Student Matinees & Residencies
Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s education programming reaches a wide variety of people in new, different, and innovative ways and we continue to expand on our commitment to education. We believe that every child deserves an introduction to Shakespeare on the stage, not just the page — no matter where he or she lives.
ROMEO AND JULIET
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Lauren Davis
CAST
PRINCE - Katie Daniels
MERCUTIO - Josh Williams
PARIS - Tyrel Brown
LORD CAPULET - Benny Pope
LADY CAPULET - Molly Moores
JULIET - Jordan Stanford
TYBALT - Mallory Shear
NURSE - Greta Boeringer
LORD MONTAGUE - James Stringer, Jr.
LADY MONTAGUE - B'Jion Wright
ROMEO - Willem Rogers
BENVOLIO - Ty Velines
FRIAR LAURENCE - Zach Brewster-Geisz
PETER/BALTHASAR - Matt Harris
CITIZENS - Harper LaBrozzi, Sam Robles
UNDERSTUDIES
Harper LaBrozzi, Sam Robles
CREATIVE TEAM
Director - Lauren Davis
Stage Manager - Lauren Engler
Technical Director/Lighting Designer - Dan O'Brien
Set Designer - Kathryn Kawecki
Costume Designer - Kristina Lambdin
Sound Designer - Mo Oslejsek
Music Director - Seamus Miller
Fight Choreographer - Melissa Freilich
Dance Choreographer - Ui-Seng Francois
Director Advisor - Gavin Witt
Assistant Stage Manager - Eva Hill
Assistant Fight Choreographer - Duncan McAdam
Intimacy Director - Emily Sucher
Wardrobe Crew - Jada Jones
Board Operator - Griffin DeLisle
Covid Safety Officer - Mandy Benedix
CAST PHOTOS
Greta Boeringer (Nurse) Macbeth Student Matinee (2023), Richard III (2017), Winter’s Tale (2018), Macbeth (2016), Romeo and Juliet Student Matinee (2022), Much Ado About Nothing (2022), A Christmas Carol (2022). Other credits includeHenry V, King Lear, Henry VIII, Galatea (Baltimore Shakespeare Factory); Romeo and Juliet (Endangered Species Theater Project); High School Coven (Strand Theatre); As You Like It Aaron Posner directing, Macbeth Craig Baldwin directing (Academy for Classical Acting, GWU).
Zach Brewster-Geisz (Friar Laurence) is happy to return to the Romeo and Juliet education matinees after appearing as Lord Montague in 2018 and 2019. Other work for CSC includes: A Raisin in the Sun (Karl Lindner), Much Ado About Nothing (Verges). In 2023, he was nominated for the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play for his work in The Outsider at Keegan Theatre. Other area stages he has worked at include Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, 1st Stage, Avant Bard, Rorschach Theatre, and NextStop Theatre Company. He teaches acting at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Washington, D.C.
Tyrel Brown (Paris) returns to CSC after previously appearing in Shakespeare Beyond’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2023), Romeo and Juliet Student Matinee (2023), and Twelfth Night (2022). His other regional credits include Julius Caesar (Fools and Madmen), Young Playwrights Festival (Baltimore Center Stage), Black Super Hero Magic Mama (Strand Theater), Dreamgirls (ArtsCentric), and The Comedy of Errors (Endangered Species Project). He is also a member of CSC’s Black Classical Acting Ensemble (BCAE). Tyrel is a Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival nominee. Education: Towson University, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Acting. Follow Tyrel on Instagram and Tik tok: @tyreltyrelbrown
Katie Daniels (Prince) is a CSC company member and was last seen in CSC's 2023 production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)[revised][again], and the 2022 production of Twelfth Night as Maria. Other CSC credits include: A Christmas Carol (2021), Dracula (2019), Measure for Measure (2020), Henry IV Parts 1&2 (2019) and Julius Caeser (2017). She has also worked with Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, Stillpoint Theater, Iron Crow and Fells Point Theater.
Matt Harris (Peter/Balthasar) Matt returns to CSC having previously performed in last year’s matinee and understudying Touchstone in As You Like It. This marks his 5th production of Romeo & Juliet. He is part of the Ensemble of the Maryland Ensemble Theatre and a member of Oh CRIT! The D&D Improv Show. Other favorite Shakespeare productions include Twelfth Night (Malvolio), Timon of Athens (Ventidius), and The Tempest (Trinculo).
