Lynn Berg is an actor and artist active in New York’s indy theater scene for twenty years and is co-creator of the internationally acclaimed, award-winning Bouffon Glass Menajoree. His favorite roles include Mayor O’Doul in Flanagan’s Wake, Uncle Peck in How I Learned to Drive, Simon Stimson in Our Town, and he’s particularly excited to play Polonius again after playing the role in two very different shows, Hamlet and HVMLET. 

Danielle Bryden (Ophelia) is delighted to be making her debut with the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival. A recent graduate of WashU, she got her BA in Drama and studied at the Globe Theatre in London before moving to New York with dreams bigger than her curly hair. Recent credits include Cabaret (Sally Bowles), The Wolves (#46), The Grandest Princess Ball Ever! (Merida), Into The Woods (Florinda), and Rock Never Dies: The Musical (Female Swing). She is forever grateful to her family and friends for their continuous and unending support.

Tiélere Cheatem (They/Them, b. 1990) is a bold, multifaceted artist whose work is rich with Romantic melancholy, queer sensuality, and a distinctively modern edge. Ethereal yet grounded, their artistry bridges the stage and the gallery, captivating audiences across the United States, Canada, and the UK.

A native of St. Louis, Cheatem’s visual and performance work has earned numerous accolades, including two Ann Metzger Biennial Awards from the St. Louis Artists’ Guild, Best in Show from the Metro Trans Umbrella Group (MTUG) Art Show, and recognition as one of STL Bucket List’s Top 5 Artists of 2021.

As a triple threat performer, Cheatem has brought powerful, award-winning performances to the stage in productions such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hippolyta, Helena, Peter Quince) with the Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Kinky Boots (Lola/Simon) with Tesseract Theatre, La Cage aux Folles (Jacob) with New Line Theatre, and The Light in the Piazza (Fabrizio Nacarelli) with R-S Theatrics.

In 2023, Cheatem joined Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’s New Works Collective—a community-driven commissioning initiative shaping the future of opera. As a member of the Collective, they helped lead an open call and selection process from over 150 national applicants, ultimately curating three new operatic works, each presented in a 20-minute format. This innovative project celebrates inclusivity, storytelling, and the evolving voice of opera.

To see more of their work, follow @tcheatemstudios on Instagram.

Jeff Cummings is delighted to be The Player in Tom Stoppard’s ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD.  Previous appearances at St. Louis Shakespeare Festival include Friar Lawrence via Bard the Owl in ROMEO & ZOOLIET and Boyet in LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST.  Local credits include MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, CLUE, and BEAUTIFUL with STAGES, the Ghost in HAMLET, OSLO, and MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET/CHRISTMAS for St. Louis Rep, BEHIND THE SHEET, HOLD ON!, and WEDDING BAND at The Black Rep, JAKE’S WOMEN at Moonstone Theatre, GOOD SHIP ST. LOUIS at Upstream Theatre, and LIFE SUCKS at New Jewish Theatre.   Select regional theatre credits include Brutus in JULIUS CAESAR at Utah Shakespeare Festival, Claudius in HAMLET at Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, Phileas Fogg in AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS at Indiana Rep, and in seven seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, highlights include Berowne in LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST, Bassanio in THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, the Duke of Suffolk in HENRY VI pts 1 & 2, and Jack Worthing in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST.  Jeff’s previous ‘Stoppardian’ adventures include Septimus in ARCADIA for both ACT Theatre (Seattle) and the Alliance Theatre (Atlanta), and Henry Carr in TRAVESTIES and Guthrie in NIGHT & DAY for Chicago’s Remy Bumppo Theatre Company.  He is also an Audie Award-winning audiobook narrator with numerous recordings including works by Mark Twain, Gore Vidal, Philip K. Dick, and Dean Koontz.  Jeff dedicates his work on this production to the memory of Gary Wayne Barker. 

