AfroLatina performer, storyteller, & comic from the heart of Chicago. Melissa DuPrey is a native of Humboldt Park.

After earning double Bachelor degrees from the University of Houston, she returned to Chicago to join the all-Latina theatre company, Teatro Luna. Her one-woman show, SEXomedy, was developed during their monthly series for women of color in the arts and received a Chicago Reader Recommendation, a Member's Pick, and had a successful debut Off-Broadway in New York. Her second solo show, SUSHI-frito, has also been critically acclaimed as part of MPAACT's Signature Series for solo artists.Her subsequent solo works SEXomedy 2.0 and Good Grief are currently in development. She was selected as a new talent for the 2014 ABC Diversity Showcase in New York City. She has performed stand-up comedy in Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. She is a featured actor in the Emmy-nominated web-series Brown Girls. Regional Theatre credits include: Tilikum (Sideshow Theater Company), The Compass (Steppenwolf Theatre) and Luna Gale(Goodman Theatre). Other theatre credits include American Beauty Shop (Chicago Dramatist), SUSHI-frito (Free Street Theatre), Adoration of the Old Woman (Urban Theatre Company), and A Citizen’s Anthology (Inconvenience Theatre), Forecast(ICAH/MCA), and PUTAS! (Teatro Luna). Film credits include: Two in the Bush (2017), The Way We Speak(2014), and Bromance(2014). TV credits include appearances on “Chicago PD” (NBC), and “The Chi” (Showtime). She is currently an Ensemble Member at UrbanTheater Company, and the Director of Production and Community Relations at Free Street Theater.

As a stand-up comic, Ms. DuPrey has performed in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and various reputable venues throughout Chicago such as Zanies, Riddles, Second City's UP Comedy Club, Mikey O Comedy Show, and The Abbey Pub. Ms. DuPrey has also been a regular guest on WGN's late-night radio show hosted by Comedian Patti Vasquez and a guest performer/panelist at the National Hispanic Leadership Summit. As a musician and active member of her community, she is dedicated to the preservation of Puerto Rican culture by way of the folkloric music, Bomba y Plena, with Africaribe and Las BomPleneras. She is blessed to have the continuous support of her family and friends, and hopes to continue creating and producing projects that fuse elements of theatrical storytelling with stand-up comedy.