bye bye birdie show Bios
Sydney Glenn (Suzie) is so grateful for her opportunity to be in Bye Bye Birdie with such an amazing cast! She is 12 and is a 7th grader at Stapley Jr. High. Sydney is thankful to have started theatre and that she gets to do it with State 48. Her past roles include: Tanner (Cinderella), Mickey (Murder at Sunset-youth), Condora (Merlin and Morgana, Weird Sisters), Felicity/Villager #1 (Frankenstein), Lt. Ice (The Possibly True Tales of Little Red Riding Hood), and Cop (Pirates of Penzance). She loves the friends she has made and hopes to make more! She would like to thank Karli, Delmy, Spec, Espie, Jacki, Chris, Sammi, Andrea Mcfeely, the wonderful costumers, and all her friends and family for supporting her in what she loves to do!
Averi Williams (Rose Alvarez) is so happy to perform in her 8th show with State 48. She enjoys singing, dancing, acting, running cross country, and performing with Wildfire. Averi is 14, and is a freshman at Mountain View High School. Some of her favorite roles have been: Betty and Emily Drake (Murder at Sunset), Diana Barry (Anne of Green Gables), Voltura (Merlin and Morgana), Voltura again (Weird Sisters), Peter Pan (Peter Pan Jr) and Kate (Pirates of Penzance). She would like to thank Karli, Delmy, Spec, Espie, Chris, Sammi, Jacki, and the wonderful cast for putting in the hard work to make this an amazing show!
Santiago Leon Salas Jr (Conrad Birdie) is a 16-year-old junior at Lumos Arts Academy. He is very excited to perform the role of Conrad Birdie and work with State48 and all the cast. He has performed as Race in Newsies, Grimsby in Little Mermaid, a Pirate in The Pirates of Penzance, and also placed runner up at Lumos for the Shakespeare school competition. He is loving the stage and can’t wait for more in the future. When he’s not performing, he enjoys piano, singing, cosplay, roller skating, video games, drawing, and hanging with friends and family. He has a unique style and is a confident and kind young man with great charisma and a positive outlook on life!
Paula Connors (Karla) is 14 and a freshman at Skyline High School. This is her 9th show with State 48, and her 22nd show overall! That being said, she has seen her fair share of plays and musicals, and this has definitely been one of her favorites. Some of her favorite roles include, Heloise (Cinderella), Sheriff of Nottingham (Robin Hood and His Merry Men), Rouge (The Possibly True Tales of Little Red Riding Hood), and Paddock (Weird Sisters). She is so glad to be in this show that can show off her dancing skills and fulfill her Greaser girl dreams. It has been so fun to meet new people, especially during a pandemic. She would like to thank Karli, Chris, Delmy, Spec, Espie, and Jacki for casting her in such a fun role. She would also like to thank everyone in the cast, even a bad day can be made better with rehearsal!
Bridget Williams (Mae “Mama” Peterson) is 14 and a freshman at Mountain View High School. She is thrilled to be in her first play ever and has been so blessed to participate with State 48 Theatre! She has had so much fun playing this very EXTRA role and can’t wait to participate in more plays with these amazing people! She has met so many friends and is so grateful for all of the leaders who have helped make this possible!! Can’t wait to see the final outcome of this amazing play!!!
Lexi Edwards (Mrs. Merkle/Reporter) is super excited for her debut show with State 48! She’s 16 years old and in her sophomore year at Lumos Arts Academy. Lexi has always loved singing and found a love for theatre after being in her first musical when she was 10. This will be her 4th show, although it’s been almost four years since the last one she was in! Lexi is in her school’s choir and current musical. Besides theatre, she spends a lot of time involved with kitten rescue! This is a major passion of hers, and she fosters kittens until they’re ready for adoption. Lexi thanks Karli, Delmy, Jacki, Espie, Spec, Chris, Sammi, and Debbi for casting her and making this show possible! She hopes you enjoy the show as much as she does!
Olivia Wilstead (Betty) is so excited to do her first play! She is thrilled that her first play is with State 48, and she has had such a good time this past month and a half working on this show and making friends! She loves to sing, dance, act, run, and spend time with family and friends! Olivia is 12 years old, in 7th grade, and goes to Greenfield Jr. High. She wants to thank the crew for putting this amazing play together and she thanks the cast for being so awesome! She also wants to thank her mom. This play was so fun, and Olivia is so happy she gets to be a part of the amazing cast! Thanks, State 48!!
Savannah Glenn (Margie) is so excited to be in another show with State 48! She has been in previous productions, including Merlin and Morgana and Pirates of Penzance. Savannah is 14 and is attending Mountain View. She would like to thank all her amazing directors, stage managers, costumers, and everyone who helped make this experience possible for their incredible work along with her family who always support her in everything she does.
