This week, the casts for all three shows started rehearsals. Although I could introduce them to you all at once, I thought I'd give each show its due and introduce each cast separately. So, here are the head shots and bios for the 2013 production of Jane Austen's Emma!
Director: Catherine Weidner
Catherine Weidner is
a professional director, actor and teacher.
She has directed productions of Taming of the Shrew, Titus Andronicus and
Merry Wives of Windsor for the
Illinois Shakespeare Festival and Two
Gentleman of Verona at Theater at Monmouth in Maine.
Catherine is an Associate
Professor at The Theatre School of DePaul University in Chicago, where she
teaches Classical Acting and Heightened Text in the BFA and MFA programs. For DePaul, she has directed productions of The Rivals, Measure for Measure, Much Ado
About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Richard III, as well as adapting and
directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream for
young audiences.
As an actress, she
has worked at The Kennedy Center in A Streetcar Named Desire with
Patricia Clarkson and Amy Ryan, and at CenterStage in Baltimore (Blithe Spirit, Mary Stuart) and Arena
Stage (The Heidi Chronicles) in
Washington, DC. She holds a BFA in Acting from Ithaca College,
an MFA in Directing from the University of Minnesota, and has also trained at
The Second City in Chicago and The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York, and is a
member of Actors Equity Association and the Stage Directors &
Choreographers Union.
Jessie Tidball -- Emma Woodhouse
Jessie Tidball is a recent graduate from the Johnny Carson
School of Theatre and Film with a B.A. in Theatre Performance. You may have
seen her as Tilly in the University production of Melancholy Play or as Elsa VonGrossenkneuten in The Musical Comedy Murders of the 1940's. Since graduation, Jessie has appeared at the
Haymarket Theatre as Ophelia in Hamlet,
and Wendy Darling in Peter Pan. Jessie's next project after Emma will be with
The Haymarket Theatre as well, playing Anne Frank in the Midwest premier of Anne and Emmett, slated to tour Lincoln
Public Schools in the fall. Jessie is
thrilled that her first professional acting gig is with the Nebraska Rep and
wants to thank you all for supporting the arts!
Enjoy the show.
Emily Martinez -- Harriet Smith
Emily
is a recent graduate of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Performance, as well as Theatre Management. Nebraska
Rep has given her the opportunity to excel in both areas, last season as the
Associate Director of Audience Development and this season acting as Harriet
in Emma! This marks her first appearance on the Rep stage! Emily was last
seen in UNL’s production of The Taming of the Shrew as Bianca. Other show credits include: Lady Windermere, Lady Windermer's Fan (UNL), Maria, Twelfth Night (UNL), Antonia, My Antonia (Illusion Theater Company),
and Lucetta, The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Flatwater
Shakespeare Company). In the fall of 2014, Emily will be attending the MFA
International Acting Program at East 15 School of Acting within the University
of Essex in Essex, England! She is beyond grateful for this year of blessings,
proof that in the theatre, anything
is possible.
Jaimie Pruden -- Jane Fairfax
Jaimie Pruden recently
graduated with a degree in Vocal Performance from UNL. This is her second
summer with the Nebraska Rep. Recent performances include Paquette in Candide (UNL Opera), Rose in Paragon Springs (UNL Theatre), Glory in Almost. Maine (Theatrix),
and Signe in Church Basement Ladies (NRT). Jaimie loves tacos and yoga. Enjoy
the show!
Sean Schmeits -- Mr. Knightly
Sean
Schmeits has previously performed on the Rep stage as Father Flynn in our 2008
production of Doubt. Sean has also acted for Flatwater Shakespeare (Henry V,
Mercutio, Dromio of Syracuse, Berowne), the Angels Theatre Company (McMurphy in
Cuckoo's Nest), The Haymarket Theatre (Rochester in Jane Eyre, Elyot in Private
Lives), the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival (Antipholous of Syracuse), the
Lincoln Community Playhouse (Garry in Noises Off), Rough Magic, and the
Nebraska Theatre Caravan.
Alex Jeffery -- Frank Churchill
Alexander is an actor and filmmaker currently residing in
Lincoln, Nebraska. Recently, he won the "Royal Reel Award" for his
first feature film, One Way, at the Canada International Film Festival. This is
his second summer with the Nebraska Repertory Theatre and he couldn't be more
delighted to play the scoundrel Frank Churchill in Emma. Previous roles include
Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing (Flatwater Shakespeare), Chris in Becky's New
Car (Nebraska Repertory Theatre), and Alceste in The Misanthrope (UNL
Mainstage). Alexander loves to travel, eat macaroni and cheese, and talk about
himself in the third person. He hopes you enjoy the show!
Dan Rodden -- Mr. Elton
Dan happily returns
to Lincoln for his second season, where NRT audiences will recall his
performances as Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps and Steve in Becky's New Car. His career has allowed him to perform for theaters
across the U.S. and Canada. Last fall,
he had the honor of playing the iconic role of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird at Cardinal Stage
Company in Bloomington, IN. Other selected
credits: Don Quixote, Man of La Mancha (Guest Artist - Normandale Community College, Bloomington, MN); Felix, The Odd Couple (Drury Lane Oakbrook); Antipholus
of Syracuse, The Comedy of Errors (Oak Park Festival Theatre); Dr. Adams, Marrying Terry (Nightingale Group); Charles, Blithe Spirit; Mortimer, Arsenic And Old Lace; Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol (New American Theater), IO Chicago; Texas
Shakespeare Festival, and Cidermill Playhouse. Back home in Chicago, he
performs frequently with The Shakespeare Project of Chicago in numerous
classical staged readings, including Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing and Antonio in The Duchess Of Malfi. Dan
resides with his talented wife, actress Gail Rastorfer, whom he met a number of
years ago while touring with the Nebraska Theatre Caravan.
