Into the Breeches!

Meet the patriots.

Tess Burgler - Sound Design, Associate Artistic Director

Tess has been with Ohio Shakes since its first year in 2001. She has had decades of acting roles on the OSF boards, and more recently begun to direct for the main stage (The Hobbit, Wizard of Oz, The Woman in Black, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love’s Labour’s Lost, She Kills Monsters, King Lear). Even more recently she’s discovered and developed a love of sound design, having self-taught during the pandemic radio plays (which are still available for free at ohioshakespeare.com!). Most recently, she created the sound scape for The Hobbit, The Woman in Black, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Every Christmas Story Ever... She’s married to Ryan and they have two incredible baby girls: Zelda and Persephone. Thank you for supporting theatre–one of the only things AI can’t touch.

Nancy Cates+ - Producing Artistic Director

Nancy is one of the two founders of Ohio Shakes, which is now about to embark on its 25th season under the stars at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens, and its 10th season here at Greystone Hall.  The story of Into the Breeches resonates on so many personal levels for Nancy.  Themes of closed theatres due to a global crisis, of a small group of actor-managers working tirelessly to produce the most excellent Shakespeare within their grasp, as well as the “forward thinking” casting of Breeches are all part of Ohio Shakespeare Festival’s own story.  Bravely choosing a life of  hope in the face of war and adversity is a cornerstone of Shakespeare’s story as well.  Nancy thanks her band of brothers, stretching back through each person and each show for 24 years, for their camaraderie and fellowship.

Ashley Collins - Stage Manager

Ashley is glad to be back with Ohio Shakespeare Festival after assistant stage-managing The Hobbit this past autumn. Other recent work includes appearing in the inaugural staged reading for Theatre on Tap, Hounds of Hell and Other Ghost Stories, at Thirsty Dog Sour Haus and stage-managing The Raise at Makeshift Theatre. Many thanks as always to Nancy for the opportunity, to her family and friends for their unwavering support, and to you, for supporting local theatre and helping to build community in these trying times.

Alex Funk - Stuart

Alex is an actor and teacher in the Akron area. He graduated with an MFA in Acting from Kent State and a BA in Theatre from The University of Akron. He currently teaches and directs theatre at Archbishop Hoban HS. Some memorable acting credits include Clarke, The Cottage; Usher/God/Understanding, Everybody; H, Passage; Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure; Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet; Rosalind, As You Like It; Dionysus, The Bacchae; and Billy Brown, The Great God Brown.

Maria Guardino Schreiner - June

Maria is a Cleveland-based actor delighted to return to the Ohio Shakespeare Festival for her second season. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 2023, concentrating in Theater Performance and Design, and currently works for Great Lakes Theater in their costume shop! Recent acting credits include: Martius/Ensemble (Titus Andronicus, Western Reserve Playhouse) Juliet (Romeo and Juliet, Ohio Shakespeare Festival), Hero (Much Ado About Nothing, GCArts) Macbeth (Macbeth, Sarah Lawrence College) and Juliet (Romeo and Juliet, Sarah Lawrence College). Incredible thanks to my dear friends I made during this process and for the wonderful community that theater creates. Special thanks to my biggest cheerleader now and forever, my mom.

Holly Humes - Celeste

Holly is grateful to return for another production with Ohio Shakespeare Festival. During the day, she is a professor of communication and also the head coach of the Wooster High School Speech & Debate team. Audiences may remember her from The Tempest (Prospero), Much Ado About Nothing (Leonata), Shakespeare in Hollywood (Lydia), Twelfth Night (Maria), Hay Fever (Myra), Taming of the Shrew (Gremio), The Importance of Being Earnest (Lady Bracknell), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Titania), Miss Holmes (Mrs. Hudson/Eudora Featherstone/Dr. Anderson), or Measure for Measure (Duke). She would like to thank her husband, Scott Custer, for all of his love and support.

Nancy Humes - Costume Designer

Nancy is happy to be back designing for Ohio Shakespeare. As a wife, mother, minister, and student who has retired from the regular workforce, she loves finding time to continue using her sewing talents. Her kids and grandkids and others have outgrown their need for Halloween costumes, so Ohio Shakes ‘fills the bill’. Some of her most fun costumes were Star Wars and Harry Potter characters, but her greatest challenge was costuming here for Nicholas Nickleby, where she says she has to give credit to Marty LaConte and Kelsey Tomlinson for their help; it was a huge challenge that simply couldn’t be done alone. Nancy thanks her husband Bob, for all his love and support, and often accompanying her on shopping trips.

