Alfred Anderson

Duke

Alfred was for twenty-one years the University of Akron’s Director of Opera Theatre, and is now Professor Emeritus. As a singer/actor, Mr. Anderson has enjoyed a 42-year professional career with a stage repertoire of more than 150 roles. He has performed with such organizations as the New York City Opera, the Glimmerglass Opera, The Pittsburgh Opera, Starlight Musicals, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the San Diego Opera, the Hong Kong Opera, the New Orleans Opera, the Royal Opera of Gent, and the Cincinnati Opera, to name a very few. Locally he has performed with the Akron Symphony, the Porthouse Theater, The Weathervane Theater, Coach House Theater, The Akron Civic Theater, and for the last eight seasons with the Ohio Shakespeare Festival.

Henry Bishop

Tom Snout

Henry is returning for a fifth year at OSF. He is happy to be working in the Stan Hywet environment with a lot of friends. Henry has acted and directed around the area for several decades. Married to Karen Wood, they live in Wayne County with several cats. He frequently pretends to work in his woodshop and sometimes goes to school and annoys young people as a substitute teacher.

Alex Briski

Festival Stage Manager

Alex is happy to be back for her second year stage managing OSF! She can now say that she is an Alumni of The University of Akron with a Bachelor's Degree in Theatre Arts. Since last year, she has stage managed The Great God Brown - in which she was nominated for a KCACTF Irene Ryan, The Merchant of Venice, Street Scenes, and a dance concert. Other credits include: Richard III, Love Labour's Lost, A Mouthful of Birds, and Diviners. She would like to thank the entire OSF clan, her friends and family, Alex Funk, and you! Enjoy the show

Amelia Britton

Hermia

Amelia is very happy to be returning for her fourth season with OSF. She has performed with many local theater groups, including Weathervane Playhouse and Firestone High School’s touring show. Some of her favorite productions include As You Like It (Phebe), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hermia), Long Day’s Journey into Night (Cathleen), and Pride and Prejudice (Lydia). Amelia will be a junior this fall at Firestone High School in the International Baccalaureate Program.  She dedicates this performance to her mom, who supported her always.

Tess Burgler

Helena, Nerissa

Tess couldn't stay away--she returns this year for her 10th season with Ohio Shakespeare Festival. Last year's audiences will remember her as Rosaline (Love's Labours Lost) and Lady Anne (Richard III). Some other OSF credits include: Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Cordelia (King Lear), Bianca (Taming of the Shrew), Luciana (Comedy of Errors), Celia (As You Like It), Guildenstern (Hamlet), Witch 2 (Macbeth), Shy (Best Little Whorehouse), and Deidre (I Hate Hamlet). Tess was in several Coach House shows over the past year, inlcuding: Player 1 (Shipwrecked!), Tracy Lord (Philadelphia Story), and Vera (And Then There Were None). She also appeared breifly at Actors' Summit as Cecily in Earnest.  She graduated from the College of Wooster in 2009, Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude.  She's ridiculously excited to marry fellow company member, Joe Pine, in December.

Bernard Bygott

Oberon, Gratiano

Bernard recently appeared in Cleveland Play House's production of Every Good Boy Deserves Favor and the world premiere reading of The Fagin Effect by Michael Bloom. Bernard created the role of Calandrino in the opera Decameron at Prince Music Theater. He spent two seasons in residence at the American Shakespeare Center. Other appearances include Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Theater For The New City, The Northern New England Repertory Theatre Company, Quintessence Theatre Group, Storybook Musical Theatre, The Ko Festival of Performance, Mum Puppettheatre, Glimmerglass Opera, International Opera Theater, and The Little Orchestra Society at Lincoln Center.  He is currently in the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program.

Timothy H. Champion

Peter Quince

 A co-founder of OSF, Tim is delighted to return to Stan Hywet for the 2012 season.  Tim has appeared in more than 200 theatrical productions, creating many memorable characters, as well as host of entirely forgettable ones too numerous to list.  Tim played Baptista in our inaugural 2002 season.  Other OSF performances include: Stephany--The Tempest; Man 2--both Oh, Coward! and Side by Side by Sondheim; Malvolio--Twelfth Night: Peter Quince--Midsummer; Launce--Two Gents; Osric--Hamlet: and Capulet--Romeo & Juliet.  Most recently, Tim played Sir Wilfred Robarts--Witness for the Prosecution and Mr. Kirby--You Can't Take It With You at Coach House Theatre.  He received a Royal Coach House Award for the 2007 Oh, Coward! revival.  Tim has appeared in 37 productions at Weathervane Playhouse, whose audiences have recognized his efforts with seven Chanticleer Awards.  By day, he is employed at Champion & Company, LPA in Fairlawnl engaged in resolving client problems and adjusting human relationships in the practice of Trust, Probate, and Estate Law.  This is his seventh season.

