Orlando Program

Department Chair
E.J. Westlake

Producer and Production Manager
Sherée Greco

Director
Claudia René Wier

Assistant Director & Movement Choreographer
Gabriela Trigo-McIntyre

Scenic Designer and Properties Designers
Kaitlyn Crosby

Costume Designer
Rebecca Turk

Lighting Designer
Sarah Herkert

Sound Designer
Ruth Luketic

Media Designer
Alex Oliszewski

Production Stage Manager
Ellie Price

Production Technical Director
Chad R. Mahan

Dramaturg
Is Gibson

Theatrical Intimacy Choreographer
Victoria Smith

Dialect Coach
Angelina Steshenko

Assistant Properties Designer
Natalie Knaggs

Assistant Sound Designer
Ray Hahn

Assistant Stage Managers
Morgan Eisenbraun
Lilli Nelson

Theatrical Intimacy Captain
Maddie Green

External Relations and Publicity Coordinator
J. Briggs Cormier

Ticketing Services and Audience Services Specialist
Julia Buttermore

Business Operations Manager
Dev Singer

Graphic Design
Jack Seal-Roth

Staff Technical Director
Chris Zinkon

Scenic Studio Manager
Chad R. Mahan

Master Carpenter
Scott Stiles

Scenic Studio Teaching Associates
Kaitlyn Crosby, Katherine Simon, Megan Wells

Scenery Construction Crew
Has Albano-Seitz, Ben Ault, Veronica Ball, Rex Bammerlin, Avani Bhalla, Miles Carlson, Matthew Fisher, Grace French, Alivia Hall, Matt Henry, Audrey Nelson, Lilli Nelson, Sophie Reynolds, Kyle Santoro, Maya Stepnick, Katherine Swift, Jason Tang, Gabe Willenberg

Set Run Crew
JT Baniak, Varun Pillai, Kalire Weinroth, Gabe Willenberg

Automation Operation
Matt Fisher

Costume Studio Manager
Coco Mayer

Stitcher
Cat Tope

Costume Studio Teaching Associate
Alexis Miller

Costume Construction Crew
Hannah Allen, Veronica Ball, Hannah Byers, Macayla Childs, Olivia Dearth, Gerald Fitzpatrick, Maddie Green, Ray Hahn, Vivian Hall, Terra Miller, Sophie O'Leary, Sabine Smaili, Denize Totonchi, Leticia Wang, Persis Yoder

Wardrobe Crew
Valerie Dunmire, Desiree Gailes, Lica Li, Aspen Tontonchi

Lighting Studio Manager and Production Electrician
Eric M. Slezak

Lighting Studio Teaching Associates
Sarah Herkert, Evan Lane, Robbie Wilt

Lighting Crew
Isabel Brunner, Eris Dale, Matthew Fisher, Gregory Goldberg, Lauren Klein, Lillian McClure, Chris Mendoza, Kyle Santoro

Light Board Operator
Nolan Gardner

Sound and Media Studio Manager
Keya Myers-Alkire

Sound Crew
Matthew Fisher, Gregory Goldberg, Ray Hahn, Hato Hu, Darrian Ippolito, Ruth Luketic, Rosaline Lyle, Othman Shuri, Ida Zheng

Sound Board Operator
Ava Williams

Projection Operator
Othman Shuri

Ticket Office Staff
Fatoumata Kante, Brenda Ramos Perez, Logan Thomas, Julie Wietholter

House Managers
Fatoumata Kante, Julie Wietholter
 

Fé Beatty  (Arch Duke/Arch Duchess understudy; As You Like It Orlando), first-year student
Pronouns: they/them
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
Major(s): composition; English
Minor(s): dance; theatre
Department Productions: Debut

Milkias Damenu (Shakespeare), junior
Hometown: Columbus
Major(s): psychology
Minor(s): theatre
Department Productions: Debut

Craig Foulkrod (Marmaduke understudy), first-year student
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Houston, TX
Major(s): accounting
Minor(s): music; musical theatre
Department Productions: Debut

Ashley Gildenblatt (Euphrosyne; Orlando understudy), first-year student
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Major(s): theatre
Minor(s): American Sign Language Studies
Department Productions: Debut

Maddie Green  (Rosalind), junior
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Springboro, OH 
Major(s): communication
Minor(s): voice acting
Department Productions: Silent Sky; The Moors

Sam Hicks-Jirkans (Queen), sophomore
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Major(s): economics
Minor(s): theatre
Department Productions: Debut

