Donna Latham
Playwright
Playwright Donna Latham is thrilled to work with such a talented cast and director as she tinkers with a new script. Donna’s plays have been produced coast to coast and across the pond. She’s a Kennedy Center Finalist for the David Mark Cohen Playwriting Award. Selected credits: Grievances and Whirligigs was developed at Accidental Theatre in Belfast and had readings at No Shame Athens and EstroGenius at Manhattan Theatre Source. Coyote’s Moon went up at La MaMa Theatre 50 Block Party in NYC. Three by the Sea and Do These Jeans Make My Butt Look Massive? received world premieres at Looking Glass Theatre in NYC. A Midnight Clear: The Christmas Truce of 1914 was a semi-finalist, Dionysus Cup Festival of New Plays at Chicago’s Polarity Ensemble Theatre. Donna is a member of the Dramatist Guild. Get the scoop about her published and produced plays and appearances at donnalatham.com.
Playwright
Playwright Donna Latham is thrilled to work with such a talented cast and director as she tinkers with a new script. Donna’s plays have been produced coast to coast and across the pond. She’s a Kennedy Center Finalist for the David Mark Cohen Playwriting Award. Selected credits: Grievances and Whirligigs was developed at Accidental Theatre in Belfast and had readings at No Shame Athens and EstroGenius at Manhattan Theatre Source. Coyote’s Moon went up at La MaMa Theatre 50 Block Party in NYC. Three by the Sea and Do These Jeans Make My Butt Look Massive? received world premieres at Looking Glass Theatre in NYC. A Midnight Clear: The Christmas Truce of 1914 was a semi-finalist, Dionysus Cup Festival of New Plays at Chicago’s Polarity Ensemble Theatre. Donna is a member of the Dramatist Guild. Get the scoop about her published and produced plays and appearances at donnalatham.com.
Carrie Schafer
Mary Todd Lincoln Carrie is thrilled to be back on stage in this beautiful work by Donna Latham. Julane gave me Mary Todd, and I am so thankful. She has so many facets to her personality, and I feel honored to have played her and to finally give her a voice.. Carrie holds a BFA in theatre from Millikin University and has been on stage in numerous shows all over the burbs, including The Boys Next Door , Give me Your Answer Do, Absurd Person Singular, Spoon River Anthology, Marvin’s Room, Rope, Bleacher Bums and Catherine Sloper in The Heiress. She has also directed such shows as Rumors, War at Home: Students respond to Sept 11, Riding out the Storm, The Princess Bride, Laughing Stock and All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Carrie is an Independent Acting Coach in her home town of Batavia, and works with kids of all ages helping them hone the craft of acting. Her favorite role to date is Mom to her 2 beautiful boys Luke and Nate and Wife to her husband of 17 years, Scott. “ You are my all.” |
Carl Zeitler -
John Wilkes Booth Carl is happy to hobble once more upon the stage in this excellent production by Donna Latham. Carl would like to thank his personal acting coach Sir Larry Quist, the wonderful director Julane Sullivan, the great cast and crew, and his perpetually belly rub seeking miniature Dachshund, Ginger--not necessarily in that order. Carl has appeared in a variety of roles at numerous venues in the Chicagoland area. Some of his notable roles include "Of Mice and Men" (Lennie), "Macbeth" (Macbeth), "The Taming of the Shrew" (Petruchio), "The House of Yes" (Anthony), "Over the River and Through the Woods" (Nick), and "Rumors" (Lenny). Two of the short plays he has written--"And Then What?" and "A Smattering of Perspective"--have been produced recently at several local theaters. Enjoy the show! |
Galen Malick
Secretary Stanton Galen is a corporate drone with many hidden talents. Between conference calls and status meetings, he has found time to learn ballroom dance, teach himself guitar, build miniatures, act on stage, and sing in a cover band. Like many of us, Galen was born with that condition that makes creative outlets critical to his mental health. He is that kid you knew in school who memorized comedy albums and filled notebooks with comic strips. He is a big fan of board games and has even created a few himself. Galen grew up in Batavia, Illinois. Historical pieces are a favorite of his, and he is thrilled to be a part of The Haunted Widow Lincoln. When he is not working or performing, he enjoys spending time with his super-supportive wife Kathleen and their daughter Ava. 
