Company
Amanda McRaven // Founding Member & Artistic Director
Amanda is a director, educator, writer, and deviser, in love with performance from right now about right now, no matter how old the story may be. She is a Fulbright scholar in community-based performance, and her productions have received critical acclaim for energetic, passionate performances in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Virginia, and New Zealand. Directing credits include Macbeth, Orpheus Descending, As You Like It, Playhouse Creatures, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, Antony and Cleopatra, Boston Marriage, Romeo and Juliet, Waiting For Godot, The Seagull, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. She has assistant-directed with Dominique Serrand at The Actor’s Gang, with Tony award winner Daniel Sullivan at South Coast Repertory Theatre in California, and with Bill Rauch at Lincoln Center in New York. // www.amandamcraven.com
Helen Sage Howard Simpson // Founding Member
(She goes by Sage.) Sage is originally from beautiful Bozeman, Montana. She studied Theater and Hispanic studies at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR. Sage went on to perform with a variety of theater companies in San Francisco before moving south to UC Irvine, where she received her MFA in Acting. Sage now resides in Los Angeles and is a founding member of Fugitive Kind Live Theater. She was nominated for an Ovation Award (Featured Actress) for her performance as Courtney in The Pliant Girls. Other recent roles with Fugitive Kind include Peter Quince (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Lady Macbeth (Macbeth), and Eunice (The Fire Room). Recently she played Portia (District Merchants) at South Coast Rep. Film credits include Lucy Pena (Dead Inside) and Kate (Dark Mountain). Sage loves to tell stories and deeply believes in the power of ensemble and community. Sage loves to be outside and travel. Sage loves existence.
Jason Vande Brake // Founding Member
Jason does not play basketball and wonders what people expect him to say when they ask him about that. He's performed at the Shakespeare Theater, the McCarter Theater Center, Berkeley Rep, and the San Francisco and New York Fringe Festivals, among other places. A few years ago, he played a giant king who loves to box in Mary Zimmerman's Argonautika. In addition to his stage work, Jason is an accomplished voice actor, and you've probably heard him selling you a car on the radio or narrating a true crime show on TV. Jason is originally from Iowa (corn, not potatoes; you're thinking of Idaho) and currently lives in downtown Los Angeles. He holds an MFA in Drama from the University of California, Irvine. Jason's most recent Fugitive roles have been Creon in Antigone, or We Are the Rebels Asking for the Storm, Father/Dean in The Pliant Girls, and Orsino in Shine Darkly, Illyria. Fugitive Kind is his favorite thing that he does.
Jim Senti // Founding Member
Born and raised in Saint Louis, Missouri, Jim Senti attended Butler University in Indianapolis where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater. After working professionally in the midwest, he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts and received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Harvard University at the American Repertory Theater and Moscow Art Theatre. During his years in Los Angeles, Jim has landed many national commercials and works regularly in the theater. // www.jimsenti.com
Mércedes Manning // Founding Member
Mércedes is proud to be a longtime collaborator with Amanda McRaven (via UC Irvine, where Manning earned her B.A. in Drama with Honors in Acting) and is a founding member of Fugitive Kind. Company credits include Philomena in The Pliant Girls (Ovation Award Winner), Meredith in The Fire Room (Hollywood Fringe Festival Winner), and most recently, Olivia in Shine Darkly, Illyria. Additional select theatre credits include Jill in The Big Funk (StageScene LA winner for Best Featured Actress), Ellen Roark in the West Coast Premiere of A Time To Kill, and Maria in Blue Shade, directed by Robert Cohen. She has performed in Los Angeles, New York and throughout Eastern Europe and can be seen in several independent feature films, including Zipper opposite Patrick Wilson, as well as on Hulu’s original show Strictly Sexual: The Series. More at www.mercedesmanning.com
Julia Aks // Company Member
Julia Aks is, like, a native Valley girl whose work spans Shakespeare, opera, musical theater, plays, and film. She received a Bachelor of Arts with a Special Major (think create-your-own-major) in Contemporary Opera Performance from California State University, Northridge, and has been working professionally ever since. Julia is a member of the Independent Shakespeare Company, which produces the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival every summer, where she has performed roles such as Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Pimple in She Stoops To Conquer, and Mary Moore in the world premiere musical RED BARN. Other favorite musical theater roles include Cinderella in Into the Woods and Ulla in The Producers. Julia also sings with many opera companies, such as Los Angeles Opera, Long Beach Opera, and San Diego Opera. She works closely with the Pacific Opera Project, where she has performed Cherubino in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro and Pitti-Sing in The Mikado. On film, Julia can be seen as The Artist in the indie feature The Watermelon and as Kelsey Peterson in the thriller comedy CLINGER. She also portrays leading lady Scarlet Ruby Müller in the romance transmedia novel series The Elements Club – I didn't know what that meant either. Google it! Julia is particularly excited to be a part of Fugitive Kind because her passion truly lies in doing new works, rarely done works, and re-imagined classics. Her other passion is combining super-soft blankets, Netflix, and late night New York-style Chinese food.
