• Tuesday Talkbacks: March 28
• IllumiNation: Wendesday, March 29, 7:30p
• PlayDate: Saturday, April 15, 2p
• OUT@ AsoloRep: Wednesday, April 19

LISE BRUNEAU*

FIRST SEASON (Josephine “Jo” O’Shea) is making her Asolo Repertory Theatre debut, despite having been directed as Desdemona by Michael Donald Edwards one or two years ago at Shakespeare Santa Cruz. She currently lives in DC, where she appears at the Shakespeare Theatre, Arena Stage, and Studio Theatre, among others. She has played on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country. As a director, she’s helmed productions of Measure for Measure, Savage in Limbo, Twelfth Night, and more. While continuing to cause trouble at DC’s upstart Taffety Punk Theatre Co., Lise trained at RADA and hopes 15-year-old Percy can join her at Galaxy’s Edge.

 

WILLA CARPENTER, she/her

SECOND SEASON (Becky O’Shea) is a Sarasota native. She has had a passion for entertaining and singing for others as an expression of love and kindness from her earliest days. Willa is currently in 7^th grade, attending Booker Middle School. She enjoys all things anime, singing, laughter, and sleeping in on the weekends. Regional credits include Rufus understudy in Knoxville and Amaryllis in The Music Man. She would like to thank her mentors and peers at Spotlight Kids Theatre and her Mom and Dad for their love and support! 

 

SUZANNE GRODNER*, she/her

TENTH SEASON (Theresa “Terri” Carmichael) is thrilled to be back at Asolo Rep, where past shows include Grand Horizons, The Plexiglass Slipper, Nunsense, Tartuffe, and How the Other Half Loves. Broadway credits include Beautiful, Bye Bye Birdie, and The Rose Tattoo. Off-Broadway credits include Old Jews Telling Jokes, Sarah/Sarah, Cakewalk, and Death-Defying Acts. National/Int’l Tours include Beautiful and Ken Hill’s Phantom. Regional Theatre: Over 80 productions in over 45 theatres, including V&S&M&S (Cincinnati Playhouse), Jane Austen’s Emma (The Old Globe), The Sisters Rosensweig (Indiana Rep), Ragtime (TheatreWorks), Becky Shaw (SF Playhouse), among many others. TV/Film includes Ray Donovan, Law & Order/SVU/CI, Ed, and Muck. For Alba.

 

ERIN O’CONNOR≠, she/her

FIRST SEASON (Linda O’Shea) is very excited to make her Asolo Rep debut! Past credits include Viola in Twelfth Night, Armande in The Learned Ladies, Everybody in Everybody (FSU/Asolo Conservatory); Coco in The Cocoanuts, Swing/Ens. in Head Over Heels, and Cassius/Portia/Mark Antony in Julius Caesar (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). She is also an actor combatant certified in unarmed, rapier, rapier/dagger, and broadsword. Much love to her Mom, Dad, and Sean for their unconditional love and support! erincoconnor.com

 

JAY RUSSELL*, he/him

FIRST SEASON (Mike O’Shea/Father Lovett/Betty Heckenbach) Broadway: End of the Rainbow, The Play What I Wrote. Off-Broadway: Our Town, Travels with My Aunt, Around the World in 80 Days, The Normal Heart. National Tours: Wicked, Beauty and the Beast. International: Fully Committed (Vienna), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Frankfurt). Regional: Guthrie, Arena Stage, Long Wharf, PaperMill, Westport, Humana (Louisville), Baltimore Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, St. Louis Rep, Goodspeed, Alabama & Utah Shakespeare. Carbonell Award Winner: Indecent at Palm Beach DramaWorks. TV/Film: Gotham, Louie, Boardwalk Empire, Ugly Betty, The Sopranos, Law & Order, Morning Glory, Ride, In Lieu of Flowers, Queen of Knives. Jay wrote, directed, and produced the award-winning short RUOK. jay-russell.com

 

