CAST BIOS (in alphabetical order)

Greg Atkin (Divine/Fishmonger)  is returning to CSC and was last seen in A Christmas Carol dir. Ian Gallanar (Fezziwig/Ghost of Christmas Present), Love's Labor's Lost (Boyet), Romeo and Juliet (Peter and Others), Henry IV Part 1 and 2 (Pistol and Others), A Christmas Carol dir. Gerard Taylor (Fezziwig/Ghost of Christmas Present), She Stoops to Conquer (Diggory), Alice in Wonderland (Mock Turtle)

Gregory Burgess (Barry/ Frederick Douglass)  is a CSC Company Member, and has performed in CSC’s productions of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (2024), Romeo and Juliet (2024) As You Like It (2023) Macbeth (2023), Hamlet (2023) Twelfth Night (2022), Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2; The Winter’s Tale; The Fantasticks; Richard III (2017 and 2012); Anne of the Thousand Days; Wild Oats; A Christmas Carol (2014-2023); Titus Andronicus (2015); The Importance of Being Earnest; A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014 and 2010); As You Like It; The Merry Wives of Windsor; The Taming of the Shrew (2017 and 2013); and The Merchant of Venice, among many others. His training includes The Martin Blank Studio, the Shakespeare Theater, and Howard University.

Kathryne Daniels (Adriana) is a CSC company member and was last seen in CSC's 2022 production of Twelfth Night as Maria and the student matinee of Romeo and Juliet as the Nurse (2022). 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.

Holly Gibbs (Blaze Starr/ Luce) is making her CSC debut after understudying last year for Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Previous local credits include Venus in Gallathea (Baltimore Shakespeare Factory), Richmond in Richard III and The Town Fop (MD Renaissance Festival), Norma in Perfect Arrangement (Fells Point Corner Theatre), and Lenny in Crimes of the Heart (Vagabond Players) among others. Holly is a current member of the resident Acting Company at the MD Renaissance Festival. She holds a degree in Theatre from Goucher College.

Jose Guzman (Dromio of Baltimore & Philadelphia) is a CSC Company Member and Teaching Artist who has appeared with CSC in Much Ado About Nothing, A Christmas Carol, The Adventures of Pericles, Love's Labour's Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter’s Tale, and many others. Additional productions in the DC area include Anna in the Tropics (GALA Hispanic Theatre) and Taming of the Shrew (Lean & Hungry Theatre). In 2018, Jose won the James MacArthur Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play, and a Helen Hayes Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train (1st Stage Theater). Jose holds an MA in Theatre from Binghamton University.

Matt Harris (Angelo/Edwin Booth) is returning to CSC after previously appearing in Romeo & Juliet student matinees (Peter), and 2023’s As You Like It (Touchstone understudy). Matt is part of the Ensemble of the Maryland Ensemble Theatre. MET: Sense & Sensibility (Edward Ferrars), The Squirrels (Scientist and Sciuridae), Peter and the Starcatcher (Alf). Oh CRIT! The D&D Improv Show (Dungeon Master and Player). Regional: The 39 Steps (Clown), Timon of Athens (Ventidius), Tuna Christmas (Bertha and others), Coriolanus (Brutus), Shakespeare’s R&J (Mercutio and Friar Laurence), Merry Wives of Windsor (Orlando Shakes and Hedgepig Ensemble), King Lear (Orlando Shakes). MattHarrisActor.com

Laura Malkus (Connie/Abbess) is a local small stage veteran who returns to CSC after previously appearing as Fabian in Twelfth Night (2022). Favorite past roles include Miss Thelma in Single Carrot Theatre's Promenade: Baltimore, Brooke in Other Desert Cities at FPCT, and Harper in Angels in America at Axis Theatre. Laura graduated from Towson University's acting program, studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute (NYC), and holds a graduate certificate in Cultural Entrepreneurship from Northeastern University. Laura is also singer/songwriter who performs with local bands The Wayfarers and Sparrow.

