Symphony Canady (Millie Owens) is a Los Angeles based actor known for her roles in TV One’s Tough Love: Los Angeles and Showtime’s The L Word: Generation Q, as well as her recent run as Ernestine in the Long Beach Playhouse production of Lynn Nottage’s Crumbs from the Table of Joy. Symphony began her training at the Timberline Theatre Company, where she participated in seven of the company’s shows. While in college she continued her commitment to her craft, directing and choreographing elementary and middle school theatre enrichment programs in the Seattle-area. She is currently studying acting in Los Angeles at Joshua LeBar Studios. A storyteller at heart, when she’s not acting Symphony can be found indulging her creative nature through various mediums both on and off stage. Trained in tap and jazz, Symphony is a member of several dance companies including The Del Mar Sisters and Tropical Follies, and performs regularly in cabaret-style shows across town. She has also recently begun to explore her passions behind the camera — Symphony is currently studying Photography at Santa Monica College and is set to direct her first web-series this summer. When not creating, Symphony enjoys practicing yoga and spending time outdoors. She is excited for her return to her first love, the theatre, and looking forward to sharing The Odyssey stage with an exciting cast of talented actors.
Rogelio Douglas III (Bomber) is a Black and Afro-Latino multi-hyphenate artist: actor, spoken-word poet, educator, writer from Brooklyn, NY. RD3 recently earned his M.F.A in Acting from UCLA Theater, Film & Television, and now resides in Los Angeles, CA. His most recent credits include: The Inheritance (Geffen Playhouse); Harambee! Harambee! (The Robey Theatre – LATC); Arcane: Enter the Undercity (Secret Cinema/ Riot Games); Day of Saturn (The Road Theatre); Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare by the Sea). Currently in production: They Listen (Blumhouse Prods.); Space Lightning (Amazon Prime). RD3 can also be seen in various television roles on NBC, CBS, and HBO. In addition to being a storyteller, he is also a mentor and teacher at the ‘Theater of Arts Drama Conservatory – Hollywood’. RD3 is so honored to be making his Odyssey Theatre debut! Love. Growth. & Poetry.
Erika L. Holmes (Irma Kronkite) is best known as Detective Evelyn Epps in L.A. Macabre on Amazon Prime. Additional TV credits inlcude Station 19 on ABC and Key & Peele on Comedy Central. On stage, she has been seen in The Outsider at the Lincoln Stegman Theatre, and Clybourne Park at both the LAPC Theatre and at the Lounge Theatre.
Ronin Lee (Howard Bevens ) spent time in several places as a child including Alaska, Michigan, Ohio and Nevada. He’s a Howard University graduate and served as an officer in the United States Air Force. After his separation from the military, he went on to obtain his Masters in Film Production from Florida State University. While completing the program, he rediscovered his love for acting and moved back to Los Angeles to pursue acting full time. Recent credits include The Neighborhood on CBS, and The Upshaws and The Lincoln Lawyer, both on Netflix. He recently wrapped roles in the Brie Larson-produced Lessons in Chemistry on Apple+, The Goldbergs and CSI: Vegas on CBS. His short film, blackout, which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in, was selected at over 15 film festivals, garnering a Best Action Short award. Ronin continues to create content as creative director at MojoSoDope Films.
Mattie Harris Lowe (Madge Owens) was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina—a budding city at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. From a young age, she would imagine, write, and perform stories of different people and different worlds. She took to acting and writing with a quick and keen heart. Mattie attended the Fine Arts Center of Greenville for her high school years, where she was able to devote formative time to her craft. She was trained in the Suzuki Method, Viewpoints and Laban movement, as well as hand to hand and single sword rapier stage combat. For college, she came west and attended the University of Southern California. She graduated in 2020 with a B.A. in Theatre, Acting and was acknowledged with the James and Nony Doolittle Award in recognition of outstanding cumulative work. While in school, she was ambitious and rigorous in her scene study consistently challenging herself and her peers to be creative and daring in their work. For her, this included performing a scene from Waiting for Godot in its original French. She further pursued stage combat both in the classroom and as the fight choreographer for several independent student productions. Mattie was seen on stage at USC as Sofya in Wild Honey, Estella in Great Expectations, and Wiletta Mayer in Trouble in Mind. During these productions, she was able to work with admired L.A. Theatre artists including Guillermo Cienfuegos, Stephanie Shroyer, and John DeMita. Since graduating, Mattie has been acclimating to post-graduate life in a post-pandemic world. Re-connecting with the earth and Los Angeles’s beautiful wild, spending time with her community, and a continued curiosity of the world has nurtured her artistic spirit. She is ecstatic to be making her professional theatre debut at the Odyssey Theatre with this outstanding cast.
Sydney A. Mason (Rosemary Sydney) began performing at the age of 10 in her hometown of Fresno, California. Continuing on to Roosevelt High School of the Performing Arts and from there to UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, Sydney found her passion. Most recently, she appeared in Radio Golf as Mame Wilks and in Metamorphoses as Aphrodite, both at A Noise Within. Last season, she was seen in Seven Guitars as Ruby, also at A Noise Within, and in Wendy Graf’s Closely Related Keys at International City Theatre. Previous Odyssey credits include Fefu and Her Friends (as Emma) and Lysistrata Unbound (as Sechita), which was directed by John Farmanesh-Bocca in collaboration with his company, Not Man Apart. Other recent theater credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hippolyta) at Theatricum Botanicum, Not Man Apart productions of Ajax in Iraq (Connie Mangus) and Super Hero & His Charming Wife (Waitress), and Lower Depth Theatre Ensemble’s Safe Harbor (ensemble).
