Join us for our year-round Script Reads presenting our very own local screenwriters work read by local actors followed by a Q&A to talk about their work.
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LOCAL SCREENWRITERS
Writers featured here have participated in a previous RoxFilm Script Read.
ALEXANDRIA DANIELLE KING
SHE/THEY
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Alexandria Danielle King is an actor, writer, educator, dancer, director and nature enthusiast. She received her BA in Drama from Tufts University and advanced theatre training from The Moscow Arts Theatre School. She believes that performance art is a divine tool for revealing and examining the condition of the heart. Her previous credits include: Regional: The Bluest Eye (The Huntington Theatre). Off Broadway: Pipeline (WAM & The Nora Theatre), A Christmas Carol In Harlem (Classical Theatre of Harlem), Antigone (Classical Theatre of Harlem), Detroit ‘67 (New Horizon Theatre), The Girls of Summer (The Layon Gray Experience,LLC), The Revolutionists, (The Nora Theatre), Broken City: Wall St. (Pop Up Theatrics), Arabian Nights (The Underground Railway Theatre), Shockheaded Peter (Company One), Splendor (Company One), Midsummer Nights’s Dream (Roxbury Repertory Theater), Black Nativity (The National Center of Afro-American Artists). Film: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Compelling Pictures), Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart (Film Posse), Red Monster (Beyond Measure Productions), Clear History (HBO). Education: B.A. in Drama (Tufts University), Advanced Theatre Training (Moscow Arts Theatre School, Billie Holiday Theatre & Stella Adler BASI). Other: Award Wins- Eliot Norton Awards Outstanding Ensemble & Production, The Bluest Eye. Award Nominations (Berkshire Theatre Critics, Eliot Norton and IRNE Awards).
BRIANNA J. COX
SHE/HER/HERS
Instagram || Twitter || Website
Brianna Jewel Cox is a Caribbean-American artist and educator, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She works as a Writer, Director, Actress, and Video Editor, crafting narratives in the form of films, theatrical performances, and poetry. Themes central to her work include coming-of-age, history and heritage, mental health, gender roles, the role of art in an individual’s life, interpersonal relationships, and existential questions linked to Blackness and race. Her short film work has been featured in festivals across the globe. Brianna earned her dual Bachelor's Degree in Africana Studies and Theatre Arts/Performance Studies from Brown University and is now an MFA Candidate in the Film and Media Art program at Emerson College. She is currently developing the Afrofuturistic world of Onyx and the Chronicle of the Seers (@OnyxTheSeries on Instagram and Twitter), for which she is filming a proof-of-concept episode called 18 Years: A Letter to Zora as her MFA Thesis Project.
CROSBY TATUM
HE/HIM/HIS
Facebook || Instagram || Twitter || Website
Boston, Massachusetts native, Crosby Tatum, secured distinction as a television and motion picture producer, director, writer, and editor with works featured on Netflix, BET, Amazon Prime, and global video on demand platforms. Tatum’s mantra is evident in his work: “Create opportunity where it seems as if there is no opportunity to be had at all.” The concept motivates Tatum’s loyalty to thorough work, the latest film and video technologies available, and to resilience in his profession. Tatum graduated from the New England Institute of Art with an associate degree in television broadcasting. His dedication and ability to excel during his time at the New England Institute of Art earned him the Most Outstanding Broadcaster Award in 2003. Two years following this achievement, Tatum founded Triceptus Studios, a motion picture production and post-production company. Triceptus Studios ensures excellence in every stage of the creative and technical processes, handling everything including the producing, directing, budgeting, screenwriting, post-production work and finishing services for clients. Triceptus Studios’ film, television, and new media projects are shown worldwide, presented at film festivals, and complimented with various awards.
DANTE HAUGHTON
HE/HIM/HIS
Dante is a director originally from New Haven, CT who, through serving in various roles on set, is developing a collection of knowledge to approach filmmaking in a manner that facilitates holistic and lucid creative exploration. He's concerned with the beauty of mysticism, the movement of investigation, and the lift that can come from revising canonical Western narratives. He's driven by and for the effect of wonder.
DAVID J. CURTIS
HE/HIM/HIS
Born in Washington, D.C., but raised in Boston, MA since 6 months, David J. Curtis has been blessed to work in television, film and stage since
2004. David is a director, actor, screenwriter, and producer. Some of David’s production credits include directing/writing/producing and
starring in the short film, “Love of a Lifetime,” due to make the festival rounds this Summer/Fall, co-directing/producing the short film,
“Plus 1s,” written by and starring his good friend, the amazing Liz Eng,acting in and producing the award-winning, full-length psychological
thriller “By the Water’s Edge,” and many other music videos, promotional and testimonial videos. A proud SAG-AFTRA member since 2007, some of
David’s film and television credits include principal roles in TheWalking Dead: Dead City, The Holdovers, Dexter: New Blood, A Very
Vermont Christmas, Julia, Kevin Can F- - - Himself, Don’t Look Up, Whiskey Floats, R.I.P.D., The Maiden Heist, Edge of Darkness and many
more. With many theatre productions under his belt, his most memorable stage credits include “When January Feels like Summer,” “Brokeology,” “A
Soldier's Play,” “The Crucible,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” and “Mama, I Want to Sing,” David has also been featured in many national and
regional television. In addition to acting, David is also an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, composer, music producer, and sound engineer with many credits to his name.
GWEN TANNER
SHE/HER/HERS
Gwen Tanner is a writer, photographer and educator from Oakland, CA. Her career designing educational videos and animations allows her to use storytelling to teach and communicate ideas. Her experience in scriptwriting and directing educational videos inspired her love of writing and visualizing scary stories.
Her love of all things horror began at a young age when she was allowed to stay up late to watch black and white creature features with her parents. Her stories reflect what she witnesses in her daily life. Her works in progress include Little Red in the Hood (short film) and The Spicy Blood (novel).
JOHN OLUWOLE ADEKOJE
HE/HIM/HIS
John's awards include being a national award winner of The Kennedy Center's ACTF Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award for the play Street Hawker; as well as a recipient of The Roxbury International Film Festival's Emerging local Filmmaker award for the documentary "Street Soldiers", which also showed at the Pan African Film Festival in Cannes, France, and The World Film Festival-Montreal, as well as the BronzeLens Film Festival in Atlanta. John has received the Brother Thomas Fellowship Award and he is a playwriting Fellow at the Huntington Theater Company. Most recently, he was awarded the Emerging Filmmaker Award for Knockaround Kids, his narrative feature, at the Roxbury International Film Festival which all showed at the Urbanworld Film festival in NY. Knockaround kids can be found on Tubi, Amazon prime, Google Play, Apple and other film platforms. John Adekoje is the co director and director of photography for the digital version of Hype Man (Company One/American Repertory Theatre) as well as the writer, director and projection/art designer for the Triggered Life Project (Portland Playhouse) John Oluwole ADEkoje, teaches film production and theatre at Boston Arts Academy.
KEVIN MCLEMORE
HE/HIM/HIS
Instagram || Website || YouTube
Kevin McLemore is best known as a “Motivator” that just happens to be a Master Level Fitness, A Professional, Author, Social Activist, Podcast host, screenwriter, and entrepreneur. By reputation, Kevin Constantly is reinventing himself to his environment and consistently delivering his message to both young and old, to believe that anything in life is possible, if you have great vision and willingness to put in the hard work. Kevin McLemore heart is in his faith, family and his commitment to a cause greater than his own, to travel the world speaking to young people “Reach one, teach one” that’s what his Grandfather Joe taught him, his dream to be that “One Voice” that will encourage you to dream big and live an extraordinary life. Kevin believes that one random act of kindness each day will leave an impression that one day will change the world #findOnethousandreasons2BKind2someone.
