Ensemble Members
Carly Pandža (Artistic Director, Founder, Producer, Actor, Director,)
Carly Pandža has been a stage artist since age 5. As soon as Carly learned to speak she started to use her voice to point out things she saw as unjust and to tell stories. She received her double BFA from Chapman University for Film Production and Screen Acting. In college she saw it was possible to merge her passion for justice and telling stories. She witnessed the power of art to be a champion for social justice as she participated in productions such as The Laramie Project and The Vagina Monologues.
Carly has studied acting and theatre under companies such as The Old Globe in San Diego, A Noise Within in Pasadena and The National Theatre School of Ireland in Dublin. Regional Theatre Credits Include: Mary Warren in The Crucible with the Pickwick Players, Hero in Much Ado About Nothing at The Coronado Playhouse and Ensemble in The Threepenny Opera at A Noise Within. One of her most proud performances was playing the Nun in the popular, highly acclaimed immersive theater of cruelty production of Creep: Entry from Just Fix It Productions in October 2016. She began her professional directing debut as the assistant director for The Ugly One working alongside Gate McFadden at the Ensemble Studio Theatre. She followed it up with co-writing and directing a one woman show in June 2014 for the Hollywood Fringe Festival. In Pieces Of Carra she explored a bi-racial daughter's love for her mother through moments of music and memories and discussion of topics such as race, religion, and forgiveness.
Carly has always been passionate about women and elevating the voices of underrepresented groups through the arts. She believes art has the power to unite communities through inclusivity. Some of Carly’s dreams for future HER productions include an LGBTQ+ modern day retelling of Romeo and Juliet, a devised adaptation of Louis May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women, and George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan.
Kelly Rogers (Actress and Founding Company Member)
Kelly Rogers is a graduate of Chapman University with dual degrees in vocal and theatre performance. She has sung at Tokyo Disney Sea alongside Mickey Mouse, brought a singing puppet to life in the “Les Miz and Friends,” performed as Jen in HER Theatre Company’s production of “Sunday on the Rocks”, toured with a blues band for the past decade, is a lead vocalist of the vintage a capella group The Beverly Belles, and is also the proud co-creator of (Wo)men Rule Broadway. Throughout her career, Kelly has been drawn to work which celebrates the voices of women as well as those who are underrepresented. When Kelly was invited to be a part of HER Theatre Company, she jumped at the chance to be part of a group which seeks to amplify voices we don’t always hear, and explore stories that often go untold.
Jenni Kephart (Actress and Founding Company Member)
Jenni Kephart is a California-born entrepreneur and artist. She acted and assistant directed in Northern California in such productions as The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Crucible, Li’l Abner, Guys and Dolls, and West Side Story, and won first place at the Mother Lode Drama Festival's one-act competition. After a long hiatus from acting, Jenni joined an amazing cast in HER Theatre Company’s first production, playing Gayle in Sunday on the Rocks. She studies at Actor’s Workout Studio in North Hollywood and has collaborated there with other actors in producing her original work. Jenni is currently developing a play called I Need to Tell You Something that deals with the female experience of infidelity, divorce, addiction, and recovery. She is grateful for the support of her amazing husband Hosam and son Idris, both of whom light up her life every single day. Jenni loves being a part of HER Theatre Company because of both the quality and experience of the productions. She is honored to collaborate with an incredibly talented cast and crew and is inspired by the empowering nature of HER’s mission and the embodiment of that mission in the community of women that make up HER. Jenni intends to be a part of many future productions and help to fulfill the vision of female perspectives being beautifully and strongly represented in the world of theatre.
Marissa Pistone (Actress, Producer and Founding Company Member)
Marissa Pistone graduated magna cum laude with her BFA in theater performance from Chapman University. Since then, she has been out in Los Angeles tackling the Hollywood scene. She has performed onstage in various productions, including Sunday on the Rocks (HER Theatre), The Last Fling (Circus Theatricals), The Tempest (MacKenzie Theater), and Venus in Fur (Bianco Productions). While theater has always been her first love, she has found most of her success so far in independent features. You can find her in movies such as "The Sound of Settling", "Raze", and "4/20 Massacre" to name a few. Marissa is proud to be a part of HER Theatre, and is honored to be able to help them achieve their goals. It is her hope to enable and encourage women of all backgrounds and color to find their voices and allow their stories to be told.
