“Every day I fall more in love with this strange & quirky play about the pivotal transitional moments in our lives.” Director Shana Cooper discusses her vision for Chicago Shakespeare’s production of All’s Well That Ends Well.
APR 22 - MAY 29, 2022
APR 22 - MAY 29, 2022
Directed by Shana Cooper
Courtyard Theater
All’s Well That Ends Well
Directed by Shana Cooper
Courtyard Theater
Run Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes (including intermission)
Additional Sponsors
The Reid-Anderson Family Fund
Liza Yntema in support of female leadership in the arts
“High-energy… Shakespeare with sharp twists”
–Chicago Sun-Times
“The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.” Shakespeare’s rarely seen dark comedy is brought to new life in the uniquely intimate setting of the Courtyard Theater. No challenge can match the power of a determined woman. In love with a young man who does not return her affection, the resourceful Helen will go to any length to turn her visions of romance into reality—only to discover that happy endings are never as simple as they seem in fairy tales. Director Shana Cooper’s striking productions have been celebrated on stages across the country, from off Broadway to Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Her visceral approach to storytelling infuses movement and music, providing a perfect complement to Shakespeare’s poetic language.
Additional Sponsors
The Reid-Anderson Family Fund
Liza Yntema in support of female leadership in the arts
MAY 18 Open Captioning
May 22 Audio Description
Run Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes (including intermission)
MAY 18 Open Captioning
May 22 Audio Description
MAY 18 Open Captioning
May 22 Audio Description
“An elegant affair… richly designed. Alejandra Escalante’s performance is utterly delightful.”
–Chicago Tribune
“For all those interested in creative re‑imaginations of classical texts, this is the play for you.”
–Picture This Post
“Infused with excellent actors and painted with lightness and movement, music and choreography”
–Chicago Theatre Review
“Infused with excellent actors and painted with lightness and movement, music and choreography”
–Chicago Theatre Review
Slide 1 of 5
Video: Trailer
Gallery: On Stage
Video: Director Spotlight
Video: Pre•Amble
Video: Pre•Amble
Video: Trailer
Gallery: On Stage
Slide 1 of 12
Diana (Emma Ladji) and Helen (Alejandra Escalante). Photo by Liz Lauren.
Bertram (Dante Jemmott, in foreground), with Rinaldo (Joseph Aaron Johnson), King of France (Francis Guinan), and Helen (Alejandra Escalante). Photo by Liz Lauren.
Countess of Rossillion (Ora Jones) and Lavatch (Elizabeth Ledo). Photo by Liz Lauren.
King of France (Francis Guinan) and Helen (Alejandra Escalante). Photo by Liz Lauren.
Helen (Alejandra Escalante), Countess of Rossillion (Ora Jones), and Bertram (Dante Jemmott). Photo by Liz Lauren.
Helen (Alejandra Escalante), King of France (Francis Guinan), and King’s Attendant (Jacob Mundell). Photo by Liz Lauren.
King of France (Francis Guinan, at center), with First Lord (Casey Hoekstra) and Countess of Rossillion (Ora Jones). Photo by Liz Lauren.
Soldier Lords (pictured: Patrick Agada, Joseph Aaron Johnson, and Casey Hoekstra). Photo by Liz Lauren.
Diana (Emma Ladji), Mariana (Tanya Thai McBride), Widow Capilet (Christiana Clark), and Helen (Alejandra Escalante). Photo by Liz Lauren.
Duchess of Florence (Christiana Clark), Helen (Alejandra Escalante), First Lord (Casey Hoekstra), and First Soldier (Jeff Kurysz). Photo by Liz Lauren.
Bertram (Dante Jemmott) and Diana (Emma Ladji). Photo by Liz Lauren.
First Lord (Casey Hoekstra), Diana (Emma Ladji), and Second Lord (Patrick Agada). Photo by Liz Lauren.