McLemore’s Screenplays are an extension as to how he views the creative writing process for film, but an added layer to mindset for his next books that will be released this year are “Dating with a full deck” 57’ and I can, the truth about the business of Fitness,” “Know on can to this one thing alone, Lesson in life on how to get sh—T (stuff) done” and The Worlds not ready for you, which he has also illustrated.
LEVY MONTEIRO
HE/HIM/HIS
Levy Monteiro is a screenwriter with ambitions to produce and direct original content that reflect the neighborhoods he grew up in. Levy is originally from Cape Verde and has lived in Dorchester for most of his life. His writing experience started as a form of self-expression after undergrad. He later segued into screenwriting with intentions to bring his art to life on screens and television. Levy went to Bentley University for undergrad where he majored in Finance and minored in Entrepreneurship.
MACSONNY C. ONYECHEFULE
HE/HIM/HIS
WEBSITE || EMAIL || TWITTER || INSTAGRAM || YOUTUBE
Macsonny Onyechefule is a writer, director, video editor and public relations manager. His longtime love of stories inspired him to create his own. That inspiration fueled his undergraduate studies at Stonehill College and later his graduate studies at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies. To attain his master’s degree in digital media, he wrote, directed, edited and shot his thesis short Readmission.
Several years later, he again took on all those responsibilities and starred in the short 4:59 pm. When he’s not writing, he’s expanding his skills and working on video and motion graphics projects that explore different avenues of storytelling. Macsonny is the proud son of Nigerian immigrants and the oldest of four brothers.
LISA SIMMONS
SHE/HER/HERS
You might know Lisa as the Artistic Director and Executive Producer of the Roxbury International Film Festival (ROXFILM), the largest festival in New England that celebrates people of color around the world, and the founder of the Color of Film Collaborative, whose mission it is to support content creators who are creating a broader range of images of people of color in media. But what you might not know is that she has written a few screenplays and has been working on a film for a while about the Negro Theater in Boston from 1935-1939 and has made short films that focus on Boston’s history and communities of color. Lisa is also working on a novel but her passion is supporting independent filmmakers and bringing their stories to a wider audience. Hope you enjoy all the stories.
LOIS P. ROACH
SHE/HER/HERS
LOIS ROACH is a writer, award winning producer and stage director. Her screenplay, "Lena and Leonard," is one of 3 dramatic screenplays she has written exploring the stories of Blacks in Boston.
Lois served as one of Resident Artists for the New Rep Theatre through its relaunch in April 2022 to its final season in October of 2023. Lois most recently directed “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry for the New Rep Theatre. The production was awarded The Critics Pick from the Boston Theater Critics Association and was nominated for 5 Elliot Norton Awards.
She produced a series of programs for the Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket. The shows looked at the role of women in the 2020 U.S. Election; the impact of racism on the health care response to Covid-19; and the importance of Boston's Black community and its allies in the antislavery movement. Each program was anchored with dramatic, historical vignettes and are hosted on the WGBH Forum Network.
As the former Director of Public Affairs for WBZ-TV and Radio, Lois won an Emmy award for spots written and produced about AIDS. She was the coordinating producer for public service campaigns such as “Stop the Violence” and “Time to Care.” For 16 years, she was a live event producer with First Night Boston.
She is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Theatre Studies department of Wellesley College.
MARY MCCULLOUGH
SHE/HER/HERS
MARY MILLNER MCCULLOUGH, co-founder of The Streetfeet Women, was born in Southwestern Virginia. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theater from Goddard College, and a Master of Arts in Writing from Northeastern University. Her plays have been featured in Jacqui Parker’s African American Theater Festivals, Slam-Boston, ACT-Roxbury Dramatic Shoutouts, TC Squared New Works Festival, and the former Theater Co-op of Somerville, MA. She is an alumni of Company One’s Boston PlayLab Unit and is developing new work in the TC Squared Theater PlayLab. Smoked Oysters produced by TC Squared in 2020 is schedule for production by Hibernian Hall of Roxbury, MA in their 2021 season. Other work by McCullough is archived in TC Squared’s virtual readings on their Volume Up Web series and a podcast recording of an excerpt from McCullough’s play, Ballahoo in the Hair Kitchen, can be heard on the Boston Podcast Players’ website, Season I. McCullough’s A Fine and Dangerous Country was a semifinalist in the 2020 Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Theater Conference. Short stories by McCullough have been published in literary journals, the International Center for Women Playwrights’ publications and The Streetfeet Women’s publications. She is the 2021-2022 playwright-in-residence at Hibernian Hall, Roxbury, MA, a member of the Dramatist Guild and the International Center for Women Playwrights.
RISE-HOME STORIES
Website - Rise-Home || Website - MINE || Email || Instagram - Rise-Home || Instagram - Beauvoda
MINE is a part of the Rise-Home Stories project, a groundbreaking collaboration that aims to reimagine the past, present, and future of our communities by transforming the stories we tell about them. In 2018, our group of multimedia storytellers and housing, land, and racial justice advocates came together and began a unique co-creative process. We’ve created a suite of five multimedia narrative projects, including MINE, that speak to the power of abundance and collective action in the face of increasingly toxic narratives of scarcity and individualism while planting a long-term vision for a just future.
Individual bios and headshots for the whole team can be found on the "About" page on our website.
THATO R. MWOSA
SHE/HER/HERS
Instagram || Twitter || Website
Thato R. Mwosa is an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker. Her films have been broadcast nationally and internationally. Thato’s first feature film, Memoirs of a Black Girl, premiered at the 2021 Boston Globe’s Black History Month Film Festival and it won Best Feature Film award at the 2021 Hamilton Black Film Festival and the 2021 Roxbury International Film Festival (RIFF). Thato has been featured by National Public Radio (NPR) and Boston Globe. In 2021, Thato was selected for Company One’s Playlab Circuit Volt Playwriting Lab. She was a finalist for the 2019 Mass Cultural Art Fellowship in the Dramatic Writing category. Thato was a quarter-finalist for The Academy Nicholl Fellowship and a semi-finalist of the 2021 Writer Lab NY for her screenplay A Blue Dawn. Thato teaches Visual Media Arts at Emerson College and Writing for Stage and Screen at Lesley’s University Creative Writing MFA Residency Program. This fall of 2022, Thato will be a full-time Professor of Screenwriting at Boston University.
TORIN HARRIS
SHE/HER/HERS
My name is Torin and I’m a rising junior studying International Relations and Film & TV at Boston University. I grew up around different areas around Boston, but recently moved to Virginia. In the future, my goal is to make social-issue documentaries abroad in order to combine my love of languages with filmmaking. After being in a documentary about having queer parents and a multiracial family when I was much younger, I’ve been inspired to document others who sometimes fall at the edges of society. At the moment, I’m interning abroad at a production studio in Paris, but can’t wait to return to Boston in the fall.
LOCAL ACTORS
Click on the actor’s image to read their bio and find contact information!
ABDUL-KAREEM OSENI
HE/HIM/HIS
Abdul-Kareem Oseni is an artist, song-writer, producer and actor from Dorchester. He is also one of the curators of a Boston-based podcast called “Show and Tell Boston”, and one half of a music duo group known as Da Grüvement. His genre(s) of music are mainly neo-soul and contemporary hip-hop, and he also starred in an independent drama film called “Enter The Jungle”.
ANDREA LYMAN
SHE/HER/HERS
WEBSITE || ACTOR FILM DEMO || IMDB
Andrea Lyman is thrilled to be attending and participating in the RoxFilm Festival. Andrea is currently the New England Local President of SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation Of Television and Radio Artists), a co-director of the Actors Forum of The Secret Society Of Black Creatives, on the Executive Board of the Greater Boston Labor Council and on the board of Roxbury International Film Festival (RoxFilm Festival). This year Andrea will be in UGLY SWEATER screening at Hibernian Hall June 23rd. In previous years at RoxFilm she was in Daniel Callahan’s award winning film COME ON IN, Liz Eng’s comedy PLUS 1’s and a variety of short films. Andrea has played real life characters in the historical docudrama films HALF THE HISTORY: ELLEN GARRISON: AN ACTIVIST’S STORY playing Ellen Garrison and in NEGRO ELECTION DAY playing the Phyllis wife of the King. This spring she performed on stage in MOMOLOGUES: THE MUSICAL. She performs her one woman musical show BROADWAY LADY. Andrea has performed in Radio City Music Hall’s CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR, ION-TV’s A SNOW WHITE CHRISTMAS.