MARTHA VELEZ-REID, she/her

SECOND SEASON (Grandmother O’Shea) is overjoyed to be working with Celine on this Asolo Rep delight! Broadway: Hair. Off-Broadway: Our Town, The Skin of Our Teeth, American Heartbeat. Recipient of the Los Angeles Write on Woman’s Award for Playwriting and Acting. Member: Dramatist Guild of America, League of Professional Theatre Women, SAG. Television: ER, L.A. Law, a.k.a. Pablo, Falcon Crest. Fifteen feature films including Sundance winner Star Maps, Safe (Julianne Moore), Fatherhood (Halle Berry/Patrick Swayze), Nails (Dennis Hopper), and 187 (Samuel L. Jackson).   

 

MACARIA CHAPARRO MARTINEZ, they/she

FIRST SEASON (u/s Theresa “Terri” Carmichael) is about to conclude their final year at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory, and it has been an odyssey of an education! They love projects that are impactful and important as well as silly little works of fun. Favorite credits include Mrs. Lovett, Belise in The Learned Ladies, and Telemachus in Asolo Rep On Tour’s Looking for Ithaca. Macaria also reps UC Irvine as well as Ventura College! Kindly, enjoy the show!

 

ALLIE McLAUGHLIN, she/her

THIRD SEASON (u/s Becky O’Shea) is thrilled to return to Asolo Rep, where her credits include The Sound of Music (Marta Von Trapp), Fountain (Andi), and Roe (u/s Emily, u/s Melissa). Allie most recently performed in The Music Man (Ensemble) at Manatee Performing Arts Center. She is a 7^th grader in the VPA program at Booker Middle School. Allie is profoundly grateful to work with everyone involved in this production and would like to thank her family, Ms. Christine, Ms. Cynthia, and Mrs. Mills for their love and support. 

 

KATHRYN PARKS, she/her

FIRST SEASON (u/s Josephine “Jo” O’Shea) is an actor, singer, improviser, filmmaker, and Sarasota native. Stage credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Maggie), No, No, Nanette (Nanette), and seven seasons with Powel Crosley Theater. Her films, Her Place (2020) and 50 Words (2018), were awarded Best Florida Film while The Fabulous Ohs (2022) is playing festivals nationwide. She’s appeared with Treble in Paradise at FST Improv, WBTT, Asolo Rep, American Stage, and St. Pete Opera. @kathrynparks, kathrynparks.com 

 

SYDNEY STORY, she/her

FIRST SEASON (u/s Linda O’Shea) is incredibly excited to embark on this final leg of her MFA journey. Her favorite roles include Olive in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Dorothy Brown in Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Maria in Love's Labour’s Lost. She has also been fortunate enough to sing backup for Kristin Chenoweth and work on a new musical with Bandstand’s Richard Oberacker. She would like to thank her mom, her stepdad, and her friends for all their support.

 

BRIAN ZANE

FIRST SEASON (u/s Mike O’Shea/Father Lovett/Betty Heckenbach) is a first-year student at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. Regional credits include Master Class at TimeLine Theatre Company, Far from Heaven and City of Angels at Porchlight Music Theatre, Anything Goes at Music Theater Works, The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire at JPAC Theatre, The Hollow Men at NYC Fringe Festival, Picasso at the Lapin Agile at Charleston Stage Company, and Safety Net at Crossroads Rep.

 

*Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

≠ Appears courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association

LINDA DiGABRIELE

FIFTIETH SEASON (Managing Director) has served as Asolo Rep’s managing director since 1989. Prior to that time, she held other positions with Asolo Rep, including director of touring programs and stage manager. During her 12-year tenure with the touring programs, Linda orchestrated 26 regional and national tours for Asolo Rep’s mainstage and educational companies. She has served several terms on the board of directors for the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), a national organization of regional not-for-profit professional theatres. Linda has been an advisory panel member for the National Endowment for the Arts and, for five years, the John F. Kennedy Center’s Theatre for Young Audiences. She is a past president of the Florida Professional Theatre Association and has served the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs as a member of various panels including the Grant Awards Task Force, Theatre Grants, Arts in Educations Grants, and the Cultural Institution Programs review committee. Other boards of directors’ appointments include ASSITEJ/USA, an international theatre organization for young audiences, the Florida Cultural Alliance, and the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County. A graduate of Florida State University, Linda’s professional theatre experience includes acting and directing. She is honored to have been recognized by the Florida Professional Theatre Association’s Richard G. Fallon Award for Excellence in Professional Theatre and the Florida Theatre Conference’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

