Love’s Labour’s Lost

Steven Ho

Biron

Steven Ho is happy to be making his debut with SVS. Steven currently studies theatre at Foothill College and will be recieving his Associates in acting this year. Past credits include Cloten in Cymbeline, Erroneous in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Graffiti Pete in In the Heights. Please enjoy the show!

Dana Morgan

Princess

Dana is thrilled to be returning to the park after making her SVS debut in 2015 as Solinus and Luce in The Comedy of Errors. She holds a BFA from Tisch and has studied and performed in New York, San Francisco, and Dublin, where she played The Sidhe in the Irish premier of An American Wake. Favorite past roles include Margot in The Diary of Anne Frank (Theatre Chevruta); Rona in …Spelling Bee and Lucy in Avenue Q (Pintello Comedy Theater); and Mindy in “NORMALPRACTICE” (Ovation Pictures). She’ll be appearing next as Portia in SVS’s Julius Caesar.

Jonathan Tilley

Ferdinand

Jonathan is excited to be performing with SVS for the first time. Recently, he has performed with the Stanford Savoyards as Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), with the San Jose Lyric Theatre as Frederic (The Pirates of Penzance), and with the Stanford Opera Program as Dr. Blind (Die Fledermaus).  Between rehearsals, Jonathan day-lights as a System Applications Engineer at Apple, enjoys occasional bike rides through the foothills, and has a dangerous appetite for noodle soup.

Nicholas Boucher

Dumain

Nicholas is thrilled to be returning to Silicon Valley Shakespeare to provide free theater in the park! Nicholas performed in SVS’s free show, The Taming of the Shrew, two years ago. Other past roles with SVS include in Antony and Cleopatra (Mardian), Othello, The Tempest, Tartuffe and Pride and Prejudice. Recently graduated from Jose State University with a degree in Theater he was last seen in their production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Snug). Currently works as a teaching artist bringing theater to youth around the bay area with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival and Audacity Performing Arts Project.

Morgan Dayley

Roseline

Morgan feels super lucky to be with Silicon Valley Shakes working on such an amazing project! Other Bay Area credits include Sylvia in Tribes (Pear Theatre), April in Company (San Francisco Playhouse), Lady of the Lake in Spamalot (Stage 1), Rita in White Christmas (CMTSJ), and Lois Lane/Bianca in Kiss Me, Kate (SBMT). Some other favorite roles include Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes and Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible. Morgan earned her MFA in Musical Theatre Performance from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and is a theatre/dance educator in East Palo Alto. Keep up with Morgan at www.morgandayley.com

Alyssa Esquilin

Katherine

In past seasons of Silicon Valley Shakespeare Alyssa has played the Water Spirit/Iris in The Tempest as well has the 2^nd Merchant in the fabulous all female cast of Comedy of Errors. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from San Jose State and was most recently seen in TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s production of Emma. She can’t believe that it’s already been over a year since she first started working with SVS and could not be happier to have the opportunity to come back to work with her incredible Shakespearean family.

Erik Browne

Male Swing/Understudy

This is Erik’s fifteenth anniversary with Silicon Valley Shakespeare, having appeared as Thurio in The Two Gentlemen of Verona in 2001. More recently he has played Joe E. Brown in Shakespeare In Hollywood, Roderigo in Othello, Sir William and Mr. Gardiner in Pride and Prejudice, Boult in Pericles, Snout/Wall in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night. Other roles he’s enjoyed include Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol, Ray in Beauty Queen of Leenane, and Teddy in Arsenic and Old Lace. In his day job as a software engineer he tries to make smartphones smarter.

Tonya Duncan

Female Swing/Understudy

Tonya is super excited to be in her first SVS production and to have the fun position of Female Swing (although she originally thought this meant she would get to play on swing sets, but this is more fun anyway). Past acting credits include: Shelby in Steel Magnolias, Abigail in The Crucible, and Ann in You Can’t Get There From Here. When she’s not performing, Tonya can be found reading amazingly bad horror stories, cuddling with her puppy, and stealing the blankets from her husband. Enjoy the show!