Ron Cuirle

Volunteer Coordinator

Ron Cuirle was last seen on stage as Underling in the Hudson Player's production of "The Drowsy Chaperone." You may have also seen him wrangling his troops as George Custer in "Custer" at Coach House, grieving his dead wife as Stu Gellman in "Caroline, or Change" at Karamu, parenting puppets as the father in "A Long Christmas Ride Home" at The Bang and the Clatter, exchanging vows as Michael in "I Do! I Do!" at Weathervane, celebrating Beethoven Day as Schroeder in "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" or banishing his daughter as Duke Frederick in "As You Like It" on these very boards. No matter the venue, Ron always returns home to the one he loves, Emily.

Richard Figge

Egeus

Richard Figge (Egeus) is delighted to be back for his fifth season with the company of the Ohio Shakespeare Festival. His acting credits range from Prospero in The Tempest and Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac to modern comedy and drama. He is best known for his one-man performance as Clarence Darrow, with which he has toured in the United States and Europe and which he presented in 1985 in Washington, D. C., under the patronage of President Reagan. In May of this year he appeared in Jason Miller's one-man play about the the legendary American actor John Barrymore, Barrymore's Ghost, at the Norris Theatre in Rolling Hills, California, under the direction of Nancy Cates.

Johnathan Fletcher

Costume Designer

Johnathan is OSF’s resident costume designer, and in recent seasons has created designs for Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, As you Like It, Richard III, Love's Labours Lost, and I Hate Hamlet. Jonathan is also the resident designer for Coach House Theatre.

Benjamin Fortin

Francis Flute

 Ben is ecstatic to be returning to the Ohio Shakespeare Festival for his 5th season. He has just completed his Freshman year at Kent State University, where he is majoring in Entrepreneurship and Managerial Marketing. He was last seen on the stage for Coachhouse’s production of Agatha Christie’s murder mystery The Unexpected Guest. He is grateful for the opportunity to return to the Ohio Shakespeare Festival’s stage to not only share his love of theater with his fellow actors but to also learn from such gifted individuals.

Lauren Fowkes

Fairy, Court Attendant, Greenshow

Ernie González

Bottom, Launcelot

Ernie González is absolutely elated to return to OSF for his fifth season! Previous selected credits include: Costard in Love’s Labours Lost, Touchstone in As You Like It, and the twin Dromios in The Comedy of Errors. He most recently appeared in a staged reading of Equivocation at The Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) at The Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. In Chicago, Ernie is a company member of Funny Bones Improv performing regularly at Children’s Memorial Hospital, an Associate Artistic Director of The Agency Theatre, and a former writer/performer with The Second City’s diversity ensemble. Ernie has appeared on commercials and TV shows seen on: The Animal Planet, The Discovery Channel, Telemundo, and Univision. When in doubt, visit allabouternie.com. He would like to dedicate this performance to Gerardo and Gloria Garcia for their endless love and support, “Get well soon Papa Garcia!”

Robert Hawkes

Shylock

Robert Hawkes returns to OSF for the third time. Since his performance last summer as Buckingham in Richard III, he has been seen in November at Lakeland Civic Theatre, The Internationalist at convergence-continuum, October in the Chair at Cleveland Public Theatre, Middletown at Dobama Theatre, and Much Ado About Nothing at the Southwest Shakespeare Company of Mesa, AZ. In the fall, he will appear in Jordan Harrison's Kid-Simple at convergence-continuum, where he is a proud member of the company.

Alex Funk

Philostrate

Alex Funk is a senior at The University of Akron majoring in Theatre Education and minoring in Business Administration. Alex is excited to be returning for his second season with OSF. Past credits include Rosencrantz (Hamlet), William A. Brown (The Great God Brown), Pat Robertson (The Gospel According to Tammy Faye), Rodolpho (A View From the Bridge), Scapin (Scapin), CC Showers (The Diviners), Tranio (The Taming of the Shrew), the Duke (Big River). He has received two Irene Ryan nominations for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for his roles in Big River and The Great God Brown. Come out and see him at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium as he assumes the role of the sea god/royal pirate Prince Marccai. He would like to thank Terry and the OSF cast and crew for their support during the rehearsal process.