ANJIE PARKER
Anjie Parker
SHE/HER/HERS
Anjie Parker, an actor in the South Shore for over 10 years; is a stage, film, voice actress, and writer who will be performing in a free upcoming production of The Suppliant Women with the Apollinaire Theatre this August!
Recently, Parker has begun filming her first feature, an upcoming horror film from Saicon Productions, Sins of the Devil playing the role of Janet. She has performed on an Improv Team under Improv Asylum, and performs historical reenactments with the company Theatre Espresso.
Parker is constantly sharpening her skills in both voice and acting and is currently training her funny bone with Improv Asylums' improv classes. She has been trained in the techniques of Meisner and Chekhov from Scott Fielding at his school, The Michael Chekhov Studio in Boston. She has received training from Brian Mckeever from SoundTrack Recording Studios, and singer/writer Shealeigh Atkinson.
ARTHUR WILLIAMS III
HE/HIM/HIS
Arthur Williams III is a native of Boston, MA who got his start in the arts at the age of (5) years old singing, acapella at the Playhouse In The Park concert. In High School he was trained as a classical 1st and 2nd tenor singer and toured La Coruna, Spain and parts of the US.
Later, he studied dance and theater at Emerson College in Boston and went on to become A professional dancer, gymnast. and later worked for the NFL as a Gymnast and principle dancer/actor with Boston Youth Theater.
As a stage play actor and director he is currently listed with Playwrite’s Platform and has started as Richard in “Blues to Mr. Charlie”; “I’d Rather Be Lucky than Good”; “FENCES” and Lucius in “Jesus Hopped The A Train”.
More recently he has had principal and lead roles in Indie movies and web series such as “Streets Run Red”; “Curveball” and “Sella’s Kitchen”. Currently, he is represented by Model club Inc., and was nominated for Actor of the year in the DASH Awards 2019…and is honored to work with the Roxbury International Film Festival once again.
ASHLEY ALMAR
SHE/HER/HERS
Ashley is a current theatre performance major at Rhode Island College, she holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of York and Bachelors in Communications from Rhode Island College. She is also a proud Army Combat Veteran. Her theatre credits include Amy in The Opposite of Hot Chocolate with Academy Players of RI. Bianca in Othello with the CCRI Players, Lucentio in Shrew with the CCRI Players, Lucy in Nothing is the End of the World with RIC Theatre and Joan in Small Mouth Sounds with RIC Theatre. Ashley’s will next take on the role of Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra with the CCRI Players in August.
ASHTON MUÑIZ
ASHTON/THEY/HE
Legacy: A Black Queer Production Collective (Instagram, GoFundMe)
Ashton Muñiz is a queer actor, artist, and activist based in New York City. Select recent credits include The Inheritance(Broadway), Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music(The Kimmel Center/St. Ann’s Warehouse/Pomegranate Arts), Esai’s Table Cherry Lane), False Stars(The Pack Theatre), And She Would Stand Like This(Movement Theatre Company), and Take Care(The Flea). Recently, Ashton has collaborated with various artists and featured in their works at The Guggenheim(Machine Dazzle), Art Institute Chicago/Swiss Institute/New Museum(Cally Spooner), Biennial Performa/Lehmann Maupin(Nicholas Hlobo), Friedman Gallery(Alexander Kargaltsev), and Pace Gallery(Lilleth Glimcher). Additionally, Ashton has danced for various musicians including Marc Jacobs FW 2020(Karole Armitage), A$AP Rocky(Lab Rat-Sotheby’s), Rihanna(MTV VMAs 2016), Julia Anrather, and Miles Francis. Muñiz is a co-founder of Legacy: A Back Queer Production Collecitve and received training at Ithaca College, Moscow Arts Theatre School, and Shakespeare & Company.
BRENDA RAY
“Disappointment is the seed of success." I am a lover of quotes, proverbs, fables, and humor.
It’s my lifeline to happiness. Like many artists, I’m a lifelong learner and a lover of learning both in and out of the classroom. Formerly, I’ve obtained a Bachelor ofScience degree in Biology, Masters of Education in Instructional Media Design from University of Massachusetts Boston and a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Animation from Mass College of Art and Design.
Throughout the years I’ve had the opportunity to grow as both an artist, writer, and scientist. I’ve entertained on stage as an actress, storyteller, puppeteer, and vocalists. There are too many wacky and weird stories of my ventures to put in this bio.
CARMEN DILLON
CHIONISO S. JAKAZI
SHE/HER/HERS
I grew up in Zimbabwe where I attended boarding school which I loved! I currently work at Howard University Hospital as a Research Assistant on the RECOVER study, a nationwide study on long COVID. I love music and love performing by myself or as part of a chorus, whether it's at my local church's worship team or Victorian Carolling! (I highly recommend being a part of an African Gospel Choir at least once in life!!). I have enjoyed volunteering with the RoxFilm festival for the last 3 years and am amazed at the work ethic our filmmakers have and the art they gift us with!
CHRIS EVERETT
SHE/HER/HERS
Chris Everett (she/her) is an Elliot Norton Award nominated actor, singer, writer, and voiceover artist based in Boston. She is thrilled to participate in the International RoxFilm Festival and Daily Reads for the 3rd year in a row. Chris is the lead singer for the blues, funk & soul band, Umami. Recent theater credits include, ONWARD: Votes for Women (Birch Tree Productions), Break, Break (Legion Theatre Project) the debut performances of, can i touch it? (Company One), at the Strand Theater in 2022, Confidential Informant (TC Squared) in 2023, and The Interrobangers (Company One) in 2024. Television credits include, Kevin Can F*** Himself (AMC), SMILF (SHOWTIME), and Castle Rock (Hulu). Film credits include Don’t Look Up, I Care A Lot (Netflix), About Fate, Godmothered (Disney+), TED, The Good House, and Ella McCay (in postproduction).
CHRISTINA JONES
SHE/HER/HERS
Christina Jones is thrilled to be a part of the RoxFilm Daily Reads Series. She is an aspiring actress and musician studying musical theater at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, with a specialization in songwriting. She has participated and competed in both local and national competitions, such as the St Louis Teen Talent Competition (winner in 2017), American Idol (season 13), and Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. Her theatrical work includes Cabaret (Ensemble), Shrek the Musical (Dragon), Big Fish (The Witch and Josephine respectively), and many more. Her theatrical work/playreadings on zoom include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Peasblossom and the Fairy) and For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf (Lady in Yellow). She is expected to play one of the Hunnies girls in Jelly’s Last Jam at New Repertory Theater in Watertown, MA, and Charlaine Woodard in Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Central Square Theater in Cambridge, MA in 2021.
CHRISTOPHER JAMES
HE/HIM/HIS
Chris grew up in California and made his first appearance on stage in his third-grade class’s performance of “The Elves and the Shoemaker” where he played the Shoemaker. Chris did not pursue acting, instead choosing the Navy, where he was detailed as ‘Escort’ for the “1973 Miss California Beauty Pageant” in San Francisco, California. Later he was again singled-out for a Navy enlistment photo shoot, that ran in 1984-85. After serving 25 years in the service, later pursuing a master’s in social work at the University of Connecticut, Chris studied “Stage and Theater Acting” under Michael Bradford. Working as a member of Professor Bradford’s ensemble, and preforming play’s such as “Black like my Sole is Black”, by Michael Bradford, Chris might have stayed in theater. However, upon exiting the Navy, Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad” had drawn him in to work as Chiewetel Ejiofor’s stand-in. It has been voice over, stand-in, background work and commercial’s ever since. Currently Chris is serving as SAG/AFTRA convention delegate for 2021-2023, and in the running for 2023-2025.
