Appropriate

COLE ALEX EDELSTEIN (Rhys) (he/him) is excited to make his debut at OLNEY THEATRE CENTER! Previous credits include: BROADWAY: Matilda (Bruce/Tommy Swing). DC AREA: Woolley Mammoth Theatre Company: Appropriate (Ainsley), Marie Antoinette (The Dauphin); Ford’s Theatre: A Christmas Carol (Turkey Boy); Kensington Arts Theatre: Les Misérables, Ragtime, Oliver! NYC: Dream Up Festival: Twist of Faith (Baruch). NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: The 92nd Waa-Mu Show; Kinky Boots (The 82nd Dolphin Show); Cinderella (The 82nd Dolphin Show); Student Theater: In the Heights, American Idiot, Urinetown. EDUCATION: BA in Theatre and minor in Dance from Northwestern University. Instagram: @colex10282 

KIMBERLY GILBERT (Toni) is happy to return to OLNEY THEATRE CENTER. Previous Olney Theatre Center credits include: The Humans (pandemically cut short) and Angels In America (co-pro with Round House.) REGIONAL: Penumbra Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Portland Center Stage, Denver Center, Cincinnati Playhouse, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Arden Theatre. DC AREA: Woolly Mammoth (company member), Taffety Punk (company member), Round House, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Studio Theatre, Theater J, Fords Theatre, The Folger Theatre, Mosaic Theatre, Avant Bard. Spooky Action Theatre, Prologue Theatre. Recipient of three Helen Hayes awards. EDUCATION: BS, West Chester University; MFA in Classical Acting, The Academy at STC. Instagram: @the_kimmah ; TikTok: KimmmberlyGilbert

BRIGID WALLACE HARPER (River) (she/her) is ecstatic to make her OLNEY THEATRE CENTER debut! Previous DC AREA theatre credits include: The Keegan Theatre: Lizzie (Bridget), Noises Off (Brooke/Vicki) [Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Ensemble Play], Merrily We Roll Along (Beth) [Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Ensemble Musical], and Elegies (Woman 2); Imagination Stage: Winnie the Pooh (Eeyore/Kanga/Owl); Adventure Theatre MTC: Frosty the Snowman, The Lightning Thief, Dragons Love Tacos, Sing Down the Moon: Appalachian Wonder Tales; NextStop Theatre Co: Footloose (Ariel); The Puppet Co: The Wizard of Oz (Dorothy).. EDUCATION: BM in Musical Theatre from Catholic University. 

CODY NICKELL (Bo) is thrilled to make his official OLNEY THEATRE CENTER debut with this wonderful team of artists. Most recently Cody was seen in the North American premiere of Lie Low at Solas Nua and The Lehman Trilogy at Gulfshore Playhouse. Other recent credits include Prayer for the French Republic at Theater J, The Winter’s Tale at the Folger Theater, and Ink at Round House Theatre (Helen Hayes nomination for Best Performance in a Lead Role). Other regional credits include work at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre (Company Member), Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Portland Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Playmakers Repertory Company, San Jose Repertory Theatre, The Wilma Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, and Capitol Repertory Theatre. Cody was the Artistic Associate at Gulfshore Playhouse for two seasons. Cody is a 5 time Helen Hayes Award nominee and the recipient of the Connecticut Critics Circle Award. Cody is a graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Upcoming: Sally and Tom at Round House Theatre.

JAMIE SMITHSON (Franz) is so excited to be back at OLNEY THEATRE CENTER. He was last seen at Olney Theatre as Oaken in Frozen. OFF-BROADWAY: Fall River Fishing (Bedlam, The Connelly), Persuasion (Bedlam), Arcadia (Bedlam, West End Theatre), Romeo and Juliet and The Comedy of Errors (The Acting Company, Pace)  REGIONAL: A.R.T. Sense and Sensibility; Guthrie: Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet; Everyman: Crimes of the Heart; Portland Centerstage: Sense and Sensibility; Village Rep: A Flea in her Ear, Urinetown; Mile Square Theatre: Scapin. DC AREA: Studio Theatre: At the Wedding; Theater J: The Wanderers; Arena Stage: Newsies, Fiddler on the Roof, Holiday; Shakespeare Theatre of DC: The School for Lies; Signature: Cake Off, An Act of God; The Kennedy Center: Twist Your Dickens, Shear Madness; Folger Theatre: Sense and Sensibility [Helen Hayes Nomination Best Supporting Actor]; 1st Stage: Fly By Night [Helen Hayes Nomination Best Actor]. He has also worked with Roundhouse, Imagination and Ford's. EDUCATION: MFA in Acting, Rutgers University, Mason Gross 

