Everybody

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Director’s Note

When I first encountered Everybody by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, I was immediately inspired by his modern interpretation of the 15th century morality play Everyman.  My imagination was captivated by Jacobs-Jenkins' reimagining of allegorical characters told by an ensemble of actors who draw a lottery each night for the roles they will play. Yes, you read that correctly.  There will be a lottery every night! Fun for the audience and terrifying for the cast and crew.

Growing up in the Rio Grande Valley, La Lotería  https://youtu.be/npxfphuAbYU or "Mexican Bingo" was everywhere. The vibrant images evoke memories with family, friends, and a deep sense of cultural pride. It was my introduction to the game of chance.  With a history dating back to the 15th century  (à la Everyman), reimagining La Lotería’s iconography for this show was my way of visually creating a parallel adaptation to the work of Jacobs-Jenkins.  

Everybody tells the story of our shared humanity. My hope is that it causes you to pause, reflect, and reset with compassion for yourself and others.  This is our first show with a live audience since 2020 and we couldn’t have chosen a better production to welcome you back to the theatre.  Thank you for taking the journey with us and supporting ACC Drama.

Tonight’s roles will be determined by a lottery. Yes, that’s right a lottery! If you pick the winning combination of actors for tonight’s lottery, you will win a pair of tickets to ACC’s dinner theatre production of  THE GLASS MENAGERIE April 14-24.

TO PLAY:

1. Go to slido.com and enter the following code:

537910

2. Rank the cast in the order of the roles they will play.

3. Text a screenshot of your selected combination with your name to (956) 342-1568.

4. Entries must be received before the show starts.

Good luck!

Yesenia Garcia Herrington

Cast

Creative Team

Meet the Company

Haley Armstrong

Somebody #1

Hayley Armstrong is excited to be a part of “Everybody” By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins presented by the ACC Drama Department! She’s been fortunate to work in the Austin theatre scene, where she’s become a company member with The Vortex Repertory Company and performed in many of their shows, such as “Click,” “Vampyress,” “Terminus” and others, as well as Shrewd Productions’ “Hold Me Well,” and The Austin Scottish Rite Theatre’s “RapUnzel,” and most recently “Saul Paul’s Alien Adventure.” Working with this cast and crew has been a blast and welcome opportunity in an unprecedented time, and she’d like to thank all theatre-makers for finding safe ways to tell the stories they were made to tell.

Yunina Barbour-Payne

Usher/God/Understanding

Yunina Barbour-Payne is a scholar/ artist originally from Louisville KY. She is a new Adjunct Professor in the Drama Department at Austin Community College. She received her M.A. from Texas A&M University in Performance Studies and is currently a Ph.D. student in the Performance as Public Practice program at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research and practice focus on Affrilachian aesthetics and the intersections of Performance, Africana, and Appalachian Studies.

Jeremy Canales

Somebody #2

Jeremy Canales is a 23 year-old actor born and raised in Austin, Texas. He is currently in his final year at the University of Texas at Austin pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Theatre and Dance, with a minor in arts management. He is very passionate about comedy and improv, and he plans to pursue a career in comedy and acting after he graduates. He would also like to thank his girlfriend, Francesca, and his family for their continued support throughout the Pandemic.

Matt Hislope

Somebody #3

Matt Hislope has worked around the world as an actor, director, dancer, and stuntman. He is the managing director of the award-winning Rubber Repertory theatre company and was the Assistant Director of The Pilot Balloon Church-House, an artists' residency program in Lawrence, KS. He has also been a returning guest teacher at The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Other credits include work with Rude Mechs, Physical Plant, Shanghai Disney, and Esther's Follies.

Sandy Lam

Love

Sandy Lam (she/they) is an interdisciplinary storyteller and cat enthusiast. Some of her favorite credits include performing in So Lucky by Sad Girls Productions and Alone Together by Zoe Chen. In addition to acting, she is a new board member for Austin Emerging Arts Leaders and writes stories about her experiences being Asian American. Her latest play, Twitter Feed, was featured in New Manifest Theatre's Manifest Minifest. In her free time, Sandy enjoys playing the ukulele (but just the four chords she knows.)

Zachary Lange

Somebody #4/Evil

Zachary Lange is making his first debut with ACC drama and is excited to perform is his first ever play production. He is excited and grateful to his family and peers who have come to watch the show!

Savanah Martinez

Girl/Time/Understudy

Savanah is ecstatic to be in her first production with ACC. She has spent the past two years in the acting program at ACC and is ready to put everything she learned from her classes to work. Her last role was in her senior One Act Play “Over the Tavern” as Ellen Pazinski. Savanah continues to study Fine Arts at ACC and hopes to graduate with her Associates in drama. For fun, Savanah enjoys cosplay, and playing Dungeons and Dragons with friends she met in her acting 1 class. Savanah would like to thank her parents Deborah and Delbert, and her best friends for their love and support. She would also like to thank the drama and stage makeup professors for their guidance and helping her perfect her craft.