MICHAEL DONALD EDWARDS

EIGHTEENTH SEASON (Producing Artistic Director) has served as producing artistic director of Asolo Rep since 2006. He was previously the associate artistic director of Syracuse Stage and served as artistic director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz. A Garland Award and Drama-Logue Award winning director, Michael has directed at Cleveland Play House; Indiana Repertory Theatre; Geva Theatre; Syracuse Stage; The Shakespeare Theatre; San Jose Rep; Opera San Jose; the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; the Old Globe in San Diego; Virginia Stage Company; the Virginia Opera; the State Theatre of South Australia; Opera Australia; Victoria State Opera; and the Metropolitan Opera, where he staged revivals of Aida, The Barber of Seville, Porgy and Bess, and Phillip Glass’ The Voyage. In previous seasons for Asolo Rep, Michael has directed Disgraced; Our Betters; The Grapes of Wrath; Clybourne Park; My Brilliant Divorce; Hamlet, Prince of Cuba; Las Meninas; La Bête; The Last Five Years; The Life of Galileo; Perfect Mendacity; The Winter’s Tale; Equus; A Tale of Two Cities; Darwin in Malibu; Nobody Don’t Like Yogi; Amadeus; The Smell of the Kill and, most recently, The Crucible.

 

KATIE FORGETTE

FIRST SEASON (Playwright) spent most of her professional life as an actor. At the Seattle Repertory Theatre, she was privileged to work with such directors and playwrights as Doug Hughes, Bill Irwin, Pamela Berlin, Dan Sullivan, John Patrick Shanley, Liviu Ciulei, Lillian Garrett-Groag, and Jon Robin Baitz. Her plays include A Facility for Living, Evidence of Things Unseen, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily, The O'Conner Girls, Everybody's A Critic, It Went Like This, The Body Snatcher, and Welcome to Vital Vista Village. Her plays have been produced at the Florida Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Human Race Theatre, Greater Boston Stage, Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT Theatre, Manitoba Theatre Centre, People's Light, Park Square Theatre, Barter Theatre, The Dorset Theatre Festival, and Vertigo Theatre. 

 

DEREK A. GRAHAM, he/him

FIRST SEASON (Original Compositions) is excited to work with Asolo Rep for the very first time! Recent composer credits include In Every Generation (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley); Toni Stone (Milwaukee Repertory Theatre/Alliance Theatre); Protocol, Redwood (Portland Center Stage); The Chinese Lady (Artists Repertory Theatre). Recent works in sound design include Detroit ’67 (Baldwin Wallace University Theatre), I Shall Not Be Moved/Your Negro Tour Guide (Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati), Kill Move Paradise (Dobama Theatre). BA: Music at Elizabeth City State University. MFA: Sound Design at Ohio University. Derek is co-founder of Life by Design Media & Production with his spouse and life-partner, Jessica.

 

MICHELLE HART, she/her

TWENTY-FIRST SEASON (Resident Hair/Wig & Make-up Designer) designs for Asolo Repertory Theatre and FSU/Asolo Conservatory. Other credits: Sarasota Ballet, Palm Beach Drama Works, freeFall Theatre, Urbanite Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, Banyan Theatre, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Venice Theatre, Dorset Theatre, Barrington Stage, and Open Stage Theatre. She has also done hair and/or make-up for Joan Rivers, Doris Roberts, Martin Short, Jane Russell, Arlene Dahl, Soledad Villamil, Jane Pauley, Richard Dreyfuss, Castille Langdon, Christopher Higgins, Mary Mara, Heather Robb, Lauren Sweetser, Justin Long, Paul Downs, Douglas Sills, and Nia Hills. Music videos: “Second Chance” by Shinedown, “Reverse Cowgirl” by T-Pain. Film/TV: Lady of the Manor; Paradise, FL; and The Real Stephen Blatt.

