Cast & Crew
Matthew Reeder
Director
Matthew Reeder is the Artistic Director of BackStage Theatre Company. He most recently directed Wallace Shawn's Aunt Dan & Lemon. Other Selected Directing Credits include: On An Average Day, How I Learned to Drive, BackStage Theatre Company; A Streetcar named Desire, Metropolis Performing Arts Center; Accomplice, Noble Fool Theatricals; A Tempest, Playing French Festival at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre; The Shakespeare Stealer, AdventureStage Chicago; A Midsummer Night's Dream, Metropolis Performing Arts Center; The Glass Menagerie, Illinois Repertory Theatre; Still Life With Iris, AdventureStage Chicago; To Kill a Mockingbird, Metropolis Performing Arts Center; The Woman in Black, Blue Ridge Theatre Festival; Sure Thing/English Made Simple, Sibiu International Theatre Festival. Matthew also makes occasional appearances onstage as an actor. Most recently: Don't Dress for Dinner, Metropolis Performing Arts Center; Roasting Chestnuts 03-04, Noble Fool Theatricals; Pacific Overtures, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre; Early and Often, Famous Door Theatre Company.
Matthew Reeder
Director
Eric Paskey
Assistant Director
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), and The Ruling Class (Dinsdale). 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!
Eric Paskey
Assistant Director
Lindsey Miller
Stage Manager
Lindsey Miller became BackStage's newest Ensemble member in May 2009. She has stage managed BackStage's On An Average Day, The Memory of Water, Waiting for Lefty, and Bloody Bess: A Tale of Piracy and Revenge. Other Chicago credits include The Bay at Nice (Vitalist Theatre), Stone Cold Dead Serious (Circle Theater; Jeff Nominated). Lindsey has also worked with Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, The Road Company, and CLIMB Theatre.
Lindsey Miller
Stage Manager
Kate Cares
The Girl
Kate is incredibly excited to be making her debut with Backstage Theatre Company. She has had the pleasure to work with many theatre companies in and around Chicago including Remy Bumppo Theatre, Next Theatre, Circle Theatre, Greasy Joan and Co, and Open Eye Productions. Kate holds a BFA in Acting from The Theatre School at Depaul and has studied with Anne Bogart and the SITI Company.
Kate Cares
The Girl
Patrick De Nicola
The Boy
Patrick De Nicola is thrilled to be working with Backstage Theatre Company for the first time since moving to Chicago a year ago. His other Chicago credits include: Point of Contention Theatre’s Chaos Festival, Collaboraction’s Sketchbook 9, and Henry/Paul in The Gift Theatre’s production of The Ruby Sunrise, a role he will be remounting this July when The Ruby Sunrise opens at Chicago’s Theatre on the Lake. Patrick is a founding member of the comedy troupe Shoelace Academy in which he has written and performed, Variety Shmariety: A Sketch Show at Second City’s Donny’s Skybox Theatre and The Greatest Porno Ever: A Sketch Show at Gorilla Tango Theatre. Love and thanks to his family, Backstage, his Shoelacers, his wonderful friends, and Gray Talent Inc. Patrick is a graduate of Emerson College (Boston, MA) with a BFA in Acting and a BA in Film.
Patrick De Nicola
The Boy
Michael Pacas
The Man
Michael Pacas recently appeared in City Lit’s MACBETH, directed by Susan Hart. Last season, performed the roles of Musgove in Griffin Theatre’s THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM; Mr. Peachum in The Hypocrites’ THE THREEPENNY OPERA and John Barrymore in William Luce’s tour-de-force, BARRYMORE (which he also directed and produced). A BackStage Theatre ensemble member, Michael played leading roles in their productions of THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH and TERRA NOVA. He also directed their production of MEDEA, in which he incorporated American Sign Language. He appeared in CORPUS CHRISTI (Ulysses/Bailiwick), which received a Joseph Jefferson Citation and an After Dark Award for Ensemble. Other acting credits include productions with Lifeline; Irish Repertory; Circle and Signal. Michael gives special thanks to Tim and his extended family including the Cult of Susan and Jeffrey. Visit http://pacas.ws for additional information on his theatrical activities. Michael responds well to constant ego-gratification; Grey Goose Martinis and Rice Krispy squares.
Michael Pacas
The Man
Karen Yates
The Woman
Karen Yates was last seen at BackStage playing the title role in Medea. Recently, she was seen at the Lyric Opera performing non-singing roles in Faust and Damnation of Faust. Prior she played Ouisa in Six Degrees of Separation at Eclipse. She has worked at Writers’ Theatre: To the Green Fields Beyond (Jeff nominations for Ensemble and Director) and The Price—went on as Esther (Jeff awards for Best Play and Director—David Cromer). She has also worked with Piccolo, Oak Park Theatre Festival, Next, Stage Left, Theo Ubique, European Rep, among others. She is also a director, and has worked with Chicago Opera Vanguard, TUTA, Stage Left, Actors Revolution Theater, Piccolo, Overdog, WTA, Chopin, and Around the Coyote Fest either as a director or assistant director.
Karen Yates
The Woman
Megan Frei
Costume Designer/Production Manager
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.
Yousif Mohamed
Lighting Designer
Kerensa Peterson
Dramaturg
Kerensa Peterson, BFA in Dramatic Arts from Emporia State University and MFA in Acting from the University of Florida, is thrilled to be an Ensemble member of BackStage Theatre Company. She has been seen in BackStage'sproductions of Medea and TheRuling Class. She is also a member of the Laboratory for the Development of Substitute Materials. Two of her favorite roles include Amanda in Glass Menagerie with the New World Repertory Theatre, and Agnes Eggling in A Bright Room Called Day with Speaking Ring Theatre Company. She has been a writer, performer, movement coach and/or director with Chicago Fusion Theatre, Theatre Hikes, Halcyon Theatre, The Side Project, Chicago Danztheatre, the Neo-futurists, Pintig Cultural Group, the Side Project and the Chicago production of Gutenberg! The Musical. Proud to be a lifelong arts educator, she teaches acting, voice and movement, and has worked as a media educator for Facets Multimedia, Inc.
