CO-FOUNDER – EBZB PRODUCTIONS
When asked in recent years how best to describe himself, David has simply replied, “You could say I’m a bit of an impresario…at times, I’ve been a professional actor & a producer; a sometime political activist; I’m a storyteller, and a host of other things…I do what I need to do to keep food on the table, and to keep the family warm & dry.”
David's discovery of the power of a story and storytelling has held him since childhood, and has led him to pursue such endeavors as acting, producing, numerous collaborative projects, and other creative endeavors over the years. He fell asleep on stage in his very first role as a resting shepherd in the church kindergarten Christmas play in a small North Carolina town, and he's felt at home on the stage ever since – and the belief in the power of telling a story has led him to stage, film, and broadcast appearances throughout the United States, and also in Canada.
On Stage David has appeared in a variety of roles on stage over the years – in the US and Canada. Under the auspices of EbzB Productions, a production team comprised of Serena Ebhardt and himself, he's toured nationally with several projects and continues to do so. In the Triangle region (Raleigh/Durham, NC), he appeared in the widely praised Deep Dish Theatre production of David Hare’s Via Dolorosa at the Stoneleaf Theatre Festival in Asheville, NC, and in Chapel Hill, NC. Along with productions such as War Bonds, The Wrights of Passage, and others, he has also appeared as Charles Dickens in Elliot Engel’s The Night Before Christmas Carol in countless venues in the United States. His many regional theatre credits include such roles as Nicholas in Nicholas Nickleby, Jesu in Unholy Trinity, Mortimer in Arsenic and Old Lace, Hotspur and other roles in Henry IV – Parts I & II, and Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet. In the Triangle region of North Carolina, he took on the role of Henry Carr in the acclaimed Burning Coal Theatre Company production of Tom Stoppard’s Travesties (which went on to enthusiastic reviews at Charleston’s Picolo Spoleto). Over the years, he has also appeared with several companies in addition to Deep Dish Theater & Burning Coal, among them PlayMakers Repertory Company, the StreetSigns Center for Literature and Performance, & Temple Theatre.
Under the auspices of EbzB Productions, David's work has been seen on two public television broadcasts of the company's work – aired to millions through national and international networks & distribution – Elliot Engel's The Night Before Christmas Carol and War Bonds: The Songs & Letters of WWII. His portrayals over the years with EbzB include Charles Dickens; author, playwright & social justice advocate Paul Green in Native; and countless others on stages in North Carolina, throughout the U.S, coast to coast, and in Canada.
On the screen – small and large You've likely seen David on one screen or another at some point – but more than likely on the broadcast or computer screen. He's done a little bit of film, but most of his screen work has been on television. David's portrayal of Charles Dickens in The Night Before Christmas Carol has now been seen by millions nationally and internationally on public television. Additionally, public television audiences have seen him nationally and locally both as a performer – with his wife, Serena Ebhardt, in the national broadcast of EbzB’s War Bonds: The Songs & Letters of WWII – and as a frequent spokesperson with UNC-TV in North Carolina. He's appeared in various commercials, small films, and other media, but it's the public television broadcasts where his appearances continue to air.
At the desk, on the road, or on the phone David has also managed regional theatres along the way (from small & professional theatres to a regional LORT company), and he's led a statewide non-profit service organization. He's served on several panels & committees over the years for various local, regional, & state arts councils and legislative purposes.
David is also the former Executive Director of the North Carolina Theatre Conference, a leadership and service organization for the state’s theatre organizations and artists. An arts activist, he served as Board Chair for Arts North Carolina, and served as that organization’s Advocacy Chair for over two years. He has served as an administrative consultant to a variety of arts organizations in North Carolina and Virginia. Among other posts he has held in thirty years of producing theatre and arts administration are as General Manager for PlayMakers Repertory Company with UNC-Chapel Hill, and management posts with a couple of small professional theatres in the Philadelphia area. He was a 2003 Goodmon Fellow as a participant in the Leadership Triangle program and is a recipient of various awards, including: the Middleton Service Award from the NC Theatre Conference for his leadership on behalf of the theatre field in the state, and an Indie Arts Award for his work to enhance the cultural life in the Triangle region. The production company, EbzB Productions, for which he is a co-founder and now serves as Executive Producer, has been recognized by the NC Literary & Historical Association for its “excellence, its exemplary work & significant contribution to the dramatic arts” in the state with the Hardee-Rives Award for Dramatic Arts. The company was also awarded a North Carolina Theatre Award, The Constance Welsh Theatre for Youth Award, due to the company’s acclaimed work with students and families in Arts In Education in the state. The company also received three Telly Awards for the national broadcast of The Night Before Christmas Carol on public television. As a teaching artist trained under the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ (Washington, DC) Artists as Teachers program, he has worked with his wife and other artists to build and bridge communities in guiding them to create locally-based oral histories and to adapt these histories for the stage. EbzB Productions’ work in this field has been recognized and endorsed by numerous state and local agencies, including the North Carolina Arts Council.
