Shakespeare in the Park: The Tempest

Emma Baker graduated from Wheaton College in 2017. She is immensely grateful to be returning to Shakespeare in the Park, the very best thing about August in Wheaton. A Pittsburgh native, she studied Vocal Performance and Theater at Wheaton, and now lives, works, and plays in the Oak Park area. She has appeared in Arena Theater productions of Dancing at Lughnasa, the Spitfire Grill, and Fiddler on the Roof, and most recently in Veritas Theater’s production of Twelfth Night. Special thanks to Mark, Andy, Heidi, Felicia and the company for pulling off this herculean feat each year. And much gratitude to her family, for their unending love and support.

Felicia Bertch is delighted to return to The Park and play this bucket list role! Past Wheaton Shakespeare in the Park roles have included Rosalind in As You Like It, Jacquenetta in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Verges in last year’s Much Ado. Felicia holds a BA in English from Wheaton College and an MFA in Acting from The University of South Carolina. She studied physical theater arts in Paris and has lived and worked professionally as an actor, clown and model all over the country. She is currently on faculty and the Head of the BFA Performance Program in the Theatre Arts Department at The University of Texas at Arlington. She is rarely bored. For Michael, who has lived each day with inspiring curiosity.  www.feliciabertch.com

Emma Brummund is a Junior at Wheaton College studying elementary education. She is from St. Louis, Missouri and hopes to return there to teach when she graduates. She loves working in the set shop in Wheaton’s Arena Theater and is so excited to start her new position as set shop assistant in the fall. She also loves to act and was in Arena’s production of Measure for Measure in 2017 and she is so excited to be a part of Shakespeare in the Park this year!

Nolan Carter graduated from Wheaton College in 2014. While a student Nolan was heavily involved in Arena Theater and the Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice under Mezzo-Soprano Sarah Holman. He was privileged to appear in Romeo and Juliet, The Secret Garden and The Tender Land in principal roles for the Arena mainstage season. Since leaving Wheaton, Nolan has performed in some of Chicago’s premiere vocal groups such as Schola Antiqua, Bella Voce, Third Coast Baroque, The Rookery and Chicago Bach Ensemble. He also starred in his first film, Cooke Concrete, an independent feature directed by Ian Martin, which was released last July. Nolan will begin his Master’s in Vocal Performance at the University of Notre Dame in the fall.

Jeff Cribbs* (Caliban) is back for more Shakespeare in the Park after playing Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, Orsino in Twelfth Night and Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Regional theater credits include the roles of Harker in Dracula at Actors Theater of Louisville; Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol at Denver Center (5x!); Jonathon in Wintertime at The Guthrie Theater; Orlando in As You Like It and Tony in You Can’t Take It With You at Great Lakes Theater Festival; Lysimachus in Pericles at The Shakespeare Theater; a season on the road and in New York City with the Acting Company as Hastings / Richmond in Richard III and Heart in Murder By Poe!; Antipholus of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors at Shakespeare Santa Cruz; Harry in Morning Star at Kansas City Repertory Theater; Lancelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice at Utah Shakespearean Festival; Agis in The Triumph of Love at the Weston Playhouse; and the title role in Peer Gynt at the Pneumatickal Theatrikal Troupe in Chicago. Jeff holds a BS in Chemistry from Wheaton College (point of interest: Prospero’s real-life dad was his mentor) and an MFA in Acting and Directing.

Jessie Epstein (Ceres/Island Magic Chorus) graduated from Wheaton in 2016, where she studied English Writing and spent most of her waking hours at Arena Theater.  Since then, she has continued her study of Shakespeare and Chekhov in Chicago. She has most recently performed as The Girl in Backyard Chicago’s The Angels Will Let You Fall at the Midtown Theater Festival in NYC, and in the forthcoming independent film Palace.  She is grateful to be back for another wonderful August of Shakespeare in the Park.  

