Portland Center Stage

Meet the Cast and Creative Team of An Iliad

Posted by cynpdx | 19 October 2010 | Comments (0)

CAST

JOSEPH GRAVES

Joseph Graves lives in Beijing, China where he is the artistic director of Peking University’s Institute of World Theatre and Film. In China in the last 8 years he has produced and/or directed 50 plays, including many Chinese premieres of Western pieces.  His acting, directing and writing work have been seen in numerous countries, including: the US, Great Britain, France, Italy, Russia, New Zealand, and throughout the Middle East and China. He has performed over 100 roles on stage, such as the title characters in: King Lear, Othello, Hamlet, Richard III, Macbeth, Coriolanus, Timon of Athens, Henry V, Tartuffe, Uncle Vanya and many more, including contemporary dramas and comedies and much musical theatre. In the early 80s he appeared as guest-star in a number of American televisions shows such as Knight Rider and Fantasy Island among others, and has written several film scripts including Sweetwater, which launched VH1’s Movies That Rock series, and Hannah And Jack for Academy Award winner Sir John Mills. He returns in November to China to direct the film, How I Became a Shadow, which he also wrote, based on the life of the controversial Chinese poet, and the first translator of Shakespeare’s plays into Chinese, Zhu Shenghao. Joseph’s latest play, Revel’s World of Shakespeare (in English and Chinese) is available on Google Books.

CREATIVE TEAM

DENIS O’HARE
Co-Adaptor

Denis O’Hare has appeared in numerous Broadway productions including Richard Greenberg’s Take Me Out, Assassins, Sweet Charity, Inherit the Wind, Racing Demon and Cabaret. In 2003, he won a Tony Award for Best Actor for his performance in Take Me Out. In 2004, he played Charles J. Guiteau in the Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins, for which he was nominated for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Tony Award. He later won the 2005 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Oscar Lindquist in the Broadway revival of Sweet Charity. His feature film credits include The Anniversary Party, 21 Grams, Garden State, Derailed, Michael Clayton, A Mighty Heart, Half Nelson, Milk, Edge of Darkness and Charlie Wilson’s War. O’Hare’s television credits include Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Brothers & Sisters. He has also appeared in a recurring role as Judge Charles Abernathy on the television drama series The Good Wife. Most recently, O’Hare was cast as Russell Edgington in Tru Blood. He collaborated with Lisa Peterson to create An Iliad.

LISA PETERSON
Co-Adaptor

Lisa Peterson directed The Model Apartment by Donald Margulies, Slavs! by Tony Kushner, Traps and Light Shining in Buckinghamshire by Caryl Churchill (Obie Award for Direction), The Waves adapted from Virginia Woolf (two Drama Desk nominations) and The Scarlet Letter adapted by Phylis Nagy. Regional credits include Collected Stories by Donald Margulies (DramaLogue Award), Ikebana by Alice Tuan (DramaLogue Award), The Batting Cage by Joan Ackermann, Tough Choices for the New Century by Jane Anderson, Trip’s Cinch by Phylis Nagy, Good Person of Setzuan adapted by Tony Kushner, Triumph of Love adapted by James Magruder, Arms and the Man by G.B. Shaw, The Swan by Elizabeth Egloff,  A Moon for the Misbegotten by OíNeill, My Children! My Africa! by Athol Fugard, Fefu and Her Friends by Irene Fornes and Reckless by Craig Lucas. A graduate of Yale College, Peterson is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Drama Department. She is currently Resident Director at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.

PENNY METROPULOS
Director

In addition to her many regional theatre credits, Penny has been associated with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for the past 25 years. She served as Associate Artistic Director from 1996 – 2007. Some of her directing credits at OSF include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, Death of a Salesman, Timon of Athens, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Lorca in a Green Dress, Antony and Cleopatra, As You Like It, The Night of the Iguana, The Three Musketeers, The Good Person of Szechuan, Lips Together, Teeth  Apart (which opened at Portland Center Stage in the early 90’s), and this season’s Henry IV Part 1.

Other directing credits include productions for the Denver Theatre Center, Arena Stage, Syracuse Stage, The Acting Company, The Guthrie Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Intiman, Arizona Theatre Company, and the California Shakespeare Festival.

She has worked with composer Sterling Tinsley on several projects including a musical version of The Comedy of Errors and a musical adaptation of William Saroyan’s Tracy’s Tiger, both of which premiered at OSF. She also co-adapted and directed The Three Musketeers, now published by Playscripts.

She was an actress and singer prior to her directing career and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and the Dallas Theatre Center Academy.

WILLIAM BLOODGOOD
Scenic Designer

William returns to Portland Center Stage having previously designed the scenery for Snow Falling on Cedars, The Cripple of Inishmann (2000), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2004), King Lear (2004), Misalliance (2007), The Beard of Avon and Twelfth Night (2008), Doubt (2008) and The Importance of Being Earnest (2008). William has designed for many regional theaters in the U.S. and abroad, including Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., Birmingham Repertory Theatre in the U.K., Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Alley Theatre in Houston, Arizona Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, Denver Center Theatre Company, Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre in Seattle, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, and for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where he has been responsible for the scenic design of 140 productions. He has complemented his work in theater with experience in interior design, space planning, display and graphics.

