MEET THE TEAM
Your Hardworking Superfans
HARVEY Q JOHNSON
Writer, Director
Harvey Q. Johnson was born to Harvey Q. and Dolores Johnson in the south. Having grown up in Plainfield, New Jersey, he considers himself a Jersey boy. His journey into performance started early in life beginning with piano lessons, followed by tap and modern dance, which lead to performances in various community theater productions while attending high school. He attended Virginia Tech receiving a BA in Theater Arts with a concentration in Acting. While at Tech he also pursued his passion for directing and writing, studying Creative Writing under poet Nikki Giovanni as well as a concentration in playwriting.
Harvey, who has performed in regional theater as well as Off-Off and Off Broadway in New York, moved from New York to Los Angeles in the fall of 2012. Since then he has broadened his resume to include roles in film, television and commercials. He has continued to write and in the summer of 2014 made his film directorial debut with the short "Stain" (working title), which is based on the third part of his play "Deceit of Truth: A Chronicle in Three Parts".
CIERA PAYTON
Actress, Bernice
An accomplished actor, writer, social activist and entrepreneur, Ciera Payton is a well-respected pillar of the entertainment industry with an unwavering dedication to the arts. Growing up in the vibrant city of New Orleans, Ciera was surrounded by creativity in all forms - from street performers blowing their horns to muralists transforming the city's landscape to every cook's special recipe for gumbo. This dynamic environment fed her passion to become a successful working actor.
After Hurricane Katrina, Ciera and her family relocated to North Carolina where she graduated with a B.F.A. from the North Carolina School of the Arts. While still enrolled in school, Ciera landed the female lead role opposite Steven Seagal in Flight of Fury. Since her breakout role, she has shared screen time with many talented artists including Viola Davis, Nicholas Cage, Kevin Hart and Josh Brolin. Past credits include USA Network's Graceland, Bad Teacher on CBS, Spike Lee's Oldboy, and First, a new web series acquired by the Issa Rae Network. She also recently performed her one-woman show, Michael's Daughter as part of the Los Angeles Women's Theater Festival. The piece details her compelling journey from growing up in New Orleans to her present success in Los Angeles through a series of letters with her incarcerated father, Michael.
While dedicated to her acting career, Ciera also manages to find time to engage with her local community. Her dedication to arts education in underserved communities led her to create the Michael's Daughter Project, an annual theater and media arts summer camp for youth in Panorama City. Ciera teaches and empowers the youth to share their stories through creative writing, theater performance and short film production.
In addition to her creative endeavors, Ciera is the owner of Sincerely Cosmetics, an all natural mineral-based cosmetic company which caters to health-conscious women who have sensitive skin. In the little free time she has, Ciera enjoys sewing, painting, cooking and most importantly: dancing! She continues to have an unwavering commitment to always be her best, challenge the limits of everything she does, while always remaining true to her creative motivations.
NAYO WALLACE
Actress, Jean
Nayo Kamilah Wallace was born in Detriot, Michigan. Nayo (pronounced Nah-yo) is an African name and means "we have joy". A Detroit native who now lives in Los Angeles, Nayo splits her talents between screen, stage and voice over. Most recently she completed the second season of the animated series Care Bears Welcome to Care-A-Lot where she provides the speaking and singing voice for Harmony Bear. She's also voiced and performed the motion capture for a number of characters in video games. On stage she performed the role of Sarabi in The Lion King on Broadway and in their first national tour. She was also a member of the LA and Vegas productions of Rock Of Ages.
Nayo believes deeply that artists can and will change the world. She is grateful to her forbears and all of the other incredibly courageous artists who came before her and left their exquisite mark on the planet. She is honored to be a part of such an important profession and passionately strives to do the same.