Autumn Geist
Elizabeth Keckley Autumn Geist is thrilled to be returning to stage and voice over acting after a pause, focusing on her children. All three of whom she has joyfully shared the stage with. Past roles include gritty and thought provoking parodies like Womandingo, classics like The Little Prince or The Gift of The Magi, to choreo poem like Ntozke Shanges Spell #7 and For Colored Girls Who Have Ever Considered Suicide When The The Rainbow Is Enuf. She has performed in Take Back The Nights fundraiser The Vagina Monologues twice. A past favorite was performing as the Wicked Witch of The West because where else can you throw balls of fire? Or have minions to do your bidding? Autumn loves everything on AMC, football, basketball, healthy banter, beaches, reading, giving unsolicited advice, cooking, travel, and a good malbec. Autumn hopes to honor Donnas vision of Mrs. Elizabeth “Lizzie” Keckley. She was a woman who had the strength, vision and courage to move mountains. And she hopes that Lizzie touches your heart too. |
Aaron Berogan
Robert Lincoln Aaron Berogan is very excited to work with the ever brilliant Julane Sullivan (she paid him to say that) again. The last show he did with her was Comedy of Errors where he played the role(s) of Dromio of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse. Aaron is a broadcast journalism major with minors in theatre and mass media communications (film creation and editing). He currently holds an Associates of Arts in Performance and has done a variety of different shows. Aaron is excited to work with such a talented cast and wonderful playwright (he wrote that for free). He would like to thank his wonderful family, friends, and adorable girlfriend Rachel for their continued support and love. 
Lea May Rivera
Zuzu Jones Lea Maryann Rivera is a fine multimedia artist in the west Chicago suburban locale and in pursuit of extending her creative abilities into performance art-working as an actress and in theater production. Lea holds an Associates Degree (AA) in Arts from the College of Dupage, IL. Her theatrical works include, And We Will Share The Sky as Tiny & the current show, The Haunted Widow Lincoln as Zuzu Jones- both pieces by author and playwright Donna Latham. Other works include the Hearts For Haiyan Art Benefit Project creating short videos for typhoon survivors, and AMTC (Actors, Models and Talent for Christ) training for acting in theater & film. She is musically influenced through piano, guitar, and the ukulele, and was seasonally trained in classical voice lessons at North Central College. Lea is an animal advocate, humanitarian, and lover/fan of books, travel, culture, languages, fashion, and the Audrey Hepburn. |
Kyle Rath
Ghost of Abraham Lincoln Kyle is supremely glad to be back on stage with such a talented group! Kyle grew up in Elmhurst, IL, performing in shows all the way through high school. He attended both Valparaiso University and Triton College studying Music Education, Graphic Design and Visual Communications. Kyle now resides in Downers Grove, IL where he works as a Head Cashier at Home Depot. His latest theatrical endeavours include 'Don't Drink the Water' and 'The Rimers of Eldritch' through GreenMan Theatre Troupe, and portraying Sir Christopher Hatton at the Bristol Renaissance Faire. Kyle sends special thanks to Donna, Julane, the cast and crew, his family, dearest friends and to his lovely Livy. |
Rachael Bright
Rosalie Rachael is so very excited to be apart of The Haunted Widow Lincoln, to be working with Julane Sullivan and all the amazing people she has met through this cast. Thank you to Julane for allowing her this opportunity to take to the stage in the amazingly fun part of Rosalie. Rachael thanks God for her talents, and blessings day in and day out. She also thanks her family and friends for all their support and love. Rachael has a BA in Theatre from Calvin College and has been in theatre most of her life and enjoyed working in every aspect of it. Most recently she has returned to theatre as stage manager, assistant director, and costume designer with Summer Place Theatre in Naperville. Enjoy the show! |
B.V. Vargas
Madame Marvelosa Portraying Madame Marvalosa marks this actor’s return to the stage after spending many years as a costume designer. As a performer, favorite portrayals include work in such productions as Oliver, Jesus Christ Superstar, Mother Courage & Her Children, Miss Saigon, Come Back to the Five & Dime as well as Chekhov’s Swan Song, Fierstein’s On Tidy Endings and Valdez’ Los Vendidos. This performer has also has been the designer of costumes for such productions as Hot Mikado, Into the Woods, Dracula, Assassins, Hello Dolly, Reckless and Disney’s The Lion King. B.V. works as a Director of a CPA firm located in Chicago and Washington D.C. and currently resides in West Chicago. |