Elana Michelle (Billie Holiday/Lillie) is a Resident Company Member of CSC, is an attorney who has enjoyed a variety of roles as an actress and musician in film, television, and theatre; in CSC she has previously worked on Hamlet (Ophelia), Romeo & Juliet (Juliet), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Titania), Twelfth Night (Olivia), Love’s Labour’s Lost (Rosaline), A Winter’s Tale (Time / Mopsa), Mother Courage & Her Children (Mother Courage), She Stoops to Conquer (Constance), A Christmas Carol (Belle / Dorothy), As You Like It (Amiens), All’s Well That Ends Well (King of France), Henry IV Pt. 1 & 2 (Lady Percy), and Anne of the Thousand Days (Jane Seymour).

Gil Mitchell (Edgar Allan Poe/Dr. Pinch) is making his CSC debut. Previous credits include  Romeo and Juliet (American Shakespeare Center), Comedy of Errors (American Shakespeare Center), King Lear (Shakespeare Theatre Company), The Honey Trap (Solas Nua). gilmitchell.com

Brendan Murray (Mayor William Donald Schaefer/Earl Weaver) has performed with CSC in A Christmas Carol (2024), Merry Wives of Windsor, As You Like It, Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2), She Stoops to Conquer and understudied multiple roles in Hamlet. Previous productions include The Mollusc (Quotidian Theatre Company), Rabbit Hole (Peter's Alley Theatre Productions), and Tangles (New Theater of Medicine). Other roles include A Walk in the Woods (Andrei Botvinnik), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Satan, Pilate, Butch), A Bright New Boise (Will), and Frost/Nixon (David Frost). TV credits include We Own This City, Copycat Killers, and Deadly Affairs.

Benny Pope (Aegeon/Townsperson) is a CSC Company Member and a member of CSC’s Black Classical Acting Ensemble. He has performed in A Christmas Carol (2024), the 2024 student matinee production of Macbeth, the 2023 and 2024 student matinee productions of Romeo and Juliet, A Christmas Carol (2022) and served as an understudy in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (2024). His other credits include The Book of Grace (Rapid Lemon Productions), 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)

Dawn Thomas Reidy (Luciana) previously appeared in CSC's Romeo and Juliet (2024) The Oresteia (2024), Macbeth (2023), Hamlet (2023), Henry V (2022), A Raisin in the Sun (2022) and Measure for Measure (2020). She is a CSC Production Associate, Teaching Artist, and a member of CSC's Black Classical Acting Ensemble. She also directs and loves puppeteering. Regional credits include The Few, Romeo and Juliet, Danny Boy, The Lady in the Van, and Candy & Dorothy (Unexpected Stage Company); Our Black Death, Phaeton (Taffety Punk Theatre Company); Hazardous Materials (Perisphere Theatre, Helen Hayes nomination for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play); Overruled (Washington Stage Guild); and How the Other Half Loves and The Boys Next Door (Brown County Playhouse). She also works as a teaching artist with Everyman Theatre and Baltimore Shakespeare Factory. Dawn holds a BFA in Acting from UMBC and an MFA in Acting from Indiana University.

Noah Silas (Antipholus Double/Officer) is making his CSC debut. The two-time Baltimore actor of the year and 2023 FPCT Monologue slam winner, is a multi-talented American actor, director, and cinematographer. With over a dozen critically acclaimed Theatre and Film credits spanning from Baltimore to the United Kingdom. You may recognize Noah from television, as Homicide Detective Jonathan Jones, in the gripping HBO series “We Own This City”. Beyond his on-screen endeavors, Noah is the proud founder and creative director of ‘Noah Silas Studios LLC’. This Platforms allows Noah to explore his artistic vision.

Shakill Jamal (Antipholus of Baltimore & Philadelphia) is an actor, director and theatre professional currently active in the Baltimore and DMV areas. He most recently appeared with CSC as Falstaff in the 2024 production of The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)[revised][again](2022). Other credits include Something Moving(Various, Ford's Theatre) Do You Feel Anger?(Howie, Theatre Alliance) Othello(Othello, National PlayersTour 69) Midsummer's Night Dream(Bottom, Baltimore Shakespeare Factory) Shakill is the Executive Director of Silver Spring Stage, as well as a member of the DC Welders, and his play The Codeswitch was produced by Sisters Freehold in 2023.

