MEET OUR ActoRS
Lavour Addison (he/him)
​
Scarus/Ensemble in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
Wrestler/Forester/William in AS YOU LIKE IT
Macduff in MACBETH
u/s Macbeth in MACBETH
​
Other Theatres: Long Warf Theatre; Idaho, Lake Tahoe, and Colorado Shakespeare Festivals; Cleveland Playhouse; Creede Repertory Theatre; Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company
Other Credits: Jay in The Royale, The Poet in An Iliad, Aria and Idris in My Love Brittni
Awards: Henry Award for Lead Actor in a Play The Royale, Rocky Mountain Award for An Iliad
Education: MFA in Acting, Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House
Professional Affiliation: Actors’ Equity Association
Zac Barnaby
​​
Man 3 in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
Featured Performer in THE GREENSHOW
u/s Algernon Moncrief in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST"
u/s The Dysquith Family in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
​
​
RESUME
Cassandra Bissell (she/her)
​
Agrippa/Ensemble in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
Jaques in AS YOU LIKE IT
Lady Macbeth in MACBETH
​
Previously at the Festival: Queen Katherine in Henry VIII; Huntsman/Tranio in The Taming of the Shrew; Hippolyta/Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (2023); Rosalind in As You Like It, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rosalind in The Tavern (2017); Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, Adriana in The Comedy of Errors (2014)
​
Other Theatres: Regional––Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, Arizona Theatre Co., Cleveland Play House, Company of Fools (Idaho), Contemporary Theater of Ohio, Great Lakes Theater (Ohio), Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Indiana Repertory, Northern Stage (Vermont), People’s Light (Pennsylvania.) Chicago––Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Court Theatre, Next Theatre, Northlight, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Shakespeare on the Green, Shakespeare Project of Chicago, Steppenwolf. Wisconsin––Forward Theater Co., Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory, Next Act Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Third Avenue Playworks, Peninsula Players.
​
Education: BA in Gender Studies, University of Chicago
​
Professional Affiliations: Actors’ Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA
Whitney Black (she/her)
​
u/s Louise in DEAR JACK, DEAR LOUISE
u/s Gwendolen Fairfax in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
u/s Truvy in STEEL MAGNOLIAS
​
Whitney Black is an actress, poet, figure model, and motorcycle rider. This is her third season at the festival and she is honored to be here. Credits include: Mother Courage in Mother Courage and Her Children, The Witch in Into the Woods (SUU); Olivia in Twelfth Night (UVU); The Greenshow, Ensemble in All's Well That Ends Well (Utah Shakespeare Festival); Caroline Bingley (Creekside Theatre Company); Scarlet in Scarlet (Sackerson Theatre Company); The Angel in Angels in America (Utah Repertory Theatre).
​
%20-%20Laura%20Brennan.jpg)
Laura Brennan (she/her)
​
Le Beau in AS YOU LIKE IT
Woman 2 in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
u/s Jacques in AS YOU LIKE IT
u/s Sibella in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
​​
Laura Brennan is a Chicago-based actor who originally hails from Pittsburgh, PA.
​
Previously at the Utah Shakespeare Festival: Harriet Smith in Emma: the Musical, The Play That Goes Wrong, and the Shakespeare in the Schools production of Much Ado About Nothing.
​
Regional credits: Texas Shakespeare Festival (Sweeney Todd, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest, The Music Man, Nell Gwynn, Touring productions: Twelfth Night, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth); Citadel Theatre (She Loves Me); Hoosier Shakespeare Festival (Richard III, The Tempest); Marriott Theatre (Darling Grenadine); Cider Mill Playhouse (The 39 Steps, You Can’t Take It with You).
​
Laura is a proud BFA Acting graduate of Ithaca College.
