Romeo and Juliet
By William Shakespeare Charlotte Northeast, director
Friday, December 5th at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 6th at 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 7th at 2 p.m.
Bart Luedeke Center Theater
Rider University
2083 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrenceville, N.J.
Rider University gratefully acknowledges the generous support of: The Martinson Family Foundation for its support of theater technology equipment. Michael T. '89 & Susana Santaguida '89 Gummel and Kasey & Billy Ziff for their support of our Rider Friend of the Arts patron program.
Special Thanks
Damon Bonetti and Finn Alexander
The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production or distributing recordings on any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author's rights and actionable under united states copyright law.
CONTENT WARNING
Please note that this production uses strobe lights and loud noises. In addition, it contains simulated violence, murder, and suicide. Viewer discretion is advised.
If any of these scenes elicit a negative emotional response, available resources include:
• The Counseling Center (609-896-5157; counseling@rider.edu)
• Public Safety (609-896-5029)
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)
• Nacional de Prevención del Suicidio (888-628-9454)
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Options for Deaf and Hard of Hearing) – For TTY Users: Use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 1-800-273-8255
• Crisis Text Line (Text HOME to 741741)
• National Grad Crisis Line (877-472-3457)
• National Domestic Violence Hotline (800-799-7233)
Director’s Note
Hope is a powerful emotion. Hope can be the thing that gets someone out of bed in the morning or makes the impossible possible. It shouldn't be overlooked. And yet, so often, it is.
Shakespeare weaves hope seamlessly into this complex and beautifully constructed play. His characters brim with it - from Capulet believing in his only daughter’s future to the Friar’s dreams of uniting two long-feuding families. And of course, our star-crossed lovers are practically swimming in it. It’s what makes them take the risks they take.
With this production, we wanted to examine hope. Test its tensile strength against a backdrop of a hostile government takeover - a society where you have to follow the rules…or else.
Where challenging the establishment can be deadly and those that oppose it are forced to live off the grid, with only their wits and skills to keep them alive. Our band of survivalists take refuge in an abandoned theatre and decide to kindle their dwindling hopes in acting out their very own version of the play. What starts out as distraction becomes a lifeline. Of sorts.
Having hope doesn’t guarantee anything. What we’re meant to learn from having it is that life is sweeter, more poignant and more, well, alive when we allow hope to influence us. Perhaps we cannot change the outcome but our lives are enriched like nothing else. And isn’t that something worth hoping for?
Charlotte Northeast
Setting
Inside An Abandoned Theatre, A Few Years from Now
The Cast
Romeo Brock Warren
Juliet Grace Mandel
Capulet Jaden Misaro
Lady Capulet Olivia Dostal
Nurse Kelly Menjivar
Prince Nate Fleischer
Friar Lawrence Giorgia Dallasta
Benvolio Luke Studley-Roberts
Mercutio, Abram Henry Breit
Tybalt, Balthasar Lucas Brown
Paris, Gregory Ryann Reich
Peter, Apothecary, Friar John,
Sampson, Servingman, Pertruchio, Page Nancy Roig
Understudies
Romeo Matt Cruz
Juliet Jordan Perucki
Capulet Lucas Vitale
Lady Capulet Carolinda Silva
Nurse Kat Gedmin
Prince Corinne Mickey Durkin
Friar Lawrence, Friar John, Servingman, Peter, Apothocary Aryana(Bo) Mitchell
Benvolio Jack DeWeese
Mercutio, Abram William C. McClough
Tybalt, Balthasar, Page Kyra Pichardo
Paris, Gregory Will Mills
Artistic Staff and Crew
Director Charlotte Northeast
