Mainstage

July 2010: Twelfth Night at the Theatre at St. Clement’s

Twelfth Night

SRT presented a limited engagement of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, directed by Michael Lluberes, at the Theatre at St. Clement’s, from July 23 – August 1.

Lluberes brought a new vision of Twelfth Night to the Sonnet Rep stage. By turns sad and hilarious, this Twelfth Night was an exploration of love in all its forms: obsessive, beautiful, sexy, manic and mad.

Costumes by Ryan Park

Cesario
Cesario		 Malvolio
Malvolio		 Maria
Maria		 Olivia
Olivia		 Orsino
Orsino

The Cast Featured

*Actors’ Equity Approved Showcase. Member AEA

Yaya DaCosta*

Olivia

Yaya DaCosta* | Olivia

New York-born-and-bred, Yaya began her professional acting career starring in Liz Friedlander’s Take the Lead, opposite Antonio Banderas, for which she received a Teen Choice Award-nomination. She then played opposite Danny Glover and Charles S. Dutton in John Sayles’ Honeydripper, and was later reunited with Dutton in the tele-film Racing for Time, directed by Dutton. Yaya was recently seen in Oren Moverman’s The Messenger, with Academy Award-nominee Woody Harrelson, and Ben Foster; opposite Mark Ruffalo in Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right, a 2010 hit at Sundance Film Festival; and in the highly-anticipated Tron Legacy, directed by Joseph Kosinski. Yaya’s television work includes the final season of Ugly Betty, portraying the duplicitous daughter of Vanessa Williams’ character; and a recurring role on the daytime drama All My Children. Television viewers might also remember Yaya as the first runner-up on America’s Next Top Model, from the reality show’s third cycle. She made her professional stage debut as part of Signature Theater Company’s tribute to the historic Negro Ensemble Company, in their revival production of Leslie Lee’s The First Breeze of Summer, co-starring with Leslie Uggams and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson (who also starred with her in Honeydripper). For this performance, Yaya was honored with a Vivian Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Award for Excellence in Black Theatre.

Jolly Abraham*

Viola

Jolly Abraham* | Viola

Broadway: Coram Boy and Bombay Dreams. Off-Broadway: Nathan the Wise, The Oedipus Trilogy, The Constant Couple, Hamlet (The Pearl Theatre), The Grecian Formula (NYC Fringe Festival 2008), McReele (Roundabout). Regional: Scorched (The Wilma Theatre), Vaidehi (Chauttauqua Theatre Company), News to Me (Hartbeat Ensemble), Loves Labours Lost (co-production The Shakespeare Theatre DC/RSC), The Pentecost (Old Globe), O’Neill Theatre Conference, Lincoln Center Director’s Labs. TV: “Gossip Girl”, “Sex and The City”, “Ed”, “Law and Order SVU”, “Bedford Diaries.” Film: “Loving Leah”, “Stay.” Company member of The Pearl. BFA from North Carolina School of the Arts.

Lucas Hall*

Orsino

Lucas Hall* | Orsino

New York: Othello, All’s Well That Ends Well (Theater For a New Audience), Edward The Second (Red Bull), The Hasty Heart (Keen Company). Regional: A True History of the Johnstown Flood (World Premiere, The Goodman), Hamlet, Measure for Measure, The Violet Hour (Old Globe), The Two Noble Kinsmen (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), The Tempest (Pittsburgh Public), Henry IV, Cyrano (Shakespeare Theater, DC), Romeo and Juliet (New Rep). Film: The Love Letter, Late Summer.

Nick Choksi*

Sebastian

Nick Choksi* | Sebastian

Nick is a recent graduate of the Juilliard School Drama Division. Favorite projects include The Americans (dir. Brian Mertes), Scapin (dir. Orlando Pabotoy), The Seagull (dir. Vivienne Benesch) and Book of Days (dir. Sam Gold). NYC: Huck and Holden (Cherry Lane), 7-11 (Desipina). Regional includes: Love’s Labor’s Lost (Co-production of Shakespeare Theater DC/RSC), Mouse Cop (Chicago’s Noble Fool Theater), Imaginary Theater Company (St. Louis Rep). TV: “Law and Order: Criminal Intent,” “The Sopranos.” Film: What Happened on the Fourth Date.