Holly Humes

Hippolyta

Holly has been seen on several local stages, including Weathervane, CoachHouse and Dobama. Her favorite roles include Becca in Rabbit Hole, and Lizzie in The Rainmaker. Other credits include Romeo and Juliet (Lady Capulet), The Comedy of Errors (Adriana), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Mae), Uncle Vanya (Yelena), The Laramie Project, Song of Survival (Dawn), and V-E Day (Lil). Holly is the office manager at Fairlawn Family Chiropractic Center, and an assistant speech coach at Wooster High School. She would like to thank her husband, Scott Custer, for all of his love and support.

Snezana Jelic

First Fairy, Moth

Snezana is 12 years old and an honor student attending K12 Ohio Virtual Academy this year. She was also a student in the Arts/Excel Program in Warren, Ohio. Snezana is involved in theater, dance, and singing and enjoys every opportunity to perform on stage. She has participated in many theater productions over the past year at the Youngstown Playhouse, Kent State Theater, and the Victorian Players. She was the recipient of a Marquee Award for her role in Oliver!, a production that provided her with her first acting role in an adult theater musical where she portrayed the character of Charlotte Sowberry, and participated in other musical segments as well. In Gypsy Snezana portrayed the character of Baby June, and she was extremely excited to be able to bring this character to life on stage. Snezana most recently portrayed the Capulet servant "Boy" in Romeo and Juliet which was her first experience with Shakespeare. She is very proud to be a part of the Ohio Shakespeare Festival this year. Snezana plans to pursue a career in acting, and she is very appreciative of the support that has been given to her by her directors, stage managers, production personnel, and fellow cast members.

Jeremy Jenkins

Lysander, Lorenzo

 Jeremy does not consider it summer without his OSF family. He is elated to return for his 4th season! A native of Nashville, TN, he received his BA in Theatre & English from Cumberland University. Since his move to NE Ohio 3 years ago, he has had the privilege of working at such venues as Coach House Theatre, Weathervane Playhouse, The Beck Center, The Illusion Factory, among others. Favorite productions include The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Peachy), The Taming of the Shrew (Hortensio), The Glass Menagerie (Jim), Witness for the Prosecution (Leonard Vole), and Wings. Up next for the fall: a reprise of Beck Center's Wings in its original radio version being produced by WVIZ-Ideastream for public radio & A Little Night Music for FPAC. High Four!

Rosilyn Jentner

Fairy, Court Attendant, Greenshow

Rosilyn Jentner is excited to be a part of Ohio Shakespeare this summer, and is heading into her senior year at the University of Akron. She has been working with the University for three years, appearing in many productions including Eugene O'Neill's The Great God Brown as Margaret, and The Merchant of Venice as Portia this last year. She has also been very involved with Heads Up Productions and last appeared in The Pillowman as a member of the chorus. She is determined to live a long life filled with theatre and she is excited to include the Ohio Shakespeare Festival as a part of it!

Kelly Johnson

Assistant Costume Designer

Kelly is thrilled to be working with OSF for another season assisting with costumes, but she is no stranger to theatre. She was bitten by the theatre bug at a very young age, and totally blames her mother for it, “Thanks Mum for giving me the greatest playground to grow up in, I love you duckie.” Kelly has worked at Goodyear Community Theatre and Coach House, where some of her favorite shows include; Leading Ladies, Peter Pan, Anything Goes, Greetings, Bell Book and Candle, and Last of the Red Hot Lovers, just to name a few. Kelly would like to thank all of her friends for their love and support, you know who you are, xoxox… Now sit back and enjoy the show.  (Editorial note: Kelly has successfully quit smoking since this photo.  Congratulations, Kelly!)

Ben Klainer

Fairy

Ben is so happy to be officially joining the company after spending many years as an OSF groupie. While living in Chicago, Ben performed for No Shame Theatre as an Associate Company Member of the Agency Theatre Collective. His Chicago credits include performances at the Wicker Park Art Center, Luna Central, Bailiwick Theatre, and the Village Players of Oak Park. Ben is originally from the Akron area and is a graduate of Kent State University. Locally, he has been seen at Porthouse Theatre and the Carousel Dinner Theatre. Ben would like to thank Terry and Nancy for always being so welcoming.

