Written by William Shakespeare
Adapted & Directed by Mikael Burke
Courtyard Theater
Romeo and Juliet
Written by William Shakespeare
Adapted & Directed by Mikael Burke
Courtyard Theater
Run Time: 75 minutes (no intermission)
Most enjoyed by ages 10 and up.
Audience Notice: Contains violence, including depictions of death & suicide. The staging also features prop weaponry, flashing lights, & haze effects. If you or someone you know needs support, call or text 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat at 988lifeline.org.
Short Shakespeare! returns with the tragic romance Romeo and Juliet. Verona burns under summer’s heat—and the division of two prominent families. Against a backdrop of violence and an endless cycle of vengeance, Shakespeare sets his tale of young love found—and tragically lost. This 75-minute adaptation, told in Shakespeare’s own words, poses the question—can true love survive in a divided community? The production combines Shakespeare’s original verse with dynamic staging and a bright, bold 1980s setting to connect young audiences with the characters’ journeys. Following each performance, stay for a free discussion with the entire cast, and mingle with them in the Lobby for informal conversations and photos.
In addition to the public performances on Saturday mornings, Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet will also play to thousands of students during weekday Team Shakespeare matinees—engaging middle and high school students in Shakespeare through the unmatched power of live performance.
MAR 9 ASL Interpretation
MAR 9 Open Captioning
Run Time: 75 minutes (no intermission)
Most enjoyed by ages 10 and up.
Audience Notice: Contains violence, including depictions of death & suicide. The staging also features prop weaponry, flashing lights, & haze effects. If you or someone you know needs support, call or text 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat at 988lifeline.org.
MAR 9 ASL Interpretation
MAR 9 Open Captioning
MAR 9 ASL Interpretation
MAR 9 Open Captioning
Video: Trailer
Gallery: On Stage
Video: Trailer
Gallery: On Stage
Felicia Oduh as Juliet and Kenneth La’Ron Hamilton as Romeo in Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Liz Lauren.
2. The company of Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Liz Lauren.
3. Kenneth La’Ron Hamilton as Romeo (at center), with Rasell Holt as Mercutio and Alex Benito Rodriguez as Benvolio in Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Felicia Oduh as Juliet, with Barbara Figgins as the Nurse and Carolyn Kruse as Lady Capulet in Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Jack DeCesare as Abraham (at right) and Ian Maryfield as Tybalt in Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Donovan Session as Sampson in Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Ronald Conner plays Lord Capulet and Bobby Bowman plays Lord Montague in Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Jonah D. Winston as Friar Laurence (at right) and Kenneth La’Ron Hamilton as Romeo in Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Carolyn Kruse as Lady Capulet (at center) with the company of Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Felicia Oduh as Juliet and Kenneth La’Ron Hamilton as Romeo, with Jonah D. Winston as Friar Laurence in Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Rasell Holt as Mercutio, with Alex Benito Rodriguez as Benvolio in Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Felicia Oduh as Juliet and Barbara Figgins as the Nurse in Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Artists
Adeoye
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: The Comedy of Errors. CHICAGO: A Christmas Carol, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (Goodman Theatre); The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Lookingglass Alice, The Little Prince, Peter Pan, Icarus, Black Diamond – The Years the Locusts Have Eaten (Lookingglass Theatre Company); Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Theatre. REGIONAL: The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (Shakespeare Theatre Company/The Old Globe); All’s Well That Ends Well, The Atheist’s Tragedy (Academy for Classical Acting); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Moby Dick (Alliance Theatre); A Raisin in the Sun (Guthrie Theatre/Penumbra Theatre); Optimism! Or Voltaire’s Candide (Spooky Action Theatre); Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Arizona Theatre Company, Clarence Brown Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City Repertory Theatre. FILM: Chicago Overcoat, #Vengeance Is Mine. TELEVISION: Detroit 187 (ABC); Leverage (TNT); Prison Break (FOX). EDUCATION: MFA in classical acting, The George Washington University. he/him/his.
Bobby Bowman
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare in Love. CHICAGO: Shadows of Birds (Glass Apple Theatre); Through the Elevated Line (Silk Road Rising); Fair Maid of the West (Oak Park Festival Theatre); Hand to God (Victory Garden Theatre); Richard III (The Gift Theatre); A Loss of Roses (Raven Theater). REGIONAL: The Comedy of Errors, Death of a Salesman, King Lear (American Players Theatre); Julius Caesar, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, Two Gentlemen of Verona (Montana Shakespeare in the Parks); Merchant of Venice, Richard III (Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival). EDUCATION: BFA in acting, Oklahoma City University.
Ronald L. Conner
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night, directed by Tyrone Phillips, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks productions of Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits, Twelfth Night, Short Shakespeare! productions of Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew. CHICAGO: Congo Square Theatre (Ensemble Member), Goodman Theatre, Court Theatre, TimeLine Theatre Company, Pegasus Players, Urban Theatre Company. REGIONAL: St. Louis Black Repertory Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Geva Theatre, Olney Theatre, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Portland Stage. FILM: Chasing the Blues (STARZ/Amazon Prime); The Secret Santa (TLC); Christmas Again (Disney Channel). TELEVISION: Southside (Comedy Central/HBO MAX); The Chi (Showtime); Justified, City Primeval (FX); Chicago PD, Chicago Med (NBC); Empire (FOX); Sirens (USA).
Jack DeCesare
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks and Short Shakespeare! productions of Romeo and Juliet. CHICAGO: Porchlight Music Theatre, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Steppenwolf Theater, Congo Square Theatre Company. REGIONAL: Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Old Globe. TELEVISION: Chicago Justice (NBC) and various commercials. EDUCATION: BFA in acting, The Theatre School at DePaul University.
Barbara Figgins
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: My Brilliant Divorce (Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination – Best Solo Performance), The Shadow of a Gunman, Scenes From The Big Picture, WAR, Doubt, Dancing at Lughnasa (Irish Theatre of Chicago); Fairview (Definition Theatre); Barbecue (Strawdog Theatre); Hedda Gabler (Writers Theatre); Exit Strategy (Jackalope Theatre); The History Boys (TimeLine Theatre, Joseph Jefferson Award – Best Ensemble); The Seagull (The Artistic Home); Elizabeth Rex, Richard III (Oak Park Festival Theatre); Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Othello (A Crew of Patches). REGIONAL: Pipeline (Alabama Shakespeare Festival); Henry VIII (Lakeside Shakespeare). TELEVISION: Chicago Justice (NBC); The Chi (Showtime).
Kenneth La’Ron Hamilton
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: The Lion in Winter (Court Theatre); Eurydice (Writers Theatre). REGIONAL: Much Ado About Nothing (Milwaukee Repertory Theater); Superior Donuts (AthensWest Theatre); Much Ado About Nothing (St. Louis Shakespeare); Macbeth, Twelfth Night (American Players Theatre); A Christmas Carol (American Shakespeare Center); Twelfth Night (Nashville Shakespeare Festival); Romeo & Juliet, The Winter’s Tale, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Cincinnati Shakespeare Company). OPERA: Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Le Comte Ory (Lyric Opera of Chicago).
Rasell Holt
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Romeo and Juliet. CHICAGO: A Story Told in Seven Fights (The Neo-Futurist Theater); Wit (The Hypocrites); The Hairy Ape (Oracle Productions). REGIONAL: Romeo and Juliet, The Brothers Size, Twelfth Night (American Players Theatre); Dracula (Actors Theatre of Louisville); The Royale (KC Rep); Airness (Geva Theatre); The Realness (Hangar Theatre); Skeleton Crew (American Stage). FILM: Drive Slow by Terrence Thompson. TELEVISION: Chicago PD (NBC).
Carolyn Kruse
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Macbeth, Troilus and Cressida. CHICAGO: Molly Sweeney, Spinning, Shining City, Lay Me Down Softly, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Dancing at Lughnasa, Scenes from the Big Picture (Irish Theatre of Chicago); Hurricane Diane (Theater Wit); Ada and the Engine (Artistic Home); Tale of Two Cities (Lifeline Theatre); King Phycus (Strange Tree); Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Next Theatre); Turtle (Redtwist); Henry V, Blood Wedding (The Hypocrites); Spring Awakening, Tooth of Crime (Strawdog Theatre); Romeo and Juliet (Arts Lane/Ivanhoe). FILM: Fertile Myrtle. TELEVISION: Chicago PD (NBC); Onion Fusion Election Special (The Onion/Fusion). EDUCATION: MFA in acting, Indiana University-Bloomington; BFA in musical theatre performance, Western Michigan University. AWARDS: Joseph Jefferson Award Citation for King Phycus.
Ian Maryfield
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Short Shakespeare! productions of Romeo and Juliet and The Comedy of Errors. CHICAGO: Indoor Cats (Red Theater); Recipe for Disaster (Windy City Playhouse); Krugozor (Theatre Evolve); All Quiet On The Western Front (Red Tape Theatre); Photograph 51, The Originalist (Court Theatre); The Nutcracker (The House Theatre of Chicago); Fear and Misery in the Third Reich (Haven Theatre). REGIONAL: As You Like It (Montana Shakespeare in the Parks). TELEVISION: Chicago Fire (NBC). EDUCATION: BFA in acting, Oklahoma City University.
Felicia Oduh
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet, Measure for Measure. CHICAGO: Noises Off (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); The Nacirema Society (Goodman Theatre); Alaiyo (Definition Theatre); Hand to God (Paramount Theatre). REGIONAL: Pipeline (TheatreWorks Colorado Springs). TELEVISION: Shining Girls (Apple TV+); 4400 (The CW); How to L0ve (OTV). EDUCATION: BA in theatre, Northwestern University. AWARDS: 2024 Definition Theatre Amplify New Play Commission Winner; 2023 Kilroys Web; 2021 Reva and David Logan Foundation Artist Grant.
Alex Benito Rodriguez
Alex Benito Rodriguez (Demetrius/Flute/Ensemble) CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Short Shakespeare! Romeo & Juliet. CHICAGO: You Will Get Sick (Steppenwolf Theatre); Inherit The Wind (Goodman Theatre); The Lifespan of a Fact (TimeLine Theatre Company); Anna in the Tropics (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company); In His Hands, Botticelli in the Fire (First Floor Theater); Dory Fantasmagory (Young People’s Theatre of Chicago). REGIONAL: The Crucible, Noises Off, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Our Town (Asolo Repertory). TELEVISION: Dark Matter (Apple TV+); Chicago Fire (NBC). EDUCATION: BFA in acting, University of Illinois Chicago; MFA in acting, Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training.
Donovan Session
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Is God Is (A Red Orchid Theatre); The Most Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Magnolia Ballet (About Face Theatre); Kill Move Paradise (TimeLine Theatre Company); Sugar In Our Wounds (First Floor Theatre); Bring the Beat Back (Otherworld Theatre Company); The Leftovers (Something Marvelous Theatre Company); Non-Player Character (Red Theatre); Queer Eye: Musical Parody (Playground Theatre); Everybody (Brown Paper Box Company); Six Degrees of Separation, Surely Goodness and Mercy (Redtwist Theatre). REGIONAL: Urbanite Theatre TELEVISION: Work in Progress (Showtime). EDUCATION: BFA in theatre, University of Oklahoma.
Jonah Winston
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Big Fish, Damn Yankees (Marriott Theater); Avenue Q, Little Shop of Horrors, Clue, Young Frankenstein, Spamalot (Mercury Theater Chicago); A Christmas Carol (Goodman Theater); Parade (Writers Theater); Wake Up, Brother Bear (Chicago Children’s Theater). TOURING: The Play That Goes Wrong, Saint Georges’ Sword and Bow. REGIONAL: Illinois Shakespeare Festival, The Cleveland Playhouse, Beef and Boards Dinner Theater. OPERA: The Merry Widow, Jesus Christ Superstar, Louder! Longer! Wagner! (Lyric Opera of Chicago). FILM: Lacy’s Christmas Do Over, Evil Lurks, The Resentful Angel. TELEVISION: Chicago Fire (NBC), Chicago PD (NBC), Discover Indie Film (Amazon Prime). EDUCATION: BA in theatre and vocal music, Butler University; Master of Letters in acting, Flinders University. AWARDS: Multiple individual Joseph Jefferson Award Nominations and overall production awards.
Benjamin Jenkins
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: The Comedy of Errors. CHICAGO: Arsenic and Old Lace (Court Theatre); Middle Passage (Lifeline Theatre); Fireflies (Northlight Theatre); Titus Andronicus (Haven Chicago); Feral (MPAACT); Choir Boy, Not About Nightingales (Raven Theatre). EDUCATION: BFA in acting, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.
Diego Longoria
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Good Grief, Our Lady of 121st Street (DePaul University); Verdi Il Corsaro (Chicago Opera Festival); Sunday Night Lab (Green Shirt Studios). EDUCATION: BFA in acting, DePaul University.
Carlos Olmeda
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. CHICAGO: United Flight 232 (House Theatre of Chicago). REGIONAL: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry VI Pt.2 (Shakespeare & Company). TELEVISION: Chicago Fire (NBC).
Bradford Stevens
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: The Language Room (Broken Nose Theater); The Hairy Ape (Oracle Theater); Trojan Women (Goodman Theater); Richard III (Chase Park Theater); The Darkness After Dawn (Factory Theater); Jesus Hopped The A Train (Joseph Jefferson Award Nominated – Best Actor), Soldier’s Play (Raven Theater); Truth and Reconciliation (Side Show Theater); Winterset (Griffin Theater); That’s Weird Grandma (Playmakers Laboratory). FILM: Dazzling Cool Cat Jones, Beyond The Door, Get A Job, Office Cat, Walt Brother Walt. TELEVSION: Chicago PD (NBC); 61st Street (FX). EDUCATION: MFA in acting, the Theatre School at DePaul University; Second City Conservatory.
Pricilla Torres
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Little Women, The Jigsaw Bride (First Folio Theatre); Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Project of Chicago); The New Word (Misalliance Repertory Theatre). REGIONAL: Undiscovered Country, Henry VIII (Oklahoma Shakespeare); Spike Heels, Angel Street (Sharon Studio Theatre). EDUCATION: BFA in acting, University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. AWARDS: 2022 Chicago/Midwest Regional Emmy.
Sarafina Vecchio
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Parcel from America (Irish Theatre Chicago); The Fair Maid of the West, The Taming of the Shrew (Oak Park Festival Theatre); Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Miss Julie, The Misanthrope (Janus Theatre); The Importance of Being Earnest (Steel Beam Theatre); The Drowsy Chaperone (Metropolis Performing Arts Centre). FILM: Exit Statement, North of the 10, Finding Hope, Flat Chested, Coyote. TELEVISION: Chicago Fire, Chicago Justice (NBC). EDUCATION: PGA in teaching Shakespeare, University of Warwick (UK). Vecchio is an adjunct professor at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of the Performing Arts and a member of the faculty at Acting Studio Chicago.
Tyler Meredith
Verse Coach
Christina Casano
Assistant Director
Tyler Meredith
Verse Coach
Christina Casano
Assistant Director
Mikael Burke
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Notes from the Field (TimeLine Theatre); Tambo & Bones (Refracted Theatre Company); Blues for an Alabama Sky, Routes (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company); The Magnolia Ballet (About Face Theatre, Joseph Jefferson Award – Best Short Run Production). REGIONAL: Yale Repertory Theatre, Forward Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Theaterworks Hartford, Urbanite Theatre, Theatreworks Colorado Springs, Geva Theatre Center, Phoenix Theatre-Indianapolis. EDUCATION: MFA, DePaul University. AWARDS: Princess Grace Award. Burke is an adjunct faculty member at DePaul University and Roosevelt University.
Frankie DiCiaccio
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: The Drunken City (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Juno (TimeLine Theater Company); The Wedding Singer (Haven Chicago); Titus Andronicus (The Shakespeare Project of Chicago). NEW YORK: The Shakespeare Forum, Laguardia Performing Arts Center, The Dare Tactic. REGIONAL: The American Repertory Theater, Club Oberon. EDUCATION: BA, Northwestern University: MFA, American Repertory Theater/Harvard University. DiCiaccio has recently been a faculty member at Adelphi University and Northern Illinois University.
