As You Like It Cast & Crew
MJ Brackin (Rosalind)
MJ Brackin is very excited to be joining Vermont Stage Company!! Previous NY credits include: LOVES LABOURS LOST, THREE SISTERS, MACBETH, ONE ARM AND A LEG, HOLD MUSIC, and AFTER MISS. JULIE. Film credits: 12 (*premiered at the Hollywood Film Festival), Around The World, and Two Ladies and a Gentlemen. A world of thanks to my family for their unrelenting support, and my manager for believing. MJ received her MFA in Acting from Columbia University.
Lowell Byers (Orlando)
Lowell Byers is a New York City based actor and writer and has performed at Playwrights Horizons, Theatre Row, Bleecker Street Theater and The Players Club. He recently appeared as Tommy Marino in 'Chip Off The Moon' at The Players Club with Anne Meara, Paul D'Amato, and Donna de Matteo. After this production, he will return to NYC to play Sergeant Rowan in the new rock musical, 'Smile.' As a writer, Lowell has written a stage play and two screenplays. One of which is based on the true story of his relative who was a WWII POW for 13 months. He is very happy to be here in Burlington taking on the role of Orlando in this cherished play. Special thanks to Cristina and Jason for bringing him on board! www.lowellbyers.com
Chris Caswell (Jacques, Phebe, Le Beau)
Chris Caswell is a playwright and performer who gets her kicks playing cross-gender roles. She most recently directed Seth Jarvis' ICON. With VSC, she performed in Oliver Twist, Shipwrecked, Well and Winter Tales (thrice). She co-founded Heat & Hot Water Productions (heatandhotwater.com) with whom she creates and performs. Chris is humbled to be part of this wonderful cast and would like to thank Jason and Cristina for the opportunity.
Patrick Clow (2 Dukes, Audrey)
lives in Williston, is a native Vermonter, and by day is a manager at LPA Design in South Burlington. This is his 5th VSC production - thank you Jason and Cristina! He was seen most recently in FlynnSpace during Winter Tales. His last appearance on the Flynn mainstage was as 'Smee' in Lyric Theatre Company's Peter Pan. Patrick directed Lyric's recent production of Hairspray. The Full Monty was 2009: he both directed it for Lyric and played 'Jerry' in Stowe Theatre Guild's production! He will be returning to the Stowe stage this summer as Sweeney Todd. Love to 7-year-old Elliott who endures daddy's wacky theatre schedule, and thanks to Elliott's mom, Kristen, for enabling such.
Catherine Domareki (Celia, Amiens, William)
This is Catherine's third As You Like It outing (Phebe at Danbury Rep, CT; Rosalind at Cold Comfort Theatre, ME); it gets better and better! Other roles include Helena in All's Well That Ends Well (Woodstock Shakespeare Festival, NY); Laura in The Glass Menagerie (Ivoryton Playhouse, CT), Anya in The Cherry Orchard (Gallery Players, Brooklyn, NY); Ado Annie in Oklahoma! (Rhinebeck Center for Performing Arts, NY); Christina in Mirage à Trois (Santa Monica Playhouse, CA); Cavale in Cowboy Mouth (Black Dahlia Theatre, Los Angeles); Mabel Chiltern in An Ideal Husband (Long Beach Playhouse, CA); Elvira in Blithe Spirit (Lakewood Theatre, ME). Many thanks to everyone at Vermont Stage. Love to Ash and Clementine.
Jordan Gullikson (Touchstone, Oliver)
is an actor, playwright and glass blower. Recently, he played Touchstone and Oliver in VT Stage's As You Like It and Michel in Saints and Poets's The Pillowman. Jordan studied at The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City.
Orion Lay-Sleeper (Silvius, Charles, Jaque Debuys)
This is Orion's second endeavor with The Vermont Stage Company, having recently appeared as Silvius, Charles, and other characters in VSC's As You Like It. He is ecstatic to be playing Lord of the Underworld in Eurydice; a deliciously interesting character. He thanks his family and friends for their constant support. Enjoy the show and dont look back!
Julie Banach (Wardrobe Manager)
Julie is very excited to be working on her first season with Vermont Stage Company. She recently finished studying Technical Theatre at Castleton Stage College. Previous technical experience includes make-up for A Winter's Tale, assistant stage manager for Reckless, Props for You Can't Take it With You, as well as working for Castleton's Technical Services as a lighting and sound technician throughout her years as a student. She also has performed in such works as Picasso at the Lapin Agile as Suzanne and A Chorus Line as Maggie. Julie is very grateful for this opportunity.
John Paul Devlin (Lighting Designer | Technical Director)
is the Resident Designer and TD at Saint Michael's College and Resident Designer and Production Manager for the Saint Michael's Playhouse. Favorite works with VSC include scenery for Shipwrecked, Three Days of Rain and True West. Other recent works include lighting for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for the Saint Michael's Playhouse and lighting From the New World, with the Champlain Quadrennial festival. John is dedicating his 2010-2011 work to his son Patrick who died in September 2009 and to his daughter Kat who is currently recovering from a bone marrow transplant. Thanks to Carol and Kat; without their support his work would not be possible.
