"Every Brilliant Thing" Cast and Creative Team

THE CREATIVE TEAM

Duncan Macmillan
Writer
Plays include: People, Places and Things (2015-2017, National Theatre/Wyndham’s Theatre, West End); 1984, adapted from George Orwell (2013-2017, Headlong/Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company, West End, Broadway, international tours, co-adapted/co-directed with Rob Icke); Every Brilliant Thing (2013-2017, Paines Plough/Pentabus Theatre, Edinburgh Festival, UK and international tours, HBO); City of Glass, adapted from Paul Auster (2017, 59 Productions, HOME and Lyric Hammersmith); 2071, co-written with Chris Rapley (2014-2015, The Royal Court/Hamburg Schauspielhaus); The Forbidden Zone (2014-2016, Salzburg Festival and Schaubühne Berlin); Wunschloses Unglück, adapted from Peter Handke (2014, Burgtheater Vienna); Reise durch die Nacht, adapted from Friederike Mayröcker (2012-2014, Schauspiel Köln, Festival d’Avignon, Theatertreffen); Lungs (2011-2016, Paines Plough and Sheffield Theatres/Studio Theatre, Washington, DC); and Monster (2006, Royal Exchange Theatre).

Jonny Donahoe
Writer
Jonny Donahoe is an actor, comedian and writer best known for his work with musical comedy act Jonny & the Baptists, with whom he has toured extensively in the UK and internationally, as well as performing numerous times on BBC Television, Channel 5 (UK) and BBC Radio 4. Jonny co-wrote (with Duncan Macmillan) the international hit show Every Brilliant Thing and performed it more than 350 times, on four different continents. His performance was also filmed and adapted into an HBO TV special, and he was nominated for Drama Desk, Off Broadway Alliance and Lucille Lortel Awards for Best Solo Performance for the role. Other credits include writing and performing in Thirty Christmases (Old Fire Station Theatre), The World Must Be Peopled (nabokov/Soho Theatre), and the short plays Real Fly Guy (Pleasance Theatre) and Guy Fawkes Night (Old Vic Theatre). His latest play, Working Christmas, will premiere at Old Fire Station Theatre later this year.

Rose Riordan
Director
Rose is in her 20th season at Portland Center Stage at The Armory, where she serves as associate artistic director and has previously directed Lauren Weedman Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Wild and Reckless, The Oregon Trail, Our Town, The People’s Republic of Portland (2013 and 2015), Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Typographer’s Dream, LIZZIE, A Small Fire, The Mountaintop, The Whipping Man, The North Plan, Red, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, A Christmas Story, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Receptionist, A Christmas Carol, Frost/Nixon, How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found, Doubt, The Underpants, The Pillowman and The Thugs, which won four Drammy Awards, including Best Ensemble and Best Director. Rose has recently directed, for various other theaters, Adam Bock’s Phaedra, The Passion Play, Telethon and The Receptionist. In 1999, she founded the annual JAW: A Playwrights Festival. JAW has been instrumental in developing new work for the company’s repertory, including this season’s upcoming production of Kodachrome, as well as Lauren Weedman Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Wild and Reckless, Threesome, Bo-Nita, The People’s Republic of Portland, The Body of an American, The North Plan, Anna Karenina, Outrage, Flesh and Blood, Another Fine Mess, O Lovely Glowworm, Celebrity Row, Act a Lady, The Thugs and A Feminine Ending. Rose has also directed some of the staged readings for JAW festivals: The Thugs (2005), Telethon (2006), A Story About a Girl (2007), 99 Ways to F*** a Swan (2009), The North Plan (2010), San Diego (2012), The People’s Republic of Portland (2012), Mai Dang Lao (2013) and A Life (2014). She enjoys being part of a company committed to new work and having a beautiful building in which to work.

Derek Easton
Scenic Designer
Derek is excited to be working as a scenic designer at The Armory for the first time, starting small and looking forward to the next opportunity. Derek has also been The Armory’s technical director for the last two years. His past credits include scenic, lighting and video design for over 50 shows at Theatre Cedar Rapids in Iowa, as well as being the company’s technical director for seven years. Prior to that, Derek worked for Actors Theatre of Louisville’s lighting department and did lighting design work with Aspen Music Festival and School’s opera program, Theatreworks, in Colorado Springs and StageOne Family Theatre in Louisville. If interested in seeing more of his work, visit derek-easton.com.

Em Douglas 
Lighting Designer
Em is delighted to be making their design debut at The Armory. Previous lighting design credits include various productions at University of Portland and Michael O'Neill's Journey of a Clown. They have traveled with performances of Merideth Kaye Clark's BLUE as the stage manager and lighting technician. This is their third season as master electrician here in the Ellyn Bye Studio, and their first season as associate lighting supervisor. They would like to thank Rose and Liam for this opportunity and Em, Jessica, Bailey and Miles for their constant love and support.

Casi Pacilio  
Sound Designer
Casi’s home base is The Armory, where recent credits include Lauren Weedman Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Wild and Reckless, His Eye is on the Sparrow, The Oregon Trail, Little Shop of Horrors, A Streetcar Named Desire, Great Expectations, Ain’t Misbehavin’; Constellations, A Small Fire and Chinglish with composer Jana Crenshaw; and eleven seasons of JAW. National shows: Holcombe Waller's Surfacing and Wayfinders; Left Hand of Darkness, My Mind is Like an Open Meadow (Drammy Award, 2011), Something’s Got Ahold Of My Heart and PEP TALK for Hand2Mouth Theatre. Other credits include Squonk Opera’s Bigsmorgasbord-WunderWerk (Broadway, PS122, national and international tours); I Am My Own Wife, I Think I Like Girls (La Jolla  Playhouse); Playland, 10 Fingers and Lips Together, Teeth Apart (City Theatre, PA). Film credits include Creation of Destiny, Out of Our Time and A Powerful Thang. Imagineer/maker of the Eat Me Machine, a dessert vending machine.

Jamie Lynne Simons
Stage Manager
Jamie is delighted to return to The Armory after being part of the 2016 JAW festival. She has a memory bank filled with an endless amount of brilliant things just from the nearly half a decade of working on cruise ships where she traveled as far west as Tasmania and east to St. Petersburg, Russia. The human experience is beautiful and strange. Many thanks to those who support others who are struggling. Other local credits: Artists Repertory Theatre, Third Rail Repertory Theatre, Portland Playhouse, Chamber Music Northwest and OHSU, where she aids in the education of medical students. She has a B.F.A. in Applied Theater Arts from The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, and serves as co-vice chair of the local liaison committee for Actors’ Equity Association.

Danny Rosales
Production Assistant
Danny is excited to be making his debut at The Armory straight out of college. Born and raised in Oregon, he is a recent graduate of Portland State University with a degree in theater arts. During his time at PSU, he stage managed many shows. His favorites include The Importance of Being Earnest, Eurydice and Sons of the Prophet. When he’s not busy working on shows, you can usually find him either playing the piano or eating ice cream. Silliness aside, Danny is grateful to be working on this fantastic show with such amazing people. Lastly, he would like to thank his friends and family for all their love and support.