18 minute read

The Artistic Company

Acting Company

Lynn Robert Berg*

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Friar John/Ensemble Twenty-one seasons with Great Lakes Theater Credits include Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), Brutus (Julius Caesar), the title roles of Macbeth and Richard III, Don Pedro (Much Ado About Nothing), Charlie Cowell (The Music Man), The Ghost and Player King (Hamlet), Zoltan Karpathy (My Fair Lady), Gremio (The Taming of the Shrew), Malvolio (Twelfth Night) and Frank Ford (Merry Wives of Windsor). Other credits: Bill Austin (Mamma Mia), Don Armado (Love’s Labour’s Lost), Watson (The Hound of the Baskervilles), and Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged at Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival; Hucklebee (The Fantasticks), Mayhew (Witness for the Prosecution), Friar Laurence (Romeo and Juliet), Jonas Fogg (Sweeney Todd) and Polixenes (The Winter’s Tale) at Idaho Shakespeare Festival; Short Shakespeare MacBeth, Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Danny Bó

Sampson/Ensemble Debut season with Great Lakes Theater Danny Bó is a junior musical theater major at Baldwin Wallace University. He was recently seen as Friedrich in The Sound of Music at Blossom Music Center. Other credits include Into the Woods (Jack), B.A.R.S. (Bobo) and The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (Percy). He would like to thank his family and mentors for their ongoing love and support.

Benjamin Bonenfant*

Romeo Debut season with Great Lakes Theater Benjamin is grateful to make his Great Lakes Theater debut. Based in New York, credits include Theatre For A New Audience (Julius Caesar) and the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (Heart of Robin Hood, Richard II). He has performed at Shakespeare festivals nationwide, including Alabama (Macbeth), Orlando (Henry IV, Three Musketeers), two seasons at Oregon (Great Expectations, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, The Odyssey), and five seasons at Colorado (Henry V, Prince Hal, Romeo). Other CO credits: Denver Center, Arvada Center, TheatreWorks, FAC, Curious, BETC, and local theater. Film/TV: The Good Fight and Bull (CBS). He received his BA from University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Michael Burns

Balthazaar/Ensemble Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater Michael Burns is absolutely thrilled to be returning to GLT, and making his debut with the acting company! Regional: ISF Credits: Ensemble in Witness for the Prosecution, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (Shakesperience Educational Tour). Other credits include Octavius Caesar in Antony and Cleopatra (Boise Bard Players), Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Jaxton in The Thanksgiving Play, Ensemble in Sweeny Todd, Film Student in Heddatron and Broughton in Journey’s End (Boise State University). Michael received his BA in theater arts from Boise State University. He is thankful for every opportunity that has led him to this moment, and the support he has received along the way! For Coachie!

Aamar Malik Culbreth

Benvolio Debut season with Great Lakes Theater Favorite roles include Tiny in Kill Move Paradise, Everybody in Everybody, Walter Lee Younger in Raisin in the Sun, Will Rogers in Will Rogers Follies, Roger in Rent

and Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd. Aamar is a rising sophomore in musical theater at Baldwin Wallace University. Thank you to everyone in the cast, crew and creative team for making this season happen, and thank you to everyone for coming out and supporting! Hey Mom! Thanks for everything! Love you! Instagram - @aamarmc

Aled Davies*

Montague/Ensemble Twenty-two seasons with Great Lakes Theater Roles include Mr. Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors, Father Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing, Mr. Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol, Prospero in The Tempest, Sir Wilfrid Robarts QC in Witness for the Prosecution, Seyton the Porter in Macbeth, The Gravedigger in Hamlet, Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady, The Old Actor in The Fantasticks, Scrooge/Samuels in A Christmas Carol, King Lear in King Lear, John Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Oberon/ Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Your Chairman in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Dorn in The Seagull, Deputy Governor Danforth in The Crucible and Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest. A proud and appreciative member of Actors’ Equity since 1984. GO BROWNS!

