The Hobbit proudly presented on the Henry C. Bishop Stage

Meet the adventuring party.

Sean Anderson - Voice of Smaug

Sean is an acclaimed opera singer, podcaster, and storyteller from Akron, Ohio. He has appeared with Baz Luhrmann, New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Sarasota Opera, and in March will perform as Cervantes/Quixote in Man of La Mancha with the Ohio Shakespeare Festival. Beyond the stage, Anderson is the featured Storyteller with Storytellers Forge, creators of The Black Ballad, and stars as Dungeon Master in Severed Threads – Notes from the Black Ballad. He is also the creator of Echoes of Krynn, a two-time Signal Award–winning podcast. Blending operatic craft with fantasy and myth, his work bridges classical performance and imaginative storytelling, captivating audiences in both worlds.

Leo Bond - Lighting Designer

Leo is delighted to return as Lighting Designer for his third production with the Ohio Shakespeare Festival. This will be Leo's ninety-sixth production after twenty years of work as a theatre artist and educator. Career highlights include a season with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, four seasons with the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, five seasons with Berserker Theatre Company, and writing/producing an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Henry VIII for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Leo has previously served as the Lighting Designer for The Wizard of Oz and The Woman in Black here at OSF. Leo has earned a BA in Theatre from DeSales University, an MA in Education from Boston College, and an MA in Theatre from Villanova University. He currently teaches Speech and Theatre at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School in Chardon, Ohio. Special love to Margie, Blaise, and Damien.

Tess Burgler - Director, Sound Designer

Tess is has been with Ohio Shakes since it’s first year, which was coincidentally right around the time The Lord of the Rings released in theaters and changed her little nerd heart forever. She has had decades of acting roles on the OSF boards, and more recently begun to direct for the main stage (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 Woman in Black, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Every Christmas Story Ever... She’s married to her very own Aragorn (Ryan) and they have two incredible baby girls: Zelda and Persephone. If she could live in Middle Earth, she would hands-down choose The Shire.

Nancy Cates+ - Producing Artistic Director

Nancy welcomes you to celebrate Ohio Shakespeare Festival’s 24th season, and our 9th year-round season indoors here at The (Greystone) Shire. Beyond our first love of producing Shakespeare’s plays, Ohio Shakes is committed to the theatrical production of classic literature (The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, The Three Musketeers..., Dracula.) Tonight’s production is not only an adventure, but a passion project for our band of artists, with our new resident dragon making his stage debut.

Ashley Collins - Assistant Stage Manager

Ashley (she/her) is overjoyed to be joining this phenomenal cast and crew for such a grand adventure. An Ohio Shakes company member since 2017, her recent credits include assistant stage managing The Tempest and King Lear this summer at Stan Hywet, and stage managing the Midwest regional premiere of The Shark is Broken with Western Reserve Playhouse. Like any proper-minded hobbit, she thinks it’s a crime that potatoes are not their own food group. Thank you for coming out to enjoy live, local, professional theatre!

Geoffrey Darling - Balin

Geofffrey read The Hobbit almost 60 years ago, with no inkling of the part that author J.R.R. Tolkien would play in his life. So he now dedicates his contribution to the great man’s memory. As a New Zealander, he claims some affinity; the country is often called Middle Earth, and a replica of Hobbiton is a must-see for visitors. Geoffrey is among the older members of the company and was seen this year as Lord Montague (Romeo and Juliet) and Gonzalo (The Tempest). Geoffrey first acted for Ohio Shakespeare Festival in Comedy of Errors in 2007 and recalls all roles (and fellow actors) with great affection.

Jenni DeLuca - Stage Manager

Jenni is so very happy to be working on this delightful show with Ohio Shakes! Jenni has served as Stage Manager for several OSF productions, including Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!), The Wizard of Oz, Twelfth Night, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Hay Fever, The Taming of The Shrew, All My Sons, and Cinderella (2021 & 2022). Appearances on the OSF stage include The Wizard of Oz (Ensemble), The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (Ensemble), and Dracula (Ensemble). Jenni would like to thank her friends, family, and husband Doug for their endless support. And of course, the utmost gratitude to OSF and this incredible cast and crew.