Video: Director Spotlight
Video: Pre•Amble
Video: Pre•Amble
Cast & Creative Team
Slide 1 of 23
Patrick Agada
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Dunsinane, Q Brothers Christmas Carol, Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits. CHICAGO: Passage (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company); I Hate It Here, The Magic Play (Goodman Theatre); Pipeline, The First Deep Breath (Victory Gardens Theater); The Brothers Size (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Something Clean (Jeff Nomination – Actor in Supporting Role), You for Me for You (Sideshow Theatre Company/Rivendell Theatre Ensemble); Dutch Masters (Jeff Award-Actor in a Principal Role, Jackalope Theatre); Choir Boy, The Play About My Dad (Raven Theatre); Superior Donuts (Open Door Theater); Jabari Dreams of Freedom (Chicago Children’s Theatre). REGIONAL: Blue Man Group (Astor Place Theatre). TELEVISION: Chicago Fire (NBC).
Mark Bedard
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. OFF BROADWAY: Promenade (New York City Center); Julius Caesar (Theatre for a New Audience); Pride and Prejudice (Primary Stages); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Pearl Theatre Company); Fashions for Men (Mint Theater Company). REGIONAL: It’s Christmas, Carol!, The Cocoanuts, A Wrinkle in Time, Animal Crackers, Love’s Labor’s Lost, Henry IV Part Two, She Loves Me, The Merchant of Venice, Servant of Two Masters, Paradise Lost, Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew, On the Razzle (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); The Cocoanuts (Guthrie Theater); Richard II, The Taming of the Shrew, The General from America, As You Like It, Measure for Measure, The Winter’s Tale (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival); Roe (Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre); A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Geva Theatre); Cymbeline (Shakespeare Theatre Company); Boeing Boeing (Seattle Repertory Theatre); Waiting for Godot (Marin Theatre Company); Love’s Labour’s Lost (Shakespeare & Company). TV/FILM: Evil, Madam Secretary, Instinct (CBS); The Good Fight (Paramount+); The Knick (Cinemax). EDUCATION: BA, University of California, Irvine. markbedard.com
Christiana Clark
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: All’s Well That Ends Well, Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night’s Dream. CHICAGO: the ripple, the wave that carried me home, The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, The Winter’s Tale, The Trinity River Plays (Goodman Theatre). OFF BROADWAY: Flex (Lincoln Center Theater); 59E59 Theatre. REGIONAL: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Guthrie Theater, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Dallas Theatre Center, Baltimore Center Stage, Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Penumbra Theatre, Pillsbury House and Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Jungle Theater, Ten Thousand Things Theater, South Coast Repertory. FILM: Stuck Between Stations, Candyman. TELEVISION: Law & Order: Organized Crime, Chicago Fire (NBC); FBI Most Wanted (CBS); The Choo Choo Bob Show (Qubo). EDUCATION: American Academy of Dramatic Arts, L.A.
William Dick
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: All’s Well That Ends Well, The Wizard of Oz, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Cyrano de Bergerac, Henry VIII, The Madness of George III, Macbeth, Cymbeline, The Merchant of Venice, among others. CHICAGO: A Christmas Carol, Bernhardt/Hamlet, Father Comes Home from the Wars, Blind Date, Moonlight and Magnolias, House and Garden, The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? (Goodman Theatre); Choir Boy, We All Went Down to Amsterdam (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); The Book of Will, The Odd Couple (Northlight Theatre); The Pitmen Painters (TimeLine Theatre Company). REGIONAL: Asolo Repertory Theatre, Michigan Public Theatre, Studio Arena Theatre, The Los Angeles Theatre Center, extensive work at Milwaukee Repertory Theater. TELEVISION: 4400 (CW); Fargo (FX); Chicago Fire, Crisis (NBC); Empire, Mob Doctor (FOX); Leverage (TNT). FILM: The Company, Ice Harvest, Stranger than Fiction, The Break Up, The Promotion, The Merry Gentleman, Fred Claus, Oz the Great and Powerful. AWARDS: Joseph Jefferson – Best Ensemble Large Theatre, Choir Boy.
Alejandra Escalante
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Measure for Measure, All’s Well That Ends Well. CHICAGO: The Cherry Orchard, 2666, The Upstairs Concierge, Measure for Measure, Song for the Disappeared (Goodman Theatre). OFF BROADWAY: Dying City (Second Stage Theater). REGIONAL: Simona’s Search (Hartford Stage); The Taming of the Shrew (American Players Theatre); Othello (American Repertory Theater); Sense and Sensibility (Guthrie Theater); The Excavation of Mary Anning, Another Word for Beauty, Fingersmith (New York Stage and Film); Darwin in Malibu (Washington Stage Guild); 6 seasons with Oregon Shakespeare Festival, including productions of Measure for Measure, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, The Tenth Muse, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Wrinkle in Time, The Tempest, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Othello, Love’s Labor’s Lost. EDUCATION: BFA, Boston University.
