We're so excited to share THE PARCHMAN HOUR with you, and we know the cast is too!
DEE DEE BATTEAST (Lucretia Collins/Pearl) is currently a Chicago based actress, director and teacher. She is a proud alumna of Ball State’s undergraduate program (07’). After the completing her undergraduate degree, Dee Dee relocated to New York where she lived and worked as an actress, activist and youth advocate. While in the city she volunteered at Girl Be Heard: a non-for-profit theatre company dedicated to social justice and issues affecting young women. She enjoys spending her summers working with Hidden Voices and the Blue Ribbon mentor group in North Carolina. Dee Dee received her MFA in acting from UNC-Chapel Hill where she spent 3 years as a company member at PlayMakers Repertory Theatre. Some of her favorite roles at PlayMakers include Elizabeth In The Next Room, Ruth A Raisin in the Sun, and Montjoy Henry VI. She has a great love of storytelling and teaching others to tell stories. She is also a writer and activist who believes that art has the power to change the world—because it has the power to change the conversations that shape the world.
JOHN CAUTHEN (Guard/Klansmen) is proud and honored to be a part of The Parchman Hour. John last performed as Prospero in Jamestown Settlement’s production of The Tempest. Previous VSC appearances include All My Sons and A Moon for The Misbegotten. John thanks his beautiful wife Dana for her constant love and support.
JONATHAN COOPER (Freddie Leonard) is a senior Theatre Performance student at Norfolk State University from Norfolk, Virginia. He has previously appeared in Virginia Stage Company productions such as The Wiz and A Raisin in the Sun; as well as the Norfolk State University Theatre Company production of Ruined. Other credits include Rent, Detroit 67’, and Black Nativity.
BENJAMIN CURNS (Bill Svanoe/Forsyth) makes his Virginia Stage Company debut with The Parchman Hour. Ben has an MFA in Acting: UNC Chapel Hill; BA in History: SUNY Cortland. New York Stage: American Globe Theatre, Roust Theatre Company, ShakespeareNYC, Inwood Shakespeare Festival, Theatre-Studio Inc., Strawberry Festival of New Plays, The Fall Collection. Regional Stage: PlayMakers Repertory Company, Hampstead Stage Company, Cortland Repertory Theatre and 16 seasons with the American Shakespeare Center including the title roles in Richard III, Hamlet Q1, Macbeth, Henry VIII, and Julius Caesar. Film/TV: Batman: Master of Fear (Red Fist Productions), The Jew of Malta, The Summoning of Everyman (Grandfather Films) Awards: David A. Hammond Award for Excellence in Dramatic Art (UNC Chapel Hill), Best Scene, Intern’s Award, and The David Boushey Founder’s Award for Excellence in Unarmed Combat (2016 National Stage Combat Workshop) #1 “Shakespeareance” for Richard III at American Shakespeare Center (www.Shakespeareances.com) More at www.benjamincurns.com
SAMANTHA FABIANI (Joan Mulholland/Mrs. Forsyth) This is Samantha’s VSC debut and she could not be more thrilled to have the opportunity to work on The Parchman Hour for the second time. In 2013, she had the wonderful experience of portraying Joan in Parchman at Cape Fear Regional Theatre in North Carolina with Mike Wiley and Tom Quaintance. She has worked with Missoula Children’s Theatre as a touring Actor/Director for 3 years and had the chance to visit 38 states as well as Guam and Japan. Previous roles/shows include Betty Jean in the Marvelous Wonderettes, Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar, Paulette in Legally Blonde, Gulliver’s Travels, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Peter and Wendy, The Frog Prince, and Rapunzel.
