Ris
Bland

Ris Bland is a Filipino-American actor, singer, dancer, and sound designer who is a recent grad from Taylor University with her BFA in Musical Theatre. She is a College Light Opera Company alum, completing her summer of nine shows where she played a variety of roles including Countess Lily in Anastasia, Jacqueline in La Cage Aux Folles, and Dame Hannah in Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore. In May, she performed in Taylor Theatre’s production of Guys and Dolls as Sarah Brown as well as Elinor Dashwood in Taylor Theatre's production of Kate Hammil's Sense and Sensibility that same year. Other previous performances include Percy Talbott in The Spitfire Grill, Ensemble in Bernstein's On The Town, Disney's Newsies, and as Julia in Conor McPherson's The Birds. She is a two-time NATS 1st Place Finalist in her division and a KCACTF Region 3 Vocal and Dance Finalist as well as an Irene Ryan's Semi-Finalist. ​

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Ris grew up in Manila, Philippines as part of a missionary family, and has had extensive international travel experience in South-East Asia. Stemming from this upbringing, she has a passion for international, intercultural, and ethnically diverse stories, which she aims to bring into her work, both on stage and in her writing projects. She believes that diverse stories can both provide underrepresented people a space to see their own stories in a respected and celebratory light, and also enlighten and cultivate compassion in fellow artists and audiences.