Jenny C. Fulton (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Jenny designs space, objects and clothes for stage and film. She has designed regularly for Vermont Stage since 2001, most recently Oliver Twist and The Glass Menagerie. In NYC she's designed for Salt Theatre, Anne Kaufman and Clubbed Thumb, The Women's Project, as well as the NY premier of Kathryn Blume's The Boycott. Regionally, American Repertory Theatre, Yale Rep, Philadelphia Shakespeare, Virginia Shakespeare, North Shore Music Theatre, Northern Stage, Lost Nation, St. Mike's Playhouse, and others. Film design credits include indie films and PBS Channel 13's The American Novel. She is also an educator and has held guest artist appointments at Hunter College, Mt. Holyoke, Bates College and is presently adjunct faculty at Keene State. She holds degrees from Brandeis and Yale Drama, is a member of USA Local 829, and divides her time between drafty Vermont farmhouse and small Brooklyn apartment. Love and thanks to Prof. Henry Fulton for the ties.
Martha Goode (Sound Designer)
Martha's favorite Sound Design credits include: Anaϊs Nin Goes to Hell, The Oath and Barrier Island (MTWorks), The Witlings (Magis Theatre Company), Every Man (winner Samuel French Short Play Festival) To Barcelona! and Eli and Cheryl Jump (Ignited States), Don't Shoot Your Eye Out! (The Brick Theatre), Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Blood Wedding, and No Place To Be Somebody (Boston University), and Photograph 51 (Vermont Stage Company). Martha is the Managing Director of MTWorks, a theater company which produces new plays inspired by playwrights and regions outside of New York, which question the boundaries of our society, humanity, and individuality. http://www.mtworks.org/.
Jason Jacobs (Director)
directed VSC productions of Oliver Twist, Opus, The Boycott and Vanya/Vermont. Regionally he directed Kathryn Blume's The Accidental Activist at the Kitchen Theatre in Ithaca. He was identified as a "2007 Person of the Year" by NYTheatre.com for his work as co-founder of Theatre Askew in New York City, for whom he directed: Bald Diva!, i google myself, The Tempest, The Tale of the Good Whistleblower of Chaillot's Caucasian Mother and Her Other Children of a Lesser Marriage Chalk Circle, and co-adapted/co-directed the episodic show, I Claudius, Live! Other New York productions include: Post Modern Living and the upcoming sequel, Lost In Staten Island, at La Mama's Club, Lavender Songs for TOSOS II (Bistro Award for special cabaret event), The Boycott, and Mario and the Magician for Center for Contemporary Opera. His play Another Horatio Alger Story was recently presented at the Metropolitan Playhouse's Horatio Alger Festival. As a guest artist at Long Island University he directed Bat Boy: The Musical and his first As You Like It. Jason is a teaching artist with Roundabout Theatre Company. MFA from Columbia and BA from Yale.
Suzanne Kneller (Costume Assistant)
transplanted herself to Vermont in '76 after earning a theater education degree and has been active in the local community theater scene since. She has designed lights, sets and costumes for Lyric Theatre and others. Most recently she was costume designer for Steel Magnolias presented by Girl's Nite Out Productions. She lives and works in Hinesburg and is lucky to have great support from her family.
Jamien Lundy Forrest (Stage Manager)
Jamien is thrilled to return for another season with Vermont Stage Company. Previous VT Stage stage management credits include Sylvia, Underneath the Lintel, Oliver Twist, Winter Tales, Quilters, and Vanya/Vermont. While living in New York City, Jamien worked as the full time Technical Associate for Lincoln Center Institute, and stage managed The Gazillion Bubble Show off Broadway. She has also designed lights for Wallis Knot Productions and New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. A 2001 UVM Theatre graduate, Jamien is happy to be back in Burlington with her husband and little boy.
Ellen O'Brien (Assistant Stage Manager)
Ellen is delighted to be working on her sixth VT Stage show. As a teenager, she studied dance at the Banff School of Fine Arts, then went on to graduate from Colby College with a BA. She danced with the University of Iowa Dance Company until she attended dental school and graduated with a DDS. Since then she has been dividing her time between family, dentistry, and the performing arts. Favorite past theater endeavors include Lyric Theater's South Pacific, Liz Lerman's Hallelujah Project, Circle in the Square Theater School's summer musical theater program and cabaret, and Bill Reed Voice Studio's summer musical theater intensives and cabarets. Ellen has choreographed and taught dance at schools in Vermont and for the VSA Arts program. She's currently a member of VSA's Awareness Theater Company. Ellen thanks Cristina Alicea for this great opportunity. Thanks Tim, Alice, George, and James, for your love and support.
Sue Wade (Props Master)
is, as always, delighted to be working with Vermont Stage once again. Knowing that she has to find many bushels of apples and a full-sized yew tree gives her a reason to get up on a cold morning.