HUGO DUMS (Boy/Peter) is a first-year Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Acting. Previously they were an ensemble member in The Laramie Project at UW-Parkside.

JENNA SPEER (Molly Aster) is a senior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Musical Theatre and a transfer student from State Fair Community College (Sedalia, MO). Her credits include The Little Mermaid (Arista) at the Racine Theatre Guild and Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience (Grande) with Cyclopedic Ensemble. Recent credits include When We Dead Awaken (Stage Manager), Meteor Shower (Corky), The Laramie Project (Asst. Stage Manager), The Aliens (Assistant Stage Manager), The Wolves (#2), Indecent (U/S The Ingenue), and Spring Awakening (Thea) at UW-Parkside.  

BRADEN MILLER (Black Stache) is a junior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Acting. Braden transferred from State Fair College in MO, where his previous roles include Not Now Darling (Gilbert Bodly), The Tempest (Antonio), SpongeBob the Musical (Plankton), Leveling Up (Zander), and Puffs (Cedric/Lord Voldy). Recently he was an ensemble member in The Laramie Project at UW-Parkside.

TRAVIS SIEPL (Smee) is a senior Theatre Arts Major with a concentration in Directing. Previous credits at UW-Parkside include When We Dead Awaken (Assistant Stage Manager), Meteor Shower (Assistant Director), Reasons to be Pretty (Director), The Wolves (Assistant Director), She Kills Monsters (Assistant Director), and this past summer was a Scenic Carpenter for Maples Repertory Theatre.

CHRISTIAN LUVIANOS (Ted) is a first year Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Musical Theatre. Previous credits include The Laramie Project (Ensemble), and Meteor Shower (Projections Operator) at UW-Parkside.

HANNAH ALLIE (Prentiss) is a junior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Musical Theatre. Hannah transferred here from the College of Lake County, where her credits included School House Rock Live! (Shulie), Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief (Emilia), Complete Works of William Shakespeare [Abridged] (Actor 2/Jess), Into the Woods (Lucinda) and The Squirrels (Intimacy Captain / Swing). Recently she was an ensemble member in The Laramie Project at UW-Parkside.

SEBESTIAN KEANU RIVERA (Alf) is a junior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Acting. Sebastian transferred from Harper College, where his previous roles include Proof (Hal), Private Lives (Elyot Chase), and the regional premiere of Sense and Sensibility – The Musical (Mr. Willoughby). Other credits include In the Heights (Usnavi De La Vega) with Up and Coming Theatre, and Footloose: The Musical (Ren McCormack) with the Fox Valley Theatre Company. Recently at UW-Parkside, he was an ensemble member in The Laramie Project. 

JULIANA GARCIA-MALACARA (Mrs. Bumbrake/Teacher) is a junior Theatre Arts major. Previous credits include Spring Awakening (Ensemble/Thea Cover), and As You Like It (Phoebe, U/S Oliver Martext) at UW-Parkside.

ALISTAIR WEIME (Grempkin/Fighting Prawn/Mack) is a Junior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Musical Theatre. Previous credits include burn: a folk musical (Gerry), As You Like It (Duke Frederick/Corin), She Kills Monsters (U/S Chuck, U/S Vera), Circle Mirror Transformation (James), The Penelopiad (Swing) and Spring Awakening (Hanschen/Rupert) at UW-Parkside, and Romeo and Juliet (Gregory) at Fleeing Artists.

ALISON PINCHARD (Bill Slank/Hawking Clam) is a senior with a major in English, a concentration in Film and Cultural Studies, and a minor in Theatre Arts. Previous credits include When We Dead Awaken (Assistant Charge Artist), Burn: The Musical (U/S Rose & Tracy), As You Like It (Props Crew), Spring Awakening (Ensemble, Anna cover) and The Flood (Stage Manager) at UW-Parkside. 

SAM CARLSON (Lord Aster, U/S Boy/Peter) is a junior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Musical Theatre. Previous credits include When We Dead Awaken (Assistant Sound Designer), The Aliens (Evan), Spring Awakening (Asst. Stage Manager) and The Laramie Project (Ensemble) at UW-Parkside, and Lions in Illyria (Andrew/Sebastian), Into the Woods (Jack), and As You Like It (Silvius), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [Abridged] (Sound Board Operator) and Play On! (Sound Board Operator) at the College of Lake County. 

JOSHUA BARNER (Captain Robert Falcon Scott, U/S Black Stache) is a junior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Acting. Previous credits include Reasons to be Pretty (Kent) at UW-Parkside, Be More Chill (Jake) and The Diviners (Buddy Layman) at State Fair Community College, Sliding into Home (Cal) at Kansas City Public Theatre, and And Jesus Wept (Daniel) at KC Fringe Festival.

DAKOTA NIONAKIS (Ensemble, U/S Molly Aster, Dance Captain) is a first-year Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Musical Theatre. Previous credits include Beauty and the Beast (Ensemble) at Lakeside Players, Rainbow Fish (Ms. Minnow) with Wisconsin Theatre Arts Internship, and Collective Rage (Betty 1) and When We Dead Awaken (Sound Board Operator) at UW-Parkside.

