The Merry Wives of Windsor Show Synopsis

The round rogue knight Sir John Falstaff arrives in the town of Windsor. To increase his fortunes he sends identical love letters to Mistress Ford and Mistress Page in an attempt to woo them and get rich off their husband's money.

The wives figure out the knight's plan from the start and trick him into joining them for a secret rendezvous where they end up teasing and tormenting him. Jealous and suspicious of his wife's behavior, Ford (in disguise) seeks out Falstaff and adds to the mayhem by asking Falstaff to seduce Mistress Ford to prove that she is untrue.

Amidst all this uproar, Anne, the daughter of Mistress Page, plans a trick of her own to marry the man she loves instead of the suitors her parents have selected.

Corey Ahearn (Musician) is making his debut with CSC as a musician. Previous credits include Gallathea (Baltimore Shakespeare Factory), The Tempest (Grassroots Shakespeare DC), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Frederick Shakespeare Festival) As You Like It (British Players), and Romeo and Juliet (NOVA Night Sky). He is a high school English teacher, and has also created, piloted and teaches “Shakespeare, Race and Gender,” at Northwood High School in Silver Spring, MD.

Dylan Arredondo (George Page) Previously at CSC: As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing. DC AREA: Olney Theatre Center: Lend Me a Soprano, Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story in Concert, Okuni, Beauty & the Beast, The Great Gatsby, Alice in Wonderland, Othello; Kennedy Center: Mortification of Fovea Munson; Round House Theatre: Quixote Nuevo; Signature Theatre: Daphne’s Dive; Rep Stage: Falsettos, The Glass Menagerie; Constellation Theatre Company: School for Lies (Helen Hayes Nomination), White Snake; 1^st Stage: The Nance; Spooky Action Theater: Frontières Sans Frontières, Lady from the Village of Falling Flowers; & 18 additional Shakespeare credits at various regional theatres. www.DylanArredondo.com

Kevin Alan Brown (Frank Ford) is an actor, director, and teaching artist based in Baltimore, Maryland. He returns to Chesapeake after previously performing Taming of the Shrew (2017), a Christmas Carol (2016), and The Three Musketeers (2016). He holds an MFA from the Shakespeare Theatre Company Academy at the George Washington University. When he is not performing, Kevin is an early education arts integration specialist with WolfTrap and Arts for Learning Maryland. He is also the co-artistic director of Red Key Dance Theatre with his wife, Robin Neveu Brown. He has performed internationally in Russia and Greece, as well as stateside in New York, DC, Maryland, Colorado, Arkansas, and numerous other theaters across the US.

Richard Buchanan (Understudy) is returns for his second show with CSC. Regional; Chesapeake Shakespeare Company: A Christmas Carol (2023) (Male Understudy) Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park: Shakespeare in Love (Sam and Juliet), Jane Eyre (Ensemble), A Christmas Carol (Understudy), Rapunzel (Rafi), The Chronicles of Narnia (Edmund and Others), Robin Hood (Sheriff and Others); The Human Race Theatre: Brighton Beach Memoirs (Stanley); Baltimore Center Stage: Shakespeare in Love (Sam and Juliet); Cincinnati Fringe Festival; Kill You With My Love (Liam), Sa’idah (Taylor); Iron Crow Theatre: Slipping (Jake), Soldier Dreams (German Student). Performing Arts Chair The Jemicy School https://www.arichfellow.com/

Keegan Cassady (Understudy) returns to CSC after previously appearing in the 2017 production of A Christmas Carol (Marley and others), Richard III (2017), Three Musketeers (2016) All’s Well (Paroles), Romeo and Juliet (Paris), and As You Like It (2014).  Many of his other credits are at the Maryland Renaissance Festival: Merry Wives (Director, Falstaff and Evans), The King’s Stag (Director, Brighella), Richard III (Richard), Twelfth Night (Sir Andrew), The Tempest (Stephano).

