The Mad Ones Playbill

Land Acknowledgment

Every community owes its existence and vitality to those who came before us, and whose lives created the story that has led us to this moment now.

Oregon Children’s Theatre and the Young Professionals Company respectfully acknowledge that we are on the unceded traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Cowlitz, Clackamas, Kalapuya, Molalla and many others who made their homes along the Columbia River.

We respectfully acknowledge the stewards of the land and continue the practice of Land Acknowledgment to offer recognition, respect, and remind us of the true story of the people who were already here, and broaden our perspective on our collective history.

In this spirit, Oregon Children’s Theatre pays respect to their elders, past and present. Please take a moment to consider the many legacies that bring us together here today.

The Young Professionals Company at OCT presents:

Sofia Gomez* Sam

Ava Horton† Sam

Sidra Cohen-Mallon† Adam

Ethan Thompson* Adam

Ava Neudeck* Kelly

Leah Wick† Kelly

Kerie Darner Beverly

†Will perform February 10, 12, 18, 23, and 25. *Will perform February 11, 17, 19, 24, and 26.

Artistic & ProduCtiOn Team

Andrea White Director

Addison DeSantis Music Director

Eri Zinke Choreographer

Samie Jo Pfeifer Scenic Designer

Sophina Flores Lighting Designer

Sydney Dufka Costume Designer

Annalise Albright Woods Sound Designer

Amanda Vander Hyde Intimacy Coach

Erin MacGillivray Production Stage Manager

Olivia Cheshire Stage Manager

Marion Hazelwood Costume Design Assistant

Isabel Doogan Directing Apprentice

Thuy Chau Lighting Apprentice

Dani Baldwin Artistic Director, YP Company

Production Support provided by OCT Scene Shop

By Kait Kerrigan & Brian Lowdermilk

CAST

SOFIA GOMEZ

A first-year YP, Sofia is thrilled to be making her OCT debut in The Mad Ones! Sofia has appeared in various other productions around Portland including at The Northwest Children’s Theater, Stumptown Stages, The Lakewood Center for the Arts, and more. Sofia has been doing theatre for 13 years and has been taking voice lessons at VOX Northwest for 5 years. She hopes to continue pursuing musical theatre and her education in the arts through college. She is delighted to be part of The Mad Ones with this incredible cast!

SIDRA COHEN-MALLON

is a 1st year Young Professional, and a sophomore at Sandy High School. The Mad Ones has been his favorite theatrical performance he’s been involved in! He really enjoys getting to tell the story of Sam, and her emotional journey throughout the show. Outside of theater, Sidra likes biking and doodling. He gives his gratitude to the cast, crew and Andrea for being so wonderful to work with, and his parents for giving him the resources to audition.

AVA HORTON

is delighted to be back on the OCT stage for The Mad Ones, having previously performed in Merry Happy Everything last season. You also may have seen her as Annie in Clackamas Repertory’s production of Annie, or Anna in Eastside Theater Company’s Frozen Jr, among other productions. When not performing, Ava enjoys running on her school’s XC and track teams, competing in math competitions, and hiking through the forests near her home. She’d like to thank the carpool crew for rides to rehearsal, and her family and friends for their endless love and support.

ETHAN THOMPSON

is a third-year YP and a Junior at Sam Barlow High School. Ethan has been taking Acting Academy classes at OCT since he was three years old, and was cast in his first professional show at 6, playing a baby spider in OCT’s Charlotte’s Web. Also at OCT, Ethan was cast as Stink in Judy Moody and Stink in 2017. Ethan was most recently in the 2022 YP production of Twelfth Night.

LEAH WICK

A junior in high school, Leah is ecstatic to be making her OCT YP debut in The Mad Ones with such an incredible team alongside her. She’s been doing theater since kindergarten and has continued to expand her training whilst performing in many shows, her most recent being The Music Man as Zaneeta Shinn at Lakeridge High School. Outside of theater, she enjoys painting, running hurdles, snowboarding, video editing, collecting vinyl, and indulging in anything film related—which is what she’s likely to pursue in college. A massive thank you to everyone involved with the show as well as her friends and family for their constant support.

