatre production and associate professor of lighting and sound design for the Department of Dance and Theatre at the University of North Texas. Previously, he has taught as an assistant professor for the dance department at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is currently serving on the Leadership of the Lighting Commission for the United States Institute for Theatre Technology as awards coordinator and poster session co-coordinator. Previously, he has held the positions of vice-commissioner of special projects and light lab designer. He has designed lighting for companies including The Latin Ballet of Virginia, Shakespeare Dallas, Oklahoma City Rep., One World Theatre, Stage West, K-Dance, Kitchen Dog, and WaterTower Theatre. He was a founding member of Dysfunctional Theatre Company in NYC and Amaranth Contemporary Dance in Richmond, VA. In addition, he is a founding member of the Beyond the Sock Puppetry. He holds an MFA in theatrical design from the University of Texas at Austin.

Darrin Kobetich grew up listening to a lot of music from his Dad’s record collection(Chuck Berry to Bluegrass to Ventures to Zorba The Greek and everything in between). His musical journey started out with four chords he learned from his father at age 12…. Soon he was hooked on The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Rush, Hendrix etc. Moving to Weatherford, Texas, in 1980 Darrin formed his first real band, an instrumental power trio, a year later. Inspired by German guitar phenomena Uli Jon Roth and Michael Schenker, he honed his chops playing covers and experimenting with improvisation. Spent a few years in various metal bands before joining the New Orleans-born thrash metal outfit. Hammer Witch in 1989. They released a cassette (1991) before disbanding in 1994. Darrin then formed experimental metal band, Amillion Pounds, which was fronted by his brother Adam. It was during Amillion Pounds’ run that Darrin composed his first acoustic songs, influenced by Jimmy Page and Leo Kottke. By 2002, he was completely immersed in the acoustic guitar, inspired by the likes of Michael Hedges and John Fahey, as well as Middle Eastern and other world music. Such a foundation has been a resource to draw from when working on theatrical productions for several shows at Hip Pocket Theatre as well one show with Jubilee Theater.

Bentleigh is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington who has served as the Director of Theatre at IM Terrell Academy for STEM and VPA for the last six years. She has served on production teams as stage manager, & props designer for THE MUSIC MAN, MY FAIR LADY, WHITE CHRISTMAS, 9 TO 5, JOSEPH AND THE…, and TREASURE ISLAND at Granbury Theatre Company. She has also directed 9 TO 5, SISTER ACT, WEST SIDE STORY, LEGALLY BLONDE, & GREASE at GTC and will be directing this summer’s production of OKLAHOMA. Her onstage credits include STEEL MAGNOLIAS (M’Lynn), RAGTIME (Emma Goldman), YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Frau Blucher), and FOOTLOOSE (Vi Moore). She would like to thank her family, friends, Jarrett, Nolan, Rodney, & her pets.

Jeffrey Stanfield is a graduate of Texas Christian University Theatre program, he has worked as a scenic carpenter,  scenic designer, and technical director across DFW, and is the Technical Director at Amphibian Stage. Most recent designs include Imposter! Hypocrite! Tartuffe! at Circle Theater, Seance and Spaceman at Amphibian Stage. He is also a movement theater artist and puppeteer trained in Czech black rod and object puppetry.

Patrick Bynane is originally from Northeast Ohio and has lived and worked across the US. He has a Ph.D in Theatre History from LSU (Geaux Tigers!) and is a proud member of Actors Equity. He has lived in Denton, TX since 2006 when he moved there to join the Texas Woman’s University Theatre Program. He is Program Director for TWU Theatre and is currently enjoying a semester sabbatical to pursue creative and scholarly projects. He is thrilled to return to the Amphibian stage where he has previously been seen in this past summer’s SparkFest, Babette’s Feast and A Lost Leonardo among other productions.

Parker Gray is a Dallas based Actor, Producer, Teaching Artist, and Playwright, and is so excited to be returning to Amphibian where he was last seen as Matthias Manley in the world premiere of Miss Molly, as well as the original reading of The Handless King at SparkFest! Other stage acting credits include work across the metroplex at Dallas Theater Center, Casa Mañana, Theatre Three, Circle Theatre, Kitchen Dog Theater, Stage West, Undermain Theatre, Shakespeare Dallas, WaterTower Theatre, Fair Assembly, Lyric Stage, Shakespeare in the Bar, and Second Thought Theatre where he currently serves as the Executive Director. Parker’s voice can be heard in various shows with Crunchyroll, and can be seen in several films including the Dallas-made horror film The Finale. He has served as a teaching artist for Stage West, Shakespeare Dallas, Bishop Dunne, and Arts Mission Oak Cliff. Parker’s premiere play, Incarnate, received a reading at Undermain for their Whither Goest Thou America Festival in 2022, and his play How to Lose a Sleep Paralysis Demon in 10 Days was chosen for the inaugural year of the Digital Development Project in 2023. More of Parker’s plays can be found on New Play Exchange. He holds a BFA in Acting from SMU and is represented by the Kim Dawson Agency.