Alyssa Mohn
Alyssa Mohn (Scenic Designer) CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. CHICAGO: At the Wake of a Dead Drag Queen (The Story Theatre); Herland, Keely and Du (Redtwist Theatre); Pineapple (Irish Theatre of Chicago); I Am Going To Die Alone and I Am Not Afraid, The Clean Up (Prop Thtr); Annual Young Playwrights Festival 33, 36 (Pegasus Theatre Chicago). REGIONAL: Urbanite Theatre, Third Avenue Playworks. EDUCATION: BFA, DePaul University. Mohn teaches Scene Painting at the University of Chicago.
Gregory Graham
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks DREAM: A Community Reimaging of A Midsummer’s Night Dream. CHICAGO: Blues for an Alabama Sky, Anna in the Tropics, Routes (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company); The Porch on Windyhill, Garbologists, Fireflies (Northlight Theatre); Once (Writers Theatre); Is God Is (A Red Orchid Theatre); 1919 (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, Rent (Porchlight Music Theatre); The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice (Court Theatre). EDUCATION: BA in theatre design, University of Illinois Chicago.
Eric Watkins
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Tambo & Bones (Refracted Theatre Company); Nightshade (Links Hall); Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Steep Theatre); A Mile in the Dark (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble); Routes (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination); The Magnolia Ballet (About Face Theatre); Fireflies, Dial M For Murder (Northlight Theatre); Sugar in Our Wounds (Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination), Hooded: or Being Black for Dummies (First Floor Theater); Alaiyo, Ethiopian America (Definition Theatre Company); Machinal (Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination, The Greenhouse Theater Center); A Swell In The Ground (The Gift Theatre); Porcelain (Prologue Theatre, Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination). REGIONAL: Clyde’s (Theaterworks Hartford); Baba (Amphibian Stage); Ariadne (Arizona Opera); Mrs. Harrison (Indiana Repertory Theatre); Don Pasquale (Fort Worth Opera); Hansel and Gretel, Show Boat, Falstaff (Dallas Opera); A Streetcar Named Desire (Opera Santa Barbara/Kentucky Opera). INTERNATIONAL: Barber of Seville (Lithuanian National Opera); Song of Home (Theatre Lumina, Eastern European tour). EDUCATION: MFA in theatrical lighting design, Boston University.
Ethan Korvne
Ethan Korvne (Associate Sound Designer) CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet, Associate Sound Designer for The Comedy of Errors. CHICAGO: Tambo & Bones (Refracted Theatre Company, Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination – Original Music in a Play and Best Sound Design); Gayme Changers (About Face Theatre). EDUCATION: BFA in sound design, The Theatre School at DePaul University
Courtney Abbott
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Bald Sisters, Choir Boy (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Tiger Style! (Writers Theatre); Enough to Let the Light In (Teatro Vista); Hurricane Diane (Theater Wit); Solaris (Griffin Theatre); And Neither Have I Wings to Fly, The Jigsaw Bride (First Folio Theatre); Little Shop of Horrors (Citadel Theatre); Cabaret (Metropolis Performing Arts Centre). FILM: Paper Planes, Departing Seniors. EDUCATION: MFA, Ohio University; BS, Northwestern University. Abbott is a stakeholder in the Back Room Shakespeare Project and is a resident intimacy consultant with Greg Geffrard at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. she/they
Rachel Flesher
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: The Lord of the Rings, Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet. CHICAGO: Twilight Bowl, Relentless (Goodman Theatre); The Burials, Constellations, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); The Displaced (Haven Theatre – Joseph Jefferson Award nomination); First Love is the Revolution (Steep Theatre – Joseph Jefferson Award nomination). LOS ANGELES: Cabaret, Destiny of Desire, Dial M for Murder (Old Globe Theatre); Cassils Human Measure (RedCat Theatre); Radical (IAMA Theatre Company). REGIONAL: There’s Always the Hudson (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company); Othello (Dallas Shakespeare Theatre); West Side Story (Lyric Theatre Oklahoma). TELEVISION: GLOW (Netflix); You (Warner Horizons); Hunters (Amazon); The Summer I Turned Pretty (Apple TV+); Gaslit (NBC). Flesher is a Certified Intimacy Director and Intimacy Coordinator on the SAG-AFTRA registry, a SAG-AFTRA stunt performer, a Certified Fight Director and Fight Instructor with the Fight Directors Canada, and the founder and CEO of Intimacy Professionals Education Collective.
