Macbeth

BRIAN J. GILL (Director / Fight Choreographer) is an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside. He has been a professional stage actor for over 30 years, appearing at such theaters as Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Next Act Theatre, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Renaissance Theaterworks, First Stage Children’s Theatre, and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. Chicago credits include the Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Victory Gardens, Drury Lane Oakbrook, and Remy Bumppo Theatre Company; Regionally Brian has performed at Theatre at the Center, the Illinois and Texas Shakespeare Festivals, and the historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC. International credits include the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London where he trained as a member of the first International Artistic Fellowship. Brian has staged violence for Parkside, College of Lake County, Harper College, Elgin College and the Southwest Shakespeare Company where he is a core company member. He is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association and an Advanced Actor-Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors.

AMY BATES (Assistant Director) is a junior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Directing. Prior Directing Credits include Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Director) and Carrie: the Musical (Assistant Director) at UW-Parkside, Twelfth Night: A New Musical Journey and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder at the Malthouse Theatre in Burlington, WI (Broadway World Milwaukee Award Winner) and Double Trouble a Musical Tour de Farce, Little Women: the Musical, and The Drowsy Chaperone at Stage Productions in Orlando, FL. Previous acting credits include Always a Bridesmaid (Charlie) at the Waukesha Civic Theatre, The Roommate (Sharon) at Millbrook Playhouse, Spring Awakening (The Adult Woman) and The Cripple of Inishmaan (Aunt Kate) at Valencia Theatre, and Hand to God (Margery) at UW-Parkside.

HUGO DUMS (Assistant Director) is a second-year Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Acting. Previous credits include Waiting for Godot (Boy / Swing), Hand to God (U/S Jason/Tyrone), Carrie: the Musical (Head Electrician), True West (Saul), Peter & the Starcatcher (Boy/Peter) and The Laramie Project (Ensemble) at UW-Parkside.

REBECCA FINKBEINER (Stage Manager) is a second-year Theatre Arts minor. Prior credits include Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Fight Captain / Intimacy Follow), Hand to God (Assistant Stage Manager), Peter & the Starcatcher (Assistant Stage Manager), When We Dead Awaken (Maja) and The Laramie Project (Ensemble) at UW-Parkside.

J LOFTY (Dramaturg) is a senior Theatre Arts major with a minor in International Studies. Previous credits at UW-Parkside include Waiting for Godot (Dramaturg), Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Charge Artist), Hand to God (Props & Puppet Designer), True West (U/S Mom), Hir (U/S Isaac), Collective Rage (Betty 5), Peter & the Starcatcher (Props Lead), The Altruists (Dramaturg), Meteor Shower (Props Lead), The Laramie Project (Dramaturg), As You Like It (Assistant Props Lead) and She Kills Monsters (Assistant Props Lead).

JODY SEKAS (Scenic Designer / Technical Director) is a production designer for theatre & film, whose recent designs include the Off-Broadway debut of Boswell, and the feature film What Happened to Dorothy Bell. In 2021, he won the KCACTF National Scene Design award for his UW-Parkside design of Stupid F##king Bird. He has worked for such venues as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, First Stage Children’s Theatre, Door Shakespeare, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Dell’Arte International, Rochester Civic Theatre, Omaha Theatre Company for Young People, The Western Stage, and on the feature films The Music Inside, Bigfoot: The Lost Coast Tapes, FLEA, and The Wine of Summer. He taught Scenography for Theatre, Film, & Dance at Humboldt State University in northern California; Scenic/Lighting Design & Technology at UW-Eau Claire and was the resident scenic & lighting designer for the Sioux Falls Playhouse in South Dakota. He is now in his thirteenth year at UW-Parkside as Associate Professor of Scenic Design & Technology. See examples of his work at www.d4production.com.

LESLIE VAGLICA (Costume Designer / Costume Shop Supervisor) is a costumer whose foundation in fashion and art has enriched her focus in theatrical costuming. She has worked as a costume technician for Off-Broadway productions of Trevor, The Musical and Boswell, as well as for professional companies, including American Players Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, the Florentine Opera Company, Skylight Music Theatre, and Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. Professional regional design credits include The Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Sugar Creek Opera, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Florentine Opera Company, Luminous Theatre, UW-Milwaukee Dance and Musical Theatre, Peter Stathas Dance, and Renaissance Theaterworks. She has also served as Costume Shop Manager at Hope Summer Repertory Theater in Holland, MI. Leslie is a graduate of UW-Eau Claire and holds a certificate in Apparel Product Design and Development from Mt. Mary University. Most recently at UW-Parkside, Leslie was the Costume Designer for Hand to God.

