Liz Bernstein is excited to make her Fringe acting debut this year! A Florida local, Liz has a background in counseling, acting, and writing. She's a collective member of Whiskey Theatre Factory and has been involved in the development of The Saints of West Orange County from the beginning. She's overjoyed to see it on its feet and is so thankful to work with this incredible group of artists.

Taylor Byerly is so excited to be making her fringe debut with Whiskey Theater Factory. She is excited to be returning to the role of Monica after performing the staged reading back in 2021. Recently Taylor performed the role of Vanessa in PRT’s premiere series of Control of the Dirt by Louise Schwarz. She would like to thank her family for always supporting her and pushing her towards her goals and loving her unapologetic self. And as always love is love.

Bethany Dickens Assaf is the Producing Director of Whiskey Theatre Factory, as well as a freelance playwright and dramaturg. Her play The Vast of Darkness won “Best Play-Drama” at Orlando Fringe 2023. she’s not supporting or writing new works (like the STUNNING play you are about to experience), Bethany does grant writing for various arts organizations across the country, bakes, sews, and dominates at board games. She’s also a mom to one-year-old Mateo. :)

Not only passionate about theatre, but also passionate about motherhood, stay-at-home mom Ruby feels honored to be working on such a beautiful and moving project with Whiskey Theatre Factory. Most recently seen in Still on Zoom: A Night of Short Plays Set in the Virtual World (2023) and What’s in the Basement Honey? A Night of Marriage, Feminism, and Zombies (2023), Ruby has continued to flourish in theatre after taking a break to tend to her growing family. She hopes to encourage and inspire other parents to take the time they deserve to nourish their own sparks.

Extracted from Theatre Retirement (thanks to the effervescent Max Pinsky and the incredible team at Whiskey Theatre Factory), being the director for The Saints of West Orange County has reignited the passion for directing deep within. You may have seen Val's latest directorial work in Asopao (Still On Zoom - Whiskey Theatre Factory 2023), where she got to infuse her Hispanic culture into the phenomenally written play by Max Pinsky and return to her cultural and theatrical roots. On an ordinary day, Val runs after her feral two-year-old, makes economy-sized batches of mac and cheese, and reads romantasy novels for fun. She is beyond thankful for all of the support, collaboration, and guidance from friends (looking at you Max, Charis, and Bethany), family (hi, Mom and Dad), and life partner, José, who made the long nights of rehearsal possible by wrangling the aforementioned feral toddler alone. Val hopes to continue to be a director for many shows to come! Enjoy a little slice of heaven with The Saints of West Orange County!~

Billie Jane is overjoyed to be back in her happy place at Orlando Fringe. An Orlando Fringe veteran, patrons of the festival may recognize her as the writer/performer of the award winning one person show, JUDAS (Best of the Fest, Critic’s Choice Award: Best Original Script, Patron’s Pick) or from her “outré original satire” of reality dating shows, Stag Night where she was again fortunate enough to be awarded a Critic’s Choice Award, this time for Best Overall Performance (Comedy), as well as two Watermark Splash Awards! (Favorite LGBTQ Writer and Favorite LGBTQ Supporting Performer) Or who knows, maybe you’ve never heard of her— in which case, hi! Both as a writer and an actor, Billie is passionate about championing trans people and stories and hopes she can help provide the representation and illumination the trans community deserves in a time that merely existing feels like an act of defiance.

Trevor Fraser once called me “a standout in the cast” and I’ve been insufferable ever since. You last saw me at Fringe 2019 in “Infestation!” and in this year’s 11th Hour Productions Fringe fundraiser “An Adele Horror Story” as Laura. Catch me next at Orlando Out Fest in Everglow Theatric’s “Gay Cowboys”! When not securing the token redhead role, I’m asking strangers if I can pet their dog, DMing Taylor Swift, or listening to my Mallrat Goth Spotify Daylist. Thanks to my mom, dad, sisters, my free therapists Sami, Phil and Fitz, and the fairy corner. Viva la vie boheme!

Emily Lupfer is delighted to be back at Orlando Fringe for her fourth consecutive year as an artist. She can be spotted throughout the year performing at area theatres, at SeaWorld Orlando, in dinner shows and teatime experiences at Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, or typing away as a freelance copywriter and editor. Emily was a part of the 2021 workshop and staged reading for The Saints of West Orange County, and is thrilled to be back for the world premiere. She lovingly dedicates her performance to her mom, Anita (the saintly woman that raised her); Dorothy, her late grandma; and Barbara, her Memaw.

Kristin is an Orlando based actor who last performed at the Fringe Fest in the 2018 Patron’s Pick Unseen Images production of Vampire Lesbians of Sodom.

She is thrilled to be returning to Fringe with WTF as Rita. As a member of the original cast of the staged reading of Saints, it is an honor to be a part of this incredibly talented team bringing Kim’s beautiful play to life.

Kimberly Murray Patel is a playwright, costume designer, and occasional actor here in Central Florida. This is her first Fringe as both actor and playwright. Some of her short plays have been produced at PRT, Valencia College, and Breakthrough. You are much more likely to have encountered her costumes (or been costumed by her) at Theater West End, Osceola Arts, the Dr. Phillips Center School of the Arts, CFCArts, Whiskey Theater Factory, and more. She would like to dedicate this play to all of the women who have felt overlooked, misunderstood, under appreciated, and undervalued. If you have ever been made to feel like you were ugly, stupid, too old, too young, too fat, too thin, too loud, too quiet, or like you will never be enough, please know that none of those things are true. They are lies that you have been conditioned to believe. You are absolutely perfect exactly as you are, and you are worthy of every good and beautiful thing this world has to offer.

Typically, Max can be seen in the rehearsal room directing projects like I Love Liz (Tampa International Fringe Festival 2023) or AJAX (Orlando Fringe Festival 2023) or writing works like La Medéa (The Ren 2023) or Asopao (Whiskey Theatre Factory 2023). HOWEVER, he is so grateful to Whiskey Theatre Factory for trusting him to have The Saints of West Orange County be his first stage managing credit! This little, yet rapidly growing company means so much to him as a place for artists to re-discover their passion for the art they make. Don’t forget to fill out the Artist Survey at whiskeytheatrefactory.com to get notified of upcoming events and opportunities. A big thank you to a wonderful and collaborative team, an awesome director, family, friends, and particularly Liv Tyndall for all the tips and secrets of the gig. Have a “heavenly” time!

Charis Watler cannot be more excited to be back at Fringe! She is an Orlando based director, actor, and producer and is currently serving as Artistic Director for Whiskey Theatre Factory. She was last seen as an actor in The Vast of Darkness, which won Critic's Choice for Best Drama at Fringe 2024. Charis is passionate about producing new plays, uplifting minority voices and seeks to produce art that holds meaning for her (whatever that may be!). Merry Fringemas!