​
Website: https://laurabrennan.net
Taya Christiansen (she/her)​
​
Courtier/Forester in AS YOU LIKE IT
Featured Performer in THE GREENSHOW
u/s Additional Courtier/Forester Track in AS YOU LIKE IT
Female Ensemble Swing in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
u/s Hecate in MACBETH
u/s Annelle in STEEL MAGNOLIAS
​
Other Theatres: Constance in Ride the Cyclone, #13 in The Wolves, Betsy in Sweet Charity at Southern Utah University
​
Education: BFA in Musical Theater from SUU
Emma Cox (she/her)​
​
Gentlewoman/Minion in MACBETH
u/s Agrippa/Ensemble in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
u/s Rosalind/Audrey/Courtier/Forester in AS YOU LIKE IT
u/s Weird Sister 3 in MACBETH
​
Emma is entering her first season with the Utah Shakespeare Festival, appearing courtesy of the SUU Fellowship Program. Born and raised in Paola, Kansas, and currently based out of Kansas City, Emma recently graduated with a BFA in Classical Acting and BS in History from Southern Utah University. After transferring to SUU, Emma had the pleasure of performing as Brutus in Julius Caesar, Sarah Weddington in Roe, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Maud/Victoria in Cloud 9, and more. Last summer, Emma participated in Kayenta Center for the Arts’ New Play Lab, an intensive workshop followed by staged readings featuring six playwrights from around the nation.
​
Olivia D. Dawson (she/her)​
​
Maecenas/Soothsayer/Ensemble in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
M'Lynn in STEEL MAGNOLIAS
u/s Weird Sister 1 in MACBETH
​
Other Theatres: Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Madison Repertory Theatre, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Atlanta Shakespeare Company, New Stages Theatre, Theatre Lila, Forward Theatre, Horizon Theatre, Robey Theatre, Barter Theatre
​
Television: Will Trent, Found, Wolfpack, Dopesick, Chicago Med, The Resident, Cobra Kai, Back to the Goode Life
​
Film: Honk For Jesus
​
Other Credits: Originated role of Narrator in The Greatest: Muhammad Ali, composed by Teddy Abrams, conductor, Louisville Orchestra
​
Awards: 2020 Arts and Social Justice Fellowship at Emory University; Spring 2021 Fellow with the Hambidge Center
​
Publications: “…I Ain’t Nobody’s Cabbage Leaf,” LINES, Lulu Press; “Living in a Covid World,” elderlymag.net, End Capitalism Now Issue
​
Teaching Credits: UW Madison, Northern Sky Theatre Writing Workshop
​
Education: B.A., M.F.A
​
Professional Affiliations: Actors’ Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA
​
Website: oliviaddawson.com
Katie Drinkard (she/her)​
​
Sibella in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
Gwendolen Fairfax in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
​
Katie Drinkard (she/her) is a Denver-based actor, singer, and voiceover artist.
She is currently making her festival debut as Gwendolen Fairfax in The Importance of Being Earnest and Sibella in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.
​
Select regional credits include: Arvada Center (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder); Denver Center Theatre Company (Tommy, The Wild Party, Forbidden Broadway); Creede Repertory Theatre (Young Frankenstein, The Importance of Being Earnest); Hangar Theatre (Titanic); Totem Pole Playhouse (Million Dollar Quartet); and Flat Rock Playhouse (Chasing Rainbows).
​
On camera, she stars in the official music video for Illenium ft. Teddy Swims’ All That Really Matters (9M+ views on YouTube).
​
Katie is represented by Radical Artists Agency for commercial, print, and voiceover work in the Rocky Mountain region. Proud member of Actors' Equity Association. BFA from Ithaca College.