David Funck has performed in original works, musicals, opera and Shakespeare, both in regional theatres and Off-Broadway in New York. Favorite roles include John Proctor in The Crucible, Rutledge in 1776, Narrator in Our Town, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Jaques in As You Like It, Armado in Love’s Labour’s Lost and the Father in Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice. Theatres include the Circle Repertory Company Lab, Hope Summer Repertory Theatre, and Rogue Music Theater. David was a founding member of “The Present Company”, a group focused on original works which went on to start “The New York International Fringe Festival” (FringeNYC). David is an MFA graduate of the Professional Actor Training Program at Southern Methodist University, and a graduate of Wheaton College, where he was a member of Workout. David works in software development, and his favorite and best known roles as a longtime Wheaton resident are Husband to writer Jennifer Grant and Father to Mia, Isabel, Ian and Theo.

Emil Ginter Emil Ginter is excited to be given a chance to be involved in his second Shakespeare in the Park production. He has yet to perform with Arena Theater during the school year but has enjoyed helping out with sets and sound during the 2016/2017 and the 2017/2018 seasons. He is a junior at  Wheaton College building an Interdisciplinary Studies major involving Greek and theater.

Chad Hauge is grateful for the opportunity to participate in another Wheaton Shakespeare in the Park, where he has appeared previously as Borachio in Much Ado About Nothing, Costard in Love’s Labour’s Lost and Silvius in As You Like It. He has been clowning around Chicago on stages such as The Second City, iO, The Den, Links Hall, Strawdog, and The House Theatre. He is also a co-owner of the nearly-open Common Good Cocktail House in downtown Glen Ellyn, where he hopes to host you soon!

Kathryn Humnick is delighted to be returning to her roots in summer community theatre with her first year as part of the Shakespeare in the Park company. It will be a unique experience to have a stage this time around after dancing barefoot on the mud for Bunce Backyard’s productions of Tarzan and Children of Eden. Katy hails from Minnesota and is now working hard on her novel and English major at Wheaton College. She is glad to have found a second home in Arena Theatre and has appeared in Like as well as Senior-directed Peter Pan.

Ken Johnson studied acting at Wheaton College and Circle in the Square (NYC). He was a member of the first Theater Workout program at Wheaton College. Previously, Ken has acted in Shakespeare in the Park’s As You Like It, Love’s Labour’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, and Much Ado about Nothing. Ken and his wife Marian live in Wheaton.

Maddie Johnson is currently studying History Social Sciences and Secondary Education at Wheaton College. She spends a majority of her time running amuck in the costume shop. When she’s not in the theater, she can be found on the court playing IM volleyball and basketball. Maddie is also a member of the Catholic Club and the Junior Class Council at Wheaton College. She is looking forward to her junior being filled with theater and is thrilled to be a part of Shakespeare in the Park for her second year in a row.

Chad Klopfenstein ​studied theater at Wheaton College, graduating in 1996. He got lost on his way to his planned acting career and ended up writing software. 13 years later, he appeared in Midsummer Night’s Dream in Wheaton’s Shakespeare in the Park as The Wall, followed by last summer’s Much Ado About Nothing as Friar Francis. Married to Renee (a District 200 teacher), Chad has three exquisite daughters and a truly adorable puppy.

John Knauss graduated from Wheaton in 1999 with a BA in Studio Art, and received his MFA in Acting from the Professional Theatre Training Program at the University of Delaware in 2007. His love for the bard includes having performed in numerous Shakespeare festivals including Texas and Pennsylvania, with favorite major roles including Pericles, Banquo, and Duke Vincentio. However, he leans much more toward playing the clowns and fools. He also holds a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education from Excelsia College in Sydney, Australia where he was the head of the Creative Arts department of an independent high school for four years before relocating to China to set up the Art and Drama programs at two new international schools in Guangzhou. In late 2017, he launched his own brand and first product called The DrawBag, bringing together his love for art, self-expression, global community, and education, which he has now committed to as his full-time gig. He’s happy to be back at Wheaton where his journey into and love for theatre first began many years ago, and is thrilled to be reconnecting with old friends and stage-mates to see whose hairlines have receded and what wrinkles have come with time and the gentle coaxing of laughter and tears.  

