Barbecue Cast

Jabrelle Herbin is from Wyandotte County, KS. She is a self-taught actress but has been working in Kansas City theatre since 2014. She has appeared in several shows including Lewis Morrow’s Baybra’s Tulips, Loraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf, and Adrienne Kennedy’s Funny House of a Negro (KCMPT). Herbin loves theatre because it gives all of her various personalities an outlet. She enjoys the live interaction with the audience. She has been with KCMPT since 2018 and is part of the collective.

Casey Jane is thrilled to be working with KCMPT for the first time. She has appeared in numerous local productions since 2013 including The Taming of the Shrew (Rising Tide), Wicked Creatures (Confluence Theatre), Any Questions? (KC Fringe), and Elephant (Rising Tide). She is also a producer, writer, video editor, and director with her own company Rising Tide Productions, and is currently working on adapting a book-to-stage on local history, as well as a comedic music video. She stays grateful for her incredible village and her ray of light, Saxon. Check out her website at bit.ly/caseyjanekc.

Brittany Evans is a Kansas City, MO native. She received her bachelor’s degree in theatre and performance with a minor in mathematics from Spelman College. Brittany found her love in theatre upon taking her first theatre and acting course there. She was involved in a couple of plays in college; Art After Dark (Baldwin Burroughs Theatre) and Blk Girl/Blk Boy (Black Box Theatre). Brittany, post-grad, acted in her first zoom play entitled 24 Hour Day Play (The Living Room Theatre). Her film credits include Erotic Awakening and Ushers. In 2020 through 2021, she trained in improvisational theatre with Tribe University in Kansas City. She has participated in a master class through Soul Center located in Atlanta, Tuning the Actor’s Instrument in 2021. She was introduced to The Powell Academy through a mentor to be coached in their master class for monologue work and acting in 2020. Brittany loves making theatre to reach diverse audiences and to move them by the imitation of life, through art. The exhilarating feeling and thrill of being on stage for that hour or two is “seemingly bliss.” This is her first KCMPT show, and she is excited to make her debut on the Keairnes stage at Just Off Broadway stage.

Briana Van Deusen is a Kansas City native. After taking a theatre hiatus upon receiving her degree, she returned to the stage in 2018 and has since appeared in several works across the city including Taming of the Shrew (Rising Tide Productions), Products of Conception (KC Fringe Festival), and Deadlines. Additional performances include No Sleep November (The Living Room Theatre) as well as a number of staged readings for Stuffed Buffalo Productions. Her screen credits include the 2021 short film Faring Through the Ages (Rising Tide Productions). This is Briana’s KCMPT debut.

Dennis Jackson is a Kansas City native. He has learned the craft of live theater, by working with some of the best actors and directors in K.C. He appeared in Harvey Williams’ “2121” (KC Melting Pot Theater), August Wilson’s “King Hedly” and “Two Trains Running” (KC Melting Pot Theater) and Jacqueline Gafford’s “Grape’s Vine” (InPlay Theater Co.), to name a few. Thanks to director Lynn King, for the opportunity to share the stage with this talented cast and to craft the sound design, for this production. Special thanks to Harvey and Linda Williams and Dr. Nicole Hodges-Persley.

John Van Winkle is thrilled to be working again with KCMPT. He holds a BA in theatre performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Some of his favorite KC stage credits include On Shoulders Now (KCMPT); The Orphans Home Cycle, The Cherry Orchard, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail (Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre); A Soldiers Play (Black Rep. Theatre KC); Inspecting Carol (Co production of Unicorn Theatre and Kansas City Actors Theatre). This is John’s second KCMPT production.

Jackie has had a passion for entertainment and performing arts since an early age! She takes pride in her part of creating memorable theatrical experiences for those in her community. Jackie received her training from the University of Central Missouri, achieving her BFA Musical Theatre degree, as well as the Tasha Smith Acting Studio. Upon completing her education, Jackie has been cast in various short films and theatre productions within the Kansas City Area. Jackie has appeared in Dominique Morriseau’s Pipeline (Unicorn Theatre), Matt Cox’s Puffs (The Coterie), and Tony Kushner’s Caroline or Change (Spinning Tree Theatre). This is Jackie’s first production with KC Melting Pot Theatre and she is so excited to be a part of the cast!

Jessica Whitfield is from Kansas City. She earned her BFA in Theatre from Drake University where she was an Irene Ryan nominee. She has also trained locally with Richard Alan Nichols, Andy Garrison and Heather Laird. It’s been a while since she has been on stage, but she loves being a part of unique plays that make audiences think and feel. She was recently on The DNA of Murder with Paul Holes on The Oxygen Network and she is in Container Masters on episodes 5 and 9 on Tubi. Watch for her on CMT in Steady, a Chelsey James music video. This is her KCMPT debut.

Markeyta L. Young is a Kansas City, MO native who has been involved in theatre for over 10 years. Markeyta has been seen recently in multiple Kansas City Public Theatre productions, Rising Tide’s production of Taming of The Shrew, and KCMPT’s production of Baybra’s Tulips. She can also be seen performing with Kansas City’s first and only all black improv group, UPeople. Markeyta would like to give immense gratitude to KC Melting Pot Theatre. As always, she would like to thank her mother, father, and grandfather for always loving her, and pushing her to be exactly who she wanted to be!

Wendy Thompson is a long-time resident of Kansas City. She studied with Actor’s Craft Studio in KC and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC. She has appeared on area stages in Orphan’s Home Cycle (MET), Movers and Shakers of the Women’s Suffrage Movement (Shawnee Town 1929), The Crucible (MET), and A Streetcar Named Desire (MET). Her film credits include CSA: The Confederate States of America and The Only Good Indian. For many years, she wrote, directed and produced murder mystery comedies with her company, The Mystery Train. She is excited to be doing her first show at KCMPT.