CLOTEAL L. HORNE
SHE/HER/HERS
CLOTEAL L. HORNE is a dynamic actress, educator, and theatre-maker. Her credits include, Off-Broadway: The Steadfast (Slant Theatre Project); Dirty Blood (Billie Holiday Theatre). Regional: Twelfth Night; Merry Wives of Windsors; Two Gents.; Merchant of Venice; Comedy of Errors; Midsummer Night’s Dream; Christmas At Pemberley (Shakespeare & Co.). She A Gem, (NYTW). Black Odyssey (Trinity Rep.) Marie Antoinette, Comedia De Equivocaciones; Venus (Brown/Trinity), Saturday Night/Sunday Morning, (LyricStage) To Kill a Mockingbird, (Weston Playhouse); Funny Thing Happened…, (BarnStormers); The Clothesline Muse, (Aion Productions); How We Got On, (CompanyOne); Gift Horse, R&J, (New Rep.); Othello, (ASP); BlueShift, (Huntington). FILM: The Light (B.K.Lui.Horne), The Promotion (C1 Media) Driving While Black Magic. As an educator, Cloteal has taught at: Yale School of Drama, Brown University, NYU- Playwrights Horizons, and La Jolla Playhouse Student Conservatory. B.F.A in Acting from Boston University and a M.F.A in Acting from Brown University/Trinity. Gratefully standing on the shoulders of those that have come before her, Cloteal is a product of her grandmother’s prayers + her ancestors’ wildest dream.
CHRYSTEE PHARRIS
SHE/HER/HERS
INSTAGRAM || FACEBOOK: ChrysteePharris
Chrystee Pharris blazed onto NBC-TV as Simone Russell on the hit daytime soap opera Passions and she returned to NBC at night creating passion with Golden Globe Nominee Zach Braff on the hit show Scrubs as “J.D.’S” girlfriend Kylie. Currently, she can be seen on Craig Ross Jr.’s Monogamy on ALLBLK. She is also executive producing Mercer Island. And you will catch her recurring on Season 3, Goliath on Amazon Prime. This versatile alumni of Emerson College has conquered feature films, theatre and is currently touring her hit one-woman show In Search of O. Chrystee performed in Let Freedom Ring with SNL's Garret Morris, and Lady Patriot, both plays written and directed by Ted Lange. She has received 2 Best Actress Awards and 3 Best Films Awards for her starring role in Steps of Faith, a faith based film currently on Purflix & Amazon. Chrystee has now put on her directing hat. Directing the stage musical Suessical with 35 kids & adults as well as the short Aimee Victoria which has won two awards; Best Director and Best Covid Film.
Chrystee tirelessly donates her time by mentoring at women’s prisons and teen homeless shelters as well as traveling the world from Compton to South Africa as an Ambassador speaking to young people on everything from education to setting goals in order to plan a better future for themselves. Her specialty is speaking about the Business of Acting to young actors. “My success means nothing, if I have not planted a seed in someone’s life.” “I want to give others what has been given to me: hope, vision and determination.” Without a doubt, Chrystee Pharris, the beauty with brains and belief is turning heads and making people take notice in all aspects of the entertainment industry — all over the world.
DANIEL CALLAHAN
HE/HIM/HIS
WEBSITE || INSTAGRAM || FACEBOOK
Daniel Callahan is multi-disciplinary artist and performer. Merging a plethora of mediums including film, painting, photography and performance Daniel seeks to create immersive experiences incorporating story, ritual and the human form to explore aspects of resilience and mysticism. A graduate of the UPenn School of Design, and Emerson College, where he received an MFA in Film and Video, Daniel and his work have been featured at the Museum of Fine Art, The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Queens Museum, The New Orleans Museum of Art and publications such as Believer Magazine, The Smithsonian Press, and Words Beats & Life: The Global Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.
DARLINE ANN HARRIS
SHE/HER/HERS
Darline Ann Harris is an union Actress in Sag/Aftra and AEA with credits on Stage, TV and Film, Radio, and
Voice Overs. Darline began acting in Boston under Susan Batson and left to trained with the Late Ms Beah Richards' Academy of Being in Los Angeles California and with other known Actors. She was an Artist in Residency for the California Arts and Corrections Program. She feels blessed to have perform on the East, West Coast , and other states in the USA as well as in England and Scotland. So thankful to still be living in the Art and also contributing positive energy in our society performing simulations for Medical Students.
DARREN PAUL
A Dallas, TX native and recent Boston resident whose work has been primarily onstage, but looking forward to more on-camera opportunities. Credits include: JESUS, NOAH(Sight & Sound Theatres), Passing Strange, Memphis, Hot Mikado (Theatre Three), Smile, Smile Again, Original Man (Ochre House Theatre), The Color Purple, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, It Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues (Jubilee Theatre).
DASHAUN KNIGHT-BARTLEY
HE/HIM/HIS
Facebook: Dashaun Knight
I’m 26 with the whole world ahead of me I’m ready to embark on this great journey called life with hope and aspiration. I plan on building generational wealth from my family and making sure all my dreams come true in the process. right now I’m currently working as a behavioral therapist, but that was not always the goal. I’ve wanted to be an actor since I was little. And I even went to Boston Arts Academy as a theater major. Life had other plans for me, but that does mean I stopped loving the idea of being on the big screen, and hopefully one day it will happen. I just have to keep pushing forward.
DAVID J. CURTIS
HE/HIM/HIS
Born in Washington, D.C., but raised in Boston, MA since 6 months, David J. Curtis has been blessed to work in television, film and stage since
2004. David is a director, actor, screenwriter, and producer. Some of David’s production credits include directing/writing/producing and
starring in the short film, “Love of a Lifetime,” due to make the festival rounds this Summer/Fall, co-directing/producing the short film,
“Plus 1s,” written by and starring his good friend, the amazing Liz Eng,acting in and producing the award-winning, full-length psychological
thriller “By the Water’s Edge,” and many other music videos, promotional and testimonial videos. A proud SAG-AFTRA member since 2007, some of
David’s film and television credits include principal roles in TheWalking Dead: Dead City, The Holdovers, Dexter: New Blood, A Very
Vermont Christmas, Julia, Kevin Can F- - - Himself, Don’t Look Up, Whiskey Floats, R.I.P.D., The Maiden Heist, Edge of Darkness and many
more. With many theatre productions under his belt, his most memorable stage credits include “When January Feels like Summer,” “Brokeology,” “A
Soldier's Play,” “The Crucible,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” and “Mama, I Want to Sing,” David has also been featured in many national and
regional television. In addition to acting, David is also an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, composer, music producer, and sound engineer with many credits to his name.
DEANNA BEMUR
SHE/HER
Deannah Blemur (she/her) is a Haitian-American performing artist and entrepreneur. As the president of Holos Multimedia, she aims to provide resources that will support artists across the globe and elevate black and indigenous artists of color to secure generational wealth. She was last seen in June 2022 at the Mission Hill Arts Festival. In March 2022, she performed at the Master Playwriting Class Showcase, hosted by Hibernian Hall. In 2020, she embodied six different characters in the play, Broken, Healed, and Holding On, which Gloucester Stage Company hosted. In 2019, she began training under the direction of Jacqui Parker at Our Place Theatre, and that year, she also studied with Michelle Baxter and performed at Pine Manor College as "Ruth Younger" in A Raisin in the Sun. She is extremely grateful to have discovered her passion for acting in 2018 while studying under the late Stephen Sorkin, and will forever cherish the experience.
Holos Multimedia | @holosmultimedia
We integrate The Holistic Theory of Art into our services and empower creatives with mind, body, and soul balance.