Ahmad Kamal is delighted to be back at Amphibian Stage, after first appearing in Baba, followed by performing in Sparkfest 2023! Regional credits include Selling Kabul (Northlight Theatre), Hotter Than Egypt (ACT and Marin Theatre Compnay), Gloria (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company), Everybody (Shakespeare Theatre Company) and The Return (Mosaic Theater Company), among others. Ahmad is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Tanner Mobley is thrilled to be once again a part of the amazing team at Amphibian Stage! He was last seen as Karl/Ensemble in Amphibian’s October 2023 production of The Visit in collaboration with the University of Texas at Arlington, a school in which he has just graduated with his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from this past spring (Mav up!). Tanner spends a lot of time behind a camera when not performing in front of one or not on the stage, doing headshot photography for local actors and other styles of portrait photography. Alongside running his professional photography business, Tanner loves to write and create his own short films with his closest friends, sharing them to social media in hopes to give others joy in his creations. Tanner would love to thank everyone who came out to witness this wonderful production, as well his parents, family, friends, and his beautiful Fiancé, Olivia.

Harley Elias is a playwright, librettist, and performer from New York City. His work has been supported by residencies at Banff Centre, Sewanee Writers Conference, a Fulbright Grant to India in Playwriting, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Resonance Ensemble, and Sparkfest at Amphibian Stage. He is the winner of the Wild Imaginings New Play Award, the Samuel French OOB Award, a Young Playwrights Award, and his Play #3 is published by Samuel French. He was the librettist-in-residence at Banff for their Opera in the 21st Century. For the composer Francisco de Guevara, he wrote the libretto for the opera 11:35, set to premiere in Mexico City in 2024. The documentary he co-wrote and directed, Reconquest of the Useless, was shown at the Havana, Zurich, Woodstock, and Virginia Film Festivals. As an actor, his credits include Les Miserables (Broadway and National Tour), A Thousand Clowns (Broadway), A Christmas Carol (Broadway), Ragtime (National Tour), and work at Goodspeed Opera House, EST, Workhouse, Second Stage, HB Studio, and Soho Rep. He holds a BA and MA in History and Art History from Stanford, and an MFA in Playwriting from Brown. He is currently under commission from Miami New Drama and Theater J.

Jay Duffer directed The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) for Amphibian both in 2014 and 2017, and Babbette’s Feast in 2019. He will direct Marie Antoinette in our 2022 season. Past Amphibian acting credits include Wittenberg, The Nosemaker’s Apprentice, The Mystery of Irma Vep and the workshop production of David Davalos’ Daedalus (Retitled A Lost Leonardo). He has professional acting and directing credits spanning several decades and has performed in theatres from Off-Broadway, to regional theatres, to productions overseas. Jay has been involved in new works and script development with Threads Theatre Company (serving as a Founding Member and the Executive Director of New Works), Pulse Ensemble Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Source, Kaleidoscope Theatre Company, Fort Wayne Civic Theatre and Brooklyn based The Artful Conspirators. His play, Asleep in the Arms of God, received its world premiere in November 2017 at the Box Theatre in Riverside, CA produced by New Threads Productions (CA). His play, Big Girl, Little World premiered at the New York International Fringe Festival. His latest play, naked, was included in Amphibian’s inaugural SPARKFEST in the summer of 2021. Prior to joining Amphibian as Managing Director, Jay was Associate Professor of Theatre and Department Chair at Huntington University in Indiana. At HU, he directed a wide variety of approximately 50 plays and musicals while heading the theatre program. Jay currently teaches Directing for the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Texas Arlington. He is a member of Actors Equity Association and is an Associate Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Jess Anoruigwe is a playwright, actor, aspiring director, and new UT Arlington Alumna who is honored and blessed to work on her first project with Amphibian Stage. She was recently involved in numerous projects in her final semester of college, including her portrayals of Lady Montague and Ursula in Stolen Shakespeare Guild’s repertory productions of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing for the 2024 Stolen Shakespeare Festival and Stranger/Conjure Woman in the UTA Black Theatre Society’s production of Wren Aubrey Latham’s Eat The World, Baby. Her recent directorial credits include assistant directing the UTA Maverick Theatre Company’s production of Jen Silverman’s Bonnets under Stage West Theatre’s Garret Storms, artistic directing the 2024 Theatre for Change Project—in which she directed student playwright London Crawford’s Salmon Croquettes—and directing student playwright Samuel Byron Griffith’s Over my Wrath for the UTA Maverick Theatre Company’s 2024 Two-Minute Play Festival, presented by the BA Ensemble. Her recent playwriting credits include Silent Songs of Service for the 2024 Theatre for Change Project and “Sting” for the 2024 Two-Minute Play Festival. She sends abundant love and gratitude to her Heavenly Father, King Jesus, for His never-ending blessings, her amazing parents, Gabriel and Monica Anoruigwe, her awesome siblings, her wonderful professors, including Jay Duffer for giving her this incredible opportunity, and Megan Noble, Dr. Julienne Greer, Felicia Bertch, Joe Chapa, and Darius Booker for always encouraging and believing in her. She also sends abundant love and gratitude to her close friends and her beautiful partner for their unwavering support.

