Tess Makena is a professional actor, singer, musician, and songwriter with a love of musical theatre and cabaret. As a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and a BA graduate of Boise State University, Tess has had the pleasure of performing throughout Idaho on regional stages of all sizes, including The Liberty Theatre Company, The Spot, Boise Contemporary Theater, Company of Fools, Alley Repertory Theatre, and Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Some of her favorite roles include Jenna in Waitress, Velma in Chicago, Cathy in The Last Five Years, Margaret in Silent Sky, and Yitzhak in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. At Boise Contemporary Theater, Tess proudly originated the role of Shirley in the world premier musical The Show on the Roof, which recently made its London Off-West End debut.
Tess dedicated the past five years of her life as a co-founder and Production and Operations Manager of The Liberty Theatre Company. As a co-founder, she believed in the power of high quality theatre performance and education to inspire and encourage artists of all ages and, although she no longer works for TLTC, Tess still holds the same beliefs. Therefore, when not performing in musicals and plays, Tess adores performing with her beloved partner, Chris Carwithen, in their musical duo: The Arkentones (Arkentones.com). It is there that Tess and Chris have found a home for great, professional storytelling through song.
Tess is thrilled to provide a master class combo to Jump Company, a company that she admires and respects for their own dedication to providing high quality theatre education to the next generation of great theatre artists.
Master class content is still being decided and we’ll post it soon, but you won’t want to miss it, so save the date!