India Eddy is a St. Louis based writer-actor and a current senior at Webster University’s Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts pursuing a BFA in Acting. India is so excited to be making her St. Louis Shakespeare Festival and professional debut in one of her all time favourite plays! Learn more at indiaeddy.com

Mitchell Henry-Eagles is delighted to return to Elsinore with the festival, having previously appeared in the synonymous role in last summer’s production of Hamlet in Forest Park. Some other recent and favorite productions include Merry Wives of Windsor (St Louis Shakespeare Festival); First Date (New Jewish Theatre); Hand to God (Actors Studio); Life is a Dream (Upstream); Trash Macbeth, Residents of Craigslist (ERA), and Titus Androgynous (YoungLiars). Much love to Morgan.

Bryn McLaughlin is over the moon about making her stage debut with the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival! Bryn is a St. Louis–based actor, director, and musician. After studying theatre at Eastern Oregon University, she acted and directed as a core member of the La Grande Shakespeare Company, taking on roles such as Henry in Henry V and Hotspur in Henry IV. 

St. Louis credits include playing Janet in I Have Been Here Before at Albion Theatre, Leah in The Immigrant at New Jewish Theatre, and Sonya in Uncle Vanya at St. Louis Actors’ Studio. In the spring of 2025, she composed an original score for the world premiere of Scream, Echo. Scream by Summer Baer (Nominated: St. Louis Theatre Circle Award for Best New Play). Thank you to the cast and crew of R&G for their generosity of artistic spirit, and to Josiah for being exactly who you are.

Ian Miller is thrilled to be making his debut with the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival as a Tragedian in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. He studied theatre at Mineral Area College and Truman State University, earning degrees from both institutions. Past stage performances include Pericles Prince of Tyre, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Ian would like to thank the many friends, family and mentors who guided and supported him through his continuous journey as an actor, with a special shout out to Kala Loughary “Thanks for making monsters out of us!”

Eric Nenninger (Claudius) is overjoyed and grateful to be back on stage in his first production with The Shakespeare Festival. A St. Louis native. Television credits include Mad Men, The Flash, The Big Bang Theory, 9-1-1, One Day at a Time (produced by Norman Lear) HBO’s Generation Kill and Winning Time, True Story, The Politician, Kickin’ It, History of the World Part II, Wet Hot American Summer and Malcolm in the Middle. Thank you to my family for all the love and support over all the years.

Saint Louis–based Mason Ramsey is thrilled to be making his debut with the STL Shakespeare Festival in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead! Previous credits include performances at the Kranzberg with Tim Without Thalia and with Tesseract Theatre in Legally Blonde: The Musical. Mason has also worked in front of the camera on 640 Productions’ The Collins Film (Brennan Huizinga) and Daydreams: The Lazy One Unworthy of Living (Parker Eisen). His own work also extends behind the camera, with his directorial debut, Same Plane Terrain & In Ran Cram, still in post-production. He offers heartfelt thanks to Jai Mali for their creative support and guidance, as well as to his family and this wonderful company for their encouragement and collaboration. Enjoy the show!

Sean C. Seifert (Hamlet) is honored and thrilled to make his St. Louis Shakespeare Festival debut. Sean is a graduate from The Jeanine Larson Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance at Southeast Missouri State University. Recent credits include Ken Ludwigs: Baskerville (New Jewish Theatre; Theatre Circle Nomination); The Inheritance (Tesseract Theatre); The Mousetrap; Sister Mary Ignatius; Saturday Night Theatre (Stray Dog Theatre); Flanagan’s Wake (Westport Plaza Playhouse); Othello; A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Jeanine Larson Dobbins Conservatory). He would like to thank his parents, family & partner for their continued support.

RYAN OMAR STACK (GUILDENSTERN) At St. Louis Shakespeare Festival: Romeo & Zooliet as Paris and Prince (2025), Hamlet as Voltemand (2025). Regional Theatre: Emma as Frank Churchill (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, 2025); Arden of Faversham as Mosby (Colorado Shakespeare Festival, 2024); Much Ado About Nothing as Claudio (Colorado Shakespeare Festival, 2023); King Lear as Oswald (Colorado Shakespeare Festival, 2023); You Enjoy Myself (Local Theater Company, 2023); Additional Credits: The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience as Sir Harris (Shondaland & Netflix, 2022); Life Is Strange Remastered as Facial Motion Capture Actor (Deck Nine Games). Membership: AEA (Actor’s Equity Association). Special Awards/Training: OnStage Colorado Award: Actor in a Comedy. Social: @omarstack

Joy Christina Turner (Gertrude) is thrilled to return to the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival (STL Shakes). After touring with the STL Shakes TourCo in 2024 as Prospero in The Tempest, Turner joined First Run Theatre for their Spectrum Plays, appearing in the one-acts Betta than Metta (Mason) and Double Date (Gloria). She is deeply grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with such a talented company and is eager to learn everything she can from this experience.

