CAST & CREW
Hannah Rhode
Romeo
This is Hannah's second Lakeside Shakespeare production! She appeared last year as Miranda in The Tempest directed by Christy Arington, and is thrilled to be back in Frankfort. She would like to thank Jill for the opportunity and her family for their support. Hannah is represented by Stewart Talent.
Ian R.Q. Slater
Juliet (Company Manager)
Ian R. Q. Slater (She/They) is a non-binary actor, voiceover artist, dialect coach, project manager, and juggler. Ian is thrilled to be returning to Benzie county for her 3rd season with Lakeside! Offstage, you can find Ian on Audible, and wherever you get your podcasts.
Izzy Karp
Mercutio/Paris
Izzie (They/Them) is delighted to be back for their second season with Lakeside. They were previously in The Rover and Two Gentlewomen of Verona. Izzie has a BFA in Acting from Columbia College Chicago. You can catch a glimpse of them burning a bra in Netflix’s The Trial of the Chicago Seven.
Gaby Labotka
Tybalt/Peter
Gaby Labotka [she/they/anything respectful] (Tybalt/Peter) is a Puerto Rican-American, multi-disciplinary theatre artist who works as an actor, director, intimacy director, fight director, and choreographer across the country. She is a fierce advocate for respect, empathy, representation, inclusion, and safety in the theatre, and they are dedicated to making art that reflects those values. Selected Performance Credits: Much Ado About Nothing (Hero/Dogberry, Back Room Shakespeare Project); Romeo + Juliet x The Family Crest (Prince, Jacaranda Collective); Neverland (Peter Pan, Prop Thtr); The Legacy of Sherwood Forest(Locksley, Inkwell Productions); Romeo and Juliet (Benvolio, Teatro Vista); Groups of Ten or More People (Roz, Little Brain Theatre); and She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms (Tilly, Signifying Nothing). Training: Intimacy Directors & Coordinators (Certified Intimacy Director, Certification Pending Intimacy Coordinator), Society of American Fight Directors, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), Pig Iron Advanced Performer Training, Illinois State University (BA, Acting and Directing with Exceptional Merit in the Arts). www.gabylabotka.com @theatre_warrior
Alexandria Bressette
Benvolio
Alexandria is excited to work alongside the artists at Lakeside! She was ASM for last year’s production of The Tempest. Alexandria is a junior Acting major at Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts. She recently performed in TEN 2024 at The Gift Theatre in Chicago. Enjoy the show!
Barbara Figgins
Nurse (Finance Manager)
Barbara Figgins (Nurse) is thrilled to return to Lakeside where she was last seen in Henry VIII. Other credits CHICAGO: Romeo and Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); My Brilliant Divorce (Jeff Nomination, Best Solo Performance), The Shadow of a Gunman, Scenes From The Big Picture, WAR, Doubt, Dancing at Lughnasa, (Irish Theatre of Chicago); Fairview (Definition Theatre), Barbecue (Strawdog Theatre); Hedda Gabler (Writers Theatre); Exit Strategy (Jackalope Theatre); The History Boys (Timeline, Jeff Award Best Ensemble); The Seagull (The Artistic Home); Elizabeth Rex, Richard III (Oak Park Festival Theatre); Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Othello (A Crew of Patches). REGIONAL: Pipeline (Alabama Shakespeare Festival): TELEVISION: Chicago Justice (NBC), The Chi (Showtime).
Danny Taylor
Friar Laurence & Education Director
Danny is thrilled to be returning to Lakeside for a fourteenth season! Previous roles with Lakeside include Trinculo, The Tempest: Puck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Witch, MacBeth; Balthazar, Much Ado About Nothingand Osric/Player Queen, Hamlet; Paris, Romeo and Juliet; Angelo, The Comedy of Errors; Gremio/Widow, The Taming of the Shrew; and Andrew Aguecheek, Twelfth Night. In addition to performing with Lakeside, Danny is entering his fifth year as Education Director for LST. Regional acting credits include: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; Utah Shakespeare Festival; Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. Chicago credits include: Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, The New Colony, Strawdog Theatre & Griffin Theatre. Thank you Benzie County for making us feel at home during the summer months so we can share the joy of Shakespeare!