MYKAH MELONE (Ensemble, U/S Smee, Captain Robert Falcon Scott) is a junior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Musical Theatre and a minor in English. Previous credits include When We Dead Awaken (Light Board Operator), The Laramie Project (Props Lead) and burn: a folk musical (U/S Gerry & Walt) at UW-Parkside, Legally Blonde (Props Designer), Betrayal (Asst. Stage Manager), and Hair (Paul, U/S Woof) at Carthage College, Shakespeare in Love (Asst. Fight Director) at Harper College, Puppet Corps (Silas Cybin) at the Bristol Renaissance Faire, She Kills Monsters (Farrah the Faerie) at Elgin Community College, Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Ensemble) at Lake Zurich Players, and Macbeth (Angus, U/S Witch) at Theatre Lab.

FORGE DWYER (Ensemble, U/S Alf) is a third-year Theatre Arts major. Previous credits include The Flood (Stage Manager) at UW-Parkside, 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.

GIULIANA SOLDATELLI-DAMO (Ensemble, U/S Mrs. Bumbrake/Teacher) is a second-year Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Musical Theatre. Previous acting credits include Meteor Shower (Laura), The Wolves (U/S #13) and Spring Awakening (Ensemble) at UW-Parkside.

JULIANA CAMPOS-TAYLOR (Ensemble, Sanchez & U/S Grempkin/Fighting Prawn/Mack/Bill Slank/Hawking Clam) is a first year Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Musical Theatre. Previous roles include Seussical Jr. (Stage Manager), and Moana Jr. (Assistant Director) at the Truckee Community Theatre. Most recently Juliana was an ensemble member for The Laramie Project at UW-Parkside.

RACHAEL SWARTZ (Director) teaches musical theatre, voice, movement, and on-camera acting at UW-Parkside. During the summer, she serves on the Acting and Musical Theatre faculty at Interlochen Center for the Arts and this summer, she will appear as Duke Solinus in Comedy of Errors at the Interlochen Shakespeare Festival. Rachael is a proud union member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Some of her recent regional performance credits include: The 39 Steps (Annabella/Pamela/Margaret), The Sound of Music (Mother Abbess), and Romeo and Juliet (Nurse). Recent on-camera credits include work with the Travel Channel, ID, Oxygen and TV One. She holds an undergraduate degree from Baldwin Wallace University and her MFA in Theatre Performance from The University of Southern Mississippi. 

PETR WILLIAM (Assistant Director) is a junior Theatre Arts major with concentrations in Design & Technology and Directing. Past credits at UW-Parkside include 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).

CARMEN RISI (Music Director) is returning to Parkside after music directing A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Urinetown. She spent ten years teaching choir and general music to kindergarten through high school students. During this time she also music directed Joseph…, Hello Dolly!, The Music Man, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Godspell, and The Sound of Music. As a performer in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas she has worked with such companies as Skylight Music Theater, Third Avenue Playhouse, Citadel Theatre, Oil Lamp Theater and more.

TAYLOR IRELAND (Stage Manager) is a senior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Stage Management. Recent UW-Parkside credits include The Altruists (Lighting Designer), When We Dead Awaken (Assistant Director), Meteor Shower (Head Electrician), The Laramie Project (Stage Manager), Spring Awakening (Spotlight Operator), The Aliens (Stage Manager), As You Like It (Assistant Stage Manager) and The Wolves (Assistant Stage Manager). Taylor was also the Stage Manager for The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fair(l)y (Stoopid) Tales at Cyclopedic Ensemble, The Diviners, James and the Giant Peach, and Oedipus at State Fair Community College. Taylor was Assistant Stage Manager for The Old Man and The Old Moon and As You Like It at Door Shakespeare. 

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 upcoming feature film What Happened to Dorothy Bell. In 2021 he won the KCACTF National Scene Design award for his design of Stupid F##king Bird at UW-Parkside. 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 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 twelfth year at UW-Parkside as Associate Professor of Scenic Design & Technology and is a core professor in the Digital Design & Fabrication program. See examples of his work at www.d4production.com. 

KATLIN GERLACH (Costume Designer) is very excited to join UW-Parkside again as a guest artist; last year she co-designed costumes for their production of As You Like It with, then student, Jesse Ocampo. She is an Alumni of UW-Parkside with a BA in Theatre Arts. Katlin is a freelance Costume Designer, with returning contracts with The Kids from Wisconsin and the Prairie School. This winter, you might have seen her costumes on some of the Carolers and the New Years Eve Band with Enchant Milwaukee – Light up Festival. Katlin lives in Delavan, WI with her husband Keith and little boy Jack.    

JESSICA BAKER (Lighting Designer) is the Arts Technician at UW-Parkside and has been designing lights for Parkside since 2018, most recently for our Fall 2023 production of The Laramie Project. 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 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.

KALI AVERY (Hair/Makeup Designer) is a junior Biological Sciences major with a minor in Theatre Arts. Previous credits at UW-Parkside include The Flood (Sister), Meteor Shower (Wardrobe Supervisor), She Kills Monsters (U/S Agnes) and Gruesome Playground Injuries (Kayleen). 

