Gillian Bellinger is a working actor and has appeared on shows for Disney, Hulu, VH1, and Red Letter Media, as well as several commercials. She was an ensemble member on Second City House Teams in LA and Chicago, ComedySportz Chicago and Minneapolis, The Del Tones Harold Team at i.O. West, Laugh Out Loud Theater in Chicago, guest player with Baby Wants Candy, Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica, and Improv Acadia in Bar Harbor, Maine. She studied improv in Chicago at The Second City, i.O. Theater, The Annoyance Theater, and The Groundlings. Gillian is very fancy and attended The London Academy of Theatre, The National Theater Institute, and Hamline University. For more info about her work, visit GillianBellinger.com.

Zak Hamrick (he/him) is a Latine actor, writer, director, and improviser based in Asheville, NC. He has previously performed with Adesto’s Horror ensemble. Look for him at HART this holiday season in Christmas at Pemberley: The Wickhams! Past credits include work with Scuttlebutt/Double Dip Productions, NCStage, Different Strokes PAC, Unincorporated Theatre, Multiverse Theatre Collective, Nemesis Theatre, HART, Dark Horse Theatre, Summertime Vaudeville, The Magnetic Theatre (RIP to a real one), Parkway Playhouse, and the Montford Park Players. Much love to his partner Eliza, brother Luke, mother Josephine, and all of the friends, lovers, and enemies that have supported him along the way.

Amanda Hargen is an improviser, actor, educator, and certified Janeite based in Asheville. She is on the musical and long-form casts of Misfit Improv, and she performs with Mixtape, a duo that performs improvised musicals set to hits from the 90s. Recently, she made her acting debut at SART as Jack the Narrator in The Stinky Cheese Man and June Sanders in Smoke on the Mountain

Laurie Jones (director)has spent the last 20 years doing improv, along with her other passions. She has performed and directed at Impro Theatre, Second City, and IO Chicago. Combining theatre and improv is her favorite thing, especially alongside her husband, Paul. Laurie is also an impact producer for documentary films, a health advocate, playwright and director. She is so grateful for this wonderful cast and crew and for her parents that lovingly keep her children while she can play pretend onstage. 

Jason A Phillips has worked in theatre as an actor, director, writer, storyteller and improv’er for over 30 years. He recently appeared as Quinn in Parkway Playhouse’s production of Bloodletting in These Hills and as Ben Jonson in Montford Park Players’ production of The Book of Will. He has alos been part of the DoubleDip improv show Scuttlebutt for the past 2 years. He has worked locally with Asheville Community Theatre, Adesto, Nemesis, The Magnetic Theatre, Montford Park Players, and Parkway Playhouse.He is absolutely over the moon about being a part of bring some improvised Jane Austen to life.

Megan Piscitelle (they/them) is delighted to be part of Adesto’s amazing cast. They teach improv classes at Misfit, run workshops for LGBTQ+ and trans/gender non-conforming improvisers, and can be seen performing locally with several troupes. Megan most enjoys long form, experimental formats, musical improv, and narrative structures. They are passionate about collaborative storytelling, whether it is through improv, tabletop roleplaying games, theater, or literature. They have been known to devour a good book and love falling into a story, whether it be historical fiction, fantasy, or science fiction. They can’t wait to help bring the world of Regency-era England alive, and maybe break a few hearts along the way.

Bethany Prescott is delighted to be part of the cast for Adesto’s Improvised Jane Austen, finally putting her years of romantic longing and excellent posture to good use.  Bethany performs in Asheville with the Short Form and Musical Improv house teams at Misfit Improv, where she also serves on the faculty. Bethany is a lifelong stage performer as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who still finds joy in making music… especially when it’s completely made up on the spot. By day she’s a psychotherapist, which explains her unshakeable calm when scenes go off the rails.

Quinn (they/he) is very excited to embark on his first improv journey. He feels very fortunate that Laurie and Paul are his teachers. Thank you to their spouse Luke for giving them the best love story material to draw from

Marlene Thompson has a B.A. in Music from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She studied improv, acting, and sketch at The Second City Conservatory and iO Chicago, where she performed with Improvised Jane Austen. She’s a performer with several local improv troupes in Asheville, including Family Dinner, Misfit’s musical improv troupe Killing Me Softly and the duo Mabel’s Baby. She currently teaches improv at UNCAsheville and Misfit Improv. Marlene is also a stand-up comedian and has opened for many comics over the years, including Kevin McDonald of Kids in the Hall, Joe Zimmerman, Mia Jackson, and James Adomian. Marlene has written and produced her own YouTube series “From the Ashes w/Marlene Thompson.” This is her second time appearing with Adesto Theatre, having been in The Completely Improvised Horror Play in October 2023. She is most delighted to grace the stage with Adesto’s Improvised Jane Austen!

Paul Vonasek (director), from Minnesota, studied improv in Chicago before moving to LA and eventually joining Impro Theatre as well as The Bearded Company, performing in Shakespeare Unscripted, Tennessee Williams Unscripted, and other forms and styles, such as Dungeons and Dragons, Zombie Apocalypse, and Western-Horror. Paul has recently performed at Flat Rock Playhouse in The Play That Goes Wrong, Cats, Shawshank Redemption, and MacBeth. But with Adesto, Paul is so grateful to working with his wife and creative partner Laurie and all the amazing artists in Asheville. 

Maggie Wessels is a fourth grade teacher. She graduated from Western Carolina University, where she did colorguard with the Pride of the Mountains marching band (and she performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade). Maggie enjoys performing in theatre, particularly in the ensemble because there are no lines to learn- and now she loves improv because she also does not have to memorize any lines. Maggie has enjoyed playing with Misfit improv and is thrilled to do her first show with Adesto Theatre.

Elijah York performs with Adesto Theatre Co. for the very first time. This will also be Elijah’s first, full improv performance of his career. Elijah took a four year hiatus from performing to produce and direct video productions for The Standard Picture Company, LLC. In 2023, Elijah returned to the stage to portray Arthur Roeder in Radium Girls. Recent acting credits include Dr. John Prentice in Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (2025), Lord Montague in Romeo & Juliet (2024), Various Characters in The Laramie Project (2023), Horse in The Full Monty (2018), The Minister in On The Row: The Prison Story Project (2018), and Jake Laurent is (George Bailey) in It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play (2017).

The cast are scheduled for the following shows (subject to change)

Friday September 26th

Laurie

Amanda

Marlene

Gillian

Bethany

Jason

Paul

Zak

Quinn

Megan

Saturday September 27th

Gillian 

Amanda

Marlene

Maggie

Megan

Elijah

Paul

Jason

Zak

Sunday September 28th

Laurie 

Gillian

Maggie

Amanda

Ellijah

Quinn

Bethany

Marlene

Thursday, October 2nd

Megan

Bethany

Amanda

Laurie

Marlene

Jason

Paul

Quinn

Zak

Friday, October 3rd

Megan 

Elijah

Amanda

Marlene

Maggie

Jason

Quinn

Paul

Laurie

Zak

Saturday, October 4th

Megan 

Bethany

Maggie

Gillian

Elijah

Jason

Paul

Laurie

Zak

Sunday October 5th

Bethany

Marlene

Maggie

Quinn

Elijah

Laurie

Paul

Zak

Gillian