In the community The self described impresario is a producer and actor by day. But David has long been an established, leading arts activist in North Carolina. His efforts have been recognized in many ways – be it awards, honors, or a tip of the hat (from his peers or from publications – such as the Indie Arts Award for his work to enhance the cultural life in the Triangle region). He's been active in the local political scene and has served as a campaign manager and other roles in political campaigns at the state and local levels.
At home David was raised in Rowan County, NC; he still resides in the Triangle region of North Carolina, and is a longtime outdoors enthusiast. He occasionally participates as an amateur & casual/recreational triathlete in multi-sport events (emphasis on casual & recreational!), has done some mountain climbing and hiking as well (he summited Mt. Rainier in Washington state several years ago and has reached a couple of other Applachian peaks), and he loves the kayak and the canoe. He hopes to attempt additional summits in the future elsewhere. He is married to (performer, playwright and director) Serena Ebhardt, and is a proud father to their son.
CO-FOUNDER - EBZB PRODUCTIONS
Serena is an award-winning actress, director, playwright and teaching artist. She holds her BA in Dramatic Art from the University of North Carolina, where she was a Paul and Elizabeth Green Scholarship recipient. Serena has received training as a teaching artist from The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Lincoln Center Institute and The National Center for Creative Aging. Ebhardt is also the co-founder and Artistic Director of EbzB Productions (www.ebzb.org), whose mission is to develop original works that promote integrity, self-discovery and positive transformation of artists, audiences, individuals, and communities.
EbzB's productions of Eliot Engel's The Night Before Christmas Carol and War Bonds: The Songs & Letters of World War II tour nationally and may be seen on public broadcasting stations across the United States and abroad. Serena’s own performing and teaching career has taken her across the US, Europe, and Canada. She is the recipient of the Cantey Venable Sutton Award from Raleigh Little Theatre and The International Television and Video Association’s Silver Reel Award. Additionally, Serena is a charter inductee of the YWCA's Academy of Women and a member of Actors' Equity Association and Canadian Actors' Equity Association.
Ebhardt’s direction includes world premieres and national tours including Nnenna Freelon’s The Clothesline Muse, Tim Tyson’s Blood Done Sign My Name, EbzB Productions' Native, Brown v. Board of Education, Life Is So Good by George Dawson, and Mike Wiley Productions’ Dar He: The Lynching of Emmet Till.
In 2003, Ebhardt was commissioned by the North Carolina Association of Educators to write and direct Wrights of Passage, which continues to tour and has now been seen by over one hundred thousand students nationwide. Through the North Carolina Arts Council, Serena designs and teaches professional development workshops for teachers using dramatic art to support national and state standards, as well as 21st Century Skills.
Selected credits include:
Acting: New York: Winding The Ball (American Premiere, Mint Theatre). National Tour: Anne Frank – Diary of a Young Girl. Regional: The Parchman Hour (Mike Wiley Productions – Cartwheels tour), Alcestis, Chapter of Thanatos (92nd St. Y Unterburg Poetry Center, New York-Appalachian State University partnership), Travesties (Piccolo Spoleto Festival), The Beggar’s Opera (PlayMakers Repertory Theatre), Sister Carrie (People’s Light and Theatre Company), Pump Boys and Dinettes (Georgia Ensemble Theatre), A Christmas Carol (North Carolina Shakespeare Festival), Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (Street Signs Theatre), Love Letters (Temple Theatre), and Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Burning Coal Theatre Company), Various Roles for New River Dramatists’ Playwrights’ Project. Canada: Nunsense Maritime Tour. Nicholas Nickleby, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Chicago, Rocky Horror Show (Stephenville Festival). Europe: Concert Tour. Film/TV: Dopesick On Hulu, The Dead Poet’s Society, The Lemon Sisters, Because of You, Postcards, Birthmark (adapted from Doris Betts “This Is The Only Time I’ll Tell It”), and “David Huling” (screened at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival), Kelly (CBS). Commercials: Toyota dealership, New York Carpet World, North Carolina Symphony in Meymandi Hall, Nike, Duke Medical Center, Domestic Violence PSA, NCDOT 511.