Harper LaBrozzi (Citizen, Understudy) returns after previously performing in Chesapeake Shakespeare’s Olive Branch and Laurel Crown Ensemble in their showcase of The Murder of Gonzago (2023). She is a Glen Rock, PA native with a BFA from Adelphi University and a diploma in Classical Acting from London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She was last seen performing at The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.
Molly Moores (Lady Capulet) has been a CSC Company Member and Teaching Artist since 2011. CSC productions include: Shakespeare Beyond: Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet (student matinee 2015-2020, 2022-2023); A Christmas Carol (2014-2019, 2021-2023); Much Ado About Nothing (2022, 2015); The Adventures of Pericles (2021); Macbeth (movable 2019); Macbeth (student matinee 2019); Henry IV Parts 1 and II; A Midsummer Night's Dream (2018 and 2011); The Winter's Tale; Julius Caesar; Anne of the Thousand Days; Three Musketeers; Macbeth (2016); Richard II; The Taming of the Shrew (2013); Antony and Cleopatra; Pride and Prejudice; Romeo and Juliet (2012); and The Merchant of Venice. www.mollymoores.com
Benny Pope (Lord Capulet) returns to the CSC stage after having previously performed in Romeo and Juliet Student Matinee (2023) and A Christmas Carol (2022). He is a member of CSC’s Black Classical Acting Ensemble. His other credits include A Soldier’s Play (Second Star Productions), Christmas Is Comin’ Uptown, God’s Trombones, Hamlet, It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues, Spell #7, Witness for the Prosecution (Arena Players, Inc). Film credit: America Gone Viral (Changing World Films)
Sam Robles (Citizen, Understudy) is making his CSC debut. He other credtis include in An Absolute Turkey (Vatelin), Love and Money (David) and Radium Girls (Arthur Roeder). Born into a Navy family, he moved around the world until the family settled in Baltimore where he attended Baltimore School for the Arts, followed by three years at the Institute of the Arts Barcelona from which he holds a BA with Honors.
Willem Rogers (Romeo) returns to CSC after previously performing in last year's matinee of Romeo and Juliet, and Shakespeare Beyond's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Willem has been acting for most of his life in the Baltimore and Frederick theater scenes.
Mallory Shear (Tybalt) returns to CSC after previously working on Twelfth Night (2022), and Shakespeare Beyond’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2023) as fight/intimacy director. They are a local Performer, Fight & Intimacy Choreographer, and Teaching Artist. Select Performance Credits: Washington National Opera, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Adventure Theatre, Live Action Theatre, Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, The Strand Theatre, Horwitz Performing Arts Center, Maryland Renaissance Festival, et al. Resident Teaching Artist: Signature Theatre. Additional Teaching Experience: Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Madeira School, Holton Arms, The Landon School, among many others. Recipient of The Kennedy Center ACTF Certificate for Excellence in Fight Choreography in 2019. AAC with the SAFD, IAC with FDC, stunt training in the UK and Ireland. Mallory has been on staff at many regional stage combat workshops, is an associate member of SDC, and founder of Shear Combat, LLC.
Jordan Stanford (Juliet) returns to CSC after previously performing the summer production of Macbeth (2023). Other acting credits of hers include A Sacred Song of Thebes (The Space: Irondale (NY)), Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed (Drama Learning Center) and We Could Be Heroes (Howard Community College)
James Stringer, Jr. (Lord Montague) is making his CSC debut and is a member of CSC’s Black Classical Acting Ensemble. Born and raised in Louisville, KY, moved to Maryland after getting his MFA in Acting from the University of Virginia in 2023. Recent credits include Rorschach Theatre's production of Night of the Living Dead: Live (2023).
Ty Velines (Benvolio) is a multi-disciplinary artist from Baltimore City. Previous credits include: As You Like It (Chesapeake Shakespeare Company), A Wind in the Door (The Kennedy Center), The Snowy Day and Other Stories ( Adventure Theatre), The Jungle Book (Imagination Stage), Mack, Beth (The Keegan Theatre), Theory (Mosaic Theater Company), Milk Like Sugar (Mosaic Theater Company), A Bid to Save the World (Rorschach Theatre), Ballast ( Source Theatre), and Stage Kiss (Round House Theatre).
Josh Williams (Mercutio) returns to CSC after having previously appeared as Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet Student Matinee (2023) and Shakespeare Beyond’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2023). Other recent credits include: Iphigenia (Achilles, We Happy Few); Rhinoceros! (Papillon, Pointless Theatre Company); Macbeth (Macbeth, Hoosier Shakespeare Festival); Merry Wives of Windsor (Dr. Caius, Hoosier Shakespeare Festival); Henry IV Part 1 (Hotspur, Brave Spirits Theatre).
