Mary
Lechter
AFYP was founded
by professional actress and teacher Mary Lechter. She received her B.A. in
Theater from U.
of
MD, and has taught at the Kennedy Center, The Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory, and is on the Theater Department
faculty at George
Mason
University. A member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Screen Actors Guild, and the
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Mary has performed
regularly on local professional stages (Studio, Arena Stage, Source Theatre
Company, among others), and in television (ABC’s All My Children) film
(Avalon) and radio (NPR’s “Morning Edition”). She most recently portrayed
Barbara Hoyle in Theater of the First Amendment’s Three Hotels.
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Mary Lechter and the AFYP Faculty/Staff celebrate
the company’s 10th anniversary in 2007
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Faculty
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| Brittany
Bosak
joined the AFYP faculty in Summer 2007, and is a Theater major at GMU. She
is involved in many different aspects of the theatre; she has assistant
stage managed, performed (Laramie
Project, In The Dead of Summer), and designed props. Hailing from New York City, Brittany
made her local professional debut in Theater of the First Amendment’s
2007 First Light Festival. She successfully completed NYU's CAP21 Summer
Musical Theatre Program, and graduated from a Performing Arts High School
on Long
Island, where she went on a full scholarship
given by the state of New York. Prior to GMU, Brittany spent 7 years performing at various regional
theaters throughout
Long
Island
with leading roles in Wonderful Town and Anything Goes (for which she received the BACCA award for Best Actress for
her portrayal of Reno Sweeney). |
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| Cameron Brenke currently
studies Theater at GMU. He has studied with AFYP since summer of 2005, and appeared
in the GMU Players’ 10-Minute Play Festival and with AFYP’s Advanced Actors Showcase in The Man in the Flying Lawn
Chair.
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| David Burns is a former
actor and acting teacher for AFYP, and is now the company's videographer
and editor. A graduate of George Mason and former conservatory actor at
DePaul
University, David made the switch to videography two years ago and has since studied
with the NYFA@Harvard and has become an Apple Certified video editor.
Though his long-term goal is to produce documentaries, David now
freelances around the DC area - mostly football games and rock
concerts. David is proud to have been with the company for the last five
years.
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| Mimsi
Janis recently received her BA in Theater from
Principia College. She has taught in AFYP’s after-school program as well as
summer camp. She is currently working on her Masters degree in Education
and Teaching at George Mason University. She is an actor in the DC area and has recently been seen in
Much Ado About Nothing, Seussical,
You Can’t Take it With You, Julius Caesar, and Godspell.
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| Patrick Magill is a theater
major at GMU, where to date he has worked on several productions, including
In The Dead of Summer (Ensemble), The Shape of Things (Asst.
Stage Manager), James Joyce's The Dead (D'Arcy), Fefu and Her
Friends (Asst. Stage Manager) and Marat/Sade (Polpoch/Four
Singers). Most recently, Patrick appeared in The Cripple of Inishmann and will direct an upcoming production of
The Boys Next Door for the GMU Players. He has directed four children's
productions and worked at his hometown's summer theater camp for five
years as both an assistant director and a director, and also teaches in
AFYP's after-school programs. |
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| Lisa Nanni-Messegee
continues to work all over the country as a theatre director, actor and
teacher. As a director, she won an LA Weekly Award for Tainted Blood,
and a fellowship at the
Kennedy
Center for Tracers. Recent credits include The Dining Room for
Highland Summer Theatre in Minnesota
and An Ideal Husband for
George
Mason
University. Lisa also worked in
Los Angeles
primarily as a Television Producer (Smart Solutions - HGTV, Good
Day Live - syndicated), and Voice-Over artist (Main Floor -
syndicated.) Currently, Lisa is an Adjunct Faculty member at GMU and
Northern Virginia
Community College. She welcomed her first child last fall. |
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| Arthur Rowan is an
experienced fight director (having choreographed fights for the Folger
Theater, the Washington Shakespeare Company, and the Virginia Shakespeare
Festival) and a recognized Actor/Combatant with the Society for American
Fight Directors. He has worked with several weapon styles, including
broadsword, quarterstaff, knife, unarmed, rapier, twin rapiers, and
lightsaber.