Leah Mazur, MFA University of Kansas, is a multidisciplinary scenographer (scenic/lighting/costume designer) and visual artist based in the DFW metroplex. Her research explores the blurring of lines between experiencing and becoming performance, the intersections of interactive installation and performance art, as well as the integration of XR (extended reality) into the performing arts as a means of accessibility and expanded storytelling. She is an active designer with both national and international profiles, focusing on the development of new works and the foregrounding of femme voices and predominately women/femme- led production teams.
Select credits include productions at Spinning Tree Theatre, Unicorn Theatre, Kansas Repertory Theatre (Kansas City), Lake Dillon Theatre Company (Colorado), Cape May Stage (New Jersey), Anacostia Playhouse, Scena Theatre (Washington D.C.), Amphibian Stage, Theatre Three, Altar’d Playhouse, SheDFW, Stage West, and Circle Theatre (DFW), Art Haus (New York), RuPaul’s Drag Con (Los Angeles), and Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Edinburgh, Scotland). Upcoming projects include work at Undermain Theatre, Dallas Theatre Center, Circle Theatre, and Second Thought Theatre.
She is currently head of the Design & Technology BFA program in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Kaitlin Hatton is excited to be working with Amphibian Stage again! Recent stage management includes What The Constitution Means to Me, Sherlock Holmes, Marjorie Prime, Handle With Care, Between Riverside and Crazy, Witch, On The Exhale (Stage West), Handless King, Baba, Spaceman, The Hollow, Egress, Hans & Sophie, She-Wolf, Gutenberg! The Musical!, Babette’s Feast, Lonely Planet, and Artist Descending A Staircase (Amphibian Stage Productions), I’m Proud of You, The Other Josh Cohen, Tiny Beautiful Things (Circle Theatre). Recent props designs include Little Women, La Boheme, La Medium (FW Opera), The Persians (Undermain Theatre), Ann (WaterTower Theatre), Instructions for a Seance, Baba, Spaceman, Marie Antoinette (Amphibian Stage Productions), Kodachrome, Fences, Young Frankenstein, An Empty Plate in the Cafe du Grand Boeuf, The Glass Menagerie, The Last Wide Open, and One Man, Two Guvnors (Circle Theatre). Kaitlin holds a BFA in Theatre – Design and Technology from Texas Wesleyan University and teaches Stage Management there. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and received the 2019 Live Theatre League Bill Garber Young Artist Award.