Phillip Christian*

Antonio/Sea Captain

Phillip Christian* | Antonio/Sea Captain

Phillip has been seen at the NYSF, NJSF, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Hartford Stage, and Milwaukee Rep among others. He was most recently at Harlem Stage in Three Sisters for The Classical Theatre of Harlem. He is a graduate of The University of New Mexico and The Yale School of Drama.

Ian Lowe*

Feste

Ian Lowe* | Feste

NYC and tour: Sebastian in Twelfth Night (Aquila Theatre Company). Regional: My Fair Lady (Capital Rep), June Moon (Dorset Theatre Festival), Leo in The Producers (Seven Angels Theatre and New Bedford Festival Theatre), Cabaret (Arts Center of Coastal Carolina), Milo in Sleuth (Forestburgh Playhouse), and many others. Yale University Theatre: Coriolanus (directed by David Muse), Iago in Othello, Shylock in Merchant of Venice.

Jennifer Lyon*

Maria

Jennifer Lyon* | Maria

Jennifer Lyon is thrilled to be working with the amazing Sonnet Rep! Broadway: Tom Stoppard’s Coast of Utopia, which garnered a record-setting eleven Tony Awards. Regional: Crimes of the Heart (South Coast Rep), Born Yesterday (Ovation Award nomination), Noises Off (OC Weekly Actress of the Year 2009), The Women (Seattle’s Act Theatre), Embarrassments (world-premiere musical at Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater). She is also a founding member of the sketch group POYKPAC, and they are basically famous.

Brynne Morrice*

Valentine

Brynne Morrice* | Valentine

Brynne is a recent graduate of the School of Drama at UNCSA, where some of his favorite roles included Earnest in The Importance of Being Earnest, Fick in Balm in Gilead, and Iago in Othello. Originally hailing from British Columbia, Brynne now lives in New York, where he most recently appeared in Airborne, part of EST’s Marathon 2010.

Ted Schneider*

Malvolio

Ted Schneider* | Malvolio

Theater includes: Ghosts (CSC), Birdy (Women’s Project and Productions), Now That’s What I Call a Storm (Edge Theater), The Baby Makes Three (EST/Youngblood), Men Without Shadows (The Flea), The Geranium on the Window Sill Just Died (Urban Stages), One Little Duck (Crosstown Playwrights Festival), The Lover/Bacchanalia (Bay Street Theater), The Seagull, The Cherry Orchard, Platanov (Chekhov at Lake Lucille). Upcoming: Ivanov (Lake Lucille). Films include: National Lampoon’s The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell, Company K, Clear Out, PPD and Never Seen, PPD. Ted is currently developing a solo piece. He is a graduate of The North Carolina School of the Arts, BFA

Henry Vick*

Sir Andrew Aguecheek

Henry Vick* | Sir Andrew Aguecheek

Henry is delighted to be part of Sonnet Rep’s production of Twelfth Night. Some of his credits include When The Rain Stops Falling (Lincoln Center Theatre), Three Musketeers, Macbeth, and Two Gents (The Acting Company). Thanks to Michael, Todd and Tiffany for assembling such an excellent cast and producing such a wonderful show in the heart of the summer. Henry wishes an excellent rest of the summer to everyone in the city!

Paul Whitty*

Sir Toby Belch

Paul Whitty* | Sir Toby Belch

Paul is thrilled to be back in NYC working with Sonnet Rep again. At Sonnet, he was featured in the adaptation Shakesbare:The Seven Deadly Sins, and also played The Bard himself in a staged reading of Naked Will. Paul is a founding member of Crescent Stage in Charleston, S.C., and most recently starred as Greg in their Piccolo Spoleto Festival production of Neil LaBute’s reasons to be pretty. Broadway: The Full Monty (Dave) TV/Film: “Guiding Light,” “National Lampoon’s Beach Party.” Other NYC: Rats (Jebbie), Roadside, Maryland (NYC Fringe), Fallout (Saturn). Regional: Art (Yvan), Sheep’s Clothing (Luggs), Hogs (Peter), Doubt (Father Flynn), Faith, Hope, and Charity, War of the Worlds (Orson Welles), Measure for Measure (Angelo), Victoria & Frederick (Ulysses S. Grant), Defiance (Chaplain). Directing: Love’s Fire (Shakespeare Project), Mauritius (Village Playhouse), Discretion (Create Carolina). Paul has a BFA in Acting from UNCSA.