B'Jion Wright (Lady Montague) returns to CSC after previously appearing in Macbeth Student Matinee (2023), and A Christmas Carol (2021). B’Jion comes with a BFA in Musical Theatre from Catawba College. She currently works for the Murder Mystery Company, performing interactive shows for the DMV and beyond. She is very grateful to be growing as a Shakespearean actor. Hopefully this production will inspire you all to learn more about his great works.
Lauren Davis (Director) hails from Baltimore and is proud to be directing Romeo and Juliet Student Matinee. Most recently she directed the outdoor production of Macbeth (2023) featuring the Black Classical Acting Ensemble, and the players of Olive Branch and Laurel Crown in a production of To Be A Solider. She is also a playwright and an actress. Her acting credits include Love's Labour's Lost, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, and Antony and Cleopatra (Chesapeake Shakespeare Company); Acoustic Rooster and the Banyard Boogie: Starring Indigo Blume, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (The Kennedy Center); Corduroy, Akeelah and the Bee, Shrek the Musical, The Scarecrow and His Servant, Cinderella and Charlotte’s Web (Childrens Theatre Company); Oliver! (Theater Latté Da); Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet (Pillsbury House Theatre/Guthrie Theater); Greensboro Four and American Song Book (The Smithsonian). Television credits include America’s Most Wanted (Lifetime). She holds an M.F.A. from the Catholic University of America and a theater degree from Frostburg State. She looks forward to her upcoming project with The Kennedy Center. She would like to thank God and her family for their love and support.
Lauren Engler (Stage Manager) is a CSC Touchstone Company Member, has stage managed CSC’s productions of Macbeth (2023), The Adventures of Pericles, Loves Labour’s Lost (2019), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2018) and has performed with CSC in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014), A Comedy of Errors (2015), and A Christmas Carol (2017). Locally, Lauren has performed in Do or Die Productions’ Poe’s Last Stanza, Cohesion Theatre Company’s Coriolanus, and StillPointe Theatre’s Sweeney Todd. She also stage manages at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Lauren holds a BA in Performance Theater and Studio Art from High Point University.
Dan O'Brien (Technical Director/Lighting Designer) is a founding member of CSC. Daniel has performed, designed scenery, lights, and served as Technical Director for many productions (among other jobs too numerous to name). He oversaw the construction of CSC’s theatre in Baltimore and designed the sets and lighting for Macbeth (2016); for the inaugural season plays A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Richard II; Romeo and Juliet (2015-2019); A Christmas Carol (2014-2019), and many others.
Kathryn Kawecki (Set Designer) Previous CSC credits include As You Like It, Anne of the Thousand Days and Much Ado. DMV design credits include: How the Light Gets In, The Phlebotomist, Proof, and others (1st Stage), Othello/Desdemona (InSeries), The Late Wedding (The Hub), Enron (4615), The Oregon Trail (Flying V). Other designs include: Broken Fences, Taste of It (Ballybeg Theatre, NYC); Elijah, Faith! (LOCAL, Boulder); Avenue Q (Lyric Stage, Boston); Dollhouse, RENT (New Rep, Boston); Romeo & Juliet, My Fair Lady (Greater Boston Stage). She is an Associate Professor at Bowie State University. Education: MFA, Set Design, UNCSA; BA, Visual Arts, Columbia University. www.kawecki-art.com
Kristina Lambdin (Costume Designer) won the Broadway World Best Costume Design award for her designs for A Christmas Carol (2016). Some of her costuming credits with CSC include Dracula (2013 and 2019); The Diary of Anne Frank; She Stoops to Conquer; Alice in Wonderland; Red Velvet; Anne of the Thousand Days; The Fantasticks; Macbeth (2016); A Christmas Carol (2014-2018); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2005, 2011 and 2014); The Importance of Being Earnest; The Taming of the Shrew (2006 and 2013); Romeo and Juliet (2003, 2012, and student matinees 2015-2019); A Doll’s House; As You Like It (Broadway World Best of Baltimore Award); and The Country Wife. Broadway World named her as a top artist of the 2007 Baltimore Theatre, and she won the Greater Baltimore Theater Award for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2005). For more than a decade, she served as the Costume Supervisor for the Baltimore Opera Company and then Lyric Opera Baltimore.