Eric Park is ecstatic to join Wheaton’s Shakespeare in the Park production this year. As a current junior at Wheaton College, he is currently majoring in Philosophy integrated with Communication. Outside of classes, he spends nearly all of his conscious life at Arena Theater learning about designing theater, acting, and living in community with fellow humans.  Erik enjoys writing and listening to all kinds of music, taking pictures and wallowing in a deep pit of very important but ambiguous, philosophical questions such as whether dogs can experience existential crises. He would like to thank his biological family, his wonderful Arena Theater family.

Dave Reifsnyder graduated from Wheaton in ’82 and pursued Theater degrees at Illinois State, Penn State, and CU Boulder. He returned to Wheaton in ’99 to teach and direct for several years and is happy to be appearing in his first Shakespeare in the Park production with many old friends.

Thomas Ritchie is very excited to make mischief out here yet again, with friends old and new. Multiple sightings of Thomas have been reported in Memorial Park, in the roles of Don Pedro, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Puck, King of Navarre, and Orlando. Thomas trained at Wheaton Arena Theater from ’09-’11. When he isn’t working for Fox River Foundation by day, he enjoys whistling, translating baby-talk, playing hymns on the piano for his grandparents, and directing English music at St. Mary’s in West Chicago. Thomas is not married, has no children, and does not live in Manhattan.

Christina Shute is grateful for the opportunity to work with Shakespeare in the Park for the second year. Born and raised in Memphis, TN, she is here in Wheaton to study Math Education for her junior year at Wheaton College. While she has yet to appear on the Arena Theater stage, she has thoroughly enjoyed working in the Costume Shop, and plans to continue to do so in the coming two years by the grace and encouragement given to her by her friends, family, and the community of Arena Theater.

Lilia Smith is ecstatic to be joining the Shakespeare in the Park team for her very first time. She is an Indianapolis native (Indiana is more than corn fields-she promises) and is a junior studying Anthropology at Wheaton College with a minor in theater, . She was most recently in Arena Theater’s productions of Tartuffe (2018) and Like (2017). She cannot say thank you enough to Arena Theater and everyone in it!

Sarah Spacek is thrilled to be joining the Shakespeare in the Park team after watching their previous shows from the Memorial Park benches. Sarah is a sophomore at Wheaton College studying Communications and Theater and is a member of Arena Theater’s ensemble. This is her first production so you won’t recognize her from staged shows, but you may have seen the sets she helped build for the 2017/2018 season. When she isn’t at the theater, Sarah enjoys baking, running, and dancing. She would like to thank everyone who gave their time to make this show possible.

Olivia Wilder graduated from Wheaton College in 2016 with a degree in Communication and Theater. While at Wheaton, she was privileged to perform leading roles in ​Romeo and Juliet,​ ​Caucasian Chalk Circle​, and Julius Caesar​. Olivia has since pursued her acting work through Shakespeare and Meisner study in Chicago as well as mask and clown work at the Pig Iron Theater in Philadelphia. She is delighted to participate in Wheaton’s Shakespeare in the Park for the second time as a graduate and hopes to further her theatrical development by exploring graduate programs in the coming year.

Mark Lewis is directing his fifth production for Wheaton’s Shakespeare in the Park, and has acted in or directed more than twenty productions of Shakespeare’s plays. Professional experiences include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Julius Caesar (Public Theater, NYC), Troilus and Cressida (The Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Othello (The Acting Company, National Tour), The Taming of the Shrew (The Riverside Shakespeare Company, NYC), Twelfth Night (The Hudson Guild, NYC), The Tempest and Love’s Labour’s Lost (The Shakespeare Festival of Dallas) and The Winter’s Tale, Macbeth and As You Like It (The Colorado Shakespeare Festival). He is beginning his twenty-fifth year of teaching and leading ‘Workout’ at Wheaton College, and has directed over 40 plays in Wheaton’s Arena Theater.

