Holly Adams (Touchstone) is so happy to be back with ISC and playing this glorious part! Holly is a SAG-AFTRA performer and a graduate of the International Dell’Arte School, with ongoing projects for stage, audiobooks, and screen..... and lots of clowning. Holly has clowned with Patch Adams, with several companies in Italy, and in Australia, Russia and Afghanistan as well as in the USA, including our beloved Circus Culture (you may have seen her in the most recent show). She is also a Master Teacher of Clown and Commedia (many of Shakespeare's comic characters are drawn from Commedia del 'Arte). Holly's favorite stage performances include Richard II (Hotspur), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Hippolyta), Macbeth (Witch) as well as work with other regional companies. You can also listen to her works on Audible and find her on the web: http://shearwaterproductions.com/voice-actor/ or on IMDb at: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2346170/ Thanks to Steve for this opportunity, and to my beloved family always for their support!
Judith Andrew (Duchess Senior) has acted with the Ithaca Shakespeare Company since 2005. Some of her past roles were as Brutus in the all-female cast of Julius Caesar; Gertrude in Hamlet; Emilia in Othello; Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Maria in Twelfth Night. She also acts with Homecoming Players (including Cassandra in Christopher Durang’s Vanya, Sonia, Masha & Spike), Wolf's Mouth Theatre Company (various 10-minute plays), and was recently seen as Alla in The Cherry Arts production of Roald Hoffmann’s Something That Belongs To You. Love and gratitude forever to Robert and Ben.
Bob Arco (Hortensio) is enjoying his third summer with the Company. He'd like to express his profound thanks to Helen, Adam and Abby for their support and indulgence of his mid-life caprices.
Andrea D’Arco (Phoebe/ Village Woman, Haberdasher, Lord’s Wife) is a recent graduate from the Ithaca College’s BFA Acting Program with a Dance Minor and a Deaf Studies Minor. Her college credits include Florinda in The Rover, Laurie’s Friend/Pin-Up Girl in the Oklahoma Dream Ballet - part of the IC Dance Concert Winter Bodies, and in the Ensemble in She Kills Monsters. Other credits include Niki in the Off-Broadway Production of Teen Angel, Ethel in Footloose, and Frenchy in Grease. Film work includes a Graduate Student in a Professional Independent Film called The Pages, pilot episodes, a web series, and has been many leads in student films. She is very excited to make her Ithaca Shakespeare Company debut while also getting to play one of her dream roles as Phoebe.
Dave Dietrich is very happy to be playing his favorite Shakespeare character, the shepherd Corin, and adding a new character to is list, Gremio, who ends the play disappointed in love. It is Dave's sixteenth season with the Company. He would like to thank his wife Joan for love and laughs, and his two dogs for not howling while he learns his lines.
Lisa Banlaki Frank has performed at many area theatres, including with the Savoyards, Merry-Go-Round Theatre, Cortland Rep, Cornell, and the Ithaca Shakespeare Co. Some of her favorite roles include Old Lady in “Candide”, Katisha in “The Mikado,” Guildenstern in “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern,” and the Judge in “Trial by Jury” (Savoyards), Sheila in “A Chorus Line (Syracuse),” Casca in the all-female version of “Julius Caesar” (Ithaca Shakespeare Co.), and, on election night 2012, “1776” as Abigail Adams (Savage Club). Lisa sings with the Cayuga Vocal Ensemble and The Tarps. By day she is Assistant Art Director for Cornell Alumni Magazine.
Emma Green (Bianca and Celia) is a senior B.F.A. acting major from Marlton, NJ. Her previous Ithaca College credits include Fanny Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, Valeria und. in The Rover, Whatshername in Green Day’s American Idiot, and the Narrator/Woman Who Loves in The Vagina Monologue. Her additional credits include Marian in Voorhees Theatre Company’s production of The Music Man and Sister Leo in Nunsense at the Grand Theatre.
Beth Harris is having a great time playing Katharine and Audrey this summer! Beth’s first adventure with Ithaca Shakespeare was last summer as Margaret/Watch in Much Ado About Nothing. Beth trained at Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and has worked with Saltbox Theatre, Red Theatre, and Fury Theatre (where she also served as voice/text coach for the Teen Bard program) in Chicago, and with Shakespeare by the Sea in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Beth has choreographed and directed with YPT, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Langley School, McLean, Virginia. She is an adjunct faculty at City Colleges of Chicago.
Kylie Heyman (Rosalind, Hostess/Widow) is from St. Petersburg, Florida and is senior Musical Theatre major at Ithaca College. She recently appeared in Wonderful Town, The Cradle Will Rock, and The Apple Tree at IC. Last summer, she was in The Drowsy Chaperone and Pump Boys and Dinettes at the Cider Mill Playhouse. This is her Ithaca Shakespeare debut!