AVA NEUDECK

is a first year YP and is honored to be playing the role of Kelly. She is a junior at West Linn High School and an inducted member of Thespian Troupe 1915. She is also a member of the West Linn Symphonic Choir and studies voice with Vox Northwest Voice Studio. Some of her previous productions include Matilda in Matilda at West Linn High School, Alice in Matilda at the Lakewood Center For The Arts, and Grace Smythe in Stumptown Stages A Christmas Carol. She would like to thank her friends and family for all the love and support.

CAST

KERIE DARNER

is thrilled to be working with Oregon Children’s Theater, Young Professionals Company for the first time. Kerie is a local actor, singer, and graduate of The Actors Conservatory. She’s had the privilege of working with Artists Repertory Theatre, Bridgetown Conservatory, Lakewood theatre, as well as many groups in the San Francisco Bay Area. Some of Kerie’s favorite roles include Sylvia in The Thin Place, Marian in The Music Man, Anna in The King and I and Sharon in Finian’s Rainbow. Kerie is having a blast working with these fantastic teens, and thanks her husband and son for their endless support.

CREATIVE TEAM

ADDISON DESANTIS

grew up in Northern California and earned his BA in Music Composition from California State University, Chico in 2012. There he served as Music Director for Blue Room Theater Young Company from 2016 to 2019. Since relocating to Portland in 2020, Addison has been enamored by the local theater community, making his MD debut with the Chapel Theater in Milwaukie. The Mad Ones is Addison’s second musical with Oregon Children’s Theatre.

ERI ZINKE

is delighted to return as choreographer with OCT after working on the main stage production of Last Stop on Market Street. She trained at Foothill Theatre Conservatory in the San Francisco Bay Area and has performed in various dance and musical theater productions while also working as choreographer and dance captain. From Jazz to Hip-Hop, Ballroom dance to Cheerleading, and Nihon-buyo to K-pop, she has immersed herself in a wide range of physical expressions. In addition to her theatrical pursuits, she is passionate about education, language learning, and holistic wellbeing, striving to practice a sustainable and zen lifestyle with her husband Jonathan and her 1-year-old son Kaito.

SAMIE JO PFEIFER

is excited to design their first show with OCT. A native of Kansas, Samie Jo moved to Portland in 2013 and was quickly taken under the wing of local set designer Tim Stapleton. She has since designed for Defunkt, Lakewood, and Corrib theatre as well as being an assistant designer at Artist Repertory Theatre.

SYDNEY DUFKA

is a visual storyteller and costume designer. She is interested in exploring the motivation of characters through the details in the clothing. Her work is rooted in research, and finding the silhouettes and shapes through sketching. Sydney believes art is a universal form of communication that is vital to humanity. Sydney is also an accomplished craftsman and spends much of her spare time behind the sewing machine building her clothing designs. Educated in Chicago and based in Portland, Oregon and New York City. Sydney holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Costume Design from The Theatre School at DePaul University where she studied under Nan Cibula-Jenkins.

AMANDA VANDER HYDE

SOPHINA FLORES

is the Artistic Director of local dance theatre company Roots and All Theatre Ensemble, who you may know from productions such as Liminal and The Between Spaces, with Ritual Treatment coming this summer. In 2022 she worked as an Assistant Lighting Designer to Marika Kent at Portland Center Stage’s Gem of the Ocean, and designed the lights for Bag and Baggage’s Troy USA and The Tempest, Passinart’s A Song for Coretta, Salt and Sage’s Holy Name, and FUSE’s Our Town. She is delighted to add The Mad Ones as the first show of 2023!

graduated from Western Oregon University in 2018 with a B.F.A in Technical Production. She is also an Intimacy Choreographer in the area, specializing in working with youth and young professionals. She has recently worked with many young professionals in a collegiate and youth company setting. She is the resident Intimacy Choreographer for Valley Shakespeare Festival and has been hired multiple times at Portland Center Stage for intimacy work. She has worked as a freelance Stage and Production Manager in Portland. She has worked with Artists Repertory Theatre, CoHo, triangle productions!, Many Hats Collaboration, and Chapel Theatre. She was also the resident Production and Stage Manager at the Majestic Theatre. Currently, she is the Production Manager of MediaRites Productions, one of the Stage Managers in rep at Oregon Children’s Theatre, and an Assistant Stage Manager at Portland Center Stage. In her ample spare time, she is also a friend, a wife, and a cat mom.