Eric is very excited to be returning to St. Louis Shakespeare Festival where he has previously performed in Shakespeare in the Park as well as in the Shakespeare in the Streets, TourCo, and Confluence New Play Festival programs.  Eric has been lucky enough to perform in many productions for multiple theatre companies around St. Louis and regionally in New York, Houston and Arkansas.   He would like to thank the R&G cast and crew, along with Tom and the entire ShakesFest staff for their trust and support.

Love to Wendy, Payton and Cassidy for their never-ending patience and support.

Proud member of Actors’ Equity Association

ericdeanwhite.com

Stoppard’s most recent play, Leopoldstadt, opened at Wyndham’s Theatre in 2020 and transferred to Broadway in 2022. It won multiple Awards, including an Olivier Award and Tony Award for Best Play. He wrote his first play, Enter a Free Man, whilst working as a journalist in Bristol. His plays include Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, The Real Inspector Hound, After Magritte, Jumpers, Travesties, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (a play for actors and orchestra written with André Previn), Night and Day, The Real Thing, Hapgood, Arcadia, Indian Ink, The Invention Of Love, The Coast Of Utopia, Rock’n’Roll, Dogg’s Our Pett, New-Found Land, Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth and The Hard Problem. Adaptations include Tango, Undiscovered Country, On The Razzle, Rough Crossing and Dalliance. Translations include The Seagull, Henry IV, Ivanov, The Cherry Orchard, The House Of Bernarda Alba and Largo Desolato. He wrote eight Evening Standard Award-winning plays, and five of his plays won Tony Awards.

Radio plays include Darkside (set to Pink Floyd’s album The Dark Side of the Moon), On ‘Dover Beach’, If You’re Glad, I’ll Be Frank, Albert’s Bridge (Italia Prize Winner), M Is For Moon Among Other Things, The Dissolution Of Dominic Boot, Where Are They Now?, Artist Descending A Staircase, The Dog It Was That Died and In The Native State. Television adaptations include Parades End (BBC/HBO), A Walk On The Water (from Enter A Free Man), Three Men In A Boat and The Dog It Was That Died. Original television screenplays include Another Moon Called Earth, A Separate Peace, Neutral Ground, Teeth and Professional Foul, which won awards from BAFTA, the Broadcasting Press Guild and Squaring The Circle. He adapted his television dramatisation of Jerome K Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat for BBC Radio.

Screenplays include Anna Karenina, Despair, The Romantic Englishwoman, The Human Factor, Brazil, Empire Of The Sun, The Russia House, Billy Bathgate, Poodle Springs, and Shakespeare In Love (with Marc Norman), which won him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, a Golden Globe and the Broadcast Film Critics and American Guild Awards for Best Screenplay 1998. He directed and wrote the screenplay for the film of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, which won the Prix d’Or at the Venice Film Festival 1990 for Best Film.

Tom Stoppard was a CBE and was knighted in 1997.

