Patrick Donoughe is a DC-based actor who is grateful and honored to be making his professional debut in The Tempest at Round House Theatre. He recently graduated from American University with a BA in Theatre. His credits at American University include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Sins of Sor Juana, The Boy Detective Fails, and Miss You Like Hell. (He/Him)
What's on /
The Tempest
By William Shakespeare
Adapted and directed by Aaron Posner and Teller
Produced by Round House Theatre in collaboration with Folger Theatre
Booking and details
This event has passed.
Dates Wed, Nov 23, 2022 – Sun, Jan 29, 2023
Tickets $39-$85
Duration 2 hours and 40 minutes
Shakespeare’s tale of betrayal, reconciliation, and love is part fairy tale, part romance–and all magic.
Adapted and directed by Aaron Posner and Teller (of Penn & Teller fame), an unforgettable reimagining of Shakespeare’s most enchanting romance features haunting music from the catalog of iconic songwriter Tom Waits and mind-bending moves from Pilobolus, as well as astonishing feats of magic.
Arriving just in time for the holiday season, the dazzling production—a smash hit in Boston, Chicago, and Las Vegas—“awakens in the audience a sense of pleasurable, almost childlike wonder,” says The New York Times.
“You’ve never seen a ‘Tempest’ like this. Enormously entertaining … gorgeously performed.” –Chicago Tribune
Cast
Manny Arciniega
Manny Arciniega (Percussion) is honored to be back at Round House Theatre after performing in and co-music directing We’re Gonna Die. DC credits include A.D. 16, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Miss You Like Hell at Olney Theatre Center; Working: A Musical with Working in DC; Lovesick at Theatre J; On Your Feet, Fame, In the Heights, and La Revoltosa at Gala Hispanic Theatre; Caucasian Chalk Circle, Aida, Peter and the Starcatcher, and Avenue Q at Constellation Theatre; Hands on a Hardbody, Chicago, Big Fish, Next to Normal, and Cabaret at the Keegan Theatre. Manny was a featured extra and provided original music for the Netflix Original Series House of Cards, and has performed with a wide variety of ensembles, including the American Pops Orchestra, The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the Miyabi Koto Shamisen Ensemble, The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and The Symphony Orchestra of India.
Ro Boddie
Ro Boddie (Ferdinand) returns to Round House Theatre, where he previously appeared in A Boy and His Soul, and “Master Harold” …and the Boys. Off-Broadway credits include Socrates at Public Theater; Seize the King at Classical Theatre of Harlem; Select regional credits include Windfall at Bay Street Theater; A Play is a Poem at Mark Taper Forum; Blueprints to Freedom at La Jolla Playhouse; Skeleton Crew (tour) at The Old Globe; The Mountaintop at Cleveland Playhouse; Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at Baltimore Center Stage; Pipeline and No Sisters at Studio Theatre. Television credits include Godfather of Harlem, Run the World, The Good Wife, Elementary, and Person of Interest. Ro is an alum of University of the North Carolina School of the Arts and recipient of the 2016 Actor of the Year Craig Noel Award.
Nate Dendy
Nate Dendy (Ariel) is an actor and magician. He is excited to reprise his role as Ariel at Round House Theatre. Previous DC credits include The Fantasticks (Helen Hayes Nomination Best Supporting Actor) at Arena Stage. Off-Broadway credits include Prairie du Chien at Atlantic Theater Company. He’s played Ariel in previous productions of The Tempest at Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Jeff Award Nomination Best Actor), American Repertory Theater, South Coast Repertory, and The Smith Center. Other Regional credits include Angels in America at Risk Theater Initiative; Twelfth Night at Dallas Shakespeare Festival; and The Fantasticks at South Coast Repertory/Trinity Repertory Company. Film and television credits include Turtle Hill, and The CW Network’s Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Nate has created magic for Netflix, Company on Broadway, and various Off-Broadway and regional productions. Instagram: @NateDendy natedendy.com
Megan Graves
Megan Graves (Miranda) is delighted to be performing at Round House Theatre for the first time. Previous DC credits include The Great Society and The Little Foxes at Arena Stage; Love’s Labor’s Lost, King John, The Second Shepherd’s Play, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Folger Theatre; Dance Nation, The Thanksgiving Play, and Oil (US premiere) at Olney Theatre Center; Gloria at Woolly Mammoth Theatre; Translations at Studio Theatre; and Marys Seacole at Mosaic Theatre Company. Regional credits include work at Virginia Repertory Theatre and the Virginia Shakespeare Festival. Megan is a proud company member of Only Make Believe, a non-profit arts organization that creates theatre with children in hospitals, care facilities, and special education settings. (She/Her) Instagram: @OnlyMakeBelieveDC
