Directing Everybody has been an incredibly joyful experience; one that has invited me to play, question, laugh, and reflect alongside this remarkable company. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins takes the centuries-old questions of Everyman and places them squarely in our contemporary world, asking us to consider what we hold onto, what we value, and what remains when everything else falls away.
In exploring this play, I have found myself looking more deeply at my own journey. What am I giving my time to? Who and what truly matter? What am I holding onto that I might need to release? And perhaps most importantly: Where might I need to surrender?
Everybody’s declaration, “I surrender,” has stayed with me. Not as an admission of defeat, but as an invitation to release the illusion of control, to accept the mystery, impermanence, joy, grief, and change that come with being alive. Perhaps surrender creates more room for us to be fully present for the life we actually have.
My hope is that you laugh with us, recognize yourself somewhere in this journey, and perhaps leave considering what you might hold a little closer, and what you might finally allow yourself to release.
Mya Brown is a director, intimacy choreographer, actor, and educator committed to cultivating brave, consent-forward spaces centered on collaboration and humanity. She directs both academically and professionally and serves as Associate Professor of Acting & Directing and Performance Area Coordinator at UNC Greensboro. Brown is excited to return to Elon to direct Everybody, where audiences may remember her direction of John Proctor Is the Villain and intimacy choreography for RENT, among other collaborations. Select directing credits include School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, Discovering Blackness, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Mountaintop. A member of AEA and SDC, Brown also serves as Guiding Faculty with Theatrical Intimacy Education.
Jeff A.R. Jones
Jeff A.R. Jones (Scenic & Projection Design) has designed scenery, projections, props, costumes, and effects throughout the southeast for theatre, ballet, and opera productions. He was Resident Scenic Designer at Carolina Ballet where he designed sets and/or projections for Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Swan Lake, The Firebird, Frankenstein, Jekyll & Hyde, and The Nutcracker. He has designed locally for Meredith College, William Peace University, and North Carolina Opera with designs including Hair, The Wild Party, Assassins, Dracula, The Revolutionists, Much Ado About Nothing, and Carrie the Musical. He is Assistant Professor of Theatre Design and Technology at Meredith College and teaches Makeup, Props, Technical Production in Theatre, and Stage Combat at Elon.
Marissa Bishop
Marissa Bishop is so excited to serve as Assistant Director for Everybody! While this is her first time assistant directing at Elon, she previously assistant directed Alice by Heart, Puffs, Seussical, Matilda, and Curtains throughout high school, where she also directed 26 Pebbles. At Elon, she most recently worked on Love and Information as the production’s dramaturg. She is incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to return to directing with this production and to work alongside such a wonderful cast, crew, and creative team!
Graham Boggess
As a senior Acting major, Graham is absolutely stoked to be performing in Everybody! His past Elon credits include Danny M1 in The Antipodes, Man with Guitar in Grapes of Wrath, and Ensemble in Love and Information. When not performing on the mainstage, he’s a part of the improv troupe Instant Laughter. After graduating, he plans on moving to New York City and writing, directing, and acting in his own work. He’d like to give a huge thank you to Fred Rubeck for his years of love, support, and terrible puns. Stay freaky!
Addison Gully
Addison Gully is so thrilled to be apart of Everybody. She is a current sophomore BFA Acting and AB Arts Administration student at Elon University. Previous credits: u/s Zula, Describe The Night (Elon University) and u/s Nurse, Romeo and Juliet (Elon University).
Tatriana Hinds
Tatriana Hinds is a first-year B.F.A. Acting student at Elon University from Orlando, Florida. She is thrilled to be apart of her first production here at Elon. Tatriana has enjoyed playing multiple different roles including Nina in Airness, Emma Carew in Jekyll & Hyde, Miranda in The Tempest, and Teen Debater in What the Constitution Means to Me. She is deeply grateful to her teachers, friends, and family for their unwavering support.