Shahrzad Mazaheri, an experienced costume designer with over seven years of experience in Iran, has been working in Dallas after moving to United States. Among her notable national credits are English a co-production of Goodman Theatre and Guthrie, The Good John Proctor, Becky, Nurse of Salem, Sweeney Todd and Sueño at Trinity Repertory Company, English at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, La Gringa at American Stage Company, and Carmela, Full of Wishes for Children’s Theatre Company. She has designed costumes for several theaters in DFW area such as Pleasure Trials and Baba at Amphibian Stage, The Merit System at Teatro Dallas, The Persians and He’s Born, He’s Borne at Undermain Theatre, and Lizzie, The Rock Musical and The Immigrant at Theatre Three. Shahrzad has completed her MFA in Stage Design at SMU and holds an MFA in Textile and Fashion Design. Upcoming projects are POTUS and Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson – Apartment 2B at Trinity Rep, English at Cincinnati Rep and Wish You Were Here at South Coast Repertory. Get to know her more at shahrzadmazaheri.com

Eric is a Chicago based lighting designer who specializes in modern theatre and grand opera. He returns to Amphibian Stage having designed last season’s Baba. In the Fort Worth area he has also designed for both the Fort Worth Opera (Don Pasquale) and the Dallas Opera (Show Boat, Falstaff, and Hansel and Gretel). CHICAGO (selected) Tambo & Bones (Jeff Awards Winner for best Lighting, Refracted Theatre Company); Short Shakespeare! Romeo & Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Company); Notes from the Field (Timeline Theatre); The Singularity Play (Jackalope Theatre); Routes (Remy Bumppo); A Mile in the Dark (Interrobang Theatre); Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Steep Theatre); The Magnolia Ballet (About Face Theatre); Il Corsaro (a Chicago premiere of Verdi’s work for Opera Festival of Chicago); Dial M for Murder and Fireflies (Northlight Theatre); Sugar in Our Wounds (Jeff nomination) and Hooded: or Being Black for Dummies (First Floor Theater); Alaiyo and EthiopianAmerica (Definition Theatre Company); In The Blood (Red Tape Theatre); A Swell In The Ground (The Gift Theatre); Fallen (Mozawa); Porcelain (Prologue Theatre; Jeff nomination) and many more. REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL (selected) Mrs. Harrison (Indiana Rep); Two Mile Hollow (Phoenix Theatre, IN); Ariande (Arizona Opera); A Streetcar Named Desire (Opera Santa Barbara and Kentucky Opera); The Rake’s Progress (Merola Opera, CA); The Book Club Play (Third Avenue Playworks, WI); Barber of Seville (Lithuanian National Opera); Song of Home (Theatre Lumina tour through Poland and Moldova). Eric received his MFA from Boston University and is a proud member of USA Local 829, the theatrical design union. www.ericwatkins.com

David Lanza has been sound designing in DFW for some time now, is excited to still be sound designing, and looks forward to sound designing more in the future. He also loves the Phibs always and forever. Pro-tip: eat half of your cookie now, and save the other half for a late night snack after the show. Follow David Lanza Audio on Facebook or go to www.DavidLanzaAudio.com to learn more. I might also have an Instagram, but I’m not sure. Or look up my LiveJournal I had in high school. Love to Nikki, Maggie, Peter, and the Oxford comma.

Bella is a production designer, art director, prop builder, and scenic artist. She received her B.A. in technical theatre from West Texas A&M University. Bella now works as a freelancer in advertising, film, and theater. She worked recently as the production designer for 2022 Lone Star Film Festival official selection Pool Service and 2022 Micheaux Film Festival and 2022 National Black Film Festival official selection Blue Porcelain. Her work with Amphibian Stage includes the props design and scenic painting for The Hollow and Miss Molly along with scenic painting for Spaceman and Baba.

Evan is a Fort Worth-based actor, photographer, and designer. His work has been seen at the Dallas Theater Center, Second Thought Theatre, Undermain Theatre, Stage West Theatre, Trinity Shakespeare Festival, Amphibian Stage, and more. Evan holds a BFA in Acting from Texas Christian University. Evan is represented by the Kim Dawson Agency.

Jeffrey Stanfield is a graduate of Texas Christian University Theatre program, he has worked as a scenic carpenter,  scenic designer, and technical director across DFW, and is the Technical Director at Amphibian Stage. Most recent designs include Imposter! Hypocrite! Tartuffe! at Circle Theater, Seance and Spaceman at Amphibian Stage. He is also a movement theater artist and puppeteer trained in Czech black rod and object puppetry.