Carla Dano-Arango

Dull

Carla is ecstatic to take the stage with SVS this summer! Carla is a West Valley College student who loves to perform. Recent credits include The Odyssey, She Kills Monsters, and a staged reading of The Vagina Monologues. In her free time, she loves to watch old classic films. She hopes you enjoy the show!

Catherine Heneghan

Moth

This is Catherine’s first show with SVS and she is excited to get to work with the cast and crew. With her high school department she has appeared as Dora Bailey in Singin’ in the Rain, the Dormouse in Alice in Wonderland, Andromeda in Argonautika and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.

Cynthia Lagodzinski

Holofernes, Marcade

Cynthia is excited to join SVS for the first time. From her home base in Livermore, she performs around the Bay Area as an actor and director. Favorite recent roles include “Mrs. Antrobus” in The Skin of Our Teeth and “Mrs. Cheveley” in An Ideal Husband, both at Douglas Morrisson Theatre, “Claire” in Proof at Hillbarn Theatre, “Lady Catherine/Mrs. Gardiner” in Pride and Prejudice at Livermore Shakespeare Festival, and “Lady Bracknell” in The Importance of Being Earnest. Cynthia holds a BFA in Acting and Playwriting and a Post Baccalaureate in Directing from UC Santa Cruz.

Doll Piccotto

Jaquenetta, Boyet
Dramaturg

Guess who’s back… Back again… Doll is back tell a friend… Doll is thrilled to return to Bramhill, home of SVS FREE SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK!!! You may have seen her in past years playing Maria in Twelfth Night, Baptista in Taming of the Shrew, and Adriana in Comedy of Errors. A professed Shakespeare nerd, Doll has an MA in English with an emphasis in Renaissance Drama, and she flexes her mental muscles performing offstage as Resident dramaturg. She recently played Queen Elizabeth I in Pear Theater’s Beard of Avon, and appears next in Julius Caesar at Sanborne Park, playing Cassius.

Kevin Scofield

Longeville

Kevin is very excited for his first season with SVS. Some of his favorite roles include: Chremes in Assembly Women (Foothill Theatre), Watson in The Hound of the Baskervilles (Pittsburg Community Theater), Oberon/Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet in Hamlet (East Bay Shakespeare). Kevin holds a B.A. in Drama with a Performance Emphasis from San Francisco State University. Aside from his passion for Shakespeare and the Theatre, Kevin is also a writer. You can check out his writing adventures at scofieldstreet.com.

Andrew Simchik

Armado

Drew is thrilled to return for a second season with SVS, after debuting as Sebastian in The Tempest and Enobarbus in Antony and Cleopatra. Bard fans may also have seen him at Cafe Stritch in the ShakesBEERience productions of The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale. Drew is also active in the Bay Area improv scene. This August marks his 14th year as a ComedySportz improviser, referee, teacher, and sometime director of longform shows (including Much Improv About Nothing, a fully improvised, never-repeated play in Shakespearean style) at CSz San Jose.

Erin Southard

Maria

Erin is excited to be performing her first show with Silicon Valley Shakespeare. She has recently been seen directing in the SVS 48-hour Play Festival (the audience favorite: BAR-Dialogue), and assistant directing Foothill Theatre Dept.’s Cymbeline, last fall. When not house managing or doing her duties as the marketing intern at City Lights Theater Company, Erin spends her time writing fiction, poetry, and plays. She is a graduate of Foothill Theatre Conservatory, and holds a B.A. in English from Biola University.

