THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH CAST & CREW
THE CAST
Natalie Grace Sipula (Milo) makes her Ensemble Theatre debut as Milo. She has performed in youth theatre productions since age nine and recent credits include The Crucible (ensemble) and As You Like It (Audrey) at Geauga Lyric Theatre Guild and the Marilyn Bianchi Kids Playwriting Festival at Dobama Theatre. She is an alumna of Dobama Emerging Actors Program (DEAP) where she performed in Macbeth (Witch #2) summer 2015 and The Persians (Navy Admiral) and The Trojan Women (a Trojan Woman) summer 2016. She is a sophomore at Andrews Osborne Academy where she is a David J. Richards scholarship recipient, vice president of her class and active on Mock Trial, cross country, swim team, and Phoenix Scholars. She is an award-winning writer, plays trumpet, and enjoys travel and volunteering at Rescue Village/Geauga Humane Society.
Davion T Brown (Tock) is a recent graduate from the University of Toledo with a BA in Theatre- focus on Acting where he held a multitude of roles, the most noteworthy being in No Exit and The Laramie Project for which he received the Irene Ryan nomination for "Best Male Actor". Professionally, Davion has held an assortment of iconic roles, the most noteworthy being; George Murchison (A Raisin In the Sun), Macbeth (Macbeth), and Hamlet (Hamlet). Davion had his debut at Ensemble Theatre as Williams in The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail.
Andrew Keller (Humbug, Lethargarian 2, Merchant 1) is extremely excited to be returning to Ensemble for The Phantom Tollbooth! Andrew appeared at Ensemble in Farragut North (Ben) and The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (Peter). Other regional credits include The Bigfoot Letters (Roger), Clue: The Musical (Col. Mustard), and Footloose (Reverend Moore). He is a graduate of Baldwin Wallace University, where he studied acting and directing, and appeared in Noises Off (Freddie), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (George) and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Gordon). Big thanks to Brittni and Celeste for this great opportunity!
Evan Thompson ( Whether Man, Spelling Bee, Dodecahedron ) is overjoyed to be making his debut at Ensemble Theatre. Evan graduated from Princeton in 2014 with a degree in Philosophy and a minor in Theater, and has been living in Cleveland for the last year. Recent Cleveland credits include CPT's Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play, and Mamaí Theatre's The Woman Hater.
August Scarpelli ( Lethargarian 5, Azaz, Dynne, Man, Terrible Trivium/Set Design) could be seen last season in Death of a Salesman , The Lion, the Witch , and the Wardrobe, and Jerusalem. He has also been lucky enough to work as Assistant Technical Director/Artistic associate with Ensemble. The Phantom Tollbooth has been a special experience. For some reason we throw away playtime at a young age and bringing back all its wonder and joy is a real honor. Specials thanks Sam, Becca ,Rose, and Kayla who all helped us all go the extra mile!
Derek Green ( Lethargarian 3, Minister 4, Mathemagician, Senses Taker ) is excited to make his Ensemble Theatre debut! Most recently Derek performed in the ensemble for Cleveland Shakespeare Festival’s 2016 season (Richard II and The Tempest). Other favorite credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Demetrius), Hair (Tribe), and Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge (Bob Cratchit). Derek is a licensed educator and currently works at Cleveland Play House. Love and gratitude to Brittni, Eva, and this remarkable cast!
Rose Scalish ( Lethargarian 6, Minister 3, Merchant 3, Reason) is thrilled be apart of the cast of The Phantom Tollbooth! She is 17 years old and is a junior at Beaumont high school. Rose has performed in various shows since the 4th grade. Some of her favorite roles include, Mrs. Roeder in Radium Girls and the role of State in The Persians when she had the opportunity to study under the Dobama Emerging Actors Program (DEAP) this past summer. Rose would like to thank everyone who has helped her with her progress as an actress so far. She would like to thank her friends, family and everyone involved in this production. Rose would also like to thank Chiara and Lia for being so supportive. Break a leg cast and crew!
Samantha Cocco ( Lethargarian 4, Merchant 2, Page, Bird, Everpresent Wordsnatcher) is new to the acting scene in Northeast Ohio, and is ecstatic to be part of the Phantom Tollbooth cast! She is originally from San Francisco, but studied at John Carroll University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in sociology with a concentration in African studies, with honors. Throughout high school and her undergraduate education, Samantha received training in runway and print modeling and had her first experiences with formal stage acting. Upon graduation she spent two years on the island of Pohnpei, part of the Federated States of Micronesia, as a full-time volunteer teaching high school. She returned to the U.S. and earned her Master of Arts in nonprofit administration, also with honors, and took up a career with her alma mater, John Carroll University, where she currently works with students to connect them with volunteer and social justice opportunities throughout the region. Samantha speaks Spanish and Pohnpeian proficiently; practices yoga and Latin and African dance; and facilitates retreats for individuals recovering from homelessness and addiction. Samantha trains in the Meisner technique at the The Houde School of Acting on Coventry. She studies improvisation, screen acting, scene study, and Shakespeare.
