Read an interview with our actors about their characters and their roles
Kylie Campbell
KYLIE (JANEY STEBBINS) is a Chicago-based actor, singer, and dancer who has been performing for over 15 years. Recent credits: Pride & Prejudice (Jane Bennet) with Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Silent Sky (Henrietta Leavitt) at Belmont University, Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre) & She Loves Me (Feat. Dancer) with Springhouse Theatre Company, Into the Woods (Rapunzel) with Florida Repertory Theatre, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck), As You Like It (Rosalind) & Peter & the Starcatcher (Prentiss) with The Naples Players.
Lesley Delmenico
LESLEY (ROSE ORKAN) is delighted to return to Northminster’s basement, where she began her acting career with the Northminster Players, which she is now reviving with Kurt Peters. Since then, she was a Chicago working actor for a decade, then earned an MA and a PhD in theatre from Northwestern University. She taught and directed theatre for 20 years at Grinnell College, where she specialized in verbatim theatre and created performances in Grinnell, London, Mumbai, and Evanston. No Bad Women,
adapted from a landmark British rape trial transcript, sold out its 2019 London run. Her recent film, At Home in Evanston, tells the stories of seven diverse Evanstonians and is available for further showings and conversations about this place.
Mac Hillocks
MAC (KILROY) appeared as Kilroy in Grand Family Foods, Midwest Players Theater’s first production. He received his BA in Theater at the College of Wooster and worked in Chicago where he was in Measure for Measure as Angelo. He performed in Gallimaufry; as Rodrigo in Othello, and Jimmy in The Gingerbread Lady. He completed studies at Acting Studio Chicago and is happy to return to Millburg and reprise the role of Kilroy!
Autumn Perry
AUTUMN (CAROL DORSEY) This is Autumn’s first appearance with Midwest Players! Past shows include: Jagged Little Pill with Point2point Productions (Featured Ensemble and U/S Frankie), Arthur and Friends Make a Musical with Music On Stage (DW), and Little Shop of Horrors in Seoul, South Korea with Camarata Music (Audrey II/Twoey). Autumn is grateful to her friends and family for their love and support, and she wishes to thank the lovely cast and crew of Millburg’s Magnificent Pantry for putting on such an amazing show!
Douglas Self
DOUGLAS (OSCAR WHITE) is delighted to be making his debut with Midwest Players. His Recent/Favorite credits include Judgement at Nuremburg with the Grove Players, Inherit the Wind with Edge of the Wood Community Theater, and Lucky Thirteen with The Other World Theater. On screen, his most recent work is in the feature horror film, Landlord. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing, and his first collection of poetry Blast Radius was published in February 2024. Writing Blast Radius inspired him to create a poetry/writing group for the military community called Combat Poetry.
Christopher Serratos
CHRIS (JAMES MARTINEZ) is an actor, musician, writer and artist based in Chicago. He trained in dramatic acting at the Acting Studio Chicago. Christopher is making his theatrical debut in Millburg’s Magnificent Pantry.
Jill Thiel
JILL (Melissa) is performing in her second production with Midwest Players Theater. She previously appeared as Cindy in Grand Family Foods. Favorite theatre roles include: Ann in The Wonder (Eclectic Full Contact Theatre), The White Witch in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Theatre-Hikes), and Lola in Damn Yankees (North Riverside). Jill is a classically trained actor and a graduate of The Second City Conservatory. She thanks her family and friends for their continued support. Love you, Jeffrey.
John Frank
JJOHN co-founded Evanston 2nd Act Players in 2013. He was director of Midwest Players’ Grand Family Foods in 2024. He’s written 14 plays, acting in four of them. He began writing plays after a 40-year career as a business journalist, focusing his theater stories on ordinary people confronting extraordinary situations. He directed his first play with 2nd Act Players in 2016 and directed three online shows during the pandemic. In 2021, What Good Did You See Today?, was named Best Streaming Play in Chicago by Broadway World magazine. In 2024, he produced his signature play, It’s My Brooklyn, Too! in a Brooklyn brownstone, the setting in which the play’s story takes place, bringing his family’s origins story back to where it began.
Kurt Peters
KURT is THE AUTHOR of Millburg’s Magnificent Pantry and Grand Family Foods and founder of Midwest Players Theater. He is a veteran journalist, with 40 years’ experience covering business, society and culture. He started his career as a newspaper reporter in Harvard, Ill. (pop. 5,000), and from there moved to the Rockford, Ill., Morning Star. He spent the last half of his career as editor of Internet Retailer magazine, a business publication that covered the rise of e-commerce. Read Kurt’s interview about the origins of the play.
Anna Walker
ANNA (Stage Manager) is a Chicago-based stage and production manager. Previous credits include Midwest Theater’s Grand Family Foods in 2024, This Bitter Earth (Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre); La Liberazione d’Ruggiero… (Haymarket Opera); Oliver!, Gentleman’s Guide…, Aida (Utah Festival Opera); Marys Seacole (Griffin Theatre). Anna is Facilities and Production Manager for Piven Theatre, Workshop and Stage Manager for Piven’s advanced Young People’s Company and Performance Project youth ensembles. She is a graduate of Otterbein University.
Read an interview with our cast about how they view their characters and the role each character plays in Grand Family Foods https://midwestplayerstheater.com/hear-from-our-actors/
Midwest Players Theater 