2024 Digital Binder – In Person

My acting journey began in college, but theatrical & musical performance was around me for my whole life. My mom, who performed in many musicals and straight plays when I was a child, never failed to bring the theatrics into our house. My dad is a piano improvisation master that constantly rehearsed with the band he is right in our home when I was growing up. I do also play the piano but was too stubborn to learn how to read from either of my experienced parents. I love to dance and sing and I'm very competitive, especially when it comes to sports. Soccer was my main deal for 21 years; I received a scholarship to play soccer at WWU. My first acting class at Western sparked a new passion and I’m determined to enjoy and pursue it.

Danny Jones is only 5 months into living in the greater Seattle area and is using these unified auditions to gain more exposure as a professional theatre actor in the area. Danny has worked for 10+ years as a professional actor and for 4 years as a lecturer of acting on the university level. Danny has worked professionally in Alaska, Florida, Maine, New York, Berkeley, San Jose, San Rafael, San Fransisco, Madison, and Singapore. Danny prides himself on a high level of artistry and collaboration. Danny also has a unique opportunity in this portion of his career to dedicate a lot of time to work on creative projects. If you are an agency looking for new voice over talent Danny also has an in-home professional quality Voice Over studio. Thanks for your attention on this bio and his audition!

Shelby Schill (she/her) is a Seattle based actor who works on stage and in film. Recent theater roles include 'Arrivals' with Seattle Jewish Theater, 'Born Yesterday' with Theater 9/12, and the immersive experience 'Censored'. She has directed and performed in the annual show, 'The Mamalogues, A Comedy About Motherhood' for five years. Television credits include 'The Wonderland Murders'. She is excited to perform for this wonderful collection of professionals in the artistic community!

Chelsey Sheppard is a Seattle based actor and stage combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors. After taking a 3 year hiatus from theatre during the height of the pandemic, Chelsey is so thankful to be back on stage and telling stories once again! Recent credits include understudying for Village Theatre’s ‘Sherwood: Adventures of Robin Hood’, playing Tilly in The Phoenix Theatre's 'The Lady Demands Satisfaction', ensemble in Dacha Theatre’s ‘An Incomplete List’, and Guildenstern in inD Theatre's ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead’. Chelsey is a big fan of dogs, swords, and decolonization.

Leah Shannon is an actress, screenwriter, and director based in the PNW.
In April of 2023, Leah was awarded the Irene Ryan Award for acting at the Region 7 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. She attended nationals in Washington DC, where she was awarded a full ride scholarship to the Performing Arts Project in North Carolina.

In June of 2023, she graduated Western Washington University with a BA in Theatre Performance. There, she performed in numerous plays, ending her college career as Henry Condell in Lauren Gunderson's Book of Will. It was then she fell in fascination with dialect work and has since studied numerous dialects as well as working towards becoming a working dialect coach.

WWU is also where she starred in majority of the films the university film club would produce each quarter, simultaneously participating in the Seattle film scene. During her time in the Arts Enterprise & Cultural Innovation program, she wrote, produced, directed, and starred in two original shorts, Written Down co-directed by Scout Powell, and Discussions of a Particular Pallet, her first solo directing project.

Hello! I'm Melissa Takai, a local actor here in Seattle. Acting was the first thing I wanted to do in life and it's stuck ever since, whether I liked it or not. I didn't have many opportunities when I was younger but I dabbled in theatre whenever I could throughout high school and college. As soon as I graduated, I was in a rut and decided to take classes at Unexpected Productions and Freehold Theatre. This was the most formative time of my life: I discovered myself as a young adult, I made friendships I will forever be thankful for, and I learned what it truly means to be an actor. I continued to spend a year and a half training at Freehold Theatre and as of June 2023, I've been focused on finding work. I signed to TCM Models & Talent in November 2023 and I hope to find more opportunities through the TPS Auditions. Thank you for having me!

As someone who is about to graduate from the UW Drama Department, I am excited to enter the world of Seattle theatre and film. I am looking for any opportunities to perform and to learn from the creatives in this diverse community.