Kayla Davis ( Gatekeeper, Minister 1, Dischord, Insincerity/Costumes) is elated to be returning to Ensemble Theatre for The Phantom Tollbooth! She worked worked ON stage last season in The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe and was Assistant Director for Jerusalem. Kayla graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Hiram College. She has worked in many aspects of the theatre, including acting and costume designing. Some of her favorite shows that she's worked on include All's Well That Ends Well, 4000 Miles, and Death of a Salesman. She'd like to thank Brittni for this opportunity to be a part of such a special show. And thanks to Mom, Dad, Chris, and August for always helping me to believe in the giants. Enjoy!!
Rebecca Moseley (Lethargarian 1, Merchant 4, Minister 2, Rhyme/Projections) is excited to be back for another season at Ensemble Theatre! She has served as the Resident Production Stage Manager/assistant stage manager for many Ensemble shows, including The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, Margin of Error,Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, the Iceman Cometh, Animals out of Paper, Knock Me A Kiss, Beyond the Horizon, Anna Christie, Thurgood, The Chairs, Death of a Salesman, Slow Dance on the Killing Ground, and Ages of the Moon. She co-directed Run, Kingsbury, Run. She was onstage in past seasons at Ensemble as Pea in Jerusalem, the Childlike Empress/company in The Never Ending Story, and as Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby. Other favorite credits not at Ensemble include Rosalind (As You Like It) Fabiana Cunningham (The Last Days of Judas Iscariot) Dorine (Tartuffe) and Maggie (A Chorus Line). Most recently, Becca played Ophelia in Hiram College's alumni inclusive production of Hamlet. She thanks Ian and Celeste for building and nurturing a theatre that provides a constant supply of great scripts and people to bring them to life, her family for their love and support, and Kyle for always believing in the magic.
THE CREW
Brittni Shambaugh Addison (Director) is a recent transplant to Cleveland from Honolulu, Hawaii, where she was a member of the Professional Acting Company with the Honolulu Theatre for Youth and served as a lecturer at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In Cleveland, she has had the pleasure of working with Cleveland Play House, Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland Public Theatre, Beck Center, and Ensemble Theatre, where she played Dawn in Jerusalem. She holds a BA in Theatre and an MFA in Directing, and is an Education Associate at Cleveland Play House. Favorite directing credits include Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party, Jose Rivera's Sonnets for an Old Century, and Stephen Adly Guirgis's The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Thanks to this amazing cast for their creative energy and spirit of giving, and love to Lavour, Pixie, and Winnie
Ishmael Lara (Assistant Director) is ecstatic to be part of Ensemble’s production of The Phantom Tollbooth. He is a recent graduate from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, where he received a degree in Theatre with an emphasis in directing and education. His recent directing credits include, The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale at SF Shakespeare Festival, Waiting For Godot, Sarah Ruhl’s Passion Play, The Heidi Chronicles and an all female production of Julius Caesar. This is Ismael’s first collaboration with Ensemble and he couldn’t be more grateful to play and create magic with this group of artists!
Sam Landgraf (Stagemanager) Sam Landgraf is excited to be returning to Ensemble Theatre for this magical production of The Phantom Tollbooth. She is even happier to be working with the Hiram College gang again. Previous productions at Ensemble include The Great Gatsby (Stage Manager), Frankenstein 2013 (Stage Manager and Set Design), The Neverending Story (Stage Manager and Light Design), and Twelfth Night (Stage Manager and Light Design). She would like to thank Jordan for always understanding how tech week works.
Bryanna Bauman (Lights) is a graduate of Bowling Green State University with a Bachelors of Arts in Communications Major with a double specialization in Acting/Directing and Design Technology in 2015. She is thrilled to be given the opportunity to be the resident lighting designer here at Ensemble Theatre. Bryanna is currently a freelance designer working in the greater Cleveland area, she currently works at st Ignatius Breen Center for the Arts. She would like to thank her friends ad family for supporting her career choices, however hectic. She is wishing the company a safe and successful run, break legs.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU to Scenic Artists Becca Moseley, Sam Landgraf and Kayla Davis.
