2014 - Good People
"This play spoke to me strongly about the horrible differences in our world - those who have and have not. Those of us with a pillow to sleep on often don’t think about those who don’t. We forget how easy our lives are."
Lauren Caldwell, Director
2014 - Slasher
"I was pretending to struggle with my wrists, when suddenly, the handcuffs snapped, and dropped to the floor. I don’t usually worry on stage, but in that moment, sheer panic and terror set in. Much of the audience had just seen the cuffs break, so I couldn’t pretend to be stuck anymore. Even Michael Myers couldn’t instill this kind of fear. The audience knew I was free, so I had to roll with it!"
Marissa Toogood, Actress
“Slasher was a Hipp Halloween show, and we knew it was going to be a spooky-freaky-fun production, but I ended up getting the scare of a lifetime! It was our final preview performance, and we were nearing the end of the show. In the plot, my mother (Sara Morsey) was strapped to a chair being detained, and I had been handcuffed to the railing of the center front row. I was supposed to be stuck to the rail and in agony that I could not reach my mom and save her from a psychotic killer (Matt Lindsay). I was pretending to struggle with my wrists, when suddenly, the handcuffs snapped, and dropped to the floor. I don’t usually worry on stage, but in that moment, sheer panic and terror set in. Much of the audience had just seen the cuffs break, so I couldn’t pretend to be stuck anymore. Even Michael Myers couldn’t instill this kind of fear. The audience knew I was free, so I had to roll with it! I owe many thanks to the incredible cast that went along with my terrible ad-libs and antics of ducking and dodging until we could get to the next scene. It was a whirl of chaos but we covered it well, and I haven’t been handcuffed since!”
2014 - The Tempest
"Playing opposite Sara Morsey's Prospero as Ariel - a spirit bound to serve his master. In the very first scene, we were trying to figure out how to portray the status between the characters in the scene during a rehearsal - when these words stumbled out of my mouth - "What if she waterboarded me?". Lauren Caldwell jumped to her feet, and in her iconic Texan accent said - "YES!". The Hippodrome was always a place that took artistic risks, and this scene soon became my favorite moment in the play where she literally waterboarded me!"
Michael Littig, Actor
2014 - The Tempest
"Ahhhhhh, there were moments that were so stunning. The storm at the beginning of the show was dangerous, frightening, and overwhelming. I’m very proud of that moment. And I felt the comedy was great - right on point. The cast was so so strong. We got as close as we could with it. "
Lauren Caldwell, Director
2016 - Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
"Over the seasons, I often had cross dressing roles. It irked some, but made some so happy to see that side of my career. One nite, a young man stayed after and greeted me on the porch after a performance of Whatever happened to Baby Jane? He told me he had seen the show twice, and brought his mother. Afterwards, they went to Harry’s for dessert and coffee where he came out to her. She knew my work, and he said it somehow softened the reaction for them. Communication."
Mark Chambers, Actor
2016 - The Ultimate Christmas Show (Abridged)
"In The Ultimate Christmas Show, the finale features the Nutcracker Ballet. I was the "Clara" character with toe shoes on my hands and the lower half of my body blacked out so I looked like I was only three feet tall. It was hysterical to do and I'm sure it was the same to watch."
David Patrick Ford, Actor
2017 - Hamlet
"This play spoke to me strongly about the horrible differences in our world - those who have and have not. Those of us with a pillow to sleep on often don’t think about those who don’t. We forget how easy our lives are."
Lauren Caldwell, Director
2017 - Hamlet
"Playing Hamlet feels like a rite of passage as an actor, and I was lucky to have the chance to do so on the Hipp stage. But, as many who have played Hamlet know, it doesn't come without its dangers. Cut to me rehearsing the "O, what a rogue a peasant slave am I" speech with a fake knife, as I launch into the most intense moment of the speech - "Bloody, bawdy villain..." as I thrust the knife through the air and accidentally stab myself. I finish the speech, walk over to the ever present and strong Amber Wilkerson (our stage manager) and mention to her - "I think I stabbed myself" as blood poured down my leg. Without missing a beat, Amber rose to her feet, bandaged me up, and I was back on the boards!"
