Walter Coppage

Walter has a distinguished career as an Equity Actor in Kansas City for the last 12 years.  He has performed major roles in many Kansas City theatres. He’s also appeared in numerous national radio and television commercials, and has served for a number of years as the spokesperson for Children International.  Walter is very active in the growing Kansas City film industry, performing in a number of feature films, TV movies, independent films and industrials. Some of his favorite stage roles include Eugene in Yellowman; Othello; Touchstone in As You Like It; Uncle Peck in How I Learned To Drive; Testifier Polyneices in The Gospel at Colonus; Mr. M in My Children! My Africa!; Buks in Valley Song; and Jekyll in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Walter’s performances have led the Kansas City Star to declare him “an up and coming talent to watch for”, “a delight to behold”, “one of KC’s finest actors”, and “arguably the most successful minority actor in the region”.

Gary Holcombe*

Gary was an artistic force in the community since moving to Kansas City from New York some 12 years ago.  He played major roles for every major theatre in Kansas City, and spent over 20 years working professionally on Broadway, in television and in film.  Gary portrayed Scrooge for seven seasons with the Kansas City Rep, and played major roles at the Rep for over ten seasons, appearing in three to four productions per season.  He was recognized with three “best actor” awards from the Squire, and one Drama Desk Award for his portrayal of John Barrymore in I Hate Hamlet.  He also recreated his interpretation of Daddy Warbucks in Starlight Theatre’s production of Annie, a role he portrayed over fifteen hundred times.  Gary worked as an exemplary artist in the Kansas City and St. Louis area for many years.  He also brought his expertise to the classroom; Gary taught in the Graduate Training Program at UMKC’s Theatre Department.


*Gary passed away on Monday, October 10, 2011.  ”Now cracks a noble heart.”

Greg Mackender

Greg has been a theatre composer for nearly 20 years and has worked extensively with the Missouri Repertory Theatre, Heart of American Shakespeare and the Coterie.  He operates the successful production studio ReSounders, where he has created sound scores and compositions for numerous independent films, television programs and animated films.

Tom Mardikes

Tom has long been a theatrical sound designer of national note, as well as chair and producer of the graduate theatre program at UMKC. For 20 years he was the resident sound designer for Missouri Rep(Emperor Jones, Indian Ink, The Tempest, Machinal, Death of a Salesman), has been resident designer for Heart of America Shakespeare since 1994 (Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Hamlet), and has designed in St. Louis, Cleveland, New York, Boise, Dallas, Houston, Santa Cruz, Miami and more. He served as a board member with the KC Spirit Festival (1992-1997).

Gregg Markowski

Gregg became the finance director at the Kansas City Ballet in 1993 and completed his M.S. in Accounting from UMKC’s Bloch school in 1995. Mr. Markowski has had a long and adventurous career as a stage manager and lighting designer for many performing arts companies including Kansas City Ballet, Creede Repertory Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Missouri Repertory Theatre and the Ensemble Company for the Performing Arts before he joined the administrative staff at Kansas City Ballet. Mr. Markowski received a M.F.A. from Yale (1988) and a B.A. in theatre from UMKC (1982).

James F. Mitchell

Jim has over 20 years experience in stage management, principally with Missouri Repertory Theatre and other theatre companies in the KC area.  He has served as Production Manager for the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Dartmouth Summer Repertory Theatre and Creede Repertory Theatre, as well as  the Kansas City Points of Light Celebration and Arts Fest at Crown Center.  Stage management credits include King Lear, The Tempest, The Glass Menagerie, Oleanna, Romeo and Juliet, M Butterfly, Our Town,The Misanthrope, The Seagull, True West, Richard III, Three Tall Women, Hay Fever, Hamlet, Julius Caesar,Inherit the Wind, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Translations, A Lesson from Aloes, and A Christmas Carol.

Carol Patterson*

Carol was an inspired, loving, intelligent woman who helped to ensure that Kansas City thrived civically and culturally. One of her many passions was the theatre. She believed wholeheartedly in the excellence of resident artists of Kansas City, and when approached with the idea of creating a true repertory theatre that would challenge and strengthen Kansas City artists as well as the theatre-going community, she was immediately taken with our vision. She was our founding president and utilized her amazing energy and resources to help us take the first bold steps in creating KCAT. Carol infused us with hope and energy that will forever drive our efforts.

*Carol, founding member and president, passed away in 2004.  Her original vision and spirit still live in KCAT today.

Elizabeth Robbins*

Elizabeth was an Equity Actor for 24 years, having worked in Chicago, San Diego and Kansas City.  For her last 16 years she made her home in Kansas City, where she performed leading roles for all major professional theatres.  Notable roles include Isabella in Measure for Measure, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Rosalind in As You Like It, and the title role in Molly Sweeney. She has been the recipient of numerous “Best of Kansas City” acting awards, including “Best Supporting Actress” for her portrayal of Mae Pollitt in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and “Best Actress in a Comedy” for her role as Teresa in Memory of Water. Elizabeth taught acting and voice and speech courses at various educational institutions in the Greater Kansas City Area with students ranging from elementary school to college, and has conducted theatre workshops from Jacksonville, Florida all the way to San Luis Obispo, California.

*Elizabeth passed away on July 11, 2006, but her indomitable spirit continues to inspire and motivate the company in its ongoing mission. Fino a domani.

Mark Robbins

Mark has been an Equity Actor for the past 28 years, with more that 125 professional roles to his credit, performing in Chicago, Boston, Phoenix, Tucson, St. Louis and Kansas City. He has performed leading roles as Macbeth, Oedipus, and Richard III, and has worked as a leading actor for every major professional theatre in Kansas City. He is a director of note in Kansas City, having directed for the Unicorn Theatre (where he received a Best of Kansas City award for Best Director), the American Heartland Theatre, UMKC’s Graduate Training Program, and the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival.