STAGE FRIGHTS - PART THREE: UNBURIED

Jonathan Cook is an actor, writer, and filmmaker based in South Carolina. Many of his short plays have been produced in theatres around the World and and he is a seven-time recipient of the Porter Fleming Literary Award in the playwriting category. He is the founder and creator of Gather by the Ghost Light.

John Bavoso (he/him/his) is a Washington, DC-based playwright, marketer, and aspiring wrangler of unicorns. He mostly writes plays about women and queer people who are awkwardly attempting (and generally failing) to engage with serious subject matter using only dry wit and impeccably timed combative taunts. John is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, a 2019 Lambda Literary Fellow, and the recipient of District of Columbia FY18 and FY19 Arts and Humanities Fellowships. His plays have been produced and/or developed in DC, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin; Canada; Japan; South Korea; India; United Arab Emirates; Australia; and the UK.

Devon McSherry his co-host and producer of Gather by the Ghost Light. She went to college for musical theater and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BFA from Metropolitan State University of Denver and currently teaches at Musical Theatre Workshop in Augusta, GA. She is also an active actress and playwright.

Pepper has been performing in the Augusta area for eight years. In addition to stage, film, and voice acting, Pepper has performed with Sho Fusion Belly Dance Troupe, the Geektastic Bellydance League, and Dirty South Burlesque. She and has also performed with Schrodinger's Cat Improv Group. Pepper also has experience behind the scenes as a director, producer, writer, videographer, editor, production assistant, and stage hand.

Hi! I’m Robb Smith, a voice actor in North Augusta, South Carolina.

I really believe in the power of storytelling and that the stories that connect the most are the ones that feel like they’re being told just to you.

My background winds through radio, TV, stage performance, audio engineering, and corporate creative work, all of which taught me the same truth: a good story needs a good heart behind it. It’s what I bring to every project, whether it’s a commercial, an audio drama, a video game character, or a moment of quiet narration that helps someone breathe a little easier.

I love giving scripts life, humor, and humanity. And I’m always grateful for the chance to help a story land in a way that feels true.

Nathan Shelton was born in Springfield, MO to Kevin and Tammy Shelton. His father is a Methodist pastor and his mother works with the Languages department of UMKC in Kansas City, MO. Nathan grew up in theatre, performing at several venues around his hometown, where he started to work professionally as a stage and screen actor in the early 1990s. He went on to study acting, writing, and directing at Missouri State University (then SMSU) in the same prestigious acting program that launched John Goodman, Kathleen Turner, Tess Harper, Jack Laufer, and many others.

Aside from working as a professional theatre/film/television actor, Nathan is an award-winning SFX makeup artist, writer, and director/producer. Nathan moved from Missouri to Chicago, IL in 2013, and continues to work throughout the country on various creative projects with his production company, Arcane (including the internationally acclaimed web series Shadow Bound, and the horror radio-drama anthology series, The Frightmare Theatre Podcast). Nathan and his wife, Alma Rodriquez, were married in March 2021 and split their time between the US and Mexico. Nathan has two children, Finnley and Vince.

Matt is an actor, director, psychologist, and cat dad in Augusta, GA. He has performed locally with Gather by the Ghostlight, The Augusta Players, Le Chat Noir, and The Presidential Dinner Theatre at Fort Eisenhower.