Cry It Out

JESSICA HOLT (Director) (she/her) is thrilled to make her debut at Clarence Brown Theatre. Recent projects include The Lifespan of a Fact (Aurora Theatre), Sense & Sensibility (The Cape Playhouse), The Great Leap (Oklahoma City Repertory Theater), Fun Home (River & Rail Theatre), Ironbound, The Code by The Kilbanes (American Conservatory Theatre), Uncovering Downtown by Jessica Holt & Mona Mansour (En Garde Arts), The Thanksgiving Play, Sense and Sensibility, Fun Home, Venus in Fur  (Virginia Stage Company), The Resting Place, Bright Half Life, The Lily’s Revenge (Magic Theatre), Speech and Debate (Barrington Stage Company), Rich Girl (Florida Studio Theatre), The Daughters (San Francisco Playhouse), and Ugly Lies the Bone (Alliance Theater). She has developed and directed new work at Cape Cod Theatre Project, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Berkeley Rep, Rivendell Theatre, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Sewanee Writers Conference, among others. She is the Director of the Summer Training Congress at A.C.T. and taught and directed in their MFA program from 2019-2022. She is currently on teaching faculty with Maggie Flanigan Studio NYC, and has also taught at the American Academy of Dramatic Art, Fordham University, UC Berkeley, and Stanford University, among many others. 2017 National Directors Fellowship, 2016 Yale Directing Fellowship at the Alliance Theatre. MFA in Directing, Yale School of Drama. Proud member: SDC. www.jessicaholt.org

KENNETH MARTIN (Scenic Designer) is the Artistic Director of the Clarence Brown Theatre and Chair of the Department of Theatre. As a member of United Scenic Artists, Ken’s design work has been seen at Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Actors Theatre, The New Theatre The Sacramento Theatre Company, Cleveland Ensemble Theatre, Contemporary American Theatre Company, Ocean State Theatre Company, Surflight Theatre, Theatre by the Sea, Florida Repertory Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros, among others. He has also designed shows for many colleges and universities including Marquette University, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Coastal Carolina University, Cuyahoga Community College and The Ohio State University. Professor Martin has actively served his profession as a respondent for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festivals, as a consultant for several regional theaters and through active participation in organizations like the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and University Resident Theatre Association.

ALEX HEDER (Costume Designer) Alex is a third-year graduate student from Northern Utah. He has a BFA in costuming from Utah State University, and also has a robust background in scenic and properties design. He designed the costumes for a film adaptation of Monteverdi’s opera L’incoronazione di Poppea and the world premiere of an original opera based on the book Uncovered by Leah Lax. Cry it Out is his seventh realized design. Outside of theatre Alex spends most of his time attending conventions, renaissance fairs, participating in buhurt armored combat, and crafting related things. He is a certified blacksmith and a leather artisan among other things and his work can be viewed at www.alexheder.com

MITCH WILSON (Lighting Designer) Mitch is the 3rd year Lighting Design MFA candidate for the UT Theatre Department. This will be his last of two designs at the Clarence Brown/Lab Theatre over 2024/25 ending his time here with, Inherit the Wind. He has begun his fifth semester of graduate school and is teaching the lighting design portion of Introduction to Design (Lights/Sound/Media). He would like to thank his fiancé  Kiera Blackwell for her love and support. 

AMOIRIE PERTEET (Sound Designer/Composer) is originally from Chicago, Illinois and currently a third-year MFA candidate in Sound & Media Design. She graduated from UT in 2022 with a BA in Music Production & Business. Last summer, she was the assistant sound designer for Romeo & Juliet at the American Players Theatre. Recent credits with the Clarence Brown Theatre include: Blood at the Root, Trouble in Mind, Hair, The Moors and Anon(ymous). She is excited that Cry It Out is her sixth sound design with the Clarence Brown Theatre. To keep up with her, you can find her on Instagram @amoirie. 

MICHAEL NAJMAN (Voice and Dialect Coach) is thrilled to be Voice and Dialect Coach for Cry It Out. A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Master of Fine Arts in Acting program, his most recent performances include Mickey Schwerner in The Invaders: A Freedom Summer Play, Hector MacQueen in Murder on the Orient Express, and Margaret Mead in Hair. He also plays Aspen Kimura in the audio drama podcast He Who Forsakes the Crown, releasing its final episode soon. Prior voice and dialect coaching work includes Murder on the Orient Express, A Christmas Carol, Hair, and She Kills Monsters. He would like to thank you, the audience, for keeping the theatre alive.