DroppLiiT | @droppliit
DroppLiiT is a free and dynamic social media networking platform that helps artists connect, collaborate, and flourish professionally.
Harmunii Arts & Wellness | @harmuniiaw
A multidisciplinary creative sanctuary that utilizes innovative technology to offer high-quality sound healing and production services.
DENISE LOPES
SHE/HER/HERS
DENISE DOS SANTOS NEVES LOPES is an ESL teacher with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Information Systems and a Master’s Degree in Education. She was born in the Cabo Verde Islands, West Coast of Africa, and immigrated to the United States when she was 14 years old. She is the mother of two beautiful children and speaks five different languages. Denise is a published author and a spoken words poet. Her first book is tilted “Dena’s Poems: Healing Through Poetry”. She is also the Vice- President and Events Manager for the nonprofit organization names Our Children, Our Future, Inc.
DINA JEAN
DOCTOR MIKAEL POWELL
HE/HIM/HIS
Doctor Powell is a New England actor and commercial print model, a long-time member of SAG/AFTRA, and is represented by Maggie Inc., in Boston, MA.
Principle leads in film & TV include, Dr. Smith in “The Duet of Florence Price & Amy Beach” Half the History, ER Surgeon in “Scenes from the Apocalypse” R.NALL, and Mr. Balman, the Milkman in “Gerbert” CBN, but his favorite role was as a featured player (Groomsman) in “Love Hurts” by director Bud Yorkin (All in the Family, Sanford and Son) in which he was closely sequestered with Cloris Leachman, Jeff Daniels, John Mahoney and Judith Ivy in Waxahachie, Texas for five days.
Principal roles in theater include Jimmy in “A Taste of Honey”, Archie in “The Little Tommy Parker Celebrated Colored Minstrel Show”, and in the workshop ensemble of “Prometheus Bound”, directed by Richard Schechner (creator of Dionysus in 69 – a performance study). Doctor Powell has appeared in several commercials and many, many industrial films and print projects.
He has extensive and on-going training in Method Acting in person at Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute, Los Angeles, and has just completed 18 months of twice-weekly Online Advanced Method Acting training with Rachel Bailit from the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute at Boston Casting. Currently Doctor Powell is also in improvisational training at Providence Improv Guild, and he attends various local acting workshops.
DONOVAN WOODS
HE/HIM/HIS
Donovan was recently appeared as Daz in the virtual production of Kill Move Paradise. Previously he made his New York debut as Esu in Feast: A Yoruba Project with Vineyard Entertainment! His past roles include Between the Lines (Ryan) A Raisin in the Sun (George Murchison), A Christmas Carol (Topper) at Kansas City Repertory Theater. The Brothers Size (Oshoosi Size) at Unicorn Theater and Hairspray at Starlight Theatre.
EZRA REY STEVENS
HE/HIM/HIS
Ezra Stevens is a God fearing, Family oriented individual who Grew up in Cambridge Massachusetts, Ezra enjoy's every area of Acting, from comedy, Drama, and Action. He is a Phoenix on the rise, A classmate and professor from Emerson college pushed Ezra out of his comfort zone. Ezra has also done various, Plays, short films, feature films, and commercials. Ezra has had the opportunity to work with, various directors, and some awesome Actors. Theatre Plays such as, "A Soldier's Play", "To Kill A Mockingbird", "Othello", and "M*A*S*H" just to name a few. Ezra Appreciate's every opportunities given. Ezra Rey Stevens ’ film and television credit's include "come on in", "lighter than air", "Alone in the Woods", and Don't look up".
GILDA JAMES
SHE/HER/HERS
GILDA JAMES SHE/HER/HERS Born in Queens, grew up in Connecticut, later moving to Italy then Florida, and finally Massachusetts in 2015. Married, one daughter, two grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Gilda started acting very young, inspired by her mother’s involvement with community fashion shows. Later she was modeling at the Naval Submarine Base in Connecticut. Then, swimwear in Florida, and Informal wear in Alabama. Trained for runway photography, and dramatic modeling for TV commercials, at the Alabama Talent Agency. At the University of Connecticut, she worked with Michael Bradford, the Professor of Theater Arts. Her brother, Harry Thomas, also helped in her acting career, with her fist movie “Amistad”. The Amistad Movie gave her the opportunity to meet the director, Steven Spielberg and many other actors. From this first movie she was able join the Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artiste (SAG/AFTRA). It created more opportunities to work as a stand-in for the Providence Pilot and the movies Proud Mary and The Sleep Over. She has appeared on TV with Gale King, Talk Shows with John Fahey and Martin Olsen, and heard on radio station 980 WCAP with Dorcas Valentine for Senior Voices. Working to expand within the SAG/AFTRA, she ran for union office. Still working as an actor and union board member on the 2019 SAG/AFTRA Board, she was re elected this past year for 2021. She is further involved in her community as an active Poll worker, and volunteer at the Lowell Senior Center’s Age Friendly Group and Board member for Lowell Council on Aging.
HEATHER GIBSON
SHE/HER/HERS
Heather Gibson is a versatile and dynamic actor known for her performances in theatre, television and film. She received her Bachelors of Arts in Theatre from the University of Maryland College Park. Heather just participated in the 2024 Disney Discovers Showcase in Los Angeles, California! Her television credits include guest starring in NBC's Chicago Fire, Tyler Perry's “All The Queens Men” and appearance FX's “American Horror Story”. Theatre credits include "Steel Magnolias" at Everyman Theatre and two Kennedy Center world premieres of "She A Gem" by Josh Wilder and "HERStory: Love Forever Hip Hop" by Goldie Patrick. Heather's currently working on producing her first full length play, "Biscuits & Gravy"; a play dedicated to the bringing together of multiple generations of a very disconnected and dysfunctional multi racial family.
JACKIE DAVIS
JACQUI PARKER
SHE/HER/HERS
Heather Gibson is a versatile and dynamic actor known for her performances in theatre, television and film. She received her Bachelors of Arts in Theatre from the University of Maryland College Park. Heather just participated in the 2024 Disney Discovers Showcase in Los Angeles, California! Her television credits include guest starring in NBC's Chicago Fire, Tyler Perry's “All The Queens Men” and appearance FX's “American Horror Story”. Theatre credits include "Steel Magnolias" at Everyman Theatre and two Kennedy Center world premieres of "She A Gem" by Josh Wilder and "HERStory: Love Forever Hip Hop" by Goldie Patrick. Heather's currently working on producing her first full length play, "Biscuits & Gravy"; a play dedicated to the bringing together of multiple generations of a very disconnected and dysfunctional multi racial family.
JANINE ROBINSON
SHE/HER/HERS
Janine Robinson is an actor, writer, and film-maker and producer. Her passion for collaborative film-making led her to work in numerous film productions in Boston. She continues to working on her book, The Access Road, a Sci-Fi Drama and other screenplays.
JOHN BROWNLIE
HE/HIM/HIS
John, a British expat, trained and developed his craft in the UK. Training first in a Performing Arts High School then moving into amateur theatre, where he stage managed for East Lynne and Blithe Spirit, and did tech for Dial M for Murder and Little Voice. John took to the stage in The Magistrate, Naked Justice, Our Day Out, and Much Ado About Nothing.
Brownlie attended Bretton Hall (Leeds University) to continue his education in acting. There he devised, wrote, and performed in several productions across a variety of genres and styles. Graduating with a BA (Hons) in Acting he formed Daft Mattress, where he co-wrote, directed, performed and toured with several productions. Arriving with his wife in Taiwan 2013 John became a long-standing member at the Lab Space, where he continued to develop his skills and train in Meisner, Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, and classical, to name a few. Brownlie performed in Sylvia, Wait Until Dark, the Taipei 24-hour theatre festivals, male swing for The Diary of Anne Frank, Tape and White Rabbit Red Rabbit. In front of the camera John was a finalist in the 2021 World Monologue Games, played the lead in What Comes Next and 2018’s award-winning short film Portraits. In 2019 he founded Taipei Shorts, working with expats and Taiwanese to create a bilingual theatre company which produced over 20 unique short plays. Since moving to the US last Spring, he has been involved with Mass Arts, NERC, HCE Players, and acted in several short films.