Assistant Directors Fiona Swann, Natalie Pace, Jaiden Shaw
Fight Director
Sean McCarther
Assistant Fight Director Gracie Hudson
Fight Captain Jaiden Shaw
Choreographer Deryn C. Kraner
Vocal Coach Damon Bonetti
Dramaturg Olivia Teitelbaum
Production Stage Manager Ben Davis Simonetty
Stage Manager Charlie Dubendorfer
Assistant Stage Managers Delanie Rowe, Jocely Berrios
Technical Director Brandon Rush
Assistant Technical Director Annabel Jones
Co-Scenic Designers Yoshinori Tanokura, Simon Clissold
Lighting Designer Todd Loyd
Assistant Lighting Designer Ella Rybczynski
Lighting Board Operator Abbey McBee
Costume Designer Jim Parks
Assistant Costume Designers Emily Porter (EP) Seigel, Chloé Le Breton
Wardrobe Supervisor Savannah Fouchi
Wardrobe Runner Olivia McDonald
Sound Designer Hailey Tedesco
Sound Engineer Craig Pincus
Sound Operator Joey Meija
Props Designer Clare Hanrahan
Props Supervisor William Coffey
Props Runner Ryan Torres
Production Documentarians Maya Acevedo, Celeste Cruz, Sammi Donato
Administrative Staff
Senior Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Jason Vodicka
Director of Production Management Buck Linton
Artistic Producer C. Ryanne Domingues
Director of Performance Management Kristen Rodgers
Associate Director of Performance Management Leandra Acosta
Performing Arts Coordinator Zach Kent
Stage Management Mentor Brandy Lee Hatcher
Costume Shop Supervisor Jim Parks
Props Director Clare Hanrahan
Scene Shop Supervisor Chris Schimpf
About the Cast
HENRY BREIT, MERCUTIO, is a junior acting major. Rider Main Stage credits include: Asking Stangers the Meaning of Life (U/S Writer and Therapist), Nell Gwynn (Killigrew), THE FIRE (Richy). Rider Student Theatre Company credits include: Sin of Man (The Valet) and 30 in 60 (Host).
LUCAS BROWN, TYBALT (he/him/his) is a sophomore Musical Theater major. Rider Mainstage credits include: THE FIRE (Lead Fly Op.). Other credits include: Spring Awakening (Melchior Gabor; Inside Out Theater Company). The National High School Musical Theater Awards (Nominee; Jimmy Awards 2023 & 2024).
GIORGIA DALLASTA, FRIAR LAWRENCE is a senior Acting major. Rider Mainstage credits include: Nell Gwynn (Ensemble, understudy Killigrew & Dryden). Rider Student Theatre Company credits include: Steel Magnolias (Ouiser Boudreaux). Assistant credits include: THE FIRE (Assistant Costume Designer). Resident choreographer for Next Generation Arts Council in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
JACK DEWEESE, BENVOLIO UNDERSTUDY, is a Sophomore BFA Acting for Film, Television, and Theatre Major. His Rider credits include: How We Fall (Adam) directed by Emily Paruk, as well as various film roles around campus.
OLIVIA DOSTAL, LADY CAPULET (she/they) is a Senior Acting Major from Chandler, Arizona. She will be attending the London Academy of Dramatic Arts in the Spring to study Classical Acting. Rider Mainstage credits: THE FIRE (Jamie Corothers), Lost Girl (Lighting Designer), Rent, Anything Goes, and Nice Work If You Can Get It (Asst. Lighting Designer). Rider Student Theater credits: The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals (Ted/Infected #2), 30 Plays in 60 Minutes (Ensemble), of bodies changed (Daphne/others).
CORINNE MICKEY DURKIN, PRINCE UNDERSTUDY (They/Them) is a sophomore double-majoring within the BFA Acting for Film, Television, and Theatre and BA Theatre Design and Technology programs. Previous acting credits include Rider Student Theatre Company's Starseeds; A Musical Workshop (The Clown).
NATE FLEISCHER, PRINCE/ENSEMBLE (He/him), is a senior BFA Acting for Film, Television, and Theatre major. Rider credits include: THE FIRE (Alan), Asking Strangers the Meaning of Life (Franz Kafka), Spring Theatre Festival: The Acting Showcase (Ensemble), Radium Girls (Understudy), No Fear, Just Passion: The First- and Second-Year Acting Showcase (Ensemble). Student Theater credits include: How We Fall (Isaiah).
