Ashley Melzer is a producer, writer, and filmmaker based in Durham, NC. Born in North Florida, she received her Bachelors in Cinematic Arts from the University of Southern California and then a Masters in Folklore from UNC-Chapel Hill. Her work has been featured in Indy Week, Paste Magazine, eMusic, and the Southern Foodways Alliance. She's worked with Hopscotch, Moogfest, Southern Cultures Journal, The Southern Oral History Program and more. She currently serves as Director of the Arts & Humanities Grant Studio at UNC Chapel Hill.

Ashley is Producer of You Gave Me a Song, a new, feature length documentary about the life and music of legendary old-time and bluegrass musician Alice Gerrard, which premiered at the Full Frame Film Festival (2019) and on PBS Reel South in May 2020. Ashley is also director and producer of Zara, a one person show about an anxious, asthmatic Muslim kid’s search for meaning and the chance encounters that impacted him.

Ashley is a founding partner and stakeholder of Mettlesome.

April Dudash has been an improvisor since her junior year at the University of Florida. She has participated in long-form, short-form and musical improv as well as sketch comedy. April has performed with teams in Fayetteville, Raleigh and Durham, coached teams, and hosted and produced "Late Nite Tonite with April Dudash," a late-night talk show with live and filmed sketches. She is currently a performer with Mettlesome's "Golden Age."

Jake Ratliff is an improviser based in Durham, NC. He was a weekly performer at DSI Comedy Theater and has coached multiple improv teams in the Triangle region. You can see him perform regularly with his indie teams Thundermuffin, HEIST, Little Saucy Boys, and Improv @ The Varsity's "The Hundred." You can also hear him as a regular contributor to "Westworld: The Podcast." 

When he's not teaching or performing improv, Jake is a coder. He lives in a house by a pond and has a dachshund named Daisy. He's also the nicest durn guy you'll ever meet. 

Jake has studied with Andrew Aghapour, Jack Reitz, Dan DeSalva, and Vinny Valdivia. 

Charles Givens has been an improviser since 2000, beginning with Wake County's high school group, Teen Co. Chuck has performed short-form, longform, and recently sketch comedy with Mettlesome. He has taught improv workshops for Duke and NC State and has performed in improv festivals in Raleigh, Atlanta, Richmond, and New York City. Chuck currently coaches an independent longform improv team in Durham.