Kadie Spinks

Somebody #5

Kadie Spinks started acting while studying filmmaking in Boulder, Co. later while living in Bellingham, WA, she discovered her love for theatre at Sylvia Center for the Arts. She is grateful and stoked to now be creatively collaborating once again in her home state of Texas.

Payton Trahan

Death

Payton is thrilled to be starting off the season with such a fantastic piece of theatre. He was last seen at The Georgetown Palace Playhouse as King Philip Capet II in The Lion in Winter. Previous credits include Eddie in Lost in Yonkers (for which he was nominated for Broadway World Austin’s Best Supporting Performer in a Play), Bomber Gutzel in Picnic with The Wimberley Players, Davey in The Voice of the Prairie, and Cléante in The Miser. Payton would like to thank the cast, crew, and Yesenia for the opportunity to be a part of this magical production. He hopes you enjoy the show!

Yesenia Garcia Herrington

Director/Sound Design

Yesenia Garcia Herrington is an actress, director, educator, and entrepreneur. Originally from McAllen, Texas, she is a graduate of Southwestern University and The University of Texas at Austin MFA program. Film and television credits include the award-winning documentary Horton Foote: The Road to Home, the award winning National Geographic mini-series The Long Road Home, among others. Yesenia has been an adjunct faculty member at ACC for over a decade. She would like to thank the department for their support, the cast and crew for their amazing talent, her family, and most of all her husband for letting her dream. She is represented by The Acting Group.

Lindsey Ollinger

Stage Manager/Sound Designer

Lindsey Ollinger (Stage Manager) is very excited to return to ACC Drama! After getting her theatrical debut with ACC in 2017, she transferred and graduated with a degree in stage management from The University of Texas. Her stage management credits include local productions such as Ground Floor Theatre's Unexpected Joy, UTNT’s Not Omaha, and Penfold Theatre's Crime and Punishment. She would like to thank her family and friends for their support, Ryan for being a constant source of comfort, and ACC Drama for always feeling like home.

Ia Ensterä

Scenic Designer

Ia Ensterä (Scenic Designer) has designed sets and costumes for over 200 theatre, dance, and opera productions in the United States and Europe. She earned her BFA in Acting from Texas State University, and her MA in Design for The Performing Arts from Aalto University. Her collaborators have included creatives such as Salvage Vanguard Theater, Breaking String, Zachary Scott Theater, Hyde Park Theatre, Capital T, Rude Mechanicals, Sky Candy, Orange Theatre Company, Teatteri Avoimet Ovet, and En Route Productions (for which she served as Co-Artistic Director), and educational entities such as St.Edwards University, Texas State University, Johns Hopkins University, and Austin Community College (for which she served on the advisory committee to design their scenic construction program). For her work, Ia Ensterä has been awarded John Bustin Award for Conspicious Versatility, the B.Iden Payne award six times for sets and costumes, the Austin Critics Table award for scenic design for 12 productions, and a few “Best of Austin” nods by the Austin Chronicle. She is currently working on five theatrical productions in Finland, two in Austin, and one set design/art installation for Salvage Vanguard and Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, TX..... www.iaenstera.com

Jennifer Davis

Costume Designer

Jennifer Davis (Costume Designer) is an actress, director, singer, musician, costume designer, mask maker, artist, graphic designer, and all-around Renaissance woman. Her recent costume design credits include Pride and Prejudice with St. Edwards University, The Revolutionists with Shrewd Productions, The Little Mermaid with Zilker Theatre Productions, Cyrano de Bergerac and The Man of Destiny with The Archive Theater Company and many more. She is grateful to be working on her first show with Austin Community College.

Rachel Atkinson

Lighting Designer

Rachel Atkinson (Lighting Designer) ACC: Lonely Planet, The Sightless, Harry and the Thief, Much Ado About Nothing, Well, From This Day Forward, Eurydice, Tape, References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot, Water By the Spoonful, All My Sons, Gloria, Farragut North Austin: The Ballad of Klook and Vinette, Notes From the Field, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, and Heisenberg (Zach Theatre), TWENTYEIGHT, Salomé (GALE Theatre), Divine Narcissus, Catalina de Erauso (Paper Chairs), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Middletown (Mary Moody Northen Theatre), con flama (Salvage Vanguard Theatre), The Secretary and Dance Nation (Theatre En Bloc). Rachel received an Austin Critics Table Award for the 2017-2018 season and a B. Iden Payne award for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.

Miguel De Hoyos

Props Designer

Miguel De Hoyos (Props Designer) joined the ACC Drama Department in search of a new career inspired by his love of arts, crafts, and costuming. He enjoys letting his creative nature drive him to fabricate props for different characters. It’s exciting to have this opportunity to work under ACC’s experienced theater staff and earn a spot in the industry.

Kiersta Hoover

Assistant Scenic Designer

Kiersta Hoover (Assistant Scenic Designer) is currently pursuing an AAS in Technical Theater at ACC, as well as an alternative teaching certification in EC-12 Theater. This is Kiersta’s third production with ACC. Her previous work includes Lonely Planet (Asst. Lighting Designer) and Iphigenia (The Attendant) with ACC, and The Miracle on 32nd Street Radiocast (Lighting) with Penfold Theatre Co.

