ACTORS
KELLY CRISS is happy to be back performing in the Young Playwrights Festival! Kelly is a former YPF coordinator and loves to support this amazing program and the work of these incredible emerging artists. Atlanta theatre credits: Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Shakespeare Co., Aurora Theatre, Georgia Ensemble, Horizon Theatre, Stage Door, Synchronicity, Theatre in the Square, Theatrical Outfit, Weird Sisters, and 7 Stages.
DIONNA D. DAVIS is a Savannah native who graduated from Georgia Southern with a degree in French & Theatre. She works the Atlanta theatre circuit as actor, stage manager and propsmaster circa 2014. Credits include Horizon Theatre (Roe, Square Blues), Théâtre du Rêve (Vive La Fontaine, Emilie du Chatelet), Synchronicity Theatre (Ella Enchanted, Mirandy & Brother Wind, The Bluest Eye, Edward Tulane), Out of Hand Theatre (Class Dismissed, Conditional Care), Theater Emory (Lost Girl, Blood Wedding, Lysistrata), Center for Puppetry Arts (Duke Ellington’s Cat). She’s grateful for her mother’s unconditional support, for playwright Paris Crayton III’s lasting friendship, as well as her ride-or-die friends Patience & Porsche!
JADE’ DAVIS is from Maryland and graduated from Boston University with a BFA in Theater Arts. Her favorite credits include Luanne in Rooted at The Horizon Theatre, Half Empty Half Full as Lilia at The Hudson Guild Theater, and Oberon & Hippolyta in A Midsummer Nights Dream at The Kraine Theater. She’s incredibly grateful for the wide variety of roles she’s had the opportunity to play. Jade’ would love to thank her friends and family for always supporting her. Find her on social media: @rising_icon
ELLIOTT FOLDS is an Atlanta-based actor and dramaturg who is honored to be supporting this group of young playwrights! Previous acting credits include A Year with Frog and Toad (Synchronicity Theatre), Hairspray (Out Front Theatre Company), The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Stage Door Theatre), The Bridges of Madison County (Aurora Theatre), and Buyer & Cellar (Out Front Theatre Company/ART Station). Additionally, he has worked as a dramaturg at the Alliance Theatre, Out Front Theatre Company, Actor’s Express, Synchronicity Theatre, Stage Door Theatre, and Woodstock Arts. Love to Caty. Long live new work.
MARCUS HOPKINS-TURNER is an Atlanta native, a proud father of two and Morehouse College graduate. Regional Credits: Prince of Egypt (Tuacahn), Fences and Little Mermaid (Springer Opera House), and Porgy and Bess (Red Mountain Theatre). Atlanta Credits: Hands Up and A Christmas Carol (Alliance Theatre), Julius Caesar (The Shakespeare Tavern), Support Group for Men (Horizon Theater), Tarzan the Musical (Atlanta Lyric Theatre), Once on this Island (GET), Home I’m Darling (Synchronicity Theatre), I’m Not Rappaport, Mary Poppins and Sister Act (Aurora Theatre), Father Comes Home and Intimate Apparel (Actors Express), Black Nativity (Dominion Ent.), and 1776 the Musical (The Legacy Theatre). TV/Film: Young Dylan (Nickelodeon), 61st Street (AMC/CW), Chicago PD (NBC)
ENOCH KING has appeared at Horizon in The Light, Sweet Water Taste, Constellations, The Santaland Diaries, and many more over the past two decades! Recent credits include Hold On! (St. Louis Black Rep); Flyin’ West (Indiana Repertory Theatre); Chicken and Biscuits (Dominion Entertainment); Toni Stone (Suzi Bass Award for Outstanding Featured Performer–Alliance Theatre); The Bluest Eye (Synchronicity Theatre); Skeleton Crew, A Raisin in the Sun (American Stage); Paradise Blue (True Colors Theatre), Hands of Color (Synchronicity Theatre- Suzi Bass Award for Best World Premiere) and The Christians (Suzi Bass Award for Best Supporting Actor–Actors Express). His recent Film/TV credits include Bad Boys 4, Atlanta, TILL, and The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. He is represented by Houghton Talent and Ross Stephens Arts and Entertainment. Lean towards those who love you, like you, and lift you. Four-ward!