Melvin Alas // Company Member
Melvin Alas is a DREAMER, not only a DREAMER who aspires to reach his goals in life but he also navigates in the United States as one of the many DACA recipients fighting to reach their dreams in this country. Melvin was born in El Salvador, and at the age of ten, he also joined the journey and story of many undocumented children that arrive to the U.S to reunite with their family. Since 2006, he has lived in South Central Los Angeles. After high school, he became the first member of his family to pursue his dream of becoming an artist at California State University of Long Beach. In the spring of 2017, he took a big step toward reaching his dreams by obtaining his Bachelor Degree in Theater Arts with an emphasis in Performance. Fugitive Kind Theater Company has opened doors to him after graduation, filling him with gratitude and excitement to have a new home in LA. Melvin is also a member of The Echo Theater.
Meghan Brown // Resident Playwright
Meghan is a writer and director in Los Angeles. Full-length plays include Trochilidae (Max K. Lerner Fellowship winner), Psyche (Princess Grace Award finalist), The Fire Room (Hollywood Fringe Festival Award winner), The Pliant Girls, The Gypsy Machine, This Is Happening Now, and Perfect Teeth for Crocodile Land. Her short plays Jack's Last Night in Town, Ophelia, and Birds have had multiple productions throughout the U.S. Meghan recently sold the romantic comedy feature Ambrazilica to Senate Productions, and has written, directed, and/or produced over 20 comedic short films with BrevityTV. She is the resident playwright for Fugitive Kind Theater, and contributed frequent culture commentary for The Atlantic Monthly. Published work includes This Is Happening Now (Montag Press) and Twenty-Six (Naissance Press). Her short story Birds was featured in Francesca Lia Block's Love Magick Anthology (Armory New Media). // www.meghanbrown.net
Robyn Buck // Company Member
Australian-American actor Robyn Buck recently debuted as the delicate by nature, tough by circumstance Ruth Prost (winning Best Performance by a leading actor at the Orlando Film Festival) in indie drama Hard Sun —now playing on Hulu & Amazon Prime. Buck can be seen: running like hell, in the aptly titled horror film Run Like Hell; leaving her husband in Albert Kodagolian's art-house feature Somewhere Beautiful; punk-ing James Corden in the UK Television series Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeway, or being “real to slight character looking”/“sexy, but approachable!” in a range of national commercials. Buck has trained out of the Steve Eastin Studio & Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She is thrilled to have originated the role of Arianna in Fugitive Kind's Ovation Award-winning production of The Pliant Girls. Exploring the role of Mariah in the depths of Shine Darkly, Illyria has been a delicious dream.
