midsummer s dream
BY
Christopher V. Edwards, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Jen Babcock Davis, MANAGING DIRECTOR
Lindsay Williams, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
DIRECTED BY
William Shakespeare
Maurice Emmanuel Parent BY
FEATURING
Thomika Marie Bridwell*, Michael Broadhurst*, Eliza Fichter, Dan Garcia,
Mia Giatrelis, De'Lon Grant*, Kody Grassett, Alan Kuang, Rémani Lizana, Doug Lockwood*, Deb Martin*, Evan Taylor, and Bobbie Steinbach*
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER
Lisette van den Boogaard*
SCENIC DESIGNER
Ben Lieberson
PROPS MANAGER
Christina Ostner
ASST. INTIMACY DIRECTOR
Leanna Niesen
COSTUME DESIGNER
Seth Bodie^
PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN/ASST. PRODUCTION MANAGER
Matt Pierce
FIGHT COORDINATOR
Jesse Hinson
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Andrea McAdam
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Brian Lilienthal^
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Danielle Ibrahim
SOUND ENGINEER
Kristian Enge
WARDROBE MANAGER
Marissa Wolf
SOUND DESIGNER
Mackenzie Adamick
INTIMACY DIRECTOR
Olivia Dumaine
SOUND CONSULTANT
Eric Sauter
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
^Member IATSE United Scenic Artists Local 829“August Wilson's
ACTORS' SHAKESPEARE PROJECT
321 Arsenal St, Watertown, MA 02472
ActorsShakespeareProject.org • @aspbostontheatre
The company of A Midsummer Night Dream rehearses (Photos by Evan Turissini)
FROM THE DIRECTOR
In times of darkness and despair, joy is a form of resistance.
Midsummer was one of the first shows I ever performed in with ASP, right around the time I joined the Resident Artist Company. So when the opportunity came to direct this story—one that so many of us know and love—I knew I wanted to find a lens that would light it up in a new way for me, and hopefully for you too.
I wondered: what happens if the lovers have a little more life experience? What new stakes emerge in their pursuit of love?
And when I thought about the fairy world—a space of freedom, fun, sex, danger, mystery, transformation—my mind went straight to the clubs and music of my late teens and early 20s.
Limelight. Tunnel. Palladium. The Roxy. Club USA. Ultra Naté, Junior Vasquez, Thunderpuss, Armand Van Helden, Hex Hector, Amber, Inner City. Dancing until 5am. Grabbing a slice in the middle of the night. Waking up and making plans to do it all again.
Photos by Evan Turissini
These clubs were all-inclusive sanctuaries— queer, straight, cis, gender-fluid, rich, poor—a kaleidoscope of races, cultures, and identities. They were escapes from the stress of work (or the pursuit of it). Joyful, queer-positive spaces that o ered refuge for many of us. But they were also dark, mysterious, and sometimes dangerous. You could find freedom—or find yourself in trouble if you bumped into the wrong person on the wrong night in your club gear, just walking the streets.
I thought about the mechanicals and...
You know what? Why explain everything here and give it all away?
I’m forever grateful to Chris for this opportunity, and to the cast, crew, and design team for dreaming up this world with me. We hope you enjoy the ride—and more than that, I hope you leave the theater filled with the joy you need to survive these trying times.
MAURICE EMMANUEL PARENT
CONTEXT
Turning a Look, Changing the World: Aesthetics and World Making in Queer Nightlife by Mac Irvine
Queer nightlife is a realm of theatrics. Its spaces, many of them akin to black box theatres, are often filled with dynamic lights, sound systems, stages, and more that allow both those in the spotlight and those in the mass of dancers on the dance floor to play out various scenes set in worlds near and far. Even the most austere queer bars often become havens, sites of solace and alternative communal politics at odds with a more hostile world outside their doors.
Like the theatre, then, queer nightlife at its best is not solely invested in escapism, but rather in the intentional work of imagining and creating something better—something more equitable, more accessible, more beautiful, more fun. This is why queer nightlife has become a foundational site of inquiry for a growing number of interdisciplinary scholars working across theatre, performance, gender and sexuality, and critical race studies, among other fields. Their work takes seriously the labor, aesthetics, politics, and world making that takes place when queers gather to commune, create, and perform.