Janelle Smith
Janelle Smith (Costume Designer) CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet, The Lord of the Rings, Henry V. CHICAGO: Almost, Maine, Cry It Out, Ripcord, Rooted, Mary’s Wedding, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (Oil Lamp Theater); Judy’s Life’s Work, An Educated Guess (Definition Theatre); Native Son (Lifeline Theatre); Last Stop on Market Street (Young People’s Theatre of Chicago); The Wolves (University of Chicago); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Oak Park Festival Theatre); Snow Queen (Marriot Theater). FILM: Daniel. Noah. (Horned Melon Productions). TELEVISION: Elementary (CBS). EDUCATION: MFA in theatrical design, Illinois State University; BFA in theatrical design and technology, Western Michigan University.
Bob Mason
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: 150 plus productions over 24 years, including 35 plays in Shakespeare’s canon under current Artistic Director Edward Hall and Founding Artistic Director Barbara Gaines. Also at CST: nine productions of Stephen Sondheim musicals under the direction of Gary Griffin. CHICAGO: Bounce, Light in the Piazza (Goodman Theatre); REGIONAL: SIX (CST, American Repertory Theater–Artios Award, Ordway Center, The Citadel); Ride the Cyclone (CST, Fifth Avenue Theatre/A Contemporary Theater, Alliance Theatre); OFF-BROADWAY: Ride the Cyclone (MCC); Rose Rage: Henry VI, Parts 1, 2 and 3, directed by Artistic Director Edward Hall (The Duke on 42nd Street); Marionette Macbeth (New Victory); BROADWAY: SIX, The Notebook; INTERNATIONAL: The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale (Auckland, NZ); Pacific Overtures (Donmar Warehouse–Olivier Award, Outstanding Musical); Henry IV, Parts One and Two (RSC). Prior to casting, Mason enjoyed a career as a Joseph Jefferson Award-winning actor and singer and has been a visiting educator at Northwestern University and multiple college programs across the country.
Danny Fender
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Circus Abyssinia, Sunny Afternoon, Avaaz, Pericles, Henry V, Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks. CHICAGO: Two Trains Running, The Lady from the Sea, The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, The Mousetrap, Oedipus Rex, King Hedley II (Court Theatre); The Steadfast Tin Soldier (Lookingglass Theatre Company); The Music Man, Ah, Wilderness! (Goodman Theatre); Revolution (A Red Orchid Theatre); new play workshops for Steppenwolf Theatre Company; author events for Chicago Humanities Festival. NEW YORK: Black Swan (workshop). TOUR: Hamilton (Philip Company Tour). EDUCATION: The Theatre School at DePaul University, Interlochen Arts Academy. Fender is one of the owners of The Understudy Coffee and Books, a theatre bookstore and specialty coffee shop located in Andersonville. The Understudy was featured in the New York Times’ 36 Hours in Chicago and voted Chicago Reader’s Best Coffee Shop in Chicago for 2023 and 2024.
Lucy Whipp
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: brother sister cyborg space, Night Watch (production manager, Raven Theatre); Gender Play, or what you Will, The Magnolia Ballet (About Face Theatre); Marie Antoinette and the Magical Negroes, At the Wake of a Dead Drag Queen, Leave Me Alone! (The Story Theatre); Kitty and Georgiana: Christmas at Pemberley (Northlight Theatre); Routes, Anna in the Tropics (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company). EDUCATION: BA in theatre, Loyola University Chicago. Whipp is a Governing Ensemble member with The Story Theatre and the Production Manager at Raven Theatre.
Gianni Carcagno
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Short Shakes! Romeo & Juliet. CHICAGO: POTUS, No Man’s Land (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Boulevard of Bold Dreams, Trouble In Mind, Campaigns, Inc, The Chinese Lady (TimeLine Theater); The Choir of Man (Apollo Theater Chicago); Blues in the Night, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Nunsense (Porchlight Music Theatre). EDUCATION: BA, Loyola University Chicago.