WHY and HOW Are Not in the Picture
Cast and Creative Team
Cast
Kymberli Colbourne
Actor, WHEN
Kymberli Colbourne is thrilled to be making her premiere with Many Hats for this wonderful new play! Kymberli graduated from Scripps College with a BA in Theatre Performance. A Resident Artist at Bag&Baggage in Hillsboro, she last appeared in Apples In Winter (as Marion). A few of her favorite roles during her tenure with Bag&Baggage include performances in Moby Dick, Rehearsed (as Ahab), Spinning Into Butter (as Sarah) and Blithe Spirit (as Madame Arcati). She also directed Birds Of North America for Bag&Baggage which is currently playing. Kymberli has also been seen at Third Rail in the all female-identifying production of The Music Man (as Mayor & Mrs. Shinn, Mrs. Paroo and others), at Broadway Rose in Once (as Baruska) and The Church Basement Ladies (as Mavis). She also toured with The National Theatre of the Deaf for two years, as well as performing with the Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland, Seattle Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Children's Theatre, Oregon Children's Theatre and Book-It Rep among many others. When not on-stage, she can be found behind the mic as a full-time voiceover actor. She, and husband Jim, recently set off on new adventures -- they are now living and working full-time in their 35' fifth-wheel, taking their show, literally, on the road...traveling over 20,000 miles in 2023 alone!
Justin Coleman
Director of Artistic Sign Language (DASL) and Actor, HOW
Mr. Justin Coleman graduated from Portland State University with a Master’s in Theater Arts and Western Oregon University with a Bachelor’s in ASL/English Interpreting. He has worked with the National Theatre of the Deaf, Deaf West Theatre, Northwest Theater of the Deaf, and innumerable other theater companies and community involvement programs. Coleman has remained close to the arts since 1998 as an actor, director, scriptwriter and storyteller. He worked as an ASL Consult/Coach for Interpreters at Portland Center Stage for 25 years and he has served as an ASL coach on the Artists Repertory Theatre’s (ART) production of Tribes. He has served as Director of Artistic Sign Language with Portland State University Theatre’s production of Richard & Jane & Dick & Sally.
Holly Crowe
Actor, DEAF BRAIN
Holly Crowe attended the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY and studied at Deaf West Theatre in LA. She has been involved in numerous theater productions throughout her career. Her favorite acting credits include Peter in Peter Pan, Penelope in “See How They Run”, and Dorine in “Tartuffe,” directed by Patrick Graybill and Jim Orr. After being on an acting hiatus so she could focus on raising her 3 children, she returned to the stage in summer of 2023 for “Not Another Deaf Story,” directed by Hilari Scarl and Monique Holt at The Group Repertory, NoHo,CA. She has been performing theatric works with every chance she can. She currently resides in LA with her family and loves to drink coffee.
Rae Davis
Actor, WHAT
Rae Davis's (he/they) passion for storytelling comes from his innate desire to nurture human connection and foster curiosity about, and compassion for, one another. With a BFA in Acting (Western Oregon University, 2017), Rae’s most prominent artistic expression is submerging himself into imaginary scenarios, performing in stage productions, to investigate the human psyche and ways we can delve into mental health, creating tools to interact with ourselves and one another with self-worth and integrity. He is filled to the brim with excitement to share this love for art and tools. We all deserve to see ourselves through adoring eyes.
Kalen Feeney
Actor, WHICH
An actor and writer from the Pacific Northwest, Kalen Feeney grew up with a love of the outdoors and world travel—which led to studying in England for a Masters in Screenwriting. Kalen has written for TV and has done writing fellowships with Inevitable Foundation, Sundance, and The Anderson Center’s Deaf Artists Residency (DAR); taught screenwriting and playwriting workshops in the USA, Canada, and England; and performed in productions by Deaf Spotlight, Deaf West Theatre, and National Theatre of the Deaf. She is actively involved with the WGA’s Disabled Writers Committee and is represented by Gersh and Stagecoach Entertainment.
Rian Gayle
Actor, WHY
Rian Gayle is the Director at the Office of Disability Services at Western Oregon University which also provides accommodations to Deaf and Hard of Hearing students and community members. Rian graduated from Gallaudet University in 2010 with a Master Degree in International Development for Persons with Disabilities. Rian has been involved in multiple plays since high school and college. He was the lead in Fences as Troy Maxson and also was involved as Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desires among others. Born and raised in Jamaica, Rian was a Disability Advocate and Researcher in Jamaica from 2010 - 2014 with the Jamaica Association for the Deaf.
Jake Merz
Actor, WHO
Jake Merz, a native of the Puget Sound area, thinks no role is too small to act. He earned a degree from Western Oregon University in ASL Studies with a minor in theater. He has worked offstage as a stage manager, assistant stage manager and light op manager. He stage managed Autocorrect thinks I’m Dead by Amy Chou with a blended Deaf and Hearing cast last fall. He has played several roles and has had many memorable moments but two stand out: Peter Quince in A Midsummer’s Night Dream ASL with a blended cast of Deaf and Hearing cast; And falling off stage as the lead, Dummy Hoy, in the play A Signal Season. He is thrilled to be part of this project because absurdist theater is fascinating.
