Diana Renn

(author)
Diana Renn is the author of five novels for young readers, including the middle grade eco-mysteries Trouble at Turtle Pond and The Owl Prowl Mystery (Fitzroy Books / Regal House) as well as three YA mysteries published by Penguin Random House: Tokyo Heist, Latitude Zero, and Blue Voyage. Her books have been honored by the Green Earth Book Awards and the Massachusetts Book Awards. Her essays have appeared in Flyway Journal of Writing and Environment, WBUR’s Cognoscenti, Pangyrus, The Huffington Post, Writer’s Digest, and elsewhere. Originally from Seattle, she now lives in Concord, Massachusetts, where she is active in local conservation groups. She also works as a book coach and editor specializing in the mystery genre. Rambling Roads Mysteries reflects her love of place-based storytelling and her interest in mysteries rooted in community, conservation, and local history.

Nora Shalaway Carpenter

(Evelyn Carlisle; Project Manager)

Nora Shalaway Carpenter is the author of the multi award-winning novels Fault Lines and The Edge of Anything and contributing editor of four anthologies, including the newly released ONWARD: 16 Climate Fiction Short Stories to Inspire Hope. Her fiction has been named to NPR’s Best of the Year list, praised in the New York Times and People, and won the Green Earth Book Award, the Whippoorwill Award, and the Nautilus Book Award. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and teaches at The Whole Novel Workshop at Boyds Mills (formerly the Highlights Foundation). A dynamic speaker with an invisible disability, she routinely presents at national conferences and universities. When not writing her own books, Shalaway Carpenter works as a voice actor. After a decades-long hiatus from the stage, Nora’s eldest son brought her back into the wonderful world of theatre. Nora’s recent roles include Mrs. Blair in Haywood Arts Regional Theatre’s production of Inherit the Wind, Mama Ogre and Blind Mouse in Playground Stage’s Shrek the Musical, and Boylan Sister, Cabinet Member, and Ensemble in Playground Stage’s Annie. Originally from rural West Virginia, she now roams the mountains of western North Carolina with her husband, three children, and the world’s most patient dog and cat. Learn more at noracarpenterwrites.com.

Jonathan Crumpler

(Executive Producer)

Jonathan Crumpler serves as Assistant Dean for the Business and Technologies Division at Western Piedmont Community College in Morganton, North Carolina. He oversees three digital media creation degree programs that provide curriculum for area college students including filmmaking, motion graphics and animation, and interactive simulation and game development.

Hayden Robinson

(Sound Designer)
Hayden Robinson serves as an instructor at Western Piedmont Community College, teaching in the Film Production program as well as the Animation program. He has experienced many avenues centered around media from indie film production, news broadcasting, and more recently a TTRPG (Tabletop Role-Playing Game) YouTube Channel. Hayden has taken his experiences in these various mediums and brought them to develop immersive and entertaining audio productions. He hopes you enjoy the mysteries and love the incredible works by the cast and crew. To see and hear more of Hayden’s work, visit https://monktusk.carrd.co.

Gavin Brookshire

Sound Design Assistant

Gavin Brookshire is a filmmaker and audio engineer with a passion for all forms of audio/visual production. A native of Morganton, North Carolina, Gavin is finishing his final year in Western Piedmont Community College’s Audio Visual Production Technology program, after which he’ll be furthering his education at the Savannah School of Art and Design. He has worked on numerous audio- and film-based projects throughout the community and through Western Piedmont Community College’s production studio. He also leads the school’s Media Club. Learn more about his work through his website: https://gbrookshire2003

Crystal Bray

(Miriam Blake; Ghost of Mrs. Hargrave)

After catching the theater bug at age five in her Northern New Hampshire hometown’s community theater production of The Music Man, Crystal spent her formative years on the stage. Some of her favorite roles include Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Domina in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Dorothy and (later) Glinda in The Wizard of Oz, Nurse Kelly in Harvey, Lily St. Regis in Annie, Ms. Andrews in Mary Poppins, Amahl in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Van Helsing in Dracula. She’s also a singer/songwriter, copywriter, speech-language pathologist, and the proud mom of a musical theater kid.

Audra Durham

(Tricia Miller)

Audra’s recent roles include Villager, Dulock Townswoman, and Bearded Lady in Playground Stage’s Shrek the Musical, Chimney Sweep in Mary Poppins, and various Ensemble roles in The Wizard of Oz. When not acting or singing, you can usually find Audra practicing yoga, in her garden, or just hanging out with her awesome kids.