Maggie Kettering*

Lady Capulet Five seasons with Great Lakes Theater Previous shows include The 39 Steps, The Taming of the Shrew, A Christmas Carol, Love’s Labour’s Lost, And Then There Were None, Blithe Spirit and Much Ado about Nothing. Additionally, she has worked with Peninsula Players (Miss Holmes, Outside Mullingar, Lend Me a Tenor), Milwaukee Repertory Theatre (Holmes and Watson), House Theatre (Season on the Line - Joseph Jefferson Nomination), Shakespeare Theatre Company (Henry IV, parts 1 and 2), TimeLine Theatre (My Kind of Town) and Northlight Theatre (Season’s Greetings - Jack Springer Award). Maggie is a proud member of

Jeffrey King*

Friar Laurence Debut season with Great Lakes Theater Jeffrey is appearing for the first time at GLT. He was a member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival acting company for 20 seasons, where he appeared in more than 50 productions. Other theaters include Yale Rep, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Berkeley Repertory Theater, California Shakespeare Festival, Magic Theater, The Empty Space in Seattle, Hippodrome Theatre and Asolo Theatre in Florida. He originated the role of Joe Pitt in Angels in America, first performed at the Eureka Theatre in San Francisco and the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Jeffrey has also appeared in television, film and radio. He is a graduate of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory MFA program.

Jessie Cope Miller*

Lady Montague/Ensemble Nine seasons with Great Lakes Theater Recent shows include Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Romeo and Juliet at ISF, A Christmas Carol, Chaining Zero, The Tempest, The Music Man and Julius Caesar. She also played the Witch in Into the Woods during Great Lakes Theater’s inaugural season at the Hanna Theatre, and has been at The Idaho Shakespeare Festival and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival for four seasons. Other credits include The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Love’s Labour’s Lost, In The Heights, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Hello Dolly! and Pippin. She is a proud alum of the Baldwin Wallace musical theater program and now an even prouder member of the acting faculty of the Baldwin Wallace University School of Theatre and Dance. She’s been an Actors’ Equity member since 2005. Much love and thanks to the entire company! For family and friends and for Dougfred, Always.

Kate Mulligan*

Nurse Debut season with Great Lakes Theater Credits include Oregon Shakespeare Festival 12 seasons, Actors’ Gang member 17 years, The Kennedy Center, The Public Theatre, New York Stage and Film, Yale Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory and Artists Repertory Theater. Partial List of TV/ Film credits: Embedded (Dir. Tim Robbins), Olga Dies Dreaming (Pilot HULU), Chicago Med, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Seinfeld, The Practice, Crossing Jordan, ER, NYPD Blue. Kate is a member of SAG/ AFTRA AEA.

Jaime Nebeker

Abram/Ensemble Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater Happily returning to the GLT stage as Abram in Romeo and Juliet, Jaime is an actor, puppeteer, puppet maker, fight choreographer and movement director. As a woman, Jaime is fortunate to be working in a time where gender is fluid and the future is female. Directors like Sara Bruner, who choose to create these models of possibility in the world, have given Jaime the opportunity to speak the speech of both Hamlet and Julius Caesar. Other standout roles have included Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Gibbons in Rabbit/Moon, William Dunn in Men on Boats and Quincy/Lisa in Mr. Burns, a post-electric play.

Avery LaMar Pope

Gregory/Ensemble Debut season with Great Lakes Theater Avery LaMar Pope is a storyteller from Cleveland. His roles include Gregory in Romeo and Juliet, Jimmy in 12,000 Steps, Malcolm in The Tragedy of Macbeth and Shederick in Objects in the Mirror. As a playwright, his play A World Apart was a 2021 New South Young Playwrights Festival selection at Horizon Theater, and his play Stand Trial was a 2022-2023 Catapult finalist at Cleveland Public Theatre. He graduated cum laude with his Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from Ohio University. His work can be read on New Play Exchange or seen on YouTube.

J.T. Snow

Paris’ Page/Ensemble Debut season with Great Lakes Theater JT Snow is happy to be making his debut with Great Lakes Theater. He will be a junior this fall, majoring in musical theater at Baldwin Wallace University. JT has been in Baldwin Wallace’s Into the Woods, as well as worked with the Beck Center in a 15-minute musical, White Man’s Burden. JT would like to thank Vicky Bussert and his family for constantly supporting him in making this dream a reality. Go Dawgs!!