DINA THOMAS is a DC based theater artist, Real Estate Agent and Mama thrilled to be making her OLNEY THEATRE CENTER debut. Her DC credits include: Rules for Living at Round House Theatre. At the Wedding, Cry It Out and 2.5 Minute Ride at Studio Theatre.  Much Ado About Nothing and The Metromaniacs at Shakespeare Theater Company. Berlin Diaries, The Chameleon and The Wanderers at Theater J. NEW YORK: Off-Broadway: Red Bull Theater: The Metromaniacs. Westside Theatre: Clever Little Lies. Barrow Street Theatre: Tribes (directed by David Cromer.) REGIONAL: Contemporary American Theater Festival: Everything You Touch. The Old Globe: The Metromaniacs. La Jolla Playhouse: Tribes. Barrington Stage Company: See How They Run, 10x10. Unicorn Theatre: Bad Jews, I'm Gonna Pray So Hard For You, Miss Witherspoon. AWARDS: BroadwayWorld Best Actress (Bad Jews). PERSONAL: Training: University of Missouri-Kansas City: MFA in Acting, Binghamton University: BA in Theater | Instagram: @tinydthomas and @dbtrealtor.

KIRSTEN COCKS (Cassidy) (she/her) is thrilled to have her stage debut at OLNEY THEATRE CENTER. Kirsten is a student at Olney Theater Musical Theatre Intensive Camp. Kristen enjoys performing in musicals at Glenelg Country School: Annie Jr. (Miss Hannigan), Frozen Jr. (Queen Iduna/Ensemble), We Are Monsters (KC).

BENNETT JOHNSTONE (Ainsley) (he/him) is excited to make his professional debut at OLNEY THEATRE CENTER. Previous Theatre credits include: Imagination Stage: The Claw (Aiden), Maryland Ensemble Theatre: OZ the Musical (Guardian of the Gate/Ensemble) EDUCATION: Student in District of Columbia Public Schools. Instagram: @bennettjohnstone

DAVID SNYDER (Ainsley) (he/him) is thrilled to make his debut at OLNEY THEATRE CENTER. REGIONAL: Ovations Theatre: The Little Mermaid Jr; SpongeBob the Musical; Sound of Music; Legally Blonde; Anastasia; Christmas Carol; Annie Jr; Beetlejuice Jr; Frozen Jr; Cabaret; Les Misérables; Beauty and the Beast Jr. EDUCATION: 4th grade at Norwood School in Bethesda, MD.  

RUBY SPENCER (Cassidy) (she/her) is so excited to be in her first production at OLNEY THEATER CENTER. Recent school and camp credits include: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre), Descendants (Ben), Charlotte’s Web (Charlotte), Matilda (Micheal). She has also done various voice over projects for PBS Kids. When not performing she can be found listening to music and creating art.

JEREMY ALLEN CRAWFORD (U/S Rhys) is excited to make his OLNEY THEATRE CENTER debut! DC AREA: Theatre J: An Enemy of the People (Billing), Prayer for the French Republic (Young Pierre); Toby's Dinner Theatre: Rock of Ages (Franz); Adventure Theatre MTC: The Lightning Thief (Percy), Sing Down the Moon (Jack, Balladeer), Junie B. Jones (Swing); Monumental Theatre: American Psycho (Luis) [Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Ensemble]; NextStop Theatre: Footloose (Ren), Lucky Stiff (Bellhop), Little Women (Swing). INTERNATIONAL: English Musicals Korea: Atlantis (Theo), Treasure Quest (Leo), The Birthday Curse. Training: B.M. Catholic University. 

CARLY DAGILIS (Swing; U/S River, U/S Cassidy) is thrilled to be making her OLNEY THEATRE CENTER debut. Previous credits include REGIONAL: Axelrod Performing Arts Center: Fiddler on the Roof; Montgomery Theater: I and You [Barrymore Award Recommended]; Classic Theater of Maryland: A Christmas Carol. Carly is a proud graduate of the BFA musical theater program at the University of the Arts/Temple University - Roll corns! She would like to thank her family for their endless support, her roommate for tirelessly running lines with her, and Irene, Hallie, and Jason for this opportunity. Instagram: @carly.dagilis

HARRISON MORFORD (U/S Ainsley) is excited to be part of the Appropriate Young Company in his first production at OLNEY THEATRE CENTER. DC AREA: Ford’s Theatre: A Christmas Carol (2023 & 2025), Shakespeare Theatre Company: Leopoldstadt. OTHER: Stagecoach Theatre: Jungle Book, Kids, Broadway Bound: Seussical, Jr., Goshen Post Elementary: Willy Wonka, Kids; Finding Nemo, Kids; Frozen, Kids, Rock Ridge Performing Arts: The Little Mermaid, Jr.; Beauty and the Beast, Jr. Instagram: @hilariously_harrison