Tom has served as Producing Artistic Director of the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival since 2018. He is also a Drama Desk-nominated director who has developed or presented work at the Public Theater, The Old Globe, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Red Bull and more. He’s worked with Tony nominees Sting, Sherie Rene Scott, Will Swenson, Kelli O’Hara, Bill Irwin and others, and his productions have won DFW Theater Critics Forum and ECNY Awards and been nominated for St. Louis Theatre Critics Circle, Connecticut Critics Circle and BroadwayWorld Connecticut Awards. He came to St. Louis from Waterwell in New York City, the company he co-founded and led and as Artistic Director from 2002-2018. There he created and produced more than a dozen world-premieres and adaptations of classics that were nominated for three IT awards, a Drama Desk, a New York Magazine Culture Award and a Village Voice “Best of NYC”. Many involved innovative community partnerships, such as resurrecting the lost WWII-era Frank Loesser musicals, Blueprint Specials – featuring Broadway and military veterans and presented on board the former USS Intrepid aircraft carrier – and adapting and directing Waterwell’s dual-language (English/Farsi) version of Hamlet: designed and performed by a company largely of Middle Eastern and South Asian artists. As Artistic Director of Waterwell, he also oversaw the Waterwell Drama Program at the Professional Performing Arts School, one of the preeminent training grounds for young artists and innovators in the country, which offers daily, year-round, conservatory-style classes to more than 200 New York City public school students absolutely free of charge. Since taking over the Festival, he has won a St. Louis Magazine A-List Award for “New Arts Leader” and overseen the Festival’s shift to developing and producing new work, which also won an A-List Award for “New Programming”. The Festival’s regional premiere of George Brant’s Into the Breeches won the Theatre Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Production of a Comedy, and the collaboration he conceived between the Festival, Jazz St. Louis and Big Muddy Dance Company on a world-premiere adaptation of Duke Ellington’s Such Sweet Thunder won the Theatre Circle Award for Outstanding Musical as well as a St. Louis Arts Award for “Arts Collaboration”. His outdoor production of King Lear – starring Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award winner André DeShields, with an all-BIPOC cast – was the nation’s first major live theatrical event since the onset of Covid-19 and was named the “Best Live Theater” of 2021 by the Riverfront Times. The Festival’s new TourCo program he launched in 2021 is now the largest outdoor Shakespeare tour in the world. And the Confluence Regional Writers Project has commissioned over a dozen new plays from emerging playwrights in Missouri and Illinois since 2019, more than half of which have gone on to full productions at theaters around the country. He also led the effort, alongside Aaron Williams of 4theVille, to prevent the closure of Sumner High School, the oldest black high school west of the Mississippi, and give it a new focus on Arts and Activism. The Sumner Recovery Plan won a LaunchCode Moonshot Award for “Collaboration”, an ACAC IDEA Award for “Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility” and a St. Louis Arts Award for “Art Collaboration”. It now offers daily in-school instruction in Dance, Drama, Fashion, Music and Visual Art to over 200 St. Louis public school students through an innovative public-private partnership with over a dozen local arts organizations.

Katherine Stepanek is a scenic and lighting designer whose work spans regional theatre, opera, and higher education. Her designs have been seen at Clarence Brown Theatre, Thunder River Theatre, New Jewish Theatre, and Union Ave Opera, among others. She has received multiple SETC Scenic Design Awards, including first-place recognition for Detroit ’67 and Million Dollar Quartet at Clarence Brown Theatre. This summer, she returns to Shakespeare with Two Gentlemen of Verona for the St Louis Shakespeare Festival’s TourCo. Katherine holds an MFA in Scenic Design from the University of Tennessee and currently serves as Assistant Professor of Scenic Design at Webster University’s Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts. She is thrilled to be making her St. Louis Shakespeare Festival debut with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

Olivia Radle, MBA (she/her) – Designer- Olivia is a local St. Louis designer who has been working in theater for the last four years in various costume related roles including designer, wardrobe supervisor, and stitcher. She is excited to be designing for St. Louis Shakespeare Festival for the first time, having previously supervised the wardrobe team on Romeo & Zooliet, Hamlet, and As You Like It. Other recent costume design credentials include Leading Ladies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Sound of Music; Riverside Theater Project. Olivia has also been a featured designer at the AltBall fashion show for the last two years.  She has had her designs worn by artists and actors including Halsey, Ariel Winter, Beyoncé, Taylorville, and Tyler King Band.

When she isn’t sewing, Olivia can be found reading with her cats (Draco, Ava and Mistral) or learning a new board game with her husband Chris.