Matt Heine
Lawyer Matt is pleased to be back on the stage again, and in this brand-new and entertaining production. He would like to Julane for giving him this opportunity, the superb cast and crew, and of course, his friends and family for their support. A local Batavian, Matt has been involved in numerous productions within the Fox Valley Area. His biggest involvement has been with the Shakespeare on Clark group in Batavia, for which he has been a member for four summers. Matt is also an aspiring creative writer, and has recently created and written his first comic series. |
Dave Evensen
Doctor Dave had an early start with theatre starring in a two act Halloween play in Third Grade, followed by playing the villain in "George Washington Never Slept Here" in Eighth Grade and by performing in High School Plays: "Street Car Named Desire," "South Pacific," and as Barnaby Tucker in "Hello Dolly." In College, he appeared in the Naval Academy Production of "Othello," but after that work got in the way of acting on stage. Dave is excited to be part of this cast. He has resided in Batavia for 26 years with his wife, Joan. |
Leigh Tracy
Judge One advantage of being not quite young is the quantity of experience that Leigh can list. That list includes over 50 years (including some years spent in retirement) as a director, technical director, actor and manager. He has performed in a variety of capacities in a similar number of productions in academic, community, and summer theater. He has also applied arts administration skills as manager and board member of multiple arts organizations. Leigh served as a professor of Political Science and Theater at Aurora University and was a founding member of the Fox Valley Arts Council and the Batavia Arts Council. Some of Leigh’s favorite productions as an actor or director include the following: The Crucible (Arthur Miller), Ghosts (Ibsen), Glass Menagerie (Tennessee Williams), Rhinoceros (Eugene Ionesco), The Birds (Aristophanes), Tartuffe (Moliere), Cave Dwellers (William Saroyan), Macbeth (Shakespeare), Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare), and Translations (Brian Friel). |
Julane Sullivan
Director
Julane Sullivan is the founder and director of Shakespeare on Clark, the president of The Batavia Arts Council, and owner of All Dressed Up Costumes in Batavia. She has been active in all aspects of theatre, performing in plays and musicals such as Same Time Next Year, Crimes of the Heart, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Into the Woods, amd Midlife, the Crisis Musical, directing throughout the Chicago Suburban area, and costuming shows across the country. She also teaches theatre workshops and coaches individual actors upon request. She is delighted to work with Donna Latham and this incredibly talent cast of actors. She is honored by the trust Donna has given her to direct this play, working in collaboration with the actors as they mine the jewels of dialog Ms. Latham has given us.
Director
Julane Sullivan is the founder and director of Shakespeare on Clark, the president of The Batavia Arts Council, and owner of All Dressed Up Costumes in Batavia. She has been active in all aspects of theatre, performing in plays and musicals such as Same Time Next Year, Crimes of the Heart, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Into the Woods, amd Midlife, the Crisis Musical, directing throughout the Chicago Suburban area, and costuming shows across the country. She also teaches theatre workshops and coaches individual actors upon request. She is delighted to work with Donna Latham and this incredibly talent cast of actors. She is honored by the trust Donna has given her to direct this play, working in collaboration with the actors as they mine the jewels of dialog Ms. Latham has given us.
Charles Palia
Scenic and Lighting Design No stranger to all aspects of theatre, Chuck has performed professionally, directed theatrical production, and designs scenery and lighitng for theatres through Chicagoland. Currently Chuck is working with Steel Beam Theatre as technical director. He has also involved with high school competitive drama and group interp programs, and teaches improv. |
Laura Dwyer
Costume Design Laura works at All Dressed Up Costumes and has costumed numerous production through the eight years there. She also designs costumes for Shakespeare on Clark and has her own line of creative hats and accessories on Etsy in her story, Adollydorables. A resident of Batavia, she thanks her hubby Ryan for all of his support. |