ARI BENJAMIN POST (U/S Bo/Franz) is thrilled to make his OLNEY THEATRE CENTER debut with Appropriate. DC credits include Rules for Living at Round House Theatre, The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet, and The Rover at Shakespeare Theatre Company; Electionland at Storyworks Theater; and The Two Gentlemen of Verona and The Odyssey at Shakespeare Theatre Company (MFA). Other credits include Now to Ashes, DC Fringe Festival (Best of Fringe); and Venus in Fur, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and Side Man at local area theaters. Upcoming credits include Once at NextStop Theatre Company. Training: MFA in Acting, Shakespeare Theatre Company at George Washington University.

ALISON WEISGALL (U/S Toni, Rachael) is delighted to be at OLNEY THEATRE CENTER for the first time. NEW YORK/INTERNATIONAL TOUR: Romeo and Juliet; company member with Nature Theater of Oklahoma: Life and Times Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4 [Obie Award for Special Citations, Theatertreffen]. REGIONAL: Quantum Theatre: Chimerica; Pittsburgh Public Theater: A Few Good Men; Winnipesaukee Playhouse: The Glass Menagerie [New Hampshire Theater Award for Best Supporting Actress] and Almost, Maine. FILM: Cha Cha Real Smooth [Sundance Film Festival Audience Award]; I’m Your Woman. TV: Archive 81. EDUCATION: B.A. and M.F.A. Columbia University.

Jason Loewith (Artistic Director) has directed several dozen plays and musicals, written a handful, managed hundreds, and done just about every other job there is to do in a theater across the country... all of which taught him the value of a dollar, the importance of honesty, and the fact that you do not put a silk suit in the washing machine OR the dryer. He was appointed Artistic Director of the Olney Theatre Center in 2013, and since then has directed more than a dozen shows for the company, including the world premiere of The Joy That Carries You, his own adaptation of Schiller’s Mary Stuart, Tony Kushner’s Angels in America Part I, Jordan Harrison’s Marjorie Prime, Duncan MacMillan’s Every Brilliant Thing, James Graham’s Ink, as well as the musicals Kinky Boots, How to Succeed..., On the Town, Sweeney Todd, Carousel, and Avenue Q. As a playwright, Jason won Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle, and Jeff Awards for Best New Musical for Adding Machine: A Musical, which he co-wrote with composer Joshua Schmidt (off-Broadway, 2008–09). His theater career has taken him from Los Angeles (Odyssey Theatre Ensemble) to New York (Classic Stage Company) to Chicago (Court and Next Theatre Companies), and finally, the DMV. On days off, Jason loves to cook, hang out with his twelve nieces and nephews and their families, hit tennis balls, vacation in faraway places, and listen to music written between 1930 and 1990. After four years as Chair of the Board of TheatreWashington, Jason has just returned to chairing the Taking Care Committee. Jason lives in Carderock Springs with his husband Ned and their dogs Eliza and Luigi.

NADIR BEY (Scenic Designer) (he/him) is happy to be back at OLNEY THEATRE CENTER. Olney Theatre Center credits include: Red Pitch and The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. DC AREA: Mosaic Theater of DC: A Case for the Existence of God, Cullud Wattah, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, and Confederates; 1st Stage: Piano Lesson, The Chosen [Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Set Design], and The Rainmaker [Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Set Design]; Spooky Action Theater: Frontieres Sans Frontieres;  Prologue Theater: Monsters of the American Cinema; Solas Nua: Maz & Bricks, Playboy of the Western World, and The Honey Trap.  Website: nadirdesigns.com Instagram: @nadir.designs

MAX DOOLITTLE (Lighting Designer) OLNEY THEATRE CENTER: My Fair Lady, Every Brilliant Thing, South Pacific, Elf, Kinky Boots, Fiddler on the Roof. DC Area: Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, The Filene Center at Wolf Trap, Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Mosaic Theatre Company of DC, Baltimore Center Stage, Theatre J, The Kennedy Center, Imagination Stage, among others. NYC includes Ars Nova, Juilliard School, Theatre Row, New Ohio, New World Stages, Signature Theater Center. Regional: Geffen Playhouse, Kitchen Theatre, Santa Fe Playhouse, Great Lakes Center, Pennsylvania Shakespeare, Cincinnati Shakespeare, Fulton Theatre. TV: Anderson Cooper 360. Aboard Cruise Ships: Wine Lovers, The Musical BFA: Ithaca College. MFA: University of Maryland. 