Francis Guinan
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: The Book of Joseph. CHICAGO: over forty productions, including Downstate, The Rembrandt, The Minutes, August: Osage County, Balm in Gilead (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Rutherford and Son (TimeLine Theatre Company); By the Water, White Guy on the Bus (Northlight Theatre); A Guide for the Perplexed (Victory Gardens Theater); Do the Hustle (Writers Theatre); Goldfish (Route 66 Theatre). BROADWAY: August: Osage County, The Grapes of Wrath, As Is. INTERNATIONAL: Downstate (National Theatre in London). FILM: Abundant Acreage Available, The Last Airbender, Pizza Night, Typing. TELEVISION: The Exorcist (FOX); Boss (STARZ); Eerie, Indiana (NBC). Guinan has been a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble since 1979.
Casey Hoekstra
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Short Shakespeare! The Comedy of Errors. CHICAGO: And Then There Were None (Drury Lane Theatre); Moby Dick (Chicago Opera Theater); Twelfth Night (Writers Theatre). REGIONAL: The Taming of the Shrew, Exit the King, Measure for Measure, Death of a Salesman (American Players Theatre); productions with Indiana Repertory Theater, Guthrie Theater, Next Act Theatre, Childrens Theater of Madison, Children’s Theatre Company, Mixed Blood Theatre. EDUCATION: BFA in acting, University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater Training Program. AWARDS: Jeff Award-Fight Choreography for Ethiopian American (Definition Theatre).
Dante Jemmott
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. REGIONAL: Romeo in R+J (Stratford Festival/Why Not Theatre). TELEVISION: Coming Distractions (ZuZu VOD/YouTube); Revenge of the Black Best Friend (CBC Gem). EDUCATION: BFA, York University (2021).
Joseph Aaron Johnson
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: All’s Well That Ends Well, DREAM: A Community Re-imagining of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. CHICAGO: As You Like It (Forest Park Theatre Company). EDUCATION: New York University, Meisner Studio. BA in theatre, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Ora Jones
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Countess in All’s Well That Ends Well, Katherine of Aragon in Henry VIII, Queen Charlotte in The Madness of George III, Maria in Twelfth Night, Lucienne in A Flea in Her Ear. CHICAGO: The Children, Familiar, The Roommate, Olga in Three Sisters, The Brother/Sister Plays, Middletown, The Violet Hour (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); One Giant Leap, My Kind of Town (TimeLine Theatre Company); Rasheeda Speaking (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble); Ah, Wilderness!, Animal Crackers, Proof, A Christmas Carol, Seeking the Genesis (Goodman Theatre); The Iphigenia Cycle, Mary Stuart, My Fair Lady (Court Theatre). BROADWAY: Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Matilda the Musical. REGIONAL: Pioneer Theatre Company, Studio Theatre, Next Act Theatre, Weston Playhouse, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. INTERNATIONAL: Galway Theatre Festival, Ireland. FILM: We Grown Now, Were the World Mine, Stranger than Fiction. TELEVISION: 61st Street (AMC); Somebody Somewhere (HBO); Betrayal (ABC); Chicago Fire (NBC). AWARDS: Black Theatre Alliance, After Dark.
Jeff Kurysz
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: All’s Well That Ends Well, The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, Shakespeare in Love. CHICAGO: Revolutions, Support Group for Men (Goodman Theatre); 33 to Nothing (A Red Orchid Theatre); The Legend of Georgia McBride (Northlight Theatre) Verboten (The House Theatre of Chicago); Zurich (Steep Theatre); One Came Home (Lifeline Theatre); Year of the Rooster, R+J: The Vineyard (Red Theater); Romeo and Juliet (Teatro Vista); All My Sons (Eclectic Theatre Co.); Amadeus (Boho Theatre); REGIONAL: As You Like It (Milwaukee Repertory Theater); Richard III, Twelfth Night, The Tempest (Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre). TELEVISION: Mayor of Kingstown (Paramount+); Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Crisis (NBC); Proven Innocent (FOX). EDUCATION: The School at Steppenwolf; Illinois State University
Emma Ladji
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Macbeth, Nell Gwynn, Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet, Pericles, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks productions of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits. CHICAGO: Quixote: On the Conquest of Self (Writers Theatre); Mother of Smoke (Walkabout Theater Company); A Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre); Mnemonic (Red Tape Theatre); Year of the Rooster (Red Theater Chicago). INTERNATIONAL: United States of Amnesia (New Now Festival, Amsterdam with ROOM|916). FILM: Knives and Skin, directed by Jennifer Reeder. EDUCATION: BA in theatre, Columbia College, Chicago. Ladji makes electronic music and has been an artist in residence at Links Hall Chicago and Ragdale Foundation.