Mo Oslejsek (Sound Designer) Previously based in London, England, Mo is a queer multidisciplinary theatre artist whose work is based in phenomenology and 'queer' as a practice. Baltimore/DC highlights include: Theater Alliance: The Transatlantic Time Traveling Company; Interrobang Productions: I Will Eat You Alive; Woolly Mammoth: Incendiary (Associate Designer); Constellation Theatre: Orlando; Chesapeake Shakespeare: Macbeth, HS Matinee; UMBC: The Grown-up; Strand Theater: R/J, The Lady Was a Gentleman, High School Coven, Frankenstein (all nominated for BEST SOUND DESIGN in Baltimore's BroadwayWorld Awards). Upcoming projects: SCAT: An Ode to the Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed, a residency at The Voxel exploring theatre-in-the-dark. Credentials include a BA in Theatre from Ohio Wesleyan University and MA in Advanced Theatre Practice from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London. (she/they) www.madelineoslejsek.com
Seamus Miller (Music Director) has been a CSC Company Member since 2014, most recently directing Much Ado About Nothing (2022) and student matinee productions of Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth, as well as appearing onstage in Twelfth Night (2022), Measure for Measure (2020), and Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 (2019), among others. He is the Associate Artistic Director of Shakespeare Beyond. Séamus is a member of Actors' Equity Association and has appeared in over forty professional productions in the DC-Baltimore Area. He holds a BA from Cornell University and an MFA from the Shakespeare Theatre Academy at George Washington University. www.seamusactor.com
Melissa Freilich (Fight Choreographer) Bio N/A
Ui-Seng Francois (Dance choreographer) is a multidisciplinary storyteller and freelance artist from Baltimore City, Maryland who is committed to the Arts for healing and environmental justice. She has performed on Broadway in the revival of West Side Story; as well as across Baltimore at Everyman Theatre, Baltimore Centerstage, Motorhouse, and the BSO to name a few. Ui-Seng is currently a dance company member in Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE. Her artistic disciplines include dance, acting, music, martial arts, playwriting, photography, filmmaking, choreography, and creative direction. Ui-Seng is a graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts theater program (18’) and the Peabody Conservatory BFA dance program (23’). Learn more about Ui-Seng and her work at uisengfrancois.com.
Gavin Witt (Director Advisor) makes his CSC debut. Before serving recently as Interim Artistic Director for DC’s Spooky Action Theater, Gavin spent 17 seasons as Director of Dramaturgy and Associate Artistic Director at Baltimore Center Stage—having previously held similar positions in Chicago, where he was also a founding co-Artistic Director of greasy joan & co. He has directed locally and nationally; adapted and translated; provided years of mentorship for the KCACTF MFA Playwrights Workshop and BCS Young Playwrights Festival; and been on faculty at University of Chicago, Depaul, Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore, and Towson. He proudly serves as an Ambassador-at-Large for NNPN, on the Board of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas; and on an advisory board to help support the visionary efforts of Sisters Freehold.
Eva Hill (Assistant Stage Manager) is a freelance theater professional in the Baltimore area, and Costume House Manager at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Their credits at CSC include: Hamlet (ASM), Twelfth Night (ASM), Henry V (ASM), A Midsummer Night's Dream with Shakespeare Beyond (Wardrobe Supervisor). Wardrobe credits at Everyman Theater include: The Book Club Play, Dial M for Murder, The Chinese Lady, Flyin' West, Steel Magnolias.
Duncan McAdam (Assistant Fight Choreographer) Bio N/A
Emily Sucher (Intimacy Director) is a certified intimacy director with Intimacy Directors & Coordinators (IDC). A Helen Hayes Award nominee (2023 Outstanding Choreography in a Play), they have had 30+ intimacy direction and consultation credits in the regional DMV theatre scene, and intimacy coordinated several local films. Emily is a proud member of IDC's very first cohort of intimacy directors (live performance), and also trained with Theatrical Intimacy Education, the National Society of Intimacy Professionals, and Intimacy Coordinators of Color. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Emily is also an actor, educator, and clinical skills instructor for several medical schools. www.emily-sucher.com
Jada Jones (Wardrobe Crew) has 10 years of experience working in the beauty industry, with a background in the performing arts. This is her third year at CSC, where she worked on their Romeo and Juliet Student Matinee (2022, 2023), and Macbeth Student Matinee (2022).
Griffin DeLisle (Board Operator) Bio N/A
Student Matinees
2023-2024 MATINEE COSTS
As You Like It
Cost – Number of students
$20 – 121+
$22 – 85-120
$24 – 25 – 84
$26 – less than 25
Macbeth
Cost – Number of students
$20 – 121+
$22 – 85-120
$24 – 25 – 84
$26 – less than 25
A Christmas Carol
Cost – Number of students
$20 – 100+
$22 – 65-99
$24 – less than 65
Romeo and Juliet
Cost – Number of students
$18 – 100+
$20 – 65-99
$22 – 25 – 64
$24 - less than 25
Contact our Education department at education@chesapeakeshakespeare.com. Also ask about our school residencies and workshops that align with your curriculum and deepen the students’ understanding of Shakespeare.
