Leslie Bellair
(Mulan)
This marks Leslie’s first full production with the Alliance, and she is honored to help tell such a heroic tale; previous Alliance appearances include the Mulan Jr. workshop and Taste of the Season. Other Atlanta credits include: Iola Stover/
Parade (Blackwell Playhouse), Crazy Ma/
Book of Revolutions (Proving Ground Theatre), Jackie/
Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party (OnStage Atlanta), Isabel/
The Pirates of Penzance (Atlanta Lyric), Rug/Ensemble/
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Atlanta Lyric), Soupy Sue/Secretary/ Hope u.s./
Urinetown the Musical (OnStage Atlanta), Florinda/
Into the Woods (Blackwell Playhouse). Regional: Sally/
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Town & Gown Players), Tzeitel/
Fiddler on the Roof (Athens Creative Theatre), Eve/Mama Noah/
Children of Eden. Leslie has also done some voice acting work and is the voice of Flikka on the iPhone application "Diss Crazy!" A giant hug and a grateful "Thank you!" go out to her supportive family and husband for their constant encouragement in all her artsy endeavors!
Blake Covington
(Shang/Young Yi/Magyar)
Blake graduated from Emory University in 2007, double majoring in theater and business. As a student performing with Theater Emory, he received two awards for best lead actor. Since graduating, he has starred in several independent films, shot a few commercials, and played numerous theater roles in Atlanta. He was most recently seen playing Josh in
A Sunday Afternoon at Loehmann’s (Ansley Park Playhouse). Other notable theatre roles include Edmund in
King Lear, Tony Lumpkin in
She Stoops to Conquer, Segismundo in
Life is a Dream, The New Recruit in
Oh, What A Lovely War! (Theater Emory), Israel Hands in
Treasure Island (Georgia Ensemble Theatre), and Seth in the world premiere of
West of Eden (Essential Theatre Festival). Blake is thrilled to make his debut at the Alliance Theatre! He thanks his Dad, Mom, brother, friends, cast & crew, and of course: YOU for coming to the show! Enjoy.
Alejandro Gutierrez
(Zhang/Father/Groomer/Old Yi/Quian Po)
Alejandro Gutierrez is proud to be making his Alliance stage debut with Mulan. Most recently seen in
Cinderella with The Atlanta Lyric, Ali is beginning to branch out in the Atlanta theatre scene. Previous credits include
Pirates of Penzance, Atlanta Lyric;
Valhalla, Essential Theatre;
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, Theatre In The Square;
Don Quixote, Center For Puppetry Arts;
How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, Button Theatre;
Into the Woods;
Les Miserables;
The Sting;
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Blackwell Playhouse. Blessings and thanks to God for talent, mom and dad for support, Brooke for love, and an ethnically diverse background!
Bethany Irby
(Yun/Fa Li/Yao)
Bethany Irby is happy to be making her Alliance Theatre stage debut! Other Atlanta credits include:
It’s a Wonderful Life (ART Station),
Kiss Me Kate (Aurora),
Buddy Holly — the Buddy Holly Story (Georgia Ensemble),
The It Girl (Atlanta Lyric),
Big River (Theatrical Outfit),
The Missionary Position (Horizon),
Guys and Dolls (Aurora),
A Piece of My Heart (Theatre in the Square). She recently music directed
Free to Be You and Me, which is currently running at Synchronicity Performance Group and next you can see her as Marty in
Grease at Georgia Ensemble. Bethany holds a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from Shorter College and has two Suzi Bass nominations for Featured Actress in a Musical. Bethany would like to thank Rosemary and Jody for the invitation to play and her husband, Abe, for his love and encouragement. And thank YOU for supporting live theatre!