Fabiolla Da Silva (Mistress Meg Page) returns to Chesapeake Shakespeare Company after her debut in Measure for Measure (2020). Fabiolla is a DC based actor, deviser, and teaching artist. In 2023 she was the recipient of a Helen Hayes Award for Best Performer in a Supporting Role for her performance in The Revolutionists with Prologue Theatre. Other recent credits include Webster’s B*tch at Keegan Theatre; La Salpêtrière with Taffety Punk Theatre Company; The Last Match at 1^st Stage Theatre; World Builders with Prologue Theatre; Women Playing Hamlet at Workhouse Arts Center; La Llorona with We Happy Few, and Love’s Labor’s Lost at Folger Theatre. Fabiolla holds a BA in Theatre and Dance from James Madison University.

Harry Denby (Fenton/ Bardolph) is making his CSC debut. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show (Imagination Stage); Songbird (Kennedy Center); Burial at Thebes (ODU Rep)

Holly Gibbs (Mistress Quickly) 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.

James McClam (Peter Simple) is making his CSC debut. He is a senior at Howard University working towards his BFA in Acting and Theatre Arts.

Mungo (Slender) is making their CSC debut as Slender. Recently they have been seen locally as Yucca in Lyra and the Ferocious Beast (Truepenny Productions) and Rafe in Gallathea (Baltimore Shakespeare Factory). Mungo is a graduate of Towson University with a BFA in Acting where they could be seen as Frog (A Year with Frog and Toad), Mr. Smith (John Proctor is the Villain), Antigone and Others (Antigone/Cacophany), and The Monster (A Monster Calls).

Brendan Murray (Robert Shallow) performed with CSC in As You Like It, Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2), She Stoops to Conquer, and understudied multiple roles in Hamlet. Other productions include The Mollusc (Quotidian Theatre Company), Rabbit Hole (Peter's Alley Theatre Productions), Tangles (New Theater of Medicine), A Walk in the Woods (Reston Players), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, A Bright New Boise, and Frost/Nixon (Silver Spring Stage). He’s understudied at Round House Theatre (Caroline or Change) and Studio Theatre (Water by the Spoonful). TV credits include We Own This City, Copycat Killers, and Deadly Affairs.

Dion Denisse Peñaflor (Anne Page), is making their CSC debut. Denisse received her Shakespeare Short Course certification at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) ‘23 and her B.A. in Theatre at the University of Maryland (UMD) ‘20. NYC Acting Credits: Highlighter Girl (Pan Asian Rep). DC Acting Credits: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (NextStop Theatre). Directing Credits: Holiday (Arena Stage, Assistant Director); Monstress (Flying V, Assistant Director). Honors: Outstanding Performance for Highlighter Girl as Tiffany (Women’s Theatre Festival); Irene Ryan Nominee for The Visit as Claire (UMD/Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival) IG: @dion.denisse

Andrea Spitz (Host of the Garter Inn) returns to CSC after spending the 2023 holidays in A Christmas Carol.  Previous roles include The Crucible (Elizabeth Proctor – WATCH Award for Outstanding Lead Actress); Moon Over Buffalo (Charlotte Hay – WATCH Award for Outstanding Lead Actress); Pride and Prejudice (Mrs. Bennet); Assassins (Sara Jane Moore); Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife); Proof (Catherine); The Importance of Being Earnest (Cecily); The Sound of Music (Maria); Book of Days (Ruth); You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Snoopy); Rabbit Hole (Becca).  Her training includes Northwestern University and the Studio Acting Conservatory.

Shaquille Stewart (Sir John Falstaff) is an actor, director and theatre professional currently active in the Baltimore and DMV areas. Previous credits include Complete Works(Various, CSC) 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) Shaquille 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.

Elijah Williams (Doctor Caius/ Pistol) is making his CSC debut. He worked on shows at the University of Maryland such as Flyin’ West (Wil) and She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms (Orcus/Ronnie), where he was credited as an original cast member in Samuel French. After earning a BA in Theater performance at the University of Maryland, Elijah went on to receive a master’s level certification in theater performance from L’école Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris, France. Earlier this year Elijah founded INI, an independent creative studio that has since launched two short films.

