Hamlet 50/50 Program (NDSF 2023)

HAMLET 50/50

By William Shakespeare
Adaptation by Vanessa Morosco and Peter Simon Hilton
Directed by Vanessa Morosco

CONTENTS

• A Note from Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
• A Note from Mayor James Mueller
• A Note from Director Vanessa Morosco
• Cast, Designers, and Staff
• A Note from Costume Designer Elivia Bovenzi Blitz
• The Story of Hamlet 50/50
• Meet the Company
• Special Thanks
• Upcoming Events
• Additional Information and Acknowledgements

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the University of Notre Dame, I welcome you to the 24th season of the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, an important tradition for our campus and the local community.

Learning and building connections through the arts is one of Shakespeare at Notre Dame’s most powerful strengths, and we are proud to continue our support for this wonderful program.

Year after year, the Festival provides a wide range of educational and entertainment opportunities that invite each of us to engage with the power and excitement of one of the world’s most influential and provocative playwrights and poets. I hope you will take advantage of as many of these opportunities as you can.

Congratulations and thank you to all those involved in making these events possible. We are proud of your efforts and inspired by your talents, energy, and vision.

In Notre Dame,
Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President
University of Notre Dame

Greetings!

On behalf of the City of South Bend, welcome to the 2023 Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival!

The Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival has been a beloved summer tradition for over two decades. It's an honor to be part of a community that embraces the arts, and we are excited to have the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival Professional Company back to perform an adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s greatest tales with Hamlet 50/50 at the University’s beautiful DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

Our gratitude goes out to the cast, crew, staff, and volunteers, along with the University of Notre Dame for its continued support of the Festival. Best wishes to the cast of Hamlet 50/50. I hope you enjoy the show!

Sincerely,
Mayor James Mueller

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival acknowledges our presence in the traditional homelands of Native peoples including the Haudenosauneega, Miami, Peoria, all of the Bodéwadkmik / Potawatomi peoples, and particularly the Pokégnek Bodéwadmik / Pokagon Potawatomi, who utilized this land for education, art, storytelling, and life for thousands of years and continue to do so.

1. 

   ** The Director is a member of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union.

2. 

   * This artist appears through the courtesy of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

3. 

   ^ This individual is a member of the United Scenic Artists, Local 829, a union of designers and artists in the entertainment industry.

Shakespeare at Notre Dame:

Jennifer Birkett: Postdoctoral Fellow
Jason Comerford: Audience Development Manager
Kevin Dreyer: 2023 Season Producer
Debra Gasper: Director of Production
Sam Grocock: Assistant to the Director of Production
Peter Holland: McMeel Family Chair in Shakespeare Studies
Scott Jackson: Mary Irene Ryan Family Executive Director

MEET THE COMPANY

1. 

   Brenton Abram-Copenhaver

   Assistant Technical Director

2. 

   Matt Anderson

   Assistant Sound Designer

   Matt Anderson is a South Bend-based sound designer and audio engineer with a Bachelor of Arts from Bethel University. He has worked previously as a sound designer and stage manager with the South Bend Civic Theatre, Bethel University, and the 574 Theatre. Most recently, he stage-managed Guys & Dolls at the South Bend Civic Theatre. He is excited to return to the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival as the assistant sound designer for this year’s season. Outside of theatre, Matt serves as the technical director of Trinity Church South Bend.

3. 

   George Azcárate

   1st Player (Player King) / Claudius & Polonius Understudy / Carpenter

   George is a PhD candidate from the border of Texas and Mexico. He was born in El Paso but raised in Ciudad Juárez. His research explores the healer/patient relationship and how the patient's body is transformed into a book that the healer not only reads in search of signs and symptoms, but also writes and edits. He is interested in biopolitics, bioethics, and the emergence of the modern hospital as a political instrument for the governance and nurturing of life and health. George is also drawn to the other and darker side of biopolitics: the abandonment, exclusion and even suppression of life as a modern expression of political power. He is a registered nurse (RN) with extensive experience in the Intensive Care Unit. He has had the pleasure of working on various FTT productions at Notre Dame, including Native Gardens, The Imaginary Invalid, and Staging the Daffy Dame.

4. 

   Becca Ballenger

   Horatio

   Becca's regional theatre credits include Steel Magnolias (Geva Theatre, Idaho Shakespeare Festival), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, White Lightning (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), The Mystery of Love & Sex, Papermaker (Shadowland Stages), The Tempest (Idaho Shakespeare Festival), and American Stare (New Jersey Repertory Company). Off-Broadway credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream (Masterworks Theater Company, NYT Critic’s Pick), Pussy Sludge (HERE, 2017 Relentless Award winner), Absolution (St. Luke's Theatre), and more. Television appearances include New Amsterdam, FBI: Most Wanted, and Village of the Damned. Becca has a BA from Fordham University, and is a proud member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA. www.beccaballenger.com

5. 

   Jennifer Birkett

   Postdoctoral Fellow

   Jenny is a recent English PhD graduate from the University of Notre Dame. As a student, Jenny was a Presidential Fellow and a Gender Studies Minor. Under the direction of Peter Holland, Jenny completed a dissertation titled Early Modern Drama and Terms of Endearment and is currently turning that project into a book manuscript. Jenny taught multiple courses at Notre Dame, including Shakespeare and Performance, and is this year’s coordinator of the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival's Know the Show series. Jenny brings a passion for live theatre—especially Shakespeare.

6. 

   Elivia Bovenzi Blitz

   Costume Designer

   Based in New York City, she has designed an extensive repertoire of Shakespeare including Hamlet and Titus Andronicus (New York Shakespeare Exchange), A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night (Shakespeare On The Sound), The Comedy of Errors and Macbeth (Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey), Love’s Labour’s Lost (Elm Shakespeare), and Richard II (Yale). Elivia also has worked as an associate and assistant costume designer on various regional and Broadway shows. Over the course of her career, she has worked at the Guthrie Theater, the Public Theater, Alliance Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Two River Theater, Hartford Stage, LaMaMa, Ars Nova, and NYU, as well as Barrington Stage and Berkshire Theatre Group. She holds an MFA in Design from the Yale School of Drama. Elivia teaches as an Adjunct Professor of Fashion History at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829. eliviabovenzi.com

7. 

   Natalie Bowman

   Cutter / Draper and 2023 Costume Shop Manager

   Natalie began working with the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival in 2007 and has returned every season since. Natalie received her BA in costume design and technology from Indiana University South Bend, and went on to earn her MFA in Costume Design at Florida State University in 2001. Before Natalie moved to Southern Indiana, where she heads the costume program for Indiana University Southeast’s Theatre Department, she spent several years travelling around the United States working at various regional theatres and educational institutions as a costume technician and costume designer. Some of these include Swine Palace Productions (based at Louisiana State University), Northern Illinois University, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Shakespeare Company, and Virginia Stage Company.

8. 

   Erin Bryant

   Cutter/Draper

   Erin is the Costume Shop Supervisor/Designer for the Bethel University Theatre Department. She also oversees student workers and teaches costume construction and design. During her studies and following, Erin has worked for such companies as Southold Dance Theatre, South Bend Civic Theatre, and the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival.

9. 

   Madeline Calais

   Ophelia

   Madeline was born and raised in the mighty metropolis of Houston, Texas, and received her BFA (summa cum laude) in Acting from the University of Houston's School of Theatre & Dance. Following undergrad, Madeline performed in theatres across the country with the American Shakespeare Center's national touring troupe based out of Staunton, Virginia for two years. Madeline is currently working to receive her MFA from Case Western Reserve University in partnership with Cleveland Playhouse.

10. 

    Emily Chidalek

    Costume Shop Artisan / Head Wardrobe

    Emily is glad to be back at Notre Dame! She is a student in the Masters of Clinical Counseling at IUSB, where she also holds a bachelor’s degree in Theatre Performance. She anticipates becoming a drama therapist, to continue using her love of theater to help others. Emily is the Costume Designer and Stage Manager for Culver Academies. Recent design credits: Ragtime, Ghost Quartet (South Bend’s Costume Design of the Decade, BroadwayWorld 2020), Next to Normal (Art 4); Rent, Robin Hood, She Kills Monsters (Culver Academies), Three Decembers, Don Giovanni, The Gift (South Bend Lyric Opera). Emily has worked regionally and internationally as a costumer, scenic artist, stage manager, and performer. Emily also runs a small business focusing on eco-friendly design; find her at @love.emily.creative on instagram.

11. 

    Aimee Cole

    Cutter / Draper / Crafts

    This is Aimee's 19th season with NDSF. She is a Senior Lecturer in Costume Technology at Indiana University South Bend. She enjoys traveling and all things Disney.

12. 

    Jason Comerford

    Audience Development Manager

    Jason came to Notre Dame after a 15-year career in advertising, working as a creative copywriter for agencies including Erwin Penland (Greenville, SC) and Sullivan Higdon & Sink (Wichita, KS). He was a longtime stage manager for the Upstate Shakespeare Festival in Greenville, SC, where he stage-managed multiple productions including Othello, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Henry IV Part 1, and Richard III. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and is a prolific writer. yesicanwritethat.com

13. 

    Andrew Cora

    Electrician / Sound Board Operator

    Andrew is a recent graduate of Bethel University with a degree in Theatre Arts. This is his second time working for NDSF. Previous works are light designer for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and stage manager for The Thanksgiving Play at the South Bend Civic Theatre. He would like to thank his family and friends for pushing him to pursue his dream.

14. 

    James Cullinane

    Reynaldo / Priest / 2nd Guard / Ghost / Laertes Understudy / Fight Captain

    James is a Chicago-based actor, fight choreographer, and improviser who is excited to make his return to the NDSF family this summer! He loves new, devised work and has just finished the premiere of Across The Sands, an original retelling of the Passover story, as well as a four-week run of Coached Ensembles, an improvised performance at Chicago’s The Second City. He is a physical performer and creative problem-solver at heart. Anything that gets the blood pumping and the brain racing is right up his alley. Past NDSF credits include Romeo and Juliet (Paris), All’s Well That Ends Well (Lord E), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Francis Flute). Other favorites include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Guildenstern), CYRANO (Valvert), Heathers (Kurt’s Dad), and more. You can learn more about him at jamescullinane.com, or on all social media @jaymowis (@thisgoodlyframe for his photography).

15. 

    Kevin Dreyer

    Producer

    Kevin is an experienced lighting designer and a member of the United Scenic Artists with an active freelance career. He has designed for major companies across the United States and around the world with reviews and award nominations from four continents. He has been on the faculty at Notre Dame since 1989, where in addition to teaching he has designed lighting and scenery for the theatre season. In recent years he has added the responsibilities of producing and directing for the University. He published his first book Dance and Light: The Partnership Between Choreography and Lighting Design in 2020. He was the resident lighting designer for the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival from its inception until 2018. This is his second time producing the summer season. His whole family is in the arts — his wife directed the Saint Mary's College dance program for 30 years and his three daughters are involved in theatre as either performers or educators. Kevin's work as a lighting designer has been seen in Chicago and around the world with the Joffrey Ballet and Ballet West. His design work is featured in Robert Altman’s film The Company.

16. 

