EMERITI
KEVIN KELLY
KEVIN KELLYCURRENT RESIDENCE: Los Angeles, California
YEAR JOINED ENSEMBLE: 1993
POSITION: Actor
AMERICAN BLUES THEATER CREDITS: It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! (George Bailey for 6 seasons); St. Scarlet; The Skin of Our Teeth; Scapin; Stalag 17; Flight of the Phoenix; One Day Only; On the Waterfront; Monster III: The El Ride.
ABOUT KEVIN: Currently a Residential Realtor with Sotheby’s International Realty. Other Chicago and Los Angeles theater credits include work at Steppenwolf Theater, Odyssey Theatre, Pegasus Players, Lifeline Theatre, Bailiwick Rep and City Lit Theater among others. Film Credits: THE EXPRESS, BAD NEWS BEARS, CA$H, OF BOYS AND MEN, AMERICAN DREAMZ, THE PROMOTION, A LOT LIKE LOVE, LIGHT IT UP and many independent films. TV Credits: SENSE8, CHICAGO FIRE, BOSS, SIRENS, PRISON BREAK, CHARMED, THE INSIDE, BOSTON LEGAL, 7th HEAVEN, EARLY EDITION, CLUBHOUSE and SPIN CITY.
FUN FACT: He can do a mouth trumpet…like his dad…and now his son.
BILL E. PAYNE
BILL E. PAYNECURRENT RESIDENCE: Duluth, Minnesota
YEAR JOINED: 1985
POSITION: Director
AMERICAN BLUES THEATER CREDITS: Half of Plenty; My Buddy Bill; Quake; La Tectonica de las Nubes; The Skin of Our Teeth; A Stone Carver; Food from Trash; Desire Under the Elms; Bad Moon; The Hairy Ape; Summer Brave; Geography of a Horse Dreamer/Hawk Moon; Dogman’s Last Stand (the inaugural play).
ABOUT BILL: He’s a co-founder and produced and directed theater regularly in Chicago and around North America for over three decades. His stage work included Shakespeare, Greek tragedy, and American classics, with a focus on American Expressionism. He also developed and directed new dramatic work and collaborated with many playwrights including; Rick Cleveland, Migdalia Cruz, Lisa Dillman, Beth Henley, Kevin Kling, Melanie Marnich, Otto Minera, Jose Rivera, Mika Kauffman & Thomas Jacobson, and Charles Smith. In collaboration with Zack Swanson, Bill wrote and directed two documentaries: 50/50: The American Divide(2007) and Cleave Land(2011). After receiving his MFA in Stage Direction from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, he entered academia, spending 29 years as a Professor of Acting & Directing and Dean of the School of Fine Arts at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He was a Global Engagement Scholar for the American Democracy Project, a civic engagement program of the American Association of State Colleges & Universities, studying global trends and developing interdisciplinary online course work used across the country meant to educate globally competent citizens. He also designed and delivered his online course Theater and Global Change for the New York Times Knowledge Network in 2011-2012. Bill is now writing books, serving various organizations working for peace, justice and equity in the Duluth Community, and co-owns and manages a 20-acre forest on Hawk Ridge with his neighbors.
FUN FACT: He’ll become a grandfather this fall!
also RICK CLEVELAND, LAURI DAHL, & JAMES LEAMING
IN MEMORIAM
JOHN MOHRLEIN
YEARS IN ENSEMBLE: 1996-2021
POSITION: Actor, Director
AMERICAN BLUES THEATER CREDITS: ACTOR – It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! (20 years) – Jeff Award nomination for Ensemble & Jeff Award nomination for Production-midsize; Waiting for Lefty; A Stone Carver – Jeff Award nomination for Best Actor & After Dark Award for Outstanding Performance; The People’s Temple; Half of Plenty; A View from the Bridge; Strictly Dishonorable; The Million Bells of Ocean; American Dead; The Hairy Ape; A Lie of the Mind; Endgame; American Buffalo; The Skin of Our Teeth; One Day Only; The Threepenny Opera. DIRECTOR – Catch-22. In addition, John performed in several editions of The Ripped Festival
ABOUT JOHN: John was an incredible metal installation artesian. He was also a proud Ensemble member of American Blues Theater for 25 years. Other theater credits include: The Glass House at the Art Institute of Chicago; Golden Boy and Tuesday’s Child at Williamstown Theatre Festival; Front Page, Black Snow, Red Noses, as well as six additional productions at Goodman Theatre; and The Cripple of Inishmaan, Heart of a Dog, and Murder of Cardinal Tosca at Northlight Theatre. His extensive television and film work includes “Golden Boy”, “Good Night Sweet Wife”, “Dillinger”, “Killing Floor”, “Early Edition”, “Crime Story” (recurring role), “Fargo” (recurring role), “Chicago Cab”, “Untouchables”, “Devil’s Dominoes”, “Stranger Than Fiction”, “On the Right Track”, “The Resentful Angel”, “No Place to be Somebody”, “Hellcab”, “Hero”, and “Cold Justice”.
FUN FACT: He held a pilot’s license.