Cast
John Drinkwater (Silvius/Amiens) is thrilled to be a part of this incredible cast and creative team to make his Shakespearean debut! His past credits include HAIR (Berger), A Little Night Music (Carl-Magnus), OR (William Scott), Titanic (Charles Clarke). He performs regularly at 54 Below and Birdland, and can also be seen on an upcoming singing show for Fox that he can’t name at the moment! This is dedicated to Yi, Pop and Grandpa. Instagram: @drinkh2ojohn @thedrinkwaterbrothers
Benji Sills (Orlando): Regional: You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Theatre of Big Bend), One Night (Equalogy). Assorted New York: Shadowplay (Access Theater), The Rimers of Eldritch (The Secret Theater), Hel’s Kitchen (The Playroom Theater). TV: Shattered (Investigation Discovery). Other unfortunately recognizable moments: ruining a grilled cheese on the cooking channel Epicurious. Eternal thanks to my two favorite people, my mum and Paige!
Carolyn Goelzer* Adam/Jaques
Derek Powell (Oliver/Lord Leopold) is honored to return to The Cherry Arts after appearing as Baron Del Cedro in The Fan and Zeus in An Odyssey. REGIONAL: Our Town, The Play That Goes Wrong, Tender Rain (Syracuse Stage); By The Way, Meet Vera Stark, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Sister Act, Romeo and Juliet, Almost, Maine (Redhouse Arts Center); Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Chenango River Theatre); Murder on the Orient Express, Kiss Me, Kate! (Cortland Repertory Theatre); The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Millbrook Playhouse); The End of History, Apprentice: White House, Beckett Project (Building Company Theater). Learn more @derekemersonpowell
AJ Sage (Phebe/Charles/Lords) is thrilled to be bringing Shakespeare to the Cherry. AJ has appeared previously with the Cherry Arts in Testosterone and The Fan. He is the Artistic Director of House of Ithaqua, most recently directing Mike Bartlett’s Contractions, and will be directing and acting in the next HOI production, Marjorie Prime by Jordan Harrison right here at the Cherry in September/October. AJ has worked extensively with Ithaca Shakespeare Company and The Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca. During the day he roasts coffee and tries not to set himself on fire. Thanks to this cast and crew!
R.J. Lavine (Celia) is pleased to join the talented cast of the Cherry’s production of As You Like It. Recent theatre credits include props management for Civic Ensemble’s Fertile Grounds and Kitchen Theatre Company’s Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them, with on stage appearances in And What Happens If I Don’t and Voices of Ukraine, both at the Cherry. You can catch them on screen in Bad Things (dir. Stewart Thorndike) on Shudder by AMC+ starting August 18th. R.J. has studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, Dramatist Guild, Barrow Group, and Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca. Dan, Wesley, and Kestrel continue to be both an inspiration and R.J.’s reason(s) for living.
Sylvie Yntema (Rosalind): Cherry Artists Collective Collective member. Previous Cherry: The Snow Queen, Felt Sad Posted a Frog, A Day, An Odyssey. She has performed locally with Civic Ensemble, Homecoming Players, Hangar Theatre, Fitz&Startz Productions, and Clockmaker Arts. Sylvie studied BFA acting at The Mason Gross School at Rutgers University, is a graduate of the Actors Workshop of Ithaca, a Pilates instructor, and a massage therapist.