    Tommy Favorite

    1st Guard / 2nd Gravedigger / Ghost / Hamlet Understudy

    Tommy is an actor and theatre artist from South Bend - just down the street, in fact! He received his BA here at Notre Dame in 2017, and since being introduced to theatre work on campus he has spent the following years trying any and every production role he could get his hands on. Tommy received his MFA in Acting from Wayne State University in May of this year. While living and working in Detroit, some of his credits included Frank Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Somebody in Everybody, and Trevor in The Play that Goes Wrong. Tommy is thrilled to be returning to NDSF, after working on and offstage with the company in 2017, 2018, and 2022. He would like to extend his love and gratitude to everyone who works so hard every year to make the Festival an unforgettable experience.

17. 

    Joe Foust

    Polonius / Fight Choreographer

    Joe's Chicago acting credits include fifteen shows with Chicago Shakespeare Theater (favorites include Measure for Measure, Marionette Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale, Romeo and Juliet, Henry IV parts 1 and 2, Timon of Athens, Hamlet, Troilus and Cressida, and Twelfth Night), Measure for Measure, A Christmas Carol, and The Beard of Avon (Goodman Theatre), What the Butler Saw and Endgame (Court Theatre), Mother Courage and Her Children (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Kabuki Medea (Wisdom Bridge), The Seagull and Major Barbara (Remy Bumppo), Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Next), The Watson Intelligence, Spin, and The Santaland Diaries (Theatre Wit), as well as ten productions with First Folio Theatre and three seasons with Oak Park Festival Theatre. Regional credits include playing Hamlet at Nevermore Theatre, The 39 Steps and Around the World in 80 Days (Cleveland Playhouse), five productions with Milwaukee Shakespeare, Kabuki Achilles (People's Light and Theatre Co), The Winter's Tale (Missouri Rep), Romeo and Juliet (River Styx, London) and twenty seasons acting, writing and directing with Peninsula Players. Joe is a founding member of Defiant Theatre, where credits include directing and co-writing Action Movie: The Play and Ubu Raw. Other credits include Parks and Recreation (NBC), Normal (HBO), Early Edition (CBS), Chicago Fire (NBC) Proven Innocent (FOX) and 61st Street (AMC).

18. 

    Mace Gallagher

    Scene Shop Artisan / Carpenter

     

19. 

    Tobias Garcia

    Assistant Stage Manager

    Tobias is a 2022 graduate of Goshen College where they earned a degree in Theatre, with concentrations in Directing, Stage Management, and Props Design. They recently moved to South Bend following their experiences during the 2022 Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, for which they were employed as an apprentice Props Designer and stage hand for the duration. Since moving to South Bend, Tobias has designed props for Legally Blonde and an original staged opera scenes project titled Lost in a Book at Saint Mary’s College as a guest artist, and has stage managed several productions at the South Bend Civic Theatre, most recently the premiere of the musical My Heart Says Go. When not doing something theatre related Tobias can often be found working their day job as a retail shift supervisor. For fun they enjoy playing games, going to conventions, playing D&D with their friends, and scrolling on TikTok.

20. 

    Debra Gasper

    Director of Production

    The 2023 season marks Debra’s twelfth year with Shakespeare at Notre Dame. Debra came to Notre Dame from Louisville, Kentucky, where she spent 10 years as the Resident Stage Manager for Actors Theatre of Louisville. She has been a professional stage manager for 19 years and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association. Debra has stage managed over 60 productions, including many productions of Shakespeare. Her favorites include: The Tempest, Macbeth, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night. Debra holds a BA in Theatre from Indiana University, where she teaches stage management.

21. 

    Sam Grocock

    Assistant to the Director of Production

    Sam is a recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame and will be pursuing an MFA in Stage Management at Columbia University in New York City this fall. During her time as an undergraduate she stage managed five productions, her favorite being Steel Magnolias in fall 2022. This is her second summer working with the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival. She is excited to be back and to have the opportunity to learn from a talented cast and creative team.

22. 

    Melíza Gutierrez

    Susanna / 2nd Ambassador / Ghost / Horatio Understudy

    Melíza is an actor, playwright, and poet from Southern California. She received her BA in Drama with Honors in Acting from the University of California, Irvine where she also served as Artistic Director for Brown Bag Theater Company and Schrodinger’s Cast: 30 Plays in 60 Minutes. Melíza has since worked with Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble, Casa 0101 Theatre, Workshop Theater, and Chicanas Cholas y Chisme as an actor, poet, playwright, and producer in developing new works. They are currently an MFA in Acting Candidate at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where they were recently seen as Volumnia in Coriolanus and their original play Valiente was presented as a part of UIUC’s Theater Studies New Works Project. Melíza is thrilled to collaborate with such brilliant artists on this incredible production. Instagram: @melizakg Website: www.melizagutierrez.com.

23. 

    Peter Simon Hilton

    Claudius / Co-Adapter

    Peter is making his debut with the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival. National tours include: Oklahoma!, Les Misérables, Frost/Nixon, and Hamlet (Denver Center for the Performing Arts); Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar, Henry VIII, and The 39 Steps (Alabama Shakespeare Festival); The Tempest, Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, Henry VI Part 1, Othello, and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Colorado Shakespeare Festival); Charley’s Aunt, What the Butler Saw, and A Child's Christmas in Wales (Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey); The 39 Steps (Drury Lane Theatre); Skylight, Arcadia, and Equus (Palm Beach Dramaworks); A Comedy of Terrors, Mamma Mia, The Audience, and Frost/Nixon (Maltz Jupiter Theater); Oliver! (TUTS); and Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, and Mamma Mia! (Maine State Music Theater); Peter also spent 7 years touring with Aquila Theater Company. TV credits include Pan Am, The Prince, and An Englishman in New York. Peter is a US board member of Shakespeare’s Globe in London, a Genie Award-wining playwright, and a consultant in global issues of diversity and cultural awareness: impactdrama.net.

24. 