Josh Williams (Sir High Evans/ Nym) returns to CSC after having previously appeared as Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet Student Matinee (2023, 2024) 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 2 (Hotspur, Brave Spirits Theatre).

Emily Zinski (Mistress Alice Ford) is an actor, singer and teaching artist based in Annapolis, MD. Theatrical credits include Chesapeake Shakespeare Company: A Christmas Carol (Mrs. Fezziwig, Mrs. O’Leary), A Christmas Carol (Mrs. Crachit); BLM Plaza: Working (Babe, Charlie, Roberta, Sharon); Weston Playhouse: Fiddler on the Roof (Hodel); Syracuse Stage: White Christmas (Tessie); Baltimore Actors’ Theatre: Oliver! (Ensemble); Pittsburgh Musical Theater: Les Misérables (Ensemble), Annie (Ensemble), A Christmas Carol (Ensemble). In addition, Emily works in film (Go Away, Emily Who Was Very Sad), television (Motivated Mornings, AFSB Ad Campaign), commercial music (AIDA Cruise Lines, Bachelor Boys Band), and she teaches in AACPS’ Apex Arts Magnet Program. www.emilyzinski.com

Ben Lambert (Director) is an actor, director, and professor of acting and directing at James Madison University. Regional credits include Speakeasy Stage Company, Shakespeare & Company, Gloucester Stage Company, and the American Shakespeare Center. He is happy to be directing with Chesapeake Shakespeare Center for the first time.

Sarah Curnoles* (Production Manager)  stage managed with CSC for Much Ado About Nothing, The Importance of Being Earnest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Dracula, A Doll’s House, The Tempest, and Henry V. Before working at CSC, she was self-employed as a life coach. She has also worked at Center Stage as the Executive Assistant to the Artistic and Managing Directors. Sarah created and directed A Fool’s Paradise: 30 Shakespeare Scenes in 60 Minutes which was performed at the Baltimore Fringe Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, and various stages around Baltimore.

Lauren Engler* (Stage Manager) 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) 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.

Becca Janney (Costume Designer) is so thrilled to be joining Chesapeake Shakespeare Company for the first time! They are a costume designer based out of the DC metro area. Their professional design credits include: Gala Theatre (Momia en el Closet: Eva's Return), Imagination Stage (Cinderella, A Salsa Fairytale), Creede Repertory Theatre (Cinderella), WaterTower Theatre (Everything is Wonderful, Godspell) and Stage West Theatre (Ada and the Engine). Educational design credits include: American University (Damn Things Will Kill Ya)¸ Maryland Opera Studio (Don Giovanni), University of Maryland (A Bicycle Country, Fefu and her Friends), Baylor Theatre (Rhinoceros, Peter and the Starcatcher). They got their MFA in costume design at the University of Maryland and BFA in theatre performance at Baylor University. Website: beccajanney.com Instagram: @beccajanneydesigns (thon/they)

Aria Velz (Sound Design) is a director, dramaturg, and sound designer born and raised in the DMV. Previous sound design includes: Migraaants (Expats), Agreste (Spooky Action Theater); The Fisherman and His Wife (Adventure Theatre); The Internet is Distract..., Sense and Sensibility (Imagination Stage Acting Conservatory); Red Bike (Pan Underground), and Everybody (American University). @ariavelz

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.

Nikki LeFaye (Props Artisan) is a multidisciplinary artist. They made their debut with Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in 2022 as props designer for Macbeth and have since worked on The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Nikki is also a writer of speculative fiction, a costume designer, noise artist, and performer who has worked with Charm City Ballet, Towson University, Strand Theatre, and Annex Theatre, as well as on films.

