LISAGAY HAMILTON
Mama
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LisaGay was recently seen in Netflix’s Lincoln Lawyer, HBO’s Winning Time, Hulu’s The Dropout, and ABC’s Will Trent. Upcoming projects include National Geographic’s anthology series, Genius: MLK/X as Alberta King, and Days When The Rains Came starring opposite Beau Bridges.
She is well-known for starring in the hit ABC television series The Practice, TNT’s Men of a Certain Age, Hulu’s The First and Netflix’s House of Cards. Her notable film credits include Vice, Beautiful Boy, The Boogeyman, John Sayles’ Go For Sisters and Honey Dripper, Sony’s Take Shelter opposite Michael Shannon, Joe Wright’s The Soloist, Clint Eastwood’s True Crime, as well as her critically acclaimed performance in Jonathan Demme’s Beloved based on Toni Morrison’s novel. Hamilton directed the Peabody Award winning documentary for HBO Beah: A Black Woman Speaks.
A Juilliard graduate, some of her New York theater credits include the Broadway production of To Kill A Mockingbird opposite Ed Harris. She won Obie Awards for both Valley Song with and written by Athol Fugard and Ohio State Murders by Adrienne Kennedy.
ROSLYN RUFF
Lillian
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Broadway: Skin of our Teeth (Joe A. Callaway Award), All The Way, Romeo & Juliet, Fences. Off-Broadway: The Piano Lesson (Lucille Lortel Award; Audelco Award; Drama League nomination), Seven Guitars (Obie Award), X or Betty Shabazz v. The Nation and Things of Dry Hours (Drama League nominations), Fairview, Death of the Last Blackman in the Whole Entire World, Macbeth, Familiar, Scenes from a Marriage, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, and The Cherry Orchard. Regional: McCarter Theatre Center, People's Light and Theatre Company, Yale Repertory Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Two River Theater, Long Wharf Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Geva Theatre Center, Geffen Playhouse, Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Film: Marriage Story, The Help, Salt, Rachel Getting Married. TV: Evil, Blue Bloods, The Godfather of Harlem, Lincoln Rhyme, Pose, Divorce.
JASMINE ASHANTI
Nelly
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Jasmine, originally from Maryland, received a BA in Theatre from Temple University and an MFA in Acting from UC San Diego. Her notable theater credits include Little Children Dream of God and In the Red and Brown Water at UC San Diego; Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea at Skylight Theater; The Last Tiger in Haiti, which was a co-production with Berkeley Repertory and La Jolla Playhouse; and Ready Steady Yeti Go at Rogue Machine Theatre.
Jasmine was also part of the ABC Discovers Talent Showcase 2020 and has also made notable appearances on television with credits including Shameless, The Good Doctor, Lucifer, Black-Ish, On My Block, Grey’s Anatomy, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, and East New York.
SAMANTHA MILLER
Lil' Mama
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Samantha is ecstatic to be making her Pasadena Playhouse debut! Samantha is an actor and writer based in Los Angeles. Recent credits include Margaret Dashwood and Lucy Steele in Sense & Sensibility (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Zoey in stand. Up. HIT! for the Young Playwrights Festival (The Blank Theatre), Candance in MEISNER (Playhouse West), and Glo in the regional and national tour of The Password (Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre). As an awarded playwright, Samantha's latest work DragonSoul Offline is being published for licensing release in late 2023. Samantha holds a BFA in Acting from Southern Oregon University. www.samanthawmiller.com