Friends, Players, Countrymen
Associate Artists – Friends, Dreamers, Catalysts
Georgia Shakespeare’s company consists of all the professionals - artists, technicians and administrators – who work with us throughout the year. At the heart of the company is a core group of actors, coaches, directors, designers and technicians who make up our ensemble of Associate Artists. The individual body of work that each of these Associates has created with us has been a major force in forging the collective artistic identity of Georgia Shakespeare.
While not every Associate is with us every season, each and every one of these artists has invested from six to twenty years of their careers to help make Georgia Shakespeare the unique company it is. While you can see our individual artists at almost every theatre company in Atlanta and many companies around the region and country, Georgia Shakespeare is the one stage they return to year after year as their artistic home.
Hudson Adams (14 Seasons)
Hudson returns for a fourteenth season with Georgia Shakespeare. He has also performed with the Alliance Theatre, Actor's Express, Shakespeare Tavern, Theatre in the Square, Theatre Gael, and Soul-stice Repertory. Hudson is the Technical Director for The Westminster Schools. He lives in Stone Mountain with his wife, Heidi; and daughters, Hannah Rose and Arden Magnolia.
Janice Akers (8 Seasons)
Janice’s first season with Georgia Shakespeare was 1994 in The Imaginary Invalid and The Merchant of Venice. She has been seen as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Cordelia/Fool in Lear, Prospera in The Tempest, Isabella in Measure for Measure, and Linda in Death of a Salesman, and many other roles. Janice also teaches at Emory University.
John Ammerman (17 seasons)
John was with Georgia Shakespeare for its first season in 1986. GSF roles: Macbeth, Hamlet in Hamlet: Godfather of Brooklyn, Richard III, Cyrano, Prospero, Angelo in Measure for Measure Toby Belch, Orsino, Edmund (Lear), Tranio, Hortensio, Bassanio, Don Armado, Antipholus of Syracuse, Richelieu, Don Pedro, Sparkish, Jaques (AYLI), Jacques (Miser), Stephano, Worcester, M. Jourdain, Beralde, Camillo, Thurio, Fluellen, Crabtree, Friar Francis, Duke of Venice, Paris, Theseus, Bottom, Rosse, Sheriff, Ghost-Hamlet, Cauchon, Edwin Booth. Most recently, Wangel (Lady From the Sea), Theatre Emory, Edwin Booth (Booth, Brother Booth), Springer Opera House. John also teaches at Emory University.
Rochelle Barker (Scenic Designer)
Rochelle also serves as Resident Scenic Designer for Theatrical Outfit and a Resource Council Member for Actor's Express. Georgia Shakespeare designs include: The Tempest, The School for Wives, and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Exhibited at the 2003 Prague Quadrennial). Other recent designs: Merlin, The Music Lesson (Alliance Theatre Company); Beehive (Theatrical Outfit); Burn This (Actor’s Express); Side Man (Theatre in the Square); and 8 1/2 X 11 (Dad’s Garage).
Elisa Carlson (Voice & Text Coach) Elisa’s credits include nine seasons at Georgia Shakespeare and The Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis) where she has served on the Resident Artistic Staff since 2002. Production credits include Comedy of Errors, The Chairs, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Six Degrees of Separation, Wintertime, Romeo and Juliet, Crowns, Pirates of Penzance, Night of the Iguana. Off-Broadway: New Dramatists, The Mint. Regional: Premiere of Kia Corthron’s Snapshot Silhouette at The Children’s Theatre (Minneapolis), Alliance Theatre Company (28 productions), Oregon and North Carolina Shakespeare Festivals, Theater Emory, Actor’s Express, Theatrical Outfit, Synchronicity. Film: Campbell Scott’s Hamlet. Acting credits: Scott’s film of Hamlet, The Shakespeare Theatre, Alliance, StageWest, GSF, Theater Emory, Horizon, Actor’s Express. Teaching: University of Minnesota/Guthrie B.F.A. Actor Training Program; Emory University. Training: University of Delaware, M.F.A.
Rob Cleveland (7 Seasons)
Rob is a jack of many trades and a master of many as well. He is a master storyteller, a comedian, an actor, and a teacher. He recently appeared onstage in the Georgia Ensemble Theatre production of The Odd Couple as Oscar. In addition, Rob is storyteller-in-residence at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. he has published six children's books with August House Publishers (www.augusthouse.com) under their Story Cove imprint (www.storycove.com). Autographed copies of his bokos can be purchased in the gift shop. On film, he has been seen in That Darn Cat, Drumline and the upcoming comedy Randy and the Mob. Rob was also part of the creative team that developed Tush for WTBS, which featured the writing team of Bonnie and Terry Turner. Look for him as the blind man in Tyler Perry's new sitcom Meet the Browns. As a stand-up comedian, Rob has headlined all over the country including at Punchline and Dangerfield's (NYC) and The Improv (NYC and Los Angeles). Rob currently resides in Atlanta with his wife of 15 years, Mary Lynn Owen and their 12-year-old twins, Andrew and Eloisa.
Carolyn Cook (12 Seasons)
Carolyn joined the Georgia Shakespeare company in 1994 as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Carolyn has had the honor of performing at Georgia Shakespeare for 12 seasons. Past roles at Georgia Shakespeare include Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Joan in Saint Joan, Viola in Twelfth Night, Cressida in Troilus and Cressida and many other explorations of great classics. Carolyn has produced and performed in Moliére's Les Précieuses Ridicules with Théâtre du Rêve, Atlanta's unique French-language theatre company (check them out at www.theatredureve.com), participated in the development of new plays at Theater Emory, and starred in The Syringa Tree at Horizon Theatre.
Kat Conley (Scenic Designer) Kat has aided in the productions of A Servant of Two Masters and Pericles. Her previous designs include Hamlet, Twelth Night, The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, and Tartuffe. Based in Atlanta, Kat has designed scenery fo r Actor's Express, Alliance Theatre, Theater int he Square, Theatrical Outfit, the Springer Opera House, and the Center for Puppetry Arts. Kat is also the Charge Scenic Artist for the Alliance Theatre. Whether challenging, visionary or escapist, all theater and art is important.
Tim Conley (11 Seasons)
Tim has spent the last six years as the Production Manager at Georgia Shakespeare. Tim has been a part of Georgia Shakespeare in some way or another since 1997, serving as technical director from 1997 – 2001. However, he has been known to take on titles such as director, designer, technical director, and understudy. In Atlanta, Tim has engineered and constructed scenery for Theatrical Outfit, Alliance Theatre, Center for Puppetry Arts, GeorgiaEnsembleAuroraTheatre, Actor’s Express, Synchronicity, The Lovett School and Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta. Prior to moving to Atlanta, he worked for various production houses and theatres in the New York metro area, Pennsylvania and California. Tim would like to thank Kat for fifteen years of understanding and support.
Jonathan Davis (11 Seasons)
Jonathan’s first season with Georgia Shakespeare was 1988 as Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other Georgia Shakespeare credits include: Pompey in Measure for Measure, Tranio in Shrew: the Musical, Proteus in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Louis the XIII in The Three Musketeers, and Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. His voice and “cute physique” appear in various commercials and animated series. Jonathan has an extensive body of work in the narration of books including Episodes II and III of Star Wars.
Chris Ensweiler (Associate Artist, 7 Seasons) Chris is honored to return for another summer season at GA Shakespeare. Recent GS productions include: TheServant of Two Masters, Metamorphoses, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and The Comedy of Errors. Chris has also appeared at Aurora Theatre, Georgia Ensemble Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Theatre in the Square, Horizon Theatre and Theater Emory. Regional Theatre: Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Human Race Theatre (Dayton, OH).