Pablo David Laucerica
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: A Recipe for Disaster (Windy City Playhouse); Peabody (The Young People’s Theatre of Chicago); Rack Up (Goodman Theatre). OPERA: Dog Days (Northwestern University); The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing (Chicago Opera Theater). EDUCATION: BFA in music and Certificate in Music Theatre, Northwestern University.
Elizabeth Ledo
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: All’s Well That Ends Well, The King’s Speech, Tug of War: Civil Strife, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Amadeus, Funk It Up About Nothin’. CHICAGO: Uncle Vanya, The Secret Garden, Tartuffe, The Illusion (Court Theatre); The Matchmaker, Boleros for the Disenchanted, A Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre); Homebody/Kabul, Morningstar (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Steel Magnolias, Mamma Mia!, The Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park (Drury Lane Theatre); Northlight Theatre, Writers Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Theatre, About Face Theatre, and First Folio. NATIONAL TOUR: The King’s Speech. REGIONAL: Syracuse Stage, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, American Players Theatre, and over 20 productions with Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. TELEVISION/VOICEOVER: numerous TV roles in Chicago as well as voice overs for commercials, video games and a dozen episodes of The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas. EDUCATION: Loyola University of Chicago. Ledo was a 2016 Lunt-Fontanne Fellow mentored by Jason Alexander.
Tanya Thai McBride
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Stop. Reset, The White Snake (Goodman Theatre); Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 (Other Theatre); Yellow Face (Silk Road Rising); and punkplay (Pavement Group, Garage Rep at Steppenwolf Theatre Company); among others. REGIONAL: The White Snake (The Old Globe, Guthrie Theater, McCarter Theatre Center, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival); A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Heart of Robin Hood (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). INTERNATIONAL: Wuzhen Theatre Festival. TELEVISION: Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire (NBC); 61st Street (AMC). EDUCATION: MFA in acting/New Works Creation, The Ohio State University.
Jeannie Affelder
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: To Master the Art (TimeLine Theatre Company/Broadway in Chicago); Rutherford and Son, When She Danced (TimeLine Theatre Company); The Tempest (Oak Park Festival Theatre); Heartbreak House (Writers Theatre); Domesticated (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Silent Sky, Unnecessary Farce, Jeeves in Bloom (First Folio Theatre); Lunacy (Jackalope Theatre Company); The Oldest Profession (Bailiwick Chicago); Steel Magnolias (Theatre at the Center); The Good Times Are Killing Me (City Lit Theater). REGIONAL: Dear Elizabeth (Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse); Pericles (Boston Shakespeare Company). TELEVISION: Somebody Somewhere (HBO), Chicago Med, Chicago PD (NBC), Sirens (USA).
Caron Buinis
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: The Wizard of Oz, Cabaret, Oklahoma!, The Music Man (Paramount Theatre); An American in Paris (Drury Lane Theatre); Oliver! (Marriott Theatre); Sweeney Todd, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Porchlight Music Theatre); King Liz (Windy City Playhouse); The Full Monty (Kokandy Productions); The Language Archive (Piven Theatre). REGIONAL: Forward Theater Company, George Street Playhouse. FILM: Lacy’s Christmas Do-Over, Silent As The Grave. TELEVISION: Chicago Fire (NBC). EDUCATION: MFA in theatre arts, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Buinis is a performing artist with Acts Of Kindness Cabaret.