Directing National Tours: Native, Blood Done Sign My Name, Dar He: The Lynching of Emmett Till, War Bonds: The Songs & Letters of World War II, The Night Before Christmas Carol, Anne Frank, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Regional: Fit To Be Tied (Manbites Dog Theatre), The Long Christmas Dinner, A Christmas Memory (Hedgerow Theatre). College and Community: Johnny Johnson, Search for Signs of Intelligent Life, The Foreigner, Where It’s All Warm and Secret, Chamber Music, and The Tempest.
Theatre Administration Artistic Director, EbzB Productions; Producer and General Manager, Temple Theatre; Publicist and Company Member, Hedgerow Theatre; Publicist, The Prizery, Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, Opera Company of North Carolina, Burning Coal Theatre Company, Freelance Publicist, NC Shakespeare Festival, North Carolina Theatre Conference. Serena was also honored by the North Carolina Presenters’ Consortium for her work as their webmaster.
Faculty Visiting Professor of Drama: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, William Peace University, St. Mary's College, Sanderson High School, Raleigh Charter High School, St. Michael's Catholic School, Media Friends School. Headmaster and Acting Teacher of Stephenville Festival Academy of Drama in Newfoundland, Canada.
Education: North Carolina Governor’s School in Drama; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A. in Dramatic Art (Paul & Elizabeth Green Scholar); Hedgerow Theatre School with Rose Schulman and Ralph Roseman – Master Acting; The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts: Artists as Educators: Planning Effective Workshops; United Arts Council Professional Development for Teaching Artists; Lincoln Center Institute International Educator Workshop; National Center For Creative Aging. Membership: Actors’ Equity Association, Canadian Actors’ Equity Association, Screen Actors' Guild (eligible).
Awards The production company, EbzB Productions, for which she is a co-founder and now serves as Artistic Director, has been recognized by the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association for its “excellence, its exemplary work & significant contribution to the dramatic arts” in North Carolina with the Hardee-Rives Award for Dramatic Arts. The company was also awarded the Constance Welsh Theatre for Youth Award by the North Carolina Theatre Conference due to the company’s acclaimed work with students and families in Arts In Education in the state. EbzB Productions also received three Telly Awards for the national broadcast of The Night Before Christmas Carol on public television. Serena is the recipient of the Cantey Award for Best Supporting Actress from Raleigh Little Theatre, The International Television and Video Association Silver Reel Award, the YWCA Academy of Women (Charter Member,1983), and received a grant as a 2003 Durham Arts Council Emerging Artist.
EBZB Associates’ Biographies
Dr. Elliot Engel
(The Night Before Christmas Carol – Playwright)
Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, Dr. Engel now lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he has taught at the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, and Duke University. He earned his MA and Ph.D. as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at UCLA. While at UCLA he won that university’s Outstanding Teacher Award.
Dr. Engel has written ten books published in England, Japan, and the United States. His mini-lecture series on Charles Dickens ran on PBS television stations around the country. His articles have appeared in numerous newspapers and national magazines including Newsweek. He has lectured throughout the United States and on all the continents including Antarctica. Four plays which he has written have been produced during the last ten years.
For his scholarship and teaching, Dr. Engel has received North Carolina’s Adult Education Award, North Carolina State’s Alumni Professorship, and the Victorian Society’s Award of Merit. Most recently, for his thirty years of academic work and service in promoting Charles Dickens, he was nominated and inducted into the Royal Society of Arts in England.
Since 1980, Dr. Engel has been President of the Dickens Fellowship of North Carolina, the largest branch of this worldwide network of clubs. The sales of Dr. Engel’s books, CDs, and DVDs have raised funds for The Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital which Dickens helped found in London in 1852.
