MARVIN JEFFERSON

Marvin Jefferson has an extensive background as an educator, professional actor/director and living history scholar. He has devoted many years to studying the lives of Paul Robeson and Martin Luther King, Jr. Since 1997, he has engaged audiences across the country with his popular chautauqua performances of these two important historical figures. In 2012, he was commissioned to portray York, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, for Ohio Chautauqua. His presentations have a particular focus on the Civil Rights issues that were central to the lives of both Robeson and King. Marvin has taught at Essex County College, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the Franklin Township Department of Social Services and the Newark School of the Arts. From 1995 to 2018, he taught acting at Bloomfield College, a private liberal arts college in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Between 1981 and 1996, he was the producer/artistic director and co-founder of the Ensemble Theatre Company, a professional (Actor’s Equity) acting company based in Newark, New Jersey. Marvin attended and studied acting at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He began his training as a chautauquan with the help and guidance of two nationally renowned scholars, the late Giles R. Wright and Dr. Clement A. Price.

FRANCINE GOLD

Francine Gold is the inaugural recipient of the David McCullough Prize for Excellence in Public History and was honored in 2020 by Carpenter’s Hall with Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of The Smithsonian and founding director of the National Museum of African American History in Washington D.C. Ms. Gold taught History at Constitution High School for twelve of her teaching years and has received public recognition for designing and implementing original courses that helped her students bring history to life both in and outside of the classroom walls. She has been honored by the National Archives for “Outstanding Historical Guidance of Students regarding the Abolitionist Movement and John Brown,” where her students created performances, debates, and artwork that were presented to a packed house at The African American Historical Museum in Philadelphia. In 2016, she was named the Pennsylvania Patricia Behring National History Day Teacher. In 2018, the Army Heritage Center Foundation of Pennsylvania nominated her for the national James Harris Teaching Award. Ms. Gold formed professional partnerships with the museum and cultural community in Philadelphia and created a unique active learning museum curriculum where students collaborated with each other as well as local museum professionals in order to explore their shared authority role in the telling of American history in public spaces. Her students developed projects in order to understand the value of museums in our culture and how they shape our understanding and appreciation of societies and individuals past and present. As a public speaker, she has presented history workshops and seminars at both the national and local levels.
Ms. Gold holds a Master’s Degree in Education, a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre Arts, a teaching certification in 7th through 12th grade Social Studies, and several other certifications in various subject areas.

REGINALD BROWN

Reginald currently resides in Pennsylvania. Reginald recently presented the state’s premiere of his solo performance piece, Performing Richard Wright at the Steel River Playhouse. Reginald relocated from Austin, TX where he appeared in productions of “As You Like It” (Duke Senior / Duke Frederick), “The Invention of Love” (Pattison), “The Taming of the Shrew” (Hortensio), “Medea” (King Aegeus), and “Macbeth” (Banquo), for Austin Shakespeare, and “Water by the Spoonful”, for Austin Community College, and “Perfect Mendacity”, for Street Corner Arts Theatre Company. Reginald is a member of Actors Equity Association and a Screen Actors Guild eligible candidate. Reginald was a Co-founder and Co-Artistic Director of Ensemble Theatre Company of Newark, NJ from 1981-1996. Ensemble Theatre Company’s mission was to provide professional theatre for the community focusing on telling stories associated with the African-American experience. Ensemble Theatre Company not only produced plays by African/African-American playwrights, but also produced adaptations of novels and short stories written by African/African-American writers, as well as, the re-staging of classics by Shakespeare and Sophocles in a way that addressed its mission. Reginald was blessed to be able to do a lot of wonderful work with Ensemble as an actor and as a director. His performance as Richard III was heralded as the best of the season. It has been Reginald’s great fortune to be able to perform with some wonderful regional companies, like Crossroads Theatre Company, The George Street Playhouse, 12 Miles West, in New Jersey, AMAS Repertory Theatre, in NYC, and The Delaware Theatre Company in Dover, Delaware.

TERESA MORROW

Teresa Morrow is a teaching artist, director, and performer. Teresa has an extensive background in directing narrative theatre, most recently working with her husband Reginald Brown to bring the stories of Richard Wright to the stage. She was the Director/Developer for Heifer International’s Theatre for Social Change initiative. Through this program, she has inspired students to create original poetry, song, and creative movement founded on developing solutions to end hunger and poverty while building sustainable communities. She has served as an adjunct professor at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, helping to launch their Theatre for Social Change curriculum. For ten years, she was a Theatre Arts Director for Texas public high school systems where she helped develop state guidelines and curriculum for teaching theatre arts. Teresa was selected by the National Endowment for the Humanities to participate in the Summer Institute at Shakespeare & Company of Lenox, MA, where she directed Much Ado About Nothing for their Fall Festival of Shakespeare and is an alumnus of their Professional Actor Training program.