Nathan Autrey holds a B.F.A. in Acting from the University of North Texas and an M.F.A. in Directing from the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. He is excited to have the opportunity to work with Amphibian Stage. His recent Directing/Fight/Intimacy credits include: The Diary of Anne Frank (McKinney Rep Theatre); Legally Blonde (Junior Players); The Curse of the Puerto Ricans (Bishop Arts Theater); Fiddler on the Roof, Donner Party, American Idiot, Seven Guitars (UNT); Twelfth Night, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest (Shakespeare Dallas); The Producers, Something Rotten, The Wedding Singer (Stolen Shakespeare Guild); The Great Gatsby, A Christmas Carol, Sweeney Todd, Little Shop of Horrors, Boeing, Boeing, Almost, Maine, Christmas Story (Breckenridge Backstage Theatre); Does This Woman Have a Name, Ivy Walls (3-Legged Dog); Shining City (The Irish Rep); Through the Cracks (HERE Arts). Nathan currently serves as a member of the acting faculty at UNT, Managing Artistic Director for Inkspark Theatre Company, and is a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Union & a member of the Society for American Fight Directors. www.nathanautrey.com

Johna Sewell is very happy to be working with Amphibian Stage once again. Past productions include serving as wardrobe supervisor for Miss Molly, The Hollow, and Babette’s Feast. They also designed costumes for Hans & Sophie. Other Fort Worth credits include Costume Designer for The Distant Echo of Ancient Youth and Don Quixote with Hip Pocket Theatre; and Costume Designer for Murder For Two with Stage West Theatre. They received their BFA in Theatre Design/Production from the University of Mississippi and their MFA in Costume Design from Indiana University.

Elly Lindsay moved to Dallas in the fall of 1977 from the East Coast. She was promptly cast as small town Texas girl, Margie Lynn Kayro in Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away Home and had to learn a Texas accent. Cheryl Denson kept telling her to smile more. Elly was last seen at Amphibian Theater Company as Player One (Dean and others) in Babette’s Feast. She also appeared as Grace in Vigil. Most recently Elly played Linda French in Grand Horizons at Stage West and Grandma in Undermain Theater’s workshop production of David Rabe’s He’s Born, He’s Borne. Recent roles include Annie Nations in Foxfire at Theatre Three, Mertis Katherine in John at Undermain (DFW Critics Forum Award). Other roles include: Mrs. Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility for Stolen Shakespeare Guild, Grandma in The American Dream and The Sandbox for Wingspan Theater; Lily in Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks at Theater Too; Daisy Werthan in Driving Miss Daisy at FMPAT; Annabelle Chester in Snake in the Grass at Circle Theater (Ft. Worth Weekly – best show); Beth & others in String of Pearls and Evelyn Miller in Kindertransport for Echo Theater; and Judith Bliss in Hay Fever for Theater Britain. Elly also appeared as Carrie Watts in The Trip to Bountiful at The Contemporary Theater of Dallas for which she received D Magazine’s Best Actress of 2011 and the DFW Critics Forum Award. In her forty years in Dallas, she has also appeared at the Dallas Theater Center, the Dallas Children’s Theater, the Dallas Shakespeare Festival, and New Arts. New York credits include The Manhattan Theater Club and Café LaMama. Her television credits include “Dallas”, “Dangerous Curves”, “Fire & Rain”, and “Wishbone”. She appeared in the independent film LATE BLOOMERS, the short film THE HUSBAND and the independent film, STUCK. Elly taught for over twenty years at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts. Love to her mainstay and support, husband Randy Bonifay.

Since moving to Texas several years ago, Malcolm has had the pleasure of appearing in several DFW area productions. Favorite roles include Robert Falcon Scott in “Terra Nova” at the Sanders Theatre in Fort Worth, and Lear in “King Lear” at the Bath House Theatre. In August, Malcolm appeared as Max in Harold Pinter’s “The Homecoming,” also at the Bath House. In New York, Malcolm worked on Broadway (“The Sisters Rosensweig”), Off-Broadway (“The End of the Day” at Playwrights Horizons), and Off-Off Broadway (“Time Stands Still” at Theatre for the New City and “Trial” at the Beckmann Theatre). He also appeared on the daytime dramas “One Life to Live” and “Guiding Light.” Malcolm currently co-stars as Nikolai in “1883,” and will be appearing as Leonard Mullin in the limited series “Born Again,” to be released early next year. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Patrick Bynane is originally from Northeast Ohio and has lived and worked across the US. He has a Ph.D in Theatre History from LSU (Geaux Tigers!) and is a proud member of Actors Equity. He has lived in Denton, TX since 2006 when he moved there to join the Texas Woman’s University Theatre Program. He is Program Director for TWU Theatre and is currently enjoying a semester sabbatical to pursue creative and scholarly projects. He is thrilled to return to the Amphibian stage where he has previously been seen in this past summer’s SparkFest, Babette’s Feast and A Lost Leonardo among other productions.

