Stiles and Drewe’s The Three Little Pigs

ASHER PATTEN (he/him) is from Searcy, Arkansas and is a member of this year's acting apprentice company at Aurora Theatre. His recent work with Aurora include Christmas Canteen 2023 and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. He studied acting and music at Harding University where he was featured in many roles (Buddy the Elf in Elf: The Musical, Prince Topher in Cinderella, Inspector Carter in The Play That Goes Wrong..). Special thanks to the folks at Aurora for bringing him on board for this wonderful year, and to his family for always rooting for him. IG: @asherpatten

ZION GLENN (he/him) Atlanta: Urban Holiday Soup (Youth Ensemble of Atlanta). Regional: Peter Pan Jr., Hairspray Jr., Madagascar Jr, (A Company of Friends), Footloose ( The Legacy Theatre) Summer Surf Party (Georgia Ensemble Theatre), The Pretty Pants Bandit (Georgia Ensemble Theatre) Educational: For Peace I Rise (Emory University) Cultivating Brave Spaces, Broadway Unplugged, Heathers (Oglethorpe University/Actor’s Express) Urinetown (Oglethorpe University/Actor’s Express) The Cycle (Oglethorpe University) Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Aurora Theatre) Christmas Canteen (Aurora Theatre) The Cycle Film/TV: Greenleaf (CAB Castings), Dear Evan Hansen (2021) (Tammy Smith Casting). Zion is thrilled to be a part of Aurora’s ‘23-’24 Apprentice Company!

CALVIN BERNARDO (he/him) has returned for his sixth Aurora Theatre production. You may have seen him in this season's Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, in last season's Summer: The Donna Summer Musical as Pete Bellotte, or as Robertson Ay/Valentine in Mary Poppins. He also recently performed in Aurora's Theatre for Young Audiences program in Stiles and Drewe's The Three Little Pigs, as well as portrayed Norm Waxman in Jersey Boys at the Alhambra Theatre in Jacksonville Florida. He is currently a member of Aurora's AppCo24, and has taught musical theatre and acting at the Lionheart Theatre Company for five years. He'd like to thank his family and Natalie for their love and support.

MYA BURNS (she/her) just graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor in Fine Arts! Past credits: Mrs. Phelps in Matilda the Musical at the Atlanta Lyric Theater, Mimi in the Musical Rent performed at Kennesaw State University and Beautiful : The Carole King Musical here at Aurora Theatre. Mya’s new journey includes her being an apprenticeship here at the Aurora Theatre! Sister Act is one of her dream shows. She is excited to make this dream come true with such an amazing cast and team working on this show! She would also love to give a shout out to her family and friends for pushing her to continue to fight for her dreams. "Thanks mommy!" Social media: (insta) @mya.burns_ (TikTok) myaburns_

NOELLE MCINTYRE (she/her)  is a member of this years acting apprentice company and this is her fourth production here at Aurora. Past Credits: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Christmas Canteen, The 3 Little Pigs (Aurora), Pygmalion, Urinetown, Our Town, Secret Garden (Gainesville Theatre Alliance). She has a BFA in Acting from Brenau University, and would like to give a special thank you to her friends and family for their love and support this year. Insta @noelle_mcintyre

MEGAN RITCHIE (she/her) is a versatile and passionate creative professional, performer, choreographer, and stage manager. A graduate of Western Carolina University with a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre, she is also a proud alumna of Aurora Theatre’s apprentice program. Previous Aurora credits include Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Marilyn Wald/Ensemble) and Sister Act on the Aurora Main Stage. She has also contributed behind the scenes as an assistant choreographer and stage manager for productions like Stiles and Drewe's The Three Little Pigs. She is forever thankful to her family and Cody for consistently supporting and encouraging her in doing what she loves.

Kyusok is thrilled to make his Aurora debut in this production of Sister Act. Other productions he has been a part of are an understudy in Greener Pastures and The Three Little Pigs (Aurora), The Drowsy Chaperone (New Depot Players), A Midsummer Night's Dream (ACT1), and The Importance of Being Earnest (Acting Up).

