The Amateurs

Evan Casey (Gregory/Jordan) OLNEY THEATRE CENTER: On the Town, Guys and Dolls, Avenue Q, 39 Steps, Camelot, Fiddler On The Roof, Lend Me A Tenor. OFF-BROADWAY: Elephant and Piggie’s We Are In A Play (New Victory Theatre). REGIONAL: North Carolina Theatre, Everyman Theatre, New London Barn Playhouse. DC AREA: Kennedy Center, Ford’s Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, Studio Theatre Secondstage, Rep Stage,1st Stage. FILM: 10-42, Of Dice and Men, The Phages. TV/WEB: House of Cards, Missing Persons Unit, Thurston, Stage Fright. AWARDS: Multiple Helen Hayes Award Nominations, Indie Series Award Best Ensemble Nomination (Thurston), IndieCapitol Award Best Actor Nomination (Of Dice and Men). TEACHING: The Theatre Lab, National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, Signature Theatre, Adventure Theatre-MTC. OTHER: Capitol Steps, GraphicAudio.

John Keabler (Brom) is a bluegrass junky from Kentucky who is ecstatic to be doing his first show at Olney and his third show with Director Jason King Jones. His Broadway credits include…none, he has never been on Broadway. But he has seen a few shows there and honestly, the shows are better here. Regionally, John has performed leading roles for The Shakespeare Theatre Company of DC, The Shakespeare Theatre Company of New Jersey, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Theatre Festival, The Old Globe, Perseverance Theatre in Alaska, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Syracuse Stage, Portland Stage Company, Florida Studio Theatre and Creede Repertory. On television you may have seen him on 30 Rock, Madam Secretary, All My Children, NASCAR: Rise of American Speed, and The Men Who Built America…but you probably didn’t. He received his MFA from The Old Globe Remedial Actors Training Program.

James Konicek (The Physic) is thrilled to be returning to Olney Theatre Center. Previous OTC credits include: Dial ‘M’ for Murder, Rancho Mirage, Annie [Helen Hayes Award Nomination Best supporting actor], King of the Jews, Democracy, & The Elephant Man. REGIONAL: Goodman Theatre: The Music Man; Chicago Shakespeare: Peter Pan; Ford’s Theatre: A Christmas Carol, Ragtime, 1776, Our Town, Parade, Liberty Smith; The Shakespeare Theatre: Romeo & Juliet, The Man of La Mancha, As You Like it, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Edward II, Tamburlaine; Woolly Mammoth: An Octoroon, Marie Antionette, The Vibrator Play. TV: Chicago Med, The Chi. EDUCATION: MFA USD/Old Globe. www.jameskonicek.com

Michael Russotto (Larking) is delighted to return to Olney Theatre Center, where he most recently appeared in Singin’ in the Rain. Previous Olney credits include Reverend Parris in The Crucible, Lionel in Bakersfield Mist, Mr. Dussel in The Diary of Anne Frank, Richard in Hay Fever, and Neville in Neville’s Island. Other recent roles include Murray in Junk at Arena Stage, holdout Juror # 3 in the Ford’s Theatre production of Twelve Angry Men, and Alex in Heisenberg at Signature Theatre. Michael is a member of the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, where he has performed in such productions as The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, A Bright New Boise, Lenny and Lou, and She Stoops to Comedy. He has also appeared in shows at Cleveland Play House, Round House Theatre, The Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Theater J, Rep Stage, and The Kennedy Center. His work in Washington has earned him Helen Hayes Award Nominations in several categories. Film and television appearances include, The Battle of Bloody Lane, Death of a Nation, and Playing Through. Michael can be heard on the L.A. Theatre Works recording of Seven Days in May, with Ed Asner. He has also narrated hundreds of recorded books for Books on Tape and The Library of Congress.

Emily Townley (Hollis) is so pleased to return to Olney Theatre Center, where she’s appeared previously in Ken Ludwig’s A Comedy of Tenors (Maria) and Bad Dog (Linda). DC AREA (selected): Round House Theatre: How I Learned To Drive, The Sisterhood; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Resident Company Member): HIR, The Arsonists, The Totalitarians [Helen Hayes Award nomination, Outstanding Lead Actress], Detroit, Bright New Boise, Maria/Stuart, The House of Gold, Spain, Fuddy Meers, Wonder of the World and Watbanaland; Shakespeare Theatre Company: Twelfth Night [Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Play], Romeo and Juliet; Signature Theatre: The Mystery of Love and Sex; Studio Theatre: Between Riverside and Crazy, Laugh, Skin Tight, Rock N' Roll, The Bright and Bold Design; Folger Theatre: The Gaming Table, The Tempest. REGIONAL: Gulfshore Playhouse: All My Sons, The Game's Afoot. UPCOMING: Teenage Dick (Elizabeth York) at Woolly Mammoth.

