Tori Bestor

Tori Bestor is a 3rd year at Avila University. She is a BFA Theatre major with a double concentration in Acting and Design, Tech, and Management. For this show she’s the assistant lightning designer and the understudy for Karen. She’s done multiple shows here including: First Date, Eurydice, Laramie Project, and Etc.

Micah Cheek

Micah Cheek is a sophomore at Avila! He is playing Agent Frank in our production of Unnecessary Farce! He can’t wait for you to come and laugh, enjoy, and have fun with this show.

Gaby Dawn

Gaby Dawn is a senior! For Unnecessary Farce, Gaby is Mrs. Meekly’s understudy and a part of the Front of House crew and Electrics! She has been very involved in the past as Eurydice in Eurydice, the Kelli Simpkins track in The Laramie Project, and Myra in Hay Fever. She wants to thank her family, friends, and Matt for supporting her and helping her get to where she is today. She is so excited for you to experience this hilarious show!

Abigail Dearing

Abigail Dearing is a Senior at Avila. She is pursuing a B.F.A in Theatre Design, Tech, and Management. Abigail is the Sound Designer, Assistant Costume Designer, and Sound Board Operator for this production. Some of her previous credits include scenic and digital media designer for The Laramie Project, sound designer for Hay Fever, and props designer for Eurydice. Unnecessary Farce is her thirteenth show at Avila, and she is very excited to participate in future shows this season.”

Gabriella Fast

Gabriella Fast is a senior and she is majoring in Theatre Technology & Management at Avila University, focus being stage management. She is the assistant stage manager for Paul Slade Smith’s Unnecessary Farce: A Comedy. She has stage managed Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice last year and assistant stage-managed Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, and Joe Masteroff’s She Loves Me in 2023 at Avila. She likes to thank Trevor Belt for encouraging her through her journey of stage management.

Eleanor Frances

Miriam Gleeson

Miriam Gleeson is a senior at Avila! Her major is Radiologic Science, but her love of theatre keeps her coming back to production involvement. She has worked extensively backstage for First Date, Eurydice, The Laramie Project, Hay Fever, She Loves Me!, Measure for Measure, Clue, RENT, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, and The Imaginary Cuckold in the past. She also played several ensemble parts in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime and was an ensemble soloist in RENT. She’s very grateful for the opportunity to continue involvement in the technical aspects of this production!

Lauren Grimes

Lauren Grimes is a Freshman portraying Mrs. Mary Meekly. She is so thrilled to be participating in her first production here at Avila! Lauren would like to thank her parents, her best friend, and her boyfriend for their constant support, Sidonie Garrett for the wonderful opportunity, and the cast of Unnecessary Farce for welcoming her to the department. 

Kelsey Harms

Kelsey Harms is the Props Designer for this Avila Theatre production. She is a senior majoring in Design and Technology. Previous productions she has worked on include: The Imaginary Cuckold (2021), The Curious Incident of The Dog of The Night-Time (2022), RENT (2022), CLUE (2022), Measure for Measure (2023), She Loves Me (2023), Hay Fever (2023),The Laramie Project (2023), Eurydice (2024), and First Date (2024). She would like to thank her peers and friends for being there to help her grow as a future theatre-maker!

Angel Hernadez

Angel Hernandez is a sophomore Technology, Design, and Stage Management major. She worked mostly with paint crew but was also on lights crew. She has had a wonderful time working so far, and she is excited for the next play because she gets to try out new roles within the tech world of theater

Nathan Hummell

Nathan Hummell is a Sophomore at Avila, and he plays Eric! This is his fourth show at Avila and can’t wait for you to experience this fun show!

Kendall Hobgood

Kendall Hobgood is a Freshman here at Avila University studying performance arts. For Unnecessary Farce she is on paint and costume crew. This is her first show she has been apart of.

Reese Hill

Reese Hill is a senior majoring in psychology and minoring in theatre at Avila University. For Unnecessary Farce, Reese is portraying the role of officer Billie Dwyer. Her previous credits include the ‘Barbara Pitts Track’ in The Laramie Project, the Nurse in Romeo & Juliet, Claire in Proof, and the Ghost of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol. She wants to thank her mom, sister, and William, as well as her wonderful friends for their endless love and support. 

Eliot Reese

Eliot Reese is a sophomore. For Unnecessary Farce, he is the understudy for Eric, as well as being the scenes and props run assistant. Eliot is also part of the paint and props crews. He would like to thank his guinea pig, Princess Stella.

Tucker Rushing

Tucker Rushing is a senior Acting major here at Avila. He has been in numerous shows here including First Date, The Laramie Project, Hay Fever, Measure for Measure, and She loves, among others. He assumes the role of Todd and is the Head Electrician for tis production. He loves D&D and playing actual board games at board game night not just cards against humanity. He is grateful to his wonderful support network of friends and family and could not do this without the help of those closest to him.