Darrian Ippolito (Salesperson; Priest), sophomore
Hometown: Taylorville, IL
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: Debut

Luke Kleeman (Arch Duke/Arch Duchess), first-year student
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Major(s): theatre
Minor(s): American Sign Language Studies
Department Productions: The Moors

Alison Lohr (Dupper; Spanish Dancer), senior
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Akron, OH
Major(s): sociology
Minor(s): theatre
Department Productions: Debut

Sarah London (Clorinda; Washer Woman), junior
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Aurora, OH
Major(s): English
Minor(s): theatre
Department Productions: The Moors

Mae Neighbor (Penelope), sophomore
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Lancaster, OH
Major(s): English; theatre
Minor(s): game studies; voice acting
Department Productions: Debut

Kalee Sribanditmongkol  (Favilla; Elevator Person), sophomore
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Gahanna, OH
Major(s): theatre
Minor(s): musical theatre
Department Productions: Silent Sky

Gabriela Trigo-McIntyre (asst. director; movement choreographer), graduate student
Pronouns: she/they
Hometown: Columbus
Major(s): theatre
Minor(s): women's, gender, and sexuality studies
Department Productions: The Country Wife

Ansley Wilson (Orlando), junior
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Johnson City, TN
Major(s): theatre
Minor(s): film studies; hospitality management
Department Productions: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Oak trees, the national tree of the United States, can have lifespans of up to 1,000 years, ultimately growing to be up to 70 feet tall with a tree line of nearly 150 feet wide. You can make ink from them; in fact, oak gall ink has been used to write some of the most important documents in history, including the U.S. Constitution. Oak wood is a popular choice for whiskey distillers and winemakers, whose labors are aged to perfection in large oak barrels. Ancient Greeks believed that oaks were favored by the god Zeus, and the trees were locations where priests believed they could communicate with the divine. 

In our production, an adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel Orlando: A Biography, the oak tree serves as a symbol and physical space that our main character cherishes and returns to regularly in times of flux. Our setting has a real-world precedent: the action of Woolf’s novel is set on a real estate, Knole House, which has had little change in over 400 years. Nonetheless, the Great Storm of 1987 saw the loss of over 70% of its trees in the estate’s deer park. Those that still stand are primarily oaks, a testament to the strength and integrity of these remarkable trees. 

The use of Knole House as a space for our play’s setting stems from Virginia Woolf’s relationship with someone who lived there, Vita Sackville-West. A world traveler and iconoclast, Sackville-West was also a well-respected author in her own right as well as an intimate lover of Woolf’s. Due to the customs of the time and as a means of survival, both women were married to men, though their deep love for one another was recognized (Woolf’s husband notified Sackville-West of Woolf’s death before anyone else). Sackville-West defied gender norms in both her writing and in her personal life: when with female lovers, Sackville-West often cross-dressed as a character she lovingly called Julian. Above all, Sackville-West’s upbringing and her later work were shaped by the romantic and aristocratic atmosphere of the Knole estate where she spent her childhood, and she was devastated upon realizing that, as a woman in a patriarchal society, she could never inherit the estate. 

Our production utilizes a turntable to signify movement through time, space, and experience, yet through it all, the oak tree, a symbol of Sackville-West’s beloved Knole estate, offers a space where Orlando can remain grounded. The tree remains stable at the front of the stage. Like the audience, the oak witnesses turbulence, parties, ice skating, years of learning, and Orlando’s personal growth. Throughout the play, as you spin through time and watch Orlando grapple with identity, social hierarchy, and their dreams and desires, you can see that they keep returning to the oak as a place of reflection and security. 

As Orlando basks under the tree’s beauty, takes in the world as it comes, and asks big questions, audiences can note that the great oak stays constant in their life. Much like Orlando, the oak grows stronger with time. As life’s challenges throw new adventures and struggles Orlando’s way, the tree offers a space to recenter. The large tree’s stability makes it the perfect space for Orlando’s grappling with their identity and pursuit of finding truth amidst a bustling world, as it changes and ages like Orlando but is constant in its environment. The oak tree allows them to challenge what they know to be true, find comfort and stability, and, most importantly, rest. 

We hope you enjoy Orlando, a small glimpse at a soul trying to find peace and understanding within themselves and this big world we call home. 

Stick around after the performance on Tuesday, April 8th for a post-show discussion with Dr. Jesse Schotter and Dr. Elizabeth Sheehan, Virginia Woolf scholars from the Department of English.