Professor Engel continues to teach outside the classroom and give literary and historical programs throughout the world. He also presents assemblies at elementary, middle, and high schools, and his educational CDs are used in classrooms around the country. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, walking, and vacationing in exotic locations where he is not asked to deliver even one lecture.
Ian Finley
(Native – Playwright)
Ian Finley is a theatre educator and playwright, most recently serving as the North Carolina Piedmont Laureate in the field of dramatic writing.
Finley originally hails from Utah, where he studied at the University of Utah, and premiered YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN: A TRIO FOR SECRETARIES (KCATF 2001) and THE NATURE OF THE NAUTILUS (Kennedy Center/Jean Kennedy Smith Award winner 2002).
Finley received his MFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University’s Tisch School of Performing Arts. While there he received the Harry Kondoleon Award for playwriting and premiered GREEN SQUARE, NIGHTINGALE SONG and SUSPSENSE (recently performed by Bare Theatre Company in Durham and as part of the 10 x 10 Festival in the Triangle at the Carrboro Arts Center).
For the “Our Histories,” series at Burning Coal Theatre Company, Finley has partnered with numerous Wake County organizations (including Historic Oakwood Cemetery, the Raleigh City Museum, Mordecai Historic Park, the Town of Cary, and others) to create original scripts inspired by the history of the area and performed in spaces relevant to the characters. As part of the “Our Histories” series, Finley has dramatized 85 separate stories of the history of Wake County.
In addition to his work as a playwright, Finley has worked on film projects and computer game design. His writing in this area includes KLOCKWERK: THE SHADOW IN THE CATHEDRAL (Textfyre Inc, 2008), KAGED (1st Place, International Interactive Fiction Competition, 2000), EXHIBITION and BABEL (XYZZY Award for Best Story).
Finley currently serves as Head of Drama at Research Triangle High School, and continues to write for theatre companies throughout the Triangle. His most recent works include a 2-part adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s JUDE THE OBSCURE for Burning Coal, the ten-minute plays THE INTERIOR OF THE OUDE KERK and BRONZE for the Ackland Museum at UNC, and UP FROM THE GROUND for the Piedmont Laureate program.
Julie A. Florin
(War Bonds: The Songs & Letters of World War II; In One Era and Out The Other – Musical Director)
Julie Florin (War Bonds Music Director) is a musician and educator who holds her Master of Music in Church Music from East Carolina University, Certificate of Church Music and Certificate in Somatic Voicework™ from Shenandoah University, Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Penn State University and Bachelor's in Theatre Arts from North Carolina Central University. She holds a Service Playing Certificate from the American Guild of Organists. She has done musical direction for the following North Carolina theatre companies: Raleigh Little Theatre; University Theatre at NCSU; EbzB Productions; Burning Coal Theatre Company; Deep Dish Theatre; and Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy Theatre. Julie works as a freelance musician, arts educator, and musical director in South Carolina. In addition to touring with EbzB Productions, she maintains a busy schedule of musical direction and accompanying with The Warehouse Theatre, Centre Stage, The Market Theatre, Mill Town Players, South Carolina Children’s Theatre, Clemson Little Theatre, and Electric City Theatre.A member of the Anderson and Greenville AGO Chapters, she is in constant demand as an organist. As an educator, Julie has taught in the public schools in Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and currently teaches theatre at Greenville High School. She has received honors as a NC CEC Teacher of the Year, and Outstanding South Carolina High School Arts Educator Award. While at Broughton High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, her theatre Department performed in the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival with AHSTF, receiving a Best Performance Award..
Matthew Hager
(Wrights of Passage - Actor)
MATTHEW HAGER (Orville Wright) is an actor, children’s musical theatre composer, and teaching artist based out of Raleigh, NC. He is a graduate of UNC School of the Arts (high school - drama) and UNC Chapel Hill (BA Dramatic Arts). He has also received training from DePaul University, Shakespeare & Co., and Michael Howard Studios. Triangle-area companies for whom Matthew has performed include Burning Coal (company member since 2012), North Carolina Theatre, Honest Pint, Bulldog Ensemble Theater, Manbites Dog, Deep Dish, Theatre in the Park, Town of Cary/Koka Booth, and Meredith Ensemble Theatre, among others. Matthew received an Indy Award recognition in 2012 for his performance as This One in In on It at Manbites Dog. He also received a New Hampshire Theatre Awards Best Actor nomination in 2015 as Max in Lend Me a Tenor at Jean’s Playhouse. Matthew has been a longtime member of several theatre-in-the-schools programs, including NC Theatre's Theatre4Change/Spark and Burning Coal’s Shakescenes. In 2017, Matthew founded Aggregate Theatre Company in an effort to develop a younger theatergoing audience in the Triangle. Aggregate’s offerings have ranged from intimate two-person shows, to a night of Shakespeare centered around a four-course dinner at Brewery Bhavana, to a summer children's theatre series featuring four original productions. To stay up on the latest, follow Aggregate on Facebook (/aggregatetheatre) and Instagram (@aggregatetheatre).
