Andre G. Brown is an award-winning actor and educator dedicated to bold storytelling and collaborative performance. He holds graduate theatre degrees from NYU and the University of Washington. He recently directed Into the Woods at Long Beach City College, where he serves as an adjunct professor. Andre also serves as a lecturer at CSU Channel Islands, where he teaches speech and performance. He is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Credits include the world premiere of Otherkin (Road Theatre, Los Angeles), Griswold (Bridge Street Theatre, New York), King Hedley II (A Noise Within, Pasadena), Blues for an Alabama Sky (UNC Chapel Hill), A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Harlem (Pittsburgh Public Theater), and Choir Boy (DezArt Performs, Palm Springs). He also created and directed the feature-length documentary film A Soul Cleansing.

Tré Cotten is a voice and dialect coach, actor, and educator working across film, television, video games, and theatre. He currently serves as dialect coach for the upcoming HBO/Warner Bros. series American Blue. His screen credits include the Oscar-nominated One Night in Miami, the Emmy-nominated The Porter, The Peripheral, The Exorcist: Believer, and Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. He was also the dialect coach for the Tony Award–winning Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious.

As an actor, Tré has performed with leading regional theatres including Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT Theatre, and Pacific Theatre, with credits spanning Shakespeare and musical theatre. He is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Washington School of Drama, where he teaches Screen Acting, and is a proud MFA Acting alum of the program.

Based in Seattle and on the Kwakwakaʼwakw Territory of North Vancouver Island, BC, Tré brings a culturally grounded, voice-centered approach to his work. He is excited to be back at The Rep and to continue collaborating with this vibrant artistic community.

Aishé Keita is an actress, director, traditional storyteller, teaching artist and healer. She holds the position as Co-Artistic Director of Ase Theatre and Co-founder/ Director of Nile’s Edge Healing Arts Center located in Seattle Central District. Her passion has been in storytelling since she can remember. Aishé received her B.F.A from Cornish College of the Arts and studied at A.C.T San Francisco. She has been seen on stage in Fat Ham (Seattle Rep), The Boy Who Kissed The Sky (SCT), School Girls or The African Mean Girls Play (Jungle Theater) and was the Associate Director for The Color Purple at Village Theatre in 2024. Aishe is so thankful to be a part of The Rent Party. This play is so healing to witness and be in. Thank you, Val for creating this masterpiece! 

A Member of both the Screen Actors Guild and Actors Equity Association, Margo's most recently completed filming with Will Ferrell and a new series produced by the Obama's Higher Ground Productions for Netflix, for releases in 2027. In 2024, she appeared in Brothers with Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage, and BET's The First Noelle. She portrayed Barbara Jordan in the film, The Glorias with Bette Midler and Julianne Moore. Jason Bateman directed her in HBO's series, The Outsider. You may have seen her on The Gifted or in Rob Reiner films, LBJ and Shock And Awe and OWN's Queen Sugar. Margo has appeared in The Watsons Go To Birmingham (Hallmark), the BET Original Movie, Let The Church Say Amen, and Let's Stay Together (BET). For four seasons, she regularly appeared as Judge Donaldson on Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva.

You may remember seeing her as Kali, the Shaman, a series regular on the television series, Sheena (SonyColumbia Tri-Star). She's most notable to the younger generation for her portrayal of Mrs. Jackson in ATL (Warner Brothers), in Odd Girl Out (Lifetime), and Keenan and Kel (Nickelodeon). Some of her favorite film and television credits include; Louise in Forrest Gump (Paramount), Runaway Jury (20th Century Fox), Selma, Lord, Selma (ABC Disney), and The Wedding with Halle Barry (ABC/Harpo). Her regional stage credits include: Trouble in Mind (Guthrie), All My Sons (Intiman), Shakin' The Mess Outta Misery (Horizon Theatre), Venus de Milo is Armed, Gee's Bend, and Crowns (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Flight (ACT), Jar the Floor (Jomandi/Alliance), OO-BLA-DEE (Goodman), The A-men Corner, Crumbs From The Table of Joy, Once on This Island (Alliance Theatre), and Black Nativity (Jomandi/Dominion Entertainment).

