Lyric Stage Company of Boston Stages BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK, Now thru 4/27

ABOUT THE CAST:

Kelby T. Akin* (Slasvick/Brad) appeared at The Lyric Stage earlier this season in Moisès Kaufman's 33 Variations. Other Lyric Stage credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008-09 season) and The Understudy (2010-11 season). Other area credits include Hamlet, Paul, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Glass Menagerie, Romeo and Juliet, and Much Ado About Nothing (Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre), Take Me Out (Foothills Theatre), As You Like It and Curse of the Starving Class (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company/American Voices Reading Series), Richard III, A Christmas Carol (2007), All the King's Men (Trinity Repertory Company), and The King Stag (Elemental Theatre). Kelby has also worked with Guerilla Shakespeare Project on productions in RI and NY. He received his M.F.A. in Theatre Studies from Brown University.

Gregory Balla (Maxmillian/Peter) is making his Lyric Stage debut. Greg is a cast member with Blue Man Group here in Boston, having previously performed with the troupe in New York, Chicago, and internationally aboard Norwegian Epic. Other Boston credits include Ragtime (Fiddlehead Theatre Co). He trains regularly at the Michael Chekhov Actors Studio of Boston and holds a B.A. in Theatre Performance from Fordham University.

Lyndsay Allyn Cox (Lottie/Carment Levy-Green) is making her Lyric Stage debut. Boston area acting credits include: Zombie Double Feature (New Exhibition Room), Dearly Departed, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Intimate Apparel, All in the Timing (The Footlight Club), The Overwhelming (Company One), The Heidi Chronicles (The Longwood Players), ClimACTS (The Theater Offensive). In addition Lyndsay has directed for several Boston theatre companies including The Theater Offensive, Fresh Ink, and Another Country Productions. Lyndsay is the managing director of Fresh Ink Theatre Company. She studied acting at both Appalachian State University and the University of Florida. She holds a B.A. in theatre performance and a minor in vocal music.

Hannah Husband (Gloria Mitchell) was last seen at The Lyric Stage in Or, frantically changing between three different characters, and before that The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. Other area credits include Island of Slaves (Orfeo Group), Coriolanus and Twelfth Night (Actor's Shakespeare Project), Macbeth (New Rep on Tour), and FeverFest 2008 (Whistler in the Dark). Originally from the Bay Area in California, she is pleased to have found a home in Boston's vibrant theatre community. She trained in classical theatre at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from Boston University. Hannah is an associate company member of New Exhibition Room (NXR), a theatre company dedicated to building new work, engaging local artists, and getting people riled up about theatre. With NXR, she has performed in Zombie Double Feature, Storytime Preservation Hour, and Shh! which enjoyed a successful run both in Boston and at FringeNYC 2010

Kris Sidberry* (Anna Mae/Afua Assat Ejobo) is making her Lyric Stage debut. Boston area credits include: The Good Negro, Grimm (Company One), Cold Reader (The Rhombus Group). New York credits: All American Girls (off-Broadway, National African American Theater Festival), Uprising on King Street, The Nine Who Dared (Theater Espresso). In addition, she has taken part in numerous workshops, staged readings, and play festivals, including the Boston Theatre Marathon. She has also worked on various film, TV, voiceover, and commercial projects. B.F.A. in Theater Performance from the University of Evansville. She would like to thank her friends and family for their continued support. www.krissidberry.com.

Terrell Donnell Sledge* (Leroy Barksdale/Herb)is making his Lyric Stage debut. Most recently, Terrell completed work on set in Tim Reid's and New Millenium Studios' Troop 491 and Blues in The Night. Regional: Alligator (Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theatre), How We Got On (Actor's Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival), Find and Sign (Pioneer Theatre), The Crucible (Trinity Rep), Othello (Commonwealth Shakespeare). Off Broadway Dakota Atoll (Lark Theatre), Dunkfest '88(P73), Find and Sign (Naked Angels). Other selected credits: The Threepenny Opera, Vieux Carré, The Lady From Dubuque, Blood Knot, The Duchess of Malfi, We Are Proud to Present..., Much Ado About Nothing, The Piano Lesson, Sally's Rape (director), Betrayal (director). Terrell holds an M.F.A. from Brown University/Trinity Rep and is a Yale University graduate. Terrell would like to thank God and his loving family for their support and commitment. www.terrelldonnellsledge.com

Kami Rushell Smith (Vera Stark) appeared at The Lyric Stage last season in Big River (Alice/Ensemble). Other Boston area credits include The Mountaintop and Harriet Jacobs (Underground Railway Theatre); Xanadu and Nine (SpeakEasy Stage Company), Hairspray (Reagle Music Theatre), Passing Strange, New Rep's Darling Divas Deck the Holidays, and Dessa Rose (New Repertory Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing (Actors' Shakespeare Project),The Phantom Tollbooth and The Little Mermaid (Wheelock Family Theatre), Ragtime in Concert (Marblehead Little Theatre), and Macbeth (Shakespeare Now!). Kami is currently choreographing the musical Hairspray for Riverside Theatre Works in Hyde Park, and made her directorial debut with Leigh Barrett's one-night-only cabaret performance Under the Influence. Kami is also co-founder/producer of The Cabaret Series, which have its first full-length production of all original new music by Boston area composers this summer. Kami is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, where she earned her Bachelors in English/Professional Writing. She received her Masters at Boston Conservatory in Musical Theater. www.cabaretseries.com, www.KamiRushellSmith.com

Summer L. Williams (Director) is making her Lyric Stage debut. Her most recent professional directing credits include the controversial NEIGHBORS and the world premiere of GRIMM. In 2009, Ms. Williams won the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director. Other regional credits include The Good Negro, Voyeurs de Venus (Elliot Norton Award nominated), The Blues Eye, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Spell #7, Jesus Hopped the "A" Train (2004 Elliot Norton Award for Best Fringe Production), Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. Ms. Williams has also directed for the BU Playwrights Theatre, Brandeis University, Clark University, The Theater Offensive, and Huntington Theatre Company. Ms. Williams is Director of Public Relations, and also a board member, producer, director, and educator for Company One. She is a teacher of drama and director at Brookline High School and holds a B.A. in Theatre and well as a M.A. Ed. in Urban Education. Ms. Williams serves as a member of the Board of Directors of both Stage Source and The Coolidge Corner Theatre.

Lynn Nottage's (Playwright) Pulitzer Prize-winning play Ruined has received an Obie, the Lucille Lortel Award, New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play (Manhattan Theatre Club, Goodman Theatre). Other plays include Intimate Apparel (New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play; Roundabout Theatre, CENTERSTAGE, South Coast Repertory); Fabulation, or the Re-educaiton of Undine (Obie Award; Playwrights Horizons, London's Tricycle Theatre), Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Las Meninas, Mud, River, Stone, Por'knockers, and Poof!. Nottage is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2007 MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant," the National Black Theatre Festival's August Wilson Playwriting Award, the 2004 PEN/Laura Pels Award for Drama, and the 2005 Guggenheim Grant for Playwriting, as well as fellowships from the Lucille Lortel Foundation, Manhattan Theatre Club, New Dramatists, and New York Foundation for the Arts. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild, an alumna of New Dramatists and a graduate oF Brown University and the Yale School of Drama, where she is a visiting lecturer. www.lynnnottage.net

Pictured: Hannah Husband, Kris Sidberry. Photo by Johnathan Carr.

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