Our 2025-2026 Company
Marquis Dijon Archuleta (Don Pedro/Watch in Much Ado About Nothing, Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Readings Series, Hortensio in The Taming of the Shrew; Senior Artist-Manager) TSC: Macbeth in The Macbeth Initiative, Caesar in the Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series production of Julius Caesar, Laertes in Hamlet, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night. He is also a Master Teacher in The Romeo & Juliet Project. Acting: Sweeney in Cutler Bros. Theater’s production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Matthew Alter (Don John/Verges in Much Ado About Nothing, Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Readings Series and The Taming of the Shrew; Apprentice) Credits include: international tour of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (Ali Baba), national tour of Treasure Island (Ben Gunn/Billy Bones/Tom Morgan), Our Town (George Gibbs), The Importance of Being Earnest (Jack Worthing), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lysander), The Mousetrap (Trotter), Art (Marc), Boeing, Boeing (Robert), The Tempest (Ferdinand), and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Monty Navarro). Matthew is a graduate of Rice University with degrees in Theatre and Mathematics.
Marian Claire Barber (Margaret/Conrad in Much Ado About Nothing, Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Reading Series and The Taming of the Shrew; Apprentice): Marian Claire enjoys working in the costume and scenic shop, and playing her instruments. Lipscomb University credits: Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Pride and Prejudice, Crazy For You, Big Fish, Mamma Mia! Playhouse on the Square: Waitress, Punk Rock Girl; and she was a teacher for their Youth and Adult Musical Theatre Class.
Frank Bluestein (Co-Founder) is the 1996–1997 Disney National Performing Arts Teacher of the Year and the 1994 Tennessee Teacher of the Year. USA Today named Mr. Bluestein as one of the top forty teachers in the United States in 1998. Until his retirement in 2013, he served as chair of the Germantown High School Fine Arts Department; as artistic director of the school’s theatre, the Poplar Pike Playhouse; and as executive producer for Germantown Community Television, the school’s nationally acclaimed television production center. Graduates from his program include Saturday Night Live star Chris Parnell; film, television, and stage actress Missi Pyle; Emmy-winning casting director Scott Genkinger (Desperate Housewives & NYPD Blue); NPR reporter Debbie Elliott; TSC’s Dan McCleary; and Blue Man Group actor Wes Day. Mr. Bluestein is a past winner of the American Theatre Association’s John C. Barner Award, and has served as an arts advisory panelist for numerous organizations, including the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition to acting as a senior advisor for TSC, he currently serves as executive director of the Tennessee Arts Academy, a leading professional development institute for arts teachers located in Nashville on the Belmont University campus. Mr. Bluestein spent several years as director of shows at Opryland, USA, and he most recently wrote and directed the national touring production of Beale Street Saturday Night starring blues legend Joyce Cobb. In 2013, he was inducted into the Educational Theatre Association’s Hall of Fame in Minneapolis.
Jeremy Bukauskas (Friar Francis in Much Ado About Nothing, Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Readings Series, Gremio in The Taming of the Shrew) TSC: The Comedy of Errors (Duke Solinus), The Romeo and Juliet Project (Lord Capulet). Regional: Trumpet in the Land, The White Savage, The Music Man, All Shook Up!, Sword of Peace, Pathway to Freedom, The Wiz. Educational Theatre: Peter and the Starcatcher, Tartuffe, Peer Gynt, As You Like It, Lovers and Executioners, God of Hell. Jeremy earned his M.F.A. in Theatre from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Anton Chekhov (Playwright of Three Sisters) was born in 1860 in Taganrog, Russia, the grandson of a serf, the son of a struggling merchant, and became both a successful physician with a wide-ranging practice and a prolific writer. By the time he created Three Sisters in 1900, he had already transformed the short story and was remaking theatre with a quiet revolution aided by the renowned Moscow Art Theatre. Chekhov gave modern drama a new framework: subtext, ensemble, and truth in the everyday. Scholars often referred to Chekhov as one of the seminal figures in the birth of early modernism in the theatre. His other plays that are produced annually include Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard, and The Seagull.