 

KRISTIN LOUGHRY*, she/her

FOURTH SEASON (Assistant Stage Manager) is thrilled to be back in sunny Sarasota! Previous Asolo Rep credits include The Cake, Grand Horizons, Eureka Day, and the unopened production of The Great Leap in the Cook. Additional credits include shows with Baltimore Center Stage, Hangar Theatre Company, Infinity Theatre Company, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, NewArts, New London Barn Playhouse, Primary Stages, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, Soho Playhouse, Virginia Stage Company, NYU Grad Acting, and The New School. Proud AEA member and Ithaca College alum.

 

VICTOR MEYRICH

FIFTY-FOURTH SEASON (Director of Production & Operations) is a graduate of Carnegie Tech and worked at New York Shakespeare Festival, Brandeis, University of California Institute of Repertory, APA, American Conservatory Theater, and again in New York. As head of production and technical staffs, he is responsible for the overall technical operation of Asolo Rep and its facilities. He wrote the architecture program for both the Center for the Performing Arts and the Koski II expansion and is the owner’s representative on both projects. He has been a member of the Asolo Rep family since 1969.

 

DRISCOLL OTTO

FIRST SEASON (Lighting Designer) recently designed the lighting for the Encores! production of The Life re-imagined and directed by Billy Porter, lighting for Dallas Theatre Center’s production of Trouble in Mind, lighting and projections for Houston Grand Opera’s Marian’s Song, lighting for The Huntington Theatre Company’s production of The Purists directed by Billy Porter, projections for Maggio Musicale Fiorentino's The Flying Dutchman. In the summer of 2021, Driscoll was invited to Austria to design lighting for an outdoor environmental production of Turandot for Opera in the Quarry. Driscoll designed lighting for productions of Legally Blonde and Rock of Ages for Norwegian Cruise Lines. Highlights to his resume include projection design for Santa Fe Opera’s production of The Golden Cockerel and The Metropolitan Opera’s production of La Donna Del Lago. 

 

SHARATH PATEL, he/him

SECOND SEASON (Sound Designer) is an Oregon based designer who works internationally, focusing on experimental, commercial, academic, political, and socially conscious theatre. Recent designs: Asolo Rep, A.C.T., The Alley Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Theatre Works of Silicon Valley, Portland Center Stage, Alliance Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Indiana Rep, Artists Rep, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, American Rep, Seattle Rep, Cal Shakes, Alabama Shakes, Seattle Children’s Theatre. Additional work in New York City, San Francisco, L.A., D.C., Boston, Norfolk, Raleigh, Aspen, India, France, England, Germany, Romania, Vietnam. Affiliations: USA829 IATSE, Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association, arts envoy for the U.S. Department of State, national respondent for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, resident artist at Artists Rep. BFA: Ohio University. MFA: Yale School of Drama. sharathpatel.com 

 

RIW RAKKULCHON, he/they

SECOND SEASON (Scenic Designer) is a set and costume designer, animator, and chef from Bangkok, Thailand. Select credits - Broadway: associate set designer, Pass Over, & Juliet. He/They has worked at Yale Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Drury Lane Theatre, Asolo Rep, The Acting Company, 59E59, Edinburgh Fringe, Primary Stages, The Old Globe, Hartford Stage, The Public Theatre, amongst others. Board member of WithAll, a non-profit organization on a fight to end eating disorders. BFA Ithaca College, MFA Yale School of Drama. Member of United Scenic Artists 829. @riwrdesign 

 