Lara Knox

Titania, Portia

A native Ohioan, Lara bounces back and forth between her roots and New York City where she currently resides... sort of. She was just seen on a local stage in Coach House's A Moon for the Misbegotten as Josie Hogan. This is Lara's 6th year with the Festival and she is forever indebted to Terry for consistently having her back to play some of Shakespeare's greatest women including: The Princess of France in Love's Labours Lost, Kate in Taming of the Shrew, Julia in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Emilia in Othello and Ophelia in Hamlet. She's performed about and around at such places as The Gallery Players and The Kraine (NYC), Pennsylvania Center Stage, JCC Cleveland and The Great Lakes Theatre Festival. A proud member of Actor's Equity and a graduate of Pennsylvania State University's Masters Acting Program- she would like to dedicate this sweet summer bliss to Cupid's "butt-shaft"... he is a knavish lad.

Manny Liotta

Mustardseed

Manny is happy to be back at the Ohio Shakespeare Festival for his second season. He is 14 years old and will be entering the 9th grade at Twinsburg High School. Manny has been acting and training since the 3rd grade. He has appeared in over 10 plays, 4 films, 4 commercials and has appeared as a Jr. Reporter on the news. In his spare time, Manny loves to watch movies and play on his XBOX. He also enjoys writing, director and editing his own amateur movies. Manny wants to thank all of the cast and crew of OSF for their support. This is an amazing opportunity.

David McNees

Antonio

 

David is a veteran of San Francisco, Berkeley Repertory, and Winedale Shakespeare Festivals out on the West Coast; as well as a founding member of Pour Boys Productions in the Bay Area. He's also done some really bad (but amusing) television in his day. Since recently moving to Ohio he has been seen in Macbeth and Medea at Actors' Summit, and has thoroughly enjoyed his time with Ohio Shakespeare in productions of As You Like It, Romeo & Juliet, Witness for the Prosecution and King Lear.

Joe Pine

Demetrius, Bassanio

Joe is beyond excited to be back at Ohio Shakespeare Festival for his second season. Last year he was seen as Tranio in Taming of the Shrew, and Edmund in King Lear. For the last nine months he has been on a national tour with Theatre IV from Richmond VA with his girlfriend and fellow company member Tess Burgler. Locally he has been seen as Father Flynn (Doubt), Happy (Death of a Salesman), El Gallo (The Fantasticks) and Starky the pirate (Peter Pan). He cannot thank Terry or Nancy enough for the amazing opportunity to work with and learn from such amazing talents. Special thanks goes to his best friend, Tess.

Scott Shriner

Theseus

Mark Stoffer

Starveling, Mainstage Music Co-ordinator, Master Electrician

Mark is returning to the lagoon for his third summer with OSF. He has been very busy since last summer, appearing as Daryl in Shakespeare in Hollywood at Weathervane, Dr. Armstrong in And Then There Were None, and Walter Pangbourne in Move Over, Mrs. Markham, both at Coach House. He also designed lights, special effects, or assisted with music for six additional productions at four theaters in northeast Ohio. He lives in Cuyahoga Falls with his wife, Sherri.

Buddy Taylor

Lighting Designer, Technical Director

Buddy is starting his tenth season with OSF. Although he now lives in Houston with his wife Michelle, he still makes his way back now and again, recently designing lights for Doubt, And Then There Were None, and Move Over, Mrs. Marhkam for Coach House Theatre in Akron.

Dorene White

Doreen is happy to be back for her second season at OSF. Dorene is former resident stage manager at Youngstown Playhouse. She has stage managed, crewed, & been light & sound board operator for over 40 shows in various theaters in northeast Ohio.

Dylan White

Puck

Dylan is a 17 year old from Columbiana, Ohio and an AEA membership candidate. This being his third year at Ohio Shakespeare Festival he has been seen as Balthazar in Romeo & Juliet, a singing page in As You Like It, Bartholomew the Page in The Taming of the Shrew, and The Fool in King Lear. His resume includes more than 40 productions. He enjoys reading and studying the real-estate market.

Karen Wood

Karen is very pleased to return to OSF for a fifth year. Karen recently appeared as Grandma Rosie in The Wedding Singer at Weathervane Community Playhouse. Last summer Karen was a featured soloist with the London National Symphony Orchestra aboard the Queen Mary 2. Karen, a retired educator, currently juggles stage roles with serving as a volunteer music therapist for a local hospice provider. Karen remains married to Henry C. Bishop.