Lizzie Hagstedt
Lizzie Hagstedt (Iris / Rough Magic / Accordion) is an actor, singer, musician, and composer from Sayville, New York, making her Round House Theatre debut. Credits include the national tour of Sweeney Todd; Southern Comfort at the Public Theater, Barrington Stage Company, and CAP21; playing bass for Sweet Charity, starring Sutton Foster, with The New Group; the world premier musical August Rush at Paramount Theatre Aurora; and The Taming of the Shrew at Virginia Stage Company. She most recently composed a musical education touring adaptation of “The Odyssey” entitled Looking for Ithaca for Asolo Repertory Theatre. LizzieHagstedt.com
Richard R. Henry
Richard R. Henry (Trinculo) is making his Round House Theatre debut. Off-Broadway credits include The Two Gentlemen of Verona: The Musical at Public Theater; Drift at New World Stages; and The Streets of New York at Irish Repertory Theatre. Regional credits include Assassins at Yale Repertory Theatre; Oliver at Goodspeed Opera House; Ragtime and Pirates of Penzance at Utah Shakespeare Festival; The Two Gentlemen of Verona at Old Globe; Cyrano, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter’s Tale at Folger Theatre; Guys and Dolls at Milwaukee Repertory Theater; Twelfth Night at Pig Iron Theatre Company; A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder at Florida Studio Theater; The Music Man at Guthrie Theater; Kiss My Aztec at Hartford Stage; Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame at La Jolla Play House, Paper Mill Play House and Cast Recording; National Tour credits include Urinetown, Sweet Charity, Man of La Mancha, and Jesus Christ Superstar. Television credits include Search Party, Younger, Girls5Eva, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Eric Hissom
Eric Hissom (u/s Camillo, Shepherd, and Antigonus) Folger Theatre: The Merry Wives of Windsor, Timon of Athens, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Arcadia (Helen Hayes award); Arena Stage: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; Ford’s Theatre: Born Yesterday; Olney Theatre Center: The Diary of Anne Frank; Round House Theatre: The Tempest (in association with Folger Theatre), The Great Leap, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time; Studio Theatre: The Effect; Theatre J: Body of an American; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: The Vibrator Play. Regional credits include work at Seattle Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Cleveland Playhouse, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, and many others. He performed in the National Tour of The Thirty-Nine Steps and has appeared in a smattering of television and film, including the feature Out of Time.
Naomi Jacobson
Naomi Jacobson (Gonzala) is an Affiliated Artist at Shakespeare Theatre Company and a Woolly Mammoth Theatre company member. Her Round House Theatre credits include Caroline or Change, The Lyons, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Wintertime, Smell of the Kill, Mere Mortals, and The Sisterhood. Other DC credits include Heroes of the Fourth Turning at Studio Theatre; Cabaret at Signature Theatre, Mary T & Lizzy K at Arena Stage; Awake & Sing at Olney Theatre Center; Aaron Posner’s Life Sucks at Theatre J; and Born Yesterday at Ford’s Theatre. She’s traveled regionally to Guthrie Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse, Indiana Repertory Theatre, and others. Naomi has received Helen Hayes Awards and nominations, the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship, the Anderson-Hopkins Award, and a DC Arts Commission Individual Artist grant. NaomiJacobson.com
Kevin Mambo
Kevin Mambo (Sebastian) is known for his recent work as Sheldon on Marvel’s Luke Cage; Lynn Nottage’s productions of Mlima’s Tale, Ruined, and Sweat; and Junior in Fortress of Solitude. Broadway credits include The Book of Mormon (Kennedy Center nomination), The Color Purple, and Fela! In addition to his skill as a vocalist, he is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist (vocals, keys, guitar, and saxophone) and composer with Blaz, the 88 Sound, and Audio Deluxe. He co-wrote, co-composed, and directed Flying Hobos, which gained support from NASA Space Grant Consortium, State Humanities Councils, HBCU schools, and NEA, among others. He is working with Greatest Stories Never Told, which focuses on African American and women’s stories for children about overlooked American heroes. Upon completion of earning a BFA at the School of Dramatic arts at USC in Los Angeles, Mambo gained critical acclaim on Guiding Light, receiving 3 consecutive nominations and two consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Younger Actor in Drama