DANIELLE PRESTON (Costume Designer) is a Costume Designer based in Washington, D.C. Previous OLNEY THEATRE CENTER credits include Little Miss Perfect, Sleepova, Long Way Down Musical, A Nice Indian Boy, and The Joy That Carries You. NEW YORK: Where Words Once Were (Lincoln Center | Kennedy Center) REGIONAL: TheaterWorks Hartford: King James; Studio Theatre: Downstate, At The Wedding, Fat Ham, Clyde’s; Signature Theatre: Primary Trust, Passing Strange, Penelope; Round House Theatre: Topdog | Underdog; Barrington Stage: Primary Trust, Blues for an Alabama Sky; Woolly Mammoth Theatre: The Sensational Sea Minkettes; Everyman Theatre: Queens Girl: Black in the Green Mountains. Danielle received the 2025 SETC Distinguished Costume Design Keynote, 2024 Helen Hayes Nominations for Agreste at Spooky Action Theater, 2022 OPERA America Tobin Director-Designer Prize, William R. Kenan Jr. Fellowship in Costume Design with The Kennedy Center, and the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute Fellowship in Costume Design. EDUCATION: MFA in Costume Design from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

MATTHEW M NIELSON (Sound Designer/Original Music) is elated to return to OLNEY THEATRE CENTER and to be working with this team. Previous Olney Theatre credits include Ink (co-production with Round House Theatre), The Joy That Carries You, Mary Stuart, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Magic Play, I and You. OFF-BROADWAY:Where Words Once Were, Shakespeare’s Villains, Lackawanna Blues. REGIONAL: Guthrie Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Shane, Cincinnati Playhouse: A Christmas Carol, Portland Center Stage Astoria, Parts I & II, Denver Theatre Center: Anna Karenina, Actors Theatre of Louisville: Dracula. DC AREA: Arena Stage: Nina Simone: Four Women, Studio Theatre: Paradise Blue, The Colored Museum, Folger Theatre: The Winter's Tale, Twelfth Night, Romeo & Juliet, Signature Theatre: King of the Yees, Round House Theatre: A Prayer For Owen Meany [Helen Hayes Award], We Declare You a Terrorist, Theater Alliance: The Wonderful World Of Dissocia [Helen Hayes Award], Mnemonic [Helen Hayes Award], firework. FILM/TV: The Adam Project, Netflix, Discovery, AppleTV+, Disney, SyFy, HBO, PBS, Epix Drive-In, OWN. OTHER: composer for The Last Wide Open, a new musical by Audrey Cefaly, founder of Sound Lab Studios, Curious Music Company, Third Rail Audio. Education: Berklee College of Music. Web: matthewnielson.com

ERIKA PLACENCIA (Production Stage Manager) is ecstatic about being the Production Stage Manager for Appropriate.  This is her first production with the OLNEY THEATRE CENTER. REGIONAL: She hails from Sacramento, California as one of the resident production stage managers CAPITAL STAGE THEATRE which credits include:  I and You(PSM), King James (PSM), The Lehman Trilogy (PSM), English (PSM), The Heart Sellers (PSM), Now Circa Then (PSM) and Cry It Out (PSM). Other credits at Capital Stage include: American Fast (ASM), Hombres (ASM) and Heroes of the Fourth Turning (ASM). She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies from UMUC and a Bachelors in Theatre Arts from Jessup University. As a 21-year Air Force Veteran, her husband and family have been by her side through one career and fully support her in her endeavors. She would like to say that “It’s never too late to follow your dream!” GO FOR IT! | therealerika.com

SAMBA PATHAK (Assistant Stage Manager) (he/him) is happy to be back at OLNEY THEATRE CENTER. Previous Olney Theatre Center credits include: Vanguard Arts Fund (Stage Manager), Frozen (Crew). REGIONAL: Theatre West: The Play That Goes Wrong (Stage Manager), Little Shop of Horrors (ASM), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (ASM). DC AREA: Theater Alliance: fire work (SM Cover), American Fast (SM Cover), Woolly Mammoth Theatre: Venus (Workshop SM), Dead Inside (Rehearsal ASM), The Great Privation (ASM Cover), Imagination Stage: The Last Martyr (Touring Stage Manager), Workhouse Arts Center: Jesus Christ Superstar (Stage Manager), Chesapeake Shakespeare Co: A Christmas Carol (Stage Manager), IN Series: The Delta King's Blues (Production Manager), St. John's The Baptist (Production Manager). EDUCATION: MA in Arts Management and BA in Theatre from George Mason University. UPCOMING: Carla Hall: Please Underestimate Me (ASM, Olney Theatre Center). Samba is the Administration and Operations Director at Theater Alliance, where he is actively working on Theater Alliance’s production season. Special thanks to my friends and family for supporting my artistic journey. Onto the next theatrical endeavor! Enjoy the show!! @SambaPathak | SambaPathak.com.