Kevin Gudahl
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Tug of War: Civil Strife, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, Timon of Athens, Macbeth, King Lear, Henry VIII, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Troilus and Cressida, The Comedy of Errors. CHICAGO ACTING: Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Writers Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, Drury Lane Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater. INTERNATIONAL ACTING: five seasons with Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Canadian Stage, Donmar Warehouse, Royal Shakespeare Company (Chicago Shakespeare tour). FILM ACTING: While You Were Sleeping, Home Alone III, The Poker House. TELEVISION ACTING: Shining Girls (Apple TV); Chicago Fire, Crisis (NBC); Boss (Starz); Empire, The Chicago Code (FOX); Early Edition (CBS). Gudahl is a multiple Joseph Jefferson Award recipient.
Christopher Hainsworth
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Middle Passage, Frankenstein, Neverwhere (2018), Miss Holmes, The Killer Angels, The Count of Monte Cristo, Neverwhere (2010) (Lifeline Theatre); The Hammer Trinity, Diamond Dogs (The House Theatre of Chicago); The Libertine, 12 Angry People (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Faith Healer (UMA Productions); The Pyrates (Defiant Theatre); Scenes from the Big Picture (Irish Theatre of Chicago); Julius Caesar, Detective Story, Spring Awakening, Marathon ‘33, Our Country’s Good, Old Town (Strawdog Theatre Company). REGIONAL: The One and Only Ivan (Lifeline Theatre National Tour) TELEVISION: Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire (NBC). EDUCATION: Illinois State University, Steppenwolf Acting Fellowship (1994-95).
Tae-nyun Kim
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. REGIONAL: Perseverance Theatre, Cyrano’s Theatre Company. EDUCATION: BFA in justice and theatre, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Gavin Mueller
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins (Strawdog Theatre Company). REGIONAL: The Tempest, Great Expectations (Great River Shakespeare Festival); Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare Orange County); A Raisin in the Sun, Clybourne Park, West Side Story (Summer Repertory Theatre); Green Day’s American Idiot (City Lights Theater Company); CounterBalance Theater. EDUCATION: MFA in acting, University of California, Irvine.
Jacob Mundell
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Rutherford and Son (TimeLine Theatre Company). REGIONAL: King Lear, Cyrano de Bergerac (Michigan Shakespeare Festival); Blue Ridge, Curse of the Starving Class, A Doll’s House (Williamstown Theatre Festival); Macbeth, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Tempest, The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, The Odyssey (National Players); Hamlet, Titus Andronicus, Mary Stuart (Utah Shakespeare Festival); 2015 Season, Poe Evermore (Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire). TELEVISION: The Expanse (Amazon); NOS4A2 (AMC). EDUCATION: BFA in performing arts, BFA in dramatic writing, Savannah College of Art and Design, The School at Steppenwolf.
Hilary Schwartz
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Othello (Babes With Blades Theatre Company); The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (Eclipse Theatre); Bechdel Fest 5 (Broken Nose Theatre); Woman and Girl (Jackalope Theatre Company); Hinter (Steep Theatre Company), Bachelorette (Level 11 Theatre). REGIONAL: Shakespeare on the Vine Theatre Company, The Road Theatre Company, Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Open Fist Theatre Company, Downtown Repertory Theater, The Porters of Hellsgate. FILM: Fang, The Signal, Troilus and Cressida. TELEVISION: Game Shakers (NICKELODEON). EDUCATION: BA in theatre, University of California, Irvine, British American Drama Academy.
Katie Lupica
Assistant to the Director
Manna-Symone Middlebrooks
Assistant to the Director
Katie Lupica
Assistant to the Director
Manna-Symone Middlebrooks
Assistant to the Director
Shana Cooper
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: The Lady from the Sea (Court Theatre). OFF BROADWAY: Julius Caesar (Theatre for a New Audience); Terra Firma (The Coop). REGIONAL: The Old Globe (Summer 2022), Oregon Shakespeare Festival, American Conservatory Theater, Yale Repertory Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Studio Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, PlayMakers Repertory Company. EDUCATION: MFA in directing, Yale School of Drama. AWARDS: 2014 Leadership U Grant, funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by Theatre Communications Group; 2010 Princess Grace Award; Julian Milton Kaufman Memorial Prize from Yale School of Drama; Drama League Directing Fellowship. Cooper is an assistant professor for Northwestern University’s Directing MFA program, a company member at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington D.C., has served as associate artistic director of California Shakespeare Theater (2000–2004) and co-founder of New Theater House (2008–present).