Bruce Evers (12 Seasons)
Bruce Evers was in Georgia Shakespeare’s first season under the tent. Bruce worked with Georgia Shakespeare in those first four years. After a hiatus when he was performing The Reach of Song each summer in the North Georgia mountains, he returned to Georgia Shakespeare in 1998 as Falstaff in Henry IV, Part One. Some notable appearances have included Julius Caesar in Julius Caesar, Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night, and Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing. You can also catch him as Yates in "Against the Wall" for HBO and as Lt. Barrett in "Andersonville" for TNT.
Andrew Hartley (Resident Dramaturg)
Andrew is Associate Professor of English at the University of West Georgia and editor of Shakespeare Bulletin, a journal of performance criticism and scholarship incorporating Shakespeare on Film Newsletter. He is currently working on a book on dramaturgy as a bridge between literary critical practice and practical theatre.
Chris Kayser (16 Seasons)
Chris Kayser’s first role with Georgia Shakespeare was Feste in Twelfth Night in 1989. Since that time, he has been Petruchio in Shrew: the Musical, Richard in Richard II, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, and many other roles. Chris has appeared in 50 Georgia Shakespeare shows over the years as well as 28 Peachtree Road races. Chris also performs at the Alliance Theatre, Theatrical Outfit, and many other theaters.
Chris is dedicating his season this year to his friend and colleague Brad Sherrill. This season Brad becomes the first of the old guard to reach twenty year’s service to Georgia Shakespeare—a testament to him and to the organization. We are all better because of the kind of person and the kind of artist that Brad is.
Klimchak (8 Seasons)
Musician
Klimchak’s first year with Georgia Shakespeare was in the comfort of the Conant in 1997. Georgia Shakespeare compositions include live music for Othello, Henry IV, Hamlet, Tartuffe, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cymbeline and Coriolanus. Other recent theater works include live scores for Shakespeare Santa Cruz, a Le Neon Theater in Washington, DC (best sound design nom. - Helen Hayes Award), and Malinche performed at the Bovenzaal Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam. Klimchak composed a sound score for the dance Three Bagatelles for the Righteous: 2004 Update; performed at NYC’s Joyce Theater by Jane Comfort and Co. last fall. His first solo CD, The Beat & the Buzz, is now available in the Georgia Shakespeare gift shop.
Joe Knezevich (10 Seasons) Joe Knezevich – mostly recently appeared at Boise Contemporary Theater in the world premiere of Last of the Breed, by Seattle playwright and best selling author Maria Dahvana Headley. Earlier this year Joe performed (in French!) in the world premiere of Voir Un Ami Pleurer, with Theatre du Reve, which will have its European and American tours in the Fall. Prior to that Joe was seen in ’07 performing the title roles in Pericles and Richard III here at Georgia Shakespeare. Also at GS: Midas in Metamorphoses, Laertes in Hamlet, and Posthumus in Cymbeline. At the Alliance: Nick in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Lt. Wickham in Pride & Prejudice, and Williamson in Glengarry Glen Ross. Coming up: look for Joe as a sword fighting nemesis to Noah Wylie in The Librarian 3: The Curse of the Judas Chalice, to be aired on TNT later this year.
Douglas Koertge (Costume Designer) Douglas is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Memphis. He has designed the costumes for well over 200 productions, including several productions for Georgia Shakespeare during its formative years. In addition to designing for the University of Memphis, he has created designs for Widsom Bridge and the St. Ncholas theaters in Chicago, The Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Florida Stage, the University of Illinois, Opera Memphis and Illinois State University. Most recently, the University of Memphis Art Gallery presented a five week retrospective of his designs and costumes,w ith over seventy-five costumes from his career. Douglas has won many awars from Memphis Magazine and the Memphis Art council for not only design work, but also for his directing. He is also the first recipient of the Creative Research Award presented by the Dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Memphis.
