Adara Alston (Goddess Diana, Starveling/Moonshine) is delighted to finally work with Ithaca Shakespeare Company. Adara is an acting Equity Membership Candidate (EMC) for Actors’ Equity. Some of her other credits include Doubt: A Parable (Mrs. Muller) with Franklin Stage Company, Twelve Angry Jurors (Juror Eight) with Elmira Little Theatre, To Kill a Mockingbird (Calpurnia) and The Crucible (Ann Putnam) with Ti-Ahwaga Community Players, Shrek the Musical (Donkey) with Afton Community Theatre, Vieux Carre (Nursie) with Know Theatre, and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Hippolyta) with Cider Mill Playhouse. Adara recently had her original one-act play Do or Don’t Do premiere at Know Theatre, and she performs as a drummer and Drum Major in Broome County Celtic Pipes & Drums. When not drumming or on stage, her B.S. from Cornell University allows her the opportunity to work as an online course Instructional Design Associate. Adara will next appear in Katrina: A New Musical with Walking on Water Productions in August at the Kitchen Theatre and The Wolves with Cornell PMA. She’d like to thank her family, friends, colleagues, and more for all of the support and long trips to support her side activities.
Judith Andrew (Dionyza) has been acting with the Ithaca Shakespeare Company since 2005. Some of her roles have been Gertrude (Hamlet); Titania (A Midsummer Night's Dream); Maria (Twelfth Night); Elizabeth, then Duchess of York (Richard III); Emilia (Othello); Brutus (Julius Caesar). She has also acted with Ithaca's Homecoming Players, Theatre Incognita, and Wolf's Mouth Theatre Company. Judith's day job is at Ithaca College's music library and she shares her life with her husband Robert. She and Robert have very recently become grandparents for the first time! Love to Ben, Nicky, and little Nora.
Bob Arco (Midsummer, Snug/Lion) is enjoying his fourth summer with Ithaca Shakespeare Company. He'd like to thank the Company for another rewarding experience, and his family for their continued support.
Kate Blackwood (Thalliard and other roles) is active in Ithaca's theater and literary communities. A graduate of the Actors Workshop of Ithaca, she has appeared in MAIZE, Ithaca's One Minute Play Festival, and the Ithaca Fringe Festival.
James Counihan (Young Pericles, First Gentleman, and Lord of Mytilene) is excited to be making his Ithaca Shakespeare Company debut this summer! James is a recent graduate of Ithaca College with a BFA in Acting. Past credits include Stevie in Ugly Lies the Bone, Carl in The Baltimore Waltz, and John Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility. www.james-counihan.com
Dave Dietrich is in his 17th season with the Ithaca Shakespeare Company, being a company member from it's inception. Pericles, Prince of Tyre will be the 23rd play from the Shakespeare canon he has played in. He is deeply grateful to all those he has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with over the years. He considers the Company to be the singularly rewarding accomplishment of his life in Ithaca.
Eric Michael Hambury (Flute/Thisby and Mustardseed) is a local actor and sales associate at Mimi’s Attic. Eric received his theatre degree from Hobart and William Smith and is also a graduate of the Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca. This will be his tenth production with the Ithaca Shakespeare Company. Past favorites include Nym in Henry V and Don John in Much Ado About Nothing.
Beth Harris (Asst. Dir. Midsummer, Bawd/Ensemble Pericles) is enjoying her third summer with ISC. Beth trained at Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and has worked with Saltbox Theatre, Red Theatre, Metropolis, and Fury in Chicago, and with Shakespeare by the Sea in St. John’s, Newfoundland. She has explored unrehearsed Shakespeare with Theatre Hikes, Suffigance Shakespeare, and most recently with Janus Theatre’s Elgin Shakespeare Project. Beth has choreographed with YPT, Ann Arbor, and has served as text coach and mentor actor for Fury Theatre’s Teen Bard program. She is also an adjunct faculty at City Colleges of Chicago. Come your ways! Will you go with us?
Norm Johnson, set designer this time around, recently retired from teaching acting at Ithaca College for 28 years. Currently he is preparing a production of The Belle of Amherst with Kathleen Mulligan to be performed in Beirut, Lebanon in October and at The Cherry Arts in November. Next up: he will direct the New Year’s Eve gala for Opera Ithaca and Dido and Anais for Ithaca College Theatre.
Elizabeth Kitney (Midsummer and Pericles, Costume Designer) has done costumes for Civic Ensemble, House of Ithaqua, The Hangar Theater, The Cornell Vet Players, Savoyards Ithaca and other locals groups. She works in the used book trade and lives in Ithaca with her family.
Jacob Lehman (Fight Choreographer, Macedon, Ensemble) is thrilled to be working with Ithaca Shakespeare Company for a fourth season and has over 20 years' experience in stage combat. Locally, he has choreographed fights for House of Ithaqua, Cornell Schwartz Center, Lehman Alternative Community School, as well as teaching workshops at Wells College, Northern Lights Learning Community, and the Hangar Theatre. Thanks to the whole cast for maintaining another safe set environment!