She received a Helen Hayes Award, Nomination for Birdie Lee in Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre, Tambourines to Glory (Lincoln Theatre, Washington, DC) and a Best Actress Award BTA (Chicago) for her role in OO-BLA-DEE. She is a 2004 Helen Hayes Award nominee for her work in Gee's Bend, at the MetroStage. Her greatest accomplishment to date is mother to Amber Iman, Tony Winner as Founding Member of Broadway Advocacy Coalition and Tony Nominated for Lempicka. To God be the Glory!

Esther Okech Lewis is honored to be back at Seattle Rep! She is an actor and educator from Kenya, a graduate of Cornell University with a B.Sc. in Environmental Science, and a graduate of the M.F.A. Acting Program at the University of Washington School of Drama. Her stage credits include: Black Nativity and The Lower Depths (Intiman Theatre). Blues for an Alabama Sky and Lydia and the Troll (Seattle Rep), Last Drive to Dodge (Taproot Theatre), Macbeth (Seattle Shakespeare Company), Father Comes Home from the Wars and The Oresteia (University of Washington School of Drama). 

SHAUNYCE OMAR is excited to be returning to The Rent Party! Past productions: Mary Jane, Nina Simone 4 Women, As You Like It, Fannie, and Shout Sister Shout (Seattle Rep). Regional credits: The 5th Avenue Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Intiman Theatre, True Colors Theatre, Village Theatre, Ensemble Theatre Houston, Alley Theatre. National Tour: Menopause the Musical. TV/ Film: The Librarians, Last Seen In Idaho, and Portal Runner. Voice Over: State of Decay- LIFELINE video game. Omar is a teaching artist & Master Sensei of Gospel Music in Japan. TikTok @shaunyceo. Instagram @Shaunyce 

Seattle based actor, director and educator, Timothy was seen at Seattle Rep as film producer, David Brown in Bruce. Previous directing credits at the Rep include: Appropriate, Fat Ham, A Raisin in the Sun, and As You Like It. The Color Purple, Hello, Dolly!, Hairspray, and Dreamgirls at Village Theatre, A Raisin in the Sun at Pittsburgh Public Theater among others. He is a recipient of the 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship, the Gregory Falls Sustained Achievement Award, and 3 Gregory Awards, 3 The Sound on Stage Awards among other honors. He is currently a professor of theater at Cornish College of the Arts.   

ML Roberts (he/him) is the son of a Navy veteran and descendant of the Gullah Geechee of the Carolinas. He has performed with Seattle Children's, ArtsWest, Seattle Shakespeare, Unicorn Theatre (UK), The Williams Project, Folger Shakespeare, and Santa Cruz Shakespeare. As a writer for stage and screen, he co-wrote a Lifetime movie, and his debut production Riverside premiered at Indy Shakes. He has developed work with New Harmony Project, SPACE on Ryder Farm, and GTG's Speaker's Corner. He is a member of Dwellers Play Collective, Actor's Equity, and the Dramatists Guild of America. He was a Broadway Advocacy Coalition Fellow, Co-Artistic Director of Yale Cabaret Season 57: Phoenix, and inaugural Core Company Member at ACT Theatre. MFA Playwriting-Yale School of Drama; BFA Acting-North Carolina School of the Arts (Home of the Fighting Pickles) marceselorenzo.com

Dedra D. Woods is a multi-disciplinary artist and creative force of nature, passionate about bringing Black stories to life on stage. She is a proud Detroit native who holds a BFA in Acting from SUNY Purchase. Dedra has worked in the Seattle arts scene since 2012 and is honored to be a member of the inaugural Theatre Producers of Color cohort. Dedra has worked as a casting director, theater administrator and producer, but her first love is the stage. Her work has been seen regionally at The Guthrie Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, The 5th Avenue Theater, Seattle Rep, The Feast, ACT, and Intiman. She currently serves as The Senior Manager of Artistic Programming at The Fifth Avenue Theatre in Seattle Washington.