Johnny Villar

Costard

Johnny is a graduate from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont (’14), where he earned his B.A. in Theatre Arts. He has won awards in filmmaking, acting, singing, and writing, most notably having won the award for “Best Acting” in the 2013 International Youth Silent Film Festival for his short silent film The Count’s Daughter. Johnny was most recently seen as Charles Dabernow Schmendiman in the Santa Clara Players’ production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and he is absolutely thrilled to be performing for the first time with Silicon Valley Shakespeare! He has a website: www.johnnyvillar.com

Shannon deMelo

Director

Shannon is thrilled to be back with SVS this season after Assistant Directing last year’s Shakespeare in Hollywood. Some of her favorite previous projects include: As You Like It (Sobrato High School), a staged reading of Mucedorus (American Shakespeare Center), and an all-male Romeo and Juliet (Mary Baldwin College). Favorite on-stage roles include: the titular role in Pericles, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rose in A Shoemaker’s Holiday, and Ophelia in Hamlet. Shannon holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts from California Lutheran University and an M.F.A. in Shakespeare and Performance from Mary Baldwin College.

Rachel Nin

Production Manager

Rachel is thrilled to return to SVS, where she has previously served as stage manager (Twelfth Night) and assistant stage manager (King Lear, Pericles). She is currently a stage manager with California Theatre Center and has stage managed for companies around the South Bay including Silicon Valley Ballet, Northside Theatre Company, and Broadway West. She is an alumna of the internship program at Actors Theatre of Louisville, where she stage managed the apprentice show That High Lonesome Sound in the 39^th Humana Festival of New American Plays. She holds a B.A. in Theatre and Creative Writing from Denison University in Granville, OH.

Sonya Duffin

Choreographer

Sonya earned her B.A. in Theater and Dance from Santa Clara University. Sonya has taught dance at hundreds of dance studios, companies and competitive dance teams along the West Coast and Canada. Highlights of her career include performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland and with her own dance company in Portland OR. Sonya is settled back in the Bay Area and thrilled to be involved with SVS!

Sarah Glossop

Music Director

Sarah taught 1st through 8th grade music for several years. While teaching, she directed music for many Broadway Junior productions, including Seussical Jr., Aladdin Jr., and her favorite: Music Man Jr. She also has experience directing adult choirs and ensembles, teaching voice lessons, and singing at church. Sarah is technically a stay-at-home mom now, but is thrilled to be joining SVS for the first time. Sarah earned her B.A. in Music from Oral Roberts University. (That’s in Oklahoma, if you were wondering.)

Shelby Speer

Assistant Director

This is Shelby’s second major production with SVS: she was the Stage Manager of Antony and Cleopatra last summer. Also, she was a director for 2014’s 48-Hour Play Festival for SVS: Recently, Shelby was the Backstage Manager for Northside Theater’s Last of the Red Hot Lovers. In Massachusetts, she was a board member of the Gazebo Players of Medfield, for whom she directed (The Tempest, Love’s Labour’s Lost), stage managed (Comedy of Errors), produced (Murder at the Library), and performed various roles.

Christina Sturken

Stage Manager

Christina returns for her fifth season with SVS. Recent Bay Area work includes prop designing for Los Altos Stage Company’s production of Catch 22 and City Lights Theater Company’s production of Tigers Be Still. She also serves as a resident Stage Manager for Red Barn Production’s Great Dickens Christmas Fair. Christina earned her B.A. in Theatre Arts from San Jose State University.

Maren Lane

Assistant Stage Manager

This is Maren’s first production working with SVS! She currently works in the theatre department at Bellarmine College Prep as a Lighting Designer, doing a constant rotation of shows; favorites include Of Mice and Men, Spamalot, & See How They Run. Maren holds a B.A. in Technical Theatre from San Jose State University. She is extremely excited to join the SVS team for Love’s Labour’s Lost!

Kevin Reardon

Technical Director

Kevin is a Consulting Member of Technical Staff for Oracle Corporation’s Development Department. He has been Technical Director for various Silicon Valley Shakespeare productions since 2000 and has been a member of the Board since 2001. In 2010, Kevin retired from the Board of Directors and moved to the Advisory Council. He got to build a “Quaint Device” for SVS’s production of The Tempest, which resulted in him starting the business “Bill’s Towing and Quaint Devices” (he also has a truck).

Amy Conners

Costume Designer

Amy has been working in the Bay Area theater scene for the past 25 years either as an actor, director, producer or part of the design team. Some of her favorite designs have been for City Lights Theater Company in, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and Equus. Amy received her BA in Theater Arts from San Jose State University. Amy is making her debut with SVS this season and is so honored to be working with such a talented company.

