PRESENTS - Athens-Clarke County

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PRESENTS - Athens-Clarke County
PRESENTS

November 10-13, 2022
   Morton Theatre
PRESENTS - Athens-Clarke County
1    table of contents

                                   Sweeney Todd

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR
Attend the Tale of Sweeney Todd……………2

FEATURE
Cast and Crew………….………………………..4
About the Cast & Crew….……………………..7
About the Production Team………………….22

TAKE YOUR PLACE
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Up Next at ACT…………………………......…..28
PRESENTS - Athens-Clarke County
note from the director   2
Each and every cast is different and all for
various reasons. For me, this is one of the most
difficult musicals to perform well, being
Sondheim’s magnum opus. And, in being one of
his best, it begs of us all to deliver the same
caliber of expertise in every moment and facet
of each performance—both on and off stage, to
honor this composer’s talents and his memory.

Though each actor was challenged to find
something new or revealing about who their
character was/is, their independent discoveries
of how their secrets interplayed and diffused one
another’s reality was a joy to watch evolve. The
characters themselves direct and command the
stage…the content heavy and ultimately
morosely ironic, delivers life lessons in large and
unpalatable slices of Mrs. Lovett’s pies. At its
core, this is the epic tale of love found, lost,
wasted and exploited on levels one should never
aspire to reach and yet, here we are…trapped
in Todd’s world of endlessly revolving emotive
doors.

Those of you who know this show, or think you
know this show may be tempted to parse its
technical and emotional imbalances…but be
careful not to miss its basic and primal approach
to the human condition. What we sew, we reap.
What we covet and garner by deceitfully
seductive ways, we eventually lose… and what
we value, we are most apt to eventually waste,
while frittering away its value, transfixed in some
obsessive and obtuse opposite pursuit.

This show, while superficially laced with both
implied and demonstrative gore, invites
unabashed gawking, for as the opening ballad
tells you... “Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd”.
Attend—meaning to care for, to be present…to
PRESENTS - Athens-Clarke County
3   note from the director

assist in. The ballad itself, inducts you into its collective madness, while
it introduces you to this man’s soulless journey. His lullaby of
desperate lamentations and regrets tempts you to partake—if only
cerebrally—in his sins, trading his public shadows for your private
ones.

This cast, divine as it is, dances with the dark and ever cleverness of
the debauched and provides both awkward humor and perverse
resolution to ordinary obstacles and unnerving consequences. To wit,
I cannot thank this cast and crew enough for their God-given talents,
patience through process and joy in final execution and expression.
Join with me in celebrating their glorious accomplishments…honor
their time and tenacity with your attention to detail and nuance. And
as we enter this season of thanks and gratitude, know that mine is
greater having traversed this mysterious mountebank’s evolution with
them.

My great, good gratitude to this community and this government for
supporting all live performing arts, the cultural influence it gifts us all
and the opportunity for its citizenry to celebrate and share their
talents with family and friends within such grandiose and historic walls
as these.

                                Respectfully Submitted,
PRESENTS - Athens-Clarke County
cast and crew       4

               PRODUCTION TEAM

Director……………………………………………………………...T.A. POWELL
Lighting Designer
Set Design
Projection Design
Music Director…………………………………………………..….DANIEL SELF
Sound Design
Music Direction Intern…………………………………..…..THEO SCHRAMM
Stage Manager...……………………………….…………...RACHEL WHITSEL
Stage Crew…...………………………………………...ZACHARY CAPPIELLO
                                              ABEL CLARK
                                          TARYN WILLIAMS
                                          PAIGE BAUGHER
Choreography………………….……………………..………….EVA ELARBEE
Hair & Makeup
Sound Engineer……………………………………………………...ASHER HILL
Projection Design & Video Production
Costumes…………………………………………………....MARY DELAPLANE
                                         THE DRESS UP BOX
Scenic Artistry…………………...……………………………...JEREMY MILLER
Production Assistant...………………………...…………...JEANNIE THOMAS
Technical Director………………………………………......STEPHEN VERNER
Assistant Technical Director……………………………………….ALEX BETTS
Administration….………………………………………………....LYNN GREEN
Box Office Management….………………..…………….ZARIA GHOLSTON
Rehearsal Assistant………………………………………HALLIE MCCOLLUM
PRESENTS - Athens-Clarke County
5   cast and crew

                           CAST
Sweeney Todd………………………………WASHINGTON ISAAC HOLMES
Mrs. Lovett…………………………………………….LISA CESNIK FERGUSON
Anthony Hope……………………………………..………..TANNER DZIEDZIC
Johanna………………………………………………….....MADELEINE BAKER
Tobias Ragg……………………………………………………..LOGAN BONO
Judge Turpin…………………………………………………….…..DON SMITH
The Beadle……………………………………………..………..RYAN ROBERTS
Beggar Woman……..………………………………...KENDALL KOOKOGEY
Adolfo Pirelli……………………………………………………..DALLAS BONO
Jonas Fogg……………………………………………………..GRAHAM FENN
Understudy (Johanna)………………………………………..CHIARA BONO
Understudy (Mrs. Lovett)……...…………………………….HALLIE POTENZA

                          DANCE CORE
        CHIARA BONO                      NATHAN ORCK
                                          EVAN ORR
      CHRISTINE CESTARO
                                         NICOLE PARKER
        MILA CESTARO
                                          TRENT PARTIN
        KATIE COLLINS
         RIO CRANE                      ANDY PLEMMONS

        KAITLIN DEAN                      WILL POGUE
                                        HALLIE POTENZA
        NILAH DELETTO
                                         AMELIA PRIEST
        AUDIE DENNIS
                                       CHAMBERLAIN SMITH
       GRAHAM FENN
                                         JESSICA SPIRES
     CAMERON HARTNESS
     SAVANNAH JACKSON                  MARGARET STEWART

       MARA MERSHON                      BEKAH WESLEY
                                          JAMES WEST
        JOSIE MORETTI
      SAVANNAH MOYER
PRESENTS - Athens-Clarke County
cast and crew       6
                               ENSEMBLE
                        soloist indicated by **

        CHIARA BONO**                  ELIZABETH-GRACE MITCHELL
       WILLIAM CARSON**                       JOSIE MORETTI
      CHRISTINE CESTARO**                 SAVANNAH MOYER**
        MILA CESTARO**                       NATHAN ORCK**
         KATIE COLLINS**                    NICOLE PARKER**
          RIO CRANE**                         TRENT PARTIN**
         KAITLIN DEAN**                    ANDY PLEMMONS**
        NILAH DELETTO**                       WILL POGUE**
          AUDIE DENNIS                      HALLIE POTENZA**
         JACK DEWOLF                          AMELIA PRIEST
        GRAHAM FENN**                             MARY SMITH
         KEVIN GREEN**                     CHAMBERLAIN SMITH
           RIN GUNN**                        THALIA SMOOT**
     CAMERON HARTNESS**                      JESSICA SPIRES**
      SAVANNAH JACKSON                     MARGARET STEWART
        MICHAEL JAOUI**                      BEKAH WESLET**
         MELINDA JONES                            JAMES WEST
         BRISSA LOPEZ**                      ABIGAIL SUAREZ
          JUNE MAZUR                               EZRA HILL
       MARA MERSHON**