KEVIN GRAY (Sound Designer) 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. 

J LOFTY (Props Lead) is a senior Theatre Arts major with a minor in International Studies. Previous credits include The Altruists (Dramaturg), Meteor Shower (Props Lead), The Laramie Project (Dramaturg), Hir (Isaac), As You Like It (Assistant Props Lead) and She Kills Monsters (Assistant Props Lead) at UW-Parkside, as well as You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown at STEPS Performing Arts (Props Lead) and Brighton Beach Memoirs (Assistant Stage Manager) at Lakeside Players. 

MAGGIE JAY (Charge Artist/Sound Engineer) is a junior Theatre Arts major with concentrations in Acting and Design & Technology. She recently worked as a Painter at the Interlochen Center for the Arts and will spend the summer of 2024 at the Texas Shakespeare Festival as a Scenic Artist. Previous credits at UW-Parkside include 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), Gruesome Playground Injuries (Narrator), and Circle Mirror Transformation (Theresa). Additional credits include The Aliens (Assistant Sound Designer).  

BETH ALBRECHT (Don Juan Charge Artist) is a proud graduate of the Theatre Arts program at UW-Parkside (2017) and was the Charge Artist for our production of Don Juan, where she painted among other things, most of the foliage drops we held onto and used again for this production. Since graduation, Beth has painted for the Pacific Conservatory Theatre, the Santa Fe Opera, American Players Theatre, Titan Theatre Company, Children’s Theatre of Madison, and Forward Theatre Company. This summer she will be the Scenic Charge Artist at Hope Repertory Theatre and recently was kind enough to stop back at UW-Parkside to talk with the next generation of our student scenic artists. See her work at albrechtscenicartist.com  

REBECCA FINKBEINER (Asst. Stage Manager) is a first-year Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Acting. Previous credits include When We Dead Awaken (Maja) and The Laramie Project (Ensemble) at UW-Parkside, Annie (Miss Hannigan) at the National Youth Theatre, Les Miserables (Ensemble), and Peter Pan (Pirate) at Christian Youth Theatre. 

KENNEDY FRICK (Asst. Costume Designer) is a sophomore Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Design & Technology. Kennedy transferred here from Allen Hancock College in CA, where her credits include Costume Designer for No Exit and Calabasas Street. Additional professional credits include Costume Designer for The Music Man and Evita at Saint Joseph High School, and Emma (Asst. Costume Design), The Sound of Music, Into the Woods, Cinderella, River Bride, and Bright Star (Stitcher), and Native Gardens (Wardrobe Crew) at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts. Kennedy is a Costume Shop Assistant and her credits at UW-Parkside also include The Laramie Project (Wardrobe Supervisor) and Meteor Shower (Asst. Costume Design). 

ALYSSA RITACCA (Wardrobe Supervisor) is a sophomore Theatre Arts major. Recent credits at UW-Parkside include When We Dead Awaken (Props Lead), 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 (Ensemble) and designed props for CTA’s production of Newsies and scenery for their production of Seussical.   

HADLEY RUETTEN (Asst. Stage Manager) is a first-year Theater Major with concentrations in Musical Theatre and Stage Management. Previous credits at UW-Parkside include When We Dead Awaken (Sister of Mercy), The Laramie Project (Deck Crew) and burn: a folk musical (U/S Natasha). She has also performed and worked backstage in numerous productions in the Oshkosh area.   

SAVANA ANDERSHOCK (Asst. Lighting Designer) is a junior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Design and Technology. Previous credits at UW-Parkside include The Altruists (Stage Manager), When We Dead Awaken (Head Electrician), Meteor Shower (Lighting Designer), The Aliens (Light Board Operator), As You Like It (Assistant Stage Manager), The Wolves (Master Electrician), She Kills Monsters (Assistant Stage Manager), Indecent (Assistant Master Electrician), and The Penelopiad (Deck Crew). Recent acting credits include She Kills Monsters (Narrator) and The Thanksgiving Play (Logan). Last summer, Savana was a Production Assistant at American Players Theater in Spring Green, WI.   

JEFF BRAIN 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.   

QUINCY WILSON (Asst. Scenic Designer) is a junior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Acting. He works as a Scene Shop Assistant and holds an AAS in Welding-Manufacturing Technology. Previous credits include When We Dead Awaken (Rubek / Lead Carpenter), Meteor Shower (Lead Carpenter), The Laramie Project (Ensemble, Lead Carpenter) at UW-Parkside, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed The Rock Experience (Grandpa Mole Rat) and The Stinky Cheese Man (Foxy Loxy) with the Cyclopedic Ensemble; Check Please/ Check Please Take 2 (Guy) with the Blue Springs Community Theatre; Puffs (Wayne Hopkins), Heathers (Kurt Kelly) and The Tempest (Gonzalo) at State Fair Community College. 

COLE LEBRECHT (Master Electrician) is a first-year Theatre Arts major with a concentration in acting. This is his first UW-Parkside production. Prior credits include Lettie (River) at Harper College and When We Dead Awaken (Maître D’, U/S Rubek) at UW-Parkside. 

LESLIE VAGLICA (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.