Rachel Zampelli (Rona) Previous OTC Credits: On the Town, The Crucible, Sweeney Todd, Evita, Godspell, Avenue Q. DC AREA: Kennedy Center: The Gift of Nothing, Lost in the Stars (Washington National Opera); Folger Theatre: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Comedy of Errors, Orestes: A Tragic Romp, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Ford’s Theatre: Into the Woods, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Shenandoah; Signature Theatre: Assassins, Midwestern Gothic, The Gulf, The Fix, Dying City, Brother Russia, Chess, See What I Wanna See, The Happy Time; Studio Theatre: Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, POP! (Helen Hayes Nomination- Supporting Actress), Jerry Springer: The Opera, Reefer Madness; Imagination Stage: Beauty and the Beast; No Rules Theatre Company: Stop Kiss. Adventure Theatre-MTC: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. 

Jordan Harrison (Playwright) was a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Marjorie Prime, which premiered at the Mark Taper Forum and had its New York premiere at Playwrights Horizons. A film adaptation, directed by Michael Almereyda, premiered in the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.  Jordan's play Maple and Vine premiered in the 2011 Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville and went on to productions at American Conservatory Theatre and Playwrights Horizons, among others. Other plays include The Grown-Up (Humana Festival), Doris to Darlene, a cautionary valentine (Playwrights Horizons), Amazons and their Men (Clubbed Thumb), Act A Lady (Humana Festival), Finn in the Underworld (Berkeley Rep), Futura (Portland Center Stage/NAATCO), Kid-Simple (Humana Festival), The Museum Play (WET), and a musical, Suprema (O'Neill Music Theatre Conference). Jordan has two new plays premiering Off-Broadway in the '17-'18 season: The Amateurs at the Vineyard Theatre, and Log Cabin at Playwrights Horizons. Jordan is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Hodder Fellowship, the Horton Foote Prize, the Kesselring Prize, the Roe Green Award from Cleveland Play House, the Heideman Award, a Theater Masters Innovative Playwright Award, the Loewe Award for Musical Theater, Jerome and McKnight Fellowships, a NYSCA grant, and a NEA/TCG Residency with The Empty Space Theater. His children's musical, The Flea and the Professor, won the Barrymore Award for Best Production after premiering at the Arden Theatre. A graduate of Stanford University and the Brown MFA program, Jordan is an alumnus of New Dramatists. For three seasons, he was a writer and producer for the Netflix original series "Orange is the New Black."

Jason King Jones (Director) is the Senior Associate Artistic Director of Olney Theatre Center, and Artistic Director of National Players. Past productions at OTC: Ken Ludwig’s A Comedy of Tenors, Annie, Mary Poppins, Dial ‘M’ for Murder, Godspell, The Tempest and Neville’s Island. Past National Players productions: Hamlet, A Tale of Two Cities, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Of Mice and Men, Romeo and Juliet, Animal Farm, The Comedy of Errors, The Tempest, and Odyssey (which he also adapted), Othello, The Crucible, and for Tour 71 he directed As You Like It. As the Artistic Associate at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Jason directed The Comedy of Errors, The Servant of Two Masters, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), The Merry Wives of Windsor, and The Grouch, along with nearly a dozen abridged classical plays for their educational touring companies. Jason is the co-creator of Very Very, a Shakespeare rock show based on As You Like It, and he has taught and directed at Boston University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Missouri State. In 2012, Jason created an Arts Integration program with Montgomery County public and private schools that inspires students to collaboratively write original short plays and perform them on Olney’s Historic Stage annually. He is a proud graduate of the Boston University School of Theatre, a bewildered father of Gwendolyn and Elliot, and a lucky husband to Josiane.