Andrew Christenson (Asst. Stage Manager for Much Ado About Nothing, Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Reading Series) TSC: The Romeo and Juliet Project (Sampson/Paris), Twelfth Night (Fabian/Valentine; Asst. Stage Manager), Macbeth (Asst. Stage Manager), The Comedy of Errors (Asst. Stage Manager/messenger). Other performance credits: Escanaba in Da Moonlight, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Little Women, The Seagull, Miracle on 34th Street, Annie Get Your Gun. Stage Management: Emerge 360, Silent Sky, Murder Ballad, Emerge Student Dance Concert. Andrew is a local Memphian and a recent University of Memphis graduate, earning a B.F.A. in Theatre with a concentration in Performance. Andrew was a member of TSC’s 2024-25 Classical Theatre Apprentice Program.
Chris Cotten (Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Readings Series) is excited to be back at TSC with an opportunity to share the stage with wife, Lorraine. TSC: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Winter’s Tale (reading). Playhouse on the Square/Circuit Playhouse: A Bronx Tale; Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Once, The Bridges of Madison County, Billy Elliot, Sanders Family Christmas. Theatre Memphis: You Can’t Take It With You, The Clean House, As You Like It, A Chorus Line, Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, A Christmas Carol. Majestic Theater (MA): Once. Barter Theatre (VA): Eleanor: An American Love Story. Education: M.F.A. in Theatre in Directing, University of Memphis. Love, as always, to James and KT.
Lorraine Cotten (Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Readings Series) is thrilled to be back at TSC, where she has acted in Saint Joan, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Taming of the Shrew, and It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play; and co-directed Romeo and Juliet (2015). Playhouse on the Square: The Prom, Gentleman’s Guide, Left Hand Singing, Memphis the Musical, Shakespeare in Love, and Tuck Everlasting, among others. Theatre Memphis: Addams Family. Germantown Community Theatre: Next to Normal and Smoke on the Mountain. Regional credits: Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, Arkansas Rep, Barter Theatre, Tiffany Theatre (LA), Perry Street Theatre (NY Theatre Workshop), and New Dramatists (NY). Education: M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Memphis. Love to Chris, James, and Katy.
Noël Coward (Playwright of Blithe Spirit) was born in 1899 in Teddington, England, and began performing as a child before turning to writing plays in his early twenties. Over the next five decades, he became one of Britain’s most prolific and recognizable theatre figures, known for sharp dialogue, unforced humor, and an instinct for timing both on stage and off. He wrote more than 65 plays and musicals, and he acted in nearly 90 stage productions and films. In 1941, during the height of WWII, he wrote Blithe Spirit, a comedy about death and marriage that ran for nearly 2,000 performances in London and gave audiences relief through laughter. His other popular plays include Hay Fever, Private Lives, and Present Laughter.
Cu Cukale (Production Stage Manager): Stage Management credits: King Lear (Island Shakespeare Festival), A Lucky Chance (Island Shakespeare Festival), and Seussical the Musical (Youth Theatre Northwest). Director: Mean Girls the Musical (Broadway Bound Children’s Theatre). Acting: Much Ado About Nothing (Borachio), Sweeney Todd (ensemble), and A Chorus Line (Judy Turner).
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Author of The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1859 and became a physician and prolific writer. In 1887, with A Study in Scarlet, he introduced Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, characters who would come to define detective fiction and inspire readers to look for reason and evidence across 56 short stories. Beyond Holmes, Doyle wrote historical novels, science fiction, and essays, and late in life became a public advocate for spiritualism.
Jane Drumm (Administrative & Box Office Manager) is a Chicago native and holds a B.A. in Dance and Philosophy from Bates College in Maine. As a dancer, she’s performed in works by Cameron McKinney, Kyle Marshal, Tristan Koepke, Noel Price-Bracey, Darrius Strong, and Gesel Mason, among others, and was selected to perform Christina Robson’s “Sounding Fray” at the 2025 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival’s American College Dance Association showcase. Outside of work, Jane is an avid dog lover and reader who is always on the lookout for her next book recommendation.
Nick Ericksen (Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew) American Shakespeare Center: Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and The Pirate Ballad of Bonny and Read. Illinois Shakespeare Festival: The Tempest, The Comedy of Errors, and Toss Me a Tempest. Walking Shadow Theatre Company: Witch. Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival: Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night. Vagabond Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet.