SIMONE LADOUCEUR (Stage Manager) is ecstatic to be doing her first show in the Lab Theatre. She is a senior at UT, and is getting a BA in Theatre. Previous credits at the Clarence Brown Theatre include Murder on the Orient Express (Deck Crew), Murder on the Orient Express (Assistant Stage Manager), Kinky Boots (Assistant Stage Manager). She would like to thank Patrick Lanczki and Susan McMillan for being wonderful mentors and helping her shape her own craft of stage management. She would also like to give a special thank you to her fiance for being her #1 supporter and pushing her through tough times.

TOM CERVONE (Managing Director) Tom is grateful and honored to serve the Clarence Brown Theatre as Managing Director. Cervone has also served as executive director for both Dogwood Arts and the Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation, but the CBT/UTK Theatre Department is Tom’s administrative and artistic home. Cervone arrived in Knoxville in 1989 as an MFA candidate in acting and was hired in May of 1993 as the company manager, then promoted to managing director in 1995. And for his brief foray downtown, Tom has been in this chair, blissfully, ever since. Tom is and has been very active within the UTK community, having served as Exempt Staff Council chair for many years, co-chair of the LGBT Commission, a member of the Diversity Council and many other UTK organizations. Cervone is a long-time board member of the WordPlayers and continues to evangelize on behalf of the art and culture community locally and nationally. Tom received the Chancellor’s Citation for Outstanding Service to the University in 2010. Cervone holds his undergraduate degree in Speech and English Education with an emphasis in Theatre from West Liberty University in West Virginia and a Master of Fine Arts and an MBA from UT. He is a graduate of and was selected as the Class Representative of the Leadership Knoxville class of 2011, the best class ever. Cervone was inducted into his undergraduate alma mater’s class of 2015 Wall of Honor and was appointed by the Governor of WV in 2021 to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of WLU.

SUSAN L. McMILLAN (Production Manager) is in her eleventh year as Production Manager at the CBT and UT Department of Theatre. In addition, she teaches Stage Management. Prior, Susan was the Production Manager and Stage Management Instructor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, for 6 years. Susan is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, and was a Stage Manager at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 18 years. Additionally, she has stage managed at the Guthrie Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Portland Center Stage, PCPA, Rogue Valley Opera, Portland Civic Theatre, and has toured to the Kennedy Center. Through science (B.S. degrees in Biochemistry and Biology from Oregon State University) and music (cellist), Susan found her way into theatre (Minor in Theatre from OSU). She is incredibly grateful for all the opportunities and adventures along the way, inspirational mentors, artistic and talented colleagues, amazing students, and the love and support of her family and friends. And very grateful for Molly – woof! This season is fully dedicated to her beloved, beautiful, and deeply missed mother, Grace – a shining light forever.

GABRIELA “GABI” BULKA (Jessie) is an actor, dancer, movement director, and producer, currently getting her MFA degree in Acting at UT. Native to Krakow, Poland she moved to New York City where she trained at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. Gabriela holds a Professional Dancer and Choreographer Diploma, as well as a degree in IP Law. Recent credits include: A Christmas Carol (CBT Mrs. Cratchit/Mercy Miggot), Charlie (RJ Theatre Company producer/mov.dir.), Hamlet Split Apart (RJ producer/mov.dir); Short Films: Cortado (producer), Thoughts (Zen), Sloane & Dom (Juliana Dembski). To all the moms, especially mine, you all are superheroes! Instagram: @ga_bulka

DEEPIKA “DEVELYN” JAYAN (Lina) is a second year MFA acting candidate. She is also a resident actor at the Clarence Brown Theatre and has worked on main stage shows like A Christmas Carol (2023) and The Giver (2024). The past year, she worked on two short films and a promo video for Knox Children’s Foundation. Develyn is a professional Indian dancer, a yogi, and a martial artist. She has been performing since the age of five through various plays, dance-dramas as well as street plays back in India, and she is here to make professional theatre her next home. She aspires to be an artist who can rise above the social standards and stereotypes and she’s grateful to the Clarence Brown Theatre for opening that path for her and supporting her in her journey.

DENZEL DEJOURNETTE (Mitchell) A man living out his wildest dreams through storytelling. www.denzeldejournette.com

YASHASHVI CHOUDHARY (Adrienne) is an MFA Acting student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She comes from the capital of her country New Delhi, India where she received her B.A.(honours) in English Literature from the University of Delhi. She is a trained Belly dancer and a Black Belt in Taekwondo. Recent credits include: The Giver (Rosemary/Ensemble) and, A Christmas Carol (Mrs. Fezziwig/Miss Lucy).