                      ORCHESTRA
 Anny Chung VIOLIN, Jesse Matthews VIOLIN, Karen Jennings VIOLIN
   Lorraine Franco VIOLIN, Jonathan Davis VIOLA, Roselyn Attipoe
VIOLA, Will Taylor CELLO, Lee Carmon REED 1, Whitney Holley, REED 2,
    Braxton Thompson REED3, Elizebeth Tong, REED5, James Bush
      TRUMPET, Todd Curless TRUMPET, Karen Castleberry HORN,
        Bonnie Lockwood HORN, Michael Brewer TROMBONE,
          Alan Bunn KEYBOARD, Henry Pattiva PERCUSSION

Conductor - Daniel E. Self | Music Direction Intern - Theo Schramm
7      biographies

                   Madeleine Jane      Moon Over Buffalo and Sir
                   Baker (Johanna)     Danvers in Jekyll and Hyde. Dallas
                   Madeleine is a      has also been seen in Athens with
                   recent UGA Honors   OYSP as Edna Turnblad in
                   College graduate    Hairspray, The Third Hermit in the
                   with a Bachelor’s   True Story of Cinderella, Luigi in
                   in speech           Puccini’s Opera Il Tabarro, and
                   pathology. Along    the Narrator in Menotti’s Old Maid
with her twelve years of classical     and the Thief. Dallas has
ballet training, Madeleine has         performed over 40 leading roles in
been performing in musicals since      opera and musical theater all
the age of six. Her most recent        over the United States in has
appearances include Winnie             appeared in concert with several
Foster in Tuck Everlasting, Emma       symphony orchestras and recital
Carew in Jekyll and Hyde, and          venues. Dallas has sung leading
Ariel in The Little Mermaid. She has   roles with the New York Grand
also appeared in Titanic the           Opera in Carnegie Hall and
Musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to        Lincoln Center. He is the Artistic
Love and Murder, Beauty and the        Director of the Collective Artists
Beast, My Son Pinocchio,               Workshop and will be conducting
Seussical, Honk!, The Aristocats,      Little Women in the Spring with the
Hello! My Baby, The Nutcracker         company. Dallas runs a large
Ballet, and many other                 voice studio where he not only
productions. In addition to            teaches vocal technique, but
performing and serving as dance        specializes in coaching students
captain, Madeleine has worked          on building confidence, and
as a choreographer and as a            overcoming self-doubt. Dallas is
teacher for private ballet lessons.    married to Kendall Kookogey and
When not rehearsing, she is found      is super proud of his daughter
shopping with her momma,               Chiara and his son, Logan
arranging movie nights with her        (Tobias). Dallas would like to thank
friends, or cheering on The Dawgs.     Terry Powell for once again
Madeleine Jane is delighted to be      putting him in a ridiculous role
back on the stage and                  where no one will ever be able to
performing with this talented cast     take him seriously again.
at the Morton Theatre!

                                                    Chiara Bono
               Dallas Bono (Pirelli)                (Ensemble, Dance
               is making his third                  Core, Johanna
               MainStage                            Understudy, Soloist
               appearance with                      in Fogg’s Asylum) is
               ACT. Most                            a Sophomore in
               recently, Dallas                     High School this
               performed the role                   year. She has
               of George Hay in        performed with ACT in Leaving
biographies            8
Iowa, ensemble in Tuck                  teen division of the American
Everlasting, ensemble and dancer        Ninja Warrior sport. He is an avid
in Jekyll and Hyde, and soloist in      rock climber (indoors over mats,
ACT’s Live Art. Most recently           where he won’t die), likes to play
Chiara has appeared in concert          tennis and pickle ball, and he
at ATHfest, Porchfest, and the          collects basketball cards. Logan
Bishop Fall Festival with the           has dreams of being on the
Collective Artists Workshop. She        American Ninja Warrior TV show,
has sung the part of Oaken in           and making it to either Broadway
Frozen, the Ancestor in Moana,          or the Opera stage. Logan is
and a Mersister in The Little           happy to once again be
Mermaid with Oconee County              performing with his entire family in
Schools. Chiara also loves the          this production.
backstage. She has run lights and
sound on multiple occasions for
Oconee County School shows,                               William Carson
and has also worked with                                  (Ensemble,
costume goddess, Mistress Mary                            Policeman) William
Deleplane. Chiara is mommy to a                           Carson is a
bunny named Sunflower. Chiara is                          National Art Honor
singing with her whole family in                          Society Member,
this production.                                          International
                                                          Thespian Society
                                        Member and 2014 Walnut Grove
                 Logan Bono             High School (WGHS) Honors
                 (Tobias Ragg) is a     Graduate. His introduction to the
                 14 year old high       performing arts was as a member
                 school freshman.       of WGHS Stage Warriors. As a
                 Logan’s ACT            high school Junior and Senior he
                 credits include        enrolled in several advanced
                 Hugo in Tuck           performing arts classes at The
                 Everlasting,           Georgia Ensemble Theatre and
ensemble in Jekyll and Hyde,            Conservatory in Roswell, Georgia.
ensemble in Titanic, and Little         After numerous high school and
Brother in Leaving Iowa. He’s           community theatre performances
performed the roles of Tevye in         he transferred his skills over to
Fiddler on the Roof jr., Sebastien in   Athens Creative Theatre (A.C.T.)
The Little Mermaid, and Maui in         where he continues performing to
Moana with Oconee Schools.              date. His first production with
Most recently, Logan has                A.C.T. was Mary Poppins in 2015
appeared in concert at ATHfest,         and most recent performance
Porchfest, and the Bishop Fall          was Jekyll & Hyde in 2022. He’s
Festival with the Collective Artists    performed at Quinn Hall and The
Workshop. In addition to singing        Morton Theatre with A.C.T. and
and acting, Logan is currently          A.M.T.O. either on stage or as one
ranked #15 in the world in the          of the orchestra percussionists.
9        biographies

    Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber                          Katie Collins
    of Fleet Street is his 10th                            (Ensemble, Dance
    production at A.C.T. and A.M.T.O.                      Core, Quintet
    which he immensely enjoys.                             Soloist) She has
                                                           been performing
                                                           most of her life on
                     Christine Cestaro                     multiple types of
                     (Ensemble, Dance                      stages. From
                     Core, Vocal             community theater as a child to
                     Soloist) Christine is   local venues and bars.
                     happy to be back
                                             She is classically trained in both
                     with ACT for her
                                             vocal and instrumental talents.
                     5th performance.
                                             She continues to thrive to be a
                     She’s especially
                                             part in all things performing arts.
    grateful for the honor of being the
    first voice you hear. (Thanks, Terry
    and Daniel!) When not on stage
                                             The World Is A Stage.
    with ACT, Chris is studying voice
    with Dallas Bono or performing
    improv with Flying Squid Comedy.                            Rio Crane
    She also studies and performs with                          (Ensemble, Dance
    the newly formed Collective Artists                         Core, Vocal Soloist)
    Workshop and is excited to watch                            In one way or
    that community grow. Christine                              another, Rio has
    works as a preschool teacher and                            always been
    has 3 amazing and talented                                  fascinated with
    children, Caleb, Ryan, and Mila,                            music. Between
    who inspire her to try new things        drumming for various bands,
    and support her in every crazy           producing instrumentals, and
    thing she tries.                         coming up with ridiculous dance
                                             moves, he is always trying to find
                                             new ways to expand his musical
                      Mila Cestaro
                                             horizons. Upon hearing that A.C.T.
                      (Ensemble, Dance
                                             was in shortage of men to fill the
                      Core, Vocal
                                             roles in Jekyll and Hyde last year,
                      Soloist) Mila
                                             he took a chance with musical
                      Cestaro is a junior
                                             theater and found it to be an
                      in high school who
                                             incredibly fulfilling experience.
                      has been acting
                                             Now he's back for his second
                      for 10 years
                                             production with A.C.T., sharing the
    appearing in over 25 plays and
                                             the stage with a lovely cast and
    musicals. She has been involved in
                                             crew that he is honored to
    ACT productions of Camelot and
                                             perform with.
    Jekyll and Hyde. In her free time
    she is an artist.
biographies          10
                Kaitlin Dean                                  Audie Dennis
                (Ensemble, Dance                              (Ensemble, Dance
                Core, Vocal Soloist)                          Core) Audie is an
                Kaitlin is returning                          artist, podcaster,
                for her second                                and dancer.She
                show with ACT!                                fell in love with
                Having a love for                             theater from a
                music and                                     young age thanks
musicals, Sweeney Todd was one               to her father who always played
of her dreams to be a part of.               show tunes on car rides. She
Thanks to Terry, Daniel, and all of          started acting at the age of four
ACT that dream has become a                  and quickly picked up dancing
reality.                                     and singing as well. In her
                                             personal life audie creates wall
                                             murals to brighten people's lives
                  Nilah DeLetto              and make the world a more
                  (Ensemble, Dance           interesting place. She also runs a
                  Core, Soloist in           true crime and oddities podcast
                  Fogg’s Asylum)             spreading light to victims’ names.
                  Nilah first fell in love   In her free time she enjoys loving
                  with Sondheim              on her cats and creating digital
                  after watching Tim         art pieces.
                  Burton's Sweeney
Todd. She is beyond honored to
be a part of this spectacular show                            Jack DeWolf
along with this wonderful cast of                             (Ensemble) Jack is
talented performers. She enjoys all                           an 18 year old
things creative from reading and                              senior at Cedar
writing to baking and embroidery.                             Shoals High School.
She lives in a log cabin with her                             He plans on
dog, cat, and husband in                                      attending
Oglethorpe County. She is                                     Columbus State
thankful for all of her family,              University next year to peruse a
friends, and coworkers who have              degree in theatre education.
come to support our local                    Jack is a member of the
community and her love of                    International Thespian Society and
theater. This is her second                  is a current National Honor rank in
production with ACT and she                  the society. That’s equivalent to
looks forward to putting on more             1,200 hours dedicated to theatre
shows with them in the future.               in his 3 years of high school and
                                             one more year to go! In his free
                                             time, Jack enjoys writing songs,
                                             recording his own music, and
                                             spending time with friends.
11   biographies

                 Tanner Dziedzic       Graham plans to get a masters
                 (Anthony Hope)        degree in Biomanufacturing and
                 Tanner Dziedzic is    Bioprocessing to better produce
                 excited to be         fuels like diesel from biological
                 performing in one     sources such as algae, as well as
                 of his dream shows    bioremediation of pollutants in the
                 with Athens           environment.
                 Creative Theatre.
 Tanner is from Macon, GA and
 has recently graduated from UGA                        Lisa Cesnik
 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music.                      Ferguson (Mrs.
 Other shows that he has been                           Lovett) Lisa Cesnik
 involved in throughout college                         Ferguson is a
 are Jekyll & Hyde with Town &                          theatre
 Gown, Something Rotten with                            professional and
 Theatre Macon, and several UGA                         SDC Member, with
 operas. Tanner is also active in                       35 years of
 Athens community music events         experience producing, directing,
 such as Hendershot’s Open Mic         acting and teaching regionally. In
 Nights.                               Georgia, she has directed a
                                       dozen productions at the Springer
                                       Opera House and twice that
                 Graham Fenn           many at Gordon State College
                 (Ensemble, Dance      where she is the Theatre Director
                 Core, Vocal           and tenured Professor. She
                 Soloist) Graham       earned her baccalaureate
                 Fenn (Jonas Fogg,     degree in Theatre from Ball State
                 Ensemble) Is a        University, her MFA in Theatre from
                 biological            University of Georgia and is
                 engineering           currently working toward her
 student at the University of          certification in Fundraising
 Georgia. Graham enjoys                Management from the Eli Lilly
 spending time with friends, hosting   School of Philanthropy at Indiana
 parties, and gardening in his         University. In Georgia she is
 hometown of Monroe Georgia.           working toward her Certification
 He has been acting his entire life,   at Georgia Film Academy.
 and worked a lot with OnStage
 Walton before he went to Athens.
 Graham’s first show in Athens was     Lisa became a working actor at
 ACT’s Jekyll and Hyde, where he       the age of 17, when she received
 played the title characters, but      her first paycheck from Puppets
 has had several notable roles         and Players, the Children’s
 such as Leaf Coneybear in             Theatre touring arm of Indiana
 Spelling Bee, The Cheshire Cat in     University Purdue University at
 Alice in wonderland, and Captain      Indianapolis (IUPUI). She has
 Hook in Peter Pan. Professionally,    explored every genre of theatre -
biographies           12
developing new works, musical            is to foster an environment where
theatre, museum theatre, touring         everyone has an opportunity to
for young audiences and                  invest themselves in the
producing Shakespeare Festivals.         transformative power of
She founded and ran Rose of              performing arts.
Athens Theatre, Inc. as Producing
Artistic Director from 2006-2015.
Her artistic mission is to utilize the                     Kevin Greene -
power of the performing arts to lift                       (Ensemble, Rear
up every voice.                                            Admiral, Vocal
                                                           Soloist) Kevin is
                                                           delighted to make
Lisa counts herself fortunate to                           his debut with ACT!
have studied with Martha Jacobs                            Kevin retired to
(Author of A Meisner Legacy                                Winterville in 2019,
[2012]) from 1994 to 1996, and her                         leaving Concord,
acting training is firmly rooted in      New Hampshire, where he was a
the Neighborhood Playhouse               Middle School Chorus Director
Technique. She is well-versed in         and music-directed over two
the somewhat Spolinesque                 dozen student theater
techniques of Augusto Boal,              productions in the school and
having studied with him in 2000,         community. He was also a first
and then again at the Brecht             tenor and music section leader in
Forum in NYC in 2002, Most               the Concord Chorale. In
recently she did a weekend               retirement, Kevin is enjoying
workshop in 2019 with Julian Boal,       Athens’ cultural offerings, singing
Augusto's son.                           in the Athens Chamber Chorus,
                                         building hardwood furniture and
                                         guitars, hiking in the southern
In 2019, she presented at the            Appalachian Mountains, and
Teaching Matters Conference at           traveling and camping with his
Gordon State College—Learning            wife Angela.
Differences and the
“Neurodiverse”. In 2022, she
presented at the Civic Learning &                       Rinn Gunn
Democratic Engagement                                   (Ensemble, Soloist
conference in Minneapolis,                              in Trio) Rin Gunn is
sharing discoveries that were                           a 24-year-old
unearthed during the Oral History                       choral scholar,
project she co-created, called                          Historic Athens tour
EMERGENCE, which highlighted                            guide, voice and
student reflections of their                            music teacher,
experiences of Gordon State              and helper. Originally from
College during integration in the        Gwinnett County, Rin grew up
60's and 70's. As an actor, director     attending choral conferences at
and educator, her highest calling        the Classic Center and became
13      biographies