From the rent parties thrown by Black lesbians of the 1920s to the lavish, sex-fueled gay discos of the 1970s, queer nightlife has always been a site of self expression and community building. These spaces allowed nonnormative performances of gender, fluid sexual desire and expression, aesthetic experimentation, and not just an imagining of alternative politics, but a grounded enactment of radical practice in real time. These identities and networks of care were not just some futuristic pipedream, but something communities worked hard to create in their presents. As new genders, sexual norms, and politics emerged from, shifted, and changed in these spaces, they eventually made their way into the public through popular music, film, and other media.
But the late 1980s and early 1990s saw the inception of a new creature of the night: the club kid. With over-the-top looks and an insurgent, DIY ethos, this diverse group of teens and 20-somethings pushed the aesthetic boundaries of what queerness could look like, feel like, and do. Largely New York City-based, the scene that the club kids emerged into was undergoing rapid change. Many major US cities had faced significant economic hardship as they struggled to reorient to increasingly globalized economies. Reaganomics and underfunded social services resulted in increasingly acute wealth inequality. The war on drugs had led to increases in often racist policing, and the unmitigated AIDS epidemic was disproportionately ravishing communities of queer people and people of color. Yet nightlife, once again, became one realm for creatives from across New York City’s multiple scenes to come together. What resulted was an outpouring of creativity.
And despite these potentials, nightlife, as with anything, remains embedded in the contexts of its world. Guliani-era initiatives of the late 1990s aimed to “clean up” the city, ushering in a new crop of investment often at the expense of these unique queer spaces. Many of the artists associated with this scene were impacted by HIV and some died of AIDS-related illness. Others got caught up in violence or drugs, perhaps in part because of the endless grind to create new and better spaces in the fast-paced nightlife economy. Yet as with much queer art, the otherworldly aesthetics of the club kids have remained influential in arts and culture for decades. Many of these influences—sonic, sartorial, a ective—show up in work like that you’ll be seeing today.
THOMIKA MARIE BRIDWELL* SHE/HER HERMIA
ELIZA FICHTER SHE/THEY HIPPOLYTA/ TITANIA
KODY GRASSETT HE/HIM THESEUS/ STARVELING/ MUSTARDSEED
DEB MARTIN* SHE/HER HELENA
DAN GARCIA HE/HIM OBERON
ALAN KUANG HE/HIM PUCK
EVAN
TAYLOR HE/HIM FLUTE/ PEASEBLOSSOM
MIA GIATRELIS SHE/HER FAIRY/ DANCE CAPTAIN
RÉMANI LIZANA SHE/THEY SNUG/COBWEB
MICHAEL BROADHURST* HE/HIM LYSANDER
DE’LON GRANT* HE/HIM DEMETRIUS
DOUG LOCKWOOD* HE/HIM NICK BOTTOM
BOBBIE STEINBACH* SHE/HER EGEUS/QUINCE
WHO’S WHO
N ames in pink indicate members of Actors' Shakespeare Project's Resident Artist Company
THOMIKA MARIE BRIDWELL* (Hermia)
Actors’ Shakespeare Project: debut! Regional: Fat Ham (Alliance Theater/The Huntington/Front Porch Arts Collective); Joy and Pandemic (The Huntington); K-IS-S-I-N-G (The Huntington/Front Porch); Chicken and Biscuits (Front Porch Arts Collective); Crumbs from the Table of Joy (The Lyric Stage Company of Boston); A Light Under the Dome (Plays in Place); A Christmas Carol (Hanover Theater); BLKS (SpeakEasy Stage Company); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Boston Theater Company); Miss You Like Hell (Company One/A.R.T.); Coriolanus, For Colored Girls… (Praxis Stage Company). Thomika is Elliot Norton Award nominee and a member of the 2023 Class of The British American Dramatic Academy MIO Program. Learn more at her Instagram. (she/her)
MICHAEL BROADHURST* (Lysander)