DANIEL S. HINES (Stephen Green/Elwood) hails from just across the water in Yorktown, VA, and is happy to be back in the Old Dominion bringing this important material to life. After graduating from York High School and the York County School of Fine Arts, Daniel spent a decade and a half bouncing around the country telling people’s stories. Some favorite past credits include: Memphis (national tour), Macbeth (Sierra Rep), Ragtime (Theatre Latté Da), five different productions of Oklahoma!, and The Crucible which first whet Daniel’s appetite for theatre right here in the Commonwealth. “Thanks to God and Family for endless Love and support, and thank you for supporting live theater. Now sit up and listen!” www.danielshines.com
TEDDY HOLMES (James Farmer) is a native of Calvary, GA. Also the youngest of 10 children, he is a graduate of Albany State University where he received his B.A. in Speech & Theatre and Regent University where he received his M.F.A. in Acting. Holmes is elated to be gracing the Wells Theatre stage for the first time in his very first performance with Virginia Stage Company. Some favorite past roles include Lazar Wolf (Fiddler on the Roof), Street Preacher (Everywoman), and Tom (The Glass Menagerie). A budding storyteller with his “mind stayed on freedom,” Holmes is a poet with a heart to see his generation impacted through story. “My mission is to inspire revolution and be an authentic voice of truth for this generation. Through the vehicle of storytelling, I seek to battle for peace and spiritual reformation in a wayward society. And far more than my own notoriety, it is my utmost desire to deliver hope to a downcast world.”
INDYA JACKSON (Jean Thompson) is a senior Theatre Performance student at Norfolk State University from Chesapeake, Virginia. She has previously appeared in the Virginia Stage Company productions of A Christmas Carol, The Wiz, and the Norfolk State University Theatre Company productions of For Colored Girls…, A Musical Tribute to Luther Vandross, A Musical Tribute to Whitney Houston, No Child…, A Raisin in the Sun, and Ruined.
JAMES KEESLER (Guard/Klansmen) makes his VSC/Wells Theater debut. James is a local professional working actor and musician. He has performed on many of the stages in the area, most recently in VMT’s production of Hello, Dolly! and Generic Theater’s record breaking production of Heathers, the Musical. Regional theater credits include Peter Pan, Gypsy (VMT), Parade, Light in the Piazza (LTVB), Big River, and Into the Woods (Theatrix). James wants to thank his wife Jennifer for her continued love and support. Enjoy the HOUR.
PAUL LASAKOW (Guard/Klansmen) has performed a wide range of character and supporting roles in both the classical and contemporary repertoires. Recent projects include George in With Your Name Upon My Lips (Virginia Stage Company), Charles VI in Henry V (ODU Theater) and, in a standalone Gravedigger scene from Hamlet, he played Clowne opposite the Thomas Jefferson Hour’s Clay Jenkinson, who performed the play’s title role. A theatrical professional since 1982, he currently serves as Executive Director of the TCC Roper Performing Arts Center.
CHRISTOPHER LINDSAY (Stokely Carmichael) is an alumnus of Norfolk State University with a Bachelor’s in Theatre Performance. Originally from from Brooklyn, New York, he has previously appeared in the Virginia Stage Company productions of The Tempest, The Wiz, A Christmas Carol, and the Norfolk State University Theatre Company productions of The Brothers Size, A Raisin in the Sun, Dreamgirls, Black Nativity, The Road Less Traveled, and Ruined. He is the recipient of the 2016 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival’s Distinguished Performance by an Actor in a Play.
PHILLIP MARTIN (Deputy Tyson/Bull Connor) is pleased to be returning to the Wells stage in such an important and powerful show. Past productions include, Virginia Stage Company’s A Streetcar Named Desire, ODU Rep’s Titus Andronicus, Memorials to the Missing, and Into the Woods. Shakespeare is his first love, having grown up in the shadow of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon.