Michael Littig, Actor
2017 - The Legend of Georgia McBride
"Many actors have theater mistakes and they take focus. I do have several off-kilter moments, but I prefer to remember and foster the prouder moments of the great times and the range of characters I was so happy to be cast in. In The legend of Georgia McBride, my character, Miss Tracy Mills, had not been seen out of drag til the middle of the second act. The reaction was audible - "That's him.” In the tense scene, Logan Kovitch and I were in a beautifully crafted scene, and he suddenly came at me and put his arms around me and let some tears go. It was a stunning moment of connection with the characters and us. Those kinds of things don't happen often, as we are professional and it ventures from what was rehearsed. The trust between us made it go smoothly, through. A moment I cherish."
Mark Chambers, Actor
2018 - Let the Right One In
"There was an amazing scene where my character had to bleed from “every orifice of her body,” so we used two large IV bags filled with blood and strapped them under my costume. To start bleeding, I would squeeze the IV bags under my arms, which would cause the blood to shoot upwards through small tubes lining my back and neck. From there, the tubes would send the blood into my hat, where it was distributed by even tinier tubes that poured down over my head and face. It was a great rigging that bathed me in blood and left the stage looking like a crime scene. I believe we even paired down to one IV bag eventually citing that one massive puddle was enough."
Marissa Toogood, Actress
In Let the Right One In, I had the chance to portray a century old, pre-teen vampire with a hunger for blood, and lots of it! With the heavy need to feed, our crew had to test all kinds of scenarios with blood to make it look realistic, have a proper consistency, and make it easily removable from clothing, skin, and hair. Needless to say, working with stage blood can be very difficult, but gives you a chance to get really creative. We used small plastic bags (imagine bloody detergent pods) that would hide in my mouth until just the right moment to bite. Crew members waited backstage to hand me more blood packs after each scene, so at any given time I’d have one in my hand, one in my mouth, or a few packed in my clothing.
There was an amazing scene where my character had to bleed from “every orifice of her body,” so we used two large IV bags filled with blood and strapped them under my costume. To start bleeding, I would squeeze the IV bags under my arms, which would cause the blood to shoot upwards through small tubes lining my back and neck. From there, the tubes would send the blood into my hat, where it was distributed by even tinier tubes that poured down over my head and face. It was a great rigging that bathed me in blood and left the stage looking like a crime scene. I believe we even paired down to one IV bag eventually citing that one massive puddle was enough. After the extreme blood moment, I would have to rush backstage, red all over, and throw myself into a bucket of water, while the backstage crew scrubbed me head to toe. We had about 2.5 minutes to wash off all the blood, dry me, throw on new clothes, and get me back on stage in time for the next scene, but we never missed a cue! If you ever see blood on stage, give the crew some extra love. It’s a bloody hard job.
2018 - The Royale
"The opening night of The Royale really sticks out to me as a performer and co-director of the show along with Lauren Warhol Caldwell. I loved this play and had done it the year prior at another theater in Miami, so I knew the power and magic this play presents. The buzz I felt when we started that play to the moment it ended was something that will never leave me. The audience was engaged in a way I hadn’t seen before as an actor on that stage to that point. I had done a lot of outreach during that rehearsal period to get more of the black and brown community as well as the younger community to the theater to see it because it was a story that they could relate to in ways the theater hadn’t presented in a long time. To see such a diverse and energetic crowd packed in to see this energetic piece was extremely humbling and brought me so much joy. The joy and emotion it brought out of the people watching was genuine. That happened throughout the run of the show. It’s an experience I will never forget."
Ryan George, Actor
2022 - Fahrenheit 451
"In Fahrenheit 451, during our first preview, my 20 minute monologue about burning books was interrupted when a woman's sweater fell onto one of the halogen lamps on stage and caught fire. We all took a moment to settle and then the show went on."
David Patrick Ford, Actor
Pictures by Micheal A. Eaddy