Shannon Smith-Regnier

Shannon Smith-Regnier is a Kansas City based costume Designer and adjunct professor of theatre at Avila University. She received her MFA in Costume Design from Ohio University as well as her BFA from Wichita State University. She Interned with Martin Pakledinaz on the Broadway revival of “Anything Goes” (2011, NYC). Some KC design credits include: Spinning Tree Theater, Theatre in the Park, Kansas City Regional Theatre, KCAT, Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, Quality Hill, and the American Heartland Theater. She has also guest designed at Kansas University and Wichita State University. She worked as a stitcher in the costume shop at Glimmerglass Opera for two summers and has also designed and worked in the shop and on wardrobe many summers with Music Theater of Wichita. In 2011, she received the Zelma Weisfeld award from USITT (US Institute of Theatre Technology) for her costume designs. (www.shannonlynnsmith.com)

Coltyn Ledbetter

Coltyn Ledbetter, a freshman at Avila University, is making his college theatrical debut. In high school he was very active in theater, performing shows like Taming of the Shrew, Nevermore, and Christmas Carol Gone Wrong, among others. “I’m very excited to be a part of Avila’s theatre program and I would like to thank Matt, John, Sid, and all my peers for making this an amazing and welcoming first show experience!”

Olivia Loren

Olivia Loren is a senior at Avila University and is thrilled to be a part of Unnecessary Farce! Her past Avila credits include Casey (First Date), Amanda Gronich (The Laramie Project), Ilona Ritter (She Loves Me), and Lady Escalus (Measure for Measure). When not on the theatrical stage, she fronts a band called “The Bratts” and gigs around the KC area! Olivia would like to thank Sid for trusting her with this role, Matt and John for the endless opportunities to create, her family for continuously supporting her, and her wonderful partner and fur babies for always being there at the end of the night to make her smile! She knows you will enjoy the show… so sit back, relax, and laugh! It’s going to be hot, hot, HOT! @livcolle

Mariah Masterson

Mariah Masterson is a Sophomore. In Unnecessary Farce, she’s the understudy for the role of Billie Dwyer and part of Props and wardrobe crew. She wants to thank her grandma, her cat, and her grandma for being there to support her. She’s been in other shows, like Hay Fever and Eurydice.

Alex Valdez

Alex Valdez is a 3rd year Film major and Theater minor. For this production, he is the assistant paint charge and front of house manager, as well as on a couple of crews 

Sidonie Garrett

Sidonie Garrett is the Executive Artistic Director of the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival where she most recently directed Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare in Love, and the previous five season’s productions, Much Ado About Nothing, The Winter’s Tale, King Lear, Twelfth Night and Hamlet, all awarded Best Play in Pitch Magazine’s BEST OF KC as well as 15 other Shakespeare plays. Her experience working with new plays took her to New York City, where she directed the off-Broadway production of Thanatos. Sidonie also assistant directed the off-Broadway premiere of the interactive Aunt Chooch’s Birthday Party. Locally at the Unicorn Theatre she directed The Sound Inside, Tiny Beautiful Things, The Effect, Disgraced, How to Use a Knife, The Whale, I’ll Eat You Last, Other Desert Cities, The Motherf**ker With the Hat, Time Stands Still, In the Next Room: the vibrator play, Faith Healer, Rising Water, Iron Kisses, Retreat from Moscow, Omnium Gatherum, the world premiere of Thanatos, SubUrbia, The Waiting Room, Desert Holiday, Spinning Into Butter, SantaLand Diaries and co-directed Light/Damage with Cynthia Levin. Sidonie directed A Streetcar Named Desire and ‘Night Mother for Kansas City Actors Theatre. At the Coterie Theatre she directed The Macbeth Project: In Spite of Thunder, the U.S. premiere of After Juliet, Mr. A’s Amazing Maze Plays, Little House on the Prairie, Little House by the Shores of Silver Lake, Of Mice and Men, Playing for Time and co-directed The Hobbit. Sidonie co-directed Tony & Tina’s Wedding (Kansas City and St. Louis) for Fourth Wall Productions. She directed The African Company Presents with the Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City, Eleemosynary and Gruesome Playground Injuries at the Fishtank Theatre and has directed collaborations with KC Ballet, KC Symphony, and KC Chorale, and Script-In-Hand readings including The Beard of Avon and The Women, with KC Actors Theatre and The Tempest for JCCC’s Performing Arts Series. Previously with Elizabeth Suh Lane she co-created and directed Play On! a collaboration of music and words, and the second co-production in the series, The Marriage of True Minds. In 2020, she co-directed and produced two streaming productions, Shakespeare at Home and William Shakespeare’s Christmas Carol in addition to two live outdoor performances of Shakespeare’s scenes, Yard Bards and ShakesFEAR! She direct a filmed version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for JCCC’s Performing Arts Series and Show-Me Shakespeare as well as three live events in summer 2021 in Southmoreland Park, titled Shakespearience. For HASF, she has directed collaborations with the Bach Aria Soloists, the Grammy Award-winning Kansas City Chorale, Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Symphony, JCCC’s Performing Arts Series, Kansas City Actors Theatre, KC Rep, the Kansas City Museum, and many other partners.