REED MILLER (Janie Forsyth) is excited to be making her 2nd appearance with Virginia Stage Company! She previously portrayed Tiny Tim and Want in 2016’s A Christmas Carol. Reed is a 9th Grader at Norfolk Academy where, as a member of The Academy Players, she just finished portraying Rebecca Gibbs in Our Town. Other recent credits include: The Wizard Of Oz, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Once Upon A Mattress, and I Never Saw Another Butterfly. She wishes to thank The Academy Players, Caroline Bisi, Patrick Mullins, Mike Wiley, the staff and crew with Virginia Stage Company, her family, and all her friends for their ongoing support.
JEREMY MORRIS (John Lewis) is thrilled to be working with Virginia Stage Company for the first time! He most recently portrayed the iconic Vaudeville star Bert Williams in the original work The Top of Bravery, (RTCC nominee: Best Actor) which he also wrote. Favorite roles include Lymon in The Piano Lesson, Oshoosi Size in The Brothers Size, Shadow Tom in Uncle Tom: deconstructed, and Laertes in Hamlet.
MEREDITH NOËL (Mimi Real) is an alumna of Norfolk State University where she majored in English and Theatre Performance. She is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. She has previously appeared in the Virginia Stage Company productions of The Hampton Years, Oliver Twist, and The Wiz as well as the Norfolk State University Theatre Company productions of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, A Raisin in the Sun, Dreamgirls, Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity, A Musical Tribute to Whitney Houston, For Colored Girls, and Ruined. She is the recipient of the NSU Theatre Company 2015 Best Supporting Actress in a Play and 2016 Best Supporting Actress in a Musical awards.
WALLIS QUAINTANCE (Carol Silver) is thrilled to be making her VSC debut. Prior to moving to Norfolk, she appeared at Cape Fear Regional Theatre in the world premiere of Downrange: Voices From the Homefront (also by Mike Wiley), along with Henry V, The Parchman Hour, and Around the World in 80 Days. Other productions include Macbeth, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Trojan Women, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Blood Wedding, The Serpent, and The Astonished Heart. She received her B.F.A. from NYU and The Atlantic Theatre Company. She dedicates this performance to all those who stand up to injustice.
ISAIAH ROPER (Hank Thomas) is a recent alumnus of Norfolk State University with a Bachelor’s in Music Media. Originally from Red Springs, North Carolina, he has previously appeared in Virginia Stage Company’s The Wiz and the Norfolk State University Theatre Company productions of Choir Boy, Ruined, No Child…, A Musical Tribute to Luther Vandross, Dreamgirls, and Black Nativity. He is the recipient of the 2016 NSU Theatre Company Best Supporting Actor in a Musical award.
ANTHONY MARK STOCKARD (Pee Wee) is excited to return to VSC after appearing in The Wiz as Uncle Henry, I Sing the Rising Sea as Langston Hughes, The Tempest as King Alonzo and last year’s A Christmas Carol as Jacob Marley. His most recent credits include TV/Film: Surrogates (with Bruce Willis) Off-Broadway: Old Comedy… at Classic Stage Company; Regional: No Child… (Connecticut Critics Circle Award Winner) at Hartford Theatreworks; Intimate Apparel at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre; The Three Musketeers at Double Edge Theatre Company; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and A Christmas Carol at Berkshire Theater Festival; The Taming of the Shrew, Coriolanus, Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and The Four Spirits at Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Anthony holds a B.A. in Theater Arts from Alabama State University and an M.F.A. in Theatre Arts from Brandeis University. He proudly serves as the Director of Virginia’s most nationally recognized collegiate theatre program of the year, Norfolk State University’s Division of Drama.
JA’KEETRIUS WOODS (Pauline Knight) is a junior majoring in Theater at Norfolk State University. She is originally from Mobile, Alabama but she currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is her third production with the Virginia Stage Company. She was previously part of the company’s production of A Christmas Carol in 2016 as a townsperson. She was also part of the co-production of The Wiz between Virginia Stage Company and the Norfolk State University Theatre company as YBR (yellow brick road) and Dorothy’s understudy. Ja’Keetrius is very excited to be working with Virginia Stage Company again.