Brian Townsend (Director) Brian has worked at many theaters throughout the metro Detroit area, both onstage and off. His directing credits include Boeing Boeing, Epic Proportions, Fools, Inspecting Carol, Crazy for You, Mame, Shenandoah, South Pacific, The Addams Family, and his original plays Is This Seat Taken? and Pass the Ducks. By day, he is a freelance graphic designer, and is always dabbling in something theatrical. “Thank you to Val, Kirk and Barefoot Productions for their support and the opportunity.”
Alex Gojkov (McDonald) Alex has appeared in numerous plays, many of them at The Players Guild of Dearborn, including The 39 Steps, Fools, Come Blow Your Horn, The Rainmaker, Epic Proportions, Rumors, See How They Run, The Producers, and Bye Bye Birdie. By day, he manages The Giant Screen Experience at The Henry Ford, which gives him a chance to flex his movie muscles. By night, he basically takes it easy after all that flexing.
Megan Meade-Higgins (Mrs. Patticake) Megan is thrilled to make her debut performance at Barefoot Productions! She has been performing with local community theatre groups for 25 years now, and some of her favorite roles include Alice Beane in “Titanic,” Vicki in “The Full Monty,” Hedy LaRue in “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” and Sr. Amnesia in “Nunsense.” Megan recently graduated with her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and received her full license to practice from the state in March. She would like to thank Barefoot Productions, Brian Townsend, the cast and crew of “Murder,” and most especially, her husband, Dan and daughter, Quinn as well as the rest of her family for their love and support of all things theatrical.
Luke Bahrou (Bakersman) Luke joins Barefoot for his second show, having previously appeared in Almost, Maine last fall. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Eastern Michigan University, Luke currently works as a Project Manager for Human Element, an e-commerce development company in Ann Arbor. Luke has appeared in The Crucible, The Laramie Project, A View from the Bridge, and he’s especially enjoyed his time with various improv groups. Of all the parts he’s gotten to play though, the one he’s most excited for is becoming a dad in May. “My last play for a long time; this one is for Courtney and our little girl.”
Kori Bielaniec (Mrs. Yews) Kori is delighted to return to Barefoot Productions, having last appeared at the Plymouth location in 2008 as Titania in "A Midsummer Night's Dream". She recently was onstage with Stagecrafters as Shelby in Steel Magnolias, and with the Players Guild of Dearborn as Sophia in Fools, two of her favorite productions to date. She thanks Brian for giving her the chance to play Mrs. Yews one more time and this cast for making her laugh when Mrs. Yews is supposed to be acting insufferably taciturn.
Samantha Marzec (Honoria Uptight) Samantha is excited to perform in her first show at Barefoot Productions. She graduated from Wayne State University with a Bachelors Degree in Theatre, and has worked at many area theatres. Samantha also directs and choreographs when given the opportunity. She is looking forward to helping with the choreography for the summer Youth Theatre Workshops here at Barefoot. She thanks her family and husband for all of the support and love!
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Jillian Drapala (Fern Patticake) Jillian is enjoying her time in the Abbey as Fern Patticake. After two years away from the stage, she is excited to be acting once again with the cast of Uptight Abbey. Jillian is also known for her roles as Gabriella in Boeing, Boeing and the younger Anne Sullivan Macy in Annie Speaks. Jillian would like to thank Barefoot Productions for welcoming the cast into the season, Brian Townsend for his direction and wonderful sense of humor, and the cast of Uptight Abbey for everything.
Kenneth W. Kilgore (Lord Uptight/Inspector) After starting his career, Ken rediscovered theatre and was cast as The Jester in Once Upon a Mattress at The Players Guild of Dearborn. Since then, he has played Tony in West Side Story, Earnest Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest, Sir Galahad (as well as The Black Knight) in Spamalot and many other fun roles. Away from the stage, Ken works for General Motors managing the capital investment into the next generation trucks and emerging market vehicles. “We have had a great time bringing this to you and we hope you have as much fun as we have had!”
Ryan Lax (Marcus Wainwright) Ryan is thrilled to be appearing in his first Barefoot production. He has appeared in shows that include The King and I, The Sound of Music, Dracula, The Wizard of Oz, and more. Screen appearances include Courageous Love, Seven Secrets, Mind Games and Exsule for which he won an award for best actor. He dedicates this performance to the best family and friends one could ask for and “Granny, I’ll see you in the front row.”
Nick Graham (The Dowager Duchess) Nick is excited to be performing at Barefoot Productions for the first time, and to be reprising his role as the Dowager Duchess for the third time. (Just can’t seem to shake the old girl.) He’s especially grateful that his friends and family laugh with him (not at him) as he transforms into the elderly matriarch of Uptight Abbey. Some of Nick’s favorite past roles AS MEN have included Robert in Boeing Boeing, Ken in Rumors, Ben in The Sunshine Boys, and Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Woods. “Extra special thanks and congratulations to Brian for creating this tour de force. Bitch.”
Sarah Zakaria (Daphne Uptight) Sarah is delighted to join the extremely talented and funny cast of Uptight Abbey. While being on stage has been a life-long passion for Sarah, she has most recently been performing on stage at the Players Guild of Dearborn in productions such as The Mousetrap, Rumors, The 39 Steps and Rabbit Hole. She is also part of their improv group, Guild-y by Association. She is excited to now be part of Barefoot Productions. Sarah is thankful for all the support and love she gets from her
family, her husband, Mark, and her son, Cole. 
Jared Withrow (Nurse Dundlebunny) This production is Jared's third production with Barefoot, just this season, having appeared in Almost, Maine and Macbeth. Jared has been dreaming of acting ever since a teacher recommended he go into theater after being in a class play. After being in the Drama Club in high school for four years, Jared went on to play the lead in Professor James
Hartman's adaptation of Romeo & Juliet to favorable reviews. After receiving his first starring role in the feature film Courageous Love, Jared went on to play a lead role in The Takers Crown (both films are now available on Amazon Prime!), and has been featured in several short films, a web series, and other independent features. It is Jared’s wish to be a part of film projects that are relevant and leave a positive impact on the viewer. Inspire. Encourage. Edify. |
Valerie Haas (Producer) Valerie has enjoyed playing
producer for this show. She has appeared in several of Brian Townsend’s plays,
and developed some musical revues with him as well. “We’re so glad to have the
opportunity to bring Brian’s work to Barefoot audiences.”
producer for this show. She has appeared in several of Brian Townsend’s plays,
and developed some musical revues with him as well. “We’re so glad to have the
opportunity to bring Brian’s work to Barefoot audiences.”