KAT GEDMIN, NURSE UNDERSTUDY, is a sophomore musical theatre major. This is her Rider Main Stage debut. Other credits include: The First (Kat/Assassin understudy and Pope Pius/Shakespeare/Sir Francis Drake understudy) with the Fresh Fruit Fellows and Cats (Jennyanydots) at Interlochen Arts Academy.
GRACE MANDEL, JULIET (she/her) is a junior Acting major. Rider Main Stage credits include: Nell Gwynn (understudy Nell Gwynn/ensemble), THE FIRE (understudy Aubrey/Jo). Rider Student Theatre Company credits include: Emotional Women (Free Ride).
WILLIAM C. MCCLOUGH, MERCUTIO/ABRAM UNDERSTUDY, (He/Him) is a Sophomore Musical Theatre major. This is his Rider mainstage debut. Rider Student
Theatre Company credits include: Emotional Women (Hutton). Upcoming Credits include: Myths and Hymns (Dance Ensemble)
KELLY MENJIVAR, NURSE (she/her), is a senior BFA Acting major. Professional Theatre: January in How Should a Conversation Be? a new play reading in Sin Muros: A Latinx Theatre Festival at Stages Repertory in Houston, Texas. Rider Main Stage Credits include THE FIRE (Rachel), and Much Ado About Nothing (Margaret) Rider Student Theatre Company: BIPOC Cabaret, Six Degrees of Sierra Boggess, Romeo and Juliet, and of bodies changed.
WILL MILLS, PARIS/GERGORY UNDERSTUDY, is a Sophomore Musical Theatre Major. This is his Rider Main Stage debut Professional Credits include: Catch Me If You Can (Agent Cod) & Sound of Music (Dance Captain, Rolf understudy).
JADEN MISARO, CAPULET (he/him) is a senior Acting major. Rider Mainstage credits include: Asking Strangers the Meaning of Life (Professor), Nell Gwynn (John Dryden). Professional credits include: The Neighbor film (Gangster) and the Discover Jersey Arts commercial (Extra).
ARYANA(BO) MITCHELL, U/S FRIAR LAWRENCE, is a sophomore Acting major. Rider Student Theatre Company credits include: Hamlet (Horatio), and Castaways and Cutouts (The Mariner).
JORDAN PERUCKI, JULIET UNDERSTUDY (She/Her) is a sophomore Acting major. This is her Rider Main Stage debut. Rider Student Theatre Company credits include: Steel Magnolias (Annelle) and Hamlet (Barnardo/ Player Dancer).
KYRA PICHARDO, TYBALT/BALTHASAR/PAGE UNDERSTUDY (she/her), is a sophomore acting major. This is her Rider Mainstage debut.
RYANN REICH, PARIS/GREGORY, (She/Her) Ryann is a junior BFA Acting and Film & Television major. Rider mainstage credits include: Asking Strangers the Meaning of Life (Dancer/Student understudy), THE FIRE (Film Team). Additionally, Ryann performs with Rider Dance Ensemble (RDE) and serves as Treasurer for Pulse Dance Crew. Select credits include: CATS (Victoria).
NANCY ROIG, PETER/APOTHECARY/FRIAR JOHN/SAMPSON/SERVINGMAN/ PERTRUCHIO/PAGE, (she/her) is a junior BFA Acting for Film, Television, and Theatre Major. Select credits include: Willy Wonka (Mike Teavee; The Performance Project), West Side Story (Anybodys; The Performance Project), Wherever You Go, There You Are (RSTC; Rider University), Nell Gwynn (Rose Gwynn understudy; Rider University), and Summer Theatre Camp (Teaching Artist; The Performance Project)
CAROLINDA SILVA, LADY CAPULET UNDERSTUDY, is a sophomore Acting major. Select credits include: How We Fall (Stage Manager, Rider Student Theatre Company), Castaways and Cutouts (The Gambler, RSTC). This is Carolinda's first Rider Main Stage debut.
