MEET THE CAST & CREW:
GREG WHITE (Willy Loman) Just recently off the Karamu stage as Brutus in Julius Ceaser in Africa, Greg White is no stranger to Ensemble Theatre. In his last performance in George Stevens Jr.'s Thurgood, Greg gave a critically acclaimed rendition of Thurgood Marshall. He also recently played Meir Wolfsheim in The Great Gatsby. Greg gave another critically acclaimed performance as Chris Christopherson in Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie. He was awarded Best Actor by the Cleveland Jewish News and was recognized for Superior Achievement by the Cleveland Critics Circle for his performance in Anna Christie. Voted as Cleveland's Best Actor of 2015 in the Cleveland Scene Magazine, Greg is more than excited to take on the challenging role of Willy Loman. We hope you will enjoy it.
MARY ALICE BECK (Linda Loman) is thrilled and honored to be part of this classic play and part of another season with Ensemble. Other Ensemble credits: Anna Christie (Marthy Owens); Beyond the Horizon (Mrs. Atkins). Credits elsewhere include: Beck Center: 33 Variations (Gertie); The Pitmen Painters (Helen Sutherland); The Seagull (Polina). Cesear's Forum: All That Fall (Miss Fitt); Blue Heart (Enid). Cleveland Shakespeare Festival: Titus Andronicus (Tamora); Richard III (Elizabeth). Favorite roles include: Crimes of the Heart (Lenny), Crimes of the Heart (Meg), The Effect of Gamma Rays....(Beatrice), A Streetcar Named Desire (Blanche), The Good Times are Killing Me (Edna), The Three Sisters (Masha) and Fifth of July (June). As always...Thank you Tommy. Tom Beck...This one's for you.
KEITH E. STEVENS* (Biff Loman) is honored to be returning to Ensemble Theater for his third production. He can be seen in Same Time Next Year, this January at Actors' Summit Theater in Akron . NYC credits include The Snob (Actors Studio), Audience (Brooklyn Playwright’s Collective), Last Train to Nibroc, Fool for Love, The Honey Makers and the world premiere of 2:51 (all at Circle in the Square Downtown), Deserters (Bernie West Theater), Loader #26 (Theater for a New City) and Big Al (ASDS). Keith holds a MFA in Acting from The Actors Studio Drama School and a BA in Theater from Cleveland State University. He is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio. Love and thanks to Connie and little Fiona!
(*Member of Actors' Equity Association)
JOHNATHON L. JACKSON (Hap Loman) is a Cleveland native know for the film's #50Fathers, Red Acquisition, and A Father's Love, the latter of which he is also the writer. He has most recently appeared in the regional premiere of Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea, the inaugural performance of Cleveland Musical Theatre's AIDA, in addition to currently touring the class matinee series for Cleveland Playhouse. He is extremely excited to be a part of this production and the opportunity to portray this special character in this iconic show. He would like to thank his family for their continued support and sacrifices for him to be a part of special world that is the arts. He would like to dedicate this performance to his parents Michelle and Rayshon Jackson with more love than words can express. In memory of Cameron Mitchell!
STEPHEN D. HOOD (Ben) No stranger to Ensemble Steve performed as the Porter in last summer's production of Voodoo MacBeth. Steve also had the first reading of his play Men Don't Cry with the help and the guidance of Ensemble's playwrighting group, Stagewrights (many thanks for their support). Steve just finished performing the role of Julius Caesar in Rome Neal's Julius Caesar set in Africa at Karamu. His film work includes Life's Poison, directed by Malcolm Lee. His play Men Don't Cry will be performed at Karamu next season as a Ghost Light production. He would like to dedicate his performance to his mother Emma Sean Adams.
JOSEPH MILAN (Charley) - Joe is very pleased to return to Ensemble Theatre for a true classic! His most recent credits include: Three Sisters and Streetcar Named Desire at Mamai Theatre, Fire On The Water at Cleveland Public Theatre, The Great Gatsby at Ensemble, Arcadia at Mamai, Ionesco's The Chairs at Ensemble, and 12 Angry Men at Blank Canvas Theater.
JAMES RANKIN (Bernard) James is ecstatic to again be working with Ensemble, and with such a great cast & crew. Some of James’ past roles include Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, Ben Harcourt in The Mercy Seat, Robert Mayo in Beyond The Horizon, and Don Parrit in The Iceman Cometh with Ensemble, Malvolio in Twelf Night for Tri-C West, Benedick in Double Heart at Great Lakes Theater Festival, which also took part in the New York International Theater Festival. He has worked for CPT, CVLT, Clague Playhouse, and other theaters through out the Ohio area. He would like to thank, Eva B, Ian H, Celeste C, Robert E, Frank P, Doug F, Bronwyn H, andl his family.
