Summer Rain Menkee

Summer Rain Menkee (birth given name by hippie parents) was born and raised on the Oregon Coast. Summer appeared opposite Viola Davis, as Michelle Obama's former Princeton roommate, in "The First Lady" (Showtime). Other TV appearances include Season 2 of "P-Valley" (STARZ), Season 5 of "Dynasty" (CW), and Season 3 of "The Resident" (FOX). She co-wrote, produced and starred in the award winning short film "Now Or Never." In addition to many independent films, Summer appeared as the Court Stenographer in the MGM film "TILL" (the Emmett Till story). She was an acting member of the iconic Met Theatre (Hollywood). Summer has always been a strong advocate for arts education since she fell in love with the stage at a young age, but the drama program was cut at her local high school. She is a teaching artist with Alliance Theatre Institute, and previously taught theatre at Le Lycee Francais de Los Angeles and with L.A.U.SD.'s Arts Education Branch. She was a Performing Arts Scholarship recipient and received her B.A. in Theatre from Seattle Pacific University, with additional training at American Conservatory Theatre (San Francisco), comedy with Lesly Kahn and improv with Upright Citizen's Brigade (Los Angeles).