Rachel was last seen as Aristotle the Crow in Cinderella at Ensemble Theatre, where she has also understudied Letter Writer #2 in Tiny Beautiful Things, Ariel in Queen, Cinderella in Cinderella, and Laurie in Pipeline as part of this season’s Professional Acting Apprentice Program. Other credits include Silent Scream (Rachel Lockwood), The Carnegie; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Maggie), The Virtual Theatre; The Days of ’98 Show with Soapy Smith (Alice/Belle) in Skagway, Alaska; and Young Frankenstein (Elizabeth Benning), The Covedale Center. A Cincinnati native, Rachel earned her BFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Evansville.

Michael G. Bath returns for his 26^th consecutive holiday show with Ensemble Theatre, where he was last seen in The Dancing Princesses and Tiny Beautiful Things, as well as Crabble in Fly By Night, Eddie in The Legend of Georgia McBride, Ian Smithton in The Other Place, and Adam in Next Fall. He also played Duke Salinus and Dr. Pinch in The Comedy of Errors at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Michael is a graduate of Wilmington College and a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Darnell Pierre Benjamin (he/him)i s a creative, educator, and community builder from Southern Louisiana. He earned his MFA from the University of Houston’s Professional Actor Training Program. Darnell’s work lives at the intersection of art and activism, which is apparent in his  film 13^th & Republic, found at 13thandrepublic.com. He was last seen at Ensemble Theatre in The Dancing Princesses and Cinderella. Some of his other recent credits include Wrecking Ball and The Importance of Being Earnest with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Darnell is also a professor in the arts programs at Northern Kentucky University, Xavier University, and the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. He is a certified educator and performer in the Michael Chekhov Technique and is also a recipient of Cincinnati’s ArtsWave 2020 and 2021 “Truth & Reconciliation” grants.

Deb G. Girdler began her career on the Showboat Majestic, attended UC’s College-Conservatory of Music, and has worked off-Broadway, in regional theatre, and in summer stock for over forty years. Some of her favorite productions at Ensemble Theatre include Good People, Three Viewings, Three Tall Women, and The Last Session; her favorite roles also include playing the villainess in many ETC holiday productions. Deb is listed in the official scripts of several shows as a cast member of the premiere productions, including the stage version of Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Hoodwinked!  The Musical, and It Runs in the Family. She can be seen in the films Carol with Cate Blanchett and First Kill with Bruce Willis.

Christian is a recent music and theatre graduate from Xavier University and a current member of Ensemble Theatre’s Professional Acting Apprentice Program. His favorite credits include acting in Company, directed by Pamela Myers, and Romeo and Juliet, directed by Craig Wesley Divino, and composing for ANTIGONE (born against.), directed by the late Ed Stern. In his spare time, he enjoys writing music, making his friends laugh, and learning to cook.

Sara Mackie is just tickled whenever she’s asked to put a voice to new works! Some of her favorite Ensemble Theatre credits include Fun Home, Hands on a Hardbody, all three Wonderettes iterations, Rabbit Hole, Mauritius, and many holiday offerings with immense joy and gratitude. Some of her regional credits include This is Tom Jones!, An Act of God, and Family Ties, Human Race Theatre; Pump Boys and Dinettes, The Carnegie; Wrecking Ball, The Taming of the Shrew, and Pride and Prejudice, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; and Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, New Edgecliff Theatre. You can also catch her briefly in some of the great feature films shot in Cincinnati, such as The Bikeriders, The Public, and Dark Waters.

Abby recently graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music with a BFA in Acting and is a current member of the Ensemble Theatre’s Professional Acting Apprentice Program. Abby is a a non-binary artist dedicated to their own creativity and craft. They believe in pursuing the secret joys behind the hard truths. They are an artist who first fell in love with theater, and now have studio space where they build puppets and work on painting skills. They also do small art installation shows across Cincinnati and are currently touring their one-person show Moving the Mountain.

Patrick Earl Phillips was last seen on the Ensemble Theatre stage in Cinderella (Prince Frederick), The Frog Princess (Ivan), Fly By Night (Joey), This Random World (Tim Ward), Bloomsday (Robbie), Cinderella: After Ever After (Prince Frederick), and Luna Gale (Peter). Other regional credits include productions with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Human Race Theatre Company, and Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre. He is a proud member of Actors’ Equtiy Association.

Brooke Steele (she/her) is a local actress who has been seen in various shows on Ensemble Theatre’s stage, where some of her favorite credits include Violet, Cinderella, and three incarnations of The Marvelous Wonderettes. She studied theatre at Northern Kentucky University and lives in Kennedy Heights with her husband, two daughters, and a fluffy little black dog.