Jason Eschhofen (Composer/Sound Designer for Twelfth Night) is a Saint Louis native and holds an M.M. in Voice Performance from the University of Memphis and a B.A. in Studio Recording Technology from Bowling Green State University. TSC (music/sound design): Twelfth Night, The Importance of Being Earnest, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberly. Memphis Regional (music direction): The Fantasticks, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Cabaret, Beautiful, the Carole King Musical, Next to Normal, Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards. The Muny (rehearsal pianist): Bring It On, Evita, La Cage aux Folles. Saint Louis Regional (music direction): Bat Boy; Ride the Cyclone; Promenade.
Jeremy Allen Fisher (Production/Facilities Manager; Technical Director; Lighting Designer) has been with Tennessee Shakespeare Company since 2013, designing 30+ productions. An 18-year veteran in the entertainment business with multiple degrees and certifications, Jeremy is a member of Local USA 829 United Scenic Artists with experience in all aspects of lighting. Founding his design firm in 2019, he has worked on projects of all sizes across the country. He is the Resident Lighting Designer for Opera Memphis and Youngblood Studio. He recently redesigned Ballet Memphis’ annual production of Nutcracker and completed several major public art installations at St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, and Oregon State University. Since moving to Memphis in 2011, Jeremy has completed 200+ lighting designs in the city, been nominated for 12 Ostrander Awards with four wins, and in 2017 was awarded the TAC Individual Artist Award for his work in Lighting Design.
Lady Augusta Gregory (Featured Writer in Under an Irish Moon Salon) was born in 1852 in County Galway, Ireland. She was the co-founder of the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Lady Gregory was largely responsible for her country’s literary revival, an awakening that would prove the birth of Ireland’s fight for independence. A friend and supporter of W.B. Yeats, J.M. Synge, Robert Browning, Lord Tennyson, and Henry James, Lady Gregory was an inspired dramatist, poet, and correspondent.
Lauren Hester Gunn (Beatrice/Watch in Much Ado About Nothing, Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Readings Series, Ensemble in The Taming of the Shrew; Education and Outreach Manager/Senior Resident Actor/Fight Choreographer) TSC: Saint Joan, The Grace of Grace: Shining a Light through Shakespeare’s Broken Villains, Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Tempest, Cyrano de Bergerac, Macbeth, Henry VI, Romeo and Juliet, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, and Ada and the Engine. Southern Arena Theatre: Boeing Boeing, I Hate Hamlet. New Stage Theatre: Constellations, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Crimes of the Heart, A Christmas Carol, Cat in the Hat. Fish Tale Group Theatre: Voice of Freedom Summer. Lauren is delighted and honored to continue serving military Veterans at the Memphis V.A. Medical Center with TSC’s Feast of Crispian-South program. She is a member and associate instructor with Dueling Arts International. Education: University of Southern Mississippi (M.F.A.).
Sarah Hankins (Director of Education and Outreach Programs; director of Macbeth Initiative and Romeo and Juliet Project; Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Readings Series) is a director, AEA actor, teacher, and theatre administrator with a strong focus on collaboration, physical theatre, and heightened language. For TSC, Sarah directed Saint Joan in 2025 and will direct our touring productions this season of Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet for the second time. Sarah was most recently Artistic Director at Triad Stage, a professional regional theatre in North Carolina, prior to which she was a freelance theatre artist in NYC. Sarah is also the former Artistic Director of the NYC eco-theatre Green Theatre Collective, as well as a former Associate Artist at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre. Sarah has taught theatre education programs from Maine to Florida for students ranging from kindergarten to college, including teaching and directing at The University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Greensboro College, Guilford Technical Community College, University of North Carolina Greensboro, and Guilford College. Sarah is a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s M.F.A. Directing program, and of Davidson College.