Bernard Jones
(Mushu/Matchmaker/Young Xiao/Emperor/ASM)
Bernard Jones returns to the Alliance Theatre after making his professional theatre debut in last season’s
Class of 3000 LIVE. Bernard has enjoyed playing Leroy in
Fame, Levi in
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Miss Roj in
The Colored Museum and Mr. Kirby in
You Can’t Take It With You. Two of his greatest artistic accomplishments were singing at Carnegie Hall and going on a world tour with recording artist Lyfe Jennings. When Bernard is not on the theatre stage, he is performing at every open mic, industry showcase and talent show with his R&B group XCLUSIV. He is a Cum Laude graduate of Morehouse College.
J.C. Long
(Laozi/Shan Yu)
J.C. is thrilled to return to the Alliance (A Christmas Carol ‘06/’07) with such a talented cast and crew! Locally, J.C. has been seen at the Aurora (Kiss Me Kate); Teatre du Reve (Vive La Fontaine); Georgia Shakespeare (Pericles, Servant of Two Masters, All’s Well That Ends Well); Synchronicity (Snow Queen, Language of Angels); and the Shakespeare Tavern (Romeo and Juliet, Henry VI, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Comedy of Errors, Merchant of Venice, Richard III, Troilus and Cressida, Julius Caesar, Macbeth and Cymbeline). Regional credits: three international tours with the American Shakespeare Center (As You Like It, Winter’s Tale, Coriolanus and Henry IV part 1). J.C. has composed original music for Actor’s Express (Mauritius, Good Boys and True) and Theatrical Outfit (The Chase). Thanks to Rosemary. Love to my family and Drea the beautiful genius (“Te quiero!”). Coming up: Petruchio (Taming of the Shrew) and Coriolanus (Coriolanus) at the Shakespeare Tavern.
Brandon O’Dell
(Hong/Fa Zhou/Groomer/Ling)
Brandon O’Dell is overjoyed to return to the Alliance Theatre, having previously performed in Crimes of the Heart, Seussical: The Musical, My Fair Lady, Goodnight Moon, and Class of 3000. His other theatrical credits include Big River (Theatrical Outfi t), Camelot, A Year with Frog and Toad (Aurora Theatre), Mary Stuart, The Caretaker (Theatre in the Square), The Thing About Men, The Watercoolers (Horizon Theatre), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Fantasticks (Shakespeare Tavern). He has appeared in national commercials, television shows (“Dawson’s Creek,” “One Tree Hill”) and movies (Stephen King’s The Mist, Dangerous Calling). He recently became a new daddy with the birth of his perfect daughter, Lydia Jane.
Alecia Robinson
(Lin/Grandmother Fa/Chen/Chi-Fu)
A native Atlantan, Alecia happily returns to the Alliance stage where she was previously seen in Seussical: The Musical, False Creeds and Jelly’s Last Jam. Her work includes appearances in both the second national tour and Chicago companies of Ragtime. Locally, she has also been seen in Cotton Patch Gospel at Theatrical Outfit and in Theater of the Stars productions of Phantom, Fiddler on the Roof, Annie, The Sound of Music, and Camelot. Her regional credits include Doubt (Hippodrome State Theatre), She Loves Me (Walnut Street Theatre), Sweeney Todd (CenterStage - Baltimore), Godspell (Arkansas Repertory Theatre), Elmer Gantry and The Music Man (Marriott’s Lincolnshire Theater). She is a graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and trained in the Alliance Theatre’s Acting Intern program, where she appeared in productions of La Ronde and Shakespeare’s Lovers. She is a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association.
Drew Hale
(US Laozi/Shan-Yu/Hong/Fa Ahou/Groomer #1/Young Yi/Magyar)
Drew is thrilled to have this wonderful opportunity to perform at the Alliance Theatre. He is a recent graduate of Kennesaw State University’s Theatre and Performance Studies Department, where he received his Bachelor of Arts. There, he enjoyed performing in such productions as
Urinetown,
As You Like It, The Robber Bridegroom, Moby Dick, and Batboy. You might have seen him in Atlanta at the Ansley Park Playhouse in
A Sunday Afternoon At Lohmann’s. Drew also recently appeared in a film entitled
Gears where he happily played a thief. Drew would like to thank his family and beautiful girlfriend for their love and support in everything. Thanks, guys. You’re A Okay.