    Lynn Holbrook

    Stitcher / Wardobe

    Lynn returns to NDSF for her eleventh season. Recent costume design credits include Dead Man’s Cell Phone with Notre Dame’s Department of Film, Television, and Theatre, and Candide with Opera Notre Dame. Lynn previously served as wardrobe supervisor and costume shop manager for BalletMet Columbus as well as costume shop manager for the University of Michigan. She designed costumes for seven new works at BalletMet Columbus, including Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, and toured with many performances of Beauty and the Beast and The Nutcracker. Lynn earned her BS in Textiles and Clothing from Ohio State University and her MFA in Costume Design from Wayne State University, where her designs were featured in three productions that traveled to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She is originally from Ohio, and is happy to be at Notre Dame.

25. 

    Don Hunter

    Production Manager

    Don is the chair of the art, music, and theatre departments at Bethel University and returns to the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival for his seventh year. He has his B.A. in theatre arts from Bethel College and his M.F.A. in stage management from Wayne State University. Don has production managed for various companies and has spent the last 13 years stage managing, designing, and directing. Recent credits include projection design for Alice in Wonderland, Around the World in 80 Days, and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, set design for Around the World in 80 Days, sound design for Plain and Fancy and Alice in Wonderland, director for Disney's Beauty and the Beast and Charlotte’s Web, and stage manager for Candide (Opera Notre Dame) and for eight years with Southold Dance Theatre’s The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Giselle, and others.

26. 

    Zac Hunter

    Production Manager

    Zac graduated in 2013 from Bethel University with a focus on design and technical theatre. He is currently in his 8th season with Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis as the Production Manager and Technical Director. His most recent design work at the Phoenix includes Bakersfield Mist (set design), Alabaster (set design), and The Agitators (lighting design). He has also designed sets and lights for Actors Theatre of Indiana, Storefront Theatre, Wabash College, and Bethel University. As always, he wants to give a shout out to his beautiful wife, Stephanie, for being awesome and holding down the fort while he’s away.

27. 

    Scott Jackson

    Executive Director

    Scott (he/they) has served as the Mary Irene Ryan Family Executive Director of Shakespeare at Notre Dame since the position was created in 2007, providing oversight for the many Shakespeare-related programs housed at the University of Notre Dame, with a particular focus on engaging the local community through the works of William Shakespeare. Previously he served as executive director for the Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre (FST) in Fairbanks, Alaska. At FST he produced and performed in outdoor Shakespeare productions staged under the midnight sun at venues throughout Alaska and around the globe (most notably at the VIII World Shakespeare Congress in Brisbane, Australia, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland). From 2000–2003, Scott was the business and legal affairs coordinator for Brighter Pictures, Ltd (now a part of Endemol Shine UK), one of the United Kingdom’s most successful independent television and film production companies. He holds a dual BA in theatre and history from Indiana University Bloomington, an MFA (distinction) in Actor Training and Coaching from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (University of London), and is a certified Kundalini yoga teacher (CKYT-200) under acclaimed practitioner Maya Fiennes. He has produced, directed, and performed in over 175 theatrical productions. Scott currently serves as the vice president/president-elect for the Shakespeare Theatre Association, where he also served as treasurer from 2013-2017. He has taught acting process at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, the University of Notre Dame, Holy Cross College, and Indiana University South Bend. Since 2018 he has taught Meisner acting technique and Mindfulness for the Artist for the Prague Shakespeare Company’s Summer Shakespeare Intensive. A firm believer in the power of Shakespeare and the theatre arts to affect positive social change, he is a co-founder of the Shakespeare in Prisons Network. He teaches a Shakespeare in performance course and leads the kundalini yoga club at the Westville Correctional Facility, Indiana’s largest state prison. His leadership in the nascent field of Applied Shakespeare has led to an appointment as a Research Associate for the Von Hügel Institute at St. Edmund’s College in the University of Cambridge. Additionally, he has developed an anti-harm approach to actor training called Foundationing, and presented this research at the annual meetings of the European Society of Criminology, the British Shakespeare Association, the Shakespeare Theatre Association, the Shakespeare Association of America, Theatre Communications Group, and the World Shakespeare Congress. He is the recipient of the Shakespeare Association of America’s Publics Award for the production of the 4th International Shakespeare in Prisons Conference in 2020-21, the Robinson Community Learning Center’s Arthur Quigley, PhD award for community service, and the Fairbanks, Alaska Downtown Association’s Golden Heart award.

28. 

    Ivy Jones

    Master Electrician / Light Board Operator

    Ivy Jones is a graduate from Indiana University South Bend, receiving their Bachelors in Theater Design and Technology. Ivy has worked with NDSF last year as the master electrician for Romeo and Juliet. They also regularly work shows with the Morris Performing Arts Center, Saint Mary's College, and South Bend Lyric Opera.

29. 

    Xavier Edward King

    Hamlet

    Xavier returns to the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, where he previously appeared in The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, Love's Labour's Lost, and Pericles. Select regional credits include Relentless (Jeff Award) and The Winter's Tale (Goodman Theatre); Defacing Michael Jackson by Aurin Squire (Miami New Drama); Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream (St. Louis Shakespeare Festival); Dracula (Actors Theatre of Louisville); The Star (ACT); and The Rainmaker, Write Me A Murder, and Ricord (Peninsula Players Theatre). Television: 61st Street, New Edition (TV movie), Sweet Vicious (TV pilot), Mary & Jane (TV pilot).

30. 

    Michelle Elyse Levinson

    Assistant Stage Manager

    Michelle is very excited to be working on this wonderful production! Credits include: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre); Murder for Two, Oliver!, The Mousetrap, and Private Lives (The Winnipesaukee Playhouse); The Three Musketeers, Antigone, The Ghost Tour (staged reading), Twelfth Night, and Where Did We Sit On The Bus? (Cleveland Play House); A Midsummer Night's Dream, Saint Joan, and Shakespeare in Love (Ohio Shakespeare Festival); and Tovic Tomte and The Trolls (Talespinner Children’s Theatre). Thanks, thanks, and ever thanks to all who take the time to share this story with us.

