“School Girls” Bios and Headshots

Mya Brown (Director)
Brown is a member of the Actors Equity Association and the Stage Directors & Choreographers Society. She serves as Assistant Faculty for Theatrical Intimacy Education, one of the nation’s leading organizations in theatrical intimacy best practices. Her work as a director, actor, educator, intimacy choreographer, and advocate is recognized both regionally and nationally. Mya’s artistic practice is rooted in cultivating consent based learning environments, honoring boundaries, inviting a curiosity of the unknown, and highlighting the advantages of engaging with people of diverse cultures & backgrounds.

Professional acting credits include NuBlack Arts West Theatre, Atlantic Beach Theatre, West Virginia Public Theatre, Triad Stage, Barn Dinner Theatre, and RhinoLeap.

Professional directing credits include West Virginia Public Theatre & Rochester NY Blackfriars Theatre.

Academic directing credits include the West Virginia University, State University of New York Oswego, UNC Greensboro, and Elon University.

She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Jacksonville University and a Master of Fine Arts from West Virginia University. 

Jakyia Barnes (Headmistress Frances)
Jakyia Barnes is a junior BFA Acting major, from Raleigh, North Carolina. Her previous credits include Selah in the first staged production of Nick and the Prizefighter and Cupid/Neptune in Galatea. She is so excited to work as Headmistress for Aburi School. She wants to thank God, her family and friends for providing her with strength and support. Jakyia hopes you enjoy the show!

Seania Burnett (Mercy)
Seania Burnett is 22 years old, and is a current 3rd year BFA acting student. Some of her favorite roles to date include : Mary; Black Nativity; Barn Dinner Theater Lady Macbeth; Macbeth; Uncg Student Workshop Dr. Frankenstein; Frankenstein; Weaver Academy Visual and performing arts . Aside from acting she also specializes vocally in Jazz , Gospel, and R&B singing and vocal arranging.

Alexa Fields (Gifty)
Hi! Alexa Fields is a second year be a drama major with a minor immediate studies who has been involved in theater from a young age with her most recent performance being UNCG’s TYA show this past semester, “Last Stop on Market Street”. Fun fact, she worked as a camp counselor at Children’s Theater of Charlotte this summer.

Scooter Johnson (American TV Host, Gifty U/S)
Scooter Johnson (Gifty U/S)- Scooter Johnson is currently a sophomore and is thrilled to be cast in her first show at UNCG. She has been in many shows at South Pointe High School including: Chicago, Spelling Bee, Curtains, and more. Despite from being mostly self-trained, she has done a few intensives with Broadway Dreams during the summer. Outside of the theatre, Scooter loves to crochet, read, and take care of her many plants.

Minnie Jones (Ghanaian TV Announcer/American TV Host, Headmistress Frances U/S)
Hello, My name is Minnie Jones I am a senior BA drama major with a minor in sociology and I play headmistress Frances U/S. My first main stage debut here at UNCG was the role of Owl in Winnie the Pooh. I am excited to learn a brand new dialect and explore along side the cast.

Maya McCall (Ericka)
Maya McCall is a second-year junior in BFA Drama: Theatre Education. This is their first season show at UNCG! His favorite roles have been Plankton in Spongebob the Musical (NCSU) and Ensemble in The Color Purple (CTG). Of their many positions, he has been Props Designer for Urinetown (JTP), Assistant Choreographer for Mean Girls, Descendants, Frozen Jr. and Finding Nemo (NCT Conservatory) and Choreographer for Spongebob the Musical, Urinetown, Jekyll and Hyde (NC State) and RENT (CTG) as Stage Manager/Light Board Op as well. They are so excited for you to see this production and hopes they get to do even more this year!

Courtney McKinney (Eloise)
Courtney McKinney is a 3rd year BA Drama major with a minor in Sociology. A native of Charlotte, NC, she began her theatre journey at a very young age, attending a creative arts elementary school before continuing her studies at Northwest School of the Arts, where she majored in Musical Theatre under renowned theatre educators. Outside of her school arts studies, she participated in a dance program for many years, performing at various churches, festivals, and events in and around North Carolina. After graduating, she plans to pursue a career as both an actor and director. This marks her debut performance at UNCG.

Janaal Opiyo (Ama)
Janaal is a BFA Acting major and is super excited to be making her main stage production debut with UNCG Theatre. She also recently filmed a short film, The Campus Tales.

Symoné Spencer (Paulina)
Symoné Spencer, a Junior BFA Musical Theatre student, is thrilled to be a part of another UNCG production. Her UNCG repertoire includes, Roe v. Wade, Into the Woods, Blood at the Root, and Percy Jackson. She is excited to be able to showcase her love for the stage in the role of Paulina. She sends a special shoutout to her family, friends, and the UNCG professors for their endless support.

Cinnamon Stoner (Nana)
Cinnamon Stoner (she/her) is a 3rd year BFA Acting major here at UNCG. Cinnamon is super excited to return to Sprinkle Theater as Nana in “School Girls; The African Mean Girls Play”! You may have seen her before as Woman #6 in Roe or as Vernon in Last Stop on Market Street. When she isn’t on the stage Cinnamon can be found playing Phase 10, reading mystery books, or doom scrolling on TikTok. Thank you for coming and enjoy the show!