JOSHUA OLUMIDE
HE/HIM/HIS
Joshua Olumide is an actor raised in Worcester, Massachusetts. He studied acting at, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. His theatre credits include: Macbeth (Hanover Theatre Rep), Romeo and Juliet (Classic Theatre of Maryland), A Raisin in the Sun (New Repertory Theatre), Our Town (People’s Light), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival). Film credits include: “American Fiction,” (MGM, Oscar winning screenplay). “Detroit” (Annapurna Pictures, directed by Kathryn Bigelow). This summer you can catch Josh out on Boston Common in William Shakespeare’s, The Winter’s Tale, produced by Commonwealth Shakespeare Company.
JUDITH NELSON DILDAY
SHE/HER/HERS
Judith Nelson Dilday’s credits include 20th Century Blues (The Burlington Players), The Audacity: Women Speak (Sleeping Weasel), Slam Boston (Open Theatre Project ), (Top Eye Open (Hibernian Hall), The Crucible (Franklin Performing Arts Company), Bold Moves (Hibernian Hall) ,The Women of August Wilson (Our Place Theatre ), Healing Waters (Our Place Theater), and Black Nativity (National Center of Afro-American Artists). Ms. Dilday is a Boston-based retired judge.
JULIA CARPENTER
SHE/HER/HERS
Born in Rochester, NY but now a Bostonian, Julia, is known for her enthusiastic, credible, caring and warm voice. An award winning Toastmaster, many have heard her presenting on our local GBH (Public Broadcasting Service) televised auctions.
You may also have heard her as the host Chef Julia, “In the Kitchen” and “SisterTalk”, booster shows for Brown University Institute for Community Health Promotion, or as the voice of instruction for the League of Women Voters Citizen Education Fund voter demonstrations of Datavote, Optech, Accuvote, AVM 40, and Paper Voting Machines for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
JUSTIN DAVIS
HE/THEY
Justin D. Davis (he/they) is elated to be returning RoxFilm Festival daily reads this year. Raised in East Providence, RI and now based in Boston, Justin D. Davis is a communicator, connector, and assistant. He appeared as a backup dancer in the highly acclaimed film, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody". His credits include a variety of theater, film and t.v. productions. He is also a singer-songwriter, whose music can be found via his personal website, as well as a dancer with a wide array of styles that he trained, performed, and competed in along the east coast.
JUVAN ELISMA
HE/HIM/HIS
Juvan has been a SAG-AFTRA actor for the past few years, keeping up with training and getting work such as supporting roles on Disney plus films like ‘Godmothered’ and the upcoming ‘Hocus Pocus 2! Working alongside Emma Roberts in the rom-com feature ‘About Fate’ and more! Juvan’s been doing his best to stay booked and busy!
KADAHJ BENNETT
KAEDON GRAY
KAREN P.
KEITH MASCOLL
HE/HIM/HIS
The Triggered Project: www.triggered1.com
The Triggered Podcast: @livingatriggeredlifepodcast
Keith Mascoll SAG-AFTRA,AEA, M.Ed is a Actor, Producer ,Mental Health advocate, Sneaker-head, and Founder of the Triggered Project. Keith is a co-host/Producer of the Living a Triggered Life Podcast with his wife Roxann, a Luminary for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2023 Black Mental Wellness Advocate of the year,2021 Cambridge Community Foundation Social Innovation Award winner, and NASW MA Chapter’s Citizen of the year 2021. Keith strives to use his art for social change in the black and brown community. Keith is also .Keith has a New York Critics Choice award, a Best Actor Award for Love Jones by John Oluwole Adekoje. His film awards include The Amy Hood Award from Roxbury International Film Festival, and a Best Actor Award for The Triggered Project’s Motion Picture Live Stage Hybrid film Triggered Life Directed by John Oluwole Adekoje. Keith started Harvard University last summer, and is pursuing his Masters at the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a concentration in Art and Learning. Look for Keith in the lead role in the movie Confused by Love on Amazon Prime, and as Applesauce in The Polka King on Netflix. learn more about Keith at keithmascoll.com
KHAI TYLOR
SHE/HER/HERS
INSTAGRAM || IMDB || RESUME || EMAIL
Khai Tyler is a Boston born actress of Caribbean and African American descent. She plays the lead role in the coming of age independent film, “Memoirs of Black Girl” available on streaming services (Amazon Prime, Vudu, Apple TV and more). The film won Best Narrative Feature last year at the Roxbury International Film Festival, and Khai was recently awarded best actress for her role as Aisha Johnson at the Hamilton Black Film Festival. You can see her in more projects coming out later this year; the Whitney Houston biopic, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and the drama thriller film, “Boston Strangler” where she plays the roommate of one of the murder victims of the notorious serial killer set to come out later this year. Khai has also starred in several commercials and print ads most recently for Fanatics, Arbella Insurance, and TD Bank. She has a BA in Theatre from Ithaca College.
LASHMI VIZCAINO
SHE/HER/HERS
Instagram - Lashmi || Instagram - LOYB Podcast || YOUTUBE
Love on Ya Brain on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Lashmi Vizcaíno is a Latina artist based in Boston with experience in acting, modeling and podcasting. She graduated the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2021 with two degrees, a BA in Communication and Spanish, with a focus on Multimedia Digital Communication. Her love for acting started on stage at 8 years old at the Wheelock Family Theatre where she took the lead role as Wendy in Peter Pan, and transitioned into various student films, recently including As Above, So Below and Plus 1s; and prominent Films and TV productions including Dexter: New Blood and Hocus Pocus 2. She has over 10 years of training with industry professionals from Boston, New York and Los Angeles, including where she will soon graduate from the Baron Brown Studio in Santa Monica, CA. She aspires to be a professional working actor and producer in L.A., and to use her platform to amplify the voices of the Black and Latiné communities. Currently she is rebranding her podcast, Love on Ya Brain, which centers around mental health in the Black and Latinx communities, so be sure to stay tuned later this summer! In her free time, Lashmi loves to cook (currently into asian cuisines), journal, play dress up and be a dog mom to 3 year old Apollo.
LAWRENCE EVANS
HE/HIM/HIS
Lawrence Evans – Regional theatre: Florida Studio Theatre, Triad Stage, Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Caldwell Theatre Company, Charlotte Repertory Theatre, freeFall Theatre, Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, North Carolina Black Repertory Company, Short North Stage. National tours: And Still I Rise, Camp Logan, The Sweet Spot. Television: “New Amsterdam,” “All My Children,” “Another World,” “Ryan’s Hope,” “As the World Turns,” “One Life to Live,” “The Good Wife,” “Law & Order.” Film: “State Property II,” “The Devil Wears Prada.” He studied theatre at Jackson State University and the University of Michigan.
LYDIA HARRELL
SHE/HER/HERS
INSTAGRAM || TWITTER || FACEBOOK || YOUTUBE || WEBSITE
Lydia "LovelySinger” Harrell is an award winning Jazz/Soul vocalist. While this genre is where her heart is, Lydia has shown an unbreakable ability to mold herself into any musical situation. Be it performing with the Boston Pops, serenading NBA fans with America’s National Anthem, or lending her vocal talents to a chart-topping Deep House singles by British record label, Reel People Music, Lydia’s dedication to extracting the pure essence of song goes virtually unmatched. Her most recent musical accolades include singing lead on a Bob Marley Tribute Album distributed by Sony Music Latin, winning the 2015 Duke Ellington Jazz Vocal Competition, performing at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NYC (2016) and winning the 2017 Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival Voice Competition. In addition to her musical talents, Lydia is an actress that has been seen in several regional and national commercials, billboards, short films and theatre productions. She starred in her first Boston 48 Hour Film Project and won Best Original song for her song titled "I Am Beautiful". She is currently cast as Billie Holiday in the New Repertory Theatre postponed-until-further-notice production of "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill".