31. 

    Tony Marando

    Prop Designer

    Tony worked for a company that supplied props for The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, and Bram Stoker's Dracula. He was the production designer for Jack Lemmon's film That's Life, and was Jack Nicholson's personal assistant for The Postman Always Rings Twice. He was an IATSE #705 motion picture costumer, and was also an executive producer at Disney Imagineering for Pleasure Island, EuroDisney, and Tanzania. Tony designed the production for the three-night Stravinsky Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, with Michael Tilson-Thomas conducting. He directed The Threepenny Opera in Paris and Andre Gregory's Alice in Wonderland at the Company Theatre in Los Angeles, and played limited runs at the Public Theatre and the Producer's Club in New York City. He also staged production numbers for the NY Public Library, Cinzano, and Bastille Day galas. Thanks Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival!

32. 

    Colleen McLinden

    Maria / 2nd Player / Ghost

    Colleen loves stories! She first learned to love stories told around a dinner table and in the pages of a book in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Later, she grew to love stories told on a stage, and she now loves telling stories herself - around (and on) tables, on pages, and on stages! At ND she has told the story of The Passion (Peter the Apostle) with the Folk Choir, and as an undergrad she told stories through Show Some Skin ("Symbiosis Complex", "Housing"). She has loved telling stories with the South Bend Civic Theater, most recently in Sense & Sensibility (Lucy Steele) and Much Ado About Nothing (Ursula). When not telling stories, she studies them in the Masters in Theological Studies program at ND. Her concentration is the History of Christianity - the story of God and humanity. She is grateful to all who are part of her story!

33. 

    Timothy Merkle

    1st Gravedigger / 3rd Player / Messenger / Ghost

    Originally from Castle Pines, Colorado, Timothy is an actor and director who is a recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame receiving a BA in Theatre. In college he appeared as JC in This is Modern Art, King Charlemagne in Pippin, and Matt in Bare: A Pop Opera. He has also been in two original works, most recently as Frank Lloyd in Dawn’s Early Light, a musical in which he also served as dramaturg and was part of the workshopping process. His training has taken him to Prague to take part in the Prague Shakespeare Company Winter Intensive and appear as Florizel in The Winter's Tale and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night at the world-famous Estates Theatre. He looks forward to his first performance with the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival and sends his love and thanks to those who are always there for support.

34. 

    Vanessa Morosco

    Director / Co-Adapter

    Vanessa is a director, actor, and ethicist based out of New York City, whose long list of credits include productions for the American Shakespeare Center, the Southwest Shakespeare Festival, and Palm Beach Dramaworks. She also has a parallel career in the corporate sector, as the creator of drama-based training to facilitate training for DEI, accessibility, sexual harassment, and cultural differences for huge multinational companies. vanessamorosco.com

35. 

    Victoria Nassif

    Intimacy Director

    Victoria (she/her) lives on the hyphen - between Lebanese and American, between performer, intimacy director, and narrator, between her many hobbies and her personal commitments to family, to growth, and to hope. Her work has been seen across the globe at places like the New Victory Theater, the Kennedy Center, American Players Theatre, Writer's Theater, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Constellation Stage & Screen, TheatreSquared, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Playhouse Square, Arts Center at NYUAD, FringeArts, and many more.

36. 

    Vincent Olivieri

    Sound Designer / Composer

    Vincent is excited to make his NDSF debut! Broadway credits include High and contributions to Radio Golf. Off-Broadway credits include The Water’s Edge, Omnium-Gatherum, The Brothers Size, The God Botherers, and Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy. New York City and regional credits include productions with Woolly Mammoth, Center Stage, Barrington Stage Company, Geffen Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, Gorilla Productions, the Juilliard School, Syracuse Stage, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Virginia Stage Company, Clarence Brown Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival, and Yale Repertory Theatre. He has created designs for world-premiere productions by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Rachel Bonds, Michael Golamco, Kirsten Greenidge, Lauren Gunderson, Howard Korder, Neil LaBute, Matthew Lombardo, Charles L. Mee, Kira Oblensky, Tira Palmquist, Christopher Oscar Peña, Christine Quintana, Adam Rapp, Theresa Rebeck, Sarah Treem, and August Wilson. Mr. Olivieri was the Resident Sound Designer at Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Humana Festival of New American Plays. International work includes productions in Italy, China, South Korea, Romania, and the Czech Republic. Mr. Olivieri is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and serves on the faculty at University of California-Irvine.

37. 

    Gabriel Ozaki

    Laertes

    Originally from Cave Creek, Arizona, Gabriel is a recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame with majors in Neuroscience and Behavior and Film, Television, and Theatre. He most recently appeared in a production of This is Our Youth as Dennis in the Philbin Theatre, which he also co-directed and co-produced. He appeared in the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival last summer in their productions of All’s Well That Ends Well as Parolles and Romeo and Juliet as Peter. He has also recently did voiceover work for Steel Magnolias (Notre Dame FTT) and The Lonely Players (new original musical) and performed in the short film EX-COMMUNICATE, directed by Sam Grocock. He has appeared in a student showcase on Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre stage. Gabe would like to thank Vanessa Morosco, Scott Jackson, and everyone at NDSF for this opportunity. You can find him on Instagram @g_ozaki to follow more of his work.

38. 