A graduate of the School of Performing Arts in New York City, Michael has performed Nationally and Internationally in theater and film roles. Some of his favorite theater roles include: Mister in The Color Purple (Pollard Theater), Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (OKC Shakespeare), and Murray in The Odd Couple (Lyric Theater). Other Regional Equity roles include: Ken in Ain’t Misbehavin (Theatreworks), TonTon in Once on This Island (American Musical Theater), Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theatreworks), Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors (American Musical Theater). National Equity tours include roles of Martin Luther King in the musical Martin, and vocal soloist performances with the Denver Symphony and Philadelphia Pops. Television credits include Soloist at NFL Super Bowl Halftime show. Michael’s recent films credits include: The Girl Who Believes in Miracles, Walter in A Country Romance, and as Detective Morris Patterson in Gremlin. This spring Michael was last seen as Officer Buttons in the Lions Gate production of The Quest for Tom Sawyer’s Gold.

Laurel Whitsett (she/her) is excited to be working with Amphibian again, having taken some time off to earn a second master’s in Linguistics from UT Arlington. Now a PhD student there, her research focuses on issues at the intersection of theatre arts and accessibility, American Sign Language, and humor interpretation. Laurel teaches at UTA in Theatre Arts, Disability Studies, and Modern Languages, preferring to experience the world using naturalist John Muir’s philosophy, “all things are connected”. With a background in improvisation from King’s College London, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and Fort Worth’s own Four Day Weekend (woot!), Laurel guides UTA’s Improvisation track. She’s a state-certified ASL-English interpreter and has worked with the Dallas Theater Center and TheaterWorks Hartford as the American Sign Language and British Sign Language coach on their productions of ‘Clybourne Park’ and ‘Constellations’. Are you a horror film fan? Check out Laurel’s untimely demise in ‘Splinter’, or for a tamer experience you can see her as the acerbic librarian in ‘Super’ alongside Rainn Wilson, or even as the snarky carpool leader in ‘Premonition’ with Sandra Bullock. Laurel has diverse experience in dialogue coaching, dialect coaching, editing, and directing, including working with Chuck Norris on the final season of ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ and with Alice Braga for ‘Queen of the South’. Fun facts: she was an NFL cheerleader, is a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan, has an identical twin sister, and adores her 3-legged cat, Tuppence.

Amanda Reyes is a Tejana actor and filmmaker based in Fort Worth, Texas. She has a B.A. in Media Arts from UNT and an M.F.A. in Directing Narrative Cinema from Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema in Brooklyn, NY. Her theater credits includes The Diaries of Adam and Eve, The Butterfly’s Evil Spell, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Thyona in Big Love at Hip Pocket Theater, The Texas Book of Beats at Arts Fort Worth, My Brother and Sister with Wings at Artes de la Rosa Theater and The Teacher in Amphibian Stage’s The Visit. She is beyond thrilled to be returning to Amphibian Stage in this incredible production with such an outstanding cast and crew.

Melissa is thrilled to be returning to Amphibian Stage where she was last seen in BABETTE’S FEAST. Favorite regional credits include GOD OF CARNAGE, TITANIC, SOUTH PACIFIC, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, JOSEPH…DREAMCOAT, and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. Melissa has also performed in many musical revues and industrials in New York City, regional theatres across the country and overseas. She has appeared as a Barbie for Mattel and been a featured singer for the Macy’s Flower Show in New York City. Melissa holds a BME in voice from Baylor University and attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Melissa is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. Thank you to Kathleen and Jay for this opportunity.

Tanner Mobley is thrilled to be once again a part of the amazing team at Amphibian Stage! He was last seen as Karl/Ensemble in Amphibian’s October 2023 production of The Visit in collaboration with the University of Texas at Arlington, a school in which he has just graduated with his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from this past spring (Mav up!). Tanner spends a lot of time behind a camera when not performing in front of one or not on the stage, doing headshot photography for local actors and other styles of portrait photography. Alongside running his professional photography business, Tanner loves to write and create his own short films with his closest friends, sharing them to social media in hopes to give others joy in his creations. Tanner would love to thank everyone who came out to witness this wonderful production, as well his parents, family, friends, and his beautiful Fiancé, Olivia.