Stuart Heyman (Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing, Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Readings Series, Baptista in The Taming of the Shrew) TSC: The Comedy of Errors (Balthasar/Officer), The Tempest (Gonzalo), Cyrano de Bergerac (Ragueneau), As You Like It (Adam), The Comedy of Errors (Duke Solinus), All’s Well That Ends Well (Lefew), The Taming of the Shrew (Baptista), Othello (Brabantio), As You Like It (Corin). Theatre Memphis: Dracula (Van Helsing). Circuit Playhouse: Peter and the Starcatcher (Alf) and Tom Sawyer (Doc Robinson). Desoto Family Theatre: My Fair Lady (Henry Higgins) and Oliver! (Fagin). Germantown Community Theatre: Man of La Mancha (Cervantes/Quixote). New Moon Theatre: The Homecoming (Teddy). Stuart is a founding member of TSC.
Joe Johnson (Music Composer for Much Ado About Nothing) TSC: Saint Joan, Cyrano de Bergerac, and The Tempest, and many other shows elsewhere. Joe is a composer, sound designer, musician, and incessant doodler of circles. He enjoys making the absurd and bizarre feel like home. Visit semiaveragejoe.com for more.
Tom Johnson (Music Composer and Piano Accompanist for The Taming of the Shrew) has been involved with theater since he was in grad school. He received his Master’s degree in piano at USM; while there, he assisted the music director in the orchestra pit. After graduating, Tom worked with Kudzu Playhouse for a few years, and long-time theater-goers may remember him as L.M. in Pump Boys & Dinettes at Circuit Playhouse years ago. Recent productions as Music Director are Caroline, or Change, Bronx Tale, Come From Away, and The Wizard of Oz. Tom is excited to be a part of this production. Thanks to Dan & everyone for this opportunity.
Dan McCleary (TSC Founder and Producing Artistic Director; Director of Classical Comedies & Cocktails Readings Series and The Taming of the Shrew), a native of Memphis, last year directed TSC’s Shout-Out production of The Comedy of Errors as well as Grace of Grace: Shining a Light Through Shakespeare’s Broken Villains (which he also created).For TSC, he also has directed/acted in As You Like It (playing Jaques), Cyrano de Bergerac (playing Cyrano), The Trouble Begins at Eight: Mark Twain, Ada and the Engine, Blue Roses of Tennessee Williams (playing Tennessee with his son, Collins), Julius Caesar, Waiting for Godot, The Glass Menagerie (playing old Tom), The Taming of the Shrew (playing Sly), Richard III (playing Richard), To Kill a Mockingbird, Much Ado About Nothing, Ernest Hemingway in Key West, Flannery O’Connor’s Georgia Gothic, All’s Well That Ends Well, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, The Tempest, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the all-female Julius Caesar, Othello, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), Themes from a Midsummer Night with IRIS Orchestra, Classical Creations in Quarantine, and Shakespeare’s Election of Coriolanus. Other regional theatre directing credits: The Servant of Two Masters, his adaptation of Anaïs Nin’s Henry and June, Vita & Virginia (Sackville-West and Woolf), My Own Stranger (Anne Sexton), and The Fiery Rain (Edith Wharton/Henry James/Morton Fullerton) at Shakespeare & Company, where Dan was Associate Artistic Director. He also has directed at Seattle Shakespeare, Orlando Shakespeare, and Georgia Shakespeare. He has played over 120 roles on stage, including Coriolanus (thrice), Richard III (twice), Macbeth (twice), Falstaff, Marc Antony, Caliban, Brutus, Petruchio, Hotspur, Bottom, Master Ford, Stephano, Antipholus and Dromio of Ephesus, Cassio, Bertram, Demetrius, Silvius, Herman Melville, Porfiry, Charles Dickens, The Gentleman Caller, Hannah from Hamburg in La Cage, and Bertha Bumiller et. al. in the Greater Tuna series. Dan is a published poet, and the creator/director/actor of the plays Speak What We Feel: Shakespeare’s Radical Response to a Radical Time; Unto the Breach; Quintessence: Shakespeare in Performance; and Classical Creations in Quarantine. Memphis Magazine has named him among the “Who’s Who in Memphis” for seven years, including 2025. Dan presented his TEDx Talk “Shakespeare in Kindergarten, or Let Fall Rome” in Memphis in 2020, and the Germantown Arts Alliance honored him with its 2009 Distinguished Arts and Humanities Medal for Performing Arts. He holds a B.A. in Advertising and Journalism from Temple University, has served on the Boards of Herman Melville’s Arrowhead and the City of Germantown’s Telecommunications Commission, and he is the dad of 15-year-old twin musicians/athletes/Scouts/honors students, Sullivan and Collins.
