Linda Parris-Bailey as the primary Writer-in-Residence for The Carpetbag Theatre Ensemble (CBT), has written numerous touring works for Carpetbag and several commissioned works for other national theater companies. Her published works can be found in several anthologies including Alternate ROOTS; Plays from the Southern Theater; Ensemble Works! Monologues for Actors of Color; High Performance and Breathing the Air. She has served on the planning committee of The International Women Playwrights Conferences in Greece and the Philippines, and her work was performed at the WPI conference in Australia. As a cultural worker, Parris-Bailey has worked in communities throughout the United States including residencies for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and New World Theater. She has been the recipient of the Otto Award for Political Theater, Circle of Change Award and Artist of the Year.
Atiba Bailey is a creative, solution oriented technology specialist with extensive experience in information systems engineering, computer network administration and digital storytelling training. He earned a degree in video production technology & multimedia in addition to his Information Technology background.
Dorothy Bennett serves on the board of directors for Carpetbag Theatre and has an extensive background of program development. She has developed comprehensive youth programming, as well as training programs and services for various projects.
Kelle’tria “Kelle” Jolly is an Atlanta native who currently resides in Knoxville. She is a local favorite at venues like the Knoxville Museum of Art and the Beck Cultural Center. Kelle and her husband, saxophone player Will Boyd, have also been the darlings of the Mururon Jazz Cruise in Muroran, Japan. Kelle is a graduate of South Carolina State University, where she earned her B. S. in Music Education.
Paula Larke is a veteran of professional theatre, with extensive training in violence prevention, teaching character education through expressive arts. She integrates poetry, storytelling, vocals, instrumentation on djembe, bass, banjo and guitar with theater- based teaching techniques. Within her organization, VOICES IN THE TREETOPS, Inc., Paula mentors both youth and older adult artists in the integration of arts and social justice activism.
Stephen (Seed) Lynn is a spoken word artist and digital storytelling project manager with the Carpetbag Theatre. Through his work he hopes to bridge generational gaps and address oppressions with humor, dignity, and a love for storytelling.
Melody Reeves is a visual artist, educator and consultant with community-based, social and economic justice organizations. Her work in visual and performance art examines the ways we construct meaning and make decisions to change the worlds around and within us. She received degrees in Fine Arts at the University of California and the University of Tennessee, where she is an adjunct Lecturer in the Sculpture Department. In 2009 her work has been exhibited at the Foundation of Charles-Leopold Mayer in Paris and at the Paraty House of Culture in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Bert Tanner has performed with Carpetbag Theatre since 1985 in Cric? Crac!, Red Summer, Dark Cowgirls and Prairie Queens, Nothin’ Nice, Swopera and Between A Ballad and A Blues. His regional credits include Caleb in Miss Ever’s Boys, Chief Priest of the Sun in Royal Hunt for the Sun, Peacock in When the Nightingale Sings and Daddy Grace in Love Johnny.