Eric Brooks (Touchstone) began his career as a boy soprano. Many plays in Ithaca and throughout the United States. Proud member of Actors’ Equity since 1975
Adara Alston (Corin, Lady Hera, Le Beau) is delighted to be working with The Cherry again after previously performing in The Fan, And What Happens If I Don’t, and Trapdoor, along with the collaboration of An Odyssey with Hangar Theatre. Some recent credits: Men On Boats (Chenango River Theatre), Fences (Redhouse Arts Center), The Skin of Our Teeth and The Inferior Sex (Hangar Theatre), Pericles: Prince of Tyre and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Ithaca Shakespeare), and Doubt: A Parable and Good People (Franklin Stage Company). Adara also currently hosts the NY Emmy nominated arts and entertainment program Expressions on WSKG-TV (PBS). adaraalston.com
Dean Robinson (Duke Frederick/Duke Senior) Collective Member. Previous Cherry: White Rabbit Red Rabbit, George Kaplan, Felt Sad Posted a Frog, as well as voicing Storm
Country, The Missing Chapter, and The Fan. Also in the Ithaca area, Dean has appeared in plays including The Cripple of Inishmaan, Swimming in the Shallows, The Chairs, Circle Mirror Transformation, Nora, Tribes, and The Children. Other area performances include Sirens, Perfect Crime, and Dancing at Lughnasa. Regionally, Dean has performed at A.C.T. (San Francisco), Trinity Repertory Theatre, American Southwest Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, and New York’s Public Theatre as well as performed in the international tour of Robert Wilson’s The Black Rider. He is a founding member of the critically acclaimed The Actors’ Gang where he directed and acted in multiple plays. Dean is a graduate of the Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University; he is currently an assistant professor of theatre at Ithaca College, where he teaches voice, movement, and acting.
Carolyn Best (lioness) is grateful to be a part of her first production at The Cherry. She is a rising senior BFA Acting Major at Ithaca College from Vienna, Virginia. Past favorite roles include Julia in The Two Gentlemen of Verona at Ithaca Shakespeare Company, as well as The Soothsayer/Octavius in Caesar, Tracey in SWEAT, and part of the ensemble in red bike at Ithaca College. She sends love to her family and friends, and thanks them for their kindness and support.
Seth Koproski (stag) is a theater, circus, and puppet artist based out of Ithaca, NY. Recent local performances include An Odyssey (Cyclops/Odysseus 11) with Cherry Arts and the Hangar, Best of Shakespeare (Richard III) with the Ithaca Shakespeare Company, and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker (Dancing Cheese/T-Rex) with CirqOvation in Syracuse, NY. Seth also works as a troupe director at Circus Culture in downtown Ithaca, creating circus shows such as ‘Unseasonable’, ‘In the Dark’, and, as part of the Hupstate Circus Festival 2022, ‘Cirquest: The Fighter’s Tale’. He holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Connecticut and a PhD in English from Cornell.
Anya Gibian (the Musician) is an actor-musician and songwriter based in Ithaca. Selected acting credits include: National Tours Roundabout’s Cabaret, and Once; Off Broadway: The Pirate La Dee Da, The Velveteen Rabbit (Atlantic Theater Company); The Mysteries (The Flea), Solina (New York Fringe Festival); Regional: Once (ZACH Theatre). Anya voices multiple characters on the audio drama fantasy podcast The Once and Future Nerd, for which she also contributes songs. B.S. Cornell University, where she studied theater performance, clown, commedia dell’arte, devising, absurdism, (with Beth Milles and more), and Industrial and Labor Relations. www.anyagibian.com
Production
Samuel Buggeln (director) is the co-founder and Artistic Director of The Cherry Arts and Cherry Artists’ Collective, where over the last seven years he has produced, directed, translated, and/or commissioned over fifteen productions from international and local writers. Before founding the Cherry, Sam directed over 20 productions at regional theatres; in NYC he has developed new work extensively at the Lark and other venues and is an Artistic Associate at the New Ohio Theatre. Among numerous works directed at the Ohio are the Drama Desk-nominated Cressida Among the Greeks and Hater, his unconventional translation of Le Misanthrope, which has since been published and produced twice more. A volume of his co-translations of Santiago Loza’s plays is available from Seagull Books.
Jeff Theiss (Music Director) is grateful to be making his debut with The Cherry! He was the Music Director for The Band’s Visit on Broadway, which won 10 Tony Awards and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater album. Additional Broadway credits include: The Book of Mormon and Lysistrata Jones. Jeff is also the resident Music Director at The Rev Theater Company in Auburn, NY where he most recently conducted Into The Woods. Jeff was also an NYC audition pianist for such casting directors as Tara Rubin, Stewart/Whitley, and Wojcik & Seay. He is currently an Assistant Professor and Music Director of the Theater Department at Ithaca College. BME – Baylor University. MM – Ithaca College.
