Family Sideshow Cast

Donald Paul Jones III is a Kansas City native. He received his B.S. degree from the Dr. Percy J. Vaughn College of Business at Alabama State University. His career in entertainment has since grown to include music, voice acting, short films, and he has appeared in several regional theater productions as well. Some of his performances include Lewis Morrow’s Misunderstanding the Candy Game (Gem Theater), Don Halliburton’s The Root of All Evil (Gem Theater, Mesquite Arts Center, St. Louis Convention Center). He loves the stage because, in his words, “When the lights come on, there is no hiding from the audience or even yourself, and to thrive on stage is a true display of mastery.” He has been a longtime friend of the company, and is happy to return with his last time being on the KCMPT stage in Secrets & Lies.

Areli Gil was born Guadalajara and grew up in Kansas City. She studied theatre at Stephens college and has appeared in several regional theatre productions including; The Session (KCMPT), Native Gardens (Unicorn Theatre), Refuge (Unicorn Theater), UBUGME (Coterie Theatre), Bare The Pop Opera (Unicorn Theatre), Once on this Island (Coterie Theatre). Her love for theatre started at the age of 3 when she began performing traditional Mexican Ballet Folklorico. Areli was last seen on the KCMPT stage in The Search for Anno Domini MMXXI-I-VI. 

Ash Bowen is from Dallas, Texas. She received a BA in Theatre & Dance from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a BA in Government in 2021. She received her MFA in Acting & Directing at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2024. Ash has appeared in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (Kansas City Repertory Theatre), Melissa Maxwell’s world premiere of Imbroglio and Carlyle Brown’s The African Company Presents Richard III (Great River Shakespeare Festival). She has also appeared in many William Shakespeare plays such as Twelfth Night, As You Like It, and Romeo & Juliet (Great River Shakespeare Festival). Her love for theatre began in middle school when she performed in Seussical and Honk Jr. Ash was last seen at KCMPT understudying Lewis Morrow’s The Session. Special thanks to my family and friends for their support.

Mark Collins Jr. is a Kansas City native. He has trained at the Actor Training Studio since 2023 after having a 4 year college football career. He has appeared is several TV & Film productions over the course of the last three years including, Caleb Hearon and Holmes’ Same Day Appointment, 9:16 Productions’ Swipe Wright and Wide Awake Films’ PBS documentary Secrets of the Dead: Lost Civil War Massacre. His love for entertainment and theater began at an early age, but this is his KCMPT and overall theater debut.