Natasha Jackson
(Native ~ Stage Manager)
Natasha was nominated for Stage Manager of the year at the 2016 Triangle Independent and Community Theatre Awards, and in 2017 won a Pietzsch award for Backstage contribution – Stage Manager with Cary Players. Natasha has Stage Managed productions throughout the Triangle area. Her Stage Management credits include: Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma!, Wizard of Oz, Legally Blonde (Cary Players); For Colored Girls (Burning Coal Theatre Company); Little Women (Women’s Theatre Festival); Long Story Short (UNC, Chapel Hill) and Wakey, Wakey (Manbites Dog Theater). Natasha has also had the distinct pleasure of stage managing special events such as the 2017 Women’s March on Raleigh which was attended by approximately 24,000 people. Subsequently, she Stage Managed the 2018 Women’s Rally, which was attended by approximately 7,000 people.
Drew Lile
(In One Era and Out The Other – Guitarist)
Drew has performed on guitar, banjo and mandolin with the North Carolina Symphony, North Carolina Theatre, North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra, National Broadway Tours, and visiting artists including Lucciano Pavarotti, The Pointer Sisters, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Patti Page, Clark Terry, National Tours of Chicago, The Lion King, Spamalot and many others.
He also appeared in the CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame movie The Summer of Ben Tyler starring James Woods. He has produced a CD of original compositions called House Arrest featuring Mike Howell on bass and Todd Proctor on drums. He currently teaches Jazz Guitar at Duke University.
(Native – Actor)
J. Mardrice Henderson was born and raised in a small town in North Carolina. However, he has never let his small town upbringing diminish his big dreams. He fell in love with theatre at the young age of seven after a raving performance of Frog #3. His admiration and passion for drama compelled him to scribe four plays, which he self-produced at his local church. J. gained knowledge of his craft at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Acting. After obtaining his undergraduate degree, J. moved to Durham, North Carolina, which has afforded him great opportunities to work and learn onstage. His most recent work was as Louis in Finding Clara and Brook in Little Women with the Women’s Theatre Festival company. Notable regional credits include: Harry/Gerry in Cloud 9 (Tiny Engine Theatre), Vladimir in Isn’t it Romantic (Cary Arts Players), and Mike in Wait Until Dark (Kennedy-McIlwee Studio Theatre). J. received a nomination for a local Pietzsch Award for his role of Vladimir. J. Mardrice's performance both honors and stands on the shoulders of the great African-American men and women who faced defeatist hardships and endured unfathomable strife to maintain their voice. We hear you!