Steve Durham

(Jordan Bennett)

Steve has loved getting back into theatre through Playground Stage (Asheville, NC). His recent roles include Daddy Warbucks in Annie, Lord Faarquaad in Shrek the Musical, and Chimney Sweep and Bank Chairman in Mary Poppins. He also plays trumpet for the Asheville Community Band.

Natalie Grinnell

(Miriam Blake)

A lifelong theatre kid, some of Natalie’s favorite roles include Peggy in Godspell, Yente in Fiddler on the Roof, and Fairy Godmother in Shrek. Natalie has been a fitness and wellness instructor for more than twenty years and recently went back to school to study Occupational Therapy.

Amanda Irvin

(Avery Treadwell)

Amanda is a full time Director of Strategic Resources Learning and Development and part-time theatre community theatre actor. Past credits include Peggy Swift in Father of the Bride, Mama Bear in Shrek the Musical, Rena Leslie in George Washington Slept Here, and company roles in Mary Poppins, Annie, Seussical, One More Time, The Wizard of Oz, and Grease. Before her current career, Amanda coached an undergraduate student-led social justice theatre group as well as a competitive high school speech team.

Chris Kingsley

(Theo Lambert, Alex Hargrave)

Chris is a teaching artist and the resident stage manager at Playground Stage, a children’s theater in Asheville, North Carolina. In this role, he educates students aged five to thirteen in the technical aspects of musical productions during the summer. He also stage manages the annual summer family musical where children and their adult family members participate in the production of a stage musical together. With Playground Stage he has stage managed main stage productions of Annie, Shrek, Marry Poppins, and The Wizard of Oz as well as countless kids-only productions under the world famous Playground Stage Picnic Shelter. Additionally, Chris has years of experience as an actor, writer, board operator, and stage manager in the Asheville theater community. He has lent his talents to Montford Park Players, The Magnetic Theatre, and Hendersonville Community Theater. He is a frequent contributor to the Asheville Fringe Arts Festival both on stage and behind the scenes. With a passion for education, Chris is a licensed elementary school teacher. He currently teaches 6th grade math. Rambling Roads Mysteries is Chris’s first voiceover role.

Eric Lewis

(Walt Grady)

Eric is more commonly found behind the camera as a videographer and photographer, but has really enjoyed his time on stage when he played Captain Boom in Mary Poppins, Lead Guard in Shrek the Musical, and Fred McCracken in Annie, all produced by Playground Stage in Asheville, NC. During his day hours, Eric is a naturopathic doctor in practice with his wife, Kristina.

Kristina Lewis

(Judy Feldman, Megan Hargrave, EMT)

Kristina has been practicing naturopathic medicine with her husband, Eric, for two decades, but music and theatre hold a special place in her heart. Her recent roles include The Bird Lady in Mary Poppins, Blind Mouse 3 in Shrek the Musical, and Boylan Sister, Cabinet Member, and Ensemble in Annie, all with Playground Stage in Asheville, NC. Her other passion is playing the trumpet in the Asheville Community Band with her father and daughter, making them the only three-generation family in the band.

David Macinnis Gill

(Henry Treadwell)

David’s past theatre roles include Karl Lindner in A Raisin in the Sun, Jerry in The Zoo Story, and Herr Zeller in The Sound of Music. He is the award-winning author of Soul Enchilada, Black Hole Sun, Invisible Sun, Shadow on the Sun, Rising Sun, Uncanny, and Zombie Train from HarperCollins/Greenwillow. He’s the author of The Sticky Note Plot, a craft guide for novelists. David’s books have been named ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Kirkus Best Book, a Bank Street College Best Books of the Year, and an NYPL Stuff for the Teen Age as well as nominated for many state and regional lists and awards. His short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies. He holds a doctorate in education from the University of Tennessee and was the President of ALAN (The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents). He is a founding faculty member of the University of San Francisco’s Master of Fine Arts Writing for Young Readers program.

Esha Sarai

(Laila Desai)

Esha Sarai grew up in Asheville, NC spending countless summer nights both on stage and in the audience with the Montford Park Players. After studying music, French, and political science, with a few stints at UNC’s campus radio station and a number of semesters overseas, she moved to Washington, D.C. as a bilingual video journalist for the Voice of America. She currently works as a video producer for the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York, and splits her time between the city and her grandfather’s house in Asheville.

Vanessa Yee

(Detective Denise Yu)

Vanessa Yee is a filmmaker and Western North Carolina transplant who most recently played Scotty onstage in the dark comedy Ripcord (Haywood Arts Regional Theatre). She has also lent her vocal talents to podcasts such as the Ink & Paint Folk Podcast, Heroic Girls, and her own podcast, The Bull & The Badger.