Julia Rahmanzaei is a native of Iran, Tehran . She is currently a student at University of
Washington, School of Drama third year Professional Acting Training Program (PATP).
Also, she has a bachelor's degree in French translation and master's degree in theatre
directing .
Some of her shows in Iran include :Abharia ,The only possible way, Ingrid Bergman with
Smell of Qorme Sabzi.The Dear Dead Day . What if I did not dream about you.
University of Washington Drama credits include : Bull in a China shop , The saint plays,
In the blood . The moors. Thick Description of Harry Smith.
Also,
The Forgotten History of Mastaneh Seattle Public theatre
The Forgotten History of Mastaneh Taproot Theatre.

Jonathan Swindle is a Seattle-based actor from Cleveland, TN. Previous Puget Sound credits include "A Christmas Carol" and "Pageantry" with Taproot Theatre Company; "Monstrous Regiment" with Latitude Theatre; "Pericles, Prince of Tyre" with Greenstage; and "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" and "Tribes" with Tacoma Arts Live. Jonathan has a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Lee University and a Master of Fine Arts in Performance from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is trained in both Lessac Kinesenic Training as well as Michael Lugering's Expressive Actor Method, and has received training in Unarmed, Single Sword, and Broadsword combat with both Dueling Arts International and the Society of American Fight Directors.

Seamus C. Smith (he/him) is an actor from Bothell, Washington. He earned an AA from Shoreline Community College and holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Central Washington University. Seamus is also a director, stage manager, and fight choreographer with a background in film, production management, and carpentry. He takes private voice lessons and was heavily involved in starting the theatre program at his high school. Some of his favorite roles include LeFou in Beauty and the Beast (BPA), Jeff McCracken in Kimberly Akimbo (As If Theatre), A Somebody in Everybody (CTE), and Simon Bliss in Hay Fever (inD Theatre). When he's not onstage or filming he works at his family's pizzeria and is also a voice actor and original member of AudioImagination77, a Seattle based group of artists that produce original audio plays.

Divya is a creative warrior and a performance artiste. Her work is strongly driven by intuition and inspired by storytelling, rituals, healing & spirituality.

Divya holds an MFA in Theatre Arts from Towson University, Maryland. She is a student of the Margolis Method and is in the cohort of emerging directors at The Shattered Glass Project’s 2023-2024 Incubator/Mentor program. She is also a TAT Lab graduate and teaches storytelling, theatre and arts-integrated curriculum to youth in schools and communities.

She has a penchant for creating non-traditional performances. ‘Salt for the Soul’ & ‘Tales of Thresholds’ are two such ritual performances she offers through Epiphany Sutra. She co-devised an interactive piece for Finding Trails in 2022 that was site-specific to a Seattle public park. ‘A labyrinth and its myriad mirages’ a wholly devised and experimental psychological myth premiered with Pratidhwani’s THRICE.

Her past one-woman performances include adaptations of Tagore’s Kabuliwallah and Kingdom of Cards; and Manto’s Ten Rupees. Breaking the fourth wall is her signature performance style.

She has worked with Theatre Nisha in English and Hindi productions as a lighting designer and actor including stories of Asghar Wajahat and an adaptation of the Ramayana.

She was the festival director and co-producer of Short + Sweet Theatre Manila (Philippines) for four years. She is also a trained cinematographer, a certified Scuba diver and a Reiki healer.

Hi, there! I'm an emerging actor, choreographer, dancer, and all around theatre artist and I'm so excited to be auditioning for you today! Select performance credits include; She Kills Monsters (Agnes), Urinetown (Josephine), The Laramie Project (Various), and Theory of Relativity (Julie) (Western Oregon University). I proudly describe myself as a fat-bodied artist and I'm a fervent advocate for body diversity and plus-size representation on stage. I'm dedicated to demonstrating that individuals of all shapes and sizes are capable of outstanding work both on the stage and off.