Sarafina Vecchio
Lord Capulet
TV: Chicago Fire, Chicago Justice FILM: Exit Statement, Flat Chested, North of the 10, Finding Hope, Once Upon A Christmas Wish CHICAGO THEATRE: Chicago Shakespeare, Drury Lane, Timeline, Shattered Globe, Remy Bumppo, Oak Park Fest, Shakespeare Project Chicago and many others. Proud member of SAG-AFTRA.
Mandy Walsh
Lady Capulet
This is Mandy's first time appearing at Lakeside, and she couldn't be more thrilled! She was most recently seen in Chicago in Lifeline Theatre's Native Son as Mrs. Dalton. She has also performed at Lifeline as Watson in both productions of Miss Holmes and Miss Holmes Returns, as well as Cat's Cradle, Monstrous Regiment, Watership Down, and The Count of Monte Cristo (U/S). Other Chicago area credits include work with Paramount Theatre, A Red Orchid Theatre, 16th Street Theatre, Windy City Playhouse, WildClaw Theatre, The Factory Theater, and more. Regionally she has performed at Dunes Summer Theatre in Michigan City, IN. She has also appeared on NBC’s Chicago Fire and in the upcoming short film I Wish I Were Pretty. Mandy is represented by the lovely folks at Big Mouth Talent, Inc.
Lydia Hanman
Montague/Apothecary
Lydia Hanman (she/her) is a Chicago based actor and couldn’t be more excited to be performing for the first time with Lakeside Shakespeare! She has worked with the Bard before in Hamlet (Greenhouse Theatre) but usually you can found in a Studio recording for Radio Dramas, Audiobooks, and Animation. Previous TV/Film credits include: They Might be Saints (EWTN), Erlkonig (Northwoods Revolution), and Wingman (Mark Rodney Productions). Off-stage you can find her working with Children as a Registered Nurse, biking around the city, or nose-deep in a good book. She would like to thank Christy for this incredible opportunity and her friends and family for their steadfast support. www.lydiahanman.com
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Frankie Straubel
Gregory
Frankie is a recent graduate of Michigan Technological University with a degree in Theatre and Electronic Media Performance. They are excited to be back on stage with Lakeside for their 16th year! Recent credits include Joanne in Purple Hearts, Maggie in Anatomy of Gray, and, of course, as a Lakeside intern! Frankie is excited to be a part of Romeo and Juliet this year! Frankie would like to thank their friends and family for the endless support, love, and encouragement. Finally, Frankie would like to thank the entire Lakeside company for being their second family, and for showing them that life without theatre is no life at all.
Christy Arington
Prince (Artistic Director)
Christy Arington has been an actor, director and teaching artist for over 25 years. A founding member and the current Artistic Director of Lakeside Shakespeare, she was the education director for 13 years, building a vibrant and continually growing educational program. As an actor and director, Christy has worked with many Chicago area Storefront Theatres. Christy received her Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance from the University of Georgia and in 2001 was awarded The Mark Twain Comedic Acting award at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She currently teaches adult acting classes at Acting Studio Chicago and is as always thrilled to return to Benzie County with one of her greatest loves, Lakeside Shakespeare.
Jillian Wesley
Director (General Manager)
Jillian is very excited to be making her Lakeside Shakes directing debut! An artistic associate since 2006 you may remember Jillian from such roles as Queen Alonso(The Tempest), Helena(The Rover), Valentine(Two Gentlewomen of Verona), Queen Anne(Richard III), Juliet(Romeo and Juliet 2013), Guildenstern(Hamlet), Hero(Much Ado About Nothing), and many others. Jillian has directed previously in Chicago with Beverly Art Center and The Arc Theatre. She would like to give a big hug to the folks of Frankfort/Elberta and Benzie County for their tireless support. We wouldn’t be here without you!