Hunter Morelli
Actor, WHERE
Hunter Morelli is a strong advocate of living in a safe, clean environment, as well as discovering one’s self through the fine and performing arts. He currently works in the kitchen at Old Spaghetti Factory on the line and as a dishwasher. Previously, he attended the Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf, majoring in Laboratory Science Technology (LST) with the goal of becoming an environmental scientist. Acting has been part of his life since he started doing plays for his Drama class and several after-school events — he’s excited to be back onstage for WHY and HOW Are Not in the Picture.
Creative Team
Monique Holt
Playwright
Monique ‘MoMo’ Holt, the playwright of "WHY and HOW are not in the Picture," is excited to collaborate with Jessica Wallenfels once again. They previously worked together in 2013 on the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s production of CYMBELINE, directed by Bill Rauch, AD. MoMo is a professor in Gallaudet University's Theatre and Dance program in Washington, DC. She specializes in translating works, including Shakespearean texts, into sign languages and also coaches and performs plays, sonnets, and poems in ASL, VGC (Visual Gestural Communication), and VV (Visual Vernacular). MoMo holds a BFA in Acting from Tisch School of the Arts - NYU and an MFA in Devised Theatre from Towson University. She freelances in various countries, including the US, Canada, France, Russia, South Korea, Iceland, China, and Singapore. MoMo is committed to advocating for Deaf artists and designers and has recently founded her own company, Mo2 Productions LLC, providing services within the industry.
Jessica Wallenfels
Director/choreographer
Annie Wiegand
Lighting Designer
Annie Wiegand is the first and only professional Deaf Lighting Designer in the US theatre industry. Regional: Spring Awakening, Skylight Theatre Company; Cinderella, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma and Zach Theatre; The Upstairs Department, Signature Theatre; Eclipsed, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre; Steel Magnolias, Under the Breeches, Alabama Shakespeare Festival; Steel Magnolias, Dallas Theater Center; The Who and The What, Huntington Theatre; Small Mouth Sounds, The Bridges of Madison County (IRNE Nominee for Best Lighting Design) Tribes, Speakeasy Stage. Off-Broadway: I Was Most Alive With You, Playwrights Horizons. Dance: Kinetic Light; Anikaya Dance Theatre. Associate Professor, Theatre and Dance Program, Gallaudet University. www.anniewiegand.com.
Joellen Sweeney
Composer/Sound Designer
Joellen Sweeney (she/her) is a composer, vocalist and theatre-maker from Portland, Oregon. Her compositions and original songs have been featured in shows at Shaking the Tree Theatre (Blood Wedding, Forbidden Fruit, The Bakkhai, Caucasian Chalk Circle) and Bedrock Theatre (Hibernate, Persephone), as well as in the film “Boys and Girls” (12 Bridges Productions). She has also served as Music Director for productions at Shaking the Tree, Northwest Children's Theatre and others. As a performer/creator, Joellen is passionate about immersive and site-specific work; she is a Creative Company Member with Renegade Opera, and a founding Company Member of Bedrock Theatre. www.joellensweeney.com.
Dani Camarena Chavez
Assistant Director/Outreach Coordinator
Daniela Chávez Camarena is the assistant director and outreach coordinator for Why and How Are Not In The Picture. She's been an Oregonian since the age of 8, lives in Hillsboro, and is a 2015 graduate of Oregon School for the Deaf where she participated in school productions as an actor and director. Dani has been creating deaf-friendly theater since OSD, Jessica Wallenfels and Justin Coleman during her senior year at PSU. She is excited to collaborate with her former professors on this new play. In her spare time, Dani likes to hike around the PNW, go on long walks with her three dogs (Gober, Oso, and Juno), and play basketball.
Emily Trimble
Stage Manager
Emily Trimble is thrilled to be working with Many Hats for the first time and especially on a project such as this. She has been dabbling in ASL since high school and is so excited to be able to finally use it in her work in theatre. Originally from Texas, she graduated from UT Dallas and worked in Dallas for a few years at companies such as Undermain Theatre, WaterTower Theatre, and Dallas Children’s Theatre. She moved to Portland in 2012 and has since Stage Managed for Bag&Baggage, Corrib Theatre, Broadway Rose, and Oregon Children's Theatre.
Krista Harmon
ASL Interpeter Coordinator
Krista Harmon is a Nationally Certified ASL-English Interpreter, living and working in Portland. Krista is honored and excited to be involved with this exciting project! Local performance interpreting credits include shows at NW Children’s Theatre, Oregonian Shakespeare Festival, Portland Playhouse, and Portland Center Stage. Coordinating credits include…THIS! What a fun way to make the transition from being in the light to being behind the scenes! Thanks to Jessica, the creative team, and the amazing interpreters!
With special thanks for the creative contributions to prior development of WHY and HOW:
Julie Hochgesang, dramaturg
Sami Yacob-Andrus, actor