JESSICA BAKER (Lighting Designer / Production Manager) is the Arts Technician at UW-Parkside and has been designing lights for Parkside since 2018, most recently for our Spring 2024 production of Peter & the Starcatcher. Recently, she was the lighting associate for the Fireside Dinner Theatre’s performance of Titanic the Musical. In the summer of 2023, she worked at First Stage Children’s Theatre as the assistant teacher for the playwriting/design class and was the lighting designer for the company class. In the summer of 2022, she worked at The Santa Fe Opera as a lighting apprentice, working on the operas Carmen, The Barber of Seville, Tristan und Isolde, and Falstaff. She has twice received the KCACTF Region III award for excellence in Lighting Design, advancing to the National KCACTF Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

KEVIN GRAY (Sound Designer / Composer) is UW-Parkside’s Sound Manager and Instructor, working with both the Theatre Arts and Music departments to produce art and events on campus. Kevin received a BA in Sound Design with a minor in Music Composition from Michigan Technological University. UW-Parkside Design credits include When We Dead Awaken, The Laramie Project, The Aliens, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Cinderella, and Stupid F##king Bird, for which he received a KCACTF National Award for Excellence in Sound Design.

PETR WILLIAM (Projections Designer) is a senior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Design and Technology. Past credits at UW-Parkside include Waiting for Godot (Director), Hand to God (Lighting Designer), Carrie: the Musical (Projections Designer), Peter & the Starcatcher (Asst. Director), When We Dead Awaken (Lighting Designer), The Flood (Director), Meteor Shower (Projections Designer), The Laramie Project (Asst. Lighting Designer), Spring Awakening (Ensemble, Moritz cover, Head Electrician), Hir (Stage Manager), Reasons to be Pretty (Lighting Designer), The Wolves (Assistant Lighting Designer), She Kills Monsters (Head Electrician), Circle Mirror Transformation (Lighting Designer), and The Mad Ones (Adam U/S). Recently, Petr received the Region III KCACTF Award for Excellence in both Lighting Design (Hand to God) and Projection Design (Carrie: the Musical). His professional credits include Chad Deity (Assistant Director) at Next Act Theatre. https://www.petrwilliamcreative.com/

ALYSSA RITACCA (Hair & Makeup Designer / Asst. Costume Designer) is a junior Theatre Arts major. Previous credits at UW-Parkside include Dean Man’s Cell Phone (Jean), Hand to God (Assistant Costume Designer), Carrie: the Musical (Frieda), The Flood (Nahmuh), Meteor Shower (U/S Corky), Spring Awakening (Ensemble, Adult Woman Cover), The Wolves (U/S #7, #14, #25). She has been involved in multiple productions at Children’s Theater Academy (CTA) in Kenosha, such as Frozen (Sven), Moana (Moana), and Newsies (Hannah), painted for CTA’s production of Moana and designed scenery for their production of Seussical.

CODY HURM (Assistant Stage Manager) is a second-year Theatre Arts major and Education major. Previously, they were in Hand to God (Deck Crew) at UW-Parkside.

SAM SIEPLER (Assistant Stage Manager) – is a first-year Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Design & Technology. Previous credits include Carrie: the Musical (Deck Crew), Hand to God (Deck Crew), and Waiting for Godot (Light Board Operator) at UW-Parkside.

MAGGIE JAY (Charge Artist) is a junior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Design & Technology. She has recently worked as a Scenic Artist at the Texas Shakespeare Festival and previously at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Prior credits at UW-Parkside include Hand to God (Charge Artist), Carrie: the Musical (Charge Artist/A1 Sound Mixer), Peter & the Starcatcher (Charge Artist/Sound Engineer), When We Dead Awaken (Charge Artist), Meteor Shower (Charge Artist), The Wolves (Charge Artist), The Laramie Project (Ensemble/ Reggie Fluty), Reasons to be Pretty (Steph), Circle Mirror Transformation (Theresa), and The Aliens (Assistant Sound Designer).