Hassiem Muhammad
Hassiem Muhammad (Caliban 1): Regional credits include The Three Musketeers at Cleveland Playhouse; Shoebox Picnic: Route 1 at Alabama Shakespeare Festival; and SWEAT at the Pioneer Theatre Company. Television credits include Madam Secretary, FBI, and Blue Bloods. Hassiem is represented by Red Letter Entertainment, HCKR Agency, and A3 Artists Agency (commercial). Instagram: @HassiemMuhammad. HassiemMuhammad.com
Cody Nickell
Cody Nickell (Camillo) Folger Theatre: The Tempest (produced by Round House Theatre), The Merry Wives of Windsor, Antony and Cleopatra, Mary Stuart, The Taming of the Shrew (Helen Hayes nomination), Arcadia (Helen Hayes nomination), The School for Scandal, Macbeth; Shakespeare Theatre Company: The School for Lies, Romeo and Juliet; The Studio Theatre: Animal (World Premiere); Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Company Member): Clybourne Park (Helen Hayes nomination), In The Next Room, or the vibrator play, Stupid F***ing Bird (World Premiere), Baby Screams Miracle. Other regional credits include plays at Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Portland Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Playmakers Repertory Company, San Jose Repertory Theatre, The Wilma Theater, Arden Theatre Company, Capitol Repertory Theatre, and Gulfshore Playhouse where Cody was Artistic Associate for three seasons. Cody’s work also includes film, television, and voiceovers. codynickell.com
Kate Eastwood Norris
Kate Eastwood Norris (Paulina) Folger Theatre: The Tempest (produced by Round House Theatre), The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1 Henry IV, King John, Macbeth (2018, 2008), Mary Stuart, The Taming of the Shrew (Helen Hayes nomination), Hamlet, Now I Am Alone, The School for Scandal, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helen Hayes Award), Much Ado About Nothing, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, She Stoops To Conquer, The Tempest, Hamlet (1999); Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: Stupid F***ing Bird (Helen Hayes nomination), Full Circle, Fever/Dream, She Stoops To Comedy (Helen Hayes Award), Big Love, Bug; Arena Stage: The Book Club Play; Source Theatre: Intimate Exchanges (Helen Hayes nomination), Private Eyes; Round House Theatre: A Body of Water; Washington Shakespeare Company: Strange Interlude (Helen Hayes nomination), The Taming of the Shrew. Regional: Actors Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival: Gnit, Eat Your Heart Out; Berkeley Repertory Theatre: Concerning Strange Devices From The Distant West; Shakespeare Santa Cruz: Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, The Playboy of the Western World, As You Like It, King Lear; Portland Center Stage: BoNita, The North Plan; Florida Stage: Ghostwriter; Delaware Theatre Company: Lucy.
Ian Riggs
Ian M. Riggs (Bass) is delighted to be a part of The Tempest for his debut role at Round House Theatre. Other DC area credits include conducting, and music directing, and performing in No Place to Go at the Signature Theater. Ian was a long-term substitute bass in the Broadway productions of Mean Girls and Paramour (Cirque du Soleil). His Off-Broadway credits include The Outer Space and No Place to Go at the Public Theater, and Baal at The Flea Theater. Ian performed in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel S1E5 on Amazon Prime Video. Other notable performances include playing at the Hollywood Bowl and the Kaloo Bang Festival with Burning Spear, and at Bonnaroo with the Lonesome Trio. Ian received an Obie award for No Place to Go in 2012.
KenYatta Rogers
KenYatta Rogers (Alonso) is thrilled to return to Round House Theatre after performing in Gem of the Ocean, Father Comes Home from the Wars, Two Trains Running, Glengarry Glen Ross, Amadeus, A Wrinkle in Time, Eurydice, and A Lesson Before Dying. Regional credits include Our Town at Baltimore Center Stage; Spunk at Signature Theatre; King Hedley II and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at Arena Stage; Topdog/Underdog and A Raisin in the Sun at Everyman Theatre; Fever/Dream at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; Fences, Death of a Salesman, and Jitney at Ford’s Theatre; Colossal at Olney Theatre Center; Comedy of Errors at Folger Theatre; The Piano Lesson at Trustus Theatre; Coriolanus at Shakespeare & Company; and As You Like It, Spunk, and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at African Continuum Theatre. KenYatta is a faculty member in the University of Maryland’s Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies.