Aster McGriffy

Assistant Costume Designer

Aster McGriffy (Assistant Costume Designer) is a makeup artist and designer in Austin, Texas. They are currently working on their degree in Costumes and Makeup Technology and will be graduating next semester. Their work includes: makeup designer at The Vortex for their Ballet Electronica, Plague Within Plagues, makeup designer on The Sightless and Iphigenia at Aulis, and makeup manager for Scare for a Cure. Most of their training lies in traditional theatre, but their passion lies in immersive theatricality, and working to create a compelling experience. To create an escape from reality that still takes and teaches lessons from history and relevant to current social issues.

Joe Kelley

Technical Director

Joe Kelley (Technical Director) is an Austin resident with a passion for collaboration and storytelling. Whether it’s the set, props, paints, plants, or puppets he’s so excited to work with Tomas and the entire production team to bring life and love to every show. Joe has been active in the Austin theatre community on and off of the stage in many different productions with many wonderful groups such as: The Archive Theatre, Pollyanna Theatre Co., Summer Stock Austin, Spectrum Theatre, Expatriate Theatre, and his home: ACC Drama. Much love to Remy and Tomas for their patience and support during the whole process.

Tomas Salas

Master Carpenter

Tomas Salas (Master Carpenter) has more than thirty years working as a professional theatre technician. He is a master scenic carpenter and lighting tech. His experience includes working in California as; the technical director for Luis Valdez’ El Teatro Campesino in San Juan Bautista, Master Electrician for the Mark Taper Forum and Japan America Theatre in Los Angeles. In Austin Tomas has worked as a freelance tech with just about every local theatre and dance company and in most performance spaces including the Paramount Theatre, State Theatre, ESB Mexican American Cultural Center, Carver Cultural Center, Zach Scott, Planet/Vortex, and others. He is very happy to be a part of the ACC Drama Dept. Team.

Channing Schreyer

Master Electrician

Channing Schreyer (Master Electrician) is a staff member here at Austin Community College and has a BA in Production Design and Studio Art from Pepperdine University. She has over twenty years of theatrical production experience in and around southern California and Texas. Most notably she has worked at Smothers Theatre in Malibu CA, Texas Shakespeare Festival in Kilgore, Texas, Baylor University in Waco TX, Texas A&M University in College Station and has served as the Technical Director for Frontera Fest in Austin, Texas. She is so grateful to be part of the ACC Drama and Dance departments.

Christina Montgomery

Costume Shop Head

Christina Montgomery (Costume Shop Head) New to the ACC Theatre Department, Christina is excited to join the team. Costume Designs (Zach Theatre, Austin TX) include: (Every Brilliant Thing, Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch, Notes from the Field, Goodnight Moon, Elephant and Piggie, Winnie the Pooh, and Frog and Toad). Christina received a BFA in Technical Theatre, Theatre Design, and Technology from the University of Kansas. Her costume designs for (The Odyssey) were sent to represent KU in the RITU 24 International Theatre Festival in Liege, Belgium. After graduation, Christina worked with the Kansas City Ballet and Opera (Kansas City, MO) and Broadway Across America touring productions. She moved to Austin, Texas, in 2013, where she was Wardrobe Supervisor at Zach Theatre for seven seasons. She would like to thank everyone for their hard work and support.

Carrie Kaplan

Dramaturgy

Carrie Kaplan is the Literary Manager/Dramaturg for ACC Drama as well as an Adjunct Professor and Instructor of Introduction to Theater. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College (B.A.), CUNY Queens College (M.S.Ed.) and The University of Texas at Austin (M.A., Ph.D. ABD). She is also a fellow of the Mellon School of Theater and Performance Research at Harvard University. In addition to serving as a dramaturg in academic institutions such as ACC and UT, she has worked as a production and new play dramaturg for Salvage Vanguard (TX), PlayPenn (PA), New York Theater Workshop (NYC), New Dramatists (NYC), Portland Stage Company (ME), Book-it Rep (WA). and PCPA Theatrefest (CA) among other producing institutions. One of these days, she is going to go back and finish her Nancy Drew one woman show.

Carlos Charles

Sound Technician

Carlos Charles is a filmmaker, photographer, and graphic designer with over 10 years of experience. Carlos has worked with companies such as the University of Texas Austin, Huston-Tillotson University, and The Dallas Mavericks just to name a few. Under his company Sir Charles Media, Carlos Charles has worked with many people sharing a mutual passion for the love of film.

Special Thanks:

Andrew Cannata
Austin Playhouse
Austin Community College Drama Department Green Theater Initiative
James Barnes
Carlos Charles
John Cates
Perry Crafton
Riley Davis
Cynthia Gage
Lara Toner Haddock
HLC Campus Management Office
Cory Krug
Linda Morrison
Mike Midgley
Star Maddox
Laine Parrish
Gretchen Riehl
Rudy Ramirez
Stagecraft I
Katie Van Winkle
Samantha Wells
Zilker Theater Productions