Half Hour

At just 25 years old, award-nominated actor, producer, singer, and television personality Kalen Allen (he/him) has catapulted into the mainstream media, reaching millions of people worldwide across his social media platforms and through his content online. Discovered in 2018 by renowned talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, Allen first made a name for himself through his hilarious “Kalen Reacts” videos, giving colorful and witty commentary on culinary concoctions online. It was one of these videos that caught the attention of Ellen, and he was invited to appear on the show. Ellen knew she had found something special in Allen, and offered him an opportunity to collaborate and produce content for her digital platforms.

Bradley J Thomas (he/him) is an Equity actor, director, singer teacher and well recognizable Front of House extraordinaire! Bradley just celebrated his 14th anniversary of moving to the KC metro area, before that he hailed from Portland OR and the pacific northwest! Bradley has performed internationally, regionally and locally over the course of a 36 year career! Both on stage and on film, he has truly delved and dabbled into every facet of the performing arts. Bradley is incredibly fortunate to be apart of this wonderful conversation with Astra Theatre Co.!

Raven Thomas (she/her) is from a small college town in Ohio. Starting at the age of 12, Raven began to work professionally in the performing arts and has been working ever since. From community theatre to amusement park shows to summer stock, The Muny, The First National Tour of HAMILTON, to Broadway. She is a graduate of The University of Cincinnati - College Conservatory of Music (CCM) with a BFA in Musical Theatre and a Minor in Sociology. She has the experience of being an assistant director, a Co-Director, a Content Consultant, and hopes to continue influencing and participating in the world of art, people, and love. www.raventhomas.com. IG: @ravenmichellethomas

Morgan Walker (she/her) grew up in Kansas City and is now living in New York. She spent the past few years working the KC theatre scene performing at The KCREP, MTH Theatre, The Coterie and more. Most recently, she played Ericka Boafo in Portland Center Stage's production of School Girl's; or the African Mean Girls Play in Oregon. In her free time, she enjoys creating art out of anything she can find, traveling, and making music. She is passionate about advocating for BIPOC diversity inclusion throughout the theatre and entertainment industry. IG: @reklawnagrom

Bebe Wood (she/her) stars in Hulu’s series “Love, Victor,” the celebrated and critically praised spinoff series from the film Love, Simon, set to release its second season on June 11th 2021. Bebe is best known for her roles as 'Shania’ on NBC’s “The New Normal” and 'Shannon’ on ABC’s “The Real O'Neals.” She has also voiced characters in the animated series “Trollhunters” and “3 Below: Tales of Arcadia.” Her love for theater and acting began at the age of three, when her parents took her to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in London. After spending much of her adolescence fine-tuning her taste for music, exploring everything from Bollywood film soundtracks to The Beatles, Wood began writing songs when she was 15. She will be releasing her first single at the end of June 2021. IG: @BroadwayBebe

An Overland Park resident who just returned from NYC, Anthony (he/him) is beyond excited to be involved with Astra Theatre Co.. His professional acting credits include the Broadway National Tour of the Tony Award winning musical Fun Home; Newsies, South Pacific, Mamma Mia, Miss Saigon, Catch Me if You Can, Altar Boyz, Into the Woods, Jersey Boys, and Titanic, to name a few. Accountant by day, actor by night. Anthony is jazzed to be collaborating with some of his best friends!

Kansas City Public Theatre is a 501(c)3 non-profit theatre company based in Kansas City, MO which provides access to the arts through year-round theatre entertainment free of charge to the public. KC Public Theatre was founded by Elizabeth Bettendorf Bowman and Nathan Bowman, Ph.D. IG: @KCPublicTheatre https://kcpublictheatre.org/

Jake Walker (he/him) has been a professional actor for 20 years. In KC, he has worked at Unicorn Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Kansas City Actors Theatre, New Theatre Restaurant, Coterie Theatre, Theatre for Young America, and lots more but he's 41 and has the memory of a goldfish. Regionally he has acted with Denver Center Theatre Company, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Creede Repertory Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage and Presentation House Theatre in Vancouver, BC. Last year, Jake and some like minded theatre artists started the Theatre Community Fund of KC, which provides support and assistance to local theatre community members through a food bank, a volunteer Ensemble for needs that require boots on the ground and direct financial relief. Jake lives in Quality Hill with his nearly feral cat Charlie. IG: @WalkerJake79 @TheatreFundKC

Shon Ruffin (she/her) found her voice singing showtunes and American Standards and has gone on to perform on various stages including Unicorn Theatre, Starlight Theatre, Kansas City Repertory, Late Night Theatre, Missie B's, The Levee, Argosy Casino, Dave & Busters, The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kelly's in Westport, Ragazza, Hamburger Mary's, Kemper Arena, New Theater Restaurant and The Coterie Theatre. Shon is represented by Jukeboxx Media and sings with their popular corporate, charity, and wedding entertainment bands Lost Wax and 2Proud2Beg Band. IG: @Shon8Diva

Daria LeGrand (she/her) is a big huge fan of Kansas City and grew up performing in all kinds of KC theatre. She is currently based in Chicago, and has spent the last year in quarantine building her nutrition coaching business and her yoga + nutrition YouTube channel. IG @DariaLeGrand @ChompNutrition Youtube: @DariaLeGrand