Ryan Sellers
Ryan Sellers (Caliban 2) is making his debut at Round House Theatre. DC area credits include The Adventures of Peter Pan, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Taming of the Shrew, The Three Musketeers, King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helen Hayes, Best Ensemble), Romeo and Juliet (Helen Hayes, Best Ensemble) at Synetic Theater; West Side Story, The Threepenny Opera, and Miss Saigon at Signature Theatre; The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Second Shepherds’ Play at Folger Theater; Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at Studio Theater; Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare Theatre Company.
Kanysha Williams
Kanysha Williams (Juno / Rough Magic) is so excited to be making her Round House debut! Favorite credits include American Prophet at Arena Stage; Acoustic Rooster at The Kennedy Center; Little Shop of Horrors at ArtsCentric; Sister Act at the Lyceum Theatre in Arrow Rock, MO; and The Color Purple at the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts. Kanysha also works as a voice and piano instructor, and a recording artist. Her debut single, “ALIVE” is now available on all digital streaming platforms. Instagram: @StrawberrySings
Creative Team
Co-Director and Co-Adapter
Aaron Posner
Aaron Posner
Aaron Posner
Aaron Posner is a director, playwright, former Artistic Director, and a theatre professor at American University. Aaron has directed more than 150 productions at major regional theaters including Or, Stage Kiss, and A Murder, a Mystery & A Marriage at Round House Theatre. Plays he has written include JQA, The Heal, Life Sucks, Stupid F***ing Bird, No Sisters, District Merchants, The Chosen, My Name Is Asher Lev, and many more. He has won six Helen Hayes Awards, two Barrymore Awards, an Outer Circle Critics Award, a Jeff Award, an Elliott Norton Award, a Bay Area Theatre Critics Award, The John Gassner Prize, an Off-Broadway Alliance Award, and others.
Co-Director and Co-Adapter
Teller
Teller
Teller
Teller has been the smaller, quieter half of Penn & Teller since 1975. With Penn Jillette, he has played Broadway, toured internationally to sold out houses, and is the longest-running headline act in Las Vegas history. Penn & Teller have written and starred in television series and specials, including eight seasons of the Emmy-nominated Showtime series Penn & Teller: Bullshit!; Penn & Teller Tell a Lie on Discovery; Penn & Teller’s Sin City Spectacular on FX; Behind the Scenes, a PBS children’s series on the arts; The Unpleasant World of Penn & Teller, a magic and comedy series on England’s Channel 4; and the current hit series, Penn & Teller: Fool Us on The CW. Teller has written for The Atlantic Monthly, Smithsonian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Esquire, GQ, The New Yorker; as well as three books with Jillette and two on his own. He is a frequent contributor to NPR’s All Things Considered. Teller and Aaron Posner co-directed a version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and he co-wrote and directed the acclaimed stage production Play Dead (off-Broadway and Los Angeles). Teller was nominated for an Olivier for co-writing the West End hit Magic Goes Wrong. In 2014, Teller made his feature-length film directorial debut with the Oscar-shortlisted and BAFTA-nominated Tim’s Vermeer.
Music Director
Liz Filios
Liz Filios
Liz Filios
Liz Filios is thrilled to join the Round House Theatre family for the first time with The Tempest. Previous DC credits include The Winter’s Tale at Folger Theatre; and Me, Jane at The Kennedy Center Theatre for Young Audiences. Regional credits include The Tempest at Chicago Shakespeare Theater and South Coast Repertory; Twelfth Night O Lo Que Quieras at Delaware Shakespeare; An Iliad at Lantern Theater Company (Barrymore Nomination for Best Original Music); Dance Nation at Temple University; Passion, Candide, and Sunday in the Park with George at Arden Theatre Company; Shakespeare In Love, Hamlet, and The Ice Princess at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; The Winter’s Tale at Quintessence Theatre Group; D-Pad at Theatre Exile; and A Christmas Carol at People’s Light. Liz holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan. lizfilios.com
Choreographer
Pilobolus
Pilobolus
Pilobolus
Pilobolus has tested the limits of human physicality to explore the beauty and the power of connected bodies since 1971. Artistic Director’s Matt Kent and Renée Jaworski bring the company’s work to the Round House Theatre stage for the first time in this production of The Tempest. Since being selected to lead Pilobolus into its post succession evolution in 2011, Matt and Renée have lead collaborations with WNYC’s Radiolab, Brian Greene’s World Science Festival, Penn & Teller, MTV’s Video Music Awards, Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Javier de Frutos, MIT’s Distributed Robotics Lab, Steven Banks, and many more. Pilobolus has been recognized with prestigious honors including a TED Fellowship, a Primetime Emmy Award, several Cannes Lion Awards, a Grammy nomination, and performed for the late Queen Elizabeth II. Matt Kent’s past work on The Tempest, directed by Aaron Posner and Teller, was nominated for Best Choreography by the L.A. Drama Critics Circle. Pilobolus.org