Kimberley Clark Kaczmarek -- Mrs. Elton
Kim Clark-Kaczmarek possesses a B.A. in theatre from
Nebraska Wesleyan University and a Master’s in Theatre from the University of
Nebraska-Omaha. More recent roles with Nebraska Repertory Theatre include: Tiny in The
Anatomy of Grey and Chick in Crimes of
the Heart. She is very involved in
the Omaha theatre community including working with the Living Picture Project, Nebraska
Shakespeare, Omaha Theatre Company for Young People, Omaha Community Playhouse
and the Great Plains Theatre Conference. Kim directed Two Minute Shakespeare
for Nebraska Shakespeare also this summer. She is on the artist roster for the Nebraska
Arts Council Artists in Schools program, teaches acting with Performer’s Edge
and is a Teaching Artist for Dancing Classrooms with The Artery. She and her husband, Anthony, are proud
parents of little Stella.
Alan Knoll -- Mr. Woodhouse
Alan Knoll is a St Louis-based actor, and he's thrilled to return for another season at the Nebraska Rep; last year he was seen as Jeeves in Jeeves Intervens and Phillipe in Heroes. Other favorite roles include George in Who's Afraid Of Virgina Woolf? (Riverfront Times 2010 Best Actor), Max in Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Graham in A Chip in the Sugar, and all the residents of Bedford Falls in This Wonderful Life, named St Louis' best one-man show in 2011. Thanks to Virginia for the chance to return to Lincoln, and to his wonderful wife Laurie McConnell for her love and support.
Sasha Dobson -- Mrs. Weston
Sasha Dobson is a Lincoln native who received her BFA in
Acting from Ithaca College in NY and her MFA in Acting from UNL. After graduate school, Sasha moved to England
for five years where she was fortunate to find work as an actress with the
touring company Shakespeare To Go. Since
Sasha has returned to Lincoln she has worked extensively as an actor, director,
acting/voice/ dialect coach, University educator and producer. She teaches theatre and acting classes at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is also the Outreach Coordinator for the
Lied Center for Performing Arts. Sasha
also serves on the board for two local theatre companies: The Angels Theatre Company and Flatwater Shakespeare
Company. By far, the most rewarding roles
Sasha has ever and will ever play is that of Mother to her two wonderful
children, Josephine and Chase and Wife to her amazing husband Chris!
Richard Nielsen -- Mr. Weston
Richard Nielsen
last performed on the Rep stage in 2000’s Picnic,
and he is happy to return this season.
He has appeared on several Lincoln stages, most recently with the
Flatwater Shakespeare Company. His
favorite roles include Roy Cohn in Angels
in America, Parts I and II, Malvolio in Twelfth
Night, the Fool in King Lear, and
Caliban in The Tempest. Later this summer he will be appearing in
Flatwater’s production of Waiting for
Godot. He is an instructor of
English at Southeast Community College in Lincoln.
Chet Kincaid -- Miss Bates
Chet is thrilled to be a Nebraska Repertory first-timer. Her last
appearance on the Howell stage was almost 40 years ago as Conjur Woman in Dark of the Moon. She has acted in
various Nebraska venues, including the Lincoln Community Playhouse, Futz
Theatre, Gaslight Mellerdrammers, Murder To Go, and Cornhusker Hotel’s
Colonnades Dinner Theatre, being awarded one UNL Dallas and 3 LCP Elsies. Chet’s
favorite roles have been Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter, Bessie in Marvin’s
Room, and Trudi in The Search for
Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. Her day job is Senior Producer for
NET’s Learning Services’ Interactive Educational Media, creating educational
websites, some with dramatic videos. Thanks, Virginia, for this incredible
opportunity. One Bucket List item accomplished!
Becky is an actor, director and playwright. Becky’s most recent play, What the Wind Taught Me
was commissioned and debuted at the Lied Center for Performing Arts in March
2013 and will tour the state of Nebraska through the Lied Center’s Arts Across
Nebraska program in the fall. Becky recently directed Much Ado About Nothing
for Flatwater Shakespeare and is looking forward to directing Nocturne
for the Rep’s Destination Series. She is
a recipient of a Mayor’s Arts Award and was selected as one of Lincoln’s 2013
“Top 20 Under 40” for her leadership in the arts community. Becky teaches acting and playwriting at Doane
College and is currently writing her first full-length screenplay, titled Celia
Skates. Becky is overjoyed to
return to Nebraska Repertory Theatre this summer – she last appeared on the NRT
stage as Becky Foster in Becky’s New Car. Thanks
for supporting live theatre!
Dan happily returns to Lincoln for his second season, where NRT audiences will recall his performances as Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps and Steve in Becky's New Car. His career has allowed him to perform for theaters across the U.S. and Canada. Last fall, he had the honor of playing the iconic role of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird at Cardinal Stage Company in Bloomington, IN. Other selected credits: Don Quixote, Man of La Mancha (Guest Artist - Normandale Community College, Bloomington, MN); Felix, The Odd Couple (Drury Lane Oakbrook); Antipholus of Syracuse, The Comedy of Errors (Oak Park Festival Theatre); Dr. Adams, Marrying Terry (Nightingale Group); Charles, Blithe Spirit; Mortimer, Arsenic And Old Lace; Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol (New American Theater), IO Chicago; Texas Shakespeare Festival, and Cidermill Playhouse. Back home in Chicago, he performs frequently with The Shakespeare Project of Chicago in numerous classical staged readings, including Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing and Antonio in The Duchess Of Malfi. Dan resides with his talented wife, actress Gail Rastorfer, whom he met a number of years ago while touring with the Nebraska Theatre Caravan.