Address: 7 South Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 (corner of Calvert and Redwood Streets, downtown)
Theatre capacity: 265 seats
Accessibility: Our space conforms to ADA standards. An elevator provides easy access to all levels of seating in the theatre, and we have both dedicated and unrestricted restrooms on two levels. Our performances are sensory friendly. We leave audience lighting at a level that accommodates the full theatre. We also have the PNC Family Room on the ground level that allows room for fidgety students and privacy for behavioral challenges. Please let us know if your students require special accommodations. We’re glad to have you and your students join us!
Health and Safety: CSC is following all COVID-19 regulations and guidelines issued by both state and county officials in Maryland to ensure your visit to the Downtown Theatre is a safe and pleasant one. To read the most up-to-date health and safety information and learn more about the venue, click here.
If you are arriving by car: On weekday mornings, our downtown parking partner is a neighboring business,The QG, located at the corner of Calvert Street and Water Street. You may use The QG’s parking valet service, which opens at 9:30am. Look for the umbrella and valet stand on Water Street. Valet parking is $12, and the attendant parks your car in the Water Street Garage. No shuttles or buses, please. Most other garages will charge community day rates greater than $20. Most metered parking is restricted before 10am, so we recommend using the valet or a garage.
CSC discount parking vouchers are not accepted at this valet and are not valid at Arrow Parking Garage on weekdays during morning commuter hours. Theatre discount parking vouchers are good at night and on weekends.
If you are arriving by school bus or shuttle: Please coordinate with us to pull up on the Calvert Street side of the building and drop off students safely. Buses must then move to another location. No parking is permitted on Calvert Street before 10am.
Our PNC Family Room is provided for any patrons who may need a break or are experiencing sensory overload. This room is not staffed, therefore a teacher or chaperone must accompany students in that room. There is a video monitor with a live feed of the stage so supervisors may also follow the performance.
In-School Residencies
“We dug into our scene to find the meaning of all the parts… it was super fun!"
—8th grade student, Clarksville Middle School, HCPSS
Give your students the tools to grapple with the dense and beautiful poetry of Shakespeare. CSC Teaching Artists will come to your school to guide students in selecting, rehearsing, and performing scenes. Through engaging theatre games and exercises, we can help students overcome their apprehension of studying Shakespeare, while increasing their understanding of the text. With our teaching techniques, students will grow to understand all of Shakespeare, as well as many other classic dramatists.
Online and in-person residencies, after-school, for K-12. MSAC AiR Roster 2021*
To schedule a residency, please contact our Education department at education@chesapeakeshakespeare.com.
Teacher Testimonials
“I was a little nervous about how my students would engage with the show if they didn’t know the story in advance. My concerns were put at ease right away, and I’ve been able to use the field trip as a great anchor for our study of the play.”
Sarah B.
Perryville High School, Harford County
“Our students are all clinically diagnosed with traumatic stress. They seldom enjoy plays. On that day… they absolutely enjoyed the CSC production. It was just GREAT.”
Terry J.
Woodbourne School, Baltimore City
“You were more than willing to accept our group of children with unique abilities, mostly with Autism, and not only accommodated us, but made sure that we were well prepared. The production held each of our students captive, they were not only engaged but they were ABSORBED into the production. Chesapeake Shakespeare Company absolutely floored us.”
Crystal S.
Arrow School, Towson
“For many of our students, this was their first professional production and they were so impressed. They couldn’t stop talking about the cast, plot, and costumes. They loved the question and answer session with the performers.”
Justin G.
KIPP-UJIMA, Baltimore City
“The acting was phenomenal; the staging was wonderful; the fight choreography was fantastic; the scenic and lighting elements were terrific; and the costume design was outstanding!”
Francesca D.
George Fox MS, Anne Arundel County
“I can tell that the dialogue that occurred—the private conversations they had with the actors after the performance—had such a positive influence on them, in so many ways. It was a wonderful experience for all of us.”
Christine A.
North Harford HS, Harford County
“My students’ understanding of the play increased greatly. The performance made a huge impact.”
Elleigh G.
Kenwood HS, Baltimore County
“Great performance, and the girls raved about it. Many of them said it was their favorite field trip of the year.”