Rachel Fichter - Gloin, Goblin

Rachel is thrilled beyond measure to bring one of her favorite stories to life! Recent OSF adventures include The Tempest (Ceres/Spirit), Much Ado About Nothing (Ursula) The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (Fanny Squeers/Ensemble), Love’s Labour’s Lost (Katherine), The Taming of the Shrew (The Widow), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Peter Quince). When not treading the boards, Rachel is a professional soapmaker and owner of The MacBath Literary Soaps.

Madelyn Hayes - Oin, Bert, Elf

Madelyn Is very excited to be back for her 6th season with OSF! She is a Cleveland native, singer, actor and musician. You may remember her as Regan (King Lear), Glinda (The Wizard of Oz), The Fairy Godmother (Cinderella), Magenta (The Rocky Horror Show), and the voice of Lady Molly in Ohio Shakespeare Festivals Radio play (Lady Molly)...during the year that shall not be named...Madelyn would like to thank her Mom and friends who have been so supportive through everything. Enjoy and Huzzah!

Camille Henderson - Bofur, Goblin

Returning to Ohio Shakespeare Festival as an actress this go round instead of stage manager, Camille is no stranger to this theater family. Popping out the gate as stage manager for OSF’s production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby in 2024, Cam went on to also work on Ohio Shake’s The Woman in Black, and Dobama Theatre’s productions of The Hot Wing King and their world-premiere of Rust: A Story of Steel and Grit with playwright George Brant. The Cash A Million Studios owner takes on the role of Bofur in this production of The Hobbit, and loves honey-cakes and her brother Bombur and cousin Bifur.

Megan Herbert - Dori, Elf

Megan is ecstatic to be a part of this Hobbit adventure! She is a Kent State alumna where she earned her BA in theatre. You may have seen her recently on the summer stage in the Geeenshow, The Tempest, and King Lear as well as some past shows including The Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, The Woman in Black, Dracula, Much Ado About Nothing, and Othello. In her free time, Megan is seen usually at a sports game or frantically remembering to do her Duolingo for the day and sometimes both. She wants to thank everyone at OSF for every wonderful experience, friend, and opportunity they’ve given her. Finally she wants to thank her FerFer and Eric for always supporting her. She hopes you enjoy The Hobbit!

Nate Hoyle - Nori, The Great Goblin, Elf

Nate (he/him) has been working with Ohio Shakes since 2014, and has been a devoted Tolkien fan for as long as he can remember. With OSF he can usually be found as a member of the fight corps, but also had the pleasure to portray Smike in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. Nate loves podcasts, and in honor of this adaptation of The Hobbit, he would like to recommend one of his nerdiest favorites: Mythgard’s Exploring the Lord of the Rings. It’s a college-level lecture seminar that dives into The Lord of the Rings in a sentence-by-sentence analysis. We’re 345 sessions in, and the company is still in the Mines of Moria. It’s a delightful look into the beauty and subtlety of Tolkien’s prose and poetry. Come join a small but enthusiastic group of weirdos!

Geoff Knox* - Bilbo

Geoff is beyond excited to be playing a role in his favorite childhood story. He’s been with Ohio Shakespeare since 2003 and has performed in dozens of productions for them. Some past favorites include Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing), Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet), Algernon (The Importance of Being Earnest), Leontes (The Winter’s Tale) and Nicholas (...Nicholas Nickleby), among others. He has also directed Ohio Shakespeare’s Dracula and Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!) which will be reprised this year. He is a graduate of Kent State University and the FSU/Asolo Conservatory.

Marty LaConte - Costume Designer, Specialty Props and Puppets Designer/Creator

It was exhilarating to see the magnificent Smaug come to life on stage after swimming around in Marty’s mind all summer. He is joined with the other delightful inhabitants of Middle Earth who are wearing or using items that give homage to the iconic movie. Marty’s previous puppet creations have been seen as the munchkins in The Wizard of Oz, and the horses, cat, and dove in Cinderella. Her creative specialty props have appeared 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 Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!). Among her critically acclaimed costume designs are those of Baskerville, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare in Love, Camelot, The Lion in Winter, and Othello. Marty thanks her husband, Vince, for his dragon surgery assistance.

Jessica Lauren - Violinist, Elf, Goblin, Smaug Puppeteer

Jessica is thrilled to be joining OSF for this magical production! You may remember her “fiddling” around in past productions such as The Tempest, The Wizard of Oz, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. She has been playing the violin since the age of three years old, and is so grateful to now have the opportunity to teach and inspire her students of all ages, When she is not playing her violin, Jessica likes to stay active by running long distances, and has completed 2 full marathons and one ultra marathon. She is so happy to have a life full of love and light with her soul mate, David Monter. (Their life is also very full of ice cream, especially after the running). Jessica would like to thank her grandmother for the countless hours of driving her to violin lessons and making her practice “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” because now she gets to make music under the stars with all her friends.