Jenn Miller Cribbs is delighted to be a part of the Wheaton College Arena Theater community again. This is her 7th year teaching and coaching as part of the program. She also played Viola and Titania in previous Wheaton Shakespeare in the Park productions. Jenn has played in theaters all over the country, including The Denver Center, The Guthrie, The Actors’ Theater of Louisville, The Acting Company, Two River Theater Company, The Coterie and others. Jenn holds a BA from Wheaton, an MFA in Acting and Directing from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and an MSW in Social Enterprise Management from Columbia University. She has continued post-graduate training with Michael Howard and Patsy Rodenburg.  A Rodenburg Registered Teacher, Jenn teaches voice and presence at AMDA, the Goss-Reid Executive Reinvention Program, in major corporations, government agencies, universities, after-school programs for at-risk and justice-involved youth and as part of Wheaton’s Summer Shakespeare program. She is thrilled to be here with her husband and exuberant daughters. With thanks to Jay – who asked for the best in each of us.

René Cruz III is a multi-disciplinary performing artist based in Chicago. He enjoys stringed instruments, vegetable juices, and the films of Neil Breen.

Diane D. Fairchild is happy to be returning for her 6th year with Shakespeare in the Park. Other current and upcoming design credits include work with Raven, Wilmette Parks District, and Citadel Theater.

Jeremy Floyd has been a costume designer and educator in and around Chicago since 2008. His costume designs have been seen at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Kansas City Rep, Paramount Theater, Drury Lane, Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, The Hypocrites, and Remy Bumppo. He holds an MFA in Stage Design from Northwestern University and an MA in Theater from the University of Kentucky. Jeremy is the professor of Costume Design at Northern Illinois University.

Andy Mangin is usually working behind the scenes at Shakespeare in the Park to get the show produced and mounted in the park.  He is very proud of the partnership with the Wheaton Park District and the success of this endeavor. He has acted, directed and designed for Shakespeare in the Park.  A graduate of Wheaton College and Southern Methodist University, he has worked professionally at theaters in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Chicago. He is on faculty at Wheaton College Arena Theater where he has been teaching, directing and producing theater since 2005.  Shout out to Charlie, Norah, and Henry- his biggest fans- and to his wife, Katy, for whom he is most grateful.

Zuriel Merek is excited to collaborate with Wheaton’s Shakespeare in the Park for the second time. As an electric violinist and solo artist, he specializes in live looping (the recording and playback of music in real-time), and his freshly reimagined arrangements of popular contemporary songs seamlessly integrate classical technique with modern technological innovation. Zuriel also composed for, produced, engineered and played all the instruments on his 2017 debut solo instrumental album, The Tao Less Traveled, an original, emotive blend of post-rock cinematic soundscapes.

Max Pointner graduated from Wheaton College in 2018 where he studied Art History and Theater. A native of Chicagoland, he is transitioning to Madison, Wisconsin where he will work (somewhere), teach, and continue studying and writing about the histories of art and science. In his spare time, Max climbs and collects rocks, composes music, and examines the natural history of the Midwest on his bike. He would like to thank Andy and Mark for this incredible opportunity to rejoin the Shakespeare in the Park team for the first time as an alumnus.

Maggie Ritchie is a professional songwriter and singer. She loves to create soundtracks to support theater and she is delighted to work alongside Mark Lewis and the cast by adding her musical touch to Shakespeare. Maggie has recorded a solo album titled Something Wonderful, and is part of the Sparrows Lullaby Band, who have released two albums: Songs of Home and I Wonder as I Wander. Maggie is honored to be a part of Shakespeare in the Park for another summer of magic.

Margaret Winchell is delighted to be back in the park for more Shakespeare this year! Margaret graduated from Wheaton in 2015 and has since spent her days shaping the minds of high schoolers across the suburbs of Chicago through theater and choral music. She currently teaches at Downers Grove South High School and is always grateful for the opportunity to fill her evenings with work in Arena Theater.