Actors’ Shakespeare Project: Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew O -Broadway: Life Sucks (Wheelhouse Theatre Company); Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Animus Theatre); Pride and Prejudice (Primary Stages). Regional: Gloria (Gloucester Stage); Treasure Island (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park); The General From America, Twelfth Night, The Book of Will, As You Like It, Measure for Measure, So Please You (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival). Film/TV: “Succession” (HBO), “Julia” (HBO), “The Holdovers” (Dir. Alexander Payne), “Minyan” (Dir. Eric Steele), as well as many commercials. Mike is a founding member of The
Living Room Theatre Company in Vermont where he has appeared in many productions, including The Cherry Orchard, Exit The King, and The Seagull, among others. Love to R! (he/him)
ELIZA FICHTER (Hippolyta/Titania)
Actors’ Shakespeare Project: debut! Regional: Noises O! (Lyric Stage Company); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Servant of Two Masters (Lanes Coven Theater); Morning, Noon and Night (Company One); The Minutes (Umbrella Stage Company); Kill the Magistrate (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre); The Crucible (Nora Theatre/ Bedlam); The Revolutionists (Central Square Theater); and Matchless & The Happy Prince (Underground Railway Theater). Education: BFA in Acting from Boston University, MFA in Arts Education from Harvard. Learn more at her website. (she/they)
DAN GARCIA (Oberon) Actors’
Shakespeare Project: debut! Regional: Noises O!, The Game’s Afoot, The Play That Goes Wrong (Lyric Stage Company of Boston); The House of Ramon Iglesia (Moonbox Productions); Describe the Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Lie Agreed Upon (The Gamm Theatre); Tommy and Mary Spell Canajoharie (Boston Theatre Marathon XXV); Tartu!e (Out Loud Theatre); and Bedtime Stories (Seed and Ivy Theatre). Dan is a proud alumnus of The Gamm Theatre’s fellowship program. All my love to Elizabeth, who gives me endless support. (he/him)
MIA GIATRELIS (Fairy/Dance
Captain)
Actors’ Shakespeare Project: debut! Mia is a junior at Tufts University studying Cognitive Brain Science and Civic Studies with minors in both Theatre and Dance. Mia started dancing and acting at the age of three and has loved performing ever since. Mia has joined the cast of many performances at Wheelock Family Theatre, Regal Music Theatre, and local children’s theatres. Mia is so excited to be a part of this show and especially to work alongside the brilliant Bobbie Steinbach, who directed Mia in the role of Rory in a filmed version of the one woman play, A Hundred Words for Snow. Mia is grateful to the incredible director, Maurice, for his invaluable mentorship and including her to perform and assist with choreography in this magical production! Mia would like to also thank Actors' Shakespeare Project, the amazing cast and crew, and her family and friends for all their love and support. (she/her)
DE’LON GRANT* (Demetrius)
Actors’
Shakespeare Project: Cymbeline, Troilus and Cressida. Broadway: Come From Away. National Tour: Jersey Boys. Regional: Ain’t No Mo’, Pru Payne, A Strange Loop, A Case For The Existence of God, The Scottsboro Boys (SpeakEasy Stage Company); Invisible Man (The Huntington Theatre/Studio Theatre); Welcome to Matteson (New Jersey Repertory Theatre); Douglass (The Wit Theatre); Big River, Superior Donuts, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Lyric Stage Company); Big River, Richard III (Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre); World Goes Round, Passing Strange, Dessa Rose (New Repertory Theatre); Harriet Jacobs (Central Square Theatre). Film: “Come From Away”, “Apart”, “Ghost Light”, “Surrogates”. Education: BFA in Acting from the University of Michigan, MM from the Boston Conservatory. De’Lon has an award nominated podcast called Lemme Fix It! @thedelondotcom (he/him).
