About Us

The Back Porch Players Founding Members

The Back Porch Players Founding Members, Summer 2003

our founders

The Back Porch Players theatre company came into existence in 2002 when five high-school seniors had a vision that was swiftly put into action: to produce theatre that mattered. They didn’t have much, almost nothing in fact, but they had a back porch, and that was enough for them.

Founding Member - Daniel J. Gordon

Dan J. Gordon

Dan J. Gordon

DAN J. GORDON is artistic director of the Back Porch Players. Dan has appeared as Eugene in Brighton Beach Memoirs, Joe/Dr. Benjamin in Waiting for Lefty, Fick in Balm in Gilead and Cootie in Moonchildren.

Dan holds a BFA from Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts. He has also trained under Antonio Fava in Commedia dell’arte. Splitting his time between Houston and NYC, Dan has appeared in the Alley Theatre’s production of Othello directed by Scott Schwartz, The Fool in The Klezmer Nutcracker, Asher in The Giver, Benjamin Cohen in The Underpants, multiple characters in Peer Gynt, Vampire in Mad Forest and Froth/Abhorson in Measure For Measure. Dan has also produced and is currently promoting his TV pilot, Take the Stage: a performing arts TV show for kids.

Founding Member - Matt Hune

Matt Hune

matt hune

MATT HUNE is an artistic associate with The Back Porch Players. BPP credits include Stanley in Brighton Beach Memoirs, Sid in Waiting for Lefty, Rake in Balm in Gilead, and Dick in Moonchildren. Matt played the role of Billy in the regional premier of Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who is Sylvia at the Alley Theatre. Other credits include: Pinocchio 3.5 at Stages Repertory Theatre, and Ivan the Fool at Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre. In 2003, Matt was awarded a Level One Award for Acting from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Matt holds a BFA in Acting. in the Arts. Matt holds a BFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul in Chicago. Some his favorite roles there include the title role in Hamlet, Good Worker, A Number, and The Giver.

Founding Member - Morgan Rosse

Morgan Rosse

morgan rosse

MORGAN ROSSE is an artistic associate with The Back Porch Players. You may have seen her as Laurie in Brighton Beach Memoirs, Dr. Barnes in Waiting for Lefty, Terry in Balm in Gilead, and Ruth in Moonchildren. Other past roles: Mariane in Tartuffe at Two River Theatre Company, Ophelia in Hamlet at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (tour), and Corpus Christi at the Know Theatre Tribe (Cincinnati). Past play festivals: Samuel French, Youth Ink! (The McCarter Theatre Center), Cincinnati Fringe, Pataplays (The Flea Theater). She earned her BFA from the Drama Department at the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) in Cincinnati. Favorite roles there include Poppy in Noises Off, the title role in The Little Prince, Snug in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Galileo in Life of Galileo, Simonne in Marat/Sade, the Dummy in Ghetto, and Woman with Junk in The Lights.

Artistic Associate - Nick Collins

Nick Collins

nick collins

NICK COLLINS is an artistic associate with the Back Porch Players. He performed the roles of Bob in Moonchildren, Joe in Balm in Gilead, and Fatt/Miller in Waiting for Lefty. Nick is also a resident company member of Theatre Collide, having appeared as Clarín in Life is a Dream and the Ragpicker in The Madwoman of Chaillot. He performs regularly with Main Street Theater where his credits include Present Laughter, Translations, The Best Man, Pardon My English, Margin for Error, On the Razzle, Promises, Promises, The Rice, and Oh, Boy!. To his humble surprise, he still receives compliments on his performance as Evan Wyler in the Theatre Southwest 2003-2004 season opener, As Bees in Honey Drown. His theatrical roots lie in countless performances at Rice University, including the Rice Players productions of Terra Nova, Arcadia, and Antigone; and the Baker Shakespeare productions of Twelfth Night, The Merry Wives of Windsor, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar, and The Winter’s Tale. Nick holds a BA from Rice University.

Artistic Associate - Troy Scheid

Troy Scheid

troy scheid

TROY SCHEID is an artistic associate with the Back Porch Players. She designed the sets of Moonchildren, Balm in Gilead, and Waiting for Lefty. Other scenic design credits include Othello (Baker Shakespeare) and Endgame (University of Houston School of Theatre); costume design credits include As Bees in Honey Drown (Theatre Southwest). She is the founding artistic director of Theatre Collide, where she has directed Life Is a Dream, Danoton’s Death, and The Madwoman of Chaillot. Other directing credits include Terra Nova and Design for Living (The Rice Players); Twelfth Night (Baker Shakespeare); Pippin, Sweeney Todd, and Camelot (Baker Musical Theatre-also set design). She wrote the lyrics for Byzantium: A New Musical, composed by Steven Jamail, which made its world premiere in the New York International Fringe Festival in August 2005. Troy is currently the Director of Kids On Stage for Main Street Theater, and previously worked in community relations at Stages Repertory Theatre. A graduate of the theatre department at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Troy holds a BA from Rice University.