Andrew Boyce
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Dana H, Another Word for Beauty, Lady in Denmark (Goodman Theatre); Lady from The Sea (Court Theatre); In Every Generation, Dhaba on Devon, If I Forget, Lettie (Victory Gardens Theater); And Then There Were None (Drury Lane Theatre), Cry It Out (Northlight Theatre). BROADWAY: Dana H. OFF BROADWAY: Lincoln Center, Roundabout Theatre Company, Atlantic Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Vineyard Theatre, Primary Stages, The Playwrights Realm, Lucille Lortel Theatre, Barrow Street Theatre. REGIONAL: several major regional and LORT theaters across the US, including Philadelphia Orchestra. OPERA: Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Boston Lyric Opera, Kentucky Opera, Curtis Opera Theatre. EDUCATION: MFA, Yale School of Drama. Boyce is assistant professor of design at Northwestern University. www.andrewboycedesign.com
Raquel Barreto
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. OFF BROADWAY: Julius Caesar (Theatre for a New Audience). REGIONAL: five seasons with Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Guthrie Theater, Denver Center Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Alley Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Kirk Douglas Theater, Pasadena Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, The Folger Theater, Syracuse Stage, Geffen Playhouse, California Shakespeare Theater, Cornerstone Theater, Magic Theatre, Latino Theater Co, Jacob’s Pillow dance festival, and many others. EDUCATION: MFA in costume design, University of California San Diego; BA in dramatic art, University of California, Berkeley. Barreto is an associate professor and heads the costume design program at the University of Texas, Austin. www.raquelbarreto.com
Adam Honoré
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. BROADWAY: Chicken and Biscuits. OFF BROADWAY: Ain’t No Mo (Public Theater); Carmen Jones (Classic Stage Company); The Last Five Years (Out of the Box Theatre); among others. REGIONAL: Arena Stage, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Dallas Theatre Center, Huntington Theatre Company, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival. AWARDS: Drama Desk, Henry Hewes, Helen Hayes nominee; Audelco Award recipient. www.HonoreLighting.com @itsadamhonore
Paul Oakley Stovall
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: PLAY ON! (Goodman Theatre, Joseph Jeff erson Award Nomination–Actor in a Leading Role, Musical); Court Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Northlight Theatre. BROADWAY: A Strange Loop (co-Producer; Tony Award). TOURS: Hamilton, Rent, Once on This Island. REGIONAL: La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Penumbra Theater, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Hartford Stage, McCarter Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival. FILM: Robert Altman’s The Company, John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus; Buffalo (Lead Actor/Producer/ Writer); Charlotte (Lead Actor/Producer/ Writer); Wolfe in Waiting (Lead Actor/ Producer); Columbus (Writer/Producer). TELEVISION: Shameless, The Chi (Showtime); Chicago Fire (NBC). PLAYWRITING: Immediate Family directed by Phylicia Rashad (Mark Taper Forum/Goodman Theatre, Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination/Celebration Theatre/Dog and Pony); APE (Dog and Pony); Written by Phillis with Marilyn Campbell (Quintessence, Barrymore Recommended); ALKEBULAN: A New Musical Experience (book, music and lyrics—O’Neill National Music Theatre Conference selection). @tallpowerpaul KernoFortoProductions.com
Richard Jarvie
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: As You Like It, Emma, The King’s Speech, The Wizard of Oz, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Nell Gwynn, Peter Pan – A Musical Adventure, Macbeth, Schiller’s Mary Stuart, Red Velvet, The Taming of the Shrew, Madagascar, Shakespeare in Love, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks productions of The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Romeo and Juliet, Short Shakespeare! productions of Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Macbeth, Love’s Labor’s Lost, King Charles III; the inaugural season of Chicago Shakespeare on Navy Pier. CHICAGO: Goodman Theatre, Court Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook, twenty-eight years with Lyric Opera of Chicago, eleven of them as wig master and make-up designer. REGIONAL: Alliance Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Guthrie Theater (wig master). OPERA: Atlanta Opera, San Francisco Opera, Hawaii Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, Saint Louis Opera, the Spoleto Festivals of Charleston, South Carolina, and Italy. INTERNATIONAL: Tom Patterson Theatre in Stratford, Ontario.
