Keeper at The Actors Company

Keeper,  Written & Performed by Michelle Murphy,  Directed by Juliette Jeffers

Get on the bus—we’re going to summer camp! During this emotional and energetic solo show, the audience is transported back to a simpler time of trust-falls, chow time, and visits to the medical tent…but some wounds are too deep for a camp nurse to heal. Michelle Murphy embodies her innocent younger self to reveal how an early rejection from a loved one left her fraught with questions of self-worth. From being hunted by the most vicious predator (other 13-year-old girls) to coping with (and without) food, Murphy shares how she broke through to discover why she is, in fact, a keeper. 

Loft Ensemble member, Michelle Murphy (Lost Man Found/Hulu, Greys Anatomy, Scandal) brings her first solo-show, Keeper to Hollywood Fringe Festival 2023. Keeper was a Best of Fest favorite at Whitefire Solofest in the Winter of 2023 and will now run for five performances at The Actors Company, The Little Theatre (916 N Formosa Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046) June 4th through 25th. Running time is 47 minutes | Ages 17+

Performances: Sunday, June 4th at 5:30 pm | Saturday, June 10th at 8:30 pm | Sunday, June 11th at 12:30 pm | Friday, June 16 at 7:30 pm & Sunday, June 25th at 11 am

Michelle Murphy grew up in Dearborn & Detroit, MI.  She graduated with her BFA in Liberal Arts from The University of Detroit Mercy.  She was part of a thriving Metro-Detroit theatre scene, where she earned both her AEA and SAG cards with Jeff Daniels’ The Purple Rose Theatre Company.  She was named Artistic Director of the Planet Ant Theatre in 2000, a small black box theatre in Metro-Detroit, which she helped found in 1997, along with fellow Detroiter, Keegan Michael Key. 

Michelle is most proud of her work involving theatre for young audiences.  She co-wrote and performed in Grandma Says for the critically acclaimed Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and produced and performed in Little Bear, which toured Detroit public schools for over 10 years, providing outreach, awareness and assistance for minors involving sexual misconduct.    Before she relocated to Chicago in 2002, she earned both Best Season Over All for her efforts at the Ant, as well as nabbing a Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in Stop, Kiss at The Performance Network in Ann Arbor, MI.

Regional credits include producing, co-writing and co-starring in Side of Ranch at Chicago’s Donny’s Skybox Theatre and a year performing and touring with Stage One; Louisville, KY’s premiere theatre for young audiences. Michelle has performed at numerous Equity houses in the Midwest market before relocating permanently to Los Angeles in 2006 and pursuing a career in film and television.

In the spring of 2022, she filmed her recurring role in the Hulu limited series Lost Man Found, in her beloved home state of MI and Tokyo! Michelle just wrapped a Hallmark feature, directed by the incomparable Sam Irvin.  She’s had recurring roles on Sincerely, Camille, OWN networks first animated series, co-starring roles on Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, and is part of Beachbody’s cast for their best-selling VOD workout program, #MBF/A.  Michelle is a proud member of Loft Ensemble, the award-winning Los Angles theatre company based in Noho Arts district. She wrote and performed her first solo show, Keeper, in the fall of 2022. Instagram: @themichellemurphy

Director Juliette Jeffers is an award winning Caribbean American actor, writer, director, producer and teaching artist. On screen, she has appeared in twenty-two films, forty TV shows and over sixty national commercials. Some of her notable credits include Law & Order: Organized Crime, 911 Lone Star, Chicago Med and Grey’s Anatomy. You can see Juliette currently in Aftermath on Netflix and Noise in The Middle on Amazon Prime. And stay tuned for her upcoming Guest Star Recurring role in Shondaland’s The Residence on Netflix.

Some of her theatre highlights include her five solo plays. She has performed them throughout the US and the Caribbean. Batman and Robin in the Boogie Down, (Bronx Council on the Arts Award, Drama Desk, and NAACP nominations), Chocolate Match, Pan Gyul, Judgment Day, and Tio Pablo (In English and Spanish – best play and best actress awards – Hollywood Short and Sweet fest).

As a teaching artist, Juliette has taught in schools and correctional facilities in N.Y. and L.A. She is a private coach and has helped develop and directed over thirty-five solo shows. She also teaches Master Classes throughout the country. Juliette served on the Board of the LA Women’s Theatre Festival and was the Curator of the Black Voices Solo Theatre Festival at the Whitefire Theatre.

For more information, please visit www.juliettejeffers.com and you can follow her on social media @juliettejeffers