The Tempest

Kashun Parks is an actor, director, and theatre leader with a passion for bringing layered characters and meaningful stories to life. Her selected acting credits include Celia in As You Like It, Sugar in Tiny Beautiful Things, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, and Nia in *InterseXtions*. Most recently, Kashun directed Anywhere Suddenly, an original work by Jason Tinney presented by Next Exit Productions. A few of her other directing credits include Doubt, Daughters of the Moon, The Vagina Monologues, Love Bites, and several productions developed through the Next Exit New Works Play Festival.Kashun is also the Executive Director and cofounder of Next Exit Productions, where she helps create opportunities for regional artists and supports the development of original, inclusive work. She is grateful to return to Shakespeare and to share the stage with this cast and creative team.

By day, Jeni Benavides is an Executive Assistant with the National Association for Public Defense, but her background is rooted in theatre. Her stage credits include Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Kate in Shakespeare in Love, Justine in Frankenstein, Prudence in Beyond Therapy, Lizzie in Blueberry Pie, Fabian in Twelfth Night, and Moll in Kid Simple: A Radio Play in the Flesh. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre with an acting emphasis from the University of South Carolina and her Master of Arts in Theatre from the University of Kentucky, where she also taught Introduction to Theatre. Jeni trained with the Pacific Performance Project in physical approaches to acting—work that became integral to her time with The Girl Project (now Voices Amplified), an arts-meets-activism program designed to inspire, educate, and empower high school students to challenge the misrepresentation of women in American media culture through performing arts education. She is a novice rock climber and taco enthusiast, and you can ask her about her cats any time you'd like.

Rose Johnson makes her theatrical debut as Miranda in this production. Rose has had an interest in theatre for a while, but this is her first time stepping onto the stage. Rose is a tenth grade student at Collegiate High School. She loves to spend her free time indulging in all sorts of creative activities like crocheting and painting. 

Jamie Gienapp is happy to make his debut with Scenic City Shakespeare as King Alonso in The Tempest. This is his first time performing Shakespeare's work. He made his theater debut in Chattanooga Theatre Centre's Mary Poppins (2019), receiving an award for Best Supporting Actor and has also appeared in a number of local productions including Lobby Hero, Working, Little Women, Every Christmas Story Ever Told, and Scrooge the Musical. A kid at heart, Jamie enjoys video games, writing, woodworking, painting, and, of course, theatre. He is grateful to Scenic City Shakespeare and Director Amanda Medlin for the opportunity to be part of this production.

Adana Brown discovered her love of acting through the church. A mother of three with two bonus children, she became a mother as a teenager and dedicated her early adulthood to raising her family before pursuing acting later in life. Her theater credits include For Colored Girls, Nooga Has a Heart, and Akebulum, in which she portrayed Queen Amanirenas. She has also performed at the Hunter Museum and appeared in Fatal Attraction and For My Man. For Adana, acting has been a source of healing and an opportunity to move beyond fear and anxiety. That courage inspires her to bring every character to life with care and ensure their voice is heard.

Maverick Murray (they/them) is incredibly excited and honored to make their Scenic City Shakespeare debut with The Tempest. After a lengthy hiatus, they returned to the stage this year in CTC’S production of Much Ado About Nothing as Claudio. By day, Maverick is grateful to make magic with Middle Tennessee Princess Parties as a Character Performer. In their free time, Maverick enjoys writing fantasies, sewing costumes, and telling stories with their friends in tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. They hope to one day lend their voice to video games and animation. Maverick would like to thank their beautiful partner Skye for her enthusiastic support of Maverick's dreams.

Alex King joins the company from Cleveland TN resident, and has participated in several theatre productions over the years in the Cleveland, Chattanooga, and Athens area. Some of his roles include Buddy Layman in The Diviners, Tommy in Radium Girls, Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest, Matt in Dog Sees God, John Hale in The Crucible, Happy Loman in Death Of A Salesman, and Joe in Angels in America. He has also had the privilege of assistant directing two shows with the Chattanooga State Theatre Department; Tuck Everlasting and Legally Blonde! Alex would like to thank his family and friends for their support!

Ripken Russell first joined the Scenic City Shakespeare company with the role of Silvius in 2022's As You Like It. Since then he has been seen in The Shakespeare Double Feature (Oberon/Angelo), and Othello (Roderigo). Ripken got his start acting at the age of eleven in productions of The Miracle of Christmas, Joseph, and Jonah with Sight and Sound Theater in Branson, MO before relocating to Chattanooga where he attended Center for Creative Arts and Chattanooga State's Professional Actor Training Program. Notable local roles include Rudolpho (Matilda) and Spot Conlon (Newsies) both with the Chattanooga Theatre Centre and the titular Nutcracker with the Chattanooga Ballet. 

Holding a B.A. in Theatre from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Jim is a 4 time Chattanooga Theatre Centre Center Stage Award Winning Actor for his work as Nils Krogstad in A Doll's House, Clown #2 in The 39 Steps, George in Of Mice and Men, and Robert in Boeing, Boeing. Other theatres he has worked at include the Clarence Brown Theatre, The Tennessee Stage Company, The Ringgold Playhouse, and Next Exit Productions.

Stephen made his debut in acting in 2022 with the Homeschooled Shakespeare Troupe's Much Ado About Nothing playing a three officer. The following year he was in A Midsummer Night's Dream as Snug the joiner. In 2024, Stephen was Le Beau in As You Like It and a Lord in Hamlet. In 2025, He was First Lord in A Winter's Tale and Grandpre in Henry V. Also in 2025, her was the Cowardly Lion in a Michaels Homeschool Academy production of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In 2026, He was in A Mad Tea Party as The March Hare. He was also in The Tempest for the Homeschooled Shakespeare Troupe as Sebastian. Tonight he will be Boatswain and a Sprite. 

William Kramer, known as 'Liam' ,is an 15-year old high school student and experienced thespian in the Shakespeare sphere with 3 years under his belt. His debut was in the Homeschool Shakespeare Troupe's (HST) 2024 Hamlet (Ferdinand, extra.). He has continued in HST ever since, performing in Henry V (King Charles, 2025.) and Comedy of Errors (Officer, 2026.). This is Liam's fourth play, but first time with Scenic City Shakespeare in the Tempest (Master, Ensemble-Spirit, 2026.). He is a homeschool sophomore in Ascend Classical Academy and in his spare time, likes to build Legos, read ... a lot, and play basketball.

Makayla Manning a dancer at Chattanooga dance theater. Has danced for many years. She has done seasonal showcases and a ballet version of Peter Pan. Her dream is to dance at Disney world. This is her theatrical debut and she is very excited.