Last Round-Up of the Guacamole Queens Cast

Annda was born and raised in DeRidder and is thrilled to call it home once again. After moving to Indiana in 2000, where she met her husband, she eventually brought her family back to her roots in 2010. Together, they raised two wonderful daughters and are now embracing their empty nest. Annda has been performing with Impromptu Players since 2014, and this marks her 10th production with the group. She is especially proud to reprise the role of Jimmie Wyvette for the third time, having portrayed the character in all three Verdeen family productions. At this point, Jimmie Wyvette has officially achieved "legend" status, and Annda is honored to once again don the boots (and unibrow) and bring her back to life. In addition to acting, Annda has also served as an assistant director, a role she equally enjoys. When not at rehearsals, Annda enjoys reading, traveling and playing board games, where her competitive streak is nearly as strong as Jimmy Wy's. She thanks her family, castmates and the audience for continuing to support local theatre and hopes you enjoy The Last Round-up of the Guacamole Queens.

My name is Heaven Kennedy and I teach PreSchool at Rosepine Elementary. I graduated from East Beauregard High School, then went on to McNeese State University and received a Master of Education degree. In my eleven year career, I have taught PreSchool through 5th grades. My husband teaches at Rosepine High School and our three adult children graduated from Rosepine. I am always down for an adventure, exploring, being outside, and anything involving my Bronco.

Lori was born and raised in DeRidder. She moved to Texas in 1990 and returned home in 2004. She has been teaching for 35 years and is currently teaching 6th grade at Cornerstone Christian Academy. She enjoys volunteering in her church, camping, traveling and spending time with family and friends. Lori is an active member of the Impromptu Players Board of Directors and has acted in plays with Impromptu Players since 2014. This is her 17th play at the Wooten Theatre.

Everyone calls her Gena. She is 58 and has lived in DeRidder for five years on a small farm. She has three talented and beautiful daughters as well as two grandchildren. She is proud of each and every one of them. She watched several plays performed in the Wooten Theatre before she decided to give it a try herself. She has now performed in five productions with Impromptu Players. She absolutely loves acting and entertaining. Her philosophy is, "If I made you laugh, then it's a job well done."

Claude was born and raised in DeRidder. He attended LSU and eaned a BS in Forestry. He describes his graduation as “a very sad day. I had to get a job.” And he worked in the private timber industry for 43 years. Retirement has given him time for the hobbies he dabbled in over the years. He has traveled to 40 countries on five continents and has a long bucket list left to go. He looks forward to Fall hunting, more for the time with friends than for what they harvest. He has been accused of junking up the house with a variety of collections including guns, coins, sports cards and more. When the weather gets extreme, he enjoys staying in the house reading. Last, but not least, IMPROMPTU PLAYERS!

Scott Hollis is DeRidder native and a graduate of DeRidder High, which he attended with Lori Cantrell (Peaches Verdeen Belrose). He holds a degree in Vocal Music Education from Lamar University, Beaumont, Tx. Scott’s path to the theater came through music. He conducted, directed, and wrote many productions in his 33 years as a music minister in various churches. The Last Stand of the Quacamole Queens is the fourth Impromptu Players endeavor for Scott Hollis. Scott says what he enjoys most about participating in Impromptu Players productions is meeting new friends and working with people of all ages and backgrounds. He says he loves the sense of community fostered by community theater and hopes you, too, will consider joining us at Impromptu!

Danny and his wife, Amanda, grew up, married and lived in the Zwolle/Many area. They recently moved to Hornbeck. Danny joined the Sabine Parish Players as a high school student in 1998. He performed in numerous productions through the years, ranging from Shakespeare to comedies. His most prominent role was Fred, Scrooge’s nephew, in the annual presentation of A Christmas Carol. We are pleased to welcome Danny to our stage and look forward to working with him on future productions.

Neda Nelms Robertson is a native of Hornbeck. After she married her husband, Dave, they lived in DeRidder for 13 years before moving back to Hornbeck. She is a retired elementary teacher who taught for 28 years, retiring in 2004. She was extremely dedicated and loved her students and teaching. Neda began acting at the former Showboat Theater at Ft. Polk. Thanks to Thomas Watson, who took a chance on a "newbie" actor. She loves acting because it allows her to forget her troubles for a while and the cast members become family. Now, she calls Wooten Theatre home and enjoys performing with Impromptu Players. Neda thanks Dave for supporting and encouraging her to participate in the theater. Neda loves God, her church, family, friends, and acting. She enjoys helping others and believes in paying it forward. Her spare time is spent reading cookbooks, playing word games, fishing and traveling. Neda promises that you will get many laughs during this play.

Roxana is an adventurer. She loves to travel, meet new people and experience new things. Live theater is her passion. Pushing 80, she has joined Impromptu Players to fulfill a dream of performing, rather than just viewing, live theater. Impromptu Players is excited to welcome her to the stage.

This is the fourth Impromptu Players production for Robert as he reprises the role of the Sheriff in this production. He played Sherlock Holmes last summer. He grew up around community theater as his mother and step-father were very active in the local one, both acting in, and directing plays. Robert often worked as a stage hand, or operated sound and lights for their plays. In high school he worked as a D.J. at a local radio station. He graduated in 1994 from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Degree in Radio, TV, & Film. He was operations manager at a country music radio station and hosted the morning drive time radio show. He has also done voice over work for cable TV commercials. 29 years ago he began teaching public school. He moved to Beauregard Parish 21 years ago, where he teaches Spanish at both Merryville & Singer High School.

I’m Michelle LaFleur, and I am the school counselor at Rosepine Elementary School. I graduated from Rosepine High School a few years ago and moved away not long after graduation. In my free time, I enjoy reading, singing, and crafting, and I am actively involved in my church, Westview Baptist Church. My love for live theatre began about twenty years ago when I accidentally landed a role in the musical You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown at the Back Alley Community Theatre in Grand Cane, Louisiana. I had so much fun that I decided to try other roles in theatre and quickly fell in love with every part of it. When I moved back to DeRidder, I immediately got involved with the local theatre scene. Last year, I played the role of CeeCee in Red Velvet Cake War and was thrilled to be asked to reprise that role for the final installment. This is my eighth production with Impromptu Players.

Shona is a school bus driver in Beauregard Parish and a substitute teacher in Beauregard and Vernon parishes. She was drawn to Impromptu Players by the summer camp program for the area youth. She was drawn to the stage and has acted in several productions at the Wooten Theatre. Other interests of Shona's include all kinds of crafts.

Jessica is a third grade English-Language Arts teacher. She grew up in Merryville. When she is not on stage, she enjoys sewing, Crossfit, concerts and traveling. Jessica joined Impromptu Players last year as the script coach for Red Velvet Cake War. This season we are excited to welcome Jessica to the stage.