LUKE STUDLEY-ROBERTS, BENVOLIO (He/Him), is a senior acting major who plans to pursue photography and acting prost-graduation. Rider Main Stage credits include: Much Ado About Nothing (Count Claudio). Rider Presented Works include: ArtBeast (Chuck), The Dining Room (Dick / Jim), and The Improv Cabaret (Myself).
LUCAS VITALE, LORD CAPULET UNDERSTUDY, (He/Him) is a Sophomore Acting Major. This is his first Rider Main Stage production. Select credits include: The
Importance of Being Earnest (Lady Bracknell, Rider Student Theater Company), How We Fall (Mark, Rider Student Theater Company), Romeo and Juliet (Friar Lawrence, Two River Theatre).
BROCK WARREN, ROMEO (He/Him), is a senior Acting major. Rider Main Stage credits include: Much Ado About Nothing (Benedick), Radium Girls (Arthur Roeder), Anything Goes (Sailor, FBI Agent), Rent (Collins). Rider Student Theatre Company credits include: Inside (The Spitz) Cabaret (Bo), Please I'm a Star (Ensemble) and Improv Cabaret Spring 2025.
About the Artistic &Administrative Staff and Crew
LEANDRA ACOSTA, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT (she/her), is a graduate of Rider University with undergraduate degrees in dance performance and arts administration and a master’s degree in organizational leadership. She currently serves as the Associate Director of Performance Management and adjunct faculty in the Department of Performing Arts. She has worked with a variety of choreographers including Kate Ladenheim, Randy James of 10 Hairy Legs, Angela Cusumano, Merli Guerra of Luminarium Dance Company, Jennifer Gladney, Robson Alves, Lynn Neuman of Artichoke Dance, and Ryan Davis. Leandra has participated in a number of freelance performances and choreographic opportunities but is mostly engrossed in her arts administrative endeavors. In her role as Associate Director, Leandra oversees and manages various aspects of marketing and promotions for the Department of Performing Arts and Westminster Choir College. She recently premiered a new work in the Fall Dance Concert titled i am // we are.
JOCELY BERRIOS, ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER (She/Her), is a freshman Musical Theatre major. Upcoming credits include: Curtain Up! (Spring 2026, Rider University)
DAMON BONETTI, VOCAL COACH, (he/him) is a Philly-based actor, director, musician and professor at Rutgers University–Camden where he just directed a new version of The Seagull adapted by Anya Reiss. He co-founded the Barrymore Award winning Philadelphia Artists’ Collective where he directed the world premiere of CATO (Remixed) at Carpenters’ Hall last May. Damon has worked at most of the Philly area theatres as an actor or director and works on camera in films and commercials. Damon received a Barrymore Nomination for Outstanding Director for True Story at Passage Theater and earned his MFA at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory. damonbonetti.net
SIMON CLISSOLD, CO-SCENIC DESIGNER, (He/him) is a senior Musical Theatre major with a minor in Technical Theater Design. Select Credits include: Nice Work If You Can Get It (Assistant Set Designer)
C. RYANNE DOMINGUES, ARTISTIC PRODUCER, teaches acting, directing, and devising as an Assistant Professor at Rider University. From 2017-2024, she was the Artistic Director of Passage Theatre, a professional, regional theatre found in the heart of Trenton, NJ. Prior to her time at Passage, she worked at a variety of theatres on both coasts, with most of her work being for Simpatico Theatre (which she cofounded in 2004) and the Wilma Theatre in Philadelphia. She received her MFA in Directing from the University of California, Irvine and was a participant in the 2008 Lincoln Center Director's Lab. Next up, Ryanne will continue working with Passage
Theatre and Princeton University on a new, devised piece that focuses on issues within the U.S. education system.
CHARLIE DUBENDORFER, STAGE MANAGER (she/her), is a sophomore Acting for Film, TV, and Theater major with a minor in Dance. Credits include: Into the Woods (Assistant Stage Manager).