Johanna Nchekwube is thrilled to be a part of the cast and crew of “The Visit”. This is her first show at Amphibian Stage. Her previous notable productions include “Manic Monologues” and “Jesus Christ Superstar” at WaterTower Theater, “Someone Like Me” at the Riot Act Theatre, and “Memphis the Musical” at Theatre Three. A huge thanks goes to all who brought this courageous piece of Art together and to my family and friends. IG: @jolove1

Gwen Mowdy is beyond grateful to be taking part in her first production at Amphibian Stage! She is currently a junior at The University of Texas at Arlington pursuing a BFA in Acting. She has most recently been seen as Viola in Twelfth Night at Upright Theatre Company, and as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet at the Maverick Theatre Company at UTA. She would like to thank Jay Duffer for the opportunity, as well as her fellow cast and crew. She sends special thanks to her family, friends, and professors at UTA for all their love and support!

Kimberly is blessed to be making her Amphibian Stage debut. She is currently going into her second year at the University of Texas at Arlington pursuing her BFA in Acting. Recent credits include Romeo and Juliet, Night of the Living Dead with the UTA Maverick Theatre Company, and Almost Maine at Onstage In Bedford. She recently contributed to Devourer, a short horror film written and directed by Isaiah Navarro. Kimberly is so honored to be a part of a fantastic masterpiece that will take the audience on an electrifying journey. She is grateful for the support of her family, friends, and mentors, to create captivating art. www.thekimberlyt.com

Caleb De La Torre is thrilled to make his debut in “The Visit” at Amphibian Stage. He was last seen portraying the role of Claudio in “Much Ado About Nothing” at Shakespeare Dallas and Tulsa in “Gypsy” at Theatre Arlington. With a passion for both stage and screen, Caleb has also been actively involved in a film production company alongside his talented roommates. You can support his team by giving them a follow @fluidityfilms on instagram. Caleb is grateful for the grace given to him by God and the support of his family, friends, and mentors. He thanks you for coming out to Amphibian this fall and hopes you enjoy “The Visit”!

Jovane Caamaño is thrilled to be making theatre with Amphibian Stage again!

Other regional theatres with which he’s worked include Kitchen Dog Theater, Stage West Theatre, Circle Theatre, Undermain Theatre, Theatre Three, Hip Pocket Theatre, Danielle Georgiou Dance Group, Theatre Arlington, and Second Thought Theatre. He also performed in three seasons of the Trinity Shakespeare Festival, multiple readings with MusicalWriters.com, and in Wishing Star Productions’ national tour of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer the Musical.

Jovane earned his BFA in Theatre with an emphasis in Musical Theatre from TCU. He is passionate about his work teaching theatre and other fine arts at Key School and Training Center in Fort Worth and teaching with Story Stage.

Jay Duffer directed The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) for Amphibian both in 2014 and 2017, and Babbette’s Feast in 2019. He will direct Marie Antoinette in our 2022 season. Past Amphibian acting credits include Wittenberg, The Nosemaker’s Apprentice, The Mystery of Irma Vep and the workshop production of David Davalos’ Daedalus (Retitled A Lost Leonardo). He has professional acting and directing credits spanning several decades and has performed in theatres from Off-Broadway, to regional theatres, to productions overseas. Jay has been involved in new works and script development with Threads Theatre Company (serving as a Founding Member and the Executive Director of New Works), Pulse Ensemble Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Source, Kaleidoscope Theatre Company, Fort Wayne Civic Theatre and Brooklyn based The Artful Conspirators. His play, Asleep in the Arms of God, received its world premiere in November 2017 at the Box Theatre in Riverside, CA produced by New Threads Productions (CA). His play, Big Girl, Little World premiered at the New York International Fringe Festival. His latest play, naked, was included in Amphibian’s inaugural SPARKFEST in the summer of 2021. Prior to joining Amphibian as Managing Director, Jay was Associate Professor of Theatre and Department Chair at Huntington University in Indiana. At HU, he directed a wide variety of approximately 50 plays and musicals while heading the theatre program. Jay currently teaches Directing for the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Texas Arlington. He is a member of Actors Equity Association and is an Associate Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Hailey has worked in Stage Management in DFW since 2015. Her previous work includes Casa Manana, the Actors Conservatory Theatre, The Classics Theatre Project, Stagewest, Imprint Theatreworks: First Impressions Festival, Altered Shakespeare, Prism Movement Theatre, Watertower Theatre, Ochre House Theatre, Amphibian Stage & Shakespeare Dallas. She holds a bachelor of arts in Theatrical Performance.