     an Athens resident in May of 2023.       time Ezra enjoys reading comics,
     With a music degree from                 playing guitar, and spending time
     Piedmont University, Rin’s passion       with his two younger brothers. He
     lies in using the arts to heal           would like to thank all of the
     communities; Rin is planning for         talented people with ACT for all of
     graduate school, choosing                their support and encouragement
     between musicology,                      over the years.
     anthropology, and sociology.
                                                               Washington Isaac
     Outside of the theatre, Rin can be
                                                               Holmes (Sweeney
     found directing Athens
                                                               Todd) Washington
     community chorus, hanging out
                                                               Isaac, baritone,
     with their cats Pumpkin and
                                                               was born in
     Noodle, and biking the Firefly and
                                                               Augusta, Georgia
     Greenway trails.
                                                               and raised in the
                                                               New Hope
                                              Community of Graniteville, South
                        Cameron Hartness
                                              Carolina. He dedicates his
                        (Ensemble, Dance
                                              performances to his father, Booker
                        Core) Cameron
                                              T. Holmes, Sr. for without his
                        Hartness is a high
                                              inspiration, love and generosity,
                        school English
                                              his participation in this production
                        teacher and
                                              would not have been possible.
                        lifelong musical
                        theater enthusiast.
     Making her return to the stage for
                                              Holmes has studied voice at the
     the first time in 6 years, Cameron is
                                              University of South Carolina, the
     excited to find a new family in the
                                              University of Michigan and the
     Athens Creative Theatre.
                                              University of Georgia
     Cameron would like to thank her
                                              most recently studying with Dr.
     family, friends, and school
                                              Gregory Broughton.
     community for their support!

                                              Holmes has appeared in various
                     Ezra Hill
                                              performance media: opera--Il
                     (Ensemble) Ezra is
                                              Tabarro with Dallas Bono, Le
                     a fifth grade
                                              Nozze di Figaro; oratorio--Messiah,
                     student at Athens
                                              Bach's St. John Passion; musical
                     Montessori School,
                                              theater--Disney's Beauty and the
                     and is very excited
                                              Beast, Jekyll and Hyde; solo recital
                     to be a part of the
                                              and ensembles, dance and
                     Sweeney Todd
                                              drama--The Tempest, Antigone
     ensemble. He is a regular actor in
                                              directed by Dr. Don Cleary.
     ACT programs and productions,
     having most recently appeared in
     Tuck Everlasting as the Toad and         Special thanks to the production
     Alien Invasion! as Jared. In his free
biographies           14
team, especially Terry, Daniel,           - and has loved them all. He's
Rachel and Rio; to Dallas, Kendall,       performed in high school
Chiara and Logan.                         productions of Beauty and the
                                          Beast, Arsenic and Old Lace, and
                                          You're a Good Man Charlie
"Well, I've come home to find you         Brown, but this is his first non-high
waiting. Home, and we're                  school production and his first
together, and we'll do wonders,           production of any kind in over
won't we?"                                fifteen years.

                 Savannah                                  Melinda Jones
                 Jackson -                                 (Ensemble) Born to
                 Savannah is a                             sing. From her first
                 recent graduate                           solo singing “Zip-a-
                 from the University                       dee-doo-day” for
                 of Georgia                                her preschool
                 excited to be                             graduation,
                 making her stage                          Meilnda has
debut in Athens! Originally from          always been comfortable singing
the Chattanooga area, Savannah            for an audience. Throughout
was involved in local theater for a       school she sang with choirs and
number of years. Some of her              choruses. Her natural “Broadway
favorite productions include The          style” of singing makes her a good
Hunchback of Notre Dame,                  fit for karaoke and theatre, which
Pippin, Shrek, and Mary Poppins.          she enjoys. She also sings with the
When not on stage, you can find           Athens Choral Society. She sings
her walking on the greenway,              because she is happy and always
losing at strategy based board            greets people with a smile and a
games, or watching terrible reality       song. Singing is who she is; as
TV.                                       natural as breathing.

                  Michael Jaoui                            Kendall Marie
                  (Ensemble,                               Kookogey -
                  Quintet Soloist)                         (Beggar Woman)
                  Michael Jaoui is                         Kendall has
                  an Athens-based                          enjoyed her
                  writer (non-                             (characters’?) slow
                  professional),                           fall from grace
                  actor (non-                              atACT over the
professional), singer (non-               past 4 years, starting with the
professional), and cat-owner              strong-willed, intelligent, yet
(professional). He's lived in three of    beloved character ofAnna (The
the four corners of the U.S. - I'll get   King and I), to the alluring,
to you one day, Pacific Northwest!        magical wood nymph Nimue
15    biographies

 (Camelot), to the                     recent professional credits include
 drunk,conceited, rich old Lady        “Mrs. Phelps” in Matilda, “Blue
 Beaconsfield (Jekyll & Hyde) to       Dog” in Go, Dog, Go! and
 finally the half-crazed,              “Thumbelina” in Thumbelina.
 destitute,traumatized Beggar          Aside from acting, she is a
 Woman!                                seasoned director. Notable
                                       credits include “The 25th Annual
                                       Putnam County Spelling Bee” a
 Before her time with ACT, Kendall     2022 GA ThesCon show, “The
 sang leading roles in Mozart’s        Addams Family” and “Rabbit
 Marriage of Figaro,                   Hole”. When she's not in rehearsal
 Puccini’s La Boheme, Strauss’         she enjoys reading and thrifting!
 operetta Die Fledermaus, and          Follow her on Instagram
 Warren Martin’s The True Story of     @brissanlopez