Jennice Butler // Company Member
A native of Springfield, Missouri, Jennice has been enjoying great commercial success since being in Los Angeles while also pursuing her passion for theatre and dabbling in film. Jennice holds an MFA in Acting from UC Irvine and a BS in Theatre from University of Evansville, IN. She’s also an alum of iO West’s Improv training program. She is also a member of The Road Theatre in NoHo. Extensive theatre credits include Sybil in Private Lives at ICT in Long Beach, Maggie in Lend Me a Tenor and Abigail in The Crucible at SRT in Santa Rosa, CA. Other Regional work includes Imogen in Cymbeline at Great River Shakespeare Festival. She also performed as Hamlet (and most of the other characters throughout the different incarnations) in the drinking game productions of Hamlet produced by Loose Canon Collective, which has spanned into Chicago and New York. (You can ask more about it if it intrigues you…it’s quite entertaining.) She did two commercials last year with DirecTV and AutoZone. Her favorite commercial success was with Liberty Mutual which played during the 2014 Winter Olympics. Some other spots have been with McDonald’s, Liberty Bank and Sam’s Club. Film credits include Blueberry Cornelius and several episodes for the popular web series How to Fake it in America, where she played a dry, sarcastic hipster. Jennice also stars in a project in production: Check OFF, which she worked on with writer/producer and founding FK member Jim Senti. She debuted with Fugitive Kind in The Pliant Girls as Leta and is thrilled to continue the journey of making great theatre with this company! More information at jennicebutler.com
Alana Cheuvront / Company Member
Alana Marie Cheuvront is proud to be a part of Fugitive Kind Theater as a performer and media maven. She is a performer and video artist from Ventura County, California and has a bachelor's degree in Theatre Arts from California State University, Northridge. Favorite acting credits include The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Boeing Boeing, Polaroid Stories, and the web series Blader High. As a voice over artist, her biggest venture to date has been providing the voice for various characters and commercials for the toy brand Shopkins. As an accomplished martial artist and aerial pole dancer, she loves performing and creating unique works of performance art using her athletic skills and love of dance. She has showcased her pole dancing artistry in Fugitive Kind Theater productions Shine Darkly, Illyria as "Moon" and My Sister was the First to Fly. Other passions include photography, reading biographies, paper mâché crafts, and cats.
Allison Dillard // Costume Designer
Allison Dillard received an MFA in Costume Design and Technology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and works as a freelance designer and technician in and around Los Angeles. Recent local design work includes: Die, Mommie, Die! (Celebration Theatre), Shine Darkly, Illyria (Fugitive Kind), Spies Are Forever (Tin Can Bros.), Dream Boy, BootyCandy (Celebration Theatre), A Singular They (The Blank Theatre), Failure: A Love Story (Coeurage Theatre), Les Miserables, The Lion King Jr. (Milken Community Schools), The Discord Altar (OperaWorks), Sons of the Prophet (Blank Theatre), James and the Giant Peach (Mirman School), Cloud 9, The Arsonists (Western Stage). Her work can be seen at www.allisondillard.com.
Emily L. Gibson // Company Member
Emily wants you to know that her middle name looks like little (for those of you playing at home it's Littel) but she is anything but. Born and raised in Charlottesville, VA, she has traveled to eight other countries and lived in three. She earned her BFA with honors from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. She has been seen as Ophelia in Too Much of Water and in the ensemble of Shine Darkly, Illyria with Fugitive Kind, as Lenchen in the Random Acts of Theater FringeArts production of Heart of the Revolution. She originated the body invading role of Penny/Jack in the world premiere of Pardon My Invasion at Plays and Players in Philadelphia. Some favorite other roles include the Widow in Taming of the Shrew, Jane Gammon in Wild Oats, and Davy in Henry IV, Part II for the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA as well as The Countess Rousillon in All's Well that Ends Well and Lady Macbeth for Teatro delle Due in Italy. Emily enjoys spending time with her little family: her husband Aaron and their sweet but totally badass cats: Dexter, Milo, and Moxie. She likes introducing her friends to wines and cheeses they've never tried before (if you're looking for suggestions let her know!) and is one the biggest Shakespeare nerds you'll meet outside of academia. She has even performed the role of Ophelia in the German version of Hamlet, Der Bestrafte Brudermord (it's, surprisingly a much funnier role).
Petey Gibson // Company Member
Petey J. Gibson (Transparent, Grace & Frankie) is a queer comedian, writer, and Groundlings-trained character performer based in Los Angeles. Their recent writing/producing/acting projects include Meals with Mary (a show Elizabeth Banks' Whohaha.com called "complete magic... the best cooking show to ever exist”) as well as the Somerville series with collaborators Gregory Hoyt and Brian Girard. Recently back from a headlining spot at the Women In Comedy Festival, and host of the 10-year-running live variety show The Mary Dolan Show, Petey's versatile comedic character work has been dubbed by NPR as "fearless onstage...subversive and versatile.” Outside of the performance realm, Petey serves as Head of the Theatre Program for Brave Trails, a leadership camp for LGBTQ youth. As both a youth mentor and youth improv instructor, Petey's work in the queer community serves as an investment in raising young queer folks to be proud and powerful (and funny), especially within the trans and genderqueer population. Antigone is Petey's first production with Fugitive Kind after loving them from afar, so . . . yay!