Josy Jones - Lighting Designer

Josy is a theatre practitioner, arts administrator, producer, creative community builder, and founder of the Chameleon Village Theatre Collective whose work focuses on community centered creation and using site-specific theatre. Her work has activated galleries, elevators, parks and more. In 2022, she was awarded a Creative Investment grant by ArtsNow to explore lighting design. She is a former FOCUS Apprentice for lighting design with Dobama Theatre and the lighting designer for the Nine Lives suite, an emotional, multimedia jazz performance. Jones is best known in Cleveland for her previous role as the Associate Producer for the BorderLight Theatre Festival. Jones is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Center for Applied Theatre and Active Culture (CATAC), a non-hierarchical arts administrative non-profit organization. Follow her work at @TheJosyJones. 

Dede Klein - Winifred

Dede is delighted to be back on the Henry Bishop stage. Last seen in Shakespeare in Hollywood, Dede has performed at OSF, Seat of the Pants, None Too Fragile, Beck Center, Weathervane, and Coach House. Some of her favorite roles include Eleanor in The Lion in Winter, Sister Aloysius in Doubt, Lily in Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, and Judith Bliss in Hay Fever. Dede also has an art studio, Objets d’Art by Klein, and can be seen in different art shows throughout the summer in NE Ohio. She would like to thank you for supporting live theatre! Enjoy the show!

Marty LaConte - Draperies

Her creative specialty props have been seen in numerous OSF shows including The Tempest, King Charles III, Macbeth, She Kills Monsters, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and The Wizard of Oz. She loved the challenge of creating life-sized puppets of mice that become horses, and the cat & dove  for Cinderella, the munchkin puppets in OZ, and most recently, that magnificent dragon, Smaug, for his appearance in The Hobbit.  Among her critically acclaimed costume designs are those of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare in Love, Camelot and The Lion in Winter. Marty is a retired RN who resides in Green with her dear husband, Vince.

Baleigh Lynn - Assistant Stage Manager

Baleigh is excited to take on her first Assistant Stage Management position with Ohio Shakespeare Festival. She trained at Kent State University, graduating with a BA in Theater Studies and a minor in Dance. Previous Stage Management Training from Kent State University and Porthouse Theater.  She’s recently done backstage work for The Hobbit, Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!), and The Woman in Black. When not backstage, she can also be found onstage, most recently in Hay Fever (Myra) with Roving Rogues. A few other credits include: Much Ado About Nothing (Conrad/Friar), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Starveling/Moonshine/Mustardseed), The Bold, the Young, and the Murdered (Morris), Game of Tiaras (Prince Charming), Concord Floral (8/Fox), Clue (Yvette), and her favorite to date Richard III (Queen Elizabeth). She would like to thank her friends, family and loved ones for their support. Enjoy the show!

John Peters - House Manager

John feels at home whenever back at it again with the Ohio Shakespeare Festival! When not managing the front of House, John is most often found treading the boards as an actor in various area theatres including OSF. Ohio Shakespeare Festival credits include: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Philostrate), Hamlet (English Ambassador), Dracula (Arthur Holmwood), Romeo and Juliet (Apothecary), Ensemble roles in Cinderella and The Wizard of Oz, as well as numerous ShakesBEER's over the years. John was also a chairperson and organizer of the 2018 StageFest theatre festival and was the House Manager for Cleveland Musical Theatre's world premiere of the revised musical Jane Eyre.

Sarah Pine - Maggie

Sarah is beyond thrilled to be back at Ohio Shakespeare Festival. She holds both an M.A. in Theatre Studies (BGSU) and an M.Ed (JCU), and spends her days teaching English at Revere High School, and running the Revere Players. Previous favorite roles at Ohio Shakes include Mina Harker (Dracula), Benvolio (Romeo and Juliet), Celia (As You Like It), and numerous ShakesBEER events. She’s also written two plays for production here at Ohio Shakes, including Maid Marion: An Adventure with Music, and Frankenstein (co-written with Joe Pine). This and every performance are for Joe and Henry: I love you with all the moods and tenses of the verb.