​
www.katiedrinkard.com | @katiedrinkard
Gabriel W. Elmore (he/him)​
​
Octavius Caesar in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
Orlando in AS YOU LIKE IT
Donalbain in MACBETH
u/s Malcom in MACBETH
​
Gabriel is an actor and teacher from the Pacific Northwest with an MFA in Acting from Temple University (’21). He currently lives in Philadelphia with his wife, exploring the works of Shakespeare’s contemporaries. He has a cat named Marlowe, who is the worst. His recent work includes Antony & Cleopatra (Quintessence), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Quintessence), Moreno (InterAct, Barrymore nominated), Cyrano de Bergerac (Quintessence), Pancake Queen (Philly W.T.F.), The Last Yiddish Speaker (InterAct), Peter & The Star Catcher (DTC), Major Barbara and No Exit (Quintessence), Man of La Mancha (DTC), Shakespeare’s R+J (New Light), This Bitter Earth (InterAct), and QvK (P.A.C.).​
​
Website: http://www.gabrielwelmore.com
Austin Fronk (he/him)​
​
Macbeth’s Servant/Soldier/Minion in MACBETH
Featured Performer in THE GREENSHOW
u/s Menas/Thidias/Ensemble in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
u/s Amiens/Courtier in AS YOU LIKE IT
u/s Soldier/Murderer/Young Siward/Minion in MACBETH
​​
​​
RESUME
Nicole Eve Goldstein (she/her)​
​
Phoebe in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
Phoebe/Courtier/Forester in AS YOU LIKE IT
u/s Octavia in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
​
Nicole Eve Goldstein is an NYC-based crossover artist specializing in musical theatre and opera.
Performance highlights include: Iolanthe (Celia) and Anyone Can Whistle (High Soprano Soloist) at Carnegie Hall (dir. Ted Sperling); Dogfight (Rose) and The Light in the Piazza (Clara u/s) at Red River Lyric Opera; Aeterna (Aeterna) world premiere at the Narnia Vocal Arts Festival; On the Right Track (The Woman u/s) at AMT Theatre; Measure for Measure (Francisca) at Oberlin Shakespeare Festival and The Music of Studio Ghibli (soprano) at Madison Square Garden.
Nicole holds a BM from Oberlin Conservatory and a graduate certificate from the Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre at NYFA. Nicole loves playing traditional ingénue roles and putting her own quirky spin on them, a “qu-ingenue,” if you will. She is thrilled to be joining her first season at the Utah Shakespeare Festival!
Blake Henri (he/him)​
​
Eros/Ensemble in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
Amiens/Courtier in AS YOU LIKE IT
Porter/Seyton/Minion in MACBETH
u/s Octavius Caesar in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
u/s Charles/Forester/William in AS YOU LIKE IT
u/s Macduff in MACBETH
​
Previously at the Festival: Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing; Grumio/Player in The Taming of the Shrew; Robert in The Play That Goes Wrong, Karl Lindner in A Raisin in the Sun
​
Other Theatres: King Lear, Comedy of Errors, and Little Women at American Shakespeare Center; Miss Evers’ Boys, The National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa; The Play That Goes Wrong, Cleveland Playhouse; Clue, Dallas Theatre Center; An lliad, Oklahoma Shakespeare Festival; King John, Macbeth, As You Like It, Cymbeline, Julius Caesar, Great River Shakespeare Festival; All is Calm, Pagosa Center for the Arts; Sense and Sensibility, Twelfth Night, Othello, Island Shakespeare Festival; The Crucible, Arkansas Repertory Theatre; The Odd Couple, Manic Monologues, Chaplin, WaterTower Theatre; The Play That Goes Wrong, CoPro with WaterTower and StageWest
​
Television: HBO’s Love and Death, The Chosen, Walker, Into The Wild Frontier
​
Film: American Underdog, Eyewitness Bible Series, Great Plains
​
Other Credits: Directing––Little Shop of Horrors and Six Degrees of Separation
​
Teaching Credits: Advanced Acting and Combat at Arise Acting Studio
​
Education: BFA from The University of Oklahoma
Elijah Eliakim Hernandez (they/them)​
​
Menas/Ensemble in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
Silvius/Courtier in AS YOU LIKE IT
Young Siward/Soldier/Murderer/Minion in MACBETH
u/s Scarus/Ensemble in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
u/s Orlando in AS YOU LIKE IT
​
Previously at the Festival: Hotspur/Gadshill/Traveler/Sheriff in Henry IV Shakespeare in the Schools Tour
​
Other Theatres: Wisconsin Shakespeare (Toby Belch in Twelfth Night); Tennessee Shakespeare Company (Horatio in Hamlet, Mercutio/Prince in Romeo and Juliet, Caliban in The Tempest)
​
Education: BA in Theatre Performance, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
​
Instagram: @pos_itselijah
Steven Jensen (he/him)​
​
u/s Enobarbus in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
u/s Rev. Dr. Chasuble in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
u/s Duncan/Siward/Soldier in MACBETH
​
Steven Jensen, non-Equity actor based in San Diego, is in his second summer season at USF. In the 2022 USF company, he was Gonzalo in The Tempest and Knight/Gentleman in King Lear, and he understudied Gloucester in King Lear and King of France in All's Well That Ends Well. He has performed in Shakespeare productions over more than forty years, mostly around San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area. Stage credits include Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival, New Village Arts, Lyric Opera San Diego, Oceanside Theatre Co., Poor Players, Bodhi Tree Concerts, Ocean Beach Playhouse, Diversionary Theatre, Teatro Máscara Mágica, Coronado Playhouse, Lamplighters Theatre, Berkeley Shakespeare Festival, the Bureau of Western Mythology, and others.