MARIA WILKINS
SHE/HER/HERS
Maria is delighted to be participating once again in the Roxbury International Film Festival! A proud citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Nation, she recently made her stage debut in John Tavano's celebration of Federico Garcia Lorca, Fuénte Grande. Maria began her career as a voice-over talent but quickly fell in love with on camera work, appearing in commercials and several short films. She has also appeared in stage readings by the Native Theatre Thursdays program in conjunction with American Indian Community House/The Eagle Project in NYC.
MAURICE EMMANUEL PARENT
HE/HIM/HIS
Maurice Parent is an actor, singer, dancer, educator, and mentor originally from the Washington, D.C., area. Since making Boston his theatrical home, he has been nominated for four Elliot Norton Awards by The Boston Theater Critics Association, winning two, 8 Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) awards winning three, and won a 2017 an ArtsImpulse Award. As an educator Maurice has taught courses at Northeastern University, Boston University, Reed Academy, and the Boston Public Schools. He was named the 2018 Monan Professor for Theatre Arts at Boston College and a 2019 Neubauer Fellow Faculty Fellow for Tufts University where he currently is a Professor of the Practice. He is a resident company member of the Actors' Shakespeare Project and co-founder / Executive Director of the Front Porch Arts Collective, a Black theatre company committed to advancing racial equity in Boston through theatre.
MEAGAN DILWORTH
SHE/HER/HERS
Meagan Dilworth (She/Her) is an actor, theatre educator, and choreographer. Acting Credits include Atlanta: Father Comes Home from the Wars (Actors Express) Chicago: Tokens of Promise (Digital–Goodman Theatre), A Day of Absence (Congo Square), The Ridiculous Darkness (Sideshow Theatre). Boston: Paradise Blue(Digital-Gloucester Stage) Saturday Night/Sunday Morning (Lyric Stage). She has worked as an educator with Chicago Children’s Theatre, Court Theatre, Kenny Leon’s True Colors, Emerson College, and Trinity Repertory Theatre. She holds a B.A. in Theatre & Performance Studies from Kennesaw State University and M.A. in Theatre Education from Emerson College.
MEICHELLE VARONE
MICHAEL NURSE
HE/HIM/HIS
Sag Aftra member;
Experience: Shakespeare now; Playwrights platform; Speak easy stage; Gloucester stag; Rights and reasons; Theater Hovey players; Puddingstone creative; Sugan theater; New african.
Films: Amistad; Mystic River; Fletch Spenser For Hire; The Departed; Glory; I Wanna Dance with Somebody; Patriots Day; Blown Away; House Sitter; Fever Pitch; What's The Worst That Could Happen
NAHEEM GARCIA
HE/HIM/HIS
Naheem Garcia arrived in Boston from Cuba in 1968. He is the Founder and Lead Teaching Artist for NG Edutainment, an arts education program, founded in Boston Massachusetts. He has been a teaching artist for the Huntington Theatre Company for over 27 years and recently joined the American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T) as a teaching artist, doing pre-show presentations in several Cambridge and Boston Public Schools, for their production of 1776. Naheem is a long time teaching faculty member for Boston Casting. He is the Speaker in Residence for the METCO Program at Sharon High School in Sharon, MA; leads acting workshops with the Boston Police Department’s youth program, “Acting Up With the 5-0”; and has served as a teaching artist at Salva Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. He is a member of AFTRA-SAG New England and has appeared in several prominent Hollywood feature films, TV, and local and national commercials. Naheem’s most recent principal roles are, The Challengers (Zendaya Coleman); Money Game ( Co-starring as Professor Gardner); The Holdovers ( Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Carrie Preston); I Just Wanna Dance With Somebody; Hocus Pocus 2 (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy); Somebody (The Whitney Houston Story. Feature); Chili (Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell, Octavia Spencer/ Apple TV)
NERISSA WILLIAMS SCOTT
SHE/HER/HERS
WEBSITE || INSTAGRAM || FACEBOOK || TWITTER || LINKEDIN
Mrs. Williams Scott – CEO/Lead Creative Producer of That Child Got Talent Entertainment, Boston, Ma (tcgtentertainment.com) is a graduate of Hampton University, where she received a Bachelor of Art degree in Fine and Performing Arts. A true Theatre Baby for life! She is also a graduate of Emerson College, where she has received her Master of Fine Art degree in Film Production ‘15. Her career experience includes over thirty years working towards the position of Producer, Creative Producer, UPM and Line Producer. She is currently in production for the feature film “Urban Ed” where she is the producer. She is currently in development for three additional films, “Dill”, “A Private Experience”, and “What About Us.” Over the past ten years she has produced and served as production manager for a variety of Live events, Theatre productions, Fashion films, TV series, Documentaries/series, Narrative features & shorts and Music videos. She was awarded the LEF Foundation Fellowship to attend the Flaherty Seminar in upstate New York in 2018. She has recently been awarded the LEF Pre-Production Grant for producing the experimental feature film, “Paradise” with director Gabby Sumney. She has been awarded the Mass. Cultural Council Artist Recovery Award. She was recently invited to apply for the Sundance Narrative Producer’s Fellowship. She has been invited to participate in the Producer’s Guild of America’s Creates Program. She has made it to the final rounds of Creative Capital. She sits on the BOD for The Secret Society of Black Creatives, Women in Film and Video New England. Her most prized position is serving as the Chair for the BOD for Sarah’s Hope Charitable and Educational Foundation. As CEO of That Child Got Talent Entertainment, Nerissa has created a company that is a bridge for young women of color to gain employment in the film and live event entertainment industry while serving the greater community. Her favorite quote, “We lay poise for the women whom we provide an opportunity to wow the world with brilliance!”
ODIS SPENCER
HE/HIM/HIS
Odis grew up in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He went to Brookline High School and became a member of the Dramatics Society. By the time he finished his freshman year, he realized that he wanted to be an actor. Odis then went to Ithaca College to study acting and directing. He studied acting with Oscar Nominated actor Richard Jenkins Aka Ron Parady. He graduated with honors and received his BFA in Acting and Direction. Two years out of college, Odis became a member of AFTRA, AEA and SAG. He worked on local and national commercials during the early part of his acting career. He also performed in radio plays on WGBH Radio. Odis can be seen In the TV series “Spenser for Hire” with Robert Urich - Seasons One and Two, “Here Comes the Boom” with Kevin James, “Defending Jacob” With Chris Evans on Apple TV Plus as the school principal and on Netflix’s “Don’t Look Up” With Meryl Streep as the Chief Justice. Odis also played Professor Leon in a Short film “Miles of Summer” by Sam Zilic, and Oswald in “Magpie Optical” a film by Madeline Kotary and A short Film “Like Me” by Elias Stevens, which will show June 21, 2024 at the MFA at 8pm. In 2023 he was in a commercial for Point32Healthcare.
PARMIE POLK
HE/HIM/HIS
Odis grew up in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He went to Brookline High School and became a member of the Dramatics Society. By the time he finished his freshman year, he realized that he wanted to be an actor. Odis then went to Ithaca College to study acting and directing. He studied acting with Oscar Nominated actor Richard Jenkins Aka Ron Parady. He graduated with honors and received his BFA in Acting and Direction. Two years out of college, Odis became a member of AFTRA, AEA and SAG. He worked on local and national commercials during the early part of his acting career. He also performed in radio plays on WGBH Radio. Odis can be seen In the TV series “Spenser for Hire” with Robert Urich - Seasons One and Two, “Here Comes the Boom” with Kevin James, “Defending Jacob” With Chris Evans on Apple TV Plus as the school principal and on Netflix’s “Don’t Look Up” With Meryl Streep as the Chief Justice. Odis also played Professor Leon in a Short film “Miles of Summer” by Sam Zilic, and Oswald in “Magpie Optical” a film by Madeline Kotary and A short Film “Like Me” by Elias Stevens, which will show June 21, 2024 at the MFA at 8pm. In 2023 he was in a commercial for Point32Healthcare.