Torie Wiggins is a multi-hyphenate artist whose Cincinnati theatre credits include Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and Harry and the Thief, Know Theatre of Cincinnati; Mame, Crowns, and The Revolutionists, Human Race Theatre Company; To Kill a Mockingbird, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; To Kill a Mockingbird, Oliver Twist, A Raisin in the Sun, and Fences, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; and Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 by Anna Deveare Smith, Diogenes Theatre Company. Her Ensemble Theatre credits include The Mountaintop, Violet, Alice in Wonderland, Around the World in 80 Days, Cinderella, Cinderella: After Ever After, and His Eye is on The Sparrow. Torie’s directing credits include We Are Proud to Present… and Good Kids, Miami University’s Department of Theatre; Dreamgirls and Proof, The Carnegie Theater; and Blues for an Alabama Sky, Falcon Theatre.

Kate Wilford has been an Ensemble Theatre regular since 1996 and is so happy to be back with this wonderful group of artists. She was last seen in Cinderella at ETC, where some of her favorite credits include Women of Lockerbie, Becky’s New Car, and Hands on a Hardbody. She has been seen at Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Children’s Theatre, Cincinnati Symphony, and many more. Kate has taught acting in the region for over 28 years and been married for over 36 years—she is looking forward to many more of all of it!

Randolph recently graduated from NKU with a BFA Degree in Acting. He is so excited to work with ETC after having witnessed the 2019 production of Fun Home. The production blew him away and filled him with excited electricity. He was humbled by the sheer talent portrayed on the stage. His mission as an actor is to inspire and encourage fellow artists/artists with potential to pursue their dream, to find their own electricity, and to feel the power of their own imagination flow through them. 

Breauna (she/her/hers) is a current Professional Acting Apprentice at ETC, and studied Theatre at Central Connecticut State University, where she received a BFA. Some of her previous credits include Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Miss Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest, and Mrs. Bumbrake in Peter and the Starcatcher. Keep up with Breauna on Instagram: @breavna.

Malyssa Quinn (she/her) received a BA in Theatre and Dance at the University of Texas in Austin. A year ago, Quinn migrated to Cincinnati to join ETC’s Professional Acting Apprentice Program, where she was seen as Nina in Stupid F**king Bird. Other credits include Kayla in Letters from Camp Shrewd with Shrewd Productions and Gila in La Pastorela with Teatro Vivo. Most recently you can find Quinn at Kings Island as Kid Clever, along with the rest of the Costume Council, searching for the best dressed in the park.

Adrian (he/him/his) is originally from the Bronx, New York and moved to Cincinnati for ETC’s Professional Acting Apprenticeship. He is beyond grateful for this opportunity to shine, to grow and to collaborate with such dope artists! Some favorite credits include Laertes in Hamlet and Chino in West Side Story. Catch his professional debut this summer as Malvolio and Antonio in Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s production of Twelfth Night, bringing the classic to a park near you! Keep up with him on Instagram @adriandevaughn.

Joseph McDonough has collaborated with David Kisor on ETC’s holiday musicals for over twenty seasons. Several of these shows are published by Playscripts and Theatrical Rights Worldwide. His plays have also been produced by Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, as well as other theaters around the country. His play Ordinary Americans received its world premiere just before the pandemic in a co-production by Palm Beach Dramaworks and GableStage in Miami. His new musical (with collaborators Mark Friedman and Janet Vogt Yates) about infamous Cincinnati bootlegger George Remus was produced at the Carnegie Theater this summer. Joe teaches playwriting at Miami University and is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.

David Kisor is a songwriter, performer, and producer who splits his time between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Spokane, Washington. He has a master’s degree in composition from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music but is a songwriter at heart. He has written extensively for musical theater since 1990, including works for Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati and The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati. His children’s songs, written and recorded for the non-profit music publisher Growing Sound, promote positive social-emotional development in young children. He is proud, humbled, and blessed to be a part of the ETC family.

Fitz Patton is the winner of the 2019 Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Choir Boy and received a 2021 Tony Nomination for The Rose Tattoo. His Broadway credits include The Rose Tattoo, Choir Boy, Three Tall Women, Meteor Shower, Present Laughter, The Little Foxes, The Humans, Blackbird, Our Mother’s Brief Affair, It’s Only a Play, An Act of God, Airline Highway, The Other Place, I’ll Eat You Last, Outside Mullingar, Casa Valentina, The House of Blue Leaves, Brighton Beach Memoirs, and Broadway Bound. Fitz has designed 56 off-Broadway shows and received additional Drama Desk awards for When the Rain Stops Falling and The Humans. He is a founding editor of Chance Magazine.