(Actor/Teaching Artist)
Jeff Raab is a New York City-based performer and teaching artist. Performing credits include two seasons each with the Texas Shakespeare Festival and South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, and productions with Palm Beach Dramaworks, New Stage Theatre, Resident Theater Company, Westchester Broadway Theater, Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, White Plains Performing Arts Center, and Arc Stages. Jeff teaches regularly through the educational wing of Arc Stages, including acting, voice/speech/dialects, movement, and directing full-length productions. He has taught through Inside Broadway in New York City, and at the White Plains Performing Arts Center, New Stage Theatre, the South Dakota and Texas Shakespeare Festival, and is an international guest artist at Burgh Healthy Hub in Australia, where he has written and directed original productions for the school incorporating students of circus, drama, parkour, and dance. Jeff has also musical directed, written music and/or played for many theatrical productions. He has musical directed The Robber Bridegroom, As You Like It, Shakespeare in Love, The Comedy of Errors, Our Town, and musical directed/composed the award-winning score for Libra Theater Company’s 12th Night (NY Innovative Theater Award – Outstanding Original Music). In addition to being a theatre artist, Jeff is an origami artist and teacher, working independently and with Taro’s Origami Studio. Jeff is a graduate of GWU/Academy of Classical Acting (MFA), NYU/Steinhardt (BM/Vocal Performance), and the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre (Professional Training Program). He is an Associated Teacher of the Miller Voice Method, and trained circus arts at Circus Warehouse. www.jeffreymichaelraab.com
David Sebren **
(Wrights of Passage – Actor)
David is a native of Asheville, NC. He holds a BFA in Acting from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a certificate from The International Training Session on Commedia Dell'Arte. He received his MFA in Directing from Florida State University. David has worked for several theatres across the state including Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, The North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, The Lost Colony, Parkway Playhouse, HART Theater, Phoenix Theatre, Ratio Theatre, Sonorous Road and Asheville Creative Arts. He has also worked for The National Theatre for Children, The California Theatre Center, Theatre West Virginia, Trumpet in the Land, The Illusion Factory, American Family Theatre, Dollywood, ShowStoppers Productions, and Colonial Williamsburg.
Alex Thompson
(In One Era and Out the Other and The Art of Love – Accompanist/Singer/Composer)
Alex was born and raised in North Carolina, USA. He studied Media Production and Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and during his time there he worked as a composer, sound designer, accompanist, vocal arranger, music director, and conductor. Since finishing with school he has worked in and around the North Carolina / East Coast area, and has also worked extensively as a music director, accompanist and conductor for musical theatre. Alex has served as the Associate Music Director / Pianist of Playmakers Repertory Company’s production of My Fair Lady. In addition to teaching piano and voice, Alex also works as a music producer, orchestrator, arranger, and engineer, working mainly in the areas of hip-hop and pop production/arranging, but has also lent his skill set to many other genres, including folk, rock, jazz, classical, a cappella and choral music.
Nancy Whelan
(In One Era and Out the Other; War Bonds: The Songs & Letters of World War II – Accompanist)
Nancy Whelan is a collaborative pianist who works with vocalists, instrumentalists and dancers in both classical and theatrical genres. She is the Associate Musical Director and Orchestra Contractor for North Carolina Theatre (having worked with such Broadway legends as Beth Leavel, Craig Schulman, Jacquelyn Pirot Donovan and Sally Struthers), and has over 25 years of experience as a Musical Director, including North Carolina Theatre’s Next to Normal and Hairspray. She has been a keyboardist for numerous Broadway touring companies, including the National Tours of Wicked, Evita, Mamma Mia!, Billy Elliot, and Steel Pier, to name a few, and was a member of North Carolina Theatre’s national tour. She has performed with the North Carolina Symphony on such shows as Wicked, Divas, The Planets, Petrushka, Carmina Burana, and recorded a CD with Andrew McAfee, former principal horn with the North Carolina Symphony. She is a frequent recital collaborator (with such artists as Bonnie Thron, principal cello with the North Carolina Symphony), recently accompanied Zuill Bailey and Branford Marsalis in NCS events, and is a pianist for the world-renowned Carolina Ballet. Ms. Whelan received her Master's of Music in Performance with a Concentration in Accompanying from Meredith College.
Mike Wiley **
(Brown v. Board; Life Is So Good – Actor)
Acclaimed actor and playwright Mike Wiley has spent the last decade fulfilling his mission to bring educational theatre to young audiences and communities across the country. In the early days of his career, Wiley found few theatrical resources to shine a light on key events and figures in African-American history. To bring these stories to life, he started his own production company.
Through his performances, Wiley has introduced countless students and communities to the legacies of Emmett Till, Henry “Box” Brown and more. His recent works include a one-man play based on Tim Tyson’s memoir Blood Done Sign My Name and The Parchman Hour, an ensemble production celebrating the bravery and determination of the Freedom Riders who risked their lives to desegregate Southern interstate bus travel in 1961.
Mike Wiley has a Master's of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is the 2010 and 2014 Lehman Brady Visiting Joint Chair Professor in Documentary Studies and American Studies at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to his numerous school and community performances, he has also appeared on Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel and National Geographic Channel and has been featured in Our State magazine and on PBS’ North Carolina Now and WUNC’s The State of Things.
**Actors’ Equity Association - Actors appear through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, The Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.