Micki McCormick (Asst. Technical Director) TSC: technical director for Shout-Out productions of The Comedy of Errors and The Tempest, and sound engineer for The Grace of Grace: Shining a Light Through Shakespeare’s Broken Villains and A Streetcar Named Desire. Design Credits: Assistant for Opera Memphis’s La Bohème and La Calisto. Electrician for Opera Memphis’ The Rising and the Falling and the University of Memphis’ Rocky Horror Picture Show. Ostrander winner (2022) for the University of Memphis’ production of A Bright Room Called Day for Excellence in Sound Design.
Charlie W. Meeks (Benedick/Watch in Much Ado About Nothing) Cumberland Theatre: Antony and Cleopatra, Macbeth. Emerald Coast Theatre Company: Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville, Treasure Island, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, and A Christmas Carol. West Virginia Public Theatre: Narnia the Musical, Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and A Christmas Carol. Barter Players: Robin Hood, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Cry Wolf! Tecumseh! Outdoor Theatre: Tecumseh! Education: West Virginia University (M.F.A.).
Milla Meiman (Assistant Stage Manager for Classical Comedies & Cocktails Readings Series, Christmas Gems, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, and Under an Irish Moon; Intern) is a recent graduate of Bard College. Her acting credits include The Tempest, Advanced Placement, Heathers, Pippin, Macbeth, Clyde Must Die, The Crucible, and Titus Andronicus. LoneTree Live: 24 Hour Plays Memphis.
Molière (Playwright of Tartuffe) was born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin in Paris in 1622. He walked away from a secure future with his prosperous family in order to form a theatre company at age 21 and soon became known by his stage name of “Molière.” After years touring the provinces, he returned to Paris and became the leading comic playwright of 17th century France. His plays combined sharp social observation with physical comedy, and they exposed hypocrisy and vanity, while entertaining both court and public — although with controversy. Tartuffe was suppressed and censored due opposition from the archbishop of Paris, and other members of the church and upper-class society, over its portrayal of someone who is outwardly pious but is truly deceitful and greedy (the Imposter of the play’s sub-title). Among his plays that continue their popularity are The Imaginary Invalid, The Learned Ladies, The Miser, The Misanthrope, and The School for Wives.
Myra Platt (Adapter of A Child’s Christmas in Wales)is a part-time lecturer of Topics in Youth and Theatre. She was the founding Co-Artistic Director (with Jane Jones) of Book-It Repertory Theatre. Book-It was the recipient of Seattle’s 2010 Mayor’s Arts Award and Washington State’s 2012 Governor’s Arts Award. In 2010, she and Jane received a Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Anniversary grant, as well as the 2010 Women of Influence recognition from Puget Sound Business Journal. In 2008, Myra and Jane were honored to be named by the Seattle Times as an “Unsung Hero and Uncommon Genius” for their 20-year contribution to life in the Puget Sound Region. As director, adapter, actor, and composer, Myra helped Book-It produce nearly 100 world-premiere stage adaptations and over 30 education touring productions. Most recently, she adapted and directed the new musical Howl’s Moving Castle (music by Justin Huertas), Behold the Dreamers, and The Brothers K: Parts I and II. She directed The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (2014 Gregory Award for Outstanding Production and The Seattle Times Footlight Award). Past credits include: Adapter/Director credits: Little Bee, The Financial Lives of the Poets, The River Why, Night Flight (an operetta with music by Joshua Kohl), Red Ranger Came Calling (a musical with Edd Key), The House of the Spirits, Giant, Plainsong, Cowboys Are My Weakness, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (2002 original production), and Roman Fever. Directing credits: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Persuasion, Cry, the Beloved Country, Sweet Thursday. Adapter credits: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (2017 with Malika Oyetimein), The Art of Racing in the Rain, Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant (with Jane Jones). Acting credits: Prairie Nocturne, The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears, The Awakening (West Garland Los Angeles Award), Howards End. Outside of Book-It, Myra has performed at the Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman, New City Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum, among others. She originated the role of Candy Kendall in The Cider House Rules, Parts I and II, directed by Jane Jones and Tom Hulce.