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| Jay Saunders is a recent
graduate of George Mason's Theater program and has completed classes in
acting, movement, stage combat, and Linklater voice techniques. He has
previously taught Stage Combat, movement and acting for AFYP and this will
be his third year with the AFYP team. He is currently pursuing a career in
both Stage and Film in the DC area. |
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Staff
Assistants
| Andria Bacus is a student
at Fairfax High School. She was among the first of AFYP’s students, and
has worked on staff for our school-year and summer camp programs. |
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| Molly Jacobson currently
attends GMU where she studies psychology and theater. She has been seen in Providence Players’ production of The Women, and also appeared
as Jenny the maid in The Man Who Came to Dinner. |
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| Mark
Ormesher is an actor, technician and graphic designer currently
attending
Northern Virginia Community College. In addition to appearing in
Robinson High School’s award winning production of MORPH,
Mark has appeared with AFYP’s Advanced Actors Showcase, most
recently portraying The Man in the
Flying Lawn Chair.
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| Jessy Timmins received her B.S. in Stage Management from Radford University and recently completed her Master of Arts in Arts Management from GMU. |
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Additional
Faculty & Staff
| Ryan Wright is a senior
Theater major at GMU, and has performed in An Ideal Husband, Betty’s
Summer Vacation, Mephisto, The Eccentricities of a
Nightingale, and Trojan Women. Ryan has also performed
professionally with Theater of the First Amendment, and will appear in the
upcoming feature film The Visiting.
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| Jacquie Militano is an
actress and singer with a Theater BA from
George
Mason
University, where she received the honor of the Female Actress Excellence in
Performance award for her graduating class. At Mason she performed
in The Dead, Trojan Women, The Trial, Abstract
Expression, The Heiress, The Measures Taken, and Marat/Sade.
She also performed in Grease, Into the Woods, The
Odd Couple: Female Version, and A Chorus Line in various
studios throughout
New Jersey. She works as a seasonal Character Performer for the Walt Disney
companies. |
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| Jennifer Harris is a
graduate of GMU with a BA in Theater, where she appeared in The GMU
Players’ productions as Moo and Betty’s Summer Vacation
(as Betty), directed Women in Black, and was assistant director for
Theater of the First Amendment’s Three Hotels. She has appeared
in several musicals, including
BigRiver, Grease, West Side Story, and Guys and Dolls. Jenn also
teaches our after-school programs and summer camp.
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| Connor
Dale has worked with
Round House
Education
Center
in
Silver Spring, teaching acting for their Summer Destinations Theatre Camp. His lighting
designs have also been seen in local theatres. A recent graduate of George
Mason's Theatre Department, Connor studied acting, directing, and design.
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| Lisa
Lias is a local actor who received her training at
Northwestern
University
and the Goodman School of Drama. She has appeared at Source, Everyman,
Horizons, Olney and Imagination Stage among others as well as productions
for the New York International Fringe Festival and the first ever Capital
Fringe Festival here in
Washington. She is a former company member of The Stanislavsky Theatre Studio and a
long-time member of
Chicago's T.U.T.A. Theatre Company.
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| Jim Maiwurm recently
finished his Masters’ Degree in Dramaturgy at SUNY-Purchase in
New York. An actor, director and dramaturg, Jim has taught acting and improv with
AFYP since 2002.
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| Taylor
Coffman has appeared in film, TV and stage productions around the DC area. A
graduate of GMU, Taylor has been honored with a Theater Department Award for
Outstanding Performance, a fellowship at the Folger Shakespeare Library, a
Virginia Arts Council Award, and an opportunity to sing the Rutter Magnificat at
Carnegie Hall. She has also performed her own work at the Kennedy Center Page to
Stage Festival.
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| Jessie
Duncanson Crain has been working in the Washington, DC area as a
theatrical technician since receiving her B.A. from GMU. She has designed
lights, props and puppets for many local professional theater companies. She is
currently the Master Electrician for Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, while
working with Atmosphere Inc.
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| Kathryn
Kelley is delighted to return to AFYP
this summer. A professional actor who performs frequently in the DC area, her
credits include roles in Heartbreak House,
The Cherry Orchard, Uncle
Vanya, Our Town, Look
Back in Anger (Theatre Lobby Award), The
Glass Menagerie (Helen Hayes nomination), A
Doll’s House, Grimm Tales, Sing
Down the Moon, and many others. She is an Artistic Associate with Round
House Theatre and holds an MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. |
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| Stephen
Law recently finished classes at Northern VA Community College and will
attend Boston University in the fall. In addition to working with AFYP, he also
performing magic tricks and writing his own screenplays and poetry.