KODY GRASSETT
(Theseus/Starveling/ Mustardseed) Actors’ Shakespeare Project: debut! Regional: Touching the Void, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (Apollinaire Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth (Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare); Go Back for Murder (The Barnstormers); The Inheritance (SpeakEasy Stage Company); Cloud 9 (Central Square Theater); Richard III, Macbeth (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); and Romeo and Juliet (The Underlings Theatre Company). Education: MFA in Acting from University of Central Florida in partnership with Orlando Shakespeare, BA in Theatre from University of Vermont. (he/him)
ALAN KUANG (Puck) Actors’ Shakespeare Project: The Bomb-itty of Errors, Let The Right One In. OBroadway: Charlie's Play (Marjorie Deane Little Theatre). Regional: Hamlet, And Your Little Dog Too!, Romeo & Juliet (Apollinaire Theatre); Orlando, Shakespeare in Love, Colossal (Boston University's Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre). Education: BFA in Acting and Dance Minor from Boston University. Other: Award Winning Boston Breaker, member of Boston's Legendary Hip Hop Crew, The FloorLords. Learn more on his Instagram. (he/him)
DOUG LOCKWOOD* (Bottom) is a Founding Member of Actors’ Shakespeare Project. Select ASP Acting Credits: As You Like It, Pride and Prejudice, Richard II, Measure for Measure, King Lear, Titus Andronicus ASP Directing Credits: King Lear, Hamlet, Middletown, Cymbeline. Regional (Acting): Beckett’s Texts for Nothing (Nervous Theatre); Art, The Waverly Gallery (New Rep); The Cherry Orchard (The Nora); Carnival (Gloucester Stage Company); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); Pericles (ART); Lilli’s Purple Plastic Purse (Wheelock Family Theatre). Regional (Directing): Auld
Lang Syne (Gloucester Stage Company); Chesapeake (New Rep); Three Sisters, The Cradle Will Rock, Coolsville, Machinal, Bent (The Boston Conservatory at Berklee). Education: MFA, University of Washington. Teaching: The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Professor of Theater 2004-Present. Upcoming: The Glass Menagerie in June (Gloucester Stage Company). (he/him)
RÉMANI
LIZANA (Snug/Cobweb)
Actors' Shakespeare Project: debut! Regional: Sister Act (The Seacoast Repertory Theatre); Once On This Island (Actors Company of Natick); Madagascar: A Musical Adventure (North Shore Music Theatre); Queer Voices ‘24 (Boston Theater Company). Other: Director and Writer of The Divine Presence, an original Christmas jukebox musical (St. John’s). Education: BFA in Theatre Performance from Salem State University. (she/they)
DEB
MARTIN* (Helena) Actors’
Shakespeare Project: Let The Right One In. National Tours: Victoria in Victor/Victoria (2nd National Tour). Regional: POTUS (Trinity Rep); The Dybbuk (Arlekin Players Theatre); Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Admissions, The Night of the Iguana, The Importance of Being Earnest, Arcadia (The Gamm Theatre); Richard III, King Lear (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); Barbecue (Lyric Stage Company); Mud Blue Sky, Gidion’s Knot (Bridge Repertory Theatre); Casa Valentina, and Next Fall (SpeakEasy Stage). New Play Development: Huntington Theatre, ArtsEmerson, New Repertory, and German Stage. Film: “Spartan” with Val Kilmer and William H. Macy. Education: Graduate, Atlantic Theater Company Conservatory; BFA, Emerson College. (she/her)
BOBBIE STEINBACH* (Egeus/Mistress Quince) is a Resident Artist/Founding Member of Actors’ Shakespeare Project
where she has performed in 18 of ASP’s productions, including Cassius in Julius Caesar (Elliot Norton nomination Outstanding Actress), and most recently as Jaques in As You Like It and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night. Some faves with ASP: Volumnia in Coriolanus and Paulina in A Winter’s Tale. In 2024 she was Jacob Marley in Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s inaugural production of A Christmas Carol. Other roles with CSC include the Nurse in Romeo & Juliet, Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, Maria in Twelfth Night and Queen Margaret in Richard III. She has worked at many area theatres including The Huntington Theatre Company, New Repertory Theatre, Lyric Stage Company, Speakeasy Stage Company, Boston Symphony and Boston Playwright’s Theatre. She is the recipient of the The Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence and Outstanding Actress Award. She was also awarded the Theatre Communications Guild’s Fox Fellowship for Distinguished Achievement, and is a Huntington Theatre Company LuntFontanne Fellow. This one’s for you my love. Bobbiesteinbach.com (she/her)
EVAN TAYLOR (Flute/Peaseblossom)
Actors’ Shakespeare Project: Romeo and Juliet. Regional: Mrs. Warren’s Profession (Central Square Theater); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet (Sh!tfaced Shakespeare), and Flight of The Legless Bird (Chuang Stage). Education: BFA Acting (Emerson College). (he/him)
CREATIVE TEAM
MAURICE EMMANUEL PARENT (Director) is an award-winning actor, director, educator and mentor with over 20 years of professional experience, and has been a Resident Artist at Actors’ Shakespeare Project since 2011. He won the 2023 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director for helming Seven Guitars, the
first play from August Wilson’s American Century Cycle that ASP produced.