AUGUST SCARPELLI (Howard Wagner) August couldn’t be happier to join Ensemble Theatre for their 2015-16 season! August is beginning his final year at Hiram College to complete his Bachelor’s in Theatre Arts! At Hiram, August’s theatrical endeavors have been many; he has acted in many plays such as Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well (Bertram) and The Tempest (Prospero), Doubt (Father Flynn), and Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy (Bruce). He has acted and directed in Larry Larson and Levi Lee’s Illuminati (Brother Lawrence), directed Steven Dietz’s The Nina Variations, and Amy Herzog’s 400 miles (scenic artist). He has most recently directed Shakespeare’s Pericles for Sheffield Lake’s Bicentennial, where he was born and raised. August recently finished his third summer at Cain Park in Cleveland Heights as House Manager and carpenter. He is grateful for this opportunity with Ensemble and is looking forward to being a part of such great work!
KAYLA DAVIS (Jenny/ASM) Kayla is thrilled to be making her first Ensemble debut in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman! Kayla received a Bachelor of Arts from Hiram College where she worked in many facets of the theatre. As an actor she performed in Stephen Adly Guirgis’ The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Gloria) and William Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well (Widow/Duke/Nurse). She also worked as a costume designer and seamstress. Her work in the theatre at Hiram culminated in directing Amy Herzog’s 4000 Miles. Kayla wrapped up her time at Hiram College by studying Shakespeare in England which has had a huge impact on her craft which she is continually grateful for. She has since worked as a costume designer on Karamu House Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: Set in Africa. Kayla also enjoyed working on a project called Blink through Karamu House for John Carroll University. She is absolutely delighted for the opportunity to be part of such great theatre and gives all the thanks to the continual love and support in her life!
EMILY GRAY (Miss Forsythe) is so excited to be in her first Ensemble Theatre show! She has a BA in Theater Arts from the University of Pittsburgh where she had the pleasure of performing in productions such as Sparagmos (Chorus/Messenger), WASP (Mom), and Sweeney Todd(Birdseller/Swing Pirelli). In addition to her university shows, Emily was Elizabeth Tudor in a staged reading of Highness with the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre.
KAYLA McDONALD (Letta) Kayla is thrilled to return to Ensemble Theatre and to be a part of this season! Kayla is a Kent State University graduate and has actively been actively working in the theater community since she started college. She has worked all over the Cleveland and Akron area in theaters such as Cleveland Public Theater, Mamai Theatre, Blank Canvas, Rubber City Shakespeare, True North, and in numerous community theaters. She also is heavily involved with the Cleveland film community and is constantly building both her film resume and her IMDb page. When Kayla is not on stage or screen, she can be found at work at her day job at Asurint in Cleveland. In her free time, when she has it, Kayla likes to horseback ride, participate in arts and crafts, and plot her upcoming move out west to Los Angeles. Kayla would like to thank her family and friends for their amazing support, and the cast and crew for their amazing work on this project!
FAITH WHITACRE (Miss Francis)This is Faith’s first performance with Ensemble and she’s glad to be part of the cast and process of Death of a Salesman. Most recently Faith was seen as Portia in Cleveland Shakespeare Festival’s The Merchant of Venice. Other roles in Cleveland have been Isabella in Measure for Measure (CSF), Myra in Deathtrap (ECCT), and as an Actor Educator with Cleveland Play House for their Classroom Matinee Touring Program playing as Margie in Margie and Mike, and Karen/Ethan/Tracy in Kicked. Faith studied theatre at Belhaven (Jackson, MS), Masterworks (Winona Lake, IN), YWAM (Smithtown, NY), and the Stella Adler Studio of Acting (NYC). Past favorite roles have included Roxane in Cyrano (Masterworks), Laura in The Glass Menagerie (Full Circle) Garland/Grammy in Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse (New Stage Theatre), Natalia Stepanovna (Enclave Theatre Company), Grandma Tzietle in Fiddler on the Roof (Belhaven College). Faith works as a barista and shift supervisor at Starbucks. She enjoys exploring how storytelling intersects with her faith . She is grateful for her beautiful community in CLE, they’re what makes this city so great.
WHIT LOWELL (Stanley) is excited to return to Ensemble Theatre and to be working with this fantastic cast and crew. He was last seen in Dobama's Summer Shorts and in the Marilyn Bianchi Kids' Playwriting Festival. At Ensemble, Whit has been involved with Stagewrites and he was previously seen as Curly in last year's production of Roadkill. Other recent roles include Victor in Noël Coward's Private Lives and Bobby in Ken Ludwig's Postmortem, both produced by Chagrin Valley Little Theater. Recent film work includes Jenny's Wedding and the Lifetime movie With This Ring. A native Clevelander, he enjoys motorcycling, ice cream and playing jazz piano.