Scenic Design
Dan Conway
Dan Conway
Dan Conway
Daniel Conway has designed more than a dozen plays for Round House Theatre. Other projects include The Scottsboro Boys at Signature Theatre; Born Yesterday and Sabrina Fair at Ford’s Theatre; MacBeth at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre; Penn and Teller on Broadway; the premiere of Queens for a Year at Hartford Stage; The Tempest (directed by Aaron Posner and Teller) for American Repertory Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, and South Coast Repertory theatres; At Wit’s End, Love in Afghanistan, Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike at Arena Stage; the premiere of American Song at Milwaukee Rep; The Games Afoot at Cleveland Playhouse; Company, Hairspray, Chess, and Sunset Boulevard, and Jelly’s Last Jam at Signature Theatre; and The Merry Wives of Windsor at Shakespeare Theatre Company; Hand to God, Three Sisters, and the premiere of No Sisters at Studio Theatre; District Merchant at South Coast Repertory; At Wit’s End at Cincinnati Playhouse. He is A fourteen-time Helen Hayes nominee for Outstanding Set Design, and received the award in 2000, 2009, and 2015. Most recently in 2017, he won for Stunning at Woolly Mammoth Theatre. In 2019, Mr. Conway was the featured American set designer at The Prague Quadrennial of International Theatre Design and Performance Art.
Costume Design
Sarah Cubbage
Sarah Cubbage
Sarah Cubbage
Sarah Cubbage (Costume Designer) Folger Theatre: The Winter’s Tale, King John; Round House Theater: The Tempest (in association with Folger Theatre), Spring Awakening, The Heal (co-produced with The Getty Villa); Signature Theatre: A Chorus Line; Studio Theatre: Kings, The Wolves, The Hard Problem; Olney Theatre Center: The Crucible and Labour of Love; Theatre J: Compulsion, Actually; Rep Stage: Sweeney Todd, Dorian’s Closet; Center Stage: That Face. New York: David Geffen Hall: Crazy for You; The Juilliard School: Triumph of Love, Hippolyte et Aricie. Regional: American Repertory Theatre: The Lily’s Revenge, at American Repertory Theatre; Syracuse Stage: Disgraced, In the Next Room; Disney Creative Entertainment: Beauty & The Beast. She is a member of USA 829. SarahCubbage.com. @SarahCubbageDesign
Lighting Design
Thom Weaver
Thom Weaver
Thom Weaver
Thom Weaver previously worked on The Heal, Or, How I Learned What I Learned, and 26 Miles at Round House Theatre. Off-Broadway credits include Sandra at Vineyard Theatre; The Total Bent at Public Theater; Kingdom Come at Roundabout Theatre Company; Exit Strategy at Primary Stages; King Hedley II, How I Learned What I Learned, and The Liquid Plain at Signature Theatre Company; Teller’s Play Dead at The Players Theater. Regional credits include productions with Alliance Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Arden Theatre Company, The Wilma Theater (Associate Artist), Philadelphia Theatre Company, Milwaukee Rep, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Getty Pavilion, Children’s Theatre Company, Cleveland Play House, Portland Center Stage, Folger Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Hangar Theatre, CenterStage, California Shakespeare Theater, Syracuse Stage, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Lincoln Center Festival, City Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, as well as numerous designs with Pilobolus. He is the recipient of two Jeff Awards, six Barrymore Awards and two Audelco Awards. Education: Carnegie Mellon and Yale University. He is a member of Wingspace Theatrical Design and Co-Founder of Die-Cast. (He/Him)
Sound Design
Andre Pluess
Andre Pluess
Andre Pluess
Andre Pluess previously worked on Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Round House Theatre. Other DC-area credits include As You Like It at Folger Theatre. Broadway credits include Good Night Oscar (upcoming) at Belasco Theatre; The Minutes at Cort Theatre/Studio 54; 33 Variations at Eugene O’Neill Theatre; I Am My Own Wife at Lyceum Theatre; and Metamorphoses at Circle in the Square Theatre. Off-Broadway credits include The Clean House at Lincoln Center Theater; and Milk Like Sugar and BFE at Playwrights Horizons. Regional credits include multiple productions with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Center Theatre Group, Yale Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Court Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, The Huntington Theatre, and South Coast Repertory. Awards include multiple Joseph Jefferson Awards, an Ovation Award, Drama Critics Circle Award, Barrymore Award, Helen Hayes Award, Drama Desk, and Lucille Lortel nominations for composition and design. Based in Chicago, Andre is an ensemble member of Lookingglass Theatre Company.