Amanda Werre (Sound Designer) is excited to be working on the production. Recent Credits include The Cottage and Ring of Fire (St. Louis Rep), Waitress (The Hanger), The Wanderers (New Jewish Theatre), Regional Theatre: Lyceum Theatre, Metro Theatre Company, Kitchen Theatre Company, Hope Summer Repertory Theatre, Cider Mill Playhouse, Idaho Shakespeare Festival and Great Lakes Theatre. Amanda is on faculty at Sargent Conservatory.

A native of Metro-Detroit, Michigan, Nikki has taught costume design and technology at WashU since 2018. In addition to designing costumes for WashU’s Performing Art’s season, she also serves as their resident Intimacy Choreographer.  Nikki’s training in Staged Intimacy comes from Intimacy Directors International (now Intimacy Directors and Coordinators Inc.) and Theatre Intimacy Education (TIE). She is thrilled to have this opportunity to work on this production with St Louis Shakespeare. www.nikkigreendesigns.com

Bart Williams is an instructor/coordinator with Dueling Arts International (DAI), Associate Faculty with Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE), A certified teacher of Chubbuck Technique, and Professor of Movement/Acting/Stage Combat/Directing at Southeast Missouri State University’s Dobbin’s Conservatory. Recent fight choreography credits include Ragtime at Stages St. Louis, Jersey Boys and West Side Story at the Muny. He will be returning to the Muny for Newsies this summer.

Claudia Emig is a scenic designer and artist based in St. Louis, with experience in both academic and professional settings. Claudia’s scenic design credits include Ride The Cyclone, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, and The SpongeBob Musical, as well as assistant scenic design for In A Word (Webster University’s Sargent Conservatory). Her work as a scenic artist includes Waitress, A Grand Night For Singing, and Something Rotten (Music Theatre Wichita), as well as Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812 and Our Town (Webster University’s Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts). She has also worked as a scenic charge artist on Silence and Seize The King (Webster University’s Sargent Conservatory), and is the assistant scenic charge artist at Music Theatre Wichita for the 2026 Summer Season. Outside of the theatre, Claudia spends her time practicing yoga, caring for her plants, and discovering new and unusual ways to create art.

Kathryn Ballard has worked in the St. Louis arts scene for more than 30 years as an actor, stage manager and administrator. R&G marks her 6th production with the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival and it is always a pleasure. She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and she thanks you for supporting live, local theatre!

For over two decades Robert has been an actor and director in St. Louis theater and has served on the boards of Muddy Waters Theatre, St. Louis Shakespeare and West End Players Guild. He was Artistic Director at First Run Theatre in 2020 and 2021. Robert retired from a career in manufacturing, primarily in legal and HR functions, and has a degree in Law from Sheffield University. He has been a member of several human services and arts boards and is currently an Advisory Commissioner at the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Colin O’Brien is in his twelfth season with the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival. Favorite productions include Romeo & Zooliet, Hamlet, Q Brothers Christmas Carol, and King Lear. Through his company, Blank Slate, he works as a producer on concerts, parades, and theatrical productions. He serves on the board of Cinema St. Louis, is forklift-certified, and is currently meticulously rewriting, recutting, and redubbing The Lord of the Rings trilogy into Christmas movies for Colin and AJ’s Annual Christmas Party. colinandaj.com

Blank Slate is a live events company. In addition to its work with the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, it helps produce many of St. Louis’s favorite events, including Soulard Mardi Gras, Evolution Music Festival, Great Forest Park Balloon Race, Dogtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Taste of St. Louis, Cherokee Street Cinco de Mayo, Delish on Delmar, Grove Fest, and Heritage and Freedom Festival in O’Fallon, MO. @blankslatelive

Lexi Sims is excited to make her St. Louis Shakespeare Festival debut! Her first stage management experience was with a small production of Hamlet. She is an alum of Webster University’s Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts, where she earned her BFA in Stage Management. Recent St. Louis credits include: Tesseract Theatre’s Legally Blonde (PSM), The Muny’s Evita (ASM), Les Misérables (PA), The Little Mermaid (PA), and Waitress (PA), The New Jewish Theatre’s The Heidi Chronicles (ASM) and Dear Jack, Dear Louise (ASM). Lexi thanks her family, friends, and mentors for their endless support and encouragement.

https://simslexi26.wixsite.com/portfolio @lexisims_