ICP CLASS OF 2024

Travis Abels is a listener, maker, part-time insomniac, and full-time lover of stories. Growing up the son of a preacher, he marveled at the infinite ways humans use story to create meaning from the chaos of life. Metaphor to say the unsayable. The forms that excite him most are film, art and oh yes - theater! Early on, he discovered its unique power to connect us to each other, the world around us, and deeper parts of ourselves. He’s also intrigued by the exquisite tension that can be found in nearly every moment — even in the stillness between breaths or the slightest gesture — there’s something electric waiting to be explored.

After a 20 year career of making movie trailers, Travis is shifting full focus to his passion for the stage, and is honored, humbled and thrilled to be a part of PETE’s inspiring and rigorous training program. He’s ignited by the work this company does and how it transmutes to the experiences they create for others.

Outside of this, he tells stories around Portland, tours his one-person show, and stops whatever he’s doing, every time he sees a squirrel. Find more of his ongoing / recent work, at travisabels.com or connect with him on IG @travisjay.

Jerilyn Armstrong (she/her) is an actor and improviser in Portland, Oregon. She minored in theatre arts at the University of Oregon and then continued her training at The Annie Grindlay Studio (Los Angeles), The Imagined Life (LA), the Upright Citizens Brigade (LA), and Kickstand Comedy (Portland). Recent credits include Colonialism is Terrible, But Phở is Delicious (Oregon Contemporary Theatre), Metaverse (Corrib Theatre), Alabaster (Oregon Contemporary Theatre), and feature films Woe and #chadgetstheaxe. She’s a member of the improv team H.O.N.K which regularly performs around Portland. She’s thrilled to deepen her artistic practice and expand her possibilities mindset with PETE.

Learn more atwww.jerilynarmstrong.com| IG @jerilynsophia @honkprov

Naomi Bowers (She/Her) is an actor from San Rafael, CA. She recently earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theater from Portland State University, which culminated in her directing a final thesis production of the play 'Night, Mother. She is very excited and grateful to be starting this artistic journey with ICP and can't wait to delve deeper into theater making.

Kasia Caravello is an actor based in Portland, OR. Recently she appeared in two feature films by Antero Ali, "Tracer" and "Blue Fire".  Last year along with a group of 4 friends they produced their own play "[de]composition" which they performed at Shaking the Tree Theater. The ensemble continues to work together in preparation of a new play coming out this winter. Kasia enjoys collaborating with local filmmakers and artists.  She trained with Brooke Totman, Howard Fine, Stacey Scott and Brandon Gill. She speaks Polish, English, Spanish and Italian.  Lately she has been focused on grounding herself in technique and gaining new skills in contemporary dance.  

Amelia Sommer (she/they) is a local artist, community activist, and aspiring experimental performer/director. They received a minor in Theater at Lewis & Clark College in 2020 and have spent the last few years cultivating a dream project; an annual backyard experimental theater show & market. She is passionate about building community & sharing art in an accessible way. She has taken a somewhat spontaneous leap into the ICP program this year after participating in Summer & Fall intensives, and couldn’t be more grateful and honored by the opportunity to grow her experimental vocabulary. 

Sizheng Song is a sojourner in Portland. She is a visual artist and practices illustration, animation, and graphic design; she also adores theatre and live performance and hopes to further her understanding of various forms of liveness. Song delights in ambivalence and equivocation, thrives on the tangent of the sacred and the mundane, and remains curious about the constant negotiation between communities and narratives.

Daye Thomas (they/them) has been in the Portland theatre community for the last 7 years. As a first-gen American Filipino with a passion for equity and intersectionality, they have had the privilege of engaging with specifically queer and BIPOC storytelling in community in recent years via short films, readings, devising, and plays with Table14, AGE, Quincy Woo Visuals, Gather Repertory, Roots and All Theatre, and Fuse Theatre Ensemble. Whilst also busy with manufacturing engineering, Daye delights in artistic challenge, and has for years been thankful for and inspired by PETE's work in creating spaces to share often-untold stories.

Abby Jacquin is a technician and designer in the Portland area. They find themselves most commonly as a technician and designer, but feel drawn to performance and music just as much. They primarily work as an electrician and stagehand for companies including PETE, PICA, Hand2Mouth, Portland Center Stage, and others, but their biggest passion is as a lighting designer, which they did throughout college, and continue to do professionally, including designing lights for ‘Time and Time Again’ and ‘Piercing the Veil’. They are excited to continue exploring performance and devising new works through the next year.