Aubrey Near is a new face to Enlightened Theatrics. Originally from Independence, Kansas, Aubrey grew up inspired by the works of William Inge. She completed her BA in Theatre with a Minor in Communication at Emporia State University. After undergrad, Aubrey was the Production Manager and Production Stage Manager at the Lawrence Arts Center in Lawrence, KS. During that time, she took a sabbatical to stage-manage and production manage two shows in New York City.

Aubrey then attended graduate school at the University of Iowa where she earned her Master of Fine Arts in Theatre with an emphasis in Stage Management. Aubrey is passionate about musical theatre, new works, and educational programming. When she is away from the office, Aubrey enjoys kayaking, hiking, and camping anywhere in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Michael is an administrator, actor/playwright, and educator joining us from New York City. Originally from Texas, Michael graduated from Hardin-Simmons University in 2019 and has spent the last few years as an administrator for several offices in Downtown Manhattan. While in the city, Michael performed professionally for multiple regional and touring production companies, including Daniel Tiger Live! with RWS Entertainment Group and the Cinderella (UK) National Tour with Lee-Alliston Productions' American branch. Michael has also performed internationally and competitively, most notably at the International Fringe Festival (2016) in Edinburgh, Scotland, and with the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, the latter of which recognizes him as a finalist for both the Musical Theatre Initiative and Irene Ryan Acting competitions. Michael has had select original plays produced by Pine Warehouse Productions (2019) and NYC's Summer Strawberry Festival (2020), and his written work has been reviewed by artists in residence at Throughline Artists (NYC), the Ensemble Studio Theatre (NYC), and the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica, California.

Michael is also an established arts educator, having partnered with numerous private enrichment companies in NYC, the International Montessori School, and, (during the Covid-19 national lockdown), founded and directed a virtual fine arts and extracurricular immersion program, Starving Artists Private Education, in order to provide students with quality arts education while school systems adjusted to online teaching.

Michael is very excited to jump in headfirst at Enlightened Theatrics and can't wait to be blown away by the arts community of Salem!