CREATIVE TEAM

ANNALISE ALBRIGHT WOODS

(she/her) is excited to be working with the Young Professional Company again after recently designing Twelfth Night and Alex Getting Better. Annalise has worked for a number of local companies, including Shaking the Tree, Artists Reparatory Theatre, Playwrights West, Coho Productions, Theatre Vertigo, and Many Hats Collaboration. Annalise received an MFS in sound design from the California Institute of the Arts and an MS in Educational Leadership from Portland State University. Love to Oliver and Jeff.

MARION HAZELWOOD

(she/her) is minorly obsessed with the art of costuming; a passionate playwright; occasional actor; and an emerging director, who sees theater as equal parts unrivaled pleasure and deft weapon in the fight for social change. Beloved previous adventures include a reading of her play Three of Swords at Portland State University, directing a staging of Carolyn Gage’s Cookin’ with Typhoid Mary, studying improv at Portland Actors Conservatory, costume designing Sense and Sensibility in Alaska, and singlehandedly teaching, writing, and directing for a children’s theater program in the USVI. The Mad Ones is Marion’s fourth show with OCT.

THUY CHAU

is a sophomore and thrilled to be a lighting apprentice for The Mad Ones. They have studied theatre at NW Children’s Theatre, and are currently a first-year Young Professional. Apart from theatre, Thuy enjoys making music, dancing, baking, and going on walks. Thuy would love to give a thank you to all of the wonderful, talented people working on The Mad Ones for all of their dedication and inspiration!

ERIN MACGILLIVRAY

is a Portland area stage manager and costume designer. Her previous work with Oregon Children’s Theatre includes production stage management for WROL and Twelfth Night, and being the Production Coordinator for DNA. She has also stage managed for Original Practice Shakespeare and Milagro, as well as been a production assistant at Artists Repertory Theatre. As a former YP, Erin is thrilled to be able to mentor young stage managers!

OLIVIA CHESHIRE

is a first year young professional and a junior at Sunset Highschool. This is her first time with a YP Production as the Stage Manager. She was most recently Olivia in Sunset Highschool’s Twelfth Night. This is not her first time working with OCT, she was also in last year’s mainstage production of Last Stop on Market Street. She is incredibly grateful for this opportunity from Dani Baldwin and the mentorship from Erin MacGillivray & Andrea White. This show has been a joy working on and is one-of-a-kind thanks to the dedication of both the cast and crew.

DANI BALDWIN

is the Artistic Director of the Young Professionals Company at OCT. She frequently acts, directs, and designs for OCT. Most recently, Dani directed and choreographed Jasper in Deadland (YP Co.) and directed the Drammy Award-Winning A Year With Frog and Toad (OCT mainstage). Outside of OCT, she has performed with Love Street Playhouse, Sojourn Theatre, Chianti Club Presents, Tapestry Theater, and Miracle Theatre; plus, she’s a regular improv actor with Kaiser Permanente.

Don’t miss the final production of the YP Season!

April 21 - May 7, 2023

Brunish Theatre

New this year! When you buy 5 or more tickets to a YP performance, you’ll save 20% on your ticket order! Use code YPGD2223 at checkout.

The Young Professionals Company is made up of dedicated theater students ages 14–18 who have been selected to participate in a year-long mentoring program, where they receive advanced training through exposure to a wide range of college-level workshops and professional development.

For more information, please visit octc.org/yp-company.

Oregon Children’s Theatre is the region’s largest nonprofit performing arts company for young audiences. In addition to top notch theatrical productions, OCT offers year-round classes in multiple Portland locations and is home to its award-winning Young Professionals Company. OCT is your home away from home for all things youth, theatre and community!