ANN-CAROL PENCE (Co-Founder/Producing Artistic Director) arranged the music for Aurora’s first Christmas Canteen in 1996 and was hired full-time in September of 1998 as Resident Musical Director. An education major at James Madison University, she used her background to develop Learning Library (or L2). As a musician, she created Aurora’s Musicals by Moonlight, and Aurora’s New Musical Initiative. She has performed as pianist and music director both nationally (Goodspeed Opera House, Pasadena Playhouse, The Cleveland Playhouse, The Kennedy Center) and locally (The Alliance, Theatrical Outfit, The Horizon, Georgia Ensemble Theatre,). As a proud citizen of Gwinnett, Ann-Carol is most proud of Aurora Theatre winning the first ever Pinnacle Award for Large Non-Profit, and the first ever Moxie Award (for woman-led businesses) for Aurora Theatre. These distinctions go well with her 5 Suzi Awards for Outstanding Music Direction. She was a participant in the 2016 Atlanta Regional Leadership Institute and member of the “Best Class Ever!”

GREG HUNTER (he/him) Greg Hunter is a Georgia native, growing up in Buford where his family has been planted for generations. as a 2014-2015 Aurora Theatre Apprentice member, Greg Is honored to return to his home theatre at the resident Company Manager. After graduating in 2018 from Michigan State University with a MFA in theatre, Greg returned to Atlanta and hit the ground running, working as an artist with Stage Door Players, Synchronicity Theatre, Found Stages, Atlanta Lyric Theatre, and the Center for Puppetry Arts, to name a few. He has also worked as an educator at the Center for Puppetry Arts, University of North Georgia, and Buford High School. Greg is excited to work with Aurora to continue growing the local arts community. www.greg-hunter.com

RAKAELA THOMPSON (she/her) is feeling extremely excited to be apart of Sister Act! She is super honored and grateful to be a part of the Aurora Apprenticeship. She just finished an apprenticeship at New-stage Theatre where she was a part of productions such as, Sunset baby as Nina, and Anne & Emmett as Mammie. She attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where she played notable roles such as, Helen HoBart in Once in a Lifetime, Vera in She Kills Monsters, and Petra Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is grateful for her family and friends supporting her on this journey!

JAHI BOGARD (he/him) is an actor from Atlanta, GA through way of Little Rock, AR! Jahi has received his BA in Musical Theatre from Greensboro College and his MFA in Performance from the University of Louisville. Some of Jahi’s favorite roles he’s portrayed are Lank from Detroit ’67, Sam Carmichael from Mamma Mia!, and Sir Toby Belch from Twelfth Night. Jahi is dedicated to discovering and testing new ways to push the boundaries of African American and Queer theatre.

MEGAN RITCHIE (she/her) is a versatile and passionate creative professional, performer, choreographer, and stage manager. A graduate of Western Carolina University with a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre, she is also a proud alumna of Aurora Theatre’s apprentice program. Previous Aurora credits include Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Marilyn Wald/Ensemble) and Sister Act on the Aurora Main Stage. She has also contributed behind the scenes as an assistant choreographer and stage manager for productions like Stiles and Drewe's The Three Little Pigs. She is forever thankful to her family and Cody for consistently supporting and encouraging her in doing what she loves.

ELIZA CRAFT (she/her) is so excited to work on her second production with Aurora AppCo24's Stage Management Apprentice! Previous credits include Beautiful: the Carole King Musical (Aurora) The Incredible Book Eating Boy (Alliance Theatre); Guys and Dolls (Atlanta Lyric); Bootycandy (Actor’s Express); RENT, Jitney, The SpongeBob Musical, and The Spitfire Grill (Kennesaw State University). She just graduated with a BA in Theatre and Performance Studies from Kennesaw State University. Lots of love to her amazing family and mentors.

JON SANDMAIER (he/him) is excited to return to the Aurora, the place he called home for his first four years in the state of Georgia.  He originally hails from Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he designed and built sets for a variety of venues and organizations around the area.  Over the past year he has been working in the television and film industry.  One of Jon's favorite projects was building the boat for Men With Money.

THOM JENKINS (Sound Designer)  is a composer, musician, sound designer, and educator based in Atlanta. He is delighted to be back working with his friends at Aurora on Rock the Presidents, after last season’s Beat Bugs: A Musical Adventure. His recent work includes: The Waffle Palace, Third Country, The Book Club Play, Time Stands Still, Sheddin’, Black Pearl Sings, Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery, and Tree at Horizon Theatre; Wit, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Lombardi, All Childish Things, Peter Pan & Wendy, Betrayal and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde at Aurora Theatre; Don Quixote at The Center for Puppetry Arts; Frankenstein at Theater Emory; A Confederacy of Dunces at Theatrical Outfit; and Six Degrees of Separation at Actor’s Express. 