    Allison Pajor

    Assistant Director / Text Coach

    Allison Pajor is excited to return for her third season as Text Coach with the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, and to take on a new role as Assistant Director. She is delighted for the opportunity to explore gender equity in Shakespeare through Hamlet 50/50. Allison currently serves as the lead teacher for Shakespeare at Notre Dame's Theatre I class at DePaul Academy and she has worked as an education artist at the American Shakespeare Center and South Bend Civic Theatre. She received her MFA and MLitt in Shakespeare and Performance from Mary Baldwin University and she has performed with the American Shakespeare Company, Prague Shakespeare Company, The Motley Shakespeare Players, Sweet Wag Shakespeare, and the National Theatre for Children. Allison lives in Mishawaka with her husband Mark and their dog Raven.

39. 

    Olivia Louise Tree Plath

    Stage Manager

    Olivia Louise (she/her) is a Kentucky/Minnesota-based stage manager and director. She has recently co-directed her first musical, Elf, with a local community theater and works as a Foley artist with the Theater Downstream. Her recent stage management & assistant stage management work includes Sally & Tom, Sweat, and Noura with the Guthrie Theatre, as well as Stage Manager for Antigone with Cleveland Play House. She spent a large portion of the pandemic working with the Playwrights Workshop founded by Josh Wilder, and she stage-managed several online plays and readings including Redeemed with Dorset Theater Festival and Lake Erie Oubliette and Crooked River Burning with Cleveland Play House, as well as a livestream of Salt Pepper Ketchup with Aye Defy. She is a graduate of Yale’s School of Drama.

40. 

    Emma Rader

    Costume Shop Artisan / Wardrobe

    Emma is a student at Bethel University, majoring in Liberal Studies with a focus on theatre, and minoring in Art. Her intent is to go into costume design after she graduates. She has been sewing since she was 6 or 7, and for several years, her dream was to go into some kind of clothing design, and now she's finally pursuing that dream! She is so excited to be part of this year's Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, and is looking forward to gaining more experience from this.

41. 

    Christina Randazzo

    1st Ambassador / Master of Fence / Ghost / Ophelia Understudy

    Christina is from Bay Village, OH, and is an alumna of the University of Notre Dame (2023) where she studied Psychology, Film, Television, & Theatre, and Sustainability. During her time at Notre Dame, Christina played the clarinet in the Band of the Fighting Irish and was an avid member of the student-run Not-So-Royal Shakespeare Company (NSR). You may recognize her from her previous NSR performances as Hamlet in Hamlet/5, Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing, Perdita in The Winter's Tale, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Caius Cassius in Julius Caesar, and various others. She is so excited to be a part of NDSF and can’t wait to share this incredible production with you! She would like to thank her friends and family for all of their love and support, especially her mom, Jana, for being the absolute best!

42. 

    Jen Rock

    Lighting Designer

    Jen is thrilled to be making her debut with the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival. Jen is a lighting designer for the performing arts who has worked extensively throughout the Northeast, and is the recipient of two Elliot Norton Awards for her design work in Boston. Regionally, Jen has designed lights for Western Michigan University (Tribes, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods) and Crossroads Repertory Theatre (Hairspray, Steel Magnolias, Avenue Q, Young Frankenstein). Jen resides full time in Reading, Pennsylvania, where she is a Professor of Theatre at Albright College.

43. 

    Justine C. Ryan

    Osric / 4th Player / Ghost

    Justine is a current MFA Acting student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She recently made her Krannert Center for the Performing Arts debut as Nina in The Royale. She began her career at Theatre Squared as the show understudy for School Girls; Or The African Mean Girls Play in 2021. Ryan returned to appear as Mrs. Phelps in Theatre Squared's summer 2021 production of Matilda: The Musical (2021 ANPF reading), Pearl understudy in Miss You Like Hell, and is an understudy in the world premiere of FLEX. Justine is a member of the LatinX Theatre Project cohort (2019-2022). She appeared as Ciera Johnson on the TV One Network series For My Man (S4 E23), and co-wrote and starred in her one-woman show called Lessons From My Suitcase, which premiered at the 2018 Kansas City Fringe Festival. Justine earned her Bachelor in Fine Arts in Theatre from Bennett College.

44. 

    Jenna Sarrazin

    Scene Shop Artisan / Carpenter

    Jenna is from Angola, Indiana, and is a junior theatre major with a graphic design minor at Bethel University graduating in 2024. She has participated in numerous shows at Bethel, including onstage roles in One Enchanted Evening (ensemble), Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Silly Girl), Alice in Wonderland (Duchess) and Plain and Fancy (Ruth). Jenna has also been hard at work backstage as a scenic artist, assistant stage manager, and light board operator for various Bethel shows.

45. 

    Lee Springman

    Wardrobe

    Lee (they/them) is a 2018 graduate of Ivy Tech, where they earned a degree in Liberal Arts. They will be attending IUSB this fall to work on earning a Psychology degree. In 2021 they started working at the Morris Performing Arts Center, where they were eventually pulled into working wardrobe for Trolls. They fell in love with working wardrobe and have worked many shows at the Morris, including Hairspray, Waitress, and Anastasia. They have also worked several student shows at Notre Dame after working the 2022 Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival. When not working, Lee can be found working on their embroidery projects, reading, and cuddling with their cats.

46. 

    Marcus Stephens

    Scenic Designer

    Marcus is so happy to be back collaborating on Hamlet 50/50. Marcus is the resident scenic designer at the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, where he has designed sets for the last 16 seasons. He has had the opportunity to serve as scenic designer for such productions as The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Orpheus Descending for the Eugene Opera, When the Messenger is Hot at 59E59 Theater in New York, First Look Repertory, and The Elephant Man with Steppenwolf Theater Company. He also designed Hot Mikado and Hairspray at Drury Lane Oakbrook, Fully Committed with the Madison Repertory, The Marriage of Figaro with Remy Bumppo, Woyzeck with Greasy Joan, Dead End with Griffin Theatre, The Master and Margarita at Grinnell College, Moby Dick with the Building Stage, and Harper Regan, Parlour Song, and Breathing Corpses with Steep Theater. He has also worked as a commercial scenic designer and model builder. Marcus is scenic design faculty at the University of Notre Dame, where he has designed over 50 productions. He holds an MFA in Scenic and Lighting Design from Northwestern University and is a proud member of USA829.