Stephanie Martinez
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: The Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Hispánico, Luna Negra Dance Theater. REGIONAL: Charlotte Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Eugene Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Kansas City Ballet, National Choreographers Initiative, among others. AWARDS: Joffrey Ballet’s Winning Works: Choreographers of Color (2015), Chicago 3Arts: Female Artist of Color, NEA grant for her premiere Bliss! (Joffrey Ballet). The Chicago-based choreographer has created over 60 ballets for companies and collegiate programs across the country. In 2010, Martinez assisted Broadway legend Ann Reinking in setting the Fosse Trilogy.
DENDY
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Ariel in The Tempest, adapted and directed by Aaron Posner and Teller. OFF BROADWAY: David Mamet’s Prairie du Chien, Derren Brown’s Secret (Atlantic Theater); Doctor Faustus (Fault Line Theater). REGIONAL: The Tempest (American Repertory Theater, South Coast Repertory, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts); The Fantasticks (Arena Stage, Trinity Repertory Company, South Coast Repertory); Angels in America (Risk Theater Initiative); Twelfth Night (Shakespeare Dallas). TELEVISION: Penn & Teller: Fool Us (CW Network). AWARDS: Jeff Award nominee, Helen Hayes Award nominee. DENDY is both a magician and an actor.
Gregory Linington
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Measure for Measure, verse coach for All’s Well That Ends Well. CHICAGO: Goodman Theatre, Northlight Theatre. OFF BROADWAY: Brooklyn Academy of Music, Joe’s Pub. REGIONAL: Rogue Theater Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Theater J, The Kennedy Center, Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles, Center Theatre Group, 12-year company member including 22 productions and 5 world premieres (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), and 5-year company member (Misery Loves Company). TELEVISION: Emperor of Ocean Park (MGM+); Station Eleven (HBO Max); Fargo (FX); Shining Girls (Apple TV+); Chicago Med, Chicago P.D., The West Wing (NBC); Grey’s Anatomy (ABC); Shameless (Showtime); Major Crimes (TNT). EDUCATION: Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts; 12 years with Scott Kaiser (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); 2 years with Ron Daniels (American Repertory Theater, The Other Place Theater). AWARDS: Helen Hayes Award (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf); 2022 Lunt-Fontanne Fellow. Linington has taught for Northwestern University, DePaul University, Lake Forest College, Aurora University, Georgetown University, Southern Oregon University, Shakespeare Theatre Company, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. gregorylinington.com.
Mallory Metoxen
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Fefu and Her Friends, The Thanksgiving Play, Underbelly, Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom, Ring Round the Moon, The How and the Why (The Theatre School at DePaul University). OFF OFF BROADWAY: All of the Everything, co-director on Lucky Numbers (Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival). REGIONAL: Sex with Strangers, The Drowning Girls, The Understudy (Renaissance Theaterworks); The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (Splinter Group); These Shining Lives (Umbrella Group). EDUCATION: MFA in directing, The Theatre School at DePaul University. Metoxen is currently artistic associate for Seven Devils New Play Foundry and was formerly Renaissance Theaterworks’ artistic associate and director of new play development, where she founded Br!NK, a play development festival for Midwestern women playwrights.
Noelle Kayser
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Timon of Athens. MOVEMENT/CHOREOGRAPHY: Proia Dance Project, Erik Thurmond’s Ripple, Gathering Wild, Scrap Theater Group’s one-woman play Leda. Kayser’s professional career began in 2011 at Luna Negra Dance Theater with an apprenticeship under the direction of Gustavo Ramirez Sansano where she performed the company’s repertoire domestically and internationally. In 2013Kayser joined glo, an Atlanta-based collaborative performance platform, founded by Lauri Stallings. Under the direction of Nick Pupillo, she was a member of Visceral Dance Chicago (2015-2018), where she performed works by Marguerite Donlon, Danielle Agami, Kevin O’Day, Alice Klock, Stephanie Martinez, and many others. Kayser has performed with Benjamin Wardell’s The Cambrians and Atlanta’s Fly on a Wall and has set her own choreography on Chicago’s Cerqua Rivera Dance Theater, Moonwater Dance Project, and Atlanta’s Kit Modus. Her piece for Kit Modus – The Excursion: Realized was named a 2018 Highlight of the Year by ArtsATL. She served as a choreographic assistant to Stephanie Martinez and Wilfredo Rivera. She has narrated 16 audiobooks for Listen Up Productions / audible.com, and has appeared in industrial advertising for Grey Television, Kitchenaid, and Whirlpool. Kayser has been a member of Northwest Dance Project since 2019 and serves as the rehearsal director for PARA.Mar Dance Theatre.