 Cinderella. She has also been the
 featured soprano soloist in Verdi’s                      June Mazur
 Requiem, Orff’s Carmina                                  (Ensemble) June
 Burana, and Beethoven’s                                  Mazur is a native
 Symphony No. 9. In her free time,                        Atlantan who
 when she isn’t keeping things                            returned to live in
                                                          GA 16 years ago.
 running smoothly at St. Gregory                          She has 2
 the Great Episcopal Church, she                          wonderful sons
 Ubers her son all over the            and 2 adorable grandchildren
 Southeast US for Ninja Warrior        living in Dallas, TX. In 2008, her
 training and competitions.            acting began as Frau Schmidt in
                                       “The Sound of Music” and then
                                       Mother Superior in “Nunsense”
 She is so grateful to have been a     with ACT. She has gone on to be
 part of such a magnificent            in numerous musicals, musical
 Sweeney Todd cast! Her                revues, plays, and AMTO musical
                                       concerts. Before retirement, June
 greatest joy though has been to,      spent 35 years on another stage
 once again, share the stage with      as a flight attendant with Delta Air
 her entire family (Dallas,            Lines. Her thanks go to all who
 Chiara, and Logan)!                   made this show possible and
                                       especially to Terry and Daniel for
                                       continuing to allow her to play in
                 Brissa Lopez          the theatre with them! Please sit
                 (Ensemble,            back and enjoy the show!!
                 Quintet Soloist)
                 Brissa Lopez holds
                 a B.A. in Theatre
                 Arts from Brenau
                 University. Her
biographies          16
                  Mara Mershon             renewed love of theater and
                  (Ensemble, Dance         dance. There, she had the
                  Core, Soloist in Trio)   pleasure to work with some
                  Mara is so excited       wonderful people, including a
                  to be making her         dance partner who stole her
                  ACT debut! Raised        heart. She formerly appeared in
                  in Roswell,              productions of Nunsense (Sister
                  Georgia, she is          Mary Amnesia), 9 to 5 (Missy Hart),
currently a sophomore at The               and Cabaret (ensemble).
University of Georgia studying
Theatre and Journalism. Favorite
roles include Martha in Cheaper            She’d like to thank her friends,
by the Dozen, Roxie in Chicago,            family, and long-suffering
and Little Sally in Urinetown. In her      roommates (sorry for that audition
free time, she plays the guitar and        song choice, AJ!) for tolerating it
ukulele and is active in UGA’s             all. And of course, her boyfriend
musical theatre organization               Rio, her dear Red Rat girls (Jessica,
NextAct where she serves as the            Kaitlin, Lauren, & Margaret), and
Associate Artistic Director. Enjoy         the fantastic cast and crew of
the show!                                  Sweeney Todd! Special thanks to
                                           Terry, Daniel, Rachel, Eva, and
                                           Mistress Mary for making it
               Josie Moretti               happen.
               (Ensemble, Dance
               Core) Josie is
               excited to be                                Nathan Orck
               making her Athens                            (Ensemble, Dance
               Creative Theater                             Core, Vocal Soloist)
               debut. She has a                             Nathan is a theater
               background in                                enthusiast who is
dance and choral music, and her                             excited to be
previous stage credits include                              performing with
Antigone, Spamalot, and                                     ACT for the first
Footloose.                                 time. He has previously served as
                                           a member of set and wardrobe
                                           crews for Town & Gown on
               Savannah Moyer              productions like A Gentleman's
               (Ensemble, Dance            Guide to Love and Murder, Sister
               Core, Vocal Soloist)        Act, and Much Ado About
               Savannah is a               Nothing, but this will be the first
               product design              time that he has acted (or sung!)
               artist and illustrator.     onstage in Athens. In his
               She first performed         professional life, Nathan works at
               with ACT in last            the Athens-Clarke County
year’s production of Jekyll &              Elections Office where he
Hyde, where she found a                    processes voter registrations and
17       biographies

     generally assists voters. When he                         Trent Partin
     isn't working or at the theater,                          (Ensemble, Dance
     Nathan enjoys spending time with                          Core, Vocal
     his dearest friends, playing                              Soloist, Soloist in
     Stardew Valley, and relaxing with                         Quintet) Trent is
     his cat, Jax.                                             incredibly proud
                                                               to be joining the
                                                               ACT cast and
     Evan Orr (Ensemble, Dance Core)         crew for the first time in, “Sweeny
     Evan is an Athens Technical             Todd.” With a rich history in
     College graduate in Applied             performing arts, including UGA
     Electrical Science. Evan has been       Men’s Glee Club, UGA Opera,
     performing with various theater         and various high school and All-
     groups since the age of 15. His         State productions, Trent has
     most recent appearances include         enjoyed returning to the stage this
     Wadsworth in Clue and Kenickie          season. He would like to thank his
     Murdoch in Grease. He has also          family and friends for their support
     appeared in Mamma Mia, Little           and hope everyone enjoys the
     Shop of Horrors, Macbeth, Legally       show!
     Blonde among other shows. When
     not rehearsing, she is found
     cooking new dishes, practicing                          Andy Plemmons
     guitar, or rooting for Georgia.                         (Ensemble, Dance
     Evan is happy to be back on                             Core, Soloist in
     stage and performing with a                             Fogg’s Asylum)
     talented cast at the Morton                             Andy is the school
     Theatre                                                 library media
                                                             specialist at David
                                                             C. Barrow
                     Nicole Parker           Elementary where he plays
                     (Ensemble, Dance        characters on a daily basis
                                             through the pages of a book. He
                     Core, Vocal Soloist)
                     Nicole Parker grew        “I’m what you
                                             was most recently seen as Bunsen
                     up in Peachtree
                     City, Georgia and          face when you
                                             & Mr. Jacobi in Brightstone’s
                                             Newsies. His other roles have
                     currently resides in
                     Monroe, Georgia.           face in the
                                             included Constable Joe in ACT’s
                                             Tuck Everlasting, Etches/Pitman in
     Nicole is a classically trained lyric
     Mezzo Soprano. She has                     mirror.
                                             ACT’s Titanic the Musical, the
                                             entire D’ysquith family in Town &
     performed with the Shorter              Gown’s A Gentleman’s Guide to
     University Opera in the roles of           Long as you
                                             Love and Murder, and the mayor
     Malika in Lakmé and Dorabella in        of munchkin city in his high
     Così fan tutte. This is her first          live I will still
                                             school’s production of The Wizard
     appearance in an Athens                 of Oz. In his spare time, he is a
     Creative Theatre Production.               be here.”
                                             Disney fanatic and Halloween
                                             and Christmas decoration
biographies             18
enthusiast.                            Murder, Rapunzel in Into the
                                       Woods, and Lady Beaconsfield in
                                       Jekyll and Hyde. She has lived in
                 Will Pogue            Athens for 5 years now and is
                 (Ensemble, Dance      working as a vocal coach in
                 Core, Vocal           conjunction with her position at
                 Soloist) Will Pogue   UGA. In her free time she enjoys
                 is so excited to be   cuddling her cat Chubbs, playing
                 a part of Sweeney     Dungeons and Dragons, and
                 Todd. It has always   visiting her three beautiful nieces.
                 been a dream of
his to perform this musical on
stage. He currently works for Best                       Amelia Priest
buy as the Geek Squad Manager.                           (Ensemble, Dance
He has played multiple                                   Core) Amelia is a
instruments over the years,                              barista at a small
including trumpet, baritone, and                         town coffee shop.
trombone. He went to the                                 This is her first
University of Georgia and was part                       appearance for
of both the Redcoat Band and                             Athens Creative
the UGA trombone choir during          Theater. It is not her first time on
his time there. He has played in       stage however, she was a street
multiple bands around the area         urchin in The Little Shop of Horrors,
and led Classic City Band as           then a storyteller in Once on This
president from 2017-2022. He has       Island. Her favorite role however is
played in multiple production for      Alice in The Addams Family! She is
ACT as a trombonist and has            incredibly excited for you to
recently been joining the group        watch the horror before you and
on stage as a singer.                  hopes you have a scary good
                                       time!