47. 

    Jeff Szymanowski

    Technical Director / Scenic Artist)

48. 

    Christopher Beri Tangka

    Assistant to the Designer / Shop and Run Crew

    Christopher is a class of 2023 University of Notre Dame graduate who is ecstatic to join his first Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival production! Studying Industrial Design and Theatre at Notre Dame, his lifelong love for the stage quickly blossomed into a love for costume design. He has been involved in a number of productions during his time at Notre Dame, including costume designing for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Bright Star, and Pippin, as well as producing the 47th Annual Keenan Revue: High School Revuesical. When he isn’t studying late Victorian bodices or gathering inspiration for new projects, you may find him playing the tuba or practicing photography. He will be starting graduate school in the fall.

49. 

    TayLar

    Queen Gertrude

    TayLar is excited to make her NDSF debut in Hamlet 50/50! She was recently seen in American Fast at Constellation Stage and Screen and Chicago’s Court Theatre production of Arsenic and Old Lace as Abby Brewster. Other productions include: King Hedley II and Oedipus Rex (Court), Gem of the Ocean, Sweat, The Convert, Mary, and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Goodman Theatre), The Little Foxes and The Great Society (Asolo Repertory Theatre), Ruined (Manhattan Theatre Club), The Old Settler (Writers’ Theatre), Ruined (Eclipse Theatre) Intimate Apparel (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Black Ensemble, and ETA Theatre. Television appearances include Saint X, Chicago Med, Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, Empire, The Chi and NeXt. Film credits include Heist 88, Southside With You, Teacher, and Ms. White Light. TayLar can be seen in numerous commercials and is repped by DDO Artists Agency. She sends much love and gratitude to God, her family, and friends for their support!

50. 

    Abigail Taylor

    Hair and Makeup Consultant

    Abigail is a sophomore at Bethel University majoring in ASL and minoring in Spanish. She is excited to be a part of this production as a hair and makeup consultant. She has always loved doing hair, and has gotten to put her skills to use during Bethel's productions of Alice in Wonderland, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Plain and Fancy (which she also participated in as an ensemble member). One of her favorite parts of doing hair and makeup backstage is that she is able to connect with the actors and provide them some relief by helping them look and feel confident in their character. She is so happy to be a part of this production of Hamlet, and to watch it come alive on stage!

51. 

    Kathleen Werner

    Stitcher

    Kathleen is thrilled to be working with the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival for yet another season! She is an educator by vocation, but sewing has been her avocation from her very first dressmaking class at the age of ten. In addition to sewing for herself, family and friends, she has had experience working in the retail fabric industry. Kathleen is an Assistant Teaching Professor of French, Emerita in the Romance Languages and Literatures Department here at the University of Notre Dame, where she taught for 30 years.

52. 

    Liz Zimmerman

    Gentlewoman / 5th Player / Ghost / Gertrude Understudy

    Liz is a local actor and founding member of Shades of Orange, an experimental theatre troupe “doing theatre where theatre isn’t done.” Recent credits include Noises Off (Belinda), Much Ado About Nothing (Beatrice), and Finnegan’s Farewell (Katherine). Liz serves as the Theatre Teacher at Dickinson Fine Arts Academy, and on the Board of Directors for the South Bend Civic Theatre. Liz received a B.A. in Theatre from the University of Maryland and studied Shakespeare at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.

SPECIAL THANKS

• Brenton Abram-Copenhaver, Indiana University of South Bend
• Susan Anderson, WVPE
• Mimi Beck and Julaine Zenkelberger, Graduate Student Life, University of Notre Dame
• Bethel College Department of Theatre Arts
• Kelly Byler, Granger Gazette
• Carpenter Gothic Furniture
• Circa Arts Gallery
• Brian Collier, Alliance for Catholic Education, University of Notre Dame
• Gina Costa, Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame
• DeBartolo Performing Arts Center: Ted Barron, Daniel Burgun, Falon Cole, Leigh Hayden, Sean Martin, Brian Nulle, Alex Scheidler, Christopher Schenkel, Sarah Schreiber Prince, Jason Swift
• Andrea Deitchley, Lamar Advertising
• Eco Owl Press
• Peter J. Farrough, Notre Dame Student Media, University of Notre Dame
• Patrick Flick, Shakespeare Theatre Association
• Carrie Gates, Media Relations, University of Notre Dame
• Barbara Green, Gender Studies Program, University of Notre Dame
• Trent Grocock, University of Notre Dame
• Kevin Hardsock and Dave Kytta, Express Press
• Andrew Hughes, Douglas Ely, Chad Giddens, and Romenisia Bolotaulo, South Bend Tribune
• Dawn Janis, Competitive Edge
• Fr. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Carmen Leichty, and Hannah Heinzekehr, University of Notre Dame
• Colleen Jones, Hammes Bookstore, University of Notre Dame
• Courtney Jorgensen and Kesy Zumbrun, WNIT
• Craig La Pierre, WNDU
• Nicole Lawler, Visit South Bend Mishawaka
• Barbara J. Levan, Martin’s Super Markets
• Mayor James Mueller, Allison Zeithammer, and the City of South Bend, Office of the Mayor
• Notre Dame Film, Television and Theatre: Matt Hawkins, JoAnn Norris
• Jeff Oehmen and Wellington Payne, High Five Creative Studio
• Palmer Funeral Home
• Peter Ringenberg
• Amy Ruth, Campus Dining, University of Notre Dame
• Blake Sheeley, Office of the General Counsel, University of Notre Dame
• Jonathan Smith, Tiffiney Grey, and Jena Stopczynski, ABC57
• Jillian Snyder, Glynn Family Honors Program, University of Notre Dame
• The Theatre League of Kansas City
• Three Leaf Catering: Amber Kirk and Alyson Bixby
• Abby Urban and Sydney Dygert, WSBT
• Laura Moran Walton, Community Foundation of St. Joseph County
• Josh Weinhold and Heidi Henke, College of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame
• E. Andrew Whittington and Emily Orsini, Center for University Advising, University of Notre Dame

