NSYPF 2020 Actors

2020 Actors

Maggie Birgel Our Town, The Laramie Project (Theatrical Outfit), Bullets Over Broadway (Georgia Ensemble Theatre), The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Stage Door Players),  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Pete the Cat, Stellaluna (Center for Puppetry Arts), Nell Gwynn, Strait of Gibraltar, Fancy Nancy  (Synchronicity), Enchanted April  (Weird Sisters), Damn Yankees (Theatre Buford), Madeline’s \ Christmas (Horizon).


Cordell Cole is a Georgia native, who loves traveling around acting; and is always thankful to get to visit Georgia again. Past credits include: Utah Shakespeare Festival- Macbeth, Every Brilliant Thing, (as well as Desperate Measures, Cymbeline, Shakespeare’s Worst– Postponed until 2021), Texas Shakespeare Festival- Othello, Into The Woods, As You Like It, Alliance Theatre- Nick’s Flamingo Grill, Blues for an Alabama Sky, American Shakespeare Center- Romeo and Juliet, A Christmas Carol, Our Town, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Goodnight Desdemona; Good Morning Juliet, Henry V, Julius Caesar, The Importance of Being Earnest, American Players Theatre- The Seagull, Romeo and Juliet, Much ado about Nothing, Georgia Shakespeare- The Jungle Book, Antony and Cleopatra, Mighty Myths and Legends, The Tempest, Much ado about Nothing. Essential Theatre- The Darker Face of the Earth. All glory to God. All my love to my parents, brothers, grandma, and Nadia.


Shelli Delgado is thrilled to be joining the Young Playwrights Festival this year. Most recently she played Siobhan in Horizon’s & Aurora Theatre’s joint production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Regional Credits: A Christmas Carol, Max Makes a Million, Tiger Style!Little Raindrop Songs and Dinosaur! (Alliance Theatre); A Doll’s House Part 2, The Crucible*, RENT (Actor’s Express, *Suzi Bass Award for Featured Actress), Hamlet (Atlanta Shakespeare Company), Much Ado About Nothing (Warehouse Theatre), Into the Woods, Don’t Dress for Dinner, 4000 Miles, Les Misérables (Aurora Theatre), Sense & Sensibility (Synchronicity Theatre), Grease, Miss Saigon (Serenbe). TV: “The Vampire Diaries”. IG: @shellidelgado Black Lives Matter.


Christopher Hampton is honored to join Horizon Theatre for the YPF festival again. Christopher has performed on many stages locally and nationally. In Atlanta he has been seen at Theatre Buford, 7 Stages, Horizon, Theater Emory, and the Alliance among others. He is thankful to his family and friends for their unending support, and his fiance for enhancing his life. Christopher is a mainstage company member and instructor at Whole World Improv Theater, and will be seen in the upcoming Jon Stewart Film Irresistible.


Chris Hecke is a Regional Actor and a proud Immigrant from Brazil. He holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Arkansas. Since moving to the US at the age of 18, Chris has been blessed to work from Atlanta, to Fayetteville, to Greenville, to Gainesville. Since making Atlanta his professional, home-base in 2016, his favorite credits include: Hotspur (Henry IV Pt.1), Edmund the Bastard (King Lear), and Berowne(Love’s Labours Lost), at the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern; stints in Shakespeare in Love and My Father’s War at Theatre Squared; Pablo (Native Gardens), Aurora Theatre. Honored that this is his 3rd consecutive year back at Horizon’s YPF. 


Cara Mantella has appeared on stages in and around Atlanta including Alliance Theatre, Aurora Theatre, Theatre in the Square, Georgia Ensemble Theatre, Actor’s Express, Horizon Theatre, Stage Door Players, Dominion Entertainment Group, and Théâtre du Rêve.  Recent TV & Film credits: Lodge 49, Stranger Things, Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & MonstersAmerican SoulNashvilleThe OvalThe Founder, The Good Lie, NoelleI, Tonya, and moreBFA in Acting from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. imdb.me/caramantella


Brandon Michael Mayes is an Atlanta based actor, theatre artist, and writer. Originally from Jacksonville Florida, Brandon has migrated from his artistic home and pursued training at Florida School of the Arts and Brenau University with the Gainesville Theatre Alliance, where he received his A.S. And B.FA. In Acting with additional focus in Directing. In the Greater Atlanta Area Brandon has been featured in works with the Atlanta Opera, Alliance Theatre, Theatre Buford, and most recently seen in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Horizon & Aurora Theatre) and Indecent (Theatrical Outfit). He is represented in film television and commercial work with Stewart Talent Atlanta. 


Michelle Pokopac is an actor in both theatre and film. She received her BFA in Theatre Performance from Columbus State University and did additional studies in Florence, Italy and Oxford, England. In 2017, Michelle and her partners founded East by Southeast, an organization dedicated to supporting, developing, and producing Asian artists and their work in Atlanta while also encouraging inclusivity and representation through community engagement. @pokopac @east_x_southeast 


Naima Carter Russell is an Atlanta resident, FSU Alumnus and a Suzi Bass Award winner for her role as Felicia Farrell in Memphis (Aurora Theater /Theatrical Outfit). Other regional credits include: The Nacirema Society…and Christmas Carol (Alliance Theatre); Big Fish and Godspell (Theatrical Outfit); Tranced and Lark Eden (Aurora Theatre); Antigone (Georgia Shakespeare), Caroline, or Change (St. Louis Black Rep), Rejoice (True Colors Theatre Company). Film/TV credits include: House of Payne, Let’s Stay Together, and Banshee. She is a passionate diverse book reviewer and shares the drama of mothering 2 girls @itsthedramamama on Instagram.


Parris Sarter is pleased to be a part of the Young Playwright Festival! She has worked extensively throughout the Atlanta metro area some of her work includes: Angels in America: Parts 1 & 2 (Actor’s Express), The Cake (Horizon Theatre), Eclipsed (Synchronicity Theatre), The Revolutionists (7 Stages), and Entertaining Lesbians (Out of Box Theatre). Keep supporting live theater and the arts especially now for it is the only thing that is keeping us sane in the midst of this insanity.


Justin Walker is excited to return to Horizon Theatre. At Horizon, Justin previously appeared in The City of Conversation and Sweet Water Taste. Regional Credits include: the Alliance Theatre, Theatrical Outfit, TheatreSquared, Hangar Theatre, Arkansas Rep, Warehouse Theatre, Synchronicity Theatre, Serenbe Playhouse, Georgia Shakespeare, Aurora Theatre, Centre Stage, and Atlanta Shakespeare, among others. Justin holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Arkansas. 


Markell Williams is thrilled to be back with YPF. Favorite Atlanta theatre credits include: Top Dop/Under Dog with the National Black Theatre Co., The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (Peter) at the Alliance Theatre where he and cast received a Suzi Bass Award for Best Performance, The Breakers (PA) at 7 Stages, I Said I Was Sorry (Partner/Victim) with Michael Haverty’s Object Group and The Boys Next Door (Lucien P Smith) with Marietta Players, for which he won a MAT Award for best major supporting actor in a play. He thanks the amazing Director and Crew, friends, family and YOU for supporting the arts and live theatre! Follow him on instagram @Markell.Williams to see what he’s up to next!