JOY SCHIEBEL*
This is a dream project for Joy to be working once again with Lauren Caldwell  and Jason Marr.  She feels an affinity for the Hippodrome, having performed  this season in Hysteria.  Other Hippodrome credits include Hedda Gabler,  Frankenstein, The Glass Menagerie, Three Tall Women and Dracula.  Regionally  elsewhere, she has played Shakespeare’s Viola, Juliet, Hero, Lady Percy,  (Suzuki) Lady Macbeth, Diana, and Perdita.  She has also played in comedies  as diverse as Biloxi Blues, Noises Off and the School for Scandal.  She is a  member of the New Ensemble in New York City and in their original play this  past spring, Hostage.  Other favorite roles include Emily in Our Town, Nina  in the Seagull and Ouisa in Six Degrees of Seperation.    Joy has an MFA in  Fine Art from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, where she was a company member for two years, playing Shakespeare and the classics in repertory. When not working regionally, she resides in New York City. 

ADAM COHEN* (Stage Manager)
Adam is in his fourth season at the Hippodrome, having stage managed over 20 productions during that time period. In a career that has taken him across the high seas, into huge arenas, in front of the camera, up in the control booth, and onto the stage, the experiences he has accumulated only serve to make him more aware of the value of the “jewel” the citizens of Gainesville have in their midst.  The caliber of the artists that the Hippodrome attracts is surpassed nowhere, and he thanks the management for the chance to be counted in that group.  His greatest thanks must go, however, to his family, who have supported his choices from the beginning and continue to be a source of joy and inspiration.

LAUREN CALDWELL (Director)
Lauren is the Artistic Director at the Hippodrome State Theatre in Gainesville, Florida. She has directed over 40 shows on the Hippodrome mainstage, including last season’s Master Class, Hedda Gabler and Frankenstein. Other Directing credits include: A Streetcar Named Desire, The Rocky Horror Show, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Glass Menagerie, Dracula, Beehive (twice), How I Learned to Drive, Lost in Yonkers, Like Totally Weird, All in the Timing, and The Lion in Winter. She has frequently appeared as an actress on the Hippodrome stage since 1988 in such roles as Sylvia in Sylvia, Madame de Volanges in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Marge in Absent Friends, Faye in The Sugar Bean Sisters, Truvy in Steel Magnolias, Louise in Always...Patsy Cline (twice), and recently, for the third time, multiple wacky characters in A Tuna Christmas. Lauren has written plays for the Theatre For Young Audiences program which include To Be or Not To Be...That is Two Questions, Just-So Stories (adaptation), and most recently Radio Active. She conceptualized a comprehensive curriculum guide for Hippodrome productions, Perspectives, which is distributed to Alachua County High Schools, Santa Fe Community College and the University of Florida. A native of Texas, Lauren holds a BFA in directing from Baylor University and a MFA in acting from the University of Florida. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Drama League, and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation. She owns and operates Legal Acts, a consulting company for attorneys, and is actively involved in the Prosecution/Public Defenders’ Program as well as the MBA program at the University of Florida.

MIHAI CIUPE (Set Designer)
Originally from Romania, Mihai worked as a designer with some of the greatest Romanian directors: Gabor Tompa, Alexandru Dabija, Iulian Visa, Mihai Maniutiu, Victor Ion Frunza.  In 1991 he received a scholarship to attend the London International Festival of Theater.  In 1995 he was accepted into the membership of the Association of Romanian Fine Artists in the Scene Design section.  Mihai recently received a double Master of Fine Arts degree in costume and set design from Carnegie Mellon University.  At Carnegie Mellon he was awarded the George Kimberly Scene Design Award and the Oren Parker Award in Design and Production.  Before coming to the United States he was the resident designer at The National Theatre of Cluj-Napoca, Romania.  Early in his European career he traveled extensively in Europe on tour with shows he designed.  These tours exposed him to the various schools of theater from England, Scotland, Hungary, France, and Yugoslavia.  He joined the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Florida in the Fall of 1999 as a Professor of  Set Design. 