Magic Coordinator
Ryan Phillips
Ryan Phillips
Ryan Phillips
Ryan Phillips is delighted to make his Round House Theatre acting debut with The Tempest. Previous Round House credits include Effects Consultant for it’s not a trip, it’s a journey. DC credits include Magic Consultant for The Consul at Washington National Opera. Regional credits include Flavors of Magic at Flea Theatre and The Rose Room NYC. Ryan is also the Resident Magician for The Magic Duel at the Mayflower Hotel. Instagram: @MagicByRyan
Associate Director
Holly Twyford
Holly Twyford
Holly Twyford
Holly Twyford is thrilled to be back with Round House Theatre and Folger Theatre for her sixteenth collaboration with Aaron Posner. Prior work includes the Classical Theatre of Harlem/Folger’s King Lear (text coach), AD on Measure for Measure at Folger, and directing the audio version of Romeo and Juliet for the STC’s Academy for Classical Acting. Holly and Aaron (as actor and director, respectively) have previously joined forces at Folger for the productions of Othello, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King John, The Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Other roles include “Jessica” in The Merchant of Venice, “Beatrice” in Much Ado About Nothing, “Hamlet” in Hamlet, “Helena” in All’s Well…, “Juliet” in Romeo and Juliet, and dozens more plays not written by Shakespeare. She is an actor and director in the Washington, DC area.
Associate Scenic Designer
Andrew R. Cohen
Andrew R. Cohen
Andrew R. Cohen
Andrew R. Cohen is thrilled to bring The Tempest to the DC area, a production he has been with since its inception, 8 years ago. Select DC credits include Murder Ballad (Helen Hayes Award Nomination for Outstanding Set Design) at Studio Theatre; King John at Folger Theatre; The Crucible at Olney Theater Center; The Wanderers at Theater J; The Till Trilogy and Eureka Day at Mosaic Theater Company; Earthrise at the Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences. Mr. Popper’s Penguins at Imagination Stage. Regional credits include Flyin’ West at Everyman Theatre. It’s a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play at Studio Tenn; The Piano Lesson at Le Petit Theatre. Andrew received his MFA in Scenic Design from University of Maryland and is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829. AndrewCohenDesigns.com
Assistant Director
Renea S. Brown
Renea S. Brown
Renea S. Brown
Renea S. Brown (Third Woman: Myrrha and others) Folger Theatre: The Reading Room, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Arena Stage: Change Agent; Shakespeare Theatre Company: The Tempest, Macbeth; Kennedy Center: Love Factually; Chesapeake Shakespeare Theatre Company: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth; Theatre Prometheus: Macbeth, Cymbeline. Regional credits include The Wolves at McCarter Theatre; Othello, Sense and Sensibility, and Twelfth Night (first Black woman to perform) at Island Shakespeare Festival. Wedding Bandand, The Little Princess at Quintessence Theatre; Much Ado About Nothing, A King and No King, and A Chaste Maid in Cheapside at American Shakespeare Center. MFA: Academy of Classical Acting. Instagram: @TheDarkLady
Assistant Director
Shana Laski
Shana Laski
Shana Laski
Shana Laski (Assistant Director) Folger Theatre: The Tempest with Round House Theatre. Round House Theatre: Artistic Apprentice, Jennifer Who Is Leaving (Assistant Director), Radio Golf (Dramaturg); Spooky Action: Sonnets for an Old Century; Cogent Theatre Company: Closer; Rorschach Theatre; Expats Theatre, Theatre Prometheus, and others. @shana.laski shanalaski.com.