Baleigh Lynn - Crew

Baleigh is so excited to be along for the journey to Misty Mountain with Bilbo and the gang. This is her third show as crew with OSF with the previous shows being Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!) and The Woman in Black. A few previous acting credits include Conrad and the Priest in Much Ado About Nothing and Starvling/Mustardseed in A Midsummer Nights Dream with French Creek Theater.,Prince Charming in Game of Tiaras, Yvette in Clue and Queen Elizabeth in King Richard III at The University of Akron, and Accidental Deer/Heaven Monitor in NOW at Kent State. She is so thankful to have gotten to work with these talented actors and actresses and would like to thank her friends and family for always being her support system and cast and crew for being so fun to work with. Enjoy the adventure and watch out for any flying fish!

Zach Palumbo - Kili, Goblin

Zach is so glad to be back with OSF for this classic adventure! Previous roles here include Feste (Twelfth Night), Professor Marvel/Wizard of Oz (The Wizard of Oz), and the Fool (King Lear). Favorite roles elsewhere include Seymour Krelborn (Little Shop of Horrors) and SpongeBob SquarePants (The SpongeBob Musical) at Blank Canvas Theatre, Barry Mann (Beautiful) at Near West Theatre, and Eugene Jerome (Broadway Bound) at Beck Center for the Arts. Up next, he will be music directing and playing the Guitarist in Elephant’s Graveyard with Seat of the Pants! Love to his family, friends, and Nicole. zachpalumbo.com

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 northeast Ohio area theatres including OSF. Ohio Shakespeare Festival credits include: Cinderella (Ensemble), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Philostrate), Hamlet (English Ambassador), Dracula: Laboratory Performance (Arthur Holmwood) and Romeo and Juliet (Apothecary), as well as numerous ShakesBEER's over the years. John was also the House Manager for Cleveland Musical Theatre's world premiere of the revised musical Jane Eyre.

Joe Pine - Gollum, Smaug puppeteer

Joe has been an Ohio Shakes company member for 15 years, and he is thrilled for the opportunity to be a part of one of his all-time favorite stories. Other Ohio Shakes credits include: Caliban (The Tempest), Jonathan (Dracula), Chris (All My Sons), Brick (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Feste (Twelfth Night), Hotspur (King Henry IV, Part One), Athos (The Three Musketeers...). Other recent credits include Jekyll (Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical) at Player’s Guild and Isaac Babel (Describe the Night) at Ensemble Theatre. Joe has also written four plays that have been produced by Ohio Shakes: The Three Musketeers..., Dracula, Frankenstein* and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow* (*both co-written with wife Sarah). All performances always are for Sarah and Henry, who have his whole heart.

Chrissy Margevicius - Ori, Elf, Music Director (with The Rude Sea)

Chrissy is thrilled to be back at OSF with the loveliest in Hobbiton! You might have seen her in OSF’s The Wizard of Oz (Wicked Witch, Rude Sea MD), Love’s Labours Lost, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, or a few others. Most recently she performed in Pippin (Fastrada) and Disaster! (Ensemble, Shirley u/s, Dance Captain) at Blank Canvas Theatre. Chrissy has also performed in various projects with Rubber City Theatre, Talespinner Children’s Theatre, convergence-continuum, The Madison Theatre in New York, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Missoula Children’s Theatre. Many thanks to Tess, her band mates, this wonderful group of collaborative artists, and her hubby Mitch.

Kim Simbeck - Makeup Artist, Light Board Operator

Kim (she/they) is excited to join another production OSF. You may have seen them at OSF in The Rocky Horror Show or Cinderella, in the booth for various Greystone productions or at the box office during the outdoor season at Stan Hywet. A Cleveland native with a BA from Cleveland State University, Kim has enjoyed performing at many local theatres and great spaces. When not at their home away from home, they can be found practicing their one voice Broadway show in the car. Thanks, thanks and ever thanks to the OSF family and as always to Mom, who is with me always.