Parent’s other directing credits include A Strange Loop, Choir Boy (SpeakEasy Stage Company), Breath & Imagination (Lyric Stage Company), and Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Front Porch Arts Collective/ Central Square Theater/Greater Boston Stage Company). His upcoming production of Hello, Dolly! will premiere at Lyric Stage Company this May.
His acting credits include productions at Huntington Theatre Company, Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, SpeakEasy Stage, Lyric Stage, New Repertory Theatre, Central Square Theater, Geva Theatre and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Parent is the co-founder of The Front Porch Arts Collective, a Black theatre company committed to advancing racial equity in Boston through theater. Currently, Parent is a full time Professor of the Practice in the Tufts Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies. (he/him)
LISETTE VAN DEN BOOGAARD* (Stage Manager) Actors' Shakespeare Project: Emma, Romeo and Juliet, How I Learned to Drive, The Taming of the Shrew Boston theater: The Winter’s Tale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); Machine Learning (Central Square Theatre). Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, Marry Me A Little (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre); Library Lion (Adam Theatre); Metamorphoses (Su olk University). (she/they)
CHRISTINA OSTNER (Props Manager) is a dynamic theatre and events designer with over a decade of experience creating immersive worlds and unforgettable productions. Her expertise spans designing sets, costumes, and props for a wide array of shows across Florida, Georgia, and New England.
Passionate about bringing characters to life, Christina has a special talent for crafting puppets, including her renowned reindeer puppets that have delighted audiences nationwide. Currently, she serves as the Experience Designer for Enchant Christmas, where her creativity shines through in designing magical holiday attractions that captivate visitors. With a strong background in both theatrical artistry and event design, Christina continues to push the boundaries of storytelling, combining innovative design with heartfelt creativity to leave a lasting impression on her audiences. (she/her)
OLIVIA
DUMAINE (Intimacy Director)
Actors’ Shakespeare Project: Emma, Romeo and Juliet, King Hedley II, How I Learned To Drive, The Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It Regional Intimacy Credits: The Hombres (Gloucester Stage Company/Teatro Chelsea); All Shook Up (Reagle Music Theatre); Fade (Teatro Chelsea); Beyond Words, Ada and the Engine (Central Square Theater); The Normal Heart (New Repertory Theatre); Holy Chicken Sandwich, The House of Ramón Iglesia, Passing Strange (Moonbox Productions); Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare & Company); and Everyday Life and Other Odds and Ends (Sleeping Weazel). Education: Salem State University; Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, Theatrical Intimacy Education, Intimacy for the Stage and Screen. www. oliviadumaine.com (she/her)
LEANNA NIESEN (Assistant Intimacy Director) Noises O! (Lyric Stage Company); Lysistrata, Of Thee I Sing & Let Them Eat Cake (Odyssey Opera); The Hombres, Wipeout, Man Moon Walk (Gloucester Stage Company); Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, Merrily We Roll Along, Edges (Capital City Theatre); Education: Muhlenberg College.