CLARE HANRAHAN, PROPS DESIGNER & PROPS DIRECTOR, graduated from Rider University in 2021 with a degree in Technical Theater and a concentration in Props. She has been working in the props field for 10 years now, and her favorite props include the following: Yorik’s skull in Hamlet, floral designs for Kiss Me Kate, a faux marble bust for Nell Gwynn, fake vegetables for Cinderella, and a library full of fake books for Into The Woods. She also loves when she gets to incorporate her love of photography into her prop work. Clare would like to thank Louise Grafton for sharing her wisdom about the dangers of hot glue guns and for always being her inspiration.
BRANDY LEE HATCHER, STAGE MANAGEMENT MENTOR (she/her), is the Faculty Stage Manager, mentoring and advising students focusing on Stage Management within the Design & Technology program. Brandy Lee joined Rider University after 12 years at The Walt Disney Company in California, most recently as a Senior Entertainment Stage Manager. She received her MFA in Stage Management from the University of California, Irvine and her BFA in Stage Management from Stephens College in Columbia, MO.
GRACIE HUDSON, ASSISTANT FIGHT DIRECTOR. Gracie is honored to be the Assistant Fight Director for this production of Romeo and Juliet. They are an advanced actor combatant based in Philadelphia and have been spending the past couple of years expanding on and progressing their stage combat training. They are certified in a variety of disciplines with The Society of American Fight Directors, Fight Directors Canada, and The British Association of Stage and Screen Combat. They want to thank Dr. Sean McCarther for giving them this opportunity to work alongside him. They also want to thank their parents and partner Freddie for all of their support and love.
ANNABEL JONES, ASSISTANT TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, is a Senior B.F.A. Musical Theatre major and Theatre Design and Technology minor. Rider performance credits include Momentum, Entr’acte: Come Together, and Twelfth Night (Illyrian Townsfolk/Fabian understudy). Rider Student Theater Company credits include The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals (Alice/As Cast). Professional credits include Strike/Out (Drew; Act Out Diva Festival) and Board of Ed (Jess/As Cast; Act Out Diva Festival). Rider technical credits include Kiss Me Kate (Sound & Projection Operator), Natasha, Pierre, the Great Comet of 1812 (Assistant Stage Manager & Stage Carpenter), Die Fledermaus (Assistant Stage Manager) and The Fire (Assistant Stage Manager).
DERYN C. KRANER, CHOREOGRAPHER, is a Senior BFA Musical Theatre major with a minor in Dance. Rider Credits: Twelfth Night (Ensemble/Maria understudy), Into the Woods (Choreographer), Rider Dances 2025 (Costume Designer), Nell Gwynn (Choreographer), Asking Strangers the Meaning of Life (Choreographer), Entr’Acte: Femininomenon (Choreographer), Rider Dances 2024 (Dancer & Costume/Makeup Designer), Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812 (Assistant Costume Designer). Upcoming Rider Credits: From Up Here (Costume Designer).
CHLOÉ LE BRETON, ASSISTANT COSTUME DESIGNER (She/Her), is a Senior Acting major. Previous Rider tech credits: Into The Woods (Assistant Costume Designer).
Previous Rider acting credits: Asking Strangers the Meaning of Life (Writer) and Nell Gwynn (Lady Castlemaine/Louise de Keroualle).
BUCK LINTON, DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT. Buck Linton is the Director of Production Management for all academic stage productions within the College of Arts and Sciences. He is an adjunct faculty member within the Design and Technology Department where he teaches Stagecraft and oversees all production tech credits. Since 2002, he has worked on over 150 productions with Rider University and Westminster Choir College. In that time, he worked as a scenic designer, technical director, projection designer, and/or production manager in all of the performing arts disciplines that Rider has to offer.
