MELISSA MICKENS is an actress, writer, director, producer and teaching artist based in Harlem, New York. A proud member of ACTOR'S EQUITY ASSOCIATION, Melissa has appeared in productions at the Brick, JACK Arts, ARS Nova ANT Fest, Downtown Urban Theatre Festival, National Black Theatre, The Lark, Williamstown Theatre Festival and the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, NY. A NYU Tisch School of the Arts graduate, Melissa is proud to be a teaching artist with the Stella Adler Outreach and Teen Summer Programs where she specializes in Shakespeare scene study and production. Melissa is also the award-winning creator and producer of the web series, SHAMPAGNE, where she received the award for best web series at the Hip Hop Film Festival NY in 2016 and best original sitcom screenplay at the Miami Web Fest 2016.