Stephen Michael Spencer*

Mercutio/Apothecary Debut season with Great Lakes Theater Credits include four seasons at Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Loves Labour’s Lost, Othello, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, The Winter’s Tale and Timon of Athens. Stephen originated the role of Jason in Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat. In NYC, Stephen performed as understudy in Clydes at Second Stage on Broadway and Julius Caesar at TFANA. International credits include The Heart of Robin Hood with Mirvish Productions. Regional credits include The A.R.T., Cleveland Play House, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Arena Stage, Hudson Valley Shakespeare, Triad Stage and Chautauqua Theatre Company. Film/TV: FBI: Most Wanted, This Wild Abyss. Stephen holds a BFA from UNC Greensboro and an MFA from Case Western/Cleveland Play House. Stream his original music under stephenspencer on all platforms! www.stephenmichaelspencer.com

Nick Steen*

Paris Ten seasons with Great Lakes Theater Previous roles include Mark Antony in Julius Caesar, Mr. Darcy in Pride & Prejudice, Macduff in Macbeth, Caliban in The Tempest, Laertes in Hamlet, Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol, Lombard in And Then There Were None, Orestes in Elektra and Clifford in Deathtrap. Nick holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Evansville, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the American Conservatory Theater. He’s also a voice actor whose work can be heard on Hulu and Spotify. He has endless gratitude for his family and for his love, Nicki. www.NickSteen.com

Alex Syiek*

Prince Eight seasons with Great Lakes Theater Previous GLT credits include Harold Hill in The Music Man, Casca/Messala in Julius Caesar, Inspector Hearne in Witness for the Prosecution, Bill in Mamma Mia! and Clopin in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Other recent credits include Phil Connors in Groundhog Day at the Paramount Theatre and Jimmy Sales in The Show on the Roof at Boise Contemporary Theater. Alex has a Bachelor of Music from Baldwin Wallace University, and an MFA in musical theater writing from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. Thanks to the theater spirits for allowing art to happen again! www.alexsyiek.com

M.A. Taylor*

Peter Eighteen seasons with Great Lakes Theater Loving the Autumn in Northeast Ohio. He was previously seen in Much Ado About Nothing (Verges), A Christmas Carol (Charity Man, Old Joe), Julius Caesar (Calphurnius), Macbeth (Murderer) and The Fantasticks (Old Actor). His favorite roles include My Fair Lady (Doolittle), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck), Witness for the Prosecution (Carter/Dr. Wyatt), Complete Works (3rd Actor) and Dracula (Count Dracula). Other Companies include Resident Ensemble Theater, Boise Contemporary Theater and Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. He holds an MFA in theater from the University of Delaware/ Professional Theater Training Program. Special thanks to his Families (Genetic & Professional). Forever Dougfred and Kathryn.

Ángela Utrera*

Juliet Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater Originally from Asturias, Spain, Ángela was last seen on GLT’s stage as Miranda in The Tempest and is so excited to come back this fall. She has assistant-directed City of Altar and Teen Dad at the Sin Muros play festival at Stages Theatre in Houston, and earned her acting/directing BFA from Sam Houston State University.

Joe Wegner*

Tybalt Three seasons with Great Lakes Theater Off-Broadway credits include Judgement Day (world premiere, Park Avenue Armory). Regional theater: Much Ado about Nothing, The Tempest and The Taming of the Shrew (Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival), Archduke world premiere, Center Theater Group), Guys and Dolls, A Wrinkle in Time (world premiere), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Very Merry Wives of Winsor Iowa, Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land and Romeo and Juliet (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Guys and Dolls (Wallis Annenberg Center), The School for Lies (Arkansas Repertory Theatre) and In the Blood (Mixed Blood Theatre). TV/Film: Tales of the City (Netflix). Education: BFA, Southern Oregon University www.joewegner.net

Lynn Robert Berg*, Mike Binderman, Danny Bo, Michael Burns, Avery Elledge, Jessie Cope Miller*, Richard Morgan, Jaime Nebeker, Avery LaMar Pope, Dan Rice, J.T. Snow, Hanako Walrath