Elias Husiak (Christopher Sly, Charles the Wrestler) is originally from the Lower East Side of Manhattan and is a rising senior studying musical theatre at Ithaca College. He recently appeared in IC's productions of Cabaret, The Cradle Will Rock, and Semele. This is his second year with The Ithaca Shakespeare Company appearing as Ratcliff in Richard III last summer.
Dhruv Iyengar (Tranio) is a sophomore BFA acting major at Ithaca College. This is his first appearance with the Ithaca Shakespeare Company and he is thrilled to be a part of the company of The Taming of the Shrew. He was last seen in a staged reading of Dream Acts as Wahid at the Cherry Artspace, and in Boy as Dr. Wendell Barnes at Ithaca College. He'd like to give a heartfelt thanks to the cast and crew of ISC for making his first Ithaca summer truly amazing, and especially to Steve, Dave D., Liz, and Ivy, for all their incredible work.
Stephanie Jeker (Wardrobe Assistant) - Stephanie is a local actor from Whitney Point, New York and she is a rising sophomore BFA musical theater major at Long Island Univeristy Post. This is her first experience working with Ithaca Shakespeare Company and she is excited to be collaborating with so many creative people. She has recently worked at SPARE Productions, Post Theater Company, and Redhouse Arts Center. Some of her recent credits include Freshman Showcase, Bring it On, Wizard of Oz, and Oliver. She would like to thank her friends and family for being supportive.
Elizabeth Kitney is thrilled to be joining Ithaca Shakespeare as a costumer this year, and grateful for the opportunity to work with such a fantastic cast! Previous costume credits include: Civic Ensemble, Ithaca Savoyards, Cornell Vet Players and several independent productions. Her favorite parts of the costuming process include the research, design, the thrifting, and the sewing - pretty much all of it. She would like to thank Lauren Cowdery and Karen Gellman for the mentorship, and Sarah and Godfrey of Civic for the opportunity to get involved in theater again.
Jacob Lehman (Dennis/William, Curtis/First Servant, Fight Choreographer) is delighted to make his dialogue debut with Ithaca Shakespeare after choreographing the fights for "Henry VI," "MacBeth," and "Richard III." He began training in stage combat in 1999, founded the Ithaca chapter of the Ring of Steel in 2003, and holds certifications in numerous weapons styles and unarmed combat. Other local choreography credits include the Cornell Schwartz Center's "Mr. Burns" and "Hamlet Wakes Up Late," as well as teaching workshops at Wells College, Northern Lights Learning Community, and the Hangar Theatre. When not working to craft safe, creative representations of violence, he enjoys solving crossword puzzles. Thanks to the whole cast for creating a safe performance environment!
Jennifer Wholey Lehman (Fourth Servant/Phillip) is glad to be in her third Ithaca Shakespeare Company show, having previously appeared as Lady Macduff, and with sword fighting roles in "Macbeth" and "Richard III". When she's not on stage, she has been co-choreographer and fight instructor for ISC's "Henry VI", "Macbeth", and "Richard III." This summer's productions of "Taming of the Shrew" and "As You Like It" were refreshing opportunities to experiment in comedic violence! She has been training in stage combat since 2006, and holds certifications in several weapons styles and enjoys teaching workshops with her husband, Jacob. Break a leg, safely, everyone!
Colin McKechnie (Lucentio, Silvius) is very excited for this opportunity! He is a rising sophomore Acting major at Ithaca College and was most recently seen on the IC Mainstage as Fritzie in Cabaret. When he’s not onstage, he can be found giving boat tours on Cayuga Lake this summer through Ithaca Boat Tours. Always thankful for family and friends. IG: @colinmckech
Rick Mertens (Duke Frederick & Vincentio) is pleased to be working with Ithaca Shakespeare Company again. He was last seen most recently as Capulet in Romeo & Juliet and in Much Ado About Nothing. He has performed with numerous companies across the Southern Tier. Among his favorite roles are Dale Harding in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest; Charles Condomine in Blithe Spirit; Adam Canning in Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me; Arthur Kipps (Actor) in The Woman in Black; Don Dubrow in American Buffalo; Gloucester in King Lear; and Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey.
Cameron Mitchell (Petruchio, Oliver) is originally from the Washington, D.C. area and is a rising senior BFA Acting major at Ithaca College. He is so thrilled to be a part of the Ithaca Shakespeare Company for the summer of 2018! This is his second summer working on Shakespeare, and as he becomes more and more engrossed in his writing, he’s realized how much can be learned from these classical texts about contemporary society. How can and do these characters translate to our modern era?
Kristen Park sings with The Three Ravens (aka the Ravenettes) and sews costumes for Dryden Central Schools' musicals. She produced shows and concerts for over 25 years for such organizations as Cornell Savoyards, Women’s Works, and Dryden Footlighters. She has also sung with the Ithaca Community Chorus and Chamber Singers, the Delaware Valley Opera, the Renaissance Singers and collaborated with Ithaca Shakespeare as performer and costume assistant. She conducts market research at Cornell.