Ava Wright (Gloria Rasputin/Frankie) is 14, and will be a freshman this coming school year. She has shown an innate talent for performing since she could walk and talk! This is Ava’s first play with State 48, but it will be her 11th theatrical performance. When Ava is not singing or dancing, she is drawing with her sisters, climbing a tree, or playing with her rats. She is incredibly grateful State 48 gave her the opportunity to participate in what she is most passionate about, and would like to thank EVERYONE who is making her love of being on stage a reality!
Ellie Mae Smith (Mayor) is thrilled to be doing her first play with State 48 Theatre. She has enjoyed working with this group, and has made some great friends. In her free time she loves to read and play with her dogs. She wants to thank her family, cast, and crew for all their support in this adventure . Fun fact: Ellie lives in Surprise AZ and takes on a 1 1/2 hour drive to and then back home from her rehearsals. Mom and Dad put a lot of miles on the road for this little gal. We will always support her dreams! Ellie loves this group, so looks like we will be spending a lot of time on the road in the future! Thank you Karli, Delmy, Chris, Jacki, Debbi, Spec, Espie, and Sammi for giving her this opportunity!
Mazie Martinez (MaryAnn/Sad Girl) is an aspiring young actor motivated to follow her dreams. She has enjoyed community theater at local churches, school and Childsplay Academy. Mazie is a talented girl from singing to acting to dancing! She also enjoys rock climbing and swimming. She is creative and free spirited. You can find her always looking for the next adventure, whether it is with her nose in a book, learning a new hobby or scheming with her cousins. Keep loving life Mazie and teaching those on the journey with you!
Kaitlee Glazebrook (Kim MacAfee) is 16 years old and will soon be attending Lumos Arts Academy as a sophomore. Kaitlee has been a part of performing arts her whole life! She LOVES performing and has been on the stage since the age of 5 as a dancer and began her acting career at just 8 years old!! This will be Kaitlee’s 16th musical, some favorites including Lost in Neverland (Wendy), Nicest Kids in Town (Amber) -both with Fuse Performing Arts Center and she also appeared in State 48’s first original musical, Pirates, a Love Story (Pirate Lass)! Kaitlee works so incredibly hard and try’s her best to stay focused and learn as much as she can through these acting experiences. She is so, so blessed and grateful to have the opportunity to do shows even during Covid! Nothing could stop her from doing what she loves. Kaitlee would love to thank Karli, Spec, Espie, Delmy, Jacki, Sammi, Chris, the parents who help make everything in the show as amazing as it is, and everyone in the cast for believing in her and for being her best friends!! She loves to inspire and hopes to continue to inspire people and be a professional performer one day!!!!
Julia Webster (Penelope) is so happy to be doing her 3rd performance with State48! She also appeared in Anne of Green Gables and Murder at Sunset! She was so excited to do this really fun musical and she can’t wait to do many more! She has loved getting closer to all of the cast and to improve as a performer. She is in 7th grade at Greenfield Junior High and she loves to sing and roller-skate. She is so grateful to everyone in the cast and crew for putting together this super swell musical!
Matthew McCaskill (Harvey Johnson/Cop) is happy to be back on the State 48 stage for his second production with this company. He is 16 and a homeschool Junior. He has been in many theater productions including Murder at Sunset (State 48 theater), Willy Wonka, Mary Poppins Jr., All Shook Up and several other productions at theaters around the east valley. When not on stage he enjoys playing Volleyball and Baseball. He is also the 1st Sergeant for his Civil Air Patrol Unit. He is so thankful for the opportunity to work with this amazing cast and these directors on this fun production. Also a big thank you to all of his friends and family who come out to see the show and support him.
Andrea Rovegno (Helen) is so excited to perform for the second time with State 48 Theatre. She is a 15-year-old Freshman at Lumos Arts Academy and will be performing the role of Princess Grace in the upcoming school production, Villains. Andrea brings her many years of gymnastics, vocal performance training, church dance group, acting lessons, and Cara Alvey’s Actors Workshop. Besides singing and acting, Andrea enjoys spending time with friends, youth group activities, volunteering and making people feel good! She wants to thank Karli, Sammi, Espie, Delmy, Spec, and all the directors and cast for making this show such an amazing experience – and thank you to my parents for always helping me out.
Adisyn Montefour (Mrs. Johnson/ Reporter) is so happy to be in Bye Bye Birdie! This is her first show with State48 and she is very thankful for the opportunity! She is excited to do more with State48! Adisyn is 14 and goes to Lumos Arts Academy where she is a freshman. This is Adisyn’s 6th show and she loves singing, acting, and dancing. A few of Adisyn’s favorite shows have been Legally Blonde Junior and Villains. When Adisyn is not busy with acting you can find her hanging with friends or family, watching Marvel movies, wake surfing, snowboarding, playing flag football, and vaulting. A big thanks to everyone who has made this show amazing!!