Caitlin O’Grady (Madge Owens) studied theater and dance at the Metropolitan School of the Arts, Interlochen, and Broadway Artists Alliance. She received the Posse Foundation Scholarship to attend Pepperdine University where she received a BA in Theatre Arts and a BA in International Studies. Her TV credits include Dead Silent (Investigation Discovery) and Homicide Hunter (Investigation Discovery).
Derrick Parker (Howard Bevens, Bomber) has worked as an actor for more than three decades. Worth noting, as ‘Claudius’ in Hamlet and ‘Roderigo’ in Othello; both directed by John Farmanesh-Bocca. Some of Derrick’s off-Broadway and regional theater work includes but is not limited to: Old Settler, Topdog/Underdog, The Cherry Orchard, Winter’s Tale, Comedy of Errors, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and Play On! He has garnered some on screen credits as well. In 2000, Derrick began teaching acting and working in other aspects of his craft in order to remain close to home to raise his daughter. During this time, he wrote, directed, and produced the feature length film, From Faith to Freedom (2013). The story tells the journey of a man who endures 20 years of prison for a crime he didn’t commit, and ultimately regains his freedom. Though Derrick continues to act, he is currently taking his work as a filmmaker to the next level. He is earning his master’s in film and television production at Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles. He has a dual concentration in directing and screen writing but says cinematography is very appealing to him as well. No stranger to the West Coast, Derrick earned his MFA in acting from the University of San Diego/Old Globe Theater. He is also a graduate of East Carolina University, in his hometown of Greenville, NC.
Yolanda Snowball (Flo Owens) is a graduate of Spelman College and has studied at The Neighborhood Playhouse and The American Conservatory Theater. Yolanda’s theater credits include work with Theatre of Note, The Actor’s Gang , Ensemble Studio Theatre and Lower Depth Ensemble Theatre. Television credits include This is Us, NCIS, Good Trouble, Fresh Off the Boat, Parks and Rec, American Horror Story and Gray’s Anatomy. Yolanda is honored to be apart of this production.
Rosemary Thomas began studying acting in Albuquerque, NM with an Actors Studio teacher and soon landed the role of Rose in Fences at the Adobe Theatre, followed by Lady in Green in For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow in Enuf. Family matters took her back home to New York, where she secured national and regional commercials, short films, and supporting roles in The Witches of Oz and Whisper Me A Lullaby starring the late John Heard. She played various roles in Shakespeare’s, Taming of the Shrew, and the wicked stepmother in Cinderella Tales at the Hudson Theatre in Albany, NY. In 2012, she moved to Los Angeles for warmth and to explore the intricacies of Hollywood. Most recently, she co-starred in Episode 8 of The Jeffrey Dahmer Story on Netflix and Better Things on FX, and had supporting roles in the feature films Bromates. directed by Court Crandall and produced by Snoop Dogg, and Verona, directed by Romeo Brooks. She received a best actress award for the indie short film Hello, My Sweet Boy and played the lead role in The Listing, directed by Shun Lee Fong. Rosemary is currently working to develop her writing and producing skills. Prior to acting, she worked as a physical therapist for over 15 years.
Ahkei Togun is an East Coast native, originally from Richmond, Virginia. He is a proud alumni of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, where he spent four years on both their New York and Los Angeles campuses, ultimately achieving his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts. Immediately after graduating he made his professional debut with the role of Calvin in the West Coast premiere of Scraps. As the world changed he had the opportunity to explore the film life and landed a featuring role in the short, Free Machine, which later premiered on Hulu. After over a decade of performance, Ahkei decided to add producing to his creative capabilities; with the intentions creating a platform for a larger community of artists. Since then, he has curated over 10 different shows, connecting and creating with over 100 artists of all kinds. Nonetheless his passion for acting still has him more than ecstatic to take on the role of Alan in the Odyssey’s production of Picnic.
Monti Washington (Hal Carter) From sleeping in parks to drug addicted parents, writer, actor, model and motivational speaker, Monti Washington has had quite a journey to living out his American Dream. For nearly ten years, Monti has had the pleasure of starring in several independent films, as well as being featured in numerous commercials, and being awarded the opportunity to speak at more than 130 venues (including colleges and conferences) across the nation. Monti has appeared on a number of television networks in major recurring roles and is currently a series regular in Tyler Perrys “Bruh” on BET.
John Farmanesh-Bocca (Director) is an Ovation and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle award nominated artist whose award-winning and nominated physical theater adaptations include Pericles Redux (European and U.S. premieres) and Wish I Had A Sylvia Plath (Edinburgh Fringe First Award Winner). In L.A: Titus Redux (Kirk Douglas Theatre), As/Is (New American Theatre), Hercules Furens (Getty Villa), Tempest Redux (Odyssey Theatre), Ajax in Iraq (Los Angeles premiere) and Lysistrata Unbound (world premiere). John is the founding artistic director of both Not Man Apart – Physical Theatre Ensemble (since 2005) and Shakespeare Santa Monica (2003–2014). Mr. Farmanesh-Bocca now serves as emeritus director of the award-winning Not Man Apart Ensemble, which under his watch was named by Backstage magazine in 2014 as one of the 13 most innovative physical theater companies in the world. Awarded an American Theatre Wing scholarship, John trained at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in acting (‘94) before serving as a directing fellow at the Juilliard School — Drama Division (2003-2005).