Misha Kachman (Scenic Designer) returns to OTC where he previously designed Aubergine, Our Town, Colossal, Marjorie Prime, and The Diary of Anne Frank. REGIONAL: Asolo Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Pasadena Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Seattle Rep, Syracuse Stage, Wilma Theater. OPERA: Maryland Opera Studio, Opera Lafayette, Opera Royal Versailles. DC AREA: Arena Stage, The Kennedy Center, Round House Theatre, Signature Theatre, Theater J, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. AWARDS: 2011 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Set Design for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. EDUCATION: St. Petersburg Theatre Arts Academy.

Pei Lee (Costume Designer) NATIONAL PLAYERS: Macbeth, Comedy of Errors, Odyssey, Romeo and Juliet, Animal Farm, Twelfth Night, The Call of the Wild. OLNEY THEATRE CENTER: Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical [Helen Hayes Nomination - Best Costume Design for a Musical], My Fair Lady, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, The Tempest, Cinderella, The 39 Steps, Triumph of Love, The Call of the Wild, Peter Pan, Big River, Democracy, Miracle Worker, Carousel, Copenhagen, and Monster. DC AREA: Forum Theatre: The Last Days of Judas Iscariot [Helen Hayes Award Nomination, Outstanding Ensemble] and Skriker; Rorschach Theatre: References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot; Catalyst Theatre: 1984; Potomac Theatre Project: No End of Blame; UMBC Theatre Department: GUM; Adventure Theatre MTC: Ugly Duckling, The Jungle Book; Loyola College: Dimly Perceived Threats to the System; Synetic Theatre: Hamlet: The Rest is Silence.

Colin K. Bills (Lighting Designer) returns to OTC where he has previously designed Cabaret [Helen Hayes Nomination - Best Lighting Design for a Musical], Once, Mary Stuart, Mary Poppins and Colossal, among others.  He is a Company Member at Woolly Mammoth where he is an active member of their Equity, Diversity and Inclusion working group and has designed over fifty productions, including An Octoroon, Gloria, Clybourne Park and The Convert. As a Conspirator with the devising company dog & pony dc, he collaborated in the writing, direction and design of A Killing Game and Beertown. His designs have been seen at Arena Stage, Asolo Rep, The Berkshire Theater Festival, Baltimore Center Stage, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Court Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Everyman Theatre, Folger Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, 59E59, Forum Theatre, Imagination Stage, Intiman Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Marin Theatre Company, Metro Stage, Mosaic Theater, Opera Lafayette, Opéra Royal Versailles, Pasadena Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Round House Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Smithsonian, Signature Theatre, Studio Theatre, Synetic Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Theater J, The Washington Revels, The Wilma Theater, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival.  Colin has won three Helen Hayes Awards and is a recipient of a Princess Grace Fellowship in Theater. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

Karin Graybash (Sound Designer) has created numerous sound designs for Regional Theater and Off Broadway, including: Hartford Stage, Long Wharf, Berkeley Repertory, Dallas Theater Center, Yale Repertory, McCarter, Arena Stage, Portland Stage, Folger Theatre, TheatreWorks, and the Alliance, among others. Her conceptual sound design for Popsicle’s Departure was also produced internationally. Her work has been nominated for a variety of awards and she is a recipient of the Bay Area Theatre Critics Award for her sound design of Polk County at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Karin was the original live sound consultant for the multi-media production Freedom Rising at the National Constitution Center. Many of her soundscapes can be heard at The Franklin Institute’s exhibit entitled Your Brain. Karin also holds the position of Sound Supervisor for the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. 

Ben Walsh (Production Stage Manager) Previous Olney Theatre Credits: Ken Ludwig’s Comedy of Tenors, Labour of Love, Every Brilliant Thing, Thurgood, Fickle: A Fancy French Farce, The Diary of Anne Frank, A Christmas Carol (2013 & 2015), Forever Plaid, Cinderella, Spring Awakening, Little Shop of Horrors, The Submission, Over the Tavern. DC AREA: Signature Theatre: Masterpieces…; Shakespeare Theatre Company Academy for Classical Acting: Hamlet, Women Beware Women, The Winter’s Tale, The Duchess of Malfi. REGIONAL: Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival: Working, Grand Hotel; Gateway Playhouse: Cabaret; Montana Shakespeare in the Parks: You Never Can Tell; Riverside Center for the Performing Arts: The Buddy Holly Story, Oklahoma!, Sister Act, 9 to 5, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Monty Python’s SPAMALOT; Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Christmas Town. EDUCATION: University of Kentucky, Howard Community College, James W. Rouse Scholars. Ben is a proud alumnus of Olney Theatre Center's Apprentice Training Program.