JEFF CONE
Costume Designer

Jeff, costume shop manager for Portland Center Stage, has designed The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling  Bee, Mike’s Incredible Indian Adventure, The 39 Steps, Snow Falling on Cedars, Grey Gardens, Guys and Dolls, Doubt, The Little Dog Laughed, Sometimes a Great Notion, The Underpants, Cabaret, Bad Dates, The Pillowman, Act a Lady, Misalliance, This Wonderful Life, I Am My Own Wife and West Side Story since PCS opened the Gerding Theater at the Armory. Other PCS credits include the world premieres of Celebrity Row and Another Fine Mess, as well as Underneath the Lintel, Things of Dry Hours, Anna in the Tropics, King Lear, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, True West, Flesh and Blood, A New Brain, Closer, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Bus Stop and Dirty Blonde. Jeff received Drammy Awards for Best Costume Design for both Act a Lady and Dirty Blonde. Highlights of his 20-year career include the world premiere of Pearl Cleage’s Flyin' West at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, with subsequent productions at Indiana Repertory Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Long Wharf Theatre; an expressionistic Charlotte’s Web and 10 annual productions of A Christmas Carol at the Alliance; and the coordination of costumes for Seattle Opera’s productions of Andrea ChÈnier and La Traviata.

DIANE FERRY WILLIAMS
Lighting Designer

Diane Ferry Williams is pleased to be returning to Portland. Diane is the Resident Lighting Designer at the Marriott Theatre in Chicago and has also worked for many other theatres around the country, including The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Theatre Under the Stars, The Goodspeed, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, The Goodman, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, ACT Seattle, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Ford’s Theatre, Hubbard Street and Regional Dance America. International work includes The Harlem Gospel Singers in Paris and their European tour, and Die Shone Und Das Biest in Berlin and their European tour. She has also lit several national tours and the premiere of Don't Stop the Carnival by Jimmy Buffet and Herman Wouk. Awards include a Jeff Award, an After Dark Award, a Carbonelle Award, three Drammy awards (A New Brain, Batboy and Snow Falling on Cedars) and seven Jeff nominations. Diane has a Master of Fine Arts in Theatrical Design from Northwestern University.

STERLING TINSLEY
Composer/ Sound Designer

Sterling has worked as composer, sound designer, music director, accompanist on numerous projects for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center Theatre Company, 5th Avenue Musical Theatre, Oregon Cabaret Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, Alley Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, Opera-to-Go, Phoenix Center for the Performing Arts, Sombrero Playhouse, Arizona State University, Houston Community College, Cornish College for the Arts, Humphries School of Musical Theatre, Eugene Loring School of Dance, Kelly Brown School of Dance. He is currently working on a musical theater piece based on several Russian folk tales: The Firebird.

LIAM KAAS-LENTZ
Stage Manager

Liam is a native of Bellingham, WA, who has lived in Portland for seven years and is delighted to call the place home. He serves as production manager for and is an ensemble member of Sojourn Theatre and has stage managed for Artists Repertory Theatre, Portland Playhouse, Hand2Mouth Theatre, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Teatro Milago, NaCl, PICA, Pixie Dust Productions, the Geva Theatre Center, Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts, National Public Radio, Oregon State University, and BodyVox Dance. Liam received his BFA from Southern Oregon University, his M.Ed from Portland State University and has taught ensemble stage management at Northwestern University, Georgetown University, Portland State University, and Lincoln High School. An Iliad is Liam’s first show of his first season at PCS, as well as his first show as a member of Actors' Equity. He lives with his wife and two cats in the southeast.

AUBREE LYNN
Production Assistant

Aubree is thrilled to be returning to Portland Center Stage for a second season as a Production Assistant. Previously to joining the Stage Management team she had the honor to contribute as a scenic artist on various PCS shows including  Ragtime, Grey Gardens, Frost/Nixon, Crazy Enough, The Importance of Being Ernest, How to Disappear Completely and Never be Found, and Apollo. With Ben Franklin: Unplugged,  The Santaland Dairies, Mike’s Incredible Indian Adventure and Alfred Hitchcock’s  The 39 Steps under her belt last season, she is excited to return to the Ellen Bye Studio for An Iliad. Recently Aubree has had the great fortune to collaborate with various Northwest theater companies, including Sojourn Theatre, Hand2Mouth Theatre, CoHo Productions, The Miracle Theatre Group, Shaking the Tree, Oregon Repertory Theater, Pier Pressure Productions, Young Players, and The ReTheatre Instrument. When she is not keeping things running backstage, Aubree enjoys building things, taking things apart, and playing in the dirt.


LYDIA COMER
Production Assistant

Lydia Comer is excited to be a production assistant for An Iliad and to be joining the PCS team. Though she is normally backstage, Lydia’s first job at PCS was registering audience spellers for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Earlier this year, Lydia received her BFA in Theatre, specializing in production and management from the University of Victoria, in beautiful British Columbia. University credits include stage managing La Ronde and Romeo & Juliet. As well, Lydia was the Assistant Technical Director & Master Electrician for her program.