JESSE HINSON (Fight Coordinator) is a Resident Artist with Actors’ Shakespeare Project. Actors’ Shakespeare Project: The Merchant of Venice, Exit the King, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, Henry VI, The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, Pericles, Twelfth Night, Antony and Cleopatra Regional: A Case for the Existence of God, Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Shakespeare in Love (SpeakEasy Stage Company); Macbeth, Cymbeline (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); The Thanksgiving Play (Lyric Stage Company); Incels and Other Myths (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre); and Photograph 51 (Central Square Theater). Jesse is a Teaching Professor and the Undergraduate Coordinator for the Department of Theatre at Northeastern University. (he/him)
MACKENZIE ADAMICK (Sound Design) is a Boston-based composer and sound designer, who has previously worked with Actors’ Shakespeare Project on How I Learned to Drive, As You Like It, Coriolanus, and Let the Right One In. Her previous selected composition credits include The Winter’s Tale and Macbeth [2024 Elliot Norton Award — Outstanding Sound Design] (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company), King Lear (Island Shakespeare Festival), and Flora & Ulysses (Wheelock Family Theatre). Selected design credits include Tartu e (The Hub Theater Company of Boston), Summer 1976, A Christmas Carol, Outside Mullingar, The Mountaintop (Lean Ensemble Theater). She has credits with the Contemporary American Theater Festival, Huntington Theatre Company, and Praxis Stage. Mackenzie holds an MFA in Sound Design from Boston University and BA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Western Carolina University. (she/her)
wig and makeup design. He has worked on numerous projects as varied as baroque opera to absurdist clown shows. His work has been called "photogenically eye catching" and "exuberant" by the New York Times. Previous shows for Actors’ Shakespeare Project include The Tempest, Merchant of Venice, Henry IV, and Henry V. Other Shakespeare design of note include All’s Well That Ends Well and Coriolanus for Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Twelfth Night for Yale School of Drama and an OBroadway production of Pericles for Blessed Unrest. Seth has an MFA in design from Yale School of Drama. Learn more at his website. (he/him)
BEN LIEBERSON (Scenic Design) is a freelance technical director and set designer, having previously designed for ASP’s The Taming of the Shrew and As You Like It. As a technical director, he has worked with ASP since 2020, as well as with Arlekin Players, Liars & Believers, Central Square Theater, and Clerestory Light, a producer of outdoor immersive experiences. Design credits include Shrike (Fresh Ink Theatre); Not Medea (Flat Earth Theatre); This Place/Displaced, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You (Artists' Theater of Boston); True West, The Taming (Hub Theatre Company); Crossing Flight (TC Squared Theatre Company); and Really (Company One). Ben is also a company member of Artists' Theater of Boston and is the Scene Shop Supervisor for Wellesley College's Theater Studies program. (he/ him)
HOURS
SETH BODIE^ (Costume Design) is currently a Boston based theater maker. He works primarily as a costume designer, with forays into the milieu of
Monday–Saturday 8am–8pm
BRIAN J. LILIENTHAL^ (Lighting Design) has designed over 300 productions including: sixty productions at Actors Theatre of Louisville (including over twenty-five world premieres), Alley Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, Arizona Theatre Company, Capital Rep, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cleveland Playhouse, GEVA Theatre
Center, Gloucester Stage, Hartford Stage, The Huntington Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Merrimack Rep (forty productions) Milwaukee Rep, Pasadena Playhouse, Playmakers Repertory Theatre, South Coast Repertory, SpeakEasy Stage, over 30 productions at Trinity Repertory Company, among others. He has won the Los Angeles Ovation Award for lighting design, as well as the 2016 Artistic Achievement Award from Merrimack Rep, and has been nominated multiple times for Boston’s IRNE and Norton Awards.
MFA: California Institute of the Arts. Mr. Lilienthal teaches lighting design at Tufts University. He is an in-demand drummer in the Boston area working with country, indie-folk, jump blues, rockabilly, and americana bands in both live and recording situations. (he/him)
Founded in 1913, AEA represents 45,000 actors, singers, dancers and stage managers across the United States and seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theater as an essential component of our society. AEA negotiates wages and working conditions and provides a wide range of benefits including health and pension plans. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO and is a liated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. For more information, visit www.actorsequity.org.
^ Member IATSE United Scenic Artists Local 829.
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As we actively challenge how we produce our work on stage and in the classroom, the Community Access Initiative serves to simultaneously challenge the makeup of our audiences and program participants to ensure that under-represented people and stories have equitable presence not only on the stage but also in our seats.
The Community Access Initiative directly sponsors 20 seats for $20 at every performance, Pay-What-You-Will performances starting at $10, scholarships for all youth and adult programs, in-school programs, paid internships, and more.
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PICTURED: Anthony T. Goss and "ranney" in The Piano Lesson (Photo by Nile Scott Studios)
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Actors’ Shakespeare Project is deeply grateful to the donors listed here for their generosity and support. The following list reflects donations received Nov 1, 2023 through Nov 1, 2024.
