Meet the incredible team of Artistic Associates who help to run American Candy!

HOLLIE HARPER is a /writer/songwriter/director/comedian from Cape May, New Jersey. She has a Bachelor in Fine Arts for acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University, formerly the Goodman School of Drama. Her plays/short films have been in the Samuel French One Act Play Festival, the Denver Pan African Film Festival and Urbanworld Film Festival.

She’s written and produced 12 romantic comedies and created AMERICAN CANDY in 2009. She has taken it to Gotham Comedy Club, Comic Strip and most recently, returned to BAM Café for the second time. After 40 original productions of her sold out show, she is taking this winter to shop the 3 episode pilot AMERICAN CANDY shot this past September

NINA ASHE is an actor/writer/comedian from New York.  Nina is one of the original cast members of American Candy, and has been performing sketch comedy for over 2 decades!  She can also be seen  as Rosencrantz in the upcoming  Hamlet  at Teatro Circulo March 3-20, 2016 and as Abby in the feature film Homecoming, (available on Netflix; Amazon; iTunes). 

FRANK JUSTE likes to procrastinate because the best results come under pressure and sleepless nights. I act and lift things up occasionally I'll even baby sit my niece. Born in LA raised in Brooklyn I think I can be described as somewhere between Theo Huxtable , ,Will in Fresh Prince with a sprinkling Roger from Sister Sister. Save BK

MARTIN BALAGUER is an actor and director from Argentina. He appeared in the major motion picture There Be Dragons directed by Roland Joffé and performed in numerous Shakespearean productions in an English theater company in Buenos Aires. In New York, he has recently performed in a play for the NY International Fringe Festival 2015. Martin has been a member of American Candy for over two years.

XAVIER RODNEY is often described as a self-motivated, hard-working individual who loves the work he does! He received a BFA from SUNY Stony Brook University where he minored in Theatre and Digital Arts. He is Artistic Director & a company member of ‘Stories of Substance’, and consults for many webseries. When not producing his own work, he can be found producing laughs with his Sketch Comedy Troupe, AMERICAN CANDY! He was born in Brooklyn, NY where he enjoys film-making, comedy, awesome... and shameless plugs (www.XavierRodney.com).

MEGAN O'LEARY has been working as an actor, writer and producer for the past twenty years. She is currently a proud member of Playhouse Creatures Theatre, MFH productions, The Dramatist Guild, SAG/ AFTRA and Actor's Equity Association. Megan joined the American Candy family six years ago and hasn't stopped laughing since!  www.meganoleary.com.

STEPHANIE BOK has been a staff writer for American Candy since 2009.  She is also a producer and publicist for the group. 
Stephanie produces, writes for and emcees the very popular “Write Night” series at Frank’s Cocktail Lounge in Brooklyn, an original writing cabaret showcasing some of the city’s most talented writer/performers, now reaching its seventh anniversary.
She is the facilitator of the Modern-Day Griot Theatre Company’s Griot’s Ink Playwriting Lab, producing reading series at the end of each session.
Her writing has been produced by White Bird Productions, American Theatre of Harlem, JustAsk Productions, New York City Rep, ActNow Foundation, the DUMBO Arts Festival and Modern-Day Griot Theatre Company. 

DUMEHA V. THOMPSON [actor + writer + director/Performance Artist + Theatre Maker + Cultural Curator/Teaching Artist/Facilitator]
A Dreamer, Doer & Deep Sea Diver … Dancing with Dolphins & Aims to be an Astral Synchronized Swimmer. She has played in children's theatre to various productions in NYC. Recently directed & performed in Modern-Day Griots Theatre’s Production: IN Transit. She loves hopscotching & double dutching on this playground that is AMERICAN CANDY.