Christopher Brusberg is a regional lighting designer based in NYC who is passionate about Opera, Dance, and New Theatrical Work, including how the intersection of design and storytelling can influence the relationships between art, the viewer, and the artist. He has designed for the following companies: Opera Lafayette (DC/NYC), Annapolis Opera (Resident Designer), Tri-Cities Opera, Syracuse Opera, EMERGE125 (Resident Designer), BANDPoteir, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Arrow Rock Lyceum, Company One, New Repertory Theatre, NYU Steinhardt, and Boston Conservatory. Christopher holds an MFA from the University of Maryland and is a proud member of USA829. For upcoming design work, check out the website: www.ctblighting.com, Instagram: @ctblighting
Elissa Martin (Costume Design) has worked at Redhouse this past season as a wardrobe supervisor and costume assistant. Previous Red House credits include: Angels in America, part 1, By The Way, Meet Vera Stark and Bridges of Madison County. She has designed costumes for A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Wiz, a RedhouseEd program at Lincoln and Suessical Jr and Rock of Ages for Red House Summer Theater Camp. Elissa has worked for a number productions at Syracuse Stage including How to Dance in Ohio (world premiere), Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Espejos/Clean, and Our Town. She has been a stitcher for Shania Twain. Elissa has also been a stitcher and shopper for national tours Tootsie and Anastasia. Elissa has been production manager at New York Fashion Week for Small Boutique Fashion Week and Revive Fashion Week.
Margot Vangel (Production Stage Manager) received their Bachelors in Theatre from Ohio Wesleyan University and their Masters of Science in Arts Administration from Le Moyne College. Most recent stage management positions include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Angels in America, Macbeth, and Sister Act (Redhouse Arts Center). Outside of stage management, Margot works as a lecturer in stage management at Hamilton College and as a regrants officer at CNY Arts. Find more at www.margotvangel.com.
Adam Washiyama Shulman is a multidisciplinary artist focusing in theatrical world-building and ecologically engaged public art. Recent scenic credits include work as the Hangar Theatre’s Scenic Design Fellow (Ithaca, Summer 2023), DreamTrain (Mendi+Keith Obadike at The New School, NYC, 2023), The Pleasures of the Quarrel (Bailey Hall, Ithaca, 2022), Baby Rock (Schwartz Center, Ithaca, 2022), and the projection illumination After Nature Had Drawn a Few Breaths (Sheldon Court, Ithaca, 2021). Visit his recent durational performance in botanic stewardship in Palmer Woods: Nature’s Play (2021-2023) set playful performance within structures sculpted from uprooted invasive species to reflect our overlooked land history. Adam holds a BA in Performing & Media Arts and BFA in Fine Art from Cornell University.
Holly Adams (fight choreographer) is delighted to be choreographing the violence for this wonderful production! A member of SAG-AFTRA, she is a graduate of the Dell’Arte School of Physical Theatre and member of physical theatre company Kakeru. Combat choreography favorites include Titus Andronicus, My Favorite Year, The Three Musketeers, Romeo and Juliet, Les Miserables, Moon Over Buffalo, Sweeny Todd, upcoming horror film Technoburger, and of course, As You Like It. Learn more about Holly at https://shearwaterproductions.com or Audible.com or IMDb (Holly Adams III).
Crew
Gene Lassiter (ASM/Electrician) is delighted for this to be their first show back in Ithaca. After receiving a Bachelors in Performing and Media Arts from Cornell, they spent two years as a stage technician in Raleigh, NC. Favorite credits include dresser for Carolina Ballet’s Dracula, spotlight operator for Raleigh Little Theatre’s Hands on a Hard Body, and props run crew for North Carolina Opera’s Porgy & Bess. They would like to thank Zem and Isa for their endless support through this most triumphant return!
Ally True (production associate) is a recent graduate of the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College. They spend their time on film sets and theater productions doing a little bit of everything, from set decoration to manual labor. They’ve worked with the Cherry since June, and have helped in both the gallery and the art space. They may not understand Shakespeare, but they sure do love it.