Park Krausen (7 Seasons)
Park was most recently seen at Georgia Shakespeare as the narrator and Lady Anne in Richard III. She has also appeared in Metamorphoses, Othello, The Cherry Orchard, What the Butler Saw and Cyrano among other productions. When not at Georgia Shakespeare, Park is the artistic director of Theatre du Reve (Atlanta's Unique Francophone Theater company). Next up: a trip to Paris with Voir un Ami Pleurer. The play, named after a Jaques Brel song, features Georgia Shakespeare company members Carolyn Cook, Chris Kayser, Joe Knezevich, as well as Park Krausen. Park has worked in NYC, Hartford, at NorthCarolina Shakespeare Festival and in Paris and Krakow. She holds a BA in theater and in French from Emory University and a certficate from Le Conservatoire National Superieur d'Art Dramatique in Paris. Park is also a core member of Out of Hand Theater.
Margo Kuhne Margo is delighted to return for another summer of classic theater with this terrific company of artists and production personnel. During her eleven season affiliation with Georgia Shakespeare, Margo has worked on such favorites as Hamlet, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Amadeus. Other local credits include Theatrical Outfit, Theater Emory, Alliance Theatre, and Theatre du Reve, as well as several seasons of production work with the Arts Festival of Atlanta. Regional credits include Actors Theatre of Louisville, Tennessee Repertory and Virginia Stage. In the corporate arena, Margo is actively involved with show and project management for numerous business meetings, special events and industrials.
Liz Lee
Based out of Atlanta, she is Producer and Resident Lighting Designer for the Center for Puppetry Arts, where her most recent project has been Avanti da Vinci! The Secret Adventures of Leonardo da Vinci. Other recent designs include As You Like it, All My Sons and Coriolanus for Alabama Shakespeare Festival and a co-production of Top Dog, Under Dog for the Alliance Theatre, Trinity Repertory Company, and New Repertory Theatre.
Daniel May (8 seasons, Associate Artist)
Daniel has previously been seen at Georgia Shakespeare in The Servant of Two Masters, Pericles, and as Dennis in Loot. Daniel has also enjoyed succesful productions of Bug and The Pillowman at Actor's Express, A Christmas Carol at the Alliance Theatre, and Celebrity Row, a world premiere by Itamar Moses at Portland Center Stage. His roles at Georgia Shakespeare include Hamlet, A Streetcar Named Desire, Macbeth, Death of a Salesman, Romeo and Juliet, Cymbeline, and The School for Wives. Regional credits include The Devils at Portland Center Stage, and The Taming of the Shrew at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Atlanta credits include Echoes of Another Man, Blue/Orange, Burn This, Bent, and The Wooden Breeks, all at Actor's Express; Take Me Out (Theatre in the Square); The Glass Menagerie and The Woman in Black at Art Station; Pyscho Beach Party, Canniabal!, and Action Movie! at Dad's Garage; Dream Boy and The Non at 7 Stages; The Real Thing (Theatrical Outfit).
Tim McDonough (8 Seasons)
Tim’s first year with Georgia Shakespeare was 1994 as The Imaginary Invalid and as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Other Georgia Shakespeare roles include Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, Caliban in The Tempest, and many other roles. Tim also teaches at Emory University in the Drama Department.
Allen O’Reilly (18 Seasons)
Allen joined Georgia Shakespeare as an actor in 1988 in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and A Winter’s Tale. In addition to acting, Allen is also beginning his second year as Education Director where his mission is to enrich the lives of young people with the works of Shakespeare. Previous roles at Georgia Shakespeare include: Leontes, Feste, Friar Lawrence, Malvolio in Twelfth Night: The Musical, and Pisanio. He has made current appearances as Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire and as Truscott in Loot. He has also directed the high school tours of Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, and A Midsummer's Night Dream, and co-directed the Family Classic series productions of Treasure Island and Robin Hood. “My favorite role is just being here, with my extended family, and that includes you, the audience. This is my 'home' both professionally and artistically, and all who pass through our doors are a part of my extended family.”