Rick Mertens (Cleon in Pericles and Egeus in Midsummer) 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.
Chris Nickerson (Antiochus, Pericles in Act V) Chris is an Equity Membership Candidate. He has performed at many theatres in the area including The Cider Mill Playhouse, Cortland Repertory Theatre, Kitchen Theatre, Chenango River Theatre, Homecoming Players, The Endicott Performing Arts Center, Southern Tier Actors Read, Darkhorse Dramatists, and Know Theatre. For many years he was associated with Shakespeare-in-the-Park productions for EPAC directing King Lear, Taming of the Shrew and Great Expectations. Two years ago he starred in the premier production of a new play by Arthur Bicknell for Homecoming Players entitled Easy Out which was presented at The Kitchen Theatre. Some of his favorite roles include Fool in King Lear, Dr. Prentice in What the Butler Saw, and Sir Thomas More in A Man For All Seasons for which he was nominated for a Zoni Award (the state theatre award given in Arizona). His film credits include: Interstate 60 (which also starred Gary Oldman, Ann Margaret, and Kurt Russell), Demon Messenger and Aspects. His TV credits include Frack You, and Monkey's Paw for WSKG. Chris also received an Award of Excellence from The Kennedy Center for his performance in Arrah-na-Pogue. Last summer Chris participated in Her Majesty's Players at The Stratford Shaksepeare Festival, a week long Shakespeare Intensive Workshop.
Amina Omari (Midsummer, Director) is a director, actor, and writer. Her directing credits include In the Next Room, or the vibrator play; Spring Awakening; One Minute Play Festival; Maize; Orange Flower Water; Far Away; Much Ado About Nothing; and Ithaca Shakespeare Company’s all-female production of Julius Caesar. Amina lives in Ithaca, New York, where she directs the Finger Lakes Food Business Incubation Program.
Jahmar Ortiz (Oberon/Theseus, Lysimachus/Ensemble) is a rising junior at Ithaca College originally from Willingboro, NJ. His Ithaca credits include Julio in A Bicycle Country, Shango in In the Red and Brown Water, and Belize in Angels in America, as well as Double J in Saturday Night Fever and Bunsen in Newsies with Cortland Repertory Theatre.Thank you to all who have blessed me with the opportunity to play dress up tell stories.
Jackie Scheiner (Stage Manager) graduated this May from Ithaca College's Whalen School of Music, studying Music and Theatre in Society. She took voice lessons with Rachel Schutz and Caitlin Mathes, and sang in the Ithaca College Women's Chorale under the direction of Janet Galván. She just began work at Opus Ithaca. Jackie loves to perform onstage, but has also found a fondness for working behind-the-scenes. Recent credits include Ariel in The Pillowman, Linda in Evil Dead: The Musical, and Columbia in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Jackie also enjoys choreographing and directing. She is the most recent Artistic Director of IC's Macabre Theatre Ensemble. Jackie has also Stage Managed The Laramie Project, The Taming of the Shrew and As You Like It. This is Jackie's second summer with ISC, and she would like to thank Steve, Amina, Liz, Karen, Beth, Norm, Alex, Toast, Jacob, Jen, and Dave D for their incredible work and friendship.
Karen St. Clair (Lychorida): Pericles! Such a wonderful experience to be part of this unique production! I couldn't be more excited. This is my third summer with Ithaca Shakespeare Company and, unfortunately, my last as my family will be moving to the Rochester area this fall. It is with a heavy heart that I leave. The entire company has been a joy to work with. All welcomed me with open arms, not as an experienced actor, but as a lover of Shakespeare. I will, forever, be grateful. A company such as this is a treasure to our community.
Emma Taylor (Thaisa, Ensemble) is very excited to be performing Shakespeare in the park with ISC this summer. She is a rising junior at Ithaca College majoring in musical theatre. Some of her other Ithaca credits include (Dream Laurey/Ensemble) in Oklahoma at Triphammer Arts Inc, the 2019 New Play Incubator (Ensemble) and (Kacie/Voice/Mom Cover) in Ugly Lies the Bone at Ithaca College.
Lucia Vecchio (Hermia) is a senior B.F.A acting major from San Diego, CA. Previous Ithaca credits include: The Snow Queen (Greta) at The Cherry Arts, Luna Gale (Lourdes) and The Servant of Two Masters (Ensemble/ Smeraldina U.S) with Ithaca College’s McCarroll and The Wolves (11) with On the Verge Staged Readings. Favorite regional credits include: The Miracle Worker (Helen Keller), Quilters (Sarah’s Daughter), and The Music Man (Amaryllis) with Lambs Players Theatre, The Diary of Anne Frank (Anne Frank) with Onstage Playhouse, and The Effects of Gamma Rays...(Tillie) with Patio Playhouse. Lucia is a proud member of SAG- AFTRA.