                Hallie Potenza
                (Ensemble, Dance                        Ryan Roberts (The
                Core, Soloist in                        Beadle) Ryan is
                Trio, Soloist in                        super excited to
                Quintet.                                be making his
                Understudy for                          return to the stage
                Mrs. Lovett) Hallie                     with Athens
                is thrilled to be                       Creative Theatre.
back with ACT in Sweeney Todd!                          Past roles from
She has previously worked with         many years ago include Wilson
ACT as a vocal coach for the King      from Annie Get Your Gun, Max
and I, in AMTO productions, Live       from The Sound of Music, Roger
Art 2021, and Camelot. Previous        from Grease & Abner Dillon from
roles include Phoebe in A              42nd Street. In his spare time, Ryan
Gentleman's Guide to Love and          enjoys traveling and spending
19        biographies

 time with his family and friends.                         Chamberlain Smith
 Love to his dad and all his family                        (Ensemble, Dance
 and friends for their love and                            Core) Chamberlain
 support. His high school drama                            last stepped foot
 teacher, Mr. G also holds a                               on the Morton
 special place in his heart for being                      Theatre stage with
 his inspiration to get involved with                      ACT in A Christmas
 the theater to begin with. This                           Story, The Musical
 one's for you Mom!                        six years ago during her senior
                                           year of college. She is thrilled to
                                           be making her return in the
                   Don R. Smith            ensemble of Sweeney Todd
                   (Judge Turpin) Don      alongside such a talented cast.
                   is thrilled to cross    When not performing, you can
                   off yet another         find her around campus or on the
                   bucket list role with   sidelines working as a staff
                   this performance        photographer for the University of
                   of Sweeney Todd.        Georgia, reading a new book, or
                   Don was last seen       spending time with her cats.
 on the Morton Stage as John
 Utterson in Jekyll and Hyde. Don
 has performed for the last 30 years                         Mary Smith
 on stages all over the southeast,                           (Ensemble) Mary is
 more recently with Town & Gown                              delighted to return
 Players. Some of his favorite roles                         to community
 include: Sidney Bruhl in                                    theatre after a
 DeathTrap, Lawrence in Dirty                                long hiatus. She
 Rotten Scoundrels, Pilate in Jesus                          enthusiastically
 Christ Superstar, the Narrator/                             played Mad
 Mysterious Man in Into the Woods,         Ophelia in the Forsyth County
 Cladwell in Urinetown, the                Little Theatre’s Shakespeare spoof.
 Musical, and too many more to             She most recently appeared as
 mention. He would like to thank           Eva in the Town and Gown Players
 Terry, Rachel, and Daniel for this        production of Five Blue Haired
 amazing opportunity to perform            Ladies.
 at ACT as well as this wonderful
 cast. Many thanks to Alan and
 the kids, as well as my family and        Mary is an active member of
 friends for their continued support.      OLLI@UGA and enjoys attending
                                           classes and social events. She is a
                                           strong supporter of the OLLI
                                           Friends of Opera Group. She
                                           enjoyed portraying the tragic
                                           sorceress Medea in several events
                                           and looking forward to more. Who
                                           doesn’t love a dramatic costume!
biographies          20
               Thalia Smoot                               Margaret Stewart
               (Ensemble, Vocal                           (Ensemble, Dance
               Soloist) Thalia                            Core) Margaret is
               Smoot has been                             a history PhD
               singing since she                          student at
               could talk. Thalia                         University of
               was born in China                          Georgia from
               and grew up                                Bradenton, FL. She
overseas where she learned to          received her bachelors in theatre
love the theater. She has been         and history from Rollins College.
acting in plays since she was 5        This is her third performance with
years old. Her previous roles          ACT, her prior roles as ensemble in
include playing Matilda at Arts!       Jekyll and Hyde, and Molly in The
Oglethorpe Matilda, Glinda in The      Mousetrap. In the past she has
Wizard of Oz and Ariel in A            performed in Shrek The Musical,
Musical Mashup. While at her           Beauty and The Beast, and It’s A
international school in Vietnam        Wonderful Life (OCA Theatre
she played Belle in Beauty and         Company) in Orlando, Florida.
the Beast and Baby Face in Bugsy       She has loved every second
Malone. When Thalia isn’t acting       working on this production, and to
she enjoys singing in her school       be able to sing such iconic and
choir, taking voice lessons, writing   beloved music.
songs and playing the ukulele.

                                                       Bekah Wesley
                Jessica Spires                         (Ensemble, Dance
                (Ensemble, Dance                       Core, Vocal
                Core, Vocal Soloist)                   Soloist) Bekah is
                Jessica Spires is a                    the drama
                4th-year student at                    teacher at
                the University of                      George Walton
                Georgia, pursuing                      Academy in
                a Landscape            Monroe, GA. Currently she is
Architecture major with minors in      directing the One Act
Horticulture and Historical            Competition show at GWA, as
Preservation. She is excited to be     well as directing the middle
a part of the Athens Create            school students in a show. She
Theatre family of Sweeny Todd.         obtained her bachelor's degrees
After studying dance for nine          in Music and Theatre from
years, Jessica landed her first role   Georgia Southern University. She
as a Who in Seussical the Musical.     has directed The Drowsy
Her favorite roles so far are Nana     Chaperone at On Stage
in Tuck Everlasting and Nellie in      Playhouse as well as music
Jekyll and Hyde.                       directed 9 to 5: the Musical there
                                       this past summer. When not
                                       behind the scenes, Bekah loves
21        biographies

 performing on the stage. Some of                         James West
 her favorite roles include Roz Keith                     (Ensemble) James,
 (9 to 5: the Musical), Mrs. Bradman                      , would like to first
 (Blithe Spirit), and Lois (Wonder of                     and foremost
 the World). Bekah loves                                  thank his best
 continuing to further her                                friend and partner
 performing arts education by                             in crime, Katie
 taking voice lessons from Bill                           Reed for always
 Whitefield and taking workshops        being by my side throughout
 with the Collective Artists            everything. You are my rock and I
 Workshop (CAW). In her limited         love you to the moon and back.
 free time, Bekah enjoys reading,       Next I'd like to thank my fellow
 playing video games, and               cast members and the crew for
 lounging with her puppy, Iris. She     welcoming me into the world of
 can't thank her parents and            theatre and for their support and
 boyfriend enough for always            guidance. The director, Terry, who
 encouraging her to follow her          has been amazing through this
 dreams and achieve her goals.          entire process. Lastly, all my
                                        friends and family who have
                                        come to see the show, I hope you
                                        enjoy it and you laugh as much as
                                        I did while in rehearsal.