Prior to joining Rider University, Buck was the assistant technical director at McCarter Theatre for more than 50 productions. During his time at McCarter, he had the opportunity to work on numerous co-productions with nationally recognized theaters including La Jolla Playhouse, The Kennedy Center, Steppenwolf, Manhattan Theater Club, and Seattle Repertory to name a few. While at McCarter, he also served as a scenic designer and technical director for their education department. Buck has had the pleasure of working as a scenic designer, technical director and production manager with many other regional companies such as Opera New Jersey, Theater Virginia, Theater IV, Ashlawn Opera, Peach State Summer Theater and Jekyll Island Musical Theater Festival.
Buck earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from Virginia Tech in Scenography and Technical Design. A native of South Carolina, he earned his Bachelor of Arts from Francis Marion University, double majoring in Theater Design and Technology and Fine Arts with a focus in painting and ceramics. He lives in Lawrenceville with his wife and their three children and frequently assistant coaches their various sports.
TODD LOYD, LIGHTING DESIGNER, is the lighting director for Rider University’s Department of Performing Arts. He supervises the lighting for every performance that the department produces in addition to mentoring several students that assist in designing, hanging, focusing, and programming the lighting for each show. At Rider he has designed over 30 productions including plays, musicals, dance recitals, cabarets, and operas. Some of the highlights include RENT, Nell Gwynn, The Prom, Clean Slate: A World Premiere Musical, Urinetown, Cabaret, Polaroid Stories, Rider Dances: Moving in Our Community, Pippin, Bright Star, Hair, Heathers The Musical, Once On This Island, She Kills Monsters, A Chorus Line and Metamorphoses. Other selected professional projects include Rock of Ages and Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery at Forestburgh Playhouse, Clean Slate: A World Premiere Musical and The Gun Show at Passage Theatre, and Journey to Oz with the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte and Experiential Theater Company.
SEAN MCCARTHER, FIGHT DIRECTOR, serves as Professor of Musical Theater Voice and Chair of the Department of Performing Arts at Rider University, where he teaches applied voice to classical, musical theater, and music production majors, and movement for the actor. He is an advanced actor combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors and the Academy of Fight Directors Canada and has trained with both Intimacy Directors and Coordinators and Theatrical Intimacy Education. Dr. McCarther’s research interests span the fields of psychology, motor learning, voice pedagogy, and theatre. He focuses on topics such as the intersection of choral and vocal pedagogy, peak performance, the acquisition of expertise, theatrical emotion, and consent-based rehearsal processes. His research appears in several peer-reviewed publications, and he is a frequent lecturer and workshop presenter nationally and
internationally. Previous Rider violence/intimacy choreography credits include Nell Gwynn, The Children’s Hour, The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong, Cabaret, Polaroid Stories, These Seven Sicknesses, Oklahoma, Heathers, She Kills Monsters, and Spring Awakening
CHARLOTTE NORTHEAST, DIRECTOR, was born in Canada to British parents, Charlotte is an actor, director, writer and coach in text and dialects. At Rider, she teaches Acting and Voice/Dialects and directed last year's Nell Gwynn. Winner of three Barrymore Awards in acting and directing with InterAct (Skin in Flames), Lantern Theater Company (Emma) and Philadelphia Artists' Collective (Citrus Andronicus). Graduate: Circle in the Square. As an actor, she has appeared with: PAC, Act II Playhouse, Theatre Exile, Passage Theatre, Azuka, Montgomery Stage, Hedgerow, Orbiter 3 (Barrymore Nomination), Theatre Horizon, Delaware Theatre Company, and the Walnut Street Theatre. She has directed for InterAct, PAC, Curio, Hedgerow, RutgersCamden, WST, Tribe of Fools, and Philadelphia Young Playwrights. Co-creator and performer of The Complete Works of Jane Austen, Abridged (now published through Concord Theatricals/Samuel French) and a new adaptation of Jane Eyre (PACBarrymore nomination). Director/deviser of You Shouldn’t Be Doing What You’re Doing On That Ladder with Tribe of Fools and Citrus Andronicus for PAC. Co-founder of 100th Meridian, dedicated to telling stories about the communion of rock and roll. Her solo show They’ve All Gone And We’ll Go Too has been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, NJ Fringe and the Cannonball Festival. She also writes romance novels. Love to Damon, Jules, and The Kitties. Please visit: charlottenortheast.com
JIM PARKS, COSTUME DESIGNER & COSTUME SHOP SUPERVISOR, is excited to be working on this production. Jim has been a costume designer for the better part of 30 years and has worked on a variety of productions for plays, musicals, operas, festivals, film and television. His most recent work was for both RENT and Grease for Middlesex counties Plays in the Park summer season
CRAIG PINCUS, SOUND ENGINEER, has worked in professional audio and system design for the past twenty-nine years. He has engineered and produced audio for musical theater performances, national television broadcasts, and live concerts.