Loren Jones (he/him)​
​
u/s Pompey/Canidius/Maecenas/Soothsayer/Alexas/Menecrates/Ensemble in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
u/s Duke Senior in AS YOU LIKE IT
u/s Porter/Seyton/Ross/Lennox/Murderer/Minion in MACBETH​
​
Other Theatres: Illinois Shakespeare Festival, The Goodman, About Face Theatre, Drury Lane
Education: Masters in Acting from Northern Illinois University
​
Professional Affiliation: Society of American Fight Directors
​
Kayland Jordan (she/her)
​
Alexas/Menecrates/Ensemble in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
Rosalind in AS YOU LIKE IT
Weird Sister 2 in MACBETH
u/s Charmian in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
​
Previously at the Festival: Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun
​
Off-Broadway: New York Theatre Workshop (Mirrors)
​
Other Theatres: Theatre SilCo (The Book Club Play); American Stage Theatre Company (The Mountaintop, The Figs, This Girl Laughs…); Stage West (Poor Clare); MainStage Irving (Intimate Apparel)
​
Television: Betty (HBO); Emergence, The Brides Pilot (ABC/Warner Brothers); Entitled (Amazon)
​
Film: Gap Year, Keep Me At Bay, The Dark Strums
​
Teaching Credit: Resident Teaching Artist at The AT&T Performing Arts Center
​
Education: BFA in Acting, Pace University
​
Professional Affiliation: Actors’ Equity Association
​
Website: kaylandjordan.com
Geoffrey Kent (he/they)
​
Mark Antony in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
Duke Frederick in AS YOU LIKE IT
Lennox/Murderer in MACBETH
Fight Director for all outdoor shows
​
Geoffrey Kent is an actor, fight director, director and teacher based out of Denver, Colorado. Acting work includes Colorado Shakespeare Festival (14 seasons), Denver Center for the Performing Arts (12 seasons), Utah Shakespeare Festival (6 seasons) Orlando Shakespeare Theater (5 seasons) Arvada Center for the Arts (10 seasons) among others. Geoffrey also works as a regional theatre director including USF, Arvada Center and the Denver Center. He is a nationally recognized Fight Director and one of only twenty Fight Masters with the Society of American Fight Directors.