Lisa Podulka (Ensemble) is an Ithaca native, back in town from Indiana University-Bloomington where she is a BFA musical theatre major and Spanish minor. IU Theatre credits include Peter and the Starcatcher (Molly) and City of Angels (Carla/Alaura). Other credits include Dames at Sea (Ruby) for IU Summer Theatre, The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Sunny) for the Jewish Theatre of Bloomington, The Oregon Trail (Mary Anne) for the Bloomington Playwrights Project, Spider’s Web (Pippa) and Joseph...Dreamcoat (Child Ensemble) for Cortland Repertory Theatre, Crazy for You (Polly) for Running to Places, and Thoroughly Modern Millie (Lucille) for Cider Mill Playhouse. Next she will appear in IUST’s premiere musical Stardust Road. Last summer she spent five weeks studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Thank you to Ivy, Jackie, Steve, and everyone else who helped with this production.
AJ Sage (Lord) is appearing in his 10th production with the Ithaca Shakespeare Company. Favorite roles have included Thomas Mowbray (Richard II) and Don Pedro (Much Ado About Nothing). He also stage managed ISC's all-female production of Julius Caesar in 2015. Elsewhere, AJ is a teaching assistant at the Actor's Workshop of Ithaca and in March created the role of James Watson in Judith Pratt's "Maize". He spends his days as the roastmaster at Copper Horse Coffee.
Jackie Scheiner (ASM) is a rising senior at Ithaca College's Whalen School of Music, studying Music and Theatre in Society. She takes voice lessons with Caitlin Mathes and sings in the Ithaca College Women's Chorale under the direction of Janet Galván. Jackie loves to perform onstage, but recently has found a fondness for working behind-the-scenes. This year, Jackie has performed in Macabre Theatre Ensemble's production of Edward Albee's "The American Dream"; IC Second Stage's production of "The Vagina Monologues"; Ithaca Savoyard's production of "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"; Macabre Theatre Ensemble's "Rocky Horror Picture Show"; Theatrists Theatrics' "South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut"; as well as many other Macabre Theatre Ensemble and IC Second Stage productions. She made her directorial debut this semester with Macabre Theatre Ensemble's "Body Horror Cabaret" and "Songs From an Unmade Bed." This is Jackie's first time working with ISC, and she would like to thank Steve, Ivy, Liz and Dave D for their incredible work and friendship.
Samantha Sloma is pleased to joining the cast in the role of Biondello. She has previously performed with Ithaca Shakespeare in “Much Ado About Nothing”, “Richard III” and “Henry V”. Samantha holds a BFA in acting from Northern Illinois University.
Melissa Snyder: Born in Ithaca and raised in the Buffalo area, Melissa attended SUNY at Buffalo before returning to her Ithaca roots. Melissa has acted in ISC’s productions of Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, and two Halloween Revels. She has also performed with Cornell's Black Box series, Cornell Chorale and Chamber Singers, the Greater Buffalo Opera Company, several Ithaca College student films, Lake Plains Players, Savoyards Ithaca, The Three Ravens, Triphammer Arts, and Women's Works. When not onstage, she can often be found behind the scenes as a costumer, director, author/librettist, or musical arranger/composer. She can be seen next in Triphammer Arts’s August production of Oklahoma!
Karen St. Clair (First Lady) is thrilled to be in her second summer with the Ithaca Shakespeare Company. A hearty thanks to the director, his assistants, and the AYLI cast for their support, tutelage, and friendship. A special note of thanks to my family for juggling schedules (and grandsons) to allow me to participate. I look forward to being included in next summer's shows!
Ivy Stevens (Stage Manager) is a graduate of Ithaca College and the National Theater Institute. She's been doing theater in and around Ithaca for the past six years, and after a short stint away she's glad to be back with the company. She's pretty sure this is her 12th show with the company, but she could be counting something twice. Special thanks to the cast for letting her bring her puppy to rehearsal when she didn't have a dogsitter.
Samuel Tamburo (Baptista Minola): A native of Auburn, Sam has been a practicing attorney in CNY for several years. He has had numerous parts in community theater in this area. Lately, he has performed roles of Shakespeare, Moliere and Jean Racine for the Syracuse Shakespeare Festival. He's delighted to have this first turn with the Ithaca Shakespeare Company, and to perform for,and with, his many Ithaca friends. Thanks for the chance.
Bryan VanCampen (Tapster) has been performing with the Ithaca Shakespeare Company for more than a decade. Some of his favorite roles have included Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice and Snout/Wall in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Bryan is the film critic and contributing arts writer for the Ithaca Times; recent interviews have included Henry Rollins, "Weird" Al Yankovic and Art Garfunkel. Mature adults may enjoy Sheldon the Sheep on youtube.
Dave Williams (the Pedant) is a long-time Ithacan, a recovering academic, and jack of all trades. He is grateful to be among his people, the Theatre Tribe, once more, and he hopes you enjoy our work.