Dale E. Seeds - Set Designer

Dale is pleased to return to the Ohio Shakespeare Festival after a long hiatus. He is currently an Emeritus Professor from the College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio where he served as Professor of Theatre. He received his Ph.D. in Theatre from Kent State University, with an emphasis in design criticism. In addition to design, he has taught course work in indigenous theatre and film, theatre history and theatre research. His scenic and lighting design work of over 250 productions has been featured at various venues nationally including the University of Alaska Fairbanks, The University of Texas, Dallas, Porthouse Theatre, Kent State University, The Ohio Light Opera and the Eastman School of Music; and internationally in Dublin, Ireland with the Abbey Theatre. He also is a member of the Dallas- based performance group Dead White Zombies, contributing as a visual artist on their productions. His freelance activities involve working as a scenic artist for The Magical Theatre Company of Barberton, and with the Ohio Shakespeare Festival. Most recently, he has explored the world of playwriting and has had his works read recently with the Ensemble Theatre of Cleveland and Kent State University, Trumbull Campus.

Natalie Steen - Set Construction, Production Manager

Natalie enjoys her position as resident Scenic Designer and Production Manager for Ohio Shakespeare Festival. Previous Ohio Shakes credits include: Twelfth Night as Viola, A Midsummer Night's Dream as Helena, and The Tempest as Miranda, all under the stars. Indoors, she has been seen in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder as Phoebe D'Ysquith, The Wizard of Oz as Dorothy, Dracula as Lucy, All My Sons as Annie, Hay Fever as Jackie, Cinderella as Grace the nasty stepsister, and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby as Nicholas' love interest(s). Many thanks to The Rude Sea, you are all brilliant and my favorite people. Their music is on any listening platform and CDs for sale in the lobby! She thanks her ever supportive family, friends, and you for coming out and supporting the arts! Enjoy the show! DPTL

Buddy Taylor - Associate Artistic Director of Design

Buddy has been with OSF since 2003, and it continues to give him enjoyment and new challenges. Even though he moved to Texas in 2008, he still returns several times a year to design lights, design sound, build set pieces, or just add his two cents to a conversation. Some of his favorite OSF productions (so far) are Othello, King Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Comedy of Errors. Buddy also does design and production services in Texas for some schools and smaller local venues.

Debi Tinsley - Ida

Debi studied theatre at Webster University and is a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts.  She has toured and worked regionally in such shows as Little Shop of Horrors, The Robber Bridegroom, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Nuts, and Division Street.  During a 20+ year “intermission” from the theatre, she performed in clubs throughout the NY tri-state area as a singer, specializing in jazz and Brasilian bossa nova.  Post “intermission” theatre credits include:  Mrs. Gottlieb, Dead Man’s Cell Phone; Dot, The Savannah Sipping Society; Ethel, Moon Over Buffalo; Diana, Another Antigone; Duchess of York, Richard II; Widow, All’s Well That Ends Well.

Hillary Wheelock - Grace

Hillary is a Cleveland-based Latina actor and fight choreographer. This is her third production with OSF; most recently, she was seen in The Hobbit (Thorin Oakenshield) and King Lear (Cordelia). Recent Cleveland credits include Elephant’s Graveyard with Seat of the Pants and Haunted at Cleveland Public Theatre. In Denver, Hillary was in Benchmark Theatre’s regional premiere of Sarah Kane’s Blasted (Cate) and performed with Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA & Raekwon and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…. At CPT, Hillary has been seen in the world premieres of An Xmas Cuento Remix and The Family Claxon, as well as the Spanish-language regional premieres of Marisol and En el Tiempo de las Mariposas. Her work in Cleveland has been featured at Ensemble Theatre, Borderlight Festival, Theatre Ninjas, convergence-continuum, The Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, and Mamai Theatre Company. Follow her on Instagram to find out what her next show is: @hillarywheelock.

Ryan Zarecki - Properties, Set Construction

Ryan loves his jobs at the Ohio Shakespeare Festival. Some of his favorite roles with the company include Orlando As You Like It, Porthos The Three Musketeers: An Adventure, with Music, Mercutio Romeo & Juliet, Quincy Morris Dracula, Robin Hood, Bottom A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Roy Lone Star and Riff Raff Rocky Horror. His fight production company [They Fight], with partner Tess Burgler, works to bring safe, awesome stage violence to Northeast Ohio stages. He is a BGSU Grad, an SAFD member and proud Papa to his amazing daughters Zelda and Persephone. He is ever thankful for his heart, Tessa, Fridays, Saturdays, and all. Check out his nerdy leather craft shop, The Buckle & Rose on Etsy.com.