Hi, I'm Melea, pronounced muh-lee-uh :)

I'm a Boston and NYC-based theatre & screen actor and creative, hailing from Bloomington, Illinois... 

Though you can take the girl out of the corn, you cannot take the corn out of the girl-- I'm a midwest cowboy at heart. And yet, don't be fooled: I was raised by a Thai mother and Cajun father and certainly have my fair share of spice. 

I developed a passion for acting at a young age, largely thanks to said mother, who clocked that I could cry on command. Having been described recently as a "mini Audra McDonald" [yeah, I'm still pinching myself] in emotional capacity, I continue to lead with an open heart.

Recent open-hearted credits include Alice in Alice by Heart, Olive in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and most recently, Amélie in Amélie.

Though I love to cry, I also love to kick face and embrace my Gryffindor ferocity. Further than this, I do so in service of connecting to others. 

Puns and jokes aside, I have a deep, deep love of people and life, and I keep coming back to the performing arts because I believe in their capacity to heal us. It is our duty as artists to bring people together and remind us of our collective humanity. 

Thus, I am interested in creating work that is based in deep truth, is playful, innovative, and deeply heartfelt. 

Outside of theatre and acting, I am a lover of meditation, mixed cultural meals, yoga, sporadic street encounters with my community, Ted Lasso, and a nice, hot cup of tea!