Carol Dines has BFA in theater from Boston U. She has had the great privilege of working for many of the theater companies in Louisville. Some favorites: Collected Stories, Stupid f###ing Bird, Cabaret, Curtains, White Christmas, Doubt, and Angels in America. Carol is an audiobook  narrator with over 450 books in the National Library Service. You can also find her books on Amazon and Itunes.

Jane Mattingly returns for her fourth Finnigan/Derby City Playwrights Festival, which has become the best part of her year each time, and she is so excited to see it grow. Most recently, she stage managed Behanding in Spokane for Louisville Repertory Company, after appearing in Todd Zeigler's  All the Whos in Whoville as Suzy Q, and at the Bard's Town Theatre as Laney in Crooked last fall. This is her last show in Louisville as she heads to graduate school for Theatre in Richmond, Virginia. She thanks her friends, family, and Robbie for encouraging and putting up with her, and all of the amazing Louisville theatre artists with whom she has had the honor of working all these years, who have inspired and taught her so much.

Cameron Murphy is a recent graduate from the University of Louisville at which he studied the self-designed Liberal Studies major “Art and Activism” (Philosophy, Sociology, Theatre Arts) with a minor in Creative Writing. In April, he portrayed the role of Cameron (i.e. Konstantin) in U of L’s production of A Seagull Project. Other U of L credits include Danny in the 2015 studio theatre presentation of The Submission, and the 2014 production of Othello in which he performed guitar and ensemble roles. Through an exchange program at California State University Northridge, he performed in the school’s abstract theatre productions of Beat Kitchen and Scopophilia. Additionally, Cameron has been the recipient of three Creative Writing Scholarships at U of L, was awarded publication in the Actors Theatre of Louisville's New Voices 2011 anthology, has published non-fiction in Eclectica, and short fiction in Converge and UCLA's literary journal Westwind.  Beyond acting and writing Cameron enjoys playing bass and drums, most notably performing in the 2012 Forecastle Festival with his then-band Scarlet Smile. He is deeply grateful to the DCPs Festival for this amazing opportunity – particularly Brian Walker, Taj Whitesell, and Jane B. Jones. He prefers coffee black.

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Frank is ecstatic to be back into the arts after a time filled break to concentrate on growing his family business Morris Deli and Catering. A Performing Arts graduate of Northern Arizona University, Frank appeared in several main stage and black box productions at NAU where he was awarded "Best Actor in a Mainstage"-(Claudio- Much Ado about Nothing) and "Best Supporting Role in a Mainstage"-(Bertram Cates- Inherit the Wind). Studying vocal technique in opera, music, and theatrical performances under Dr. Judith Cloud. Frank also spent a summer abroad in London, England to study London's famous West End Theater, Shakespeare, and Fringe Theater. Upon graduation from NAU, Frank was accepted to Second City Chicago's Conservatory of Comedic Improv studying under the instruction of Michael Gellman, Tim Kazurinsky, and Lance Kinsey. Fourty eight weeks later Frank became a conservatory graduate and Chicago theater actor. He would like to thank his entire family and friends for their vocal support in "getting back to the arts". Means the world to him. You know who you are.... Frank would also like to give a big shout out to his son Ryan for making an extra special trip all the way from North Carolina to come see his Dad rehearse, help memorize lines, and perform.

Andy Epstein is thrilled to be part of the Derby City Playwrights inaugural festival.   A lawyer by day and actor by night, Andy frequently performs as an actor around town and has appeared with Centerstage, Bunbury, Pandora, Savage Rose, Finnigan, Clarksville Little Theater, and the Bardstown theaters, among others.  Andy has also directed several plays and his work as a playwright has been featured at the Ten-Tucky and Finnigan Festivals.  Bravo to the DCP playwrights for working hard to make their dreams come true!

Francis Whitaker makes his debut performance at The Bards Town and would like to thank Mr. Schutte for the venue, Mr. Walker for the callback, and Ms.'s Jones and Winegarden for granting him the opportunity to be a part of Ms. Whitesell's original and most moving work, most personally so, in the opinion of an adopted child twice over himself. It's a true tale Ms. Whitesell has woven, a story worth the telling, and told well though the vessel of this fine cast, with whom it has been no less than a pleasure to work. As brevity is the soul of wit and space herein is limited, more information regarding Mr. Whitaker's previous theatrical and cinematic exploits can be gleaned should you purview his Facebook profile, dear gentle patron of the local arts, as he's the only Francis Whitaker in town. Or simply ask him yourself. Please take in the rest of our Festival of original works and come back again to The Bards Town. I know I'll certainly try.

Kate Winegarden is a Junior Theatre Major at Morehead State University with a Minor in Creative Writing. In college she has assistant stage managed Carrie the Musical, props managed The Children's Hour, and set designed for Crimes of the Heart. Next year she is excited to be set designing for The Little Company's Einstein's Dreams, props designing for The Pajama Game, and stage managing Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Kate graduated for Presentation Academy where she also did theatre and stage managed As It Is In Heaven, Snoopy: the Musical, and Peter Pan the Musical. 

Jane B. Jones is going into her third season as Education Director and her seventh season at Actors Theatre of Louisville.  From Culpeper, Virginia, Jones has been a theatre educator in Virginia, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Scotland. Jones worked for the American High School Theatre Festival at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for eight years.  At Actors, Jones has taught playwriting to middle and high school students, acted as Literary Manager of the New Voices Young Playwrights Contest, and headed the theatre’s lobby enrichment initiative.  Jones has directed and dramaturged for the Professional Training Company’s solo performance series and directed in the New Voices Young Playwrights Festival.  In 2012, Jones’s short play, Dress Up, was produced in the Tens at Actors and she was commissioned to write TMI: a sex-ed puppet show for Squallis Puppeteers. Jones is a former board member and contract artist for Squallis Puppeteers where she has developed several original puppet shows. Jones is an MFA candidate in Playwriting at Spalding University; she graduated cum laude from Smith College with a BA in Theatre. Jones would like to thank Taj for being a fantastic collaborator, Kate for keeping them on course, the cast of Exposure for all their hard work, and Brian for creating this wonderful opportunity for local playwrights.

After graduating with a degree in film from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 2006, Taj Whitesell has spent the last several years trying to figure out how to balance the need for a steady paycheck and a love of the arts. After some aimless globe traveling to such exotic places as New Zealand and Denver, she finally returned to her hometown of Louisville and has decided to pursue her greatest dream - to become a writer. She is currently working on an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Spalding University and hopes that some day the steady paycheck and the writing will go hand in hand.