Karyn Lawrence // Lighting Designer
Karyn D. Lawrence is a theatrical lighting designer based in Southern California. She earned her Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of California, Irvine in lighting design in 2012. In addition to Fugitive Kind, Karyn has been designing for companies such as the University of California Irvine, South Coast Repertory, Great River Shakespeare Festival, California State University LA, Southern Utah University, Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble, and Sacred Fools. She was recently hired as a lighting designer for Radiance Lightworks, an architectural and event lighting company based in Los Angeles. Karyn was the 2012 recipient of the iSquint Student Design Competition Award, and is currently the resident lighting designer for Fugitive Kind, Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble, and Sage Hill High School. Her work has also been seen in Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Romania.
Jeff Marras // Company Member
Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, Jeff received his BFA in Dance from The Ohio State University. A week after graduation, he quickly packed up his leotards and headed for New York. During his time in NYC, Jeff was a part of Backspace Performance Ensemble, under his Drag alter ego, Charmin Ultra. With Backspace, Jeff performed in numerous venues around NYC from dirty dive bars to Lincoln Center, becoming a fixture in the Brooklyn drag scene. Jeff now resides in Los Angeles, where he works as a Drag mentor, choreographer, and Head of the Drag Program at Brave Trails, a leadership camp for LGBTQ+ youth. Lastly, he would love for you to check out the queer web series he works on in collaboration with Mor Erlich: www.sezme.me
Rebecca Nakano // Company Member
Rebecca received her degree in theatre performance at California State University Long Beach and has trained with the theatre company Four Clowns, and the Atelier Teatro Fisico school of clowning in Turin, Italy. Rebecca's previous performance work includes Ubu the Sh*t and Bird in the Hand. She has choreographed for South Coast Repertory and has also devised and directed multiple shows at California State University of Long Beach.
Stacey Patino // Company Member
A native of southern California, Stacey Patino is known for her integrative work with art and performance. Stacey studied Theater and Studio Art at California State University Long Beach where she earned her B.A. in Theatre Arts Performance. She spent her educational years submerged in interdisciplinary exploration of her crafts. Both visual and performing arts feed into her artistic process and inspire her to challenge past artistic divisions. Most recently, Stacey had the pleasure of working on University Player’s She Kills Monsters under the direction of Amanda McRaven. Since then she has joined Fugitive Kind, helping create the latest ART PARTY events including ART PARTY: Filthy Velvet at the Bootleg Theater. Past Credits include Keira in Burning Brightly which premiered in collaboration with Theatre Threshold Company in Long Beach, Lisa in Mainstream the Dreamwhich premiered for Latinx Heritage Month at CSULB’s Multicultural Center, Karen in People of Color produced by Up & Coming Actors, Denise Savage inSavage in Limbo produced by Theatre Threshold Company, and Lady Macduff in Macbeth at the Landis Performing Arts Center.
Jeanine Ringer // Set Designer
Fugitive Kind: Midsummer & Macbeth; The Pliant Girls; Shine Darkly, Illyria; Antigone / Lucid by Proxy: Into the Woods / A Noise Within: Eurydice, A Christmas Carol. Ms. Ringer has spent the last decade working in television, film, theater and other live events. She received her MFA from the University of California, Irvine. There, she took a particular interest in immersive theater, where the scenic environment completely immerses the audience and provides the spectator with an opportunity to interact with the production. From there, she went on to work in film and television both as a Production Designer and as a Stylist/Dresser. She has since had opportunities to work on multiple theatrical productions, films, commercials, music videos, and live events.
Associate Artists
Luis Carazo • Paul Culos • Jessica DiBattista • Maricella Ibarra • Veronica Lauren • Rebecca Lynne • Matt Musgrove • Andrew Perez • Tyler Seiple • Laura Simms • Ray Salas • Rachel Stivers • Benny Wills
Founding Members
Rachel Grate • Sage Howard • Mercedes Manning • Amanda McRaven • Marissa Moses • Jim Senti • Jason Vande Brake
Collaborators
cARTel • Aaron Cota • Beth Gardiner • Aaron Beaumont • The Mots Nouveaux • Mo Aboul-Zelof • Kevin Katich • Aaron Lyons • Yasha Michelson • Amanda Vande Brake • Justin Ray • Susan Coulter