Rachel King
Rachel King (Understudy) is a first-year BFA Acting student who is delighted to be participating in her first production at Elon. She’d like to thank the production team as well as the cast for giving her the opportunity to learn among the very best. Enjoy the show!
Kayla McPherson
Kav Mills
I am a senior Acting Major. This is my 4th MainStage at Elon. Some of my credits are Tybalt, Romeo & Juliet, Winfield Joad/Others, Grapes of Wrath, Ensemble, Rent the musical, and Ensemble , Spongebob the Musical. I want to thank all my friends and family for their love and support! Insta:@kavmills_.
Dylan Morse
Dylan Morse is a sophomore acting major playing the roles of Usher, God, and Understanding for Elon’s production of Branden Jacobs Jenkins’ Everybody. This is Dylan’s first main stage role since starting Elon’s BFA Acting program, following his roles as an understudy for Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information, and a member of the Instant Laughter improv team under the late Fred Rubeck. Dylan would like to thank God, and his parents, for their endless love, support, and guidance from the very beginning.
Kaveri Prashar
Makenzie Pridgen
Makenzie Pridgen is a senior BFA Acting Major from Baltimore, MD and is super grateful to be performing in Everybody as Death. Her previous Elon credits include Love and Information (multiple characters), The Grapes of Wrath (Jim Casey), Legally Blonde (Gaelen, Cashier, Reporter, Ensemble), and John Proctor is the Villain (Student Chorus, Nell Shaw U/S). She wants to extend her gratitude to her incredibly supportive family and friends.
Maegan Ramos
Originally from the Philippines, Maegan Ramos is a BFA Acting major with a minor in Dance at Elon University. Recent roles include Understudy Marya in Describe the Night at Elon University, Ms. Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest with Renegade Productions, and Ensemble in The Drowsy Chaperone with Renegade Productions. She is excited and honored to be part of the cast of Everybody at Elon University.
Patrick Ruhle
Patrick Thomas Ruhle is a first-year BFA Acting student at Elon University and is thrilled to make his Elon stage debut in Everybody! Originally from Long Island, New York, Patrick’s favorite credits include Stage Manager, Our Town; Jack Kelly, Newsies; J.D., Heathers; Seymour Krelborn, Little Shop of Horrors; and Wadsworth, Clue. Patrick was a 2026 Roger Rees Awards Outstanding Performer semifinalist and received the Best Vocalist Award at Festival Disney in 2026. He is incredibly excited to begin his journey on the Elon stage and is grateful to share this production with such an amazing cast!
Kiya Sanders
Kiya is so excited to be in her first show here at Elon! She is also incredibly grateful to be in the Acting program after auditioning at the beginning of her sophomore year. She loved being able to work behind the scenes of the show and do all the dramaturgical work and the items you see in the lobby! She wants to thank the Acting professors for allowing her to be in the program and for casting her in this show. She would also like to thank her parents for always pushing her and encouraging her love for performing. She hopes you enjoy the show!
Nelson Simmons
Nelson Simmons is thrilled to be making his Elon debut in Everybody! He is a Sophomore BFA Acting major who recently understudied for Describe The Night. When not onstage, Nelson is writing plays, playing guitar, and taking photos. Instagram: @nelsonhsimmons
Avery Smith
Avery is so excited for her senior year at Elon as a BFA Acting major. Throughout her past three years, she has performed in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead as Ophelia and Romeo and Juliet as Lady Montague, as well as assistant stage managing Grapes of Wrath. She is also completing a double major in Visual Communications and is excited to move to New York post graduation. She hopes you enjoy the show!
Milo Timpanaro-Throop
Milo is a sophomore BFA Acting and Cinema & Television Arts double major from Charleston, SC, and is beyond thrilled to finally make his Elon debut! He wants to thank his family for making his dreams possible and for always supporting his endeavors. You can also see more of Milo in Instant Laughter, with shows coming up on October 23rd and 24th! Previous roles include u/s Nikolai, Describe The Night.
