RICHARD ROWAN*(Smudge) 
Richard recently finished a run Riverside Thearte in Vero Beach playing the First Gunman in Kiss Me, Kate. He appeared Off-Broadway as the Wolfman in Miami Beach Monsters and in The News in Revue.  Richard first played Smudge in Forever Plaid at BoarsHead: Michigan Public Theatre, where he won the Lansing “Thespie” Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical.  He has since played Smudge in New Hampshire and Upstate New York.  Other favorite roles include the Pharaoh in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,  Miles Gloriosus in A Funny Thing Happened ont the Way to the Forum, the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance John the Baptist/Judas in Godspell and Bert Healy in a revival of Annie starring Charlotte Rae.  Richard completed a series of cabaret productions with J.T. Smith’s Encore Productions on Sanibel Island.  He is graduate of Northwestern University

DANIEL SIFORD* (Francis)
Daniel Siford is glad to be returning to the role of Frankie in his second production of Forever Plaid with Marion Caffey and Derek Jackson.  In New York, Dan has performed with the Manhattan Theatre Club where he has done several shows, readings and workshops.  He has toured and done regional theatre all over the country and has a degree from the Boston Conservatory.  He also teaches theatre and literacy camps up and down the east coast when he has the chance.  Last time doing ...Plaid, he had an emergency appendectomy.  He hopes to keep all of his organs this time around.  Amy Steinberg, this one’s for you.

CAMERON CLARKE STEVENS* (Sparky)
Cameron comes to us from NYC, where he recently moved to after graduating from the U. of Northern Colorado with a degree in Musical Theatre-Voice Emphasis.  He recently finished a TheatreWorks tour of Jekyll and Hyde.  Florida is the 36th state he’s visited.  Favorite roles include Whizzer in Falsettos and Pony in SubUrbia.  TV: Sex and the City, America’s Most Wanted, Young Universe, and Magic Music World.  He also writes music and poetry and is learning Russian.

Adam Cohen* (Stage Manager)
Adam is in his third season at the Hippodrome.  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 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 supported his choices from the beginning and continue to be a source of inspiration and joy.

MARION J. CAFFEY (Director / Choreographer)
Now completely dedicated to conception, writing, directing and choreography, Mr. Caffey began his career as a song and dance man and lived and worked in New York City for 12 years.  Marion has performed on Broadway as well as in 7 countries in Europe also Africa, Japan, Canada, Bermuda and all over the USA including a vocal/tap solo for the King of Morrocco.  Mr. Caffey’s credits include the following: Hippodrome - Cookin’ At The Cookery (The Music and Times of Alberta Hunter, Jelly Roll! The Music and The Man, Ruthless, and Revenge of the Space Pandas; Broadway - Street Corner Symphony, and Mayor; National Tour - Jelly Roll! The Music and the Man, Porgy and Bess, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and This Joint Is Jumpin’; Off-Broadway - Jelly Roll! The Music and the Man, Mayor, Blackberries, and Seeds; International - Blackbirds of Broadway (A Harlem Rhapsody), Ain’t Misbehavin’, My One and Only, and Porgy and Bess; Regional - Forever Plaid, Blackbirds of Broadway (A Harlem Rhapsody), Cookin’ at the Cookery (The Music and Times of Alberta Hunter), Jelly Roll! The Music and the Man, Street Corner Symphony, Little Shop of Horrors, Chicago, Tintypes, The All Night Strut, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Purlie Victorious, Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar & Grill, Spunk, The Colored Museum, 1940’s Radio Hour.  Mr. Caffey won the 1999 Arkansas’ Travellers Award for Contribution To The Arts for Cookin’ At The Cookery and the 1996 Carbonell Award as Best Choreographer and honorable mentions for Best Director & Best Musical for his box office record-breaking production of Chicago at The Burt Reynolds Theatre.  He was also nominated for the 1997 Carbonell Award for Best Choreography for The Burt Reynolds Theatre’s production of Little Shop Of Horrors.  His upcoming projects include a new theatrical concert, Three Mo’ Tenors!, which he will produce and direct in New York in August 2000 at the Dicapo Opera Theatre, Blues In The Night (Director/Choreographer) starring Freda Payne at Gretna Theatre in July 2000, and Cookin’ At The Cookery (Writer / Director / Choreographer) at Foothills Theatre and Delaware Theatre Company January-March 2001.  Marion would like to thank Mary and Lauren for their continued trust and the remaining staff for their collaboration.  “Thanks be to God for making me his tool of entertainment and enlightenment.”  A special dedication to the memory of Ms. Margery Douglas! “May you receive as much in heaven as you gave on earth.”  PS - Runt, in case you’re listening — Snuggleuptous.

ANDY FITCH (Set Designer)
Andy is head of the M.F.A. program in Set Design at the University of Alabama.  Recent designs include One Flea Spare directed by Adrian Hall for the Kitchen Dog Theater of Dallas, Forever Plaid for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and Henry IV, Part One for Theatre SMU.  In Alabama, he has designed productions of The Tempest, Sweeney Todd, Angels in America, Godspell, Arcadia, Cabaret, and Anything Goes.  Andy is a founding member of Kitchen Dog Theater where he received a 1994 Dallas Critics’ Award for American Buffalo and the Dallas Theatre League’s 1995 Leon Rabin Award for his Set Design for Kitchen Dog’s Fool for Love.  Recent KDT designs include Isaac and Waiting for Godot.  Andy’s training includes a M.F.A. degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
 

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 the recently released 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 an Emmy Award  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.

Timothy J. Dygert (Production Manager) 
Tim is the Hippodrome's Production Manager and also fills the roles of technical director, scene painter, carpenter, special effects creator (a title shared with lighting designer Bob Robins), and sometimes designer. Tim has assisted in the creation of more than 70 mainstage and touring productions. Hippodrome design credits include the mainstage smash Private Eyes and the southeastern tours of To Be or Not To Be, That is Two Questions and  Canta Danca Dancers for the Theatre for Young Audience series. Tim has also designed several industrials including scenery for University of Florida’s Gator Growl, The American Heart Association’s Five Points of Life Ride, and Gainesville’s own annual social event Puttin' on the Ritz. 

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.

DEREK JACKSON (Musical Director)
has done musical direction for more than 60 musicals. In 1987 he was appointed Music Director of  UAB Town and Gown Theatre, a post he held for 12 years.  He has most recently served as musical director for  Forever Plaid and  A Christmas Carol at Alabama Shakespeare Festival.  He was arranger and conductor for the much heralded Speak of Me as I Am, which was presented at the Smithsonian Instutution in Washington, D.C., and Songs of the American South, which was presented at the Malmo Festival on the southern coast of Sweden.  His composition credits include the musicals Alice in Wonderland and The Reluctant Dragon, both of which were produced by Birmingham Children’s Theatre.  Derek is happy to be making his Hippodrome debut.

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