Raegan Amos (Assistant Stage Manager)
Raegan is a Third-Year BFA Theatre Education student and is also pursuing a minor in music. In her time at UNCG she has worked as the light board operator for The Lightning Thief and worked on wardrobe crew for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Raegan wants to thank all the Designers, Cast, Crew, Stage Manager, and other Assistant Stage Manager for this amazing experience. She hopes you all enjoy the show!

Clem Creighton (Assistant Stage Manager)
Clem Creighton is a second year BFA Design and Technical Production student with a Concentration in Stage Management. During their time here at UNCG, Clem has worked on wardrobe crew for Night of The Living Dead and Tartuffe as an Assistant Stage Manager. Clem is grateful to everyone involved in the show for all of their hard work. Enjoy the show!

Amani Dorn (Dialect Coach)
Amani Dorn is a Dialect coach /actor/singer/dancer/teacher from Austin, Texas, currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia. She is thrilled to be coaching her first show at UNCG alongside Natalie Blackman!

She received an MFA in Acting from the University of California, Irvine and has 18 years of professional experience in performance, teaching, and coaching. She got her start performing in musicals in Austin while an undergrad at the University of Texas and has since performed and coached with and for actors all over the world. While pursuing her MFA, she was introduced to Knight-Thompson Speechwork and Fitzmaurice Voicework, and has since completed certifications in both. She continues her career as a dialect coach and looks forward to the future for this young generation of artists!

Jayde Grant (Hair and Makeup Designer)
Jayde Grant is a third year Design and Technical Theatre student at UNCG. They are very excited to present their first realized Hair and Makeup design. Jayde thanks the amazing director, wonderful cast, and costume/hair&makeup staff for their support <3

David Greenberg (Sound Designer)
David is thrilled to be the new Lecturer of Sound Engineering for UNCG theatre and his first design with the department. He is a regional sound designer and composer from Fort Lauderdale, Florida by way of Knoxville, Tennessee. David’s most recent work includes The Importance of Being Earnest (Creede Rep), The Last Five Years (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival), and composition for Intimate Apparel (DeSales University). He holds a BA in Theatre from University of Tennessee, and an MFA in Theatre Sound Design and Technology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. www.davidmgreenbergsound.com

Frenchie La’ Vern (Costume Designer)
Frenchie La’ Vern (Costume Designer) is honored to be invited to UNCG as a visiting artist to design School Girls or, The African Mean Girls Play. She is a native of Winston-Salem, a graduate of Rutledge College with a diploma in Commercial Arts and a graduate of UNCSA with a degree in Design and Productions. Frenchie has worked in theatre and film for almost 25 years. She is the 2019 recipient of the National Black Theatre Festival award for “Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design and the winner of the Broadway World 2023 award for Best Costumes, for The Producers, competing against herself for The Producers and Something Rotten for design at Little Theatre. She is currently a collaborating artist at Authoring Action. Frenchie has designed for North Carolina Black Repertory since 1999, when she mounted Smokey Joe’s Café. Her most recent shows include Raisin in the Sun, Educating Rita, Trouble in Mind, Coconut Cake, Black Nativity, The Gospel According to Broadway, Crowns, Plenty of Time, and Jelly’s Last Jam. She has designed and draped for Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, American Dance Festival, CTG, The Barn Dinner, Montage Showcase Ensemble, and the Assegai Film Group. Frenchie has provided costumes for film and theater since 1999 and is the owner of FLS Costumes Studio.

Randy McMullen (Scenic Designer)
Randy McMullen has been a member of the UNCG Theatre faculty for the past 33 years. Previous academic appointments were at the University of Colorado at Boulder and at the University of Northern Iowa. Over this span of time, he has designed over 250 productions of plays, musicals, child drama, and opera as a set and lighting designer for professional organizations and for academic institutions. Classes taught by Prof. McMullen include Elements of Design, Theatre Graphics, Beginning and Advanced Scene Design, Beginning and Advanced Scene Painting, Period Styles, Special Topics, and graduate level courses in the area of Design and Technical Production. Prof. McMullen is a member of United Scenic Artists, USAA 829, NEW YORK and is the recipient of the Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival’s National Design Fellowship for “Outstanding Accomplishment as a Teaching Artist”.

Eva Mendoza Bible (Assistant Scenic Designer)
Eva Bible is a Sophomore Des/Tech student at UNCG School of Theatre with a concentration in Scenic Design. She wants to persue a career in design for the stage and is excited to work in her first design role at UNCG!

Tala Terrell (Stage Manager)
Tala Terrell (she/her) is a senior BA in Drama with a minor in Spanish. In her time at UNCG, Tala has been the Light Board Operator for Wake Up, Brother Bear and the Assistant Stage Manager for The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. School Girls is Tala’s debut (and last) Stage Management role at UNCG. She is so excited for everyone to see all of the amazing work the cast and crew has done on this production.