Props Coordinator
Andrea "Dre" Moore
Andrea "Dre" Moore
Andrea "Dre" Moore
Andrea “Dre” Moore is a properties and puppet designer, and fabricator in the Maryland/DC area and is excited to be back at Round House. Previous Round House credits include properties for it’s not a trip, it’s a journey and We declare you a terrorist…, as well as headdresses and puppet fabrication for Quixote Nuevo. Current productions include properties design for Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: A Rock Experience at Imagination Stage, and craft work for Beauty and the Beast at Olney Theatre Center and Into The Woods at Signature Theatre. Recent productions include Dust at the Virginia Theological Seminary, and Witch Wartsmith’s Halloween Spooktacular at the Puppet Co. Dre’s designs have also graced the stages of Adventure Theatre – MTC, Baltimore CenterStage, Discovery Theatre, Flying V Theatre, Olney Theatre, and Theatre J. Several of Dre’s properties and puppet pieces are on rotating display at DoodleHATCH, an immersive art museum. DoodleHatch.com
Intimacy Coordinator
Helen Aberger
Helen Aberger
Helen Aberger
Helen Aberger makes her Round House Theatre debut with The Tempest. She is an active intimacy professional in the DC metro area whose recent credits include Circle Mirror Transformation and Back of the Throat at Silver Spring Stage; Bright Star at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre; and Shakespeare in Love with Kentlands Community Players. She also specializes in directing operetta, most notably with Victorian Lyric Opera Company. HelenAbergerDirector.com
Dramaturg
Naysan Mojgani
Naysan Mojgani
Naysan Mojgani
Naysan Mojgani is Round House Theatre’s Associate Artist for Literary and New Plays, in which capacity he serves as in-house dramaturg and leads Round House Theatre’s new work program. As a theatre scholar, director, and dramaturg, Naysan has worked on new and classic work with theatres around the country, including Arena Stage (where he served as Literary Manager), La Jolla Playhouse, MOXIE, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Theatre Squared, Malashock Dance, and has taught at UC San Diego and George Mason University. Naysan holds a PhD in Theatre & Drama from UC San Diego, and a BA from Carleton College.
Casting Director
Sarah Cooney
Sarah Cooney
Sarah Cooney
Sarah Cooney is Round House Theatre’s Associate Artist of Casting and Producing, where she serves as Resident Casting Director and Artist Liaison. In the DC area, Sarah has cast for The Kennedy Center’s Broadway Center Stage series, Signature Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, and Studio Theatre. As a Casting Director with NYC’s Binder Casting, Sarah cast for The Lion King Broadway and National Touring productions and the Encores! series at New York City Center. Other Regional casting credits include Hartford Stage, Seattle Rep, Drury Lane Theatre, Weston Playhouse, McCarter Theatre, ACT of Connecticut, and others. Film and TV credits include Crashing (HBO), The Big Sick (Apatow Productions), Kevin Can Wait (CBS), and Clipped (HGTV). Sarah taught at West Virginia University and is a New York University alum.
Production Stage Manager
Che Wernsman
Che Wernsman
Che Wernsman
Che Wernsman is elated for her seventh season as Resident SM at Round House! Some of her favorite RHT credits include: Nollywood Dreams; We declare you a terrorist…; A Boy and His Soul; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time; Handbagged (Off-Broadway – 59E59, Bethesda); Oslo; Gem of the Ocean; Small Mouth Sounds; The Legend of Georgia McBride; The Book of Will; and A Prayer for Owen Meany. Che has worked as an AEA Stage Manager in the DC/Baltimore region for over two decades, with shows at The Kennedy Center, Folger Theatre, Imagination Stage, The National, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Theatre J, Studio, Everyman, Rep Stage, Center Stage, and Olney Theatre Center. She earned a Bachelor of Science from Virginia Tech.
Assistant Stage Manager
Samantha Wilhelm
Samantha Wilhelm
Samantha Wilhelm
Samantha Wilhelm is delighted to be back at Round House Theatre. She previously worked as the Production Stage Manager for it’s not a trip, it’s a journey and A Doll’s House: Part 2; the Assistant Stage Manager for Quixote Nuevo, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Gem of the Ocean; and as Production Assistant on The Legend of Georgia McBride, Handbagged, and The Book of Will and Uncle Vanya. Other area credits include work at Everyman Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Ford’s Theatre (Come from Away – 2017 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Musical Production), The Kennedy Center, Mosaic Theatre Company, and Adventure Theatre. She is a graduate of the University of Mary Washington.
