Cast Biographies

John Halstead

John (Rhodes) discovered theatre four years ago through Kanawha Players.  Since then he has fulfilled a three year term as a board member.  He has acted in The Boys Next Door, The Birthday Party, All's Well that Ends Well and numerous KP Briefs and Shorts.  John enjoys acting, writing, and most of all directing.  John's daily life consists of his work as a self-employed contractor, home-schooling his three sons, and obeying his wife.

Tasha Harris

Tasha (Georgia) is a student at WVSU where she has taken theatre classes with Susan Marrash-Minnerly.  She is the mother of a beautiful seven-year old daughter who is her pride and joy.  Her role in The Exonerated is her first in a major production.

Dan Heyman

Dan (Gary) has appeared in Kanawha Players' Briefs and Shorts and has been a longtime freelance journalist and writer.  He has done a great deal of radio voice work and has written a good deal of fiction.  As a reporter, he has seen how the criminal justice system works and knows it to be inconsistent and often unfair.  "For me, Gary's story is all too common and all too often true."

Michelle Goins

Michelle (Sondra, Sue, Female Ensemble 2), when not onstage, she enjoys spending time with her dog Discolemonade.  She appeared in the recently completed independent film 16 to Life and in Little Women.

Erin Kishpaugh

Erin (Sunny) is a voice teacher for singers and professional voice users, certified Alexander Technique teacher, guest speaker/clinician (MU, WVU, WVSU, American Singers' Opera Project [NC], school and church choirs), and holds an M.A. in Music.  Performances in WV, OH, PA, VA, NC, and NJ include recitals, oratorio, opera, master classes (one with Tony-nominated Christine Andreas), and concerts (pop, rock, jazz).  Local productions include: Ragtime (Kathleen, CLOG), How to Succeed… (Smitty, KP), Norman Rockwell’s American Paradise (Henrietta and others, CYAC), and musical director for CTC and school productions. 

Bryant McCallister

Bryant (David) is an actor, musician and public speaker.  Theatre credits include Othello, The Colored Museum, Police brutality, and Spell #7 in New York City.  Locally, Bryant has appeared in To Kill a Mockingbird and Flag Day.  His television credits include Guilty Until Proven Innocent (NBC) and The Clarence Darrow Story (PBS).  He has various radio and voice-over credits.  Unfortuantely, Bryant's work schedule precluded him from participating in the contest production of The Exonerated and so is ineligible to perform in the Chattanooga production.

Joe Miller

Joe (Kerry) describes himself as a serial enthusiast.  He has worn many vocational and avocational hats: attorney, rehabilitation counselor, certified orientation and mobility specialist, field biologist, web developer, and more. His current passion is theatre and has been seen in local productions of Harvey, Noises Off, To Kill a Mockingbird, It's a Wonderful Life, and Honk! the Musical. Joe has also done some voiceover, feature film, and commercial work.

Emanuel U. Ross III

Emanuel (Robert Hayes) has acted in various high school and church plays.  Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Virginia, Emanuel received his B.S. in environmental Science from Marshall University in 2005 and is currently working on an M.S. degree in environmental Management, also at Marshall.  When Emanuel is not studying or working, he enjoys reading and listening to music. 

Will Taylor

Will (Delbert) has a B.S. degree in Communications from West Virginia State University and has appeared in numerous local productions, including Working, The Wiz, Ain't Misbehavin', Jitney, and The Winter's Tale.  Will enjoys singing with band Underdog Blues Review and has done voiceovers for the films Red Salt and Reynolds, and Flasho Gordon.

John Thomas

John (Male Ensemble 2) is originally from Albany, NY where he was involved with several theatre groups and appeared in productions of Shadowlands, The Crucible, The Sisters Rosensweig, On Golden Pond, Death of a Salesman, Love Letters and The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail. John will not be able to attend the conference in March.  David Wohl will ably substitute.

Ashley Wilhelm

Ashley (Male Ensemble 1) is a former paratrooper with the U.S. Army Special Forces and a corrections officer for the State of West Virginia. His past work includes performances in Buried Child, Glengarry Glen Ross, Hamlet, King Lear, Moon Over Buffalo, Wit, Dracula and several local commercials and student films. Ashley has been playing the drums for over 20 years. Next on his to-do list is to save enough money to live and act in NYC.

David Wohl

David Wohl (substituting as Male Ensemble 2) has acted in CSC’s Glengarry Glen Ross, Macbeth, Gunshy, The Merchant Of Venice and Dancing at Lughnasa.  In 2006 he received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” in the arts from Governor Manchin and received a similar honor from the Southeastern Theatre Conference in 2003.  Some of his CSC directing credits include All’s Well That Ends Well, Romeo and Juliet, The Grapes of Wrath, The Who's Tommy, The Rocky Horror Show, Arcadia, Art, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, Hamlet, How I Learned To Drive, The Gospel at Colonus, and Marat/Sade.  David keeps very busy in his dual role as  WVSU’s Dean of Arts and Humanities and CSC’s Artistic Director.  He holds the Ph.D degree in Theatre from Kent State University.      

Susan Marrash-Minnerly

Susan (Director) is chair of the Department of Communications at West Virginia State University and professor of theatre.  Prior to moving to West Virginia, she was head of the acting program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  She is a proud member of Actor's Equity Association and the Screen Actor's Guild.  She performed her one-woman show about Dorothy Parker, You Might as Well Live, at New York's Third Eye repertory and has made commercials for everything from McDonald's hotcakes to Flintstone vitamins and electric paint strippers (the effectiveness of which was greatly in doubt).  Her most recent work for Charleston Stage Company were performances last season as the nurse in Romeo and Juliet and Hallie in Buried Child.  She is a member of the loving fellowship of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church and gives thanks daily for two amazing men in her life -- Doug and Nathan.