Directors

Sara Bruner

Director Seventeen seasons with Great Lakes Theater Directing credits include Oregon Shakespeare Festival Alice in Wonderland; Repertory Theatre of St. Louis The Cake; Arizona Theatre Company Cabaret; Great Lakes Theater/Idaho Shakespeare Festival The Tempest, Julius Caesar, The Taming of the Shrew and A Christmas Carol (4 years); Idaho Shakespeare Festival directed/adapted educational tours of Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Much Ado about Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night and The Taming of the Shrew. Other theaters: Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Baltimore Center Stage, Drop Dance Collective, Baldwin Wallace University. Acting: Norma McCorvey in Roe (world premiere) at Arena Stage and Berkeley Repertory Theatre; Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Viola and Sebastian in Twelfth Night, Sue Trinder in Fingersmith (world premiere), LeFou in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Charles Wallace in A Wrinkle in Time (world premiere) at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; company member at Great Lakes Theater for 10 years, Idaho Shakespeare Festival for 19 years, Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 5 years. Education: Executive MBA, Boise State University. Awards: 2018 Princess Grace Award for directing.

Charles Fee

Producing Artistic Director Twenty-one seasons with Great Lakes Theater Directing credits at GLT: Much Ado About Nothing, Sleuth, Witness for the Prosecution, A Christmas Carol, Misery, Macbeth, Hamlet, And Then There Were None, Dial “M” for Murder, Deathtrap, Blithe Spirit, Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, All’s Well That Ends Well, Hay Fever, The Importance of Being Earnest, Arms and the Man and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). Charles holds a unique position in the American theater as producing artistic director of three independently operated, professional theater companies: Great Lakes Theater in Cleveland, Ohio (since 2002); Idaho Shakespeare Festival in Boise, Idaho (since 1991) and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival in Incline Village, Nevada (since 2010). His appointments have resulted in a dynamic and groundbreaking producing model for the companies, in which more than 60 plays have been shared since 2002. In 2009, Charles was honored to receive recognition for his leadership by the Cleveland Arts Prize as a recipient of the Martha Joseph Award. Other awards include The Mayor’s and Governor’s awards for Excellence in the Arts, Idaho. From 1988 to 1992, he held the position of artistic director at the Sierra Repertory Theatre in California. He has also worked with The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, the Milwaukee and Missouri repertory theaters, Actor’s Theatre of Phoenix and the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival. In addition to his work with the companies in Ohio, Idaho and Nevada, Charles is active within the community. He has served as a member of the strategic planning committee for the Morrison Center, as producer of the FUNDSY Award Gala (’96, ’98 and 2000), and as producer of the 1996 Idaho Governor’s Awards in the Arts. Charles has served on the board of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the Downtown Rotary Club. He received his BA from the University of the Pacific and Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego. Along with his wife, Lidia and daughter, Alexa, Charles resides in Boise, Cleveland and Lake Tahoe — a feat that is only possible because of the incredible love and support of his family, and the generous communities he serves!

Efren Delgadillo Jr.

Scenic Designer Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater Credits include New York: The Three Musketeers (The Acting Company); Mycenaean (BAM, Brooklyn Academy of Music). Notable regional theater productions include American Mariachi (South Coast Rep.), (Arizona Theatre Company) Romeo and Juliet (Oregon Shakespeare Company); BLKS (Woolly Mammoth); Bordertown Now (Pasadena Playhouse); Smart People and Indecent (Denver Center for the Performing Arts); Othello (Hartford Stage); Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles (The Getty Villa/ Boston Court); and Prometheus Bound (The Getty Villa/Center for New Performance). MFA: California Institute of the Arts. BFA in studio arts from University of California, Irvine. Efren is an assistant professor of scenic design at UC Irvine. www.efrendelgadillojr.com

Chris DuVal

Fight Choreographer Debut season with Great Lakes Theater Chris has worked extensively in regional theaters across the country at venues that include Dallas Theater Center, Denver Center Theatre Company, Syracuse Stage, South Coast Repertory, Sacramento Theatre Company, Pioneer Theatre Company, Utah Opera, and at Shakespeare Festivals in Utah, Montana, Colorado and Orange County. Additionally, Chris was an actor, fight director or teacher at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 18 years. He is the author of Stage Combat Arts, published by Bloomsbury Methuen, and is recognized as a certified teacher/fight director/theatrical firearms instructor with the SAFD, a master teacher with Dueling Arts International, holds a second-degree blackbelt in Aikido and is an associate teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework. In the Spring of 2023, he will be appearing at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in a production of The Three Musketeers.

