"Kwame a River 2: The Wrath of Conyers": Pictures from Closing Night of "Kwame a River" The Chronicles of Detroit's Hip Hip Mayor" (Part 1)

Amise: born Ami McClenon, knew at a very early age that she would have a career in entertainment. She harbors numerous stage credits; the most recent being “Kwame A River I: The Chronicles of Detroit’s Hip Hop Mayor” as the quick-witted ‘Spirit of Detroit.’ Other credits include “Unequally Yoked,” “The Wiz,” “The Scrooge,” and “The Height of My Career,” in which she portrayed the great Billie Holiday. A jill of many trades, Amise is also a singer/songwriter, dancer/choreographer, makeup artist, and fashion stylist just to name a few things. She is a graduate of Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts, and is currently pursuing degrees in Business Administration & Music

Sharon Brooks: Sharon, a native of Detroit, received her BA in Theatre from Wayne State University. Her recent credits include, Ten Little Indians (Vera Claythorne) with Imagine Theatre, In The Blood (Bully, Welfare) at the Planet Ant Theatre, Black Nativity at the Bonstelle Theatre and Kwame A River (Gov. Granholm/ Ensemble) at Second City Theatre. I am truly grateful and always excited to perform. I am especially excited to work with Marc again and the entire cast and crew. Thank you for coming back for the sequel! If you are here for the first time I hope you enjoy the showJ

Jason Echols: Jason is excited to be back for the sequel of “Kwame a River”. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Jason studied acting at the University of Detroit-Mercy where he graduated with his B.A. in Theatre. Jason enjoys breeding ponies on his new pony farm up north, hot air ballooning, working on his ’72 GTO, and lying. Jason loves his family and friends and everybody else too. “Thank you for all your support I realize how blessed I am to have such good people in my life". “My favorite pony is Sam Sam”.

Jamaal Hines: Jamaal is very excited and humbled again to be a part of another production at this theatre. He is no stranger to the spotlight; performing for as long as he can remember. Jamaal has traveled all over the country performing for the improv theatre troupe, R.O.C, based out of Ypsilanti, MI. He has produced, directed, co-written, and performed many sketch-comedy shows. Some titles include, 100th Episode, Back 2 Basics, ROC Out Loud, Versatility, and most recently, He played “Kwame” in Kwame A River: The Chronicles of Detroit’s Hip-Hop Major. When not on stage, Jamaal can be seen playing with his band, The Cool, whose debut album entitled, A Minor Affair, just recently released. Jamaal would like to thank his family and friends for their support in his career…and the 60+ pounds that were lost in the process! We did it!

Ava Rodgers: Rooted in gospel and R&B music, Ava is gifted with a rich contralto voice. Born of a musical family, she has performed throughout the Midwest. She was a contestant and winner of Amateur Night at the Historic Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Ava is a performing member of Ann Arbor Civic Theatre appearing in Before it Hits Home and Chicago for which she won “Best Supporting Actress” for her portrayal of Matron Mama Morton. She was an understudy for the original Kwame a River and is excited to join the talented cast of Kwame a River 2 in this hilarious production. Hi Mom!

Renell Michael White: Renell received his BFA in Theatre from Wayne State University and studied at the Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia. Most recently, Renell was an Ensemble Member in Kwame a River Part 1…The Chronicles of Detroit’s Hip Hop Mayor. He has also performed in following stage productions; In The Blood and Cobb at Planet Ant Theatre, Before It Hits Home at the A2CT and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at The Blackbird Theatre. He would like to thank his family and friends for their continuing support.

Jennifer Gale (Music Director):

Pianist, Educator, Accompanist. Ms Gale is the Owner/Director of the Mount Clemens Arts Consortium, Inc a Community-style school for the Arts. As a pianist she has performed solo concerts featuring the music of Black composers from around the world. As an educator, she has taught general music courses in public schools and for the Interlochen School of the Arts. She also maintains a studio of private piano students who compete and perform across the state. As an accompanist, she's played over 20 different musicals for community groups and schools in southeast Michigan. Musical Director for Kwame 1

Michael Pollock, Composer

Michael Pollock (composer ): Michael is musical director of The Second City Training Center Los Angeles; he studied at the University of Texas at Austin, Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts and The Grove School of Music. His credits include The Tonight Show, The Drew Carey Show, Evening at the Improv and ABC’s Emmy Award-winning Tuesdays With Morrie. He plays piano for various show at Disneyland and taught the first master class in musical direction at the Chicago Improv Festival in 2005. Learn more about Michael at www.michaelpollock.com.

Marc Warzecha (Writer/Director)

Marc Warzecha is originally from Metro Detroit, and now lives in Los Angeles where he has recently appeared on MAD TV and Reno 911. Marc served as writer/director for "Kwame a River: The Chronicles of Detorit's Hip Hop Mayor," a 2009 Wilde Award nominee for "Best New Script." He has worked with The Second City as both an actor and director; most recently directing "BarackStars" in at the Woolly Mammoth theatre in Washington, DC. Other directing credits include: "Pratfall of Civilization" (The Second City ETC - Joseph Jefferson nominee: "Best Director"). "War! Now in it's 4th Smash Year!" (Second City Chicago Mainstage- Joseph Jefferson nominee: Best Director, Best Revue, Best Ensemble), "The Not Ready for $3.99 Prime Rib Players" (Second City Las Vegas), "Woodward to your Mutha" and "Ten: The 10 year Anniersary show" (Second City Detroit). Acting credits include six resident stage reviews at the Second City Detroit, "Romeo and Juliet the Musical" at Chicago Shakespeare theatre, and SCC's "An Evening with Martin Short." Marc's work as a satirist has been featured on ABC's "Nightline", Newsweek, and in the Washington Post, and he has been a guest on CNN's "Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" and NPR's "All Things Considered." Marc is the host "No Waiting with Marc Warzecha," a live talk show that satirizes news and politics, most recently performed at the Comedy Central Stage in Hollywood. Thank you to an excellent cast and crew and to family, friends, and the theatre going community in Detroit whose support made this follow up show possible.

Connell Brown Jr. (Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick), right, talks with the Amise (Spirit of Detroit ) in a scene from the opening night of "Kwame A River" at Second City in Novi. The show, subtitled "Chronicles of Detroit's Hip-Hop Mayor," features a Spirit of Detroit "Christmas Carol"-style narrator who forces the former mayor to fess up to his wrongdoings.The production opens for a nearly three-month run. Kilpatrick, played by native Detroiter Connell Brown Jr., remains defiant through about a dozen loosely-connected skits. (WILLIAM ARCHIE/DFP)