Sam Saint Ours (Composer) is working with CSC for the first time. Music directing/composing credits include: dozens of titles in residence with American Shakespeare Center; Bright Star, Elf, and Escape to Margaritaville (Mill Mountain Theatre); The Lightning Thief (Laguna Playhouse); Once (James Madison University). Equity acting credits: A Comedy of Errors (Antipholus S.), All's Well That Ends Well (Bertram), The Tempest (Alonso), Romeo and Juliet (Tybalt), and more with ASC; the 2019 National Tour of Once; and work with Cape May Stage, Olney Theatre Center, Atlantic Theatre Company, and the Engeman Theatre. He studied musical theatre at James Madison University. www.SamSaintOurs.com

Colin Maher (Assistant Stage Manager) returns to the PFI after working as the Tech Manager for CSC’s production of Macbeth in 2023. Colin has worked with CSC in numerous ways as also a bartender and actor. Recently he was seen as Abram in Romeo and Juliet (2024). He works locally as a carpenter, theatre technician, and actor.

Oriana Montes (Production Assistant) holds a BA in Theatre from University of Maryland, Baltimore County graduate, has assistant stage managed UMBC’s Theatre Faculty The Grown Up (2023) and Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really (2023). There, she also staged managed You Can See Me In The Dark(2022).

Shaela Davis (Dance Choreographer) is making her CSC debut as the Dance/Movement Choreographer. Shaela’s choreography was featured in the Baltimore Black Choreographer’s Festival, the Peabody Dance! Festival, Full Circle Dance Company, and has been performed at various venues in the Greater Baltimore area. Her work has been seen on students from Towson University Community Dance, Anne Arundel County Public Schools, and various studios in the Greater Baltimore area. Shaela has performed with Abby Z and the New Utility, Christopher K. Morgan & Artists, and Full Circle Dance Company.

Sierra Young (Fight Director/ Intimacy Director) is a Helen Hayes nominated violence and intimacy director working in the DC/Baltimore area. Sierra is the resident intimacy director at American University; as well as the resident fight and intimacy director for Mosaic Theater Company in DC. She is an active member of the Society of American Fight Directors, Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Recent choreography credits include: Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company; POTUS! at Arena Stage; Little Shop of Horrors and Shout Sister Shout! at Ford’s Theater; Merrily We Roll Along, and Sweat at Keegan Theatre; Spring Awakening at Monumental; Nancy, Confederates, Monumental Travesties, One in Two, Unseen, Bars and Measures, and The Till Trilogy at Mosaic Theater Company; King Lear and Red Velvet at The Shakespeare Theatre Company; and Ain’t No Mo’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Baltimore Center Stage. Website: sierrayoung.org. (she/her)

Teresa Spencer (Dialect/Text/Vocal Coach) is an actor and dialect coach. With Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, she has performed in As You Like It and Henry V. Voice and dialect credits include The 39 Steps (Rep Stage), Incognito (Constellation Theater Company), La Salpêtrière (Taffety Punk: Company Member), and Wellspring, an original podcast series and The Velveteen Rabbit, an audio play adaptation (Walterhoope: Resident Artist). Teresa is an Assistant Professor of Acting and Voice at Towson University. She holds an MFA from the Academy for Classical Acting and is a Certified Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework and Knight-Thompson Speechwork. www.teresaspencer.net

Cameron Luther (Tech Manager) is a stage manager, theatrical technician, and teaching artist based in the DMV. They are making their CSC debut with this production of Merry Wives of Windsor. Past credits include Big Fish (Young Artists of America), Sweet Charity (Bmore Broadway), Grounded (In Character Productions), Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Fells Point Corner Theatre), and Stories Told Small (UMBC). They are a production assistant for the music and theatre departments at The Catholic University of America.

Hannah Brill (Wardrobe) 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.)

LEADERSHIP

Ian Gallanar (Founding Artistic Director, As You Like It Director) In addition to founding the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in 2002, Ian has worked as a professional actor, director, and writer for more than 150 professional productions. He has directed 40 productions for CSC. 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, and Howie Award (Howard County Arts Council) winner. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he is a Member of the College of Fine Arts Advancement Council. He is Immediate Past President of 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).