Rick Martin

Lighting Designer Twenty seasons with Great Lakes Theater Many productions with GLT include Julius Caesar, The Tempest and Hamlet. Opera: Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte (La Monnaie, Brussels – scenery), Mitridate, Re di Ponto (La Monnaie, Brussels – scenery and lighting), Le Diable dans le beffroi, La Chute de la Maison Usher (Opéra national de Paris – scenery and lighting) and BUTTERFLY - d’après Madama Butterfly de Puccini (Opera de Limoges and Opera de Rouen, France - lighting). Concerts: Harawi (Opèra Comique, Paris – scenery and lighting), Le martyre de Saint Sèbastien (Citè de la Musique, Paris). Coming up: Serse (Rouen, France – lighting) Member: United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829, IATSE.

Jaclyn Miller

Movement Director Five seasons with Great Lakes Theater Director credit for GLT: The 39 Steps; Choreography/Movement credits for GLT: Little Shop of Horrors, Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest, The Music Man, Julius Caesar, Mamma Mia!, The Taming of the Shrew, Pride and Prejudice and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Regional: Oregon Shakespeare Festival (It’s Christmas, Carol!, Hairspray, Alice in Wonderland, Book of Will, Shakespeare in Love, Twelfth Night, Yeoman of Guard, Fingersmith (world premiere), The Cocoanuts and My Fair Lady); South Coast Rep (She Loves Me); Arizona Theatre Company (Cabaret, The Music Man); Guthrie Theatre (The Cocoanuts); Baltimore Center Stage (Fun Home); and Asolo Repertory Theater (Roe).

André Pluess

Sound Designer Debut season with Great Lakes Theater Projects include the Broadway productions of The Minutes, 33 Variations, I Am My Own Wife and Metamorphoses, as well as the Lincoln Center production of The Clean House. His designs/compositions have been featured at regional theaters throughout the country, including Oregon Shakespeare Festival (10 seasons), McCarter Theatre,

Center Theatre Group, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Huntington Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory, Denver Center and Playwrights Horizons. He has received numerous awards for composition and sound design, including multiple Joseph Jefferson Awards, an Ovation Award, a Barrymore Award, a Helen Hayes Award and Lucille Lortel and Drama Critics Circle Award nominations. Based in Chicago, André is an ensemble member of Lookingglass Theatre Company.

Mieka van der Ploeg

Costume Designer Debut season with Great Lakes Theater Credits include designs with Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, American Players Theatre, Court Theatre, Writers Theatre, Lyric Opera of Chicago (Lyric Unlimited), Lookingglass Theatre, Paramount Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, Second City, Redmoon Theater, The Hypocrites, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, About Face Theatre, Steep Theatre, Theater Wit, Albany Park Theater Project, Manual Cinema and the Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater. She won a Joseph Jefferson Award in 2020 for First Love is the Revolution, at Steep Theatre. She is proud to be a member of USA829.

Nicki Cathro*

Production Stage Manager Seven seasons with Great Lakes Theater Nicki is previously the production stage manager for Little Shop of Horrors, Much Ado About Nothing, A Christmas Carol, The Tempest and Julius Caesar; the assistant stage manager for Sleuth, The Music Man, Witness for the Prosecution, Misery, Macbeth and Pride and Prejudice; production assistant for Hamlet, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other theater work: ASM for Every Brilliant Thing at Actor’s Theatre of Louisville. Nicki earned her BFA in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas; and is a proud member of AEA. She is overjoyed to be back in the theater with her husband and friends.

Sarah Kelso*

Assistant Stage Manager Six seasons with Great Lakes Theater Previous shows: Much Ado About Nothing, The 39 Steps, Sleuth, Million Dollar Quartet, Beehive the 60’s Musical, A Christmas Carol and Romeo and Juliet. Twelve seasons with Idaho Shakespeare Festival: Ain’t Misbehavin’, The 39 Steps, Sleuth, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), Million Dollar Quartet, Beehive the 60’s Musical, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Forever Plaid, The Fantasticks and Steel Magnolias. Ten seasons with Boise Contemporary Theater: The Wolves, With Love and a Major Organ, Good Bitch Goes Down, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and A Skull in Connemara. Sarah is a graduate of Boise State University’s Department of Theatre Arts.