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Leyla Beydoun
CELIA
Leyla Beydoun is a Middle Eastern American actress who was born and raised in Queens, New York. She is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan where she received her BFA in Acting. Leyla is thrilled to be returning to the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival this summer. Her recent credits include: Passage (Remy Bumppo Theater), Banned (Theater Row Off Broadway), Romeo and Juliet (Detroit Shakespeare Festival), and Comedy of Errors (New Orleans Shakespeare Festival).
Natalie Boyd
SYLVIUS/MARTEXT/LORD 2/PAGE 2
Natalie is from New Orleans and is delighted to be back at the New Orleans Shakespeare Fest. Her only other credit with them was their last production of As You Like It, so, this is fun. Natalie is a member of The NOLA Project and credits with them include: Tell It To Me Sweet, Sleepy Hollow, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, Urinetown, Cat on a Hot a Tin Roof, A Behanding in Spokane, Mr. Marmalade and way too many more. Natalie has performed with The Radical Buffoons, Le Petit, Southern Rep and other cool people. She is also the thankful recipient of four Big Easy Entertainment Awards.
Mint Bryan
AMIENS
Bywater resident and notorious goblin-person, Mint (he/ she/they) is a multidisciplinary queer artist and co-founder of Rockfire Theatre who has lived in the Greater New Orleans area for the last eighteen years. In 2018, he became host to drag demon and horrible woman Velma Blair, best known for her off-kilter performance style incorporating their theatrical background, spoken-word recordings, manic absurdism, and the sheer discomfort of Being. Combined stage credits include Pterodactyls (Promethean/Rockfire), Errata (Lux et Umbra), Blue Roses (Second Star), Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play (Radical Buffoons/Rockfire), Velma Blair’s Very Exciting Dead Rodent Parade (Self-produced), Show Float (Radical Buffoons/Carol Bixler), and Tell It To Me Sweet (NOLA Project). They are also a core collaborator and performer for The Radical Buffoons’ upcoming original historical horror-drama And Come Round In Circle.
Elizabeth Frenchie Faith
LE BEAU/AUDREY
Elizabeth is jazzed to participate in this year’s New Orleans Shakespeare Festival! As You Like It is an unexpected departure from her usual shenanigans. Frenchie’s a professional acrobat and founding member of The Flying Buttresses Aerial Troupe; former member of the Whirly Bones Circus Collective and Millennium Circus (D.C.). Favorite devised works include Eternal Harp of Bjork (Marigny Opera House), The Tale of the Bywater Bones (Old Iron Works), Protrusion (Intramural Theater), and Pitch (directed by Riot Mueller). Other credits include Drones (Feature Film), Three Sisters (Nevada Theatre, CA), and sound engineering for 88.3FM WRBH. With additional performances for Trixie Minx Productions, Emcee Sweet Tea, and Nari Tomasetti Presents. Frenchie trained at the Kirov Ballet (D.C.), The Theatre Lab (D.C.), Emilia Sports Acrobatics (MD), and earned her BA from University of California at Berkeley in Theater.
Annie Gaia
PHOEBE/LORD 1/PAGE 1
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Annie is excited to return to the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival. Credits include: Comedy of Errors (New Orleans Shakespeare Festival), Noises Off (Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre), Hairspray, Mamma Mia!, and Sister Act at The Company: St. Bernard. She has also performed for Bigfork Montana Playhouse, Playhouse on the Square, and written for and acted in The Alice Project (Vesper Theatre Company, Los Angeles). She was also featured in the cult horror classic Devil’s Due produced by Warner Bros Pictures. Annie’s other interests include filmmaking, stand-up comedy, singing, and she is active in Upturn Arts, a local art education nonprofit. She has her BFA in Theatre Arts at University of Mississippi and recently received her MFA in the Creative Writing Workshop at UNO. Her play, If It Makes You Happy, was selected for Radical Buffoon’s ReWrite workshop.
Monica R. Harris
JAQUES DE BOYS/CHARLES/WILLIAM
Monica R. Harris is a SAG-E/EMC actor and occultist with a
BA, Theatre Arts from Loyola University. As You Like It marks 3 seasons of performing with New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane! She’s so happy to back with The Bard this summer. When she’s not soothsaying “One call, that’s all!”, haunting your dreams, or tarot reading, she directs and produces. Her recent credits include The NOLA Project’s Treasure Island, reprising both Lauren Gunderson’s The Revolutionists as a Whitman College guest artist as well as Wynton Marsalis’ A Fiddler’s Tale with Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Monica is a proud core team member of the original work in development & Come ‘Round in Circle and will debut in Vieux Carré with Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival this fall.