UPCOMING EVENTS

Actors From The London Stage presents

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

January 24, 25 & 26 • 7:30 p.m. • DeBartolo Performing Arts Center

Take a trip into the magical forest of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, where identities are mistaken, love blossoms, and magic reigns. A joyful and enormously entertaining blend of romance, slapstick, and pathos, Shakespeare’s effervescent comic fantasy remains perennially popular for its vivid characters, sparkling wit, and famed comic setpieces.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is brought to life by Actors From The London Stage, a dynamic five-actor company that tours the United States twice annually. With each actor portraying multiple roles, A Midsummer Night’s Dream promises to be a delightful night of theatrical entertainment.

Enjoy the upcoming season from Notre Dame Film, Television and Theatre! Learn more at ftt.nd.edu.

2023 SEASON SPONSOR

Gaska Tape: Laura and Jack B. Smith

ENDOWMENTS

Shakespeare at Notre Dame is grateful to these partners for creating Endowments for Excellence that support our work now and long into the future:

The Abdo Director of the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival
The Thomas and Elizabeth Naquin Borger Endowment for Excellence
The Brian and Jeannelle Brady Endowment for Excellence
The Cullen Endowment for Excellence
The Paul Eulau Endowment for Excellence for Actors From The London Stage
The Gary Gutchess Endowment for Excellence in Shakespearean Theatre
The Mr. & Mrs. William P. Johnson Endowment for Excellence for the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival
The Deborah J. Loughrey Endowment for Excellence in Shakespeare Studies
The McMeel Family Chair in Shakespeare Studies
The McMeel Family Endowment for Excellence for Actors From The London Stage
Radiology, Inc. Endowment for Excellence for the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival
The Mary Irene Ryan Endowment for Excellence in Community Programming
The Mary Irene Ryan Endowment for Excellence for Shakespeare at Notre Dame
The Mary Irene Ryan Executive Director of Shakespeare at Notre Dame
The Mary Irene Ryan Producing Artistic Director of the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival
The D & J Smith Endowment for Shakespeare and Performance

2022-2023 SUSTAINING BENEFACTORS OF SHAKESPEARE AT NOTRE DAME

Tom & JoAnn Barkes
Kathy Malone Beeler
Ryan A. Belock & Michelle Letourneau-Belock
Marielle N. Boneau
Elizabeth Naquin Borger
Kathleen C. Collins, JD
Thomas Esper
Megan E. and Michael Finnern
David & Ernestine Gardner
Tara L. Gilchrist
David W. Hartwig
Anne and Harvey Maxfield
Anna M. McKeever
Ann M. Rathburn-Lacopo
Dr. Alesha D. Seroczynski
Jack B. Smith, Jr. and Laura Arauz Smith

CAMPUS PARTNERS

DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
Ted Barron, Executive Director
Tom Barkes, Daniel Burgun, Falon Cole, Thomas Cumbow, Don Demeter, Terri Douglas, Rachel Grzenia, Leigh Hayden, Joshua Ingle, Kevin Krizmanich, Megan Mancini, Sean Martin, Brian Nulle, Sarah Prince, Alex Scheidler, Christopher Schenkel, Kirk Richard Smith, Staci Stickovich, Housekeeping Staff, Ticket Office Staff, Usher Staff, and Volunteers

Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters
Sarah A. Mustillo, I.A. O’Shaughnessy Dean
Tarzan D. Ball, Todd Boruff, Jim Brockmole, Karin Dale, Elicia Dennis, Heidi Henke, Michelle LaCourt, Lauri Roberts, Ellen Roof, Josh Weinhold, Randy Yoho, Matthew Zyniewicz

Notre Dame Department of Film, Television, and Theatre
Pamela Robertson Wojick, Chair
Ted Barron, Christine Becker, Terrance Brown, Tarryn Chun, Jim Collins, C. Kenneth Cole, Briona Nic Dhiarmada, William Donnamura, Kevin C. Dreyer, La Donna Forsgren, Anne Garcia-Romero, Matt Hawkins, Karen Heisler, Lynn Holbrook, Peter Holland, Anton Juan, Michael Kackman, Mary Celeste Kearney, Carys Kresny, Ted Mandell, Olivier Morel, JoAnn Norris, Susan Ohmer, Mary Pergola Parent, Matthew Payne, Siiri Scott, Gary Sieber, Karen Srmek, Jeff Spoonhower, Marcus Stephens, Stacey Stewart

Shakespeare at Notre Dame Advisory Board

The Shakespeare at Notre Dame Advisory Board serves as the advisory board for the entire Shakespeare at Notre Dame program, which encompasses not only the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival but also the McMeel Family Chair in Shakespeare Studies and Actors From The London Stage.

Officers:
Dr. Eileen Ryan, Chair, Advisory Board
Andrew T. Blum, Chair, Executive Committee

Members:
Elizabeth Naquin Borger, Jeannelle Brady, Kevin C. Dreyer, Peter Holland, Toni Johnson, Ginger Lake, Molly Murtagh Meyers, Kurt Schreyer (Honorary), Amanda Abdo Sheahan, Bill Sheahan, Laura D. Arauz Smith

Ex-Officio: Gary Graham
Emeritus: Kathy Malone Beeler, Jack Cullen, John A. Haynes, Jim Powell, Brian O’Donaghue
Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival Founder: Dr. Paul A. Rathburn