FORGE DWYER (Prop Designer) is a fourth-year Theatre Arts major. Previous credits include Carrie: the Musical (Assistant Prop Designer), Peter & the Starcatcher (Ensemble, U/S Alf) and The Flood (Stage Manager) at UW-Parkside, Murder on the Orient Express (Sound Technician) and Dial M for Murder (voice-overs) at the Racine Theatre Guild, Crimes of the Heart (Doc) at Wittenberg University, and as a performer at the Bristol Renaissance Faire.

MARK WARDEN (Assistant Scenic Designer) is a Junior Theatre Arts Major with concentrations in Acting and Design/Technology, and Management who transferred to UW-Parkside from the College of Lake County. Previous credits include Waiting for Godot (Vladimir), True West (Austin / Co-Scenic & Props Designer) and Hand to God (Lead Carpenter) at UW-Parkside, and Evil Dead: the Musical (Ash), Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Picasso), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (revised) (Adam / Actor 3), Into the Woods (Wolf / Cinderella’s Prince), The Squirrels (Scenic Designer), The Chairs (Scenic Designer), and Assistant Scenic Designer for Picasso at the Lapin Agile and Evil Dead: the Musical at the College of Lake County.

LEXI ROGERS (Assistant Costume Designer) is a senior Theatre Arts Major with a concentration in Musical Theatre. Previous credits include Disaster! (Marianne Wilson, Paint Charge), The Robber Bridegroom (Rosamund), The Addams Family (Pugsley Addams, Paint Charge) and Six Characters in Search of an Author (The Girl) at Cowley College Theatre, A 1940’s Christmas Carol (Judy Miller) and Flora and Ulysses (Tootie Tickham) at Act One Productions, and Dead Man’s Cell Phone (U/S Jean, Ensemble), Carrie: the Musical (Carrie), The Altruists (Sydney), and Burn: The Musical (Natasha) at UW-Parkside.

LILLY WENDRICKS (Wardrobe Supervisor) is a first-year Theatre Arts Major with a concentration in Musical Theatre. Previously at UW-Parkside Lilly performed in Dead Man’s Cell Phone (U/S Hermia, Ensemble).

LUMI SHALAEV (Assistant Lighting Designer) is a first-year Theatre Arts and Music double-major with a concentration in Design & Technology. Prior credits include Lighting & Projections Designer for the Video Game Concert, and Lighting Designer for the spring Jazz concert in Bedford Hall, and The Nutcracker (Light Board Operator).

ANNAGRACE MCCURDY (Assistant Sound Designer) is a junior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Musical Theatre. Previous credits include Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Hermia), Carrie: the Musical (Sue), The Altruists (Sound Designer), When We Dead Awaken (Irene), Burn: The Musical (Rosie), As You Like It (U/S Rosalind), The Wolves (Sound Board Operator), The Laramie Project (Sound Board Operator) and Spring Awakening (Wendla).

ANNE PLUMMER (Assistant Projections Designer) is a first-year Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Design & Technology. Prior credits include Guys & Dolls, The Sound of Music, Me and My Girl, The Gondoliers, The Count of Luxembourg, The Arcadians, Camelot, How to Succeed at Business Without Really Trying, No, No, Nanette, H.M.S. Pinafore, Arizona Lady, and Orpheus in the Underworld (Carpenter) at Ohio Light Opera. This is their first production role at UW-Parkside.

APRIL SERSEN (Assistant Charge Artist) is a first-year Theatre Arts major with concentrations in Design & Technology and Stage Management. Previously at UW-Parkside, April was the Assistant Stage Manager for Dead Man’s Cell Phone.

JEFF BRAIN (Scene Shop Supervisor / ATD) is a graduate of UW-Parkside (2020) with focuses on performance, carpentry, and props design. At Parkside, his performance credits included Romeo and Juliet (Friar Lawrence), Love’s Labour’s Lost (Longaville), and War of the Worlds (Announcer #2). He also designed props for Silent Sky and served as Lead Carpenter for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Jeff has also worked as a carpenter and props artisan for theatres including The Alley Theatre (Houston, TX), American Players Theatre (Spring Green, WI), and Fireside Dinner Theatre (Fort Atkinson, WI). He is an ensemble member of Redtwist Theatre in Chicago, where he continues to expand his portfolio of performance, carpentry, and props design.