RACHEL COGNATA
SHE/HER/HERS
RACHEL COGNATA is thrilled to be a part of 2020's RoxFilm Festival readings. Recent credits include Gloria: A Life (American Repertory Theatre), Hype Man (2018 Elliot Norton Award winner) Greater Good, and Really (Company One Theatre); Cardboard Piano (New Repertory Theatre); The Book Club Play (Boston Playwrights Theatre). A graduate of both the Boston Arts Academy and Tufts University, Rachel is from and resides in the Boston area.
RAHMAN OLADIGBOLU
HE/HIM/HIS
WEBSITE || INSTAGRAM || TWITTER || EMAIL
Facebook: Rahman A. Oladigbolu
Rahman Oladigbolu was coming out of a seven-year illness when he moved to Massachusetts to start a new life. He started as a production assistant on films, television, and experimental short films. As a liberal arts/psychology student and a peer tutor/teacher’s assistant, Rahman sought further film training under the private tutelage of film professor Howard Phillips at the Center for Digital Imaging and Animation school, CDIA, an affiliate of Boston University. He published a memoir of his long-term illness, On Holy Pilgrimage: A Long Journey For Freedom, which details his transformative experience of coming to America against all odds to learn filmmaking.
While furthering his education at Harvard University, and working as a mental health assistant with teenagers and young adults with autism, Rahman wrote and produced his first feature film Soul Sisters. The film tells the story of friendship between a Nigerian young woman faced with unexpected challenges as an undocumented immigrant in the United States and an African American young woman searching for her identity as a black woman in America.
Soul Sisters went ahead to win the “Best Emerging Filmmaker Award” at the Roxbury International Film Festival, “Best Film by an African Abroad” at the African Movie Academy Award (AMAA), and “The Artist Award” at the American Islamic Congress, a multicultural and inter-faith organization. It has been screened at film festivals and cultural institutes around the world, including the Cannes’ Pan-African Film festival.
The stories of Rahman’s college friends became his second feature film, Theory of Conflict.
RICARDO GUILLAUME
HE/HIM/HIS
INSTAGRAM || CASTING NETWORK || LINKEDIN || EMAIL
New to the entertainment industry, Ricardo Guillaume has been a featured extra in Apple TV’s Defending Jacob, an additional production assistant for Marvel Studios’ Wakanda Forever and a model for Kripalu and Progressive Wine Company. He is actively pursuing more experience.
RICARDY FABRE
HE/HIM/HIS
Ricardy Fabre is a Native New Yorker and a recent graduate from Brown University/ Trinity Rep MFA Acting program. Ricardy is grateful to be apart of the Rox Film Fest.
SEINE YOUNG
SHE/HER/HERS
Seine is a stage actress who has been featured in plays such as The Colored Museum as Lala and Mama, The Crucible as Mary Warren and most recently Clue: On Stage as Mrs.White. She has also made it to finals in the August Wilson monologue competition and the Next Narrative monologue competition. This summer she will be working on a production of Twelfth Night and in the fall, she will be moving to New York to pursue her BFA in Acting at Pace University!
SHANELLE VILLEGAS
SHE/HER/HERS
Shanelle Chloe Villegas is a Boston-based actor, poet, deviser and teaching artist. Shanelle has been seen in numerous plays in Boston including, most recently, touring with New Repertory Theatre’s Classic Repertory Company for both their fall and spring tours. Other works include Fresh Inks’ Last Catastrophist, Yo Soy LOLAs’ Las Que Sueñan, and Speakeasy Stage Companys’ School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play. Currently, Shanelle is writing an autobiographical one-woman show about intergenerational trauma. Shanelle is a first-year graduate of Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s Contemporary Theatre program.
SHARMARKE YUSUF
HE/HIM/HIS
SHARMARKE YUSUF is an actor and writer currently based and born & raised in Boston, Massachusetts. Sharmarke graduated from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee with a BFA in Contemporary Theater. He has appeared in several Boston-area theater productions and on television, most recently as Axmed in season two of Castle Rock on Hulu.
SHARON SQUIRES
SHE/HER/HERS
Sharon is a graduate of The National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York. Roles include: (Juliet) in "Goodnight Desdemona Good Morning Juliet", Nora Theatre Company. ( u/s Elizabeth Keckley) "A Civil War Christmas", The Huntington Theatre Company. (Volumnia) "Coriolanus", Praxis Stage. (Mrs. Settergren & Carnival Manager) "Pippi Longstocking", Wheelock Family Theatre. (Demeter/Damascus) stage reading "And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi", Front Porch Arts Collective. (Lucretia/Francis/Shirley) "Onward: Votes for Women"(03/2020), Birch Tree Productions. (Ross) "Macbeth", Repertory/Bouwerie Lane Theatre, NY.
SONYA JOYNER
SHE/HER/HERS
WEBSITE || EMAIL || INSTAGRAM || FB: SonyaJoyner, Actor (no msgr)
Sonya Joyner has been a mainstay of the Boston (and beyond) theatre scene for many years, working with community, fringe, and professional theatres where favorite roles include Gary Coleman (Avenue Q), and Mrs Muller (Doubt, A Parable). She has filmed commercials, independent films, and the award-winning YouTube web series Love Undone (Lead Actor, Director, and Producer). Currently, Sonya is playing the lead in the independent feature film St Jones' Ditch, which is being filmed in MA and RI. You will now find Sonya acting in more interactive roles. She is a Standardized Patient, working in the local medical school programs, a Standardized Witness in mock trials with lawyers, a haunter at Barrett's Haunted Mansion, and a performing, improvisational storyteller with Red Sage Stories/Playback Theatre and Art For Social Change. Voice over, and corporate videos round out her acting projects. She’s even begun doing singing telegrams and in her few minutes of spare time she loves creating in the kitchen!
STEPHEN SPENCER
TAAVON GAMBLE
HE/HIM/HIS
Taavon is a New England based actor, director, choreographer, and teaching artist. Regional appearances include: Trinity Repertory Theatre Company, North Shore Music Theatre, Lyric Stage Company, Greater Boston Stage Company, SpeakEasy Stage Company, Theatre By The Sea, Ivoryton Playhouse, Reagle Music Theatre, New Bedford Festival Theatre, The Hanover Theatre, West Virginia Public Theatre, Quantum Theatre, Village Theatre, Baltimore Shakespeare Festival and others. He’s a graduate of Point Park University and a proud Actors’ Equity member serving as an Eastern Chorus Delegate in the inaugural AEA National Conventions in 2021 & 2022 and as a member of the Boston Liaison Committee.
TRINIDAD TAMKISSOON
VICTORIA OMOREGIE
SHE/HER/HERS
Victoria Omoregie is a proud Dorchester Native who has recently graduated this Spring with a BFA in Acting at Boston University. Her roles throughout college are: Perdita from The Winter's Tale, Shun from In The Red and Brown Water, Emilia from Othello, and JO from The Legend of Georgia McBride. To kick off her professional career in theatre she is currently in The Actors' Shakespeare Projects production of The Bomb-Itty of Errors (Antipholus of Ephesus), a Hip-Hopera. Visit her website to check out more of Victoria’s work.
WILLINGTON VUELTO
HE/HIM/HIS
Willington is an Artist Born and Raised in New York City. During his Youth he’s performed at Lincoln Center , The Delacorte, National theatre of Scotland, and much more. He now Organizes community events with the center for teen empowerment and the Boston Community Action Team where he uses his art to creatively engage people. He hope one day To play miles morales in a Hollywood movie.