CARA MANTELLA is thrilled to return to YPF for another year! She most recently appeared at Stage Door Players as Adrienne in Cry it Out and at Actor’s Express as Mary Jane in Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train (Suzi Bass Award), and has been performing on stages in and around Atlanta for almost 20 years. Some of her favorite Film/TV credits include Lodge 49, Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits and Monsters, Stranger Things, Woke, Pain Hustlers, Will Trent, and most recently Grosse Pointe Garden Society where she recurs as Donna (now streaming on Peacock!). She has her BFA in Acting from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
MATT MERCURIO, a proud son of immigrants, is a classically trained actor & producer of film and theatre with over 60 appearances of major episodic television across networks that include ABC, CBS, AMC, NBC, FOX, USA, CW, STARZ, & HBO. Matt has had the honor of working alongside the likes of Will Ferrell, Tom Cruise, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Garner & Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, as well as Oscar Award winners like Reese Witherspoon, Al Pacino, Jamie Foxx, Helen Mirren & Rami Malek. He’s worked with such esteemed filmmakers like Ang Lee, Doug Liman and Paul Schrader. Matt is a national finalist of the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship & recipient of the American College Theatre Festival’s Marvin Sims Diversity Award in Acting. Recent appearances include recurring on Season 1 of the hit new show The Pitt (HBO MAX), the final season of SWAT (CBS) and You’re Cordially Invited (AMAZON). Next up Matt is workshopping an original piece called MR. COOL that just premiered at Theatrical Outfit and is co-directing Rabbit Hole at The Windmill Arts Center. Matt is the creator of Tesseract Theatre Lab and teaches Advanced On-Camera Acting for professionals. Reps: AWA & Industry Entertainment. Instagram: @yomattymerc and actormattmercurio.com
MICHELLE POKOPAC is an American multi-hyphenate of Korean descent, ranging from acting in theatre and film, producing, dramaturgy, and activism. With a constant interest in the arts ranging from acting, drawing, and playing piano, she continued to pursue acting through her high school’s theatre department. Michelle received her BFA in Theatre Performance from Columbus State University and did additional studies in Florence, Italy and Oxford, England. Her credits include a range of theatre productions such as the Regional Tony Award Winning Alliance Theatre, and film and television credits on FOX, Hulu, Lifetime, Marvel/Disney+, and Netflix. In 2018, Michelle and her co-founding partner, Amee Vyas launched East by Southeast, an organization dedicated to connecting Asian artists in Atlanta while creating opportunities to support inclusivity and authentic representation. In response to the social and racial injustice brought forth in 2020, Michelle teamed up with several artist-activist organizations to protest, facilitate, and hold active positions of power accountable. Her relationship with art, social justice, and identity have blended harmoniously into a life and career that have deepened her pillars of gratitude, joy, and passion. In addition to her work in the arts, she also teaches a standardized curriculum for the well-woman exam nation wide at medical, nursing, PA schools, and assists with SANE trainings at sexual assault centers. In her free time, Michelle enjoys eating all the good food, travelling, and spending time with her family, friends, and furbaby. @pokopac @east_x_southeast
ALEJANDRA RUIZ is an Atlanta based actor, director, and chocolate cake lover, who is thrilled to be here reading these words in this room tonight. Her favorite Atlanta Credits include: Oh to Be Pure Again (Actor’s Express), Fat Juliet (Theatrical Outfit), The Little Prince (Synchronicity) Peter and The Star Catcher (Stage Door), The Pros and Cons of Killing Your Cult Leader (Weird Sister’s), Twelfth Night (ASC). Alejandra is also a proud member of the Working Title Playwrights’ Acting Ensemble. Instagram: x.alejandra.xx
DANE TROY This is Dane’s debut @ YPF! He is a multi-hyphenate story teller from the heart of Atlanta, Georgia. REGIONAL: Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Milwaukee Rep; Alliance Theater; Oakland Theater Project; Horizon Theatre Company; California Shakespeare Theatre; Marin Theatre; Killing My Lobster; The Second City Hollywood; New Conservatory Theatre Center; Capital Stage; Synchronicity Theatre; Theatrical Outfit; Aurora Theatre; Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company. TV: Driven (Lifetime); Hand of God (Amazon Prime); Sherman’s Showcase (Hulu). He is an improv comedy graduate of: Dad’s Garage; iO West; The Groundlings; Upright Citizens Brigade: LA Dane sends lots of love to his family & his amazing wife Paige Mayes. All glory to GOD! Up next: (Stage Manager & Assistant Director) for Fences with AMC Performance Group @ ENCORE!
JACOB YORK‘s acting credits include Jesus Hopped the A Train (Actor’s Express), Twelfth Night (Atlanta Shakespeare Company), Women in Jeopardy (Merrimack Repertory Theatre) and Urinetown (Nashville Repertory Theatre, Best Supporting Actor in a Musical). As a playwright, his writing credits include Homers (World Premiere, Georgia Ensemble Theatre, Roswell, GA), They Love Violence (Ethel Woolson Lab Selection, Working Title Playwrights), Twitch (Winner, Roots of the Bluegrass New Play Award, Kentucky Theatre Association – Semi-Finalist, Burman New Play Award, Barrington Stage Company), and Initiative, his play about Dungeons & Dragons and trying to live a full life, which will have its professional world premiere at Lawrenceville’s Aurora Theatre in March of 2026. Please come see it. It’s going to be great.