Bob Smay

Lighting Designer

Bob is pleased to be returning for a second year as lighting designer for SVS’s Bramhall Park production. He’s been designing in the South Bay for a number of years for The Retro Dome and Stage Kids California and has lit Los Gatos Ballet’s Nutcracker. Bob has a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from the University of the Pacific in Stockton and is also a member of IATSE Local 134. He spends his off hours canoeing or at TechShop.

Ting Na Wang

Scenic Designer

Ting Na is a freelance set designer, painter and props designer who was born and raised in Taiwan. She received her B.A. Art- Studio Practice degree from San Jose State University in 2013. She is grateful to work with SVS again after designing The Tempest in 2014. Her recent design credits include Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (LAYT), Catch-22 (LASC), and Too Much, Too Much, Too Many (Dragon Theater). Outside her life in the theater, she is also an art teacher at Drawn2Art Los Altos, and a collector/reseller of Mid-century Modern designs.

Adam Weinstein

Sound Designer

Adam has worked as a sound designer with SVS since 2008. Some of his favorite work with Silicon Valley Shakespeare includes Pride and Prejudice, Pericles, Much Ado About Nothing, and As You Like It. Other productions he has worked on include Educating Rita at Northside Theatre, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and The Children’s Hour at Broadway West. He was recently seen onstage at Broadway West in It’s A Wonderful Life.

Melissa Weinstein

Hair/Makeup Designer

Delighted to return for her 10^th season, Melissa’s designer/artist credits also include Pixar, Disney Channel UK, Opera San Jose, and West Bay Opera. Her SVS performing credits include Comedy of Errors (Dromio of Syracuse, 2015 Theatre Bay Area Awards Finalist), Othello (Emilia), Much Ado… (Hero), and Tempest (Ariel, 2007). Credits elsewhere include Tigers Be Still (Sherry) at City Lights Theater Company, How to Succeed… (Miss Jones) and Flower Drum Song (Helen Chao) at WVLO Musical Theater, and Manon Lescaut (Fanciulla) at West Bay Opera. After receiving her B.A. in Theatre from SJSU, Melissa “daylighted” as a children’s theatre teacher/director, and is currently SVS’ Education Director.

Bridget Wylie

Properties Designer

coming soon…

Jarku Virtanen

Master Electrician

Returning for his third season with SVS, Jarku is delighted to electrify the parks of San Jose, Saratoga, and San Mateo once more. In addition to his place in the SVS family, Jarku is the resident lighting designer of Palo Alto’s Cubberley Community Theatre and the master electrician of West Bay Opera. He is also an ensemble member of the Renegade Theatre Experiment and is passionate about the company’s upcoming resurrection.

Patrick Tisdale

Sound Operator

Patrick returns for his third year of SVS, previously running sound on Taming of the Shrew and Comedy of Errors at Bramhall, as well as Othello and Pride and Prejudice in Sanborn Park. He has recently backstage managed at Northside Theater’s productions of Star Spangled Girl, Christmas Carol, and A View from the Bridge. He would like to thank Adam for trusting him with a musical, Angie for her encouragement in life, and his new fur roomie for life, Toby, who will be catty without recognition.

Rylee Blechman

Wardrobe Manager/Costume Intern

coming soon…

Connor Groat

Lighting Intern

Connor has participated in numerous productions throughout high school and college, primarily student productions, both on and off stage, including Copenhagen, Twelfth Night, and Tom Stoppard’s 15-Minute Hamlet. Most recently, Connor played a handful of roles in the New Mexico Shakespeare Project’s production of Hamlet. Connor holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College.

Amber Pernick

Light Board Operator

This is Amber’s first professional show, but she has worked multiple shows at the theater of her highschool, of which she is currently a sophomore. Some favorite experiences of hers has been operating the lightboard for both A Little Murder Never Hurt Anybody and The Music Man. She has always felt a calling towards the technical aspect of theater since her first experience with it, specifically Light Designing and Tech Directing.