Leah Mazur, MFA University of Kansas, is a multidisciplinary scenographer (scenic/lighting/costume designer) and visual artist based in the DFW metroplex. Her research explores the blurring of lines between experiencing and becoming performance, the intersections of interactive installation and performance art, as well as the integration of XR (extended reality) into the performing arts as a means of accessibility and expanded storytelling. She is an active designer with both national and international profiles, focusing on the development of new works and the foregrounding of femme voices and predominately women/femme- led production teams.
Select credits include productions at Spinning Tree Theatre, Unicorn Theatre, Kansas Repertory Theatre (Kansas City), Lake Dillon Theatre Company (Colorado), Cape May Stage (New Jersey), Anacostia Playhouse, Scena Theatre (Washington D.C.), Amphibian Stage, Theatre Three, Altar’d Playhouse, SheDFW, Stage West, and Circle Theatre (DFW), Art Haus (New York), RuPaul’s Drag Con (Los Angeles), and Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Edinburgh, Scotland). Upcoming projects include work at Undermain Theatre, Dallas Theatre Center, Circle Theatre, and Second Thought Theatre.
She is currently head of the Design & Technology BFA program in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Bella is a production designer, art director, prop builder, and scenic artist. She received her B.A. in technical theatre from West Texas A&M University. Bella now works as a freelancer in advertising, film, and theater. She worked recently as the production designer for 2022 Lone Star Film Festival official selection Pool Service and 2022 Micheaux Film Festival and 2022 National Black Film Festival official selection Blue Porcelain. Her work with Amphibian Stage includes the props design and scenic painting for The Hollow and Miss Molly along with scenic painting for Spaceman and Baba.

David Lanza has been sound designing in DFW for some time now, is excited to still be sound designing, and looks forward to sound designing more in the future. He also loves the Phibs always and forever. Pro-tip: eat half of your cookie now, and save the other half for a late night snack after the show. Follow David Lanza Audio on Facebook or go to www.DavidLanzaAudio.com to learn more. I might also have an Instagram, but I’m not sure. Or look up my LiveJournal I had in high school. Love to Nikki, Maggie, Peter, and the Oxford comma.

Adam Chamberlin (Lighting Designer) is thrilled to be returning to Amphibian Stage Productions. He is the managing director of theatre production and associate professor of lighting and sound design for the Department of Dance and Theatre at the University of North Texas. Previously, he has taught as an assistant professor for the dance department at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is currently serving on the Leadership of the Lighting Commission for the United States Institute for Theatre Technology as awards coordinator and poster session co-coordinator. Previously, he has held the positions of vice-commissioner of special projects and light lab designer. He has designed lighting for companies including The Latin Ballet of Virginia, Shakespeare Dallas, Oklahoma City Rep., One World Theatre, Stage West, K-Dance, Kitchen Dog, and WaterTower Theatre. He was a founding member of Dysfunctional Theatre Company in NYC and Amaranth Contemporary Dance in Richmond, VA. In addition, he is a founding member of the Beyond the Sock Puppetry. He holds an MFA in theatrical design from the University of Texas at Austin.

Rune is a senior BFA Design & Technology student at UTA with a focus in scenic design. They have worked on many shows including most recently Sweeney Todd and Romeo & Juliet. They currently work in the scene shop at UTA as a student assistant.

Susan has been the costume shop supervisor for TCU School of Classical and Contemporary Dance since 2013, designing and constructing costumes and recently retired from that role and is currently the resident costume designer for Hip Pocket Theatre’s 47th season. She is a Fort Worth native, growing up in the local dance/theatre community. She has also worked on costumes for Dark Circles Contemporary Dance, Bruce Wood Dance, Pegasus Contemporary Ballet, Tarrant County College NE Dance, Amphibian Stage Productions, Fort Worth Opera, Hip Pocket Theatre, Richardson High School Theatre Magnet, Gayle Corkery School of Ballet, Fort Worth Country Day Theatre Department and Ballet Department, Festival Ballet of North Texas, Taps N Tunes, Midland Ballet and individual dancers. She has performed in multiple shows at Hip Pocket Theatre, her favorite being “A Wisepecker Christmas.” She enjoys stage managing and toured with Basil Twist’s puppet production of “Petruska,”, which performed with the Fort Worth Symphony and the Phoenix Symphony. She is eternally grateful for the friendship and mentorship of Diane Simons and aspires to reflect her talent in current Hip Pocket costume designs.