ISAAC BURRIER (he/him) is excited to have joined Aurora Theatre as their Head of Lighting. Isaac has worked on numerous shows with Aurora including Christmas Canteen, Mary Poppins (2022), Swindlers, and several others as the Master Electrician. Before working with Aurora, Isaac worked in Nashville, TN as a lighting and scenic designer as well as a lighting tech in Raleigh, NC. Some of his professional credits include: Ordinary Days (Georgia Gwinnett College), Giant Squid (Woven Theatre Company), Lungs (Woven Theatre Company), The Whale (Verge Theater Company), Beneatha’s Place (Verge Theater Company) and several dance recitals with Rejoice School of Ballet. Isaac is also a graduate of Belmont University with a BFA in Production Design in Theatre.

SYDNI STEPHENSON (she/her) Sydni is delighted to be back at Aurora for this amazing show! She has a degree in Production Design with a concentration in Costume Design from The Savannah College of Art and Design. Recent credits include Christmas Canteen 2023, Beautiful: The Carol King Musical, Play That Goes Wrong, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, Kim’s Convenience, Christmas Canteen 2022 and Mary Poppins here at The Aurora Theatre.

Kristin Talley is currently a working dance teacher, actor, singer, dancer and props designer. In 2019, she graduated from Young Harris College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre and a minor in history. After graduating, she became a member of the Aurora Theatre’s AppCo’20. A few of her recent shows with the Aurora Theatre include Sister Act (ens/dance captain), Mary Poppins (ens/asst dance captain), Cinderella (swing), On Your Feet (ens), and Christmas Canteen 2019 (featured ens). She is also a principal dancer in the 2-time Emmy award winning Netflix movie, Dolly Parton’s: Christmas on the Square. Kristin currently works as a dance teacher and the dance company director at Lilburn Dance Academy in Lilburn, GA where she teaches students 6-18 jazz, lyrical, and tap.

KATIE PELKEY (Managing Director)

KATIE ERIN CHAMBERS* (Director of Production and Resident Stage Manager) is excited to be starting her 8th season with Aurora Theatre and stepping into a new role as Director of Production. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia, a member of Actor’s Equity, and a proud alumna of Aurora's 2013-14 Apprentice Company. She has previously stage managed in Atlanta for Horizon Theatre Company, Theatrical Outfit, Synchronicity Theatre and Habima Theatre. She has also served as coordinator for the New South Young Playwrights’ Festival, production manager for the Atlanta Musical Theatre Festival, and coordinator for the Atlanta Unified Auditions.

*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the US.

DANIEL POPE (Production Manager) is proud to be joining the great team at Aurora Theatre as Production Manager. Daniel has been a sound designer and engineer in the Atlanta area for the past seven years. He’s had the pleasure of designing sound for the Aurora Theatre on many occasions on shows such as: Into the Woods, Christmas Canteen, Sweep, and most recently The Bridges of Madison County. Additionally, he’s worked on countless other productions in the Atlanta theatre community including: Evita and A Streetcar Named Desire as Sound Designer and Production Manager at Serenbe Playhouse. Daniel received a Bachelors in Marketing with a specialization in sales and a minor in Music from The University of West Georgia in 2010.

Bio Coming Soon!

KENDALL BERRY (she/her) Kendall is thrilled to be back on the Aurora Theatre stage after completing her Apprenticeship here last year. She recently graduated from LSU with a BA in Theatre Performance and a minor in Social Work before moving to Atlanta. You may remember seeing her as part of the "Crew" for The Play That Goes Wrong or as Baby Bear in Aurora's TYA production of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. She has spent the last few months on tour with the Atlanta Shakespeare Company doing Romeo and Juliet 60 and Midsummer 60 at schools all over the Southeast; she is happy to be in one place for a little while. She would like to thank her family for always supporting her dream to go into theatre professionally. I'm doing it y'all!

AMY DUFFY  is an actor, music director, and arts administrator. After moving to Atlanta to be a part of Aurora Theatre's AppCo, she has worked with the following companies: Alliance Theatre, The Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Atlanta Shakespeare Co., Buicentennial Productions, Horizon Theatre, Serenbe Playhouse, Stone Mountain Park, Habima Theatre, and the Georgia Aquarium. Aurora credits include Men with Money, Be Here Now, A Doll's House Part 2, Beat Bugs: A Musical Adventure, Christmas Canteen 2018 and 2021, and Mary Poppins. She is the proud co-founder of Destination Theatre. Thanks for being here today! Follow along with her work. IG: @destinationtheatre