      LOOKING FOR MORE WAYS TO HELP
       SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL THEATRE?

Consider becoming a member of Friends of Athens Creative
Theatre (FACT). FACT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation es-
tablished in 1978 to help support Athens Creative Theatre
through fund raising initiatives, raising community awareness,
and financially supporting theatrical programs
and productions. The efforts of FACT help to
further bolster ACT’s role in enriching the cul-
tural experiences of our community.

Visit friends-of-act.org to find out more about
FACT and how you can help support the arts.
production team             22

MEET THE
PRODUCTION TEAM
                   T.A POWELL | DIRECTOR, LIGHTING, SET DESIGN,
                   PROJECTION DESIGN
                    T.A. Powell is the Program Specialist for Athens Creative
                    Theatre and has been at the helm of this ACC
                    government sponsored theatrical program for almost two
                    decades. Her background — as a published playwright,
                    author, lighting designer, professional stage manager and
                    director — speaks to her participation in the Athens
theatre community for almost 25 years. This kind of valued tenure and
leadership skills enables her to bring an excellence to both main stage,
second stage, and the children’s programs ACT presents each summer. As
executive managing and artistic director, she has produced countless
productions from main stage musicals to summer theatre performance
camps. She achieved major state award status for innovative programming
through the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA) in several
categories, including therapeutic for her Monologues and More for the
Cognitively Challenged, TEEN ENCORE Theatre Practicum programs, as well
as the Senior Reader’s Theatre Program for our older citizenry, and continues
to engage Athens’ youth with new programs such as the oral History
                    Reenactment Camp.
                   DANIEL SELF | MUSIC DIRECTOR
                    Daniel is a performing arts professional, music arranger,
                    and freelancer based in Athens, GA. In his professional life
                    he spends much of his time working on theatrical
                    productions and educational programming for Athens
                    Clarke-County Leisure Services where he is the Program
                    Leader for Athens Creative Theatre. Daniel is an active
music director for theatre and has musical directed a number of works in his
time with ACT. His recent collaborations include projects with both the
Classic City Band and HEART Music. His performance work centers primarily
around pit orchestra and chamber music bringing his skills as an
accomplished keyboard player and woodwind doubler into play. Daniel is
also a published arranger of music for woodwind ensemble with a special
interest in bringing popular music into the chamber ensemble repertoire. In
his free time he enjoys studying watercolor painting, spending time with his
partner and their dog Walter, and gaming with friends.
23      production team

                  RACHEL WHITSEL | STAGE MANAGER
                    Rachel is a working stage manager and theatre
                    professional who moonlights in hotel hospitality during the
                    day. A graduate of the University of Georgia and native to
                    Athens, she currently serves as the part time theatre
                    equipment technician for ACC Leisure Services and has
                    been working for Athens Creative Theatre for the last 10
                    years. Credits include Young Frankenstein, Mary Poppins,
 She Kills Monsters, and most recently: Jekyll and Hyde. She has also stage
 managed for Baptist Collegiate Ministries and The UGA Department of
 Theatre. Special thanks to Terry, Daniel, her doggo Jasmine and caffeine for
 their constant support. Enjoy the show.
                   JEANNIE THOMAS | PROJECTION ASSISTANT
                  (she/her) - is an MFA Theatre student at UGA, specializing
                  in Dramatic Media. She has performed with ACT in 2018’s
                  Newsies as Spot Conlon and in Live Art '22, and she has
                  worked backstage at many ACT productions. Her recent
                  work behind the scenes has included film work on The
                  Vitruvian Theory (Thalian Blackfriars), St. Nicholas (UGA),
                  and The Mountaintop (UGA), projections for Gem of the
 Ocean (UGA), and stage crew on Camelot (ACT). Jeannie’s work has also
 been produced onstage, as she was the sound designer and one of three
 playwrights on UGA’s 2021 production of Alcestis..
                  EVA ELARBEE | CHOREOGRAPHY | HAIR AND MAKEUP
                   Eva Elarbee is an Athens native who has grown up working
                   on ACT productions. Previously, she has helped her mother,
                   Mary, with costumes and has worked as a summer camp
                   counselor. She is thrilled at this opportunity to choreograph
                   her first show with ACT and has absolutely loved dancing
                   with this talented cast! During the day, Eva works as a
                   dance teacher at the Joan Mann Dance Studio in
 Watkinsville and restores vintage clothing. She hopes you have as much fun
 watching the show as we did rehearsing it for you!
                  MARY DELAPLANE | COSTUMES
                   Mary has been designing, curating, and providing costume
                   rentals for local theatrical and historical organizations in
                   and around Athens for more than 20 years. She decided to
                   go into the costume rental business after volunteering her
                   services for a number of years in support of some of her
              For more information visit
                   favorite local organizations. As her business grew she soon
                   became the community’s “go-to” costumer with a massive
          www.facebook.com/RespirOpera/
 inventory of more than 10,000 carefully curated costume pieces in stock at
     or call 706-614-9798 to schedule an audition
 her shop in High Shoals. Mary’s work appears regularly on the ACT stage. You
production team            24
can see more of her work at www.thedress-upbox.com.
                 ZARIA GHOLSTON | BOX OFFICE MANAGER
                    Hailing from Commerce, GA – just 30 minutes away from
                    Athens – Zaria Gholston is the Box Office Manager of the
                    Morton Theatre and the newest addition to their
                    staff. Zaria is a 2019 graduate of Georgia College & State
                    University (GSCU) and has a degree in Mass
                    Communication. Since her graduation, Zaria has served
                    throughout the Athens community in various
capacities, from being Office, Classifieds, and Distribution Manager at
Flagpole Magazine for four years, to serving on the Board of Directors for the
Morton Theatre Corporation in various positions for three years. Through
these local, life-changing endeavors, Miss Gholston has expanded not only
her professional, and leadership skills but also her love for “The Classic
City,” a place she remembers visiting frequently as a child. A lover of all
things artsy, Zaria’s new journey at the Morton Theatre is sure to fuel her
toward more success in her budding career and future.
                 THEO SCHRAMM | MUSIC DIRECTION INTERN
                  Theodora Anne Schramm is a vocalist based in Athens, Ga.
                  She is currently a fifth-year vocal performance major
                  studying under Dr. Petrongelli. During her time at the
                  University of Georgia she has been a part of several choral
                  ensembles including UGA’s Women’s Glee and Hodgson
                  Singers. She has been a part of three musicals produced by
                  local Athens based community theaters with her largest
role being Sir Sagramore in Camelot with Athens Creative Theatre. She has
been a part of the ensemble for three UGA operas productions including,
The Barber of Seville, Cosi fan tutte, and Faust. Her most recent opera
production was a student-produced adaptation of Lewis Carol’s “Alice in
Wonderland” where she played the mouse. Currently she serves as the tenor
section leader for Grace Episcopal Church in Gainesville and Johns Creek
Chorale Society.
                 JEREMY MILLER | SCENIC ARTIST
                    Jeremy has been working with Athens theatre’s since 2009.
                    Prior to that, he worked all around Habersham County/NE
                    Georgia, Atlanta, and at the Highlands Playhouse in North
                    Carolina. He works and designs with the Morton Theatre
                    and Athens Creative Theatre, but has been seen on stage
                    with a few Town and Gown, ACT and many of Rose of
                    Athens Theatre productions. Jeremy has self-published two
children's books and is working on a third. He is working to release an audio
book of his first book, Firefly Night, in the future.
25      production team

