Biographies for Unto the least of these

Christina Irwin

Christina (Mrs. Haberman) started her acting career doing improvisational comedy and mystery dinners. She has played a wide variety of character roles, from a Filipino mother, Alzheimer patient, a Countess and a eunuch. One of her most memorable experiences was taking her one-woman show on Beryl Markham, to the Festival Fringe in Edinburgh. She enjoys musicals and the excitement of hearing the opening overture.

Melanie Davis

Melanie (Miss Jackson) is a newcomer to the entertainment industry but is already making an impact. She brings a unique perspective and eloquent style to many roles. Melanie showed a passion for the arts beginning at the age of five when she became involved in school; and then later, in community theatre. In the mid 1990's Melanie earned her law degree. She is currently an established attorney in Chicago, but if you ask her, she is an actress that happens to be an attorney. Her goal is to turn acting from a hobby into a full time career. She recently acted in a supporting role in the independent film Holiness in Time, and she was featured as an extra on ER.

Angela Worth

Angela (Jenny) is a senior at DePaul University, graduating in June 2008 with a BA in Communications — Radio, Television and Film. Angela has participated in many student films in Chicago and is no stranger to the theater. She has graced the stage for H.O.T.T. Productions for many years. Some of the productions she has been in include Fame, A Chorus Line, Heaven Can Wait, Music Man, Grease, Jekyll and Hyde and Les Misérables.

Mike Tracy

Mike (Richard) was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. He's a character actor who knows how to facilitate the wide range of emotions from serious to laughter. Mike's first role was Officer Reed in Fred Clause, starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti. He also acted as a politician in Charles Carner's Witless Protection, starring Larry the Cable Guy. His next role is a Criminal Executive in Tyler Perry's comedy Meet The Browns.

Alessandra Pinkston

Alessandra (Demonica) is a young Chicago actress and alum of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. With a Bachelor's Degree in Broadcast Journalism, Pinkston has been in productions like The Vagina Monologues, The Gingham Dog, and Traci Weathers' series Drama Queens. Currently, Pinkston is portraying the character Kim in Good Black at the ETA Theatre. Aside from acting, Pinkston is also a writer who hopes to create her own successful productions in the future.

David Hull

David (Attorney Goldstein) is a voice-over talent and on-camera performer. As a graduate of Loyola University in Chicago, he worked for the campus radio station. He continued his career in radio after college in Colorado, selling advertising for his own radio shows in Burlington and Sterling. Later, in Ft. Collins, Colorado, Mr. Hull worked as a Program Director for one of the first automated radio stations in America and was responsible for creating new advertising revenue opportunities by programming network news feeds into the hourly programming mix. Currently he helps produce commercials with some of Chicago's most notable voice-over talent. He also works in sales for several audio-visual manufacturers while pursuing acting roles part-time. His other interests include cooking, reading, traveling, sports and volunteering in his local community.

Bria Purdiman

Bria Paige Purdiman is a sophomore at Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Illinois, where she maintains a GPA of over 3.5. She has been involved in cheerleading since the second grade, and has also played Park District softball for the past four years. In addition to these things, she enjoys modeling and acting.

Among other notable events, Bria has modeled for Mrs. Rose McGill's Rose's House of Charm. She is also very musically inclined, as she plays both the violin and the piano, and also enjoys dancing and singing. Most recently, Bria participated in the Gospel Explosion held in Hoffman Estates, which featured well-known gospel music artists Shirley Caesar and Ty Tribett.

Bria also finds time to serve others. She volunteers in the children's ministry at New Faith Baptist Church and also is a member of RAW, the church's youth ministry.

Herbert Porter

Herb (Preacher) is well known in the Chicago acting community, appearing in the Ravinia production The Princess and the Black Eye Pea. Herb was most recently seen in the Congo Square production of Black Nativity and Black Ensemble's production of The Other Cinderella. He has also appeared in Broadway Snapshots at the Village Players Theater in Oak Park, and Palatine's Music On Stage's production of Ragtime where he played the role of Coalhouse Walker. Herb's television credits include national commercials for Wal-Mart, American Family Insurance and Career Builder, just to name a few. His film credits include major roles in two Indie films The Calling and Dog Jack.

Nahum Zarco

Nahum (Davidson Harley) is passionate about acting and modeling. His life time dream is to formalize his acting training, in realizing that he is honing his craft by attending school at Act One Studios in Chicago. When he is not pursuing his personal training goals he auditions for several modeling and acting projects, including Beyonce and Sting concert tours in Chicago. He recently secured a role in MTV's High School Stories. His recent film projects includes a role in Confines of the Human Mind.

Jordan Stone

Jordan (Alejandro) grew up in Austin, Texas and attended Trinity University in San Antonio. After his two year career as a running back on the football team, he pursued stand-up comedy, which led him to move to Chicago in hopes of developing an acting career. He is now involved in Chicago's famous Second City and is currently rehearsing for his third show on Donny's Skybox stage.

Brandon T. David

Brandon (Director) made an early start in the entertainment industry at the ripe old age of six. He began acting and was hooked from the moment he stepped on stage. He has performed in over fifty plays, musicals, commercials and films. His most notable role came in 1996 as Biff in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman where he was awarded best actor by the local community of Grand Haven Michigan. In 1992, Brandon began an eight-year career in radio as a morning show host and producer. For several years, his radio persona Barney Davenport could be found roaming the morning streets of West Michigan stopping traffic and asking drivers about the important issues of the day. As a producer, his morning show at WTAM 1100 in Cleveland, Ohio was rated number #1 for a year.

Through the years he has worked as the assistant stage manager for Muskegon Summer Celebration, Michigan's largest music festival. He has also served as a lighting designer and technician for the 2001 Gospel Music Awards and Common Ground Music Festival. He has toured with bands like Smokey Robinson, Tom Jones, and Collective Soul just to name a few.

Brandon began his studies in film with the Cleveland Film Society as a programming assistant for the 23rd Cleveland International Film Festival. The Muskegon Film Festival appointed him College Program Director for 2004-05. He is a 2004 graduate of Compass Arts Academy. He is a 2007 graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a BFA in Film/Video. His film a little secret premiered in October 2007.

Pastor Kandis Heckler

Pastor Heckler, a graduate of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Illinois, is the Chief Executive Officer and President of Agape Productions Inc., where she serves as Executive Producer. Her critically acclaimed novels Women of the Corinthian Café and Cast the First Stone have been adapted for the stage and screen and are currently in development. The television series Unto the least of these, based on her novel of the same title, has completed post production and is ready for distribution.

She has written and produced over 10 shows of Teens Talkin', a contemporary adolescent talk show for teenagers that has aired for over 10 years on WCTV. Her Tribute to Our Heroes, a short documentary that celebrated the men and women who gave their lives on September 11, 2001, was showcased at film festivals in California and aired on GETV. In addition to her novels she has also written The Continental Div ide: Racing Towards Reconciliation, an interactive curriculum on racial reconciliation.

Pastor Heckler was also responsible for publishing various Christian Life curriculum resources for David C. Cook. In addition to her responsibilities as Executive Producer, she is a nation-wide speaker who has taught at conferences, seminars, workshops, and Bible study groups. She enjoys camping, fishing and golfing. She resides near Chicago, Illinois with her children.