Craig holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Rutgers University and teaches digital audio production at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, NJ.
Craig also performs and records music, owns a sound and event production service, and directs TheatreCraft Musical Program, a children’s theater company, created with his wife Renee, producing theatrical performances in the central NJ area.
EMILY PORTER (EP) SIEGEL, ASSISTANT COSTUME DESIGNER (they/them) is a supersenior BFA Acting and English Literature double major. Professional Credits: Shipwrecked! (Stitcher, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey). Educational Credits: King Lear (Stitcher, Oxford University Drama Society), As You Like It (Costume Designer, STNJ Summer Professional Training Program). Rider Credits: The Fire (Costume Designer, Meeting of the European Theatre Academies 2024), Enemies: A Love Story (Assistant Costume Designer), Radium Girls (ACD), Suor Angelica / Hermit Songs (ACD), Much Ado About Nothing (Costume Designer), of bodies changed (Director/Creator, Costume Designer, self-produced), Rider Dances ‘23: Expanding Communities (ACD), Clean Slate (ACD), The Children’s Hour (Stage Manager), Urinetown (ACD), Rider New Works ‘22 (Stage Manager/Costume Designer), Pete(her) Pan (Stagehand), Hänsel und Gretel (Assistant Stage Manager), and Pippin (ASM). RSTC Credits: castaways and cutouts (Director/Costume Designer), Inside (the Spitz) Cabaret (Costume Designer), and The Lonely Hearts Club Cabaret (Costume Designer).
DELANIE ROWE, ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER, is a senior Arts & Entertainment Industries Management Major. This is her first production crew role at Rider University. She is also an employee for the Props department.
BRANDON RUSH, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, is a graduate of Rider University and has kept a consistent relationship with Rider’s Theatre Department, where he is returning for his second year as their Technical Director. Some of his celebrated works at Rider include, but are not limited to, Nice Work If You Can Get It, The Fire, Into The Woods, RENT, Anything Goes, Enemies: A Love Story, A Doll’s House, and Radium Girls.
ELLA RYBCZYNSKI, ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER (she/they), is a Junior Theatre Design and Technology Major. Rider Main Stage credits include: The Prom (Spot Op.), Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (Sound Op.), Rider Dances (Stage Manager), Anything Goes (Light Board Op.), RENT (SM) Nell Gwynn (Assistant Lighting Designer), The Fire (SM), Rider’s Dance Capstone Showcase (Lighting Designer), and Twelfth Night (Production Stage Manager).
BEN DAVIS SIMONETTY, PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER (they/he) is an Actor, Stage Manager, Director, and Teaching Artist, based in Philadelphia, PA. They graduated from Rider University with their Bachelors in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Acting and a Minor in Art Entertainment Industries Management. Since graduating Ben has worked in a multitude of roles including production stage manager, teaching artist, company manager, house manager, actor, and director. They are currently one of the House Managers at McCarter Theatre. Recent Credits include: Primary Trust at Philadelphia Theatre Company (Production Assistant), Young Queer and Stupid at Philadelphia Fringe (Director), and Dutchman and The Slave at Passage Theatre Company (Assistant Stage Manager). Ben has fostered their love for storytelling and creation, while finding a passion for new work and theatre for social change. They pride themselves on being a jack of all trades or at least as many as possible. upcoming work: MuleHeaded at Passage Theatre Company (Production Stage Manager). Visit their website: bensimonetty.squarespace.com or follow them on Instagram @bdavis1210.