Michael Lluberes

Director

DIRECTING/WRITING: The Boy in the Bathroom (New York Musical Theatre Festival, Most Promising New Musical Award, Best Book, Honorable Mention: Best Direction, ASCAP/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop with Stephen Schwartz, Richard Rodgers Award Finalist, New World Stages Workshop, The Festival of New American Musicals at The Chance Theater), The Geranium on the Windowsill Just Died (Urban Stages), 1,000 Cats (UCB, HBO’s Funny Or Die Presents), Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. ACTING: NATIONAL TOUR: Dirty Dancing. OFF-BROADWAY: Studs Terkel’s American Dreams: Lost and Found, Pudd’nhead Wilson, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, Heaven Knows. NY: The Acting Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Lucille Lortel, The Culture Project, SRT, Samuel French Festival Winner. REGIONAL: The Old Globe, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, St. Louis Repertory Theatre, Casa Mañana, Capital Repertory Theatre, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, (Carbonell Award Nomination), Pioneer Theatre Company, among others. TV: CHAPPELLE’S SHOW, TOUGH CROWD (Comedy Central). EDUCATION: North Carolina School of the Arts, Acting Company alumnus.

Ben Toth

Composer

Ben is a film and theatre composer, producer, and musical director. He is currently composing the score for Patrimony, a short film starring Oscar-nominee Robert Vaughn and Tony-nominee Melissa Errico. Ben just finished writing the score for the full-length feature One Fall, produced by Independent Spirit Award-winner Dean Silvers. He is developing a musical with and for Mandy Patinkin, centering on New York’s controversial master-builder Robert Moses. Ben recently completed a new album for Melora Hardin (The Office), working as co-producer with Richard Jay-Alexander (director for Barbra Streisand), which had its national release in February 2010. As a Musical Director, Ben has worked with some of the most popular actor/singers currently working on the stage, including Lea Michele (“Glee”), Duncan Sheik, Jane Monheit, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Mandy Patinkin, with whom he performed in London’s West End. Ben makes his home in both Los Angeles and New York.

Anna Strasser

Assistant Director

Anna is so thrilled to be working with Michael and this amazing team. She is currently an assistant at Laura Stanczyk Casting, where she helped cast Ragtime and Lombardi for Broadway as well as projects for the McCarter, Kennedy Center, Wilma Theater, and Alley Theatre, among others. She previously worked with Marc Bruni as his assistant on both Glimpses of the Moon (Algonquin Hotel) and High Spirits (York Theatre). Anna is a graduate of Oberlin College where she graduated with honors with a degree in Theater (Directing) and Psychology. As a student she directed Michael John LaChiusa’s Little Fish and Stephen Karam’s Speech & Debate among others. She is so honored to be a part of this production!

Seth Easter

Set Designer

Seth is a production designer and art director for television and theater. Selected work includes: WNET / WLIW studio at Lincoln center, “The Apprentice” live season finale, The Tony Awards, NASCAR Hall of Fame induction, We Are One Inauguration of Barack Obama at The Lincoln Memorial, “Focus Earth with Bob Woodruff,” the Democratic and Republican Presidential debates on ABC News, and James Taylor: One Man Band as production designer (Don Mischer Productions). Theater and dance design credits include: The Boy in the Bathroom, September 19 (Via Dance Collaborative), The Geranium in the Window Sill Just Died (Urban Stages), How Love is Spelt (The Lion, Theatre Row), and Courting Vampires (The Kirk, Theatre Row). Seth is a graduate of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Janie Bullard

Sound Designer

Janie is happy to be designing for Sonnet Repertory Theatre for the first time. Recent Designs: The Last Five Years (MainStage at Berkshire Theatre Festival), Ethel Waters: His Eye is on the Sparrow, Around the World in 80 Days (Triad Stage), Peter Pan, Candide, Broadway By The Year (Berkshire Theatre Festival), Flyin’ West (The Clarence Brown Theatre), Suddenly Last Summer (The Actor’s Express, Atlanta), The Santaland Diaries, Dracula (Upstage Cabaret at Triad Stage), Oliver! (Playmakers Repertory Company). Janie received her MFA in Sound Design from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Brad Peterson

Lighting Designer

Brad is thrilled to be working with Sonnet Repertory Theatre and the entire company of Twelfth Night. Recent designs include Seussical! (The Weston Playhouse Theater Co.), the North American tour of Stand Up Eight, The House of Yes (Heathcliffe Entertainment), Red Cross (TheaterLAB), The Merry Widow (Amore Opera), Urinetown (Momentum Rep), If You Take A Mouse to the Movies… (Children’s Theater of Charlotte), Dracula (Sponge Theatrical), and Jekyll & Hyde (Sponge). Additionally, Brad has worked with companies including The Actors Fund and CuerteTango Dance Company. Upcoming productions include Coram Boy for The Hartt School.