Corey Mekell
(US Zhang/Father/ Groomer #2/Old Yi/Quian Po/Mushu/ Matchmaker/Young Xiao/Emperor)
Corey hails from Birmingham, Ala., growing up in the small town of Childersburg, Ala. His mother tells stories to family and friends how she pat her belly when she was pregnant with Corey watching music videos, she would find him kicking to the beat at times! Corey’s grandmother instilled a gospel upbringing where he sang in the youth choir. Corey has always had a passion for music, wherever you found a speaker with any sort of tune, there you would find Corey. At the age of ten, Corey lost his grandmother but stayed strong to continue singing, knowing that it would get him somewhere eventually, he to strive for his longtime dream. He is excited about finally getting into the industry and he understands that dreams just do not happen overnight, which is why he has went on to continue pursuing his career as a solo artist, to one day become the next musical icon.
Sarah Turner
(US Mulan/Yun/La Li/ Yao/Lin/Grandmother Fa/Chen/Chi-Fu)
Sarah is excited to be a part of
Mulan! She was most recently seen as Young Little Edie in the Atlanta premiere of
Grey Gardens at Actor’s Express. Other favorite roles include Violet Hilton in
Side Show and Cinderella in
Into the Woods. In addition to performing, Sarah is also an experienced choreographer and dance teacher. Many thanks to all of you for supporting live theatre.
Rosemary Newcott
(Director)
Rosemary has been directing, acting and teaching at the Alliance Theatre since 1988. Favorite Alliance Children’s Theatre directing credits include Middle School the Musical, Class of 3000 LIVE; Goodnight Moon; Seussical the Musical; Degas’ Little Dancer; Go, Dog. Go!; Disney’s Aladdin; The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales; A Christmas Carol; Einstein is a Dummy (World Premiere); The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer; The Miracle Worker; Ferdinand the Bull; Merlin; The Music Lesson; Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse; Pinocchio 3.5; Androcles and the Lion; The Hobbit; The Book of Ruth; A Woman Called Truth; Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; Charlotte’s Web and the acclaimed high-school Collision Project. Newcott also has directed at the Horizon Theatre, Theatrical Outfit, Center for Puppetry Arts, Academy Theatre, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Virginia Stage Company and Seaside Rep. She holds extensive stage and film acting credits. A recipient of the prestigious Princess Grace Foundation Award, Newcott was named PBA Lexus Leader of the Arts and Best Director by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for the 2001-02 season. In 2005, she received the GTC Distinguished Career Award. Newcott is also the recipient of a 2008 Princess Grace Special Project Grant. This spring she will direct a brand new family musical — Knuffl ebunny by Mo Williams — at the Kennedy Center.
Hylan Scott
(Choreographer)
Hylan happily returns to the Alliance for a fourth season with Theatre for Young Audiences. His choreography has been seen in productions of Seussical: The Musical, Aladdin, Go Dog. Go! and Goodnight Moon. Hylan is the founder of Healing Spirit Arts — a production company dedicated to the creation of events and theatrical works that challenge the illusion of separateness and point to the mystery within, around an behind all being.
Kat Conley
(Set Designer)
Kat returns to the Alliance after designing last season’s Class of 3000 LIVE and Goodnight Moon. Previous shows for the Alliance include Eurydice; Seussical the Musical; Degas’ Little Dancer; Disney’s Aladdin; Go, Dog. Go!; The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales; Shear Madness; The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer; Ferdinand the Bull; and Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. Kat also is in her ninth season with Georgia Shakespeare. As an associate artist with the company, Kat’s scenic designs include As You Like It, All’s Well That End’s Well, Richard III, Pericles, Servant of Two Masters, Othello, Twelfth Night, Hamlet and Macbeth. Based in Atlanta, Kat has also designed for Marin Theatre Company, 7 Stages, Actor’s Express, Theatre in the Square, Theatrical Outfit, Springer Opera House and the Center for Puppetry Arts. Kat also is the charge scenic artist for the Alliance Theatre. Whether dramatically challenging, visionary or escapist, all theater and art is important, so thank you for supporting it in our community.