Chrissy Jacobs
ADAM/CORIN/HYMEN
This is Chrissy’s first opportunity with New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane and she is honored to be here! Some roles she has previously played are: Mother/Hazel in Tell it to Me Sweet (The Nola Project), Lillie Anne in Barbeque (The Radical Buffoons), Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (The Fringe Theater Company’s Shakespeare in the Schools, Key West, FL.), and Agnes in Marion Bridge (Michiana Summer Theater, Michiana Shores, IN). Chicago is Chrissy’s hometown and she holds a BFA in Theater from Columbia College Chicago.
Lynx Murphy
JAQUES
Originally hailing from Memphis, Lynx is excited and scared (thank you, Sondheim) to be doing Shakespeare. His typical work in the world of theater comes in the form of Musicals. Credits include: A Grand Night for Singing (Summer Lyric), Ragtime (Summer Lyric), Cabaret (Summer Lyric), Once Upon a Mattress (Summer Lyric), Merrily We Roll Along (Le Petit), A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Le Petit), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Le Petit), White Christmas (JPAS), 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee (Rivertown), Producers (Rivertown), Shrek (Rivertown) and many...many more. He has also worked for the WWII Museum, Prather Entertainment, Theater Memphis, Circuit Playhouse and Playhouse on the Square.
Matthew Raetz
TOUCHSTONE
In New Orleans Matthew has appeared as Jack (The Rose Tattoo), Dr. Sugar (Suddenly, Last Summer), Tom WingValley (For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls) and Jim O’Conner (The Glass Menagerie) for the Tennessee Williams Theatre Company. Nominated for a Big Easy award for his performance in Menagerie, Matthew has appeared at the NOSF as Dromio (Comedy of Errors), Lennox (Macbeth), and Florizel (The Winter’s Tale). Matthew played Cliff Bradshaw (Cabaret) at Rivertown Theatre, and he also is the Conductor for Warner Bros. The Polar Express Train Ride every Winter. A NOCCA Alumni, Matthew owns/operates YellowBoxCircus with Reid Williams, a New Orleans based Circus Troupe specializing in various Circus and Performing skills. Book them for your next event!
Pamela D. Roberts
DUKE SENIOR/DUKE FREDERICK
Ms. Roberts is happy to be back at this ol’ thing we call theatre. Recent stage management credits: The House That Will Not Stand (Le Petit Theatre), REDUX (The Radical Buffoons), Tell It To Me Sweet (The NOLA Project). Acting credits include: The Comedy of Errors (New Orleans Shakespeare Festival), Caligula (Cripple Creek Theatre Co.), Welcome To Desire (The Tally-Ho Daredevils). Ms Roberts currently sits on the board of directors for the international tall ship theatre company, The Caravan Stage Company.
Gavin Robinson
OLIVER
Gavin is excited to return to the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival after last year’s Comedy of Errors. Previous credits include The Nola Project (Harry & The Thief), The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company (Camino Real, Not About Nightingales, Small Craft Warnings), Southern Rep (Sweet Bird of Youth, All The Way), Rockfire Theatre (Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party) & plenty of festivals, one-off performances, & other small stages. He previously studied in Chicago where he was a company member with Mary-Arrchie Theatre.
KC Simms
ORLANDO
KC was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This is KC’s first time performing at the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival. Credits include: The Unmentionables (University Of New Orleans), Fool For Love (University of New Orleans), Stupid F*cking Bird (University Of New Orleans), Romeo & Juliet (University of New Orleans), BK Immersive House Show (Goat in the Road Productions). Other performances include his very own short film “Do You Love me?”. KC is a BFA graduate of The University Of New Orleans.
Kendra Unique
ROSALIND
Kendra (she/her/hers) is a performer, creator, and teaching artist originally from the DMV area, where she attended Shenandoah Conservatory and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting alongside a minor in Dance. Now based in New Orleans, she practices in ... nearly everything, including acting, singing, dance, choreography, and directing, all for both film and stage. Her favorite and most frequent discipline is karaoke in the garden! She has performed and educated all over the New Orleans area, including with Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre, See ‘Em On Stage Productions, The Radical Buffoons, St. Martin’s Episcopal School, and Infringe Fest. Kendra can be found in several independent films such as Alien, Baby!, The God Inside My Ear, Pink Elephant, and In the Wildwood. She has also been dancing with Melange Dance Company since 2018 and became their Artistic Associate in 2021. Kendra is excited to currently be serving as the Project Coordinator at Dancing Grounds!