Ryan Park

Costume Designer

Ryan is a painter, designer, and stylist from Pittsburgh. NY productions include Game of Love and Faultlines for Ruffled Feathers. Pittsburgh productions include The London Cuckolds, Eurydice, and The Stranger for Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied design and theater.

E. Sara Barnes

Production Stage Manager

Sara believes that music, love, laughter, wine and food — not necessarily in that order — are the key ingredients for an amazing life. She hails from Seattle originally, but is proud to call Brooklyn home now. She is eternally grateful for her support system: ‘friends from before.’ Life is good.

Melissa A. Nathan

Stage Manager

Melissa is very excited to be working with Sonnet Rep on one of her favorite Shakespeare plays! A freelance stage manager based out of NYC, Melissa just finished working on Conor McPherson’s St. Nicholas for Theatre of the Expendable. Some of her favorite credits include Twelfth Night, Every Xmas Story Ever Told and The Imaginary Invalid (Orlando Shakespeare Theatre); China: The Whole Enchilada (FringeNYC); Show Choir! The Musical (Soundstreet Productions); Veronica’s Room, Zanna Don’t! and Moonlight & Magnolias (The Theater Barn); Open the Dark Door (NYMF) and The Power of Birds (3Graces Theater Co.). She has also worked with New Theatre, Northern Stage & Prospect Theater Company (among others). In October, she will head to Florida to work on Asolo Repertory Theatre’s production of Bonnie & Clyde before it heads to Broadway. www.MelissaANathan.com

Elizabeth Sorrell

Media Relations

Elizabeth has worked in a variety of capacities with numerous theaters and performance art festivals, including The New Group, Studio Dante, the Women’s Project, 24 Hour Plays, NYMF (The Boy in the Bathroom), Sonnet Rep’s recent co-production with Matchbook Productions of Richard II, among others. In addition to her work in the theater, she has served as press consultant for various music and film projects, including the upcoming feature film Spilt. Elizabeth received her BFA in Playwriting from Northern Kentucky University.

Henry Williamson

Assistant Director

Henry is an actor/director/playwright native of Texas. A recent graduate of University of North Carolina School of the Arts, he studied directing with Gerald Freedman, Laura Henry and John Langs. Prior to attending UNCSA, Henry studied drama at Columbia College Chicago with Sheldon Patikin and David Cromer. While at Columbia College, he was enticed by the lively store front theatre scene and began working with the Curious Theatre Branch and Tonika Todorova, artistic director of the Silent Theatre Company. In 2003, he moved to Texas mounting experimental plays in unconventional spaces before ultimately pursuing classical training at UNCSA. An affinity for Shakespeare, awakened in him by Dean Freedman and Mary Irwin at UNCSA, has him thrilled to be working on SRT’s exciting production of Twelfth Night under the vision of Michael Lluberes.

Michelle Davis

Props Coordinator

Michelle is excited to be working with the Sonnet Repertory Theatre on Twelfth Night. Recent shows include The Importance of Being Earnest, Saint Joan, directed by Gerald Freedman, and Maria Stuarda, directed by Steven LaCosse. Michelle is a Stage Properties BFA graduate from The North Carolina School of the Arts.

Kevin Lock

Associate Set Design

Kevin’s work has been seen in 300+ stage productions. NYC theaters include: Third Eye Rep, Nada, Manhattan Class Company, Pulse Ensemble, and 29th Street Rep. Regionally: GEVA, Pennsylvania Stage Company, New American Theater in Rockford, Sarasota Opera, Florida State Opera, Jazz Actor’s Theater in Richmond and the Tamarind in Hollywood. Kevin is resident designer for Asolo, Theater Virginia, and Arkansas Arts Center. Day Job: Art Director, “Good Morning America” since ‘99. Also at ABC: “All My Children,” specials for Robin Roberts, Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, ABC Sports, “20/20” and ABC’S London News Bureau as well as “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” for the last ten years. As scenic artist: Broadway (Rent, The King and I, Big), feature film (He Got Game, Money Train, Copland), and television (MTV, VH1, “Saturday Night Live”). Additional art direction: Earthquake Show/Ride for Universal Studios Florida, and the feature film Going All The Way with Ben Affleck.