MARILYN WALL-ASSE (Costume Designer) 
Marilyn is a Hippodrome co-founder, Artistic Associate and the Costume Designer-in-Residence. She has designed and built costumes for more than 150 Hippodrome productions.  She is a four time recipient of the Outstanding Young Women in America Award and received the Margaret Sanger Certificate of Appreciation in 1987.  She has twice  received a Governor’s Award as one of Florida’s Outstanding Artists and was the only theatrical artist to be granted that award this year.  Her Hippodrome acting credits include The Madwoman of Chaillot, Cabrona, Bedroom Farce, Robber Bridegroom,  Crimes of the Heart and Season’s Greetings.  Directing credits include Macbeth, Same Time Next Year and Tangled Tales which she also co-authored.  In the film world, Marilyn has designed costumes and makeup for A Flash of Green, Shimmer, Ruby in Paradise, Gathering Evidence, Miami Hustle and Ulee's Gold with Peter Fonda and Patricia Richardson.  She has served as makeup artist to the famous faces of Phil Donahue, Al Gore and Bill Clinton at their local appearances.  Marilyn recently won two Emmy Awards  for her costume designs for the children’s television show, Salsa.

Robert P. Robins (Lighting Designer) 
Bob has been Lighting Designer-in-Residence at the Hippodrome for the past 15  years.   During this time, he has designed the lighting for more than 175 productions.  He has also stage managed numerous productions including Hippodrome Mainstage, state and Theatre for Young Audiences tours.  In addition to designing and stage managing, Bob also engineers the soundtracks and sound reinforcement for all Hippodrome productions. He is an Actors’ Equity Association stage manager and a member of IATSE Local 115.   Bob has designed more than 300 productions regionally in the United States, including theater, dance, and industrials.   For the past  eight years, he has taught at the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts.  He spends what time he has away from the theater with his very supportive wife, Jodi, and their two children, Kayla and Evan.

J. JEFFERY GUICE (Technical Director/Production Coordinator)
Jeff has recently returned to the world of live theatre from an extensive tour of duty in the themeing industry. He has produced ultra realistic animal habitats for zoos and aquariums such as The Brookfield  Zoo in Chicago and detailed exhibits for museums, the latest being The 82nd Airborne Museum in Fayettville, N.C. From 1985 to 1999 Jeff has Art directed, sculpted and painted on many themepark attractions such as Disney MGM, EPCOT, E.T.’s Adventure and Jurassic Park rides at Universal Studios Hollywood and Florida plus projects in Italy, Las Vegas and the Bahamas. Having started in theatre with a B.F.A. in Theatrical Design and Technology from Auburn University and experence from Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Daytona Musical Theatre and Orlando Civic Theatre, Jeff is excited to once again participate in live productions. 

Lorelei Esser (Properties Design) 
Lorelei has been designing properties for the Hippodrome since the 1994 production of Earthly Possessions.  She has long been recognized in our community for her accomplishments and contributions as an independent artist.  Her medium, the collection and assemblage of “the stuff of life” can now be experienced in the sets of the Hippodrome’s productions.  Lorelei’s understanding of time periods, cultures, the writer’s intentions, the director’s vision along with her tenacity for detail bring artistry to the craft of properties design.

Graham Johnson (Sound Design)
This is Graham’s first mainstage sound design here at the Hippodrome State Theatre.  He has worked here for the past 2 years in several different capacities including Summer Spectacular acting coach and he directed Dandelion, a Hippodrome Teen Playwright Festival production.  Other sound design credits include Dandelion and Radio Active.  Graham is enrolled in the University of Florida’s Department of Theatre and Dance where he had the opportunity to design sound for Angels in America.  Graham would like to thank the Hippodrome and Lauren Caldwell for this opportunity.  

TAMERIN DYGERT (Dramaturg) 
Holds a B.A. in Theatre and English Education from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.  As Dramaturg and Literary Manager, Ms. Dygert compiles research materials for the artistic team; contributes to production concepts; serves as features writer/editor of the curriculum guide, Perspectives; and writes articles for Ovation newsletters.  She also assists in Mainstage season selection; negotiates Mainstage production rights; and directs the New Play Reading Series which she founded in 1998.  A native of Maryland, Ms. Dygert has worked at Baltimore’s Center Stage; toured with Shakespeare on Wheels; served as a freelance dramaturg with Baltimore’s Performance Workshop, Inc.; and taught English and Drama at Bais Yaakov School for Girls.  She has taught Hippodrome theatre arts classes and directed Florida Teen Playwright Festival productions and appeared on the Mainstage in The Sisters Rosensweig, A Christmas Carol and Just So Stories.  Ms. Dygert is a member of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA), a professional association serving literary managers, dramaturgs and theatre professionals throughout North and South America