Natalie Steen - Fili, Thranduil, Music Director (with The Rude Sea), Set Designer

Natalie is pleased to be a part of this season. She enjoys her position as resident Scenic Designer and Production Manager for Ohio Shakespeare Festival. She is a Baldwin Wallace University graduate with her BFA in Acting. 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, 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). She is honored to be creating with this amazing gaggle of humans. 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

Hannah Storch - Bombur, Essie, Smaug puppeteer

Hannah (she/her) is elated to return to Ohio Shakespeare Festival. Ohio Shakes audiences may remember her as GreenShow fighter Beatrice Mountanto, Stephano (The Tempest), Nurse (Romeo and Juliet), Lion (The Wizard of Oz) Joy (Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella). Previous credits include Rodentia (The Squirrels) at Convergence Continuum, Goneril (King Lear) at Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, Betsy/Lindsey (Clybourne Park) at Ensemble Theatre. She is a member of the interactive performance group Party of Five bringing characters to life through storytelling, improvisation and general chaotic good. Hannah would like to thank her family, her Chickens and Brian for their love and support. Thank you for supporting live, local artists. Enjoy!

Hannah Vinograd - Crochet Artist

Hannah is thrilled to have the opportunity to create all the beards for The Hobbit. Hannah has been crocheting since high school and loves the creative outlet it gives her. Hannah loves to be able to add beard designer to her theatre resume.

Sasha Vinograd - Littlest Hobbit

Sasha is thrilled to be back on the Ohio Shakespeare Festival stage. She was last seen on the OSF stage as a “no neck monster” in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She was also in The Wizard of Oz at Rubber City Theatre as a munchkin, jitter bug and flying monkey. When Sasha is not on stage you can find her flipping at Flytz Gymnastics where is on the Level 3 team! Sasha would like to say thank you to all her friends and family that have come to see her in the show.

Hillary Wheelock - Thorin Oakenshield

Hillary is a Latina actor and fight choreographer, seen this summer as Cordelia in Ohio Shakespeare Festival’s King Lear. In Denver, she was in Benchmark Theatre’s regional premiere of Sarah Kane’s Blasted (Cate) and performed with Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and Raekwon and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…. At Cleveland Public Theatre, 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. Up next: Elephant’s Graveyard (Tour Manager) at Seat of the Pants and Haunted at CPT. Follow her: @hillarywheelock.

Evan Wilhelms - Dwalin, Elf, Music Director (with The Rude Sea)

Evan is super pleased to return to crafting a show with this team of creative and lovable weirdos at the Ohio Shakespeare Festival. He was recently a co-music director and actor-musician in The Wizard of Oz, and has previously been seen with OSF in Love's Labour's Lost, The Taming of the Shrew, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He has played a variety of instruments in pit orchestras, on stage, in various bars, and with several performers in the present production as part of The Rude Sea. He has performed science standup comedy (Science Riot), drunk Shakespeare (The Taming of the Shrew), naked (The Full Monty), and in front of classrooms teaching psychology. Most of the English language's metaphors for the joining of disparate elements suggest discord or dissonance rather than beauty, which is a failure of imagination. Instead: make art with your friends.

Derrick Winger - Gandalf

Derrick is honored to be playing his favorite wizard and tell this fantastic story. A company member in his 13th season, some favorite Ohio Shakespeare credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Oberon), Much Ado About Nothing (Don Pedro), Henry V (Exeter), Twelfth Night (Sir Toby Belch), Lone Star (Ray), Scapin (Leandre), King Charles III (James Reiss), The Lion in Winter (Richard), The Three Musketeers: An Adventure, with Music (Planchet), Robin Hood: An Adventure, with Music (King Richard), and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Brom Bones). Thanks to Jaybird, Critter, and Bug for allowing me to travel there and back again.

Ryan Zarecki - Fight Director, Properties, Set Construction

Ryan loves his job as a resident actor-manager at the Ohio Shakespeare Festival. He's played Bottom, Orlando, Porthos, Mercutio, Quincy (Dracula), Robin Hood, Thomas Jefferson (1776), and Roy (Lone Star). His fight production company [They Fight], with partner Tess Burgler, works to bring safe, affordable, and awesome stage violence to Northeast Ohio stages. Ryan is a Bowling Green State University graduate, a member of the Society of American Fight Directors, and he loves his pups, kittehs, and girls Zelda and Persephone. He is ever grateful for his Tessa, Fridays and Saturdays and all. Check out his leather goods shop, The Buckle & Rose on Etsy.com.