CÉLINE ROSENTHAL, she/they

SIXTH SEASON (Director; Local Casting; Associate Artistic Director) is a Tony-nominated producer and “Key” member of The Ring Of Keys and New Georges Affiliate Artist. They are in their sixth season at Asolo Rep, having directed Camelot, The Lifespan of a Fact, Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, and co-directed We Need a Little Christmas with Michael Donald Edwards. Celine has developed new work with NYMF, The New Georges, The Musical Theatre Factory, The Kidoons, Tamasha, and National Queer Theatre, as well as creating Asolo Rep’s premiere new work series, Asolo Rep Ground Floor. Other recent projects: Trayf (New Rep); Drowning in Cairo (N.Q.T); A Doll’s House, Spike Heels (Studio Theatre); Motherf**ker with the Hat (FSU/Asolo Conservatory); the award-winning short film Wildflower. Celine was a member of the 2018/19 MTC Directing Fellowship class and was awarded an SDC Observership and Asolo Rep Directing Fellowship. They are an alumnus of the Commercial Theatre Institute, BMI Lehman Engel Workshop, NYU Tisch (BFA), and The New School for Drama (MFA). celinerosenthal.nyc

 

NIA SCIARRETTA*, she/her

ELEVENTH SEASON (Production Stage Manager) Favorite Asolo Rep credits include stage manager for Knoxville, The Great Leap, The Sound of Music, Into the Breeches, The Music Man, Sweeney Todd, Sweat, Shakespeare in Love, Roe, and the 2020-21 Terrace Stage season, as well as assistant stage manager for Rhinoceros, Guys and Dolls, All the Way, South Pacific, and Hero: The Musical. Previous off-Broadway credits include work on Jesus Hopped the A Train, In the Blood, and The Wayside Motor Inn at the Signature Theatre. Nia has also worked with Creede Repertory Theatre, the Hangar Theatre, the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, the Flea Theatre, and Penguin Rep.

 

DEE SULLIVAN, she/her

FOURTH SEASON (Costume Designer) is so grateful to be a part of the Asolo Repertory Theatre’s 2022-23 season! She obtained her BA in Theatre with an emphasis in costume design at the University of Wyoming. Her recent costume design credits include The Learned Ladies (The Edinburgh Festival Fringe & FSU/Asolo Conservatory), The Smuggler (Urbanite Theatre), Everybody (FSU/Asolo Conservatory), Camelot: In Concert (Asolo Repertory Theatre), Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (FSU/Asolo Conservatory), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Asolo Repertory Theatre), The Thanksgiving Play (Urbanite Theatre), Theophilus North (Dog Days Theatre), Apples in Winter (Urbanite Theatre), and Wakey, Wakey (Urbanite Theatre). Thank you to Kris for her love and support. Also, a MASSIVE thanks to my theatre family in the Asolo Rep costume shop. 

 

BINDER CASTING

(New York Casting) was founded 40 years ago and is now a part of RWS Entertainment Group. The office has cast 150+ Broadway, off-Broadway, and National Touring productions, in addition to countless national and international projects spanning both stage and screen. Binder is a proud 11-time recipient of the Artios Award for Excellence in Casting and is a supporter of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The office holds a deep respect for their legacy, as well as a commitment to growth. To facilitate this growth, Binder has partnered with the Disruptive Equity Education Project (DEEP) to dismantle harmful practices and to carry this work into their organization, client relationships, and audition rooms. They acknowledge that the work is on-going and strive to do better. bindercasting.com

 

CLAIRE SIMON CASTING

(Chicago Casting) Claire and associate Cassidy Price have worked in Chicago and the Midwest for 5½ years. Claire and her team have cast for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Writer’s Theatre, Indiana Repertory, Madison Rep, Milwaukee Rep, St. Louis Rep, Kansas City Rep, The Cleveland Playhouse, Asolo Rep, Syracuse Stage, Million Dollar Quartet in Chicago, and the Clarence Brown Theatre. TV: Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Somebody Somewhere, Dark Matter, Proven Innocent, Easy, Empire. Recent films include Candyman. Claire has been nominated four times for Artios awards, winning in 2016 for Excellence in Casting for her work on Empire and in 2006 for Prison Break. A board member of the Illinois Production Alliance, she and her team also started an annual food drive 16 years ago called Meal for Monologues, to collect food for the homeless.

 

*Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

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