​
Website: www.geoffreykent.com
Walter Kmiec (he/him)
​
Canidius/Ensemble in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
Touchstone in AS YOU LIKE IT
Macbeth in MACBETH
​
Previously at the Festival: Norfolk in Henry VIII; Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing
​
Other Theatres: Orlando Shakes, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Endstation Theater Company (VA), Amphibian Stage Productions (TX), People’s Improv Theater (NYC)
​
Television: Commercials for Oxygen Network
​
Film: The New Year (Dir. Brett Haley)
​
Teaching Credits: Directing, Acting Shakespeare––Florida State University, Intro to Theater––Stetson University
​
Education: MFA in Directing, Florida State University
​
Professional Affiliation: Actors’ Equity Association
%20-%20Kat%20Lee.jpg)
Kat Lee (she/her)
​
Celia in AS YOU LIKE IT
Weird Sister 3 in MACBETH
u/s Iras in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
u/s Lady Macbeth in MACBETH
Previously at the Festival: Margaret Leavitt in Silent Sky, Mrs. Weston in Jane Austen’s Emma The Musical, Narrator in Every Brilliant Thing Educational Tour, Lady Montague in Romeo and Juliet, Ensemble in Ragtime and The Greenshow (2019, 2021)
​
Other Theatres: Martha Cratchit in A Christmas Carol at Denver Center, Yvette in Clue at Oregon Cabaret Theatre, Ida Green in Into The Breeches at Lyric Repertory Theatre, Lorrell Robinson in Dreamgirls at Short North Stage, Sophie Sheridan in Mamma Mia! at Weathervane Playhouse
​
Awards: Michael and Jan Finlayson Actor Award 2023
​
Education: BFA Musical Theatre Otterbein University 2019
​
Website: iamkatlee.com
​
Instagram: @katlee.jpg
Valerie Martire (she/her)
​
Cecily Cardew in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Annelle in STEEL MAGNOLIAS
u/s Weird Sister 2 in MACBETH
​
Previously at the Festival: Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew, Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing
​
Other Theatres: Jackie in Mauritius, #7 in The Wolves, Cassie in Appropriate, Clarion in Life’s a Dream, Tricia in Dog Sees God (Illinois Wesleyan University)
Awards: Best Actress in an Indie Film (Top Shorts 2023)
Teaching Credits: Four years of teaching and one year as assistant productions coordinator (Actors Garden)
​
Education: BFA in Acting, Illinois Wesleyan University
​
Instagram: @valeriemartire
Elyna Mellen (she/her)
​
u/s Cecily Cardew in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Macbeth’s Servant/Soldiers/English Soldiers/Youth Apparition/Minions in MACBETH
Seminar Grove Manager/Education Assistant
​
Elyna is an actor and multi-faceted theatre artist who is delighted to be back at the Utah Shakespeare Festival! Though based in Chicago, this will be her second year as an external understudy and third year as a member of the education department at USF. In Chicago she was most recently Jean Fordham in August: Osage County and in The Winter’s Tale with the Shakespeare Project of Chicago. Other credits include Viola in Twelfth Night (dir. Lisa Wolpe) with the Prague Shakespeare Company, as well as Doña Leonor in House of Desires, Lydia in Pride and Prejudice, and The Governess in The Turn of the Screw at Brigham Young University where she received her BFA in Acting. If you don’t get a chance to catch her onstage, head to the Seminar Grove where she can always be found leading orientations and assisting with seminars.
Website: www.elynamellen.com​​
Pixie Isabel Merkley (she/they)
​
Courtier/Forester in AS YOU LIKE IT
Featured Performer in THE GREENSHOW
u/s Celia/Phoebe/Courtier/Forester in AS YOU LIKE IT
u/s Gentlewoman/Minion/Fleance/Server/Macduff Children in MACBETH
​
Other Theatres: Martha in The Secret Garden, #7 in The Wolves (Southern Utah University); Lily St. Regis in Annie (St. George Musical Theatre)
​
Education: Currently pursuing BA in Theatre Arts from Southern Utah University
​
Social Media: @pixie.isabel
Chris Mixon (he/him)
​
Enobarbus in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
Adam in AS YOU LIKE IT​
Duncan/Siward/Soldier in MACBETH
​
Chris Mixon (Enobarbus in Antony & Cleopatra, Duncan/Siward in Macbeth, and Adam in As You Like It) has worked as character actor in regional theatres for over 35 years. With nearly 175 plays and musicals to his credit he’s performed many times at the Utah Shakespeare Festival (13 seasons), the Great River Shakespeare Festival (10 seasons), the Alabama Shakespeare Festival (11 Seasons), and in many productions with the Orlando, Nebraska, and Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festivals, collaborating with some of the finest directors, designers and creatives in the industry. He’s performed regionally with the Denver Center, Milwaukee Rep., Cincinnati Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Co., George Street Theatre, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Geva Theatre Center, Peterborough Players, among others. He toured nationally in Des MacAnuff’s Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, starring Ralph Macchio and Roger Bart, and performed in New York City in many venues, including Off Broadway’s Pearl Theatre Company (7 seasons) and he’s a founding member of The Resident Acting Company.