Emma Fosburgh (Alice) has been a baller since day one. She came out of the womb singing and dancing. She aspires to be Danny Devito, bald spot and all. When she grows up she wants to be a tap dancing plumber. Some of her hobbies include stalking Averi Williams, painting pictures of rocks, and playing the kazoo. She also has an extensive magnet collection.
P.S. l love you The Drip Lord
Josephine Maldonado (Doris MacAfee) is so grateful to be in this wonderful production! This is her first show at State48 and she hopes to do more. Josephine is 18 and has been performing in shows since 8th grade and was in all of the Mesa High productions for the past four years. She currently attends MCC and hopes to continue performing throughout her life. When Josephine isn’t performing in a show you can either find her working at her job at In-n-Out, hanging with friends, or at home binging a show or doing at-home karaoke. She has always loved music and theatre and she is so grateful to be in a show even during a pandemic. She wants to thank Karli, Delmy, Espie, Spec, Sammi, and all the amazing cast, crew, and parents who have made this show so much fun and awesome!!
Silas Green (Hugo) is unabashedly giddy to make his first onstage appearance EVER in Bye Bye Birdie! Fun fact: Silas is the 4th member of his family to appear in this musical, which probably means he can count on his performance being scrutinized mercilessly. He is a proud member of the #LlamaHerd at Lumos Arts Academy, where he will be performing as Rumpelstiltskin in their Spring musical, Villains. Silas would like to thank Mrs. Kemper and the amazing creative staff at State 48 for their support and direction, his mother for her unselfish tolerance of all his weaknesses and imperfections, and most importantly his father for exemplifying what it means to be a man. Enjoy the show!
Noah Giles (Albert Peterson) is a freshman at ALA Gilbert North. He’s done many shows with State 48, some including: Merlin and Morgana (Lancelot), Anne of Green Gables (Charlie Sloane) and The Possible True Tales of Little Red Riding Hood (Sherlock Holmes). He loves skating, music, and hanging out with friends. He would like to thank Karli, Spec, Espie, Sammi, and Chris for being amazing directors, Delmy and Jacki for being great stage managers, and Debbi Giles for producing the show. He’s very grateful to State 48 Theatre for giving him so many opportunities to develop and grow as a performer, and for his family for always being so supportive.
Carson Giles (Randolph MacAfee) is 11 and a 6th grader at ALA. This is Carson’s 13th show. Some of his previous roles have been: Toto in Oz the Musical (Fuse PAC) Grumpy in Villains (State 48), Vicompte de Tournay in The Scarlet Pimpernel (State 48), Charlie Sloane Jr. in Anne of Green Gables (State48), and Wolf in The Possibly True Tales of Little Red Riding Hood (State 48). In his free time Carson loves playing video games, board games, and hanging out with friends and family. He would like to thank Karli, Spec, Espie, Sammi, Chris, Delmy, Jacki, Debbi and his family for all their support and guidance.
Iris Giles (Ursula Merkle) is 13 and is a 7th grader at ALA. This will be her 19th production. Some of her favorite roles have been: Tinkerbell in Lost In Neverland (Fuse PAC), Jane in Peter Pan & Wendy (AYT), Pirate Lass Charlotte in Pirates, a Love Story (State 48), and Voltura in Villains (State 48). She was most recently seen as Safie in Frankenstein (State 48) and as Doreen in Nicest Kids in Town (Fuse PAC). Iris is also in Fuse’s show choir, Wildfire. Iris loves playing the piano, cello, writing songs, and watching Youtube. She would like to thank Karli, Spec, Espie, Sammi, Chris, Delmy, Jacki, and Debbi for making this experience so fun!
Sofia Lopez (Nancy)
Espie Owens (Harry MacAfee)
Spec Bradford is thrilled to be in the (assistant (to the)) director’s chair for this hilarious youth production! She performed all through high school and ultimately received her program’s Best Senior award. She has previously directed One Acts with Highland High school and recently performed with State 48 in As You Like It. Spec dreams of one day becoming a published writer, but in the meantime absolutely adores working at Gilbert Arts Academy with the Support and Kinder Readiness Programs. Spec believes working with youth does wonders for your heart and soul and also really brings out the natural grey in her hair! She has loved the connections working with the community has brought her and looks forward to working with these amazing actors and production team again in the future! A special thanks also goes out to her “spouse husband” Espie Owens who inspires her to be her best self and who always makes her smile.