D. Lynn Meyers is the Producing Artistic Director of Ensemble Theatre, where she has directed over 80 world and regional premieres, including Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Hands on a Hardbody, Detroit ’67, I Am My Own Wife, Next to Normal, and The Dancing Princesses. She began her career as the Associate Artistic Director at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, has directed Off-Broadway at the York Theatre, and has directed extensively throughout the US and Canada. As a member of the Casting Society of America, Ms. Meyers’s recent feature credits include Carol, The Old Man & the Gun, and The Public, in addition to serving as the Location Casting Director for The Shawshank Redemption. She was named a finalist for the Zelda Fichandler National Award in 2011, is a past recipient of the YWCA Career Woman of Achievement Award, and recipient of the 2018 Rosa F. and Samuel B. Sachs Fund Prize for her regional arts impact and leadership.

Brian c. Mehring (he/him) has designed more than 100 productions at Ensemble Theatre. His favorite productions include Thom Pain (based on nothing), Next to Normal, 33 Variations, Freud’s Last Session, and I Am My Own Wife. Mr. Mehring’s regional favorites for set design include The Last 5 Years and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Henry IV, Part 1, The Georgia Shakespeare Festival; and I Am My Own Wife, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Peterborough Players, and Florida Studio Theatre.

Matt Callahan (he/him) was the Resident Sound Designer for Actors Theatre of Louisville for seven seasons. Some of his most recent designs for Ensemble Theatre include Queen, Pipeline, Fortune, Fun Home, and Ripcord. He was also a co-creator/designer of Rock n’ Roll: The Reunion Tour. He spent two seasons as the Resident Sound Designer at The Eugene O’Neil Center for their National Playwrights Conference. He was formerly the sound engineer for Steppenwolf Theatre, the Assistant Engineer for Blue Man Chicago, and a member of the disbanded Defiant Theatre. He received a Jeff Citation for Red Dragon, a nomination for Fortinbras, and a Kevin Kline nomination for Sherlock Holmes.

Shannon Rae Lutz  (she/her) earned her Master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music in 1996 and became Properties Master at Ensemble Theatre. Trained as a performer, she first appeared on ETC’s stage during the 1988-1989 New Works Festival. In 1991, she was granted an ETC internship. Now the Director of Apprentice Programming, she is honored to guide ETC’s essential ensemble: The Professional Acting Apprentice Company. Shannon would like to thank D. Lynn Meyers, Ruth Sawyer, and the Cincinnati theatre community and patrons for their generous, supportive, and tenacious spirit.

Jack Murphy (he/him) grew up in the Cincinnati area and studied technical theatre at Hanover College. While there, he spent his summers at several different summer stock theatres including Georgia Shakespeare Company and the Brevard Music Center’s Janiec Opera Company as a carpenter. After graduation, he moved to Bellport, NY to work for The Gateway Playhouse as a carpenter and rigger, and he went on to work for Norwegian Cruise Line. After another summer at the Janiec Opera Company, he came full circle and returned home to Cincinnati. Jack is eager to continue to do the cutting edge work ETC is known for and has enjoyed working on such productions as An Iliad, Grounded, and The Humans.

Margot Whitney (she/her) is thrilled to be a part of the Ensemble Theatre family! Her previous credits include Sweat on Broadway and the first national tours of Mean Girls, Come From Away, Bright Star, The King & I, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, and War Horse. She has worked with The Public Theatre, Signature Theatre Company, New York Stage and Film, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, La Jolla Playhouse, Virginia Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati during the 2012-2013 Season, and Cincinnati Ballet. Margot received her BFA from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.

Lexi Muller (she/her) is delighted to be back at Ensemble Theatre, where some of her credits include include Fun Home, The Wolves, Skeleton Crew, and Fly by Night. Other regional credits include Sex with Strangers, The House, Legendale, and 26 Pebbles with the Human Race Theatre. She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and a graduate of Wright State University, where she received her BFA in Stage Management.

Erin Carr is currently working as a professional actor, physical theatre creator & movement coach out of Cincinnati, OH. She has studied physical theatre at NYU-Tisch’s Experimental Theatre Wing, ArtsOasis – International Residency for Performers in Italy, Acrobatics of the Heart in MA, among other programs throughout the states.

She works as a teaching artist, director of educational theatre, and advanced physical theatre practitioner with multiple theatre companies in the tri-state area, along with working as a Body Language Consultant focusing on kinesthetics and non-verbal communication.