Understudies
Patrick Donoughe
Jordan Essex
Jordan Essex is so excited to be joining Round House Theatre for the first time! DC credits include Once on This Island at Constellation Theatre; A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Folger Theatre; The Toxic Avenger at Rorschach Theatre; Little Shop of Horrors at Artscentric; Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds at Maryland Ensemble Theatre; National Tour credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream and A Raisin in the Sun with National Players at Olney Theatre Center. Jordan has a BM in Musical Theatre from Catholic University. Instagram: @JC.Essex
Nicholas Gerwitz
Nicholas Gerwitz (Shepherd’s Son) Folger Theatre: debut; Shakespeare Theatre Company: Here There are Blueberries; Studio Theatre: Clyde’s; Roundhouse Theatre: The Tempest; Bob Bartlett Theatre: Lýkos Ánthrōpos; 1st Stage Theater: Secret Things. Academy of Classical Acting: The Winter’s Tale, Julius Caesar, The Cherry Orchard, MFA in Acting from The Academy of Classical Acting, and a BFA in Acting from Fredonia University.
Joshua Cole Lucas
Joshua Cole Lucas is a DC based actor, dancer, teaching artist, and theatrical carpenter, making their debut with Round House Theatre. He has worked primarily with Synetic Theater, which includes productions of The Tempest, Snow Queen (Kai), The Phantom of the Opera (ensemble), “Day 6, Story 4” of The Decameron, Shakespeare Revue, Cinderella (understudy), Servant of Two Masters (understudy), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Snout), and Host and Guest (ensemble). Instagram: @Jok_Lucious
Cody Nickell
Cody Nickell (Camillo) Folger Theatre: The Tempest (produced by Round House Theatre), The Merry Wives of Windsor, Antony and Cleopatra, Mary Stuart, The Taming of the Shrew (Helen Hayes nomination), Arcadia (Helen Hayes nomination), The School for Scandal, Macbeth; Shakespeare Theatre Company: The School for Lies, Romeo and Juliet; The Studio Theatre: Animal (World Premiere); Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Company Member): Clybourne Park (Helen Hayes nomination), In The Next Room, or the vibrator play, Stupid F***ing Bird (World Premiere), Baby Screams Miracle. Other regional credits include plays at Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Portland Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Playmakers Repertory Company, San Jose Repertory Theatre, The Wilma Theater, Arden Theatre Company, Capitol Repertory Theatre, and Gulfshore Playhouse where Cody was Artistic Associate for three seasons. Cody’s work also includes film, television, and voiceovers. codynickell.com
Ryan Phillips
Ryan Phillips is delighted to make his Round House Theatre acting debut with The Tempest. Previous Round House credits include Effects Consultant for it’s not a trip, it’s a journey. DC credits include Magic Consultant for The Consul at Washington National Opera. Regional credits include Flavors of Magic at Flea Theatre and The Rose Room NYC. Ryan is also the Resident Magician for The Magic Duel at the Mayflower Hotel. Instagram: @MagicByRyan
Emma Wallach
Emma Wallach is thrilled to be making her Round House Theatre debut as an understudy for The Tempest. Regional credits include Billy Elliot and Annie at the Maltz Jupiter Theater. Some of her American University credits include Everybody, Into the Woods, The Boy Detective Fails, and The Winter’s Tale. Emma is currently a student at American University (class of 2023), majoring in Musical Theatre and minoring in Literature.
Jacqueline Youm
Jacqueline Youm is elated to be a part of The Tempest at Round House Theatre, where she was previously seen in Nollywood Dreams. She is a Senegalese actor, lawyer, and teaches French, English, Spanish, Mediation, and Negotiation. DC credits include The Trip and Die, Mr. Darcy, Die at Best Medicine Rep; The Actor’s Nightmare at Laurel Mill Playhouse; A Black and White Cookie at Silver Spring Stage; The Revolutionists at Globe Openstage; An Ideal Husband at Sandy Spring Theatre Group; A Doll’s House Part, 2 at Silver Spring Stage; and Doctor Faustus at The Rude Mechanicals. Other credits include Mary Stuart at Zenith Players and Edward II at The Show Must Go Online. You can find her productions on Youtube: youtube.com/c/CestJackie/videos. Instagram: @jy_artiste
Folger Theatre Sponsors
With special thanks to
Share Fund
Season Sponsors
Maygene and Steve Daniels
Helen and David Kenney and Family
The late Neal T. Turtell
Production Sponsors
Nicky Cymrot
Nancy and Steve Howard
Robin and Roger Millay
Contributing Sponsors
Keith and Celia Arnaud
Louis and Bonnie Cohen
Denise Gwyn Ferguson
Margaret and David Gardner
Associate Sponsors
Timothy J. Carlton
Dr. David E. Johnson and Ms. Wendy Frieman
Peter and Mary Jay Michel
Gail Kern Paster