JAIDEN SHAW, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR/FIGHT CAPTAIN, is a senior BFA Acting major. Rider Credits include: Lost Girl (A/Cora), THE FIRE (Maddie, U/S Sydney, Block, Reynolds). This summer, she completed the Princeton University Stage Combat Workshop and traveled to Florence, Italy to participate in the Meeting of European Theatre Academies with other Rider students.
FIONA SWANN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR (she/her) is a senior Musical Theatre major and Filmmaking for Actors minor from Pennsylvania. Rider credits include: Into The Woods (Cinderella's Stepmother). Rider Student Theatre Company credits include: Hamlet (Director), Emotional Women (Jeb/Hutton understudy), Our New World: A Green Cabaret (Singer), Romeo & Juliet (Lady Capulet). Upcoming credits include: 9 to 5 (Judy) Fiona is the Vice President of the Rider Student Theatre Company.
YOSHINORI TANOKURA, CO-SCENIC DESIGNER, originally from Tokyo, is currently teaching scenic design at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ. Yoshi holds a M.A. in Scenography from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London and an M.F.A. in Set Design from the University of Connecticut. As a freelance designer, his design credits include Moon Over Buffalo at the People’s Light and Theatre, Clever Little Lies by Joe DiPietro at Westside Theatre, NYC, Exonerated with the Delaware Theatre Company, and Peter and the Starcatcher at the Adrienne Arsht Center. Yoshi assisted
John Lee Beatty on a number of Broadway productions, such as Venus in Fur, Doubt, and The Color Purple. Yoshi is a member of the United Scenic Artists, Local 829.
HAILEY TEDESCO, SOUND DESIGNER is a Senior BA Theater Design and Technology student. Her previous Rider credits include: THE FIRE (Sound mixer), Nice Work If You Can Get It (Sound Designer), RENT (Sound Designer) and Radium Girls (Sound Designer). She is the president of the Rider Student Theater Company.
OLIVIA TEITELBAUM, DRAMATURG (she/they) is a junior BFA Musical Theatre major with a double minor in History and Public Relations (PR). Rider Dramaturgy credits: Enemies, A Love Story and Entr’Acte Feminominon (Fall 2024). Rider Credits: Entr’Acte Feminominon and Curtain Up: Arrival (Spring 2024). Rider Student Theatre Company Credits: Starseeds: the Musical, Our New World: A Green Cabaret. Olivia most recently served as the Female Presenting External Swing in Legally Blonde: The Musical at the Broadway Theatre of Pitman. Registered BGA Green Captain
About Rider University and The Department of Performing Arts
Located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Rider University is a private co-educational, student-centered university that emphasizes purposeful connections between academic study and real-world learning experience. Rider prepares graduates to thrive professionally, to be lifelong independent learners, and to be responsible citizens who embrace diversity, support the common good, and contribute meaningfully to the changing world in which they live and work.
The College of Arts and Sciences is dedicated to educating students for engaged citizenship, career success, and personal growth in a diverse and complex world. The college cultivates intellectual reflection, artistic creativity, and academic maturity by promoting both broad academic inquiry and in-depth disciplinary study, while nurturing effective and ethical applications of transferable critical skills. The College consists of four schools: the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the School of Communication, Media, and Performing Arts, the School of Science, Technology, and Mathematics, and Westminster Choir College.
Through its dynamic mix of academic programs, The Department of Performing Arts helps aspiring professional performers, producers, managers, designers, technicians and entrepreneurs find their unique path in an ever-evolving industry. Acknowledged as innovative and contemporary, the Department of Performing Arts aspires to build a more equitable, engaging and sustainable future for the performing arts while exploring the many diverse historical, cultural, social and creative threads that add to our rich tapestry.