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) (Playwright of Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew) served, posthumously, as the meeting ground around which many of the creators of the U.S. Constitution gathered for intellectual, compassionate debate. While Locke and Bacon and recent revolutions provided partial blueprints for an experimental democratic Republic here, it was Shakespeare’s Henry V, Henry VIII, Othello, Hamlet, and King Lear, and even his comedies, that offered common language, a multiplicity of perspectives, a poetic inclination that projected to a life beyond today, and a reasoned hope if only by a stark omission of narrative. That omission in the plays, other than in the cosmic Lear, was a healthy national government. It was perhaps this omission that John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and John Adams et. al. grasped as a requirement of our country’s governing framework — one of transparency, accountability, and checks and balances so that no one person or group could wield power alone. When Alexis de Tocqueville toured the U.S. in the early 19th Century, he observed that nearly every pilgrim’s hut sheltered a bound copy of William Shakespeare’s plays. Indeed, President Lincoln, whose adoration for Macbeth is well-publicized, paraphrased Portia from The Merchant of Venice in his written summation of his public 1862 proclamation that anticipated a national abolition of slavery: “The change it contemplates would come gently as the dews of heaven, not rending or wrecking anything. Will you not embrace it?” The plays of William Shakespeare are our country’s gathering place. Lest we forget.
Kaitlyn Shamley (Development and Communications Manager) is a lifelong Memphian and has a passionate interest in music history and the ancient Mediterranean. Her time as a Rhodes College student sparked a desire to foster an appreciation and understanding of past cultures and their artistic works. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and visiting museums. Education: Rhodes College (B.A. in History).
Laura Shatkus (Kate in The Taming of the Shrew) Regional and Chicago credits: The Elephant Man (Berkshire Theatre Group); Every Brilliant Thing, Ripcord, Miracle on South Division Street, A Christmas Carol, and 1984 (The Hippodrome State Theatre); The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet (North Dakota Shakespeare Festival); As You Like It (The Classical Edge); Macbeth (Muse of Fire); Intimate Apparel, Amadeus, All The Way, and The Fall of the House (TheatreSquared); Damascus (Florida Repertory Theatre); and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and Talk Radio (The Gift Theatre), among others. Film: Red Camellia (currently in post-production), The Threesome (with Zoey Deutch), and The Magician’s Raincoat (in which she plays a wicked witch). Laura is thrilled to be making her TSC debut and is grateful to be working with this passionate ensemble of Shakespeare-lovers.
Ethan Shaw (Claudio/Watch in Much Ado About Nothing, Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Readings Series and The Taming of the Shrew; Apprentice) Credits include: Cymbeline and Twelfth Night (Theatre at Monmouth, ME); King Lear, Company Cabaret, and A Christmas Carol (Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival); Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, and Edward III (Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, CA); and A Christmas Carol (Lyric Repertory Company, UT). Ethan has a B.F.A. with honors from Utah State University’s acting program with minors in music and chemistry.