                   ASHER HILL | SOUND ENGINEER, PROJECTION DESIGN
                   Asher was born and raised in Athens, GA, attended Cedar
                   Shoals High School before moving to New Hampshire in
                   2013. As a teenager, Asher participated in a number of
                   ACT productions as an actor, assuming roles including
                   Prince Eric, the Sultan and the Tin Soldier, among others.
                    From 2013 to 2017, Asher attended Lyndon State College,
                    graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Business and
 Industry with a focus on Production. During this time, He found opportunities
 through the Northeast Kingdom Community Orchestra as Orchestra
 Manager, Columbia United Methodist Church as Youth Music Instructor, as
 well as many Audio Engineering internships through the school and local
 businesses
 While studying at Lyndon, Asher had access to the school’s state of the art
 recording studio, which he used to learn recording, mixing and mastering
 techniques, both under the instruction of his professors, and during his free
 time with his bandmates. After graduating, Asher moved back to Athens,
 and began accruing gear to assemble his own home studio which afforded
 him the opportunity to work with a wide range of local artists, from Rap and
 Hip Hop artists, local singer songwriters, Rock and Metal bands and acoustic
 groups, to some well known music groups including Kishi Bashi and The
 Athens Tango Project.
 In 2018, Asher began contracting at the Morton Theatre as an audio and
 lighting engineer. Asher now works as the Assistant Technical Director at the
 Morton, as well as the Technical Director at Covenant Presbyterian Church.
 Outside of his professional life, Asher enjoys tabletop games, playing guitar,
 making videos, cooking, and writing fiction.
                   STEPHEN VERNER| TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
                   Stephen began his career in professional audiovisual
                   production almost 25 years ago, earning his Bachelor of
                   Music degree with an emphasis in audio production from
                   Georgia State University. While in school he sang with the
                   University Singers during their 94’ tour of London and 96’
                   performance at New York’s Avery-Fischer Hall, and
                   performed as a tenor sax player in the Wind Ensemble. On
 the production side, he earned the opportunity to intern at Bobby Brown's
 then recording studio Bosstown in Atlanta.
 However, it was the world-renowned venue Spivey Hall that gave Stephen
 his first big break into the production and design world. He spent just over 3
 seasons there as the Assistant Production Manager and Lighting Designer
 sharpening his craft with artists such as Grammy winner Bela Fleck, jazz
 legend Sonny Rollins, and American opera singer Renée Fleming.
 Stephen went on to enhance his career as a Technical Director and Lighting
production team             26
Designer for the School of Dance at the University of Georgia. There he had
the pleasure of designing lighting for a variety of dance genres including
modern, ballet, and ballroom; working with artists from Cirque Du Solei and
designing at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC.
From this solid foundation in the early years of his career, Stephen went on to
work produce events in a variety of venues from outdoor events, churches,
and corporate seminars and trade shows. His talents have earned him
collaborative opportunities with Grammy-Award winning Christian band
Casting Crowns and R&B, gospel artist Montell Jordan, as well as with other
entertainers and leaders in business and government.
Along the way, Stephen managed to earn a Master of Arts degree from
Wheaton College in Intercultural Studies and Leadership, and even lived for
just under a year in Florence, Italy. He has a passion for the art of production
and a keen understanding of the business of it as well. But it is his desire to
help others grow and learn and go on to be successful that ultimately drives
him. Drawing on his years of experience and hundreds of successful
productions, for the last 5 years he has served the city of Athens as the
Technical Director for the historic Morton Theatre. Currently he is in the
process of writing a book to help young people develop into powerhouse
production professionals.
                  LYNN GREEN | ADMINISTRATION
                  Facility Supervisor, Lynn Battle Green serves as the
                  Managing Director of the Morton Theatre and oversees
                  both the Morton and Athens Creative Theatre. The
                  graduate of the University of Georgia has a degree in
                  Drama and Theatre with an emphasis in playwriting. The
                  theatre-trained actress performed for both UGA Theatre
                  and the Black Theatrical Ensemble where she gained
experience not only as an actress, but also a production director, stage
manager, and PR coordinator. Lynn’s professional experience includes
social, corporate, and civic special event management, including a stint as
a supervisor of hospitality staff in the Skysuites at the University of Georgia’s
Sanford Stadium for football and the 1996 Centennial Olympic soccer
matches. Her resume includes conducting youth summer and afterschool
programming with the City of Decatur. Lynn is also a certified wedding
coordinator having managed ceremonies independently and on staff at
Vines Botanical Gardens. For over two decades Mrs. Green has served at
the Morton Theatre in many capacities including actor, volunteer
coordinator, Morton Theatre Corporation board member, interim Arts
Division Administrator, and as a member of the Theatre staff for 21 years. She
was promoted to the Director position in 2013 and represents the facility and
on several community boards and committees and as a guest lecturer.
up next         28
BLUE STOCKINGS
By Jessica Swale

1896 Girton College, Cambridge, the first college in Britain to admit
women. The Girton girls study ferociously and match their male peers
grade for grade. Yet, when the men graduate, the women leave with
nothing but the stigma of being a “blue stocking” - an unnatural
educated woman. They are denied degrees and go home unqualified
and unmarriageable.

Auditions for Blue Stockings will be held January 9th and 10th, 2024.
Auditions will consist of cold reading from the script only and are open to
actors ages 13+ of any ability level. For a detailed list of characters visit
accgov.com/act and download the audition info for Blue Stockings

Performances will be March 7th-9th, 2024 at Quinn Hall (Memorial Park).

OH, KAY!
IN CONCERT
Music and Lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin.
Book by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodenhouse

This 1926 romp, which served as an inspiration for Nice Work If You Can
Get It, skewers the upper class in an uproarious Prohibition story of
bootleggers, society matrons, and new love.

Oh, Kay! In Concert will be holding auditions for lead roles February 5th
and 6th, 2024. No auditions are required for ensemble/chorus and
instrumentalists with sign ups beginning in January of 2024.

For full audition information and a list of available characters visit
accgov.com/act and download the audition info for Oh, Kay! In Concert
Performances will be held April 5th and 6th at the Morton Theatre in
downtown Athens.
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