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Robert Patten
Robert Saoud
Sandra Cullison and Jim Annis
Shawn Paul
Skylar Fitzgerald
Steve Lilly-Weber
Steven Bloom & Margie Mitlin
Susan Bringola
Susan Walsh and Steve
Harvey
Viven Ramirez
Zelda Gamson
NEXT UP: SEASON 22
October 2–26, 2025
MACBETH
BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE DIRECTED BY CHRISTOPHER V. EDWARDS
PERFORMED AT The Mosesian Center for the Arts
February 12–March 8, 2026
LITTLE WOMEN
BY KATE HAMILL
ADAPTED FROM THE NOVEL BY LOUISA MAY ALCOTT DIRECTED BY SHANA GOZANSKY
PERFORMED AT The Mosesian Center for the Arts
April 16–May 17, 2026
PERFORMED AT Hibernian Hall
FOUNDATIONAL SUPPORT
Blue Piano Fund
Boston Cultural Council
BPS Arts Expansion Fund at EdVestors
Cambridge Community Foundation
Community Charity Lodge of St. Andrew
Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund
Edvestors Arts Internship Program
Hamilton Company Charitable Foundation
Liberty Mutual
Mabel Louise Riley Foundation
Mass Cultural Council
National Endowment for the Arts
Nellie Leaman Taft Foundation
Ramsey McCluskey Family Foundation
Parker Clare Family Foundation
Parker Family Foundation
Shakespeare in American Communities: National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest
Shubert Foundation
Theatre League of Kansas City
COMMUNITY ACCESS INITIATIVE
A special thank you to everyone who has helped us start funding our new Community Access Initiative, which serves to simultaneously challenge the makeup of our audiences and program participants to ensure that underrepresented people and stories have equitable presence not only on the stage but also in our seats.
Anonymous (11)
Austin and Sarah deBesche
Barbara Brescia
Carly Dreme Calbreath
Gregory B. Nash
Jean E. Walsh & Graham Davies
Julia Hendrix
Karl & Chris Johnson
Liz Cremens
Mabel Louise Riley Foundation
Maxine B Peck
Nancy Buck
R. Lynn Rardin & Lynne A. O'Connell
Rabbi Lori Shaller and Matt Pelikan
William Miniscalco and Sarah M. Guilford
ABOUT ACTORS' SHAKESPEARE PROJECT
Actors' Shakespeare Project is an award-winning professional theater company with a Resident Acting Company and extensive education, youth and community programs. ASP works and performs in found spaces, schools, and theaters in Boston neighborhoods. We present and explore the robust language, resonant stories, and deeply human characters in Shakespeare's plays and in other language-based contemporary playwrights. Our work is focused on intimacy, storytelling, language, relationships, voice, risk and artistry within and throughout the Boston area.
For more information, visit www.ActorsShakespeareProject.org.
STAFF
Christopher V. Edwards
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Jen Babcock Davis
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Lindsay Williams
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Evan Turissini
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Kelsey Tidball DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Regine Vital ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Danielle Ibrahim
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Jules Talbot
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Victoria Omoregie
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
ASSOCIATE
Emily Thibodeau
LEAD TEACHING ARTIST
Louise Croteau
BOOKKEEPER
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jean Cummings PRESIDENT
David Sandberg
TREASURER
John A eck CLERK
Carolina Cardillo
Jeremy Gooden
Bruce Herrmann
Jean Dany Joachim
Omar Robinson
Luke Salisbury
Sheryl White
RESIDENT ACTING COMPANY
Esme Allen*
Lydia Barnett-Mulligan*
Marianna Bassham*
Allyn Burrows*
Paige Clark*
Jade Guerra*
Brooke Hardman*
Jesse Hinson*
Jennie Israel*
Doug Lockwood*
Marya Lowry*
Johnnie Mack
Jake Mariño*
Nael Nacer*
Sarah Newhouse*
Maurice Emmanuel Parent*
Paula Plum*
Omar Robinson*
Jon Savage
Mara Sidmore*
Alejandro Simoes*
Richard Snee*
Bobbie Steinbach*
Adele Nadine Traub*
Lisette van den Boogaard*
Shanelle Chloe Villegas*
Walsh*
Benjamin Evett