​
Website: https://chrismixon5.weebly.com
AJ Newbury (he/him)
​
Caithness/English Soldier/Minion in MACBETH
Featured Performer in THE GREENSHOW
u/s Eros/Lepidus/Ambassador/Clown/Ensemble in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
u/s Oliver/Silvius/Courtier in AS YOU LIKE IT
u/s Donalbain/Soldier/Minion in MACBETH
​
Other Theatres: Oscar in Sweet Charity, Mischa in Ride The Cyclone, Tuzenbach in Three Sisters (Southern Utah University); Jimmy Ray in Bright Star (Village Theatre SIP); Ensemble/Lumiere u/s in Beauty and the Beast (LST)
​
Awards: Outstanding Leading Actor, 5th Ave Awards
​
Education: Currently an undergraduate student at Southern Utah University
​
Instagram: @stuff_aj_says
Frank Oden
​​
Man 2 in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
Rev. Dr. Chasuble in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
u/s Adam/Old Sir Rowland/Corin/Duke Frederick in AS YOU LIKE IT
​
Other Theatres: Actor at Shakespeare in the Wild, Arvada Center, Boulder Ensemble Theater Company, Curious Theater Company, Avenue Theater, Heritage Square Music Hall, many others. Artistic Director for Goldenrod Showboat, St. Louis
​
Other Credits: Poetry in Concert – Touring solo artist (original performance poetry) appearing with symphony orchestras nationwide
​
Awards: Denver Drama Critics Awards for Best New Play (The Winter Rose), Best Supporting Actor (The Man Who Came To Dinner)
​
Publications: Plays and Musicals: Holly, Alaska!, Easy Money, The Winter Rose, Blackbeard, Punch, The Fatal Glass, Secret Agent Guy, The Pecos Pest, Gumshoe. Performance Poetry: Cowboy Jamboree, The Haunted Symphony, Song of the Earth, Love You To Death
​
Education: BA in Theater, Arizona State University
​
Website: frankoden.com
​
Socials: facebook.com/frank.oden.actor
Christopher Joel Onken (he/him)
​
Oliver in AS YOU LIKE IT
Jack Worthing in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Malcom in MACBETH
​
Broadway: The Inheritance.
Off Broadway: The Inn at Lydda (Red Bull Theatre).
Over 80 regional productions including Troilus and Cressida, Julius Caesar, Henry VI 2 and 3, Comedy of Errors, Taming of the Shrew, Cymbeline (Colorado Shakespeare Festival), Richard II, The Importance of Being Earnest, As You Like It (Theater at Monmouth), The Inheritance (ZACH Theatre), Julius Caesar (Nashville Shakespeare), Merry Wives of Windsor, To Kill a Mockingbird, Les Misérables (Orlando Shakespeare), Dial M for Murder (Gulfshore Playhouse, East Lynne Theater) Frankenstein, A Christmas Carol, Baskerville (Greenbrier Valley Theatre), The Lehman Trilogy, Romeo and Juliet, The Elephant Man, The Merchant of Venice, The 39 Steps, Cabaret (Warehouse Theatre), Shakespeare in Love (Opera House Arts), Long Day’s Journey into Night, Lion in Winter (Bridge Street Theatre), Deathtrap, Red, Clybourne Park, 4000 Miles (Playhouse on the Square).
​
TV: “This is B.S.,” (web series), “FBI” (CBS). E-RYT 200
​
Education: BA, Clemson University
​
Professional Affiliations: Actors' Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA eligible​. YACEP Yoga Alliance Certified.