RASHEEDA SAMPSON

Rasheeda S. Sampson Is a Professional Singer/Actress/Dancer/Choreographer whose credits include: Barnum The Musical at the Stage Door Theatre in Florida, All My Children, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Hudson Guild Theatre Production’s Of Blues For Mr. Charlie & A Tribute To Gwendolyn Brooks NYC. New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival 2001, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, John Harms Center For the Arts, Musical God In Concert: Producer Bob Coben, Richard Rogers Theatre Award, One Night Only Equity Stage Reading – First Night Montclair, Murder To Go’s latest Interactive Dinner Theater Production of “Mumm’s The Word.” The National Touring Companies of Dreamgirls with Ms. Miki Howard, The National Touring Company of A Raisin In The Sun with Philip Bailey, Film work with Whoopi Goldberg, Clint Eastwood, Martin & Charlie Sheen. The William Chaison Dance Theater/Founded by William Bill Luther. Dance videos for MTV. Also performing in Cabaret in the NY/NJ area.

Her Formal education includes: The Newark Community School of the Arts, The Garden State and the New Jerky Ballet Schools, Douglass College, Rutgers University, The William Paterson University Graduate School of Communication Arts, and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC Actor’s Connection, Endeavor Staios/Musical Theatre Workshops w/Barry Moss/Hugh Moss Agency & Paul Harmon NYC. The Weist Barron School Acting for Television/Film NYC The Actors Connection, NYC. Vocal Study with Opera Singer Miss Nadine Herman, Jazz vocal study with jazz greats Mr. Wallace “Corky Caldwell and Mr. Jimmy Ziegler. Recording sessions at Ray Ray Production Studios, with Raymond Earl, songwriters Jimmy Ziegler & Jamman Productions, songwriter & producer, James Manno. In 1993, having relocated from the San Francisco Bay Area. Rasheeda made her second choreographic debut with the updated version of the “Prodigal.” While on the West Coast, she performed in the San Jose Civic Light Opera Production of Dreamgirls, Stanford University & San Francisco Theatre productions. Rasheeda is currently teaching at local colleges and schools.

BOB WEICK

“I’m thrilled to be joining the TORCH team and bringing critical moments of our history to life for new audiences.”

Bob is the celebrated international touring actor of Howard Zinn’s MARX IN SOHO. A veteran stage actor in Philadelphia, he is a two-time Barrymore Award nominee with Iron Age Theatre (TERRA NOVA) and Theatre Horizon (CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION). Bob’s friendship and working relationship with the late Howard Zinn began in 2004 with the critically acclaimed sold-out Philadelphia premiere of MARX IN SOHO. Bob has gone on to perform the piece over 300 times across the country from Maine to California. Bob remains a company member of the Radical Acts division of Iron Age Theatre, where he collaborates with artistic director John Doyle, and Richard Bradford, as theatre activists and educators. Bob has also performed locally with Commonwealth Classic Theatre Company, Curio Theatre, Delaware Shakespeare Festival, Theatre in the X, Philadelphia Artists Collective, Eagle Theatre, New Light Theatre, among others. Bob also serves the equine community as a farrier. While caring for horses in PA and NJ he has also presented hoof care clinics in hurricane-ravaged Vieques, while also performing MARX IN SOHO for the beleaguered Island community.

Onstage and off we all have a role to play in service to peace and justice.

WAYNETT WALLACE

Waynett Wallace is currently a full-time student studying to
receive her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. She is a former
employee of The National Constitution Center, where she worked
as a Police Union Training Intern, helping to facilitate civic
dialogue between officers and high school students. Waynett has
not performed since 2018 and is very excited to be performing
with the Torch Theater team. She was the recipient of the Carter
G. Woodson Award for excellence in the creation and
performance of African American History at the national level of
The National History Day competition where she embodied the
character and spirit of Ida B. Wells and her anti-lynching crusade.
Ms. Wallace has been acting, singing and writing since the age of
12 when she started volunteering at her church and performing in
small skits during the holidays; playing Mary Magdalene for the
annual church’s resurrection Sunday service and the role of
Harriet Tubman during Black History Month. As a young woman,
her work is focused on challenging social issues faced by citizens.
Waynett is extremely devoted to the mission of community service
and dedicated to the Torch Theater project where she can
contribute her talent for historical theatrics. She looks forward to
sharing the love that viewers need to experience in regard to our
common American history.

JADEN BALLOW

Jaden Ballow is currently a full-time student studying to receive his Bachelors of Science in Business Administration at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.  He has not performed since 2019 and is excited to be a part of the T.O.R.C.H. Theater Team. In 2016, Jaden won first place in the local National History Day competition in Philadelphia for an individual performance based on the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board and advanced to the state level where he qualified to represent the state of Pennsylvania at the national level of competition. Jaden used poetry and a multitude of characters to talk about the re-segregation of America’s education system. The performance gave an in depth look into the mind of modern day black students while giving poetic justice to those who fought for equality. Jaden is grateful for this opportunity to work with such a talented group of individuals. He looks forward to sharing his love of history and the creative arts with viewers.