Sydney Roberts
(Costume Designer)
Sydney returns as Mulan’s costume designer after last season’s Class of 30O0 LIVE. She has designed Theatre for Young Artists shows with Rosemary Newcott at the Alliance since 2001. Other Atlanta credits include work with Georgia Shakespeare, where she is an associate artist; Theatrical Outfit; True Colors Theatre Company; Actor’s Express; and Synchronicity Performance Group. Sydney holds a position in the Department of Theatre and Speech at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She is a member of USA 829.
Pete Shinn
(Lighting Designer)
Pete is the master electrician for the Alliance Theatre. His most recent designs have been
Class of 3000 LIVE,
Seussical: the Musical,
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, and
Glengarry Glen Ross at the Alliance, and
Keeping Watch and
A Christmas Memory for Theatrical Outfit. His previous designs have been with the Alliance Theatre (Alliance Stage and Hertz Stage), Actor’s Express, Horizon Theatre, Theatre in the Square, Georgia Ensemble Theatre, George Street Playhouse and Delaware Repertory Theatre.
Clay Benning
(Sound Designer)
Clay has designed more than 60 productions for the Alliance Theatre including Pacific Overtures, Class of 3000 LIVE, Jelly’s Last Jam, King Hedley II, Five Guys Named Moe, Eurydice, and Topdog/Underdog. Georgia Shakespeare associate artist with designs for more than 15 productions including Hamlet, Metamorphoses, Julius Caesar, Titus Andronicus, Antigone, and Pericles. Atlanta Ballet: The Great Gatsby, big (feat. Big Boi). Regional work: Cincinnati Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Theatrical Outfi t, Synchronicity Theatre. Awards: 2006, 2007 and 2009 Suzi Bass Awards for Best Sound Design (Metamorphoses, False Creeds, and Titus Andronicus). Production sound engineer for the world premieres of The Color Purple, Jesus Christ Superstar GOSPEL, and Come Fly With Me. He is a graduate of Presbyterian College (BA), North Carolina School of the Arts (MFA) and a member of IATSE.
Christopher Cannon
(Music Director)
An Atlanta native, Christopher is proud to be returning to the Alliance Theatre. Alliance credits include Seussical, the Musical; Disney’s Aladdin; Chess; Hot Mikado; Once More With Hart; tick, tick…BOOM!; Let’s Talk About AIDS; Pacific Overtures, Leap and An Evening With Phylicia Rashad. Christopher programs keyboards and records tracks for regional theatre companies throughout the country including Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and the North Shore Theatre. Other Atlanta credits include Pump Boys and Dinettes at Theatrical Outfit. He has performed concerts at Spivey Hall and the B98.5 Summer Concert series and was a regular performer/musical director at Libby’s Cabaret. As Musical Director and Partner of 7 Course Theatre and Bridge Communications, he produced and directed live industrial shows for clients including Coca-Cola, BellSouth, IBM and AT&T. Christopher is honored to have performed at the Vatican and the White House. Visit christophercannonmusic.com.
Liz Campbell
(Stage Manager)
Liz is excited to be working with Theatre for Young Audiences again this year. Her Alliance credits include: Class of 3000, Live!; Goodnight Moon; Seussical, the Musical; Degas’ Little Dancer; Go, Dog. Go!; Disney’s Aladdin; and Einstein is a Dummy. Recent credits include: Big River and It’s a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play (Theatrical Outfit), Charm School, The Bluest Eye and The Syringa Tree (Horizon Theatre); Altar Boyz, Music Man and Pump Boys and Dinettes (Ozark Actors Theatre). She holds a B.F.A. in Theatre from Niagara University. She would like to thank Rosemary for always making her smile, and APM for keeping her sane. Member of Actors’ Equity Association.