​
Social Media: @christopherjoelonken
​
Website: https://christopherjoelonken.com
Mikhaila Pagdonsolan (she/her)
​
Woman 3 in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
Featured Performer in THE GREENSHOW
u/s PHOEBE in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
u/s Shelby in STEEL MAGNOLIAS
​
Mikki Pagdonsolan is an actor and singer with a B.M. in Vocal Performance from CSU Fullerton. She is seeking representation and, though currently based on the West Coast, she loves traveling and is open to moving wherever life and opportunity takes her!
Theatre credits include: Rapunzel/Granny/Cinderella’s Mother (Into the Woods, Nocturne Theatre); Nun Chorus (The Sound of Music, Musical Theatre West); Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute, CSU Fullerton); Ann Page (The Merry Wives of Windsor, CSU Fullerton); Hermia (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare Orange County); Gigi Van Tranh (Miss Saigon, Stage Door Repertory Theatre); Sally (The Tavern, Shakespeare Orange County); Eponine (Les Miserables, High Desert Center for the Arts)
In addition to theatre, Mikki has performed as a vocalist both nationally (Filipino American Symphony Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall) and internationally (France, Spain, Philippines). Outside of performing, she is a private voice teacher, vocal coach, and adjudicator. Lastly, she strives to bring joy into every room she walks into!
IG and TikTok: @mikkipags
Melinda Parrett (she/her)​
Miss Shingle in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
Miss Prism in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
u/s u/s Lady Bracknell in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
​
​
RESUME
Rob Riordan
​
Monty Navarro in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
Algernon Moncrieff in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
​
Previously at the Festival: Ellard in The Foreigner; Huck Finn in Big River
​
Off-Broadway: Vermont (world premiere) for wild project theatre, Sea Gull for Adult Film NYC
​
Other Theatres: TUTS Houston, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Geva Theater Center, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Broadway Playhouse Chicago, The Fireside Theatre
​
Film: Concessions (upcoming feature), The Surprise Visit, The Rebels of PT-218, Emerald City, American Primitive Guitar, Nova Ovum
​
Other Credit: Williard in Inaugural Cast of Footloose for Norwegian Cruise Line
​
Awards: Best Actor for The Surprise Visit, San Diego Art Film Festival
​
Education: BFA, Webster Conservatory
​
Professional Affiliations: Actors’ Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA
​
Actor's Access: Rob Riordan
Sarah Shippobotham (she/they)
​
Lady Bracknell in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Clairee in STEEL MAGNOLIAS
​
Sarah is a Theatre artist primarily working as an actor and dialect coach, while also directing and intimacy choreographing. Trained in Great Britain in acting and voice she moved to the US in 1998. Based in Salt Lake City she is a multi-award-winning teacher she has been able to construct a successful career as an actor, dialect coach, director and intimacy coach alongside that work. Most recently Sarah was awarded a Utah Artist Fellowship by the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, one of five recipients in the Performing Arts category chosen out of over seventy applicants.
​
As an actor Sarah has appeared in three seasons at the Tony Award winning Utah Shakespeare Festival and is currently appearing in her fourth playing Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest and Clairee in Steel Magnolias. She appeared in part one of Kevin Costner’s "Horizon: An American Saga", and she created a show that had its world premiere at Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC) in September 2023. The piece, "Can I Say Yes to That Dress", began at the Great Salt Lake Fringe in 2022 as the fulfillment of an idea she had been toying with since 2012, premiered at SLAC, was done as a charity reading for REACH at USF last season and it traveled to Sedona for a two night engagement in April. Future plans for the show include touring to the Edinburgh Festival, London, New York, and Adelaide. Currently she is expanding her work to include coaching and performing vocal violence for theatre, games, and film by studying for the Vocal Combat Technique ™ certification.
As a dialect coach, Sarah most notably traveled to New Zealand to be part of the dialect coaching team on Sir Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy, and was one of two resident voice and dialect coaches for the Shaw Festival in Ontario, Canada for eighteen seasons.