Steve Torres (Dromio Double/Delivery Man) has been seen previously at CSC in the 2019 production of A Christmas Carol (Bob Cratchit).  Other credits: Hampstead Stage Company - Robin Hood (Sheriff of Nottingham), Psyche and Eros (Eros), A Christmas Carol (Scrooge); Tecumseh Outdoor Drama - Tecumseh! (Tenskwatawa); Dallas Theater Center - Oedipus El Rey (Coro #2), King Lear (Curan/Ensemble); Santa Rosa Rep - The Mousetrap (Det. Sgt. Trotter), Passion Play (Queen Elizabeth I/Hitler/Ronald Reagan), Avenue Q (Nicky); Woodward Shakespeare Festival – The Merchant of Venice (Gratiano), Hamlet (Horatio), Twelfth Night (Malvolio), King Lear (Edgar).

UNDERSTUDY BIOS

Joe Crea was previously seen in CSC's 2024 production of August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone. Recent credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theseus & Oberon) at Prince George’s Shakespeare in the Parks, The Nance (u/s Chauncey Miles) at 1st Stage, Romeo & Juliet (Friar Lawrence) at NOVA Nightsky Theater. Joe received his BA in Theater from Goucher College in Baltimore and studied at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City. Joe’s a graduate and serves on the board of Studio Acting Conservatory in Washington, DC.

Molly Dillon N/A

Ronnita Freeman N/A

Jack Taylor is making his CSC debut. Jack is an actor and director currently based in Baltimore and was last seen in Iron Crow Theatre’s An Act of God. He has spent the past few years in Philadelphia where recent credits include: Diva! Live From Hell (Philly Fringe); Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story (Curio Theatre Co.); Charlotte’s Web (Arden Theatre Co.) Arcadia University BFA in Acting. @jcktylor_ and www.jcktylor.com

Danny Sakomoto–Wengel was previously seen in CSC's 2024 production of Romeo and Juliet. Previous credits include: The Events (Guthrie Theatre); The Legend of Georgia McBride (Woodstock Arts); A Great Migration (B Street Theatre); Amy’s View, Flower Drum Song (Park Square Theatre); Harvey, Angel Street (Kansas Repertory Theatre); South Pacific (City Springs Theatre Company); R&J:60 (Atlanta Shakespeare Company); Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Center For Puppetry Arts); 365 Days/365 Plays (Full Circle Theatre); Paradise, Stayed (Pumphouse Players); Hopscotch (Doghouse Ensemble Theatre); Twelfth Night (BARD Shakes); The Imaginary Invalid (Combustible Theatre Company); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo & Juliet, Love’s Labour’s Lost (Cradle Theatre Company).

Ian Gallanar (Director) See Leadership Bios

Lauren Engler (Production Manager) has stage managed with CSC for numerous productions over the past decade. Both on stage and off, she has scenic painted, choreographed, and performed with CSC over the years. Lauren has also stage managed for Renaissance Rumble and the Maryland Renaissance Festival. In 2019, she coordinated a city wide “Spring of Remembrance” for CSC in honor of Anne Frank across theaters and museums. Lauren graduated with honors from High Point University with a degree in Performance Theater and Studio Art.

Alexis E. Davis (Production Stage Manager) recent stage management credits with CSC include August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Oresteia, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)[Revised][Again], Twelfth Night, A Raisin in the Sun, Dracula, Henry IV: Parts 1 & 2, She Stoops to Conquer, Alice in Wonderland, Romeo and Juliet (student matinees: 2016-2019), Red Velvet, A Christmas Carol (2017 - 2021), Julius Caesar, The Fantasticks, and Othello.  Additional PSM credits include A Beginner’s Guide to Deicide (Single Carrot Theater) and Drunk Enough to Say I Love You (Single Carrot Theater).  Additional ASM and PA credits include A Christmas Carol 2016 (CSC); LadyDay at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (Baltimore CenterStage); By the Way, Meet Vera Stark; (Everyman Theater); TopDog/ Underdog (Everyman Theater); God of Carnage (Everyman Theatre). Wild! With Happy! (Baltimore Center Stage). Alexis holds a BA in Theater Production from McDaniel College. She is a member of the Stage Managers’ Association.