Stephanie Shine+ (Director of Much Ado About Nothing, Christmas Gems, and Under and Irish Moon: Tales & Tunes from Lady Gregory’s Hearth, Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Reading Series; Associate Artistic Producer) in 16 seasons with TSC has directed Twelfth Night, Hamlet, The Importance of Being Earnest, Emily Dickinson: I Dwell in Possibility (which she co-created with Denice Hicks), Henry VI: Wars of the Roses, Macbeth, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Southern Yuletide, Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits, Shake(s), Rattle, and Roll, Shakespeare Said It, Lend Me Thy Sword, 12 productions of Romeo and Juliet, and 15 Literary Salons. On stage at TSC, she has played the Abbess in The Comedy of Errors, Countess in All’s Well That Ends Well, the female roles in Unto the Breach, and Gertrude in Hamlet. Prior to joining TSC, she was Artistic Director of Seattle Shakespeare Company, a position she enjoyed for 13 years. Other directorial credits include King Lear and As You Like It for Houston Shakespeare Festival, The Taming of the Shrew and The Comedy of Errors for Colorado Shakespeare Festival, the award-winning one-woman internationally-touring Marilyn Monroe Biopic, Marilyn: Forever Blonde, and several new works for Seattle’s Book-It Repertory Theatre. Her production of I am of Ireland (which she also conceived and adapted) opened Book-It’s 25th Anniversary Season in 2014. As an actor, she has performed with the Oregon Shakespearean Festival, NYC’s Theatre for a New Audience, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Alley Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, ACT, The Empty Space, and Seattle Children’s Theatre, among others. Roles include Juliet, Rosalind, Lady Macbeth, Beatrice, Regan, Feste, Kate, Bianca, Dionyza, the Princess of France, Hero, Perdita, and the Chorus in Henry V. The Germantown Arts Alliance honored her with its 2016 Distinguished Arts and Humanities Medal for Performing Arts. She is the mother of four exceptional people: Conor, Cahilan, Sullivan, and Collins. Education: graduate of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts; B.F.A in Acting from the University of Washington’s Professional Actor Training Program; M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Memphis.
Taylor Slonaker (Balthasar/Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Readings Series and The Taming of the Shrew; Apprentice) is an actor, director, and educator. She trained at Shakespeare & Company (Lenox, MA) and the Circle in the Square Theatre (New York, NY). Favorite roles include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream with The Rooted Voyageurs (Lysander/Mustardseed/Flute), Julius Caesar at Elsewhere Shakespeare (Brutus), and Circle Mirror Transformation at Ghent Playhouse (Lauren). Other credits: A Christmas Carol, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest.
Leslie Sweeney (Bookkeeper) has enjoyed a long career in finance and accounting that has included working in public accounting and the not-for-profit sector. In her free time, she enjoys playing competitive bridge and watching the Memphis Grizzlies. Education: Rhodes College (B.A.), University of Memphis. Leslie is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas.
Natalie Tangeman (Hero/Sexton in Much Ado About Nothing, Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Readings Series and The Taming of the Shrew; Apprentice) Favorite roles include Northwestern: As It Is in Heaven (Hannah), Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really (Renfield), Dave Malloy’s Beowulf (Grendel’s Mother/Academic 2), John Proctor is the Villain (Beth); and Actors’ Theatre of Columbus: Romeo and Juliet (Juliet). Natalie is a performer, educator, and director having worked with Griffin’s Tale Children’s Repertory Theatre and Seesaw Theatre. Natalie is a graduate of Northwestern University with majors in Theatre and Psychology and an emphasis in Theatre for Young Audiences.
Dylan Thomas (Author of A Child’s Christmas in Wales) was born in Swansea, Wales, in 1914 and began writing poetry as a teenager, leaving school at age 16 to work as a reporter before devoting himself fully to literature. Known for his musical use of language and vivid imagery, Thomas became one of the most distinctive poetic voices of the 20th century. A Child’s Christmas in Wales, first broadcast on radio in 1952, captures childhood memory with humor, nostalgia, and lyrical detail. Thomas’ work in poetry, stories, and broadcasts, continues to celebrate the rhythms of ordinary life and the music of the spoken word. His other notable works include the poem “Do not go gentle into that good night” and play Under Milk Wood.
Allison White (Resident Costume Designer/Costume Shop Manager) has been the resident costume designer and costume shop manager at TSC for the last four seasons. TSC design credits include Saint Joan, The Importance of Being Earnest, Cyrano de Bergerac, Ada and the Engine, Macbeth, Henry VI: The War of the Roses. Her other design credits include I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Germantown Community Theatre); The Mousetrap, Blithe Spirit, You Can’t Take It With You (Theatre Memphis); Pippin, Between Riverside and Crazy, The Day is Long to End (University of Florida); Caroline, or Change (Cape Fear Regional Theatre); The Secret World of Og (Sarasota Youth Opera); Smokey Joe’s Café, All My Sons, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Theatre Raleigh). Allison has an M.F.A. in Costume Design from The University of Florida.