Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells Cast

Alysha Mitchell (Junie B. Jones) is back in action for a third time in her favorite role to date and could not be more grateful for the opportunity to once again bring Junie B. to life! She graduated from UT with a BA in Theatre in 2008 and has participated in numerous projects with The WordPlayers over the last 16-17 years. Other appearances include Robin (The Secret Garden), Demetrius (Titus Andronicus), Lady Capulet (Romeo & Juliet), Miss Casewell (The Mousetrap), Annie Sullivan (The Miracle Worker), Annelle (Steel Magnolias), and Junie B. Jones (Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells). Many thanks to Ethan & Lucy for your trust and fresh perspective, to the TBAH staff and Brian & Crystal Burnette for making it possible, and to Rosie, Squish, & Squeak for all your support. For His glory!

Jessica Cross (May) is excited to be part of the Junie B cast again. Most recently she has appeared in the Palace Players production of Into the Woods (Stepmother) and the WordPlayers productions of Fiddler on the Roof (Shaindel), The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Mrs. Beaver), A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas (Caroline "Ma" Ingalls), The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Grace Bradely), Over the River and Through the Woods (Caitlin), Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells (Lucille), Little Women (Mrs. Kirke), The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (White Witch), The Magician's Nephew (Queen Jadis), and John, His Story (cast). She would like to thank Darrin and Hayley for allowing her the time to be in this production. As always, this is for Cole who is always in her heart!

Marcos Gonzalez (José) is a young actor and a sophomore at UTK, currently working towards a major in Theater. This is his first time working with the WordPlayers and he is very excited about it! Some of his previous works include The Wolves with ACT and Romeo and Juliet with TSC as a Stage manager, and A Midsummer Night's Dream with TSC as an actor. He will do anything that sounds fun to him, meaning he is very excited about this show!

Greg Helton (Mr. Toot) is excited to make his first appearance with the WordPlayers. You may have seen him recently as George in Dr. Biscotti, Ludie in Tellico Village's production of A Trip to Bountiful, Joe Keller in Oak Ridge Playhouse's production of All My Sons, or the one man show Sgt York: The Play.

Belle Holmes (Lucille) is ecstatic to be joining the WordPlayers for her first time back onstage in five years! She is a senior theatre student at the University of Tennessee. She is usually backstage as an assistant stage manager; recent productions include Knoxville, Kinky Boots, The Giver, and Hair with the Clarence Brown Theatre. She would like to thank her family and friends for supporting her and pushing her to get back onstage.

Joe Jaynes (Grampa Miller) has appeared in 60+ stage, TV, and film productions. He is thrilled to be celebrating Christmas this year with Junie B. and her friends. Roles in other WordPlayers productions this year include the Duke of Cornwall in King Lear, Mordcha the innkeeper in Fiddler on the Roof, and Dr. Rank in A Doll’s House. Thanks to Lucy and her wonderful crew, and to all my fellow cast mates, for the opportunity to share in creating such a fun show! And thank you, Kim, for your love, understanding, and support during the long days and nights that theater demands.

Caleb Leach (Herb) is thrilled to be returning to the stage with the WordPlayers. He has spent the last few years working with CAK as technical director and director for their musicals, working on film projects around the country, and with KnoxCAM as an actor and managing director. You could have seen Caleb cutting loose last summer as Willard in Footloose, talking stars in Boston in Silent Sky, or thanking God for his miracles in Fiddler on the Roof for the WordPlayers. Caleb is excited to jump into this fun and wacky story. He wants to thank Lucy for this goofy opportunity, his friends and family for their joy, his daughter Emilia for her inspiration, and his wife Kristen for her love and support.

Jim Richardson (Mr. Scary) is pleased to work with Lucy Wright and the WordPlayers for the first time since Bright Star in the 2019 season. A long ago graduate of the University of Tennessee’s theatre department, Jim has performed in upwards of 126 productions with almost every theatrical troupe in the greater Knoxville area. Over a ridiculous number of years, he has amassed a string of onscreen credits and has dabbled in writing and directing as well.

Jessica Ryion (Understudy) is happy to be a part of Junie B. Jones Jingle Bells, Batman Smells this Winter! She is a performance major at Pellissippi State Community College and is currently in her second year. She has done three productions with Pellissippi, King Lear as ensemble, Peter and the Wolf as Hunter, and Antigone as Chorus Elder. She is happy to be working with the WordPlayers again, and she is excited to return to the stage in December!

Daniel Rickman (Sheldon) is thrilled to be making his WordPlayers debut with this production of Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! A recent graduate of the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre - Performance, recent credits include And Then There Were None (Anthony Marston), Suite Surrender (Francis), Elektra (Pedagogues), and The Seagull (Trigorin). He is also fresh off directing Into the Woods for Palace Players at the Old City Performing Arts Center. He wants to thank the cast and crew for a wonderful experience and hopes you enjoy the show! Happy holidays! IG: @danielcrickman

Shon Seivers (Understudy) is a sophomore at Pellissippi State Community College and is excited to participate in Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells. He is a performance major looking to achieve his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts at a four year university after his time at Pellissippi. He has performed in productions at Pellissippi before including Antigone (Haimon) and King Lear (King of France) as well as Fiddler on the Roof with the WordPlayers. He has also done productions in high school (Halls High School) including CLUE (Wadsworth), Game of Tiaras (The King), and The Bold the Young and the Murdered (Morris Nyborg). Shon hopes to further his craft as an actor and is grateful to work with the WordPlayers on this wonderful production!

Remington Stavros (Phillip Johnny Bob) is so excited to be playing an imaginary elephant and to be adding another show to his WordPlayers Christmas show bingo card! Some recent roles include Cinderella’s Prince/ The Wolf (Into the Woods), Calypso Brother (Joseph), Peter (Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe), and Snoopy (Good Man, Charlie Brown), which he also directed for the Palace Players. Other directing credits include The Little Mermaid and Winnie the Pooh, both for the Palace Players. He would like to thank Lucy for being an amazing director, Mayah and Anissa for absolutely rocking the stage manager game, Ari for giving him the best costumes ever, and the Lord for this opportunity! He would also like to point out that this is the third show this year in which he’s worn a tail, but he promises that it’s just a coincidence.

Madeleine Trout (Elf Ellen, Props Master) is thrilled to be a part of the WordPlayers production of Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells. Most recently she was in the ensemble of the WordPlayers and Pellissippi’s production of King Lear and #8 in River and Rail and Pellissippi’s production of The Wolves. Other credits include Our Tempest, Three by Nigro, and Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, all produced by Pellissippi State Community College. Madeleine has been studying performance and technical theatre at Pellissippi for the past three years. She has had an absolute blast working with this cast and crew. She would like to thank her awesome director, Lucy Wright, for caring so deeply for the people in this production and the rehearsal process. She would also like to thank her wonderful family and best friend Kate for always believing in her.