Brad Sherrill (19 Seasons)
Bradley’s first season with Georgia Shakespeare was 1988 as Florizel in A Winter’s Tale. Since that time, he has been Hotspur in Henry IV, Part One, Dr. Prentice in What the Butler Saw, Happy in Death of a Salesman, and many other roles. Brad's performance of The Gospel of John has played over 400 performances in over 30 states, including theatrical runs in Atlanta, Washington D.C., Toronto and Off-Broadway in New York. Please visit www.gospelofjohn.com.
Christine Turbitt (Associate Artist) Christine is Director of Costuming and Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs for the School of Design and Production at the NC School of the Arts. For Georgia Shakespeare, she has designed clothes for What the Butler Saw, The School for Wives, Amadeus, Tartuffe, Saint Joan, The Comedy of Errors, The Miser, The School for Scandal, and The Bourgeois Gentleman. At Alabama Shakespeare Festival her credits include When We Are Married, King Lear and Sheppey. She has designed over twenty productions at North Carolina Shakespeare as well as productions at the School of the Arts, Monomoy Theatre (on Cape Cod), Duke University, and North Carolina Dance Theatre. She is always pleased to work with her dear friend Sabin Epstein, and thanks him for his generosity in the collaborative process and for the truly priceless (but fortunately free) tutorial on Chekhov.
Sabin Epstein (Associate Artist) Since 1987, Sabin has directed twelve productions for Georgia Shakespeare including What the Butler Saw (2004), Twelfth Night (2000), The Miser (1998), The Tempest (1997), The Imaginary Invalid (1994), The Winter’s Tale (1988) and Much Ado About Nothing (1987). Sabin has served as Resident Director for American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco from 1988-1991 and A Noise Within in Los Angeles from 1992 to the present. He has been Guest Director for the Utah, Oregon, and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Shakespeare in Santa Fe; San Diego Repertory Theatre, New Dramatists (New York), and Theatre Memphis. Sabin has worked as an instructor at Old Globe/University of San Diego; University of Southern California; National Theater Conservatory (Denver); American Conservatory Theater, National Institute of Dramatic Art (Sydney, Australia), New Zealand Drama School (Wellington), and Merola Opera (San Francisco).
Drew Fracher (Director, Fight Director)
Drew Fracher is a freelance director, fight arranger and actor, currently serving as a Fight Master of the Society of American Fight Directors. As a director his work has been seen at the Utah Musical Theatre, the Human Race Theatre, Florida Stage, Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, New American Theatre, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and Tulsa Repertory Theatre. Recent directing projects include, Back at Leipzig, Zorro, A Sense of Place, The White Devil, Henry IV, Part I, and All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.
As a fight director his work has been seen at regional theatres across the country including, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, the Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky Shakespeare Festivals, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, George Street Playhouse and the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. He is an honorary member of the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat and the Nordic Stage Fight Society.
Karen Robinson (Associate Artist) Karen has directed eleven productions for Georgia Shakespeare, including The School for Wives, Amadeus, Tartuffe, Saint Joan, Much Ado About Nothing, Love's Labour's Lost, Cyrano de Bergerac and The Bourgeois Gentleman. Karen is an Associate Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies at Kennesaw State University. Other directorial credits include Boy Gets Girl, Stop Kiss, and Translations (Kennesaw State University); and Margaret Baldwin's Her Little House (Horizon Theatre Company). She also works as a dramaturge, most recently on Slide Glide the Slippery Slope (Synchronicity Performance Group). It is always an honor to work with this fine company.
Vince Torortici (Pre-show Director) Associate Artist Vince started out with Georgia Shakespeare as an apprentice 17 seasons ago, and he now teaches workshops in Popular Theater Forms all around the country. Principal puppeteer and head writer for GPTV's award-winning Salsa, he currently works with the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Vince also does a special one-person show, Il Teatro Machiavelli.