Sarah Scanlon
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: It Came From Outer Space, All’s Well That Ends Well, As You Like It. CHICAGO: Selected credits include Zurich (Steep Theatre); Djembe! The Show (Apollo Theatre Chicago); I Know My Own Heart, Southern Comfort (Pride Films & Plays); Between Riverside and Crazy (Redtwist Theatre); Head Over Heels (Kokandy Productions); Mad Beat Hip & Gone (Promethean Theatre Ensemble); The Rover (DePaul University); Legally Blonde (Northwestern University); Neither (Lifeline Theatre). REGIONAL: As You Like It (Milwaukee Repertory Theater). TELEVISION: Ripple Effects (Apple+); Somebody Somewhere (HBO); The Chi (Showtime); Finesse (VAM Studios); Fargo (FX); Damaged Goods (VAM Studios). EDUCATION: MFA in acting, American Repertory Theatre/Moscow Art Theatre School; Intimacy for the Stage Instructor: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Raleigh Little Theatre. Scanlon is a certified Intimacy Director and Coordinator with IDC Professionals and Intimacy Directors International.
Bob Mason
Mason celebrates his twenty-third year at CST as Artistic Associate/Casting Director, where his credits include over 150 productions and programs and thirty-five plays in Shakespeare’s canon. In addition to numerous productions with Chicago Shakespeare founder Barbara Gaines, other productions of note include: a host of Sondheim musicals (Follies, Sunday in the Park with George, A Little Night Music, Passion, Road Show, Gypsy, directed by Gary Griffin); SIX (CST, Broadway, A.R.T., Ordway Center, the Citadel); Ride the Cyclone directed by Rachel Rockwell (CST, off Broadway at MCC Theater, Fifth Avenue Theatre/American Conservatory Theater, Alliance Theatre); Rose Rage: Henry VI, Parts 1, 2 and 3, directed by Edward Hall (CST, The Duke on 42nd Street). He also directed and co-created Shakespeare Tonight with Beckie Menzie, as part of CST’s Shakespeare 400 Festival. Prior to casting, Mason enjoyed a career as a Joseph Jefferson Award-winning actor and singer and has been a visiting educator for Northwestern University, the School at Steppenwolf, the Guthrie Theater BFA program, Acting Studio Chicago, DePaul, Columbia, Roosevelt University, and multiple university programs across the country.
Katrina Herrmann
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: The Comedy of Errors, All’s Well That Ends Well, As You Like It. CHICAGO: The Steadfast Tin Soldier (Lookingglass Theatre Company); Seussical, Rock of Ages (Drury Lane Theatre); Mary Page Marlowe (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); The Hundred Dresses, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Chicago Children’s Theatre); Kill Floor, The Royale, Sons of the Prophet (American Theater Company); Juno (TimeLine Theatre Company). REGIONAL: The King’s Speech (National Tour); Diana the Musical, Queens, The Cake, At the Old Place (La Jolla Playhouse); The Garden, Twisted Melodies (Baltimore Center Stage). OFF BROADWAY: The Flick, Kin, The Whale, The Big Meal, The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World, The Burnt Part Boys, Circle Mirror Transformation (Playwrights Horizons); Close Up Space (Manhattan Theatre Club); In the Wake (Public Theater). EDUCATION: BFA in stage management, DePaul University; MBA, Adams State University.
Kate Ocker
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: As You Like It, All’s Well That Ends Well. CHICAGO: An Iliad, The Adventures of Augie March, Iphigenia in Aulis (Court Theatre); Mansfield Park (Northlight Theatre); Elf (Paramount Theatre); BUDDY – The Buddy Holly Story, Six Corners, The Spitfire Grill (American Blues Theater); The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, The Magic Play, Twist Your Dickens, Uncle Vanya, King of the Yees (Goodman Theatre). REGIONAL: Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Resident Ensemble Players, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Ballet.
Spotlight
Additional Sponsors
The Reid-Anderson Family Fund
Liza Yntema in support of female leadership in the arts