Cast & Crew
Brenda Barrie
Aunt Dan
Brenda Barrie accepted the invitation to be an Ensemble Member in 2008. Credits with BSTC include Aunt Dan in the Jeff Recommended production of Aunt Dan and Lemon, Lauren Chickering in the Chicago premiere of Beauty on the Vine, originally produced in New York by the Epic Theatre Center with Olivia Wilde as Lauren, Li'l Bit in the acclaimed How I Learned to Drive which garnered the cast and crew Critic's Choice in the Reader, and Florrie in Waiting for Lefty, which received a Jeff Nomination for Ensemble. Credits around town include the title role in the Jeff Recommended production of Mrs. Caliban at Lifeline Theatre, Lulu in The Ruby Sunrise at the Gift Theatre, the title role in Mariette in Ecstasy with Lifeline Theatre (which garnered Barrie a Jeff Nomination for Principal Actress), understudying Curly's Wife in Of Mice and Men at Steppenwolf Theatre (SYA), originating the role of Sara in the world premiere of the critically acclaimed Graceland at Profiles Theatre, Miss Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire with Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, understudying the female leads in St. Scarlet for American Theatre Company, Lena in Caravaggio with Silk Road Theatre Project, Ala in Tango at the Chopin Theatre, Ensemble in the 13th Annual Winter Pageant with Redmoon Theater, Soloist in Ragnorak with Tantalus Theatre Group and Fannie in Thimbleberry Gallows with GreyZelda Theatre Group. She also enjoyed doing the motion capture for Wonder Woman & Cat Woman in the video game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, and is currently preparing for The New Elements Play Festival in late April. Brenda earned her BFA in Acting from the University of Indianapolis and studied theatre at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. www.brendabarrie.net
Anita Deeley
Mother/Flora/June
Anita Deeley
Mother/Flora/June
Ron Kuzava
Father/Jasper
A native of Detroit Michigan, Ron Kuzava has been acting in Chicago since 2001. An Ensemble member since 2004, Ron has appeared in the following Backstage productions: Terra Nova (Birdy Bowers), Skin of Our Teeth (Announcer), The Ruling Class (Tucker), Bloody Bess (van Anders / Vicar) and The Memory of Water (Frank). Apart from acting, he also served as the Assistant Director for Backstage's production of Zombies from the Beyond. Ron has performed with several other Chicago companies over the years including Signal Ensemble, Theo Ubique, Chopin Theater, WNEP, Wildclaw Theater and Defiant Theater.
Eric Paskey
Andy
Eric Paskey has been an ensemble member with BackStage since 2006. He is a graduate of Kent State University and the ImprovOlympic training center. Credits with BSTC include Denise Druczwski's Inferno (Phil Ligras), The Skin of Our Teeth (Telegraph Boy), Medea (Son), The Ruling Class (Dinsdale), and Aunt Dan and Lemon (Andy). Eric has also had the pleasure of working with the National Theatre for Children, Collaboraction, Signal Ensemble Theatre, Dramatis Personae, Rubicon Theater Project, Halcyon Theatre Company, Arts/Lanes, and New Leaf Theatre. He is a devoted fan of Cleveland's professional sports teams and a pitcher for the Second City and iO softball teams. Little known fact: as a child, Eric had Who Framed Roger Rabbit completely memorized!
Rebekah Ward-Hays
Lemon
Rebekah is honored to be an ensemble member with BSTC. Her first production with the company was the title role in the world-premier production Denise Druczweski's Inferno–which garnered the cast and crew Critic's Choice in the Reader and Rebekah an invitation to join BackStage. After that she was delighted to be a part of the Jeff-Recommended adventure, Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, where she received her first Jeff Citation for Principal Actress in a Leading Role as Sabina. Her next production with us was as Charlie in the summer hit Zombies from the Beyond. Rebekah played Edna in BSTC's Jeff-Recommended revival of Clifford Odet's Waiting for Lefty, and Catherine in Shelagh Stephenson's The Memory of Water. In addition to BackStage, she has worked with numerous Chicago theatres, some of which include Court Theatre, Northlight Theater, Remy Bumppo Theatre, Strawdog Theatre, the side project, Serendipity Theatre, and Collaboraction. She is an Oak Park resident and wife to BSTC ensemble member and designer, Heath Hays, and a mother to three lovely felines, which will suffice in terms of children (for now).
Geoff Coates
Violence Director
Megan Frei
Props Designer and Set Dresser
Tom Haigh
Sound Designer/Composer
Heath Hays
Scenic Designer
Heath is a BackStage Ensemble member, where he has designed set for On An Average Day, The Memory of Water, Beauty on the Vine, Bloody Bess and Zombies from the Beyond as well as the Jeff-recommended shows Waiting for Lefty and Medea. He also designed sound for BackStage's The Ruling Class and Seanachi Theatre's drama Whistle in the Dark. He designed set for Infamous Conmmonwealth Theatre's Keely and Du, GreyZelda's Jeff-recommended production of A View From The Bridge as well as their Desire Under the Elms, and Hell in a Handbag's Caged Dames. Heath has also worked for Grounded Theatre, Arena Dinner Theatre, and Village Players.
Elise Kauzlaric
Dialect Coach
Joanna Melville
Costume Designer
Brandon Wardell
Lighting Designer
Brandon Wardell is a freelance Lighting and Scenic Designer in Chicago. He earned his MFA from Northwestern University, teaches at several Universities, and is an Ensemble Member at Adventure Stage Chicago. Recent lighting credits include Mrs. Caliban (LifeLine) Aunt Dan and Lemon (BSTC), The Hollow Lands (Steep), On An Average Day (BSTC), The Arab-Israeli Cookbook (Theatre Mir), John & Jen (Appletree), and The Robber Bridegroom (Griffin Theatre). Scenic Designs include Orange Flower Water (BSTC), Maria’s Field (TUTA), In Arabia We’d All Be Kings (Steep Theatre), Holes (Adventure Stage), Dracula (The Building Stage), and Be More Chill (Griffin Theatre). Teaching credits include Northwestern University, Columbia College Chicago, The University of Chicago, Illinois Wesleyan University, and North Park University. www.brandonwardelldesign.com
Matthew Reeder - Director
Jen Poulin - Stage Manager
Caitlin Emmons - Mindy
Michael Reyes - Raimondo
Geoff Coates - Violence Director
Megan Frei - Props Designer and Set Dresser
Tom Haigh - Sound Designer/Composer
Elise Kauzlaric - Dialect Coach
Joanna Melville - Costume Designer
[...] Hot on the heels of delivering the audio mix for Coasting (check out the new trailer), I will be creating score and sound design for BackStage Theatre Company’s November production of Aunt Dan and Lemon. [...]
[...] and transformed it into various intriguing environments, including Lemon’s living room for Aunt Dan & Lemon, a series of intensely intimate bedrooms for Orange Flower Water, and a strange psychological [...]