Dan O’Brien (Set & Projection Designer/ Technical Director) 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.

Katie McCreary (Lighting Designer) is a CSC company member, and has designed for CSC’s August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Hamlet, Measure for Measure, Romeo & Juliet (2020, 2023), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (2020, 2023), The Diary of Anne Frank; Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2; Alice in Wonderland; The Winter's Tale; The Fantasticks; Anne of the Thousand Days; Uncle Vanya; and The Importance of Being Earnest. Other recent and favorite designs include work with Peabody Opera Theater and Dance, Catholic University of America, Rorschach Theatre (company member), Keegan Theater, and Next Stop Theater. Katie is also Director of Development and Curriculum Development and also a proud Teaching Artist for Educational Theatre Company.

Kristina Lambdin (Costume & “Hon” Wig 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.

Grace Srinivasan (Music Director) has programmed and arranged the music for CSC productions since 2016 as Resident Music Director. A soprano who performs a wide-ranging repertoire throughout the region, she appeared as a soloist in a program of works inspired by Shakespeare’s plays, If Music Be the Food of Love, with CSC artists, the Peabody Baroque Band, and the Peabody Renaissance Ensemble. Grace holds a master’s degree in vocal performance from the Peabody Conservatory and sings professionally at St. Stephen Martyr Church and the National Cathedral.

Isaac DeMarchi (Props Artisan) is making his Chesapeake Shakespeare Company debut. His previous props work in Baltimore includes La Boheme (Opera Baltimore), and Proving Up (Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute.) Other DMV props credits include Hurricane Diane (Georgetown University), and Beetlejuice, Jr, (Drama Learning Center.) www.demarchidesign.com

Dawn Thomas Reidy (Production Associate) See Cast Bio

G. Blanston (Sound Designer) N/A

Martin Sundiata (Smith) (Sound Engineer) is a Baltimore-based theatrical designer and technician. Some of his credits include: For Black Boys…, For Colored Girls…, Antigone (Theatre Morgan), The Mountaintop (Black Spectrum Theatre co. & Vagabond Players). He is also a playwright and directed his original work Dream and Disconnect at the Turpin-Lamb Theatre in April 2022. You can find more of his work at MartinSundiata.com

Chris Niebling (Fight Director) is an Artistic Associate for Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (CSC), a graduate of Oberlin College, and a certified Advanced Actor/Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors. He has worked as an actor, director, fight choreographer, intimacy coordinator, or combination thereof at numerous regional theatres including: Ally Theatre Company, Baltimore Opera Company, CSC, Catalyst Theatre Company, The Hatchery Festival, Journeyman Theatre, Live Action Theatre, National Players, Olney Theatre Center, Pallas Theatre Collective, Red Eye Gravy, Rep Stage, Rorschach Theatre, Six Flags America, Solas Nua, Washington National Opera, Washington Shakespeare Company, Alvernia College, Howard Community College, and Carroll Community College.

Shalyce Hemby (Dance Choreographer) is an Maryland native, returns to CSC after making her debut with the As You Like It (2023); ArtsCentric: Once on this Island, Crowns, The Last 5 Years, Little Shop of Horrors, Aida, Chicago, The Color Purple, The Wiz, For Colored Girls, Dreamgirls, Snapshots DC AREA: NextStop Theatre: Beehive; Toby’s Dinner Theatre: The Wiz, Dreamgirls [Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Choreography in a Musical], The Bodyguard, and Ain’t Misbehavin ArtsCentric/Everyman/Olney Theatre Center: The World Goes ‘Round; Olney Theatre Center: Just Arts: A Celebration of Art & Activism FILM: Step Up. Instagram: @sugasheadance

