The City Theatre Company
The City Theatre is the city's theater, a world class performing arts venue established for Austin directors, designers
and performers who have one goal: the continued excellence in stage performances and the desire to bring that quality,
committment, and service to the central Texas theatrical community.
PO Box 181125 Austin, TX 78718     512-470-1100    info@citytheatreaustin.org
AUSTIN ACTS! Top Eight Finalists
Jill Klopp-Turner originally from Oklahoma City, has worked
as a professional actor in both Los Angeles and Austin for over 15
years. A graduate of Upright Citizen’s Brigade Los Angeles and
received her bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from The University of
Oklahoma, where she had the honor of serving as valedictorian of the
department. Film: Abducted In Plain Sight (Netflix), Teacher of the Year
(Netflix), Maternal Obsession (Lifetime), Something Blue (All-improv
Independent). Television: Raising Hope (FOX), Criminal Minds (CBS),
My Boys (TBS), Saving Grace (TNT), Diagnosis X (TLC), Piranhas
(HBO). Theatre: August, Osage County (City Theatre, Austin), Chico’s
Angels (Casita Del Campo, LA), Laundry and Bourbon (Lost Hollywood
Players, LA), Oklahoma! (Jewel Box Theatre, OKC).
Andrew C. Fisher is a filmmaker and actor. His latest short
movie, Thanatos, has over 200,000 views on YouTube. Thanatos was a
selection at the Austin Under the Stars Film Festival, where Andrew
was given the best actor award. In addition to film work, Andrew loves
performing in the theatre. He played a dream role as Astrov in Uncle
Vanya at City Theatre in Austin. You can find more of his work at
https://andrewcfisher.com/
Meredith O'Brien holds degrees from Circle in the Square
Professional Workshop (acting), Emerson College (directing) and
Middlebury College (literature). She is a playwright, director, actor and
founder of the Wonder and Rye Theatre Company (Boston) and the
Onion Creek Children's Theatre (Austin). She has served as drama and
acting instructor at Texas State University, St. Andrew's Episcopal
School in Austin, and in the Boston school system. She was most
recently seen in Southwest Theatre Production's world premiere:
"Trade With Klan". Meredith's life is made infinitely richer through the
caring and laughter of her friends and the unbounded support and love
of her husband Tim, and their boys, Timmy and Tad.
Bonnie Lambert is a graduate of Southwestern University's
theatre department and currently lives and works in Round Rock. In
college, she performed in a variety of shows, including Five Women
Wearing the Same Dress and A Bright Room Called Day. Once she
graduated, she had roles in The City Theatre's The Tempest, Austin
Actors Studio's The Wolves and Let the Right One In, and Southwest
Theatre Productions' Trade With Klan. When Covid-19 hit, Bonnie had
been working on Gloria with Street Corner Arts, which she hopes to be
able to get back to soon, and she is grateful to The City Theatre for the
ability to virtually continue working on her skills.
Zach Barrett is thrilled to be competing in the Austin Acts! finals
and honored to be in such talented company. You may have seen him
most recently as Bertram in All's Well That Ends Well with Past is
Prologue Productions. Some other recent projects include Cyrano de
Bergerac with The Archive Theater and The Merchant of Venice with
Austin Shakespeare. Zach would like to thank his roommates for
dealing with constant self-taping and re-taping in the shared bathroom
because that has the best lights in the house. He would also like to
thank his friends and family for their unwavering support and love as
well as City Theatre for putting this all together.
Moses Kutz has been doing theater for over 60 years, mostly in
Chicago. Since coming to Austin, Moses is appeared in City Theater's
productions of As You Like It (both Dukes) and Lysistrata
(Commissioner). At Temple Civic Theater, Moses portrayed Michael in
Dancing At Lughnasa. Last December he was Father Christmas in
MAD Productions' The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe. Moses' run
as Old Mahon in Playboy of the Western World at The Stage was cut
short by the plague just before St. Patrick's Day this year. Currently
Moses is Zooming as Ghost Of Christmas Present in the Sam Bass
production of A Christmas Carol and he will be appearing soon as
Washington McNeely in Spoon River Anthology with City Theatre.
Jessica Brynn Cohen is a 15-year-old actress and
singer/songwriter.Originally from NYC, when she was 9 years-old, got a
callback for the role of Matilda on Broadway.  A few months later, she
was invited to perform with Andrea Bocelli and the Adderley School
Choir at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. Past roles: Tessie in Annie,
Clara in Heidi, Dahlia in Esther, Young Eva in Kindertransport, and Tina
Denmark in Ruthless the Musical. This year she was a principal actress
in her first feature film, Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10 1/2, Netflix in 2021.
She received a Broadway World Best Young Actress Award in 2018 for
Tina Denmark in City Theatre’s Ruthless The Musical. She is currently
studying acting at the Lee Strasberg School in NYC, and with Denise
Simon. Also, Improv with Second City and the Hideout Theatre, Voice
with Kelsey Kimble and Piano with the Armstrong Community Music
School. Thank you City Theatre for this opportunity to allow me to
continue creating art during this pandemic.
Austin Hanna is an actor and Shakespeare lover most recently
seen online in A Midsummer Night’s Dream—with the Shakespeare
Institute’s “Ketterer’s Men” across the pond in Stratford-upon-Avon—and
in person in The Hidden Room’s Arden of Faversham. A proud alumnus
of UT’s Shakespeare at Winedale program, Austin acted in Cymbeline,
King Lear, As You Like It, Antony and Cleopatra, Richard II, and The
Comedy of Errors—as well as playing the title role in Macbeth—across
the program’s 2017 and 2019 seasons and served as president of
Shakespeare at Winedale Outreach (SHOUT). At UT, Austin also acted
and directed with Plan II’s resident guerrilla theater troupe, The Broccoli
Project, appearing in The Spanish Tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, Gallathea,
and William Shakespeare’s Star Wars. In 2019, a revised portion of
Austin’s senior thesis on the dramatic elements of John Milton’s epic
poem Paradise Lost saw publication in Milton Quarterly as “Staging
Paradise Lost: Erin Shields’s New Adaptation.”