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Rachel M. Sypniewski
Costume Designer
Rachel M. Sypniewski (Costume Design) is thrilled to be collaborating with Lakeside Shakespeare for the first time! Other companies she has worked with include Goodman, Kokandy, Music Theater Works, Theater Wit, Backstage Breckenridge Theater, Babes with Blades, Trap Door, Oak Park Festival Theater, Citadel, Midsommer Flight, Black Button Eyes, Hell in a Handbag, Lifeline, Porchlight, Griffin, Strawdog, the Factory and Redtwist. She also has designed at Wheaton College, Governor's State University, North Central College, St. Patrick's High School, Indiana University Northwest, Loyola Academy, and the Chicago Academy for the Arts. She is a ten-time Non-equity Jeff nominee, having been awarded two. More info at www.rachelsyp.com
Sadie Grace Cavalancia
Stage Manager
Sadie Grace Cavalancia (she/her/hers) recently graduated from Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. There she was the sole member of the inaugural class of the newly designed interdisciplinary theatre studies major. Sadie’s previous stage management credits include Pale Blue Dot (CCPA), Freshman Footlights (CCPA), and ASM for Pride and Prejudice (CCPA). She is beyond grateful to be beginning her post-grad life by stage managing for Lakeside Shakespeare Theatre. Sadie would like to thank her parents, Tom and Shelly, for endlessly supporting her endeavors (even though some may be questionable). She would also like to give thanks to the Abbott Family, Tim Stadler, Sarafina Vecchio, and all the others who have supported her in her stage management adventures.
Moe Yasko
Intimacy Director
Maureen “Moe” Yasko [she/hers] is a Chicago-based Jeff-Nominated Fight Director, Intimacy Director, Actor, Musician, and Teaching Artist. Most recently, Moe appeared on-stage in BWBTC’s productions of The S Paradox and The Duchess of Malfi. Recent choreo credits: Romeo & Juliet, Cymbeline (Midsommer Flight), Plaid as Hell, Richard III (BWBTC), I Build Giants (The Plagiarists) and The Secret Council (First Folio). Maureen is the Resident Intimacy Director & Associate Fight Director of Midsommer Flight; an artistic affiliate of Babes With Blades Theatre Co; and a company member of A Crew of Patches. Originally based out of Atlanta, she has been honored to perform, choreograph, and teach all over the country. Selected Regional credits: Atlanta Shakespeare Co, Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, Tecumseh!, American Family Theatre, Alliance Theatre, National Theatre for Children. In the Chicago-land area Moe has collaborated with Promethean Theatre Ensemble, The Factory Theater, Citadel Theatre, The Conspirators, Cor Theatre, L’il Buds, Mary-Arrchie, The Chicago Vocal Arts Consortium, Aurora University, and the Schaumburg Nutcracker. She holds a BA in Theatre with a minor in music from Georgia Southern – Armstrong (formally AASU) and completed her apprenticeship with the Atlanta Shakespeare Co. Maureen is a Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors and has trained with Intimacy Directors & Coordinators as well as Theatrical Intimacy Education. When not creating in a theater you’ll likely find Moe teaching in a studio (or online) as a Certified Yoga Instructor.
David Blixt
Fight Choreographer
David Blixt is thrilled to come play at Lakeside, having designed violence for the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, Hope Summer Rep, Steppenwolf, The Goodman, Writer's Theatre, the Shakespeare Theatre of Washington D.C., First Folio Shakespeare, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Rivendell, and Lifeline, among many others. In 2022 David won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Stage Combat Design for Athena at Writer’s Theatre. Fun fact: David’s first novel, The Master Of Verona (2007 St. Martin’s Press), explores the origin of the famous Capulet/Montague feud. Living in Evanston, David describes himself as “Actor, author, father, husband—in reverse order.”
Daniel D. Drake
Sound Designer
Daniel is happy to be able to continue to keep his toes on the production side of theatre! Daniel is currently the Assistant Director for the Interactive Arts and Media Department at Columbia College Chicago. Daniel sits on the boards for multiple performing arts organizations, including Lakeside Shakespeare Theatre and the Bitter Jester Foundation for the Arts. Daniel most recently was the production manager for the Miller Theater at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. Daniel has worked around Chicago and Illinois with many companies including: Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Music Theatre Works, Northwestern University, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Red Tape Theatre, and many seasons with the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.