Chauncy Thomas (he/him)
​
Pompey in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
Duke Senior in AS YOU LIKE IT
Banquo/Doctor in MACBETH
​
Previously at the Festival: Duke of Suffolk in Henry VIII; Leontes in The Winter’s Tale
​
Other Theatres: Alabama Shakespeare Festival––A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Oberon), The Tempest (Caliban); Bay Street Theatre––A Raisin in the Sun (Walter Younger), To Kill a Mockingbird (Tom Robinson); Illinois Shakespeare Festival––As You Like It (Orlando), Measure for Measure (Angelo); Gulfshore Playhouse––Radio Golf (Roosevelt Hicks); St. Louis Rep––Clybourne Park (Albert/Kevin); St. Louis Shakespeare Festival––The Winter’s Tale (Polixenes), Much Ado About Nothing (Don Pedro)
​
Television: Madam Secretary, Run the World
​
Awards: 5-time St. Louis Theater Circle Award nominee and winner for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama for Biff in Death of a Salesman at the St. Louis Black Rep; Illinois Shakespeare Festival Actor Honor Roll
​
Education: BA in Drama and Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis
​
Professional Affiliation: Actors’ Equity Association
​
Instagram: @chauncythomas
Kathryn Tkel (she/her)
​
Cleopatra in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
Audrey in AS YOU LIKE IT
Lady Macduff in MACBETH
​
​​Kathryn Tkel (she/her/hers) is a Helen Hayes nominated actress originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work has been seen across the country in both classical and contemporary plays, as well as on screen in the feature film Harriet opposite Cynthia Erivo. In 2022 she originated the role of Jackie in the world premiere of Change Agent written and directed by Craig Lucas at Arena Stage in Washington DC. She has worked with Ford’s Theatre, Studio Theatre, Folger Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Arizona Theatre Company, Round House Theatre, Perseverance Theatre, The San Francisco Playhouse, and others. She holds degrees in Drama and Anthropology from The University of California, Irvine and earned her MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University. She currently teaches at Southern Utah University.
​
Website: www.KathrynTkel.com
Patrick Vest (he/him)​
​
Thidias/Ensemble in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
Old Sir Rowland/Corin in AS YOU LIKE IT
Ross in MACBETH
u/s Antony in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
u/s LeBeau in AS YOU LIKE IT
u/s Banquo/Doctor/Solider in MACBETH
​
Previously at the Festival: Lovell in Henry VIII; Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing
​
Other Theatres: Moonlight and Magnolias; Taking Sides; Almost, Maine (Rubicon Theatre). Love Among the Ruins; Staged (Laguna Playhouse). Othello (Nebraska Shakespeare Festival). Dancing at Lughnasa; Good Night, Oscar (Asolo Rep)
​
Education: MFA in Acting from Alabama Shakespeare Festival
​
Website: bigdaddyshakespeare.com
​
​
Graham Ward (he/him)​
​
Lepidus/Ambassador/Clown in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
The D’Ysquith Family in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
u/s Touchstone in AS YOU LIKE IT
​
Other Theatres: Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, Jeffrey in Mrs. Mannerly, Sergeant Trotter in The Mousetrap (Arvada Center for the Arts); Frederick Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein, Wadsworth in Clue: Onstage, Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest, Nicely-Nicely in Guys & Dolls, George Gibbs in Our Town (Creede Repertory Theatre); The 39 Steps (Lone Tree Arts Center)
​
Other Credits: Performer with Boomtown Improv Comedy from 2012-2025, Content Manager and TTRPG performer at Ghostlight RPGs
​
Education: BFA Acting, Brigham Young University
​
Professional Affiliation: Actors’ Equity Association
Amara Webb (she/her)​
​
Iras in ANTONY & CLEOPATRA
Fleance in MACBETH
Shelby in STEEL MAGNOLIAS
u/s Lady Macduff in MACBETH
​
Previously at the Festival: Miranda in The Tempest, Diana in All’s Well That Ends Well, Ensemble in Ragtime, Ensemble in The Pirates of Penzance.
Other Theatres: Little Shop of Horrors at Oregon Cabaret, The Tempest at Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, A Christmas Carol at the Kansas City Rep
Education: BFA in Musical Theatre, Webster University
​
Website: amarawebb.com