Hannah Brill (Hair/Wig Stylist) is a costume and lighting designer from Baltimore. She is the Assistant Costume Shop manager for Towson University’s Department of Theatre Arts. Hannah is returning to CSC as wardrobe manager (Romeo and Juliet, The Oresteia, As You Like It, Macbeth, Hamlet, A Christmas Carol 2022 & 2023, Twelfth Night). Other recent work includes costume design for A Year with Frog and Toad (Towson University), TU Dance Company shows Multiplicity, Echoing Visions, Legacy, and Surging (Towson University), Marie Antoinette and the Magical Negroes (Single Carrot Theatre), The First Thing That Happens (Acme Corporation), and lighting design for Rachel (Rapid Lemon Productions.)

Mardelle Singleton (Assistant Stage Manager) is making their CSC debut as Assistant Stage Manager for It’s a Comedy of Errors, Hon!. Other shows they have worked on have been Las Hermanas Palacios at GALA Hispanic Theatre as ASM, Is God Is at Constellation Theatre as Wardrobe and Makeup and Momia en el Closet at GALA Hispanic Theatre as Wardrobe Supervisor.

Chester Stacy (Assistant Technical Director) has designed, built, and painted many CSC productions, including Alice in Wonderland, The Fantasticks, Red Velvet, and Titus Andronicus; and for Baltimore Center Stage’s Thoughts of a Colored Man and Shakespeare in Love.  Chester Creates LLC, has provided film production design for The Night Watchmen, set decoration for House of Cards and The Wire; and environmental graphics for Crunch Fitness, Royal Caribbean, Bmore Greek Grill, and Healthy Highlandtown.

Eva Hill (Wardrobe Supervisor) 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.

Wil E. Crowther (Stitcher) Credits include Iago’s Plot (The National Theatre of Weimar); Hammers (The Independent Eye); Born Yesterday (The MD Arts Festival); Yours, Forever Lincoln (Quarry Theatre); Sunset Boulevard and Disaster! The Musical (Cockpit in Court); The Wild Party (Teatro 101); The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Baltimore Shakespeare Festival) and The Young Playwrights Festival (Baltimore Centerstage, various years). Film work includes Thrown and Unravelling (dir. John Mann, both accepted into The Ethnografilm Festival) and The Connection (dir. Steve Yeager). Wil has served as the costume shop craftsperson at Baltimore Centerstage since 1996.

LEADERSHIP

Ian Gallanar (Founding Artistic Director, It’s the Comedy of Errors, Hon Director and Adaptor) is In his 24^th year as Artistic Director of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. He founded the organization in 2002. Ian has worked as a professional actor, director, producer, and writer for roughly 200 professional productions. He has directed over 40 productions for CSC and developed its student matinee series and Shakespeare Beyond, a statewide mobile unit that gives free performances and offers free educational residencies.  Previously, Ian has served as Artistic Director for the National Theatre for Children, Minnesota Shakespeare in the Park, and the Repertory Theater of America. Ian is a proud member of the distinguished National Theatre Conference and the Dramatists Guild of America; a Helen Hayes Tribute Award, Telly Award, Howie Award (Howard County Arts Council) winner. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He was the 2023 recipient of the Sidney Berger Award, a lifetime achievement award given to an Artistic Director of note from a professional Shakespeare company given by the international Shakespeare Theatre Association, an organization for professional Shakespeare companies around the globe.

Lesley Malin (Producing Executive Director) is a founder of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, and served as its Executive Director since 2003. She managed CSC’s building renovation of an 1885 bank into our modern Shakespeare playhouse as well as the associated $6.7 million capital campaign. She has performed in 28 CSC productions and previously in New York. She was, for 20 years, Vice President of the Board of Trustees of The Lark, the landmark new play development center in New York City, where she earlier was Managing Director. She served for five years on the Executive Committee of the international Shakespeare Theatre Association and organized its annual conference that CSC hosted in Baltimore in 2017. She is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, NYU’s Arts Management program, Leadership Howard County, and LEADERship Baltimore (2018).