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| Lisette
LeCompte studied acting at Carnegie-Mellon University and GMU. Working in
the DC area for the past several years, she has performed at The Source Theatre
and Toby’s Dinner Theatre, among others. In addition to teaching for the past
5 years with AFYP, Lisette is a member of the faculty at BAPA’s Imagination
Stage. She recently appeared in their productions of The BFG, Trickman: A Spell
of Cold Weather, and Aladdin and the Cave of Dreams.
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| Ryan
Mulkay graduated from GMU in 2004 cum laude and performed in many GMU
Players productions. Ryan had leading roles in two recently released independent
films, and is currently working on the independent feature film “11”.
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| Kevin
Murray is Managing Director of
Theater of the First Amendment at GMU. He teaches audition techniques for stage
and camera for GMU's Theater Department, and works frequently as a freelance
actor, having appeared in TFA's production of Three Hotels, The Memorandum, Paramount's
Runaway Bride, several episodes of NBC's Homicide, HBO’s The Wire, and two TNT Original Movies, The
Day Lincoln Was Shot and The Hunley.
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| Frank
Robinson, Jr. (Wednesday Workshops) is a local professional actor and writer
who has performed nationally and locally at Ford’s Theatre, FolgerTheatre and
Church Street Theatre among others. His version of The
Tale of Peter Rabbit was produced by The Birmingham Children's Theatre,
Birmingham, Alabama in 1995. His short film, “A Time to Sow” won
numerous awards both in the US and Internationally. He holds a BFA in Theatre
from Catholic University and an MA in Film & Video Production from American
University.
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| Bryant
Sullivan studied acting at Indiana University. After spending a year
abroad teaching English in Japan, he currently appears in film and theatre
productions around the Washington D.C. area. Recently he has worked on
Theater of the First Amendment's production of Lift: Icarus & Me,
and an independent horror film called The 8th Plague.
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| Madeleine Mager
has worked
extensively in the Washington, D.C. market, as well as Chicago and New York
City. Credits cover all aspects of performance, but include feature
films such as “For Richer or Poorer” and “Riding in Cars
with Boys” and television appearances on “Early Edition” and “K Street.” She has also taught drama for Fairfax County Public
Schools' summer program. Madeleine holds a B.A. in Theater from George Mason
University and has studied at H.B. Studios in New York. |
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| Kimberley Cetron
worked for over 15
years as an actor, singer, director, and producer in NYC, Washington DC, Boston,
and Chicago. She has a master’s degree in early childhood/elementary education
(Fordham) and is a doctoral candidate in education at GMU. She taught general
music and musical theater in the New York metro area before re-locating to
Northern Virginia, where she worked for the Fairfax County Public Schools
(elementary/secondary). She is also a published writer, and serves on the board
of directors of Theater of the First Amendment.
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| Rebecca Pepper is an honors graduate
of GMU where she studied Theater and Music Education (Voice). She has an active
freelance career as professional actor, singer and costume designer, most
recently appearing in Broadway Musicals: 1938 and The Robber Bridegroom at
American Century Theatre.
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| Jesse Schwartzman currently attends
George Mason University. A regular member of AFYP’s school year and summer
camp faculty, Jesse spent several summers teaching at Camp Hazen in Chester,
CT, where he collaborated on the creation of their popular drama program. Jesse
has also taught for The Rainbow Company and coached the Improv team for Fairfax
High School.
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| Kelly
Thomas was born and
raised in Washington DC, and is a recent graduate of GMU, where she earned
her degree in Theater. Her recent performances include Look Homeward Angel
and Lion in the Streets, for which she was commended in the
Washington Post. Kelly has studied dance, drama, and music up and down the
east coast. She wishes to share her love for the arts by teaching children
of all ages about the performing arts.
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| Christy Denny is a Senior Theater major at GMU, focusing in the areas of directing, stage managing and acting. In addition to teaching several of our after school classes, she is recently directed
Reckless for the GMU Players. Christy has worked professionally in New York with The Irish Rep and New York Theater Workshop, and locally with Theater of the First Amendment. |
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| Megan Thrift, a Theater major at GMU, brings with her a great deal of onstage, backstage and classroom experience. With an extensive background in dance, she has performed at the Folger Theater, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Cappies National Theatre. Megan teaches our after-school classes, teaches acting and movement for our summer camp, and works professionally with Keegan Theatre in Washington, DC. |
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