Florence (Bonnie Hilton) caresses her son Nicky (Kaelan Strouse) while Pawnie (Rob Cramer) and Helen (Teri Schnaubelt) look on. Photo by Peter Bosy |
Money, addiction, jazz, nerves, forbidden love, impending doom and biting wit frame the play that made Nol Coward, known for his biting wit with classics like "Private Lives" and "Hay Fever" sparkles in this rarely produced comic drama that made him an overnight sensation and launched one of the greatest playwrights in the English language. Previews July 12 Runs July 20th -August 26th, 2012 The Greenhouse Theater Center 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60614 THE CAST Bonnie Hilton (Florence Lancaster) is thrilled to be working under Jim’s direction again and all the great people involved with Vortex. Notable acting credits include The Lion in Winter, Lady Windermere's Fan, Fiction,Grace and Glorie, Kindertransport, The Seagull, and The Miracle Worker with The Theatre of Western Springs; Confusions with Pendulum Theatre in Chicago; and a long run with the successful lunchtime theatre soap opera spoof The Edge of Our Hospital in Los Angeles. With St. Louis Ensemble: Travesties,Othello, and The Bed Before Yesterday. Bonnie attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in Los Angeles for three years, received a BA in English and Theatre from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and studied at the Summer Actors Workshop in Cheltenham, England. Bonnie is a member of the Dead Writers Theatre Collective and Board Secretary.  Kaelan Strouse (Nicky Lancaster) is delighted to be performing with Dead Writers! Recent Credits include F***ing A (UrbanTheater, understudy/perf), Bullet Time Glitter Party (Second City Training Center), Young Playwrights Festival (Pegasus Players), The Real Thing (Writers’ Theatre, understudy/perf). Kaelan has also performed with ShawChicago, RedTwist Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Polarity Theatre, Halcyon Theatre, Theatre-Hikes, First Folio Theatre, and many other wonderful companies. He recently completed two feature films - Hogtown and In Between Engagements. He is a graduate of the Conservatory at The Second City and Northwestern University. Kaelan is a member of the Dead Writers Theatre Collective. www.kaelanstrouse.net  Rob Cramer (Pauncefort Quentin) a director and actor joins the Dead Writer Theatre Collective. Rob has appeared at the Theatre of Western Springs in Lady Windermere’s Fan as Lord Windemere and Sly Fox as Lawyer Craven both under the direction of Dead Writers Artistic Director, Jim Schneider. Rob recently has been seen as the mourning cab driver Ralph in Low, Rob Tobin’s adaptation of Anton Chekov’s Misery which won CityLit Theatre’s Art of Adaptation Festival 2010. His directing credits include Closer at BoHo Theatre, The Caretaker at The Viaduct Theatre and The First “Wharton Follies” at the University of Pennsylvania. Other acting credits include: Boniface, Hotel Paradiso; King Creon, Antigone; Alan Conway, Time and the Conways; the Herald, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella; and Dromio of Ephesus, The Comedy of Errors. Other acting credits include The Tempest, Noises Off, After Magritte, Arrow of Love and Tom Jones. Rob is a member of the Dead Writers Theatre Collective.  Teri Schnaubelt (Helen Saville) is elated to be working with Dead Writers Theatre Collective and Jim Schneider for their inaugural performance. Teri recently appeared in Clockwise Theatre’s Palmer Park. A SAG-AFTRA actress and Voiceover talent, Teri has acted in dozens of commercials and industrials including Wisconsin Dells, Harris Bank, and Proctor & Gamble. Teri won a first prize in the Mad Men Video Contest in 2009, which can be viewed on her website, www.terischnaubelt.com. In addition to serving on SAG’s Organizing Committee, Teri is also an assistant organizer for the Chicago Acting in Film Meetup—a “working actors only” group of about 200 actors that meets once a month for networking and business support. Teri is a Guest Artist for Dead Writers Theatre Collective.  Danny Pancratz (Tom Veryan) is excited to be a part of The Vortex and the inaugural season of the Dead Writers Theatre Collective. A proud Iowa native, Danny has previously been seen with Oak Park Festival Theater, Circle Theater, Chamber Opera Chicago and is a passionate member of the upstart Unrehearsed Shakespeare Company. When he's not performing, you can often find Danny in section 242 of Wrigley Field, living and dying with every pitch. Danny is a member of the Dead Writers Theatre Collective. DannyPancratz.com.  Skye Shrum (Bunty Mainwaring) is delighted to work with The Dead Writer's Theatre Collective on this amazing project. Lately she has been engrossed in the film world working with 137 Films and Diesel Brothers Films. Most recently seen on stage at The Artistic Home in Bots, and The Last Dance as well as their production of Incomplete and Random Acts of Kindness; she has also recently worked with the good people at Seanachia Theatre. A Summa Cum Laude Drama/Philosophy graduate of The University of St. Thomas, some of Skye’s favorite rolls include Hecuba in Trojan Women, Carnelle in The Miss Firecracker Contest, Lt. Brannigan in Guys and Dolls, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Stella Livingston in Light Up the Sky, Millie Owens in Picnic, and Bagheera in The Jungle Book. Skye is a Guest Artist of the Dead Writers Theatre Collective.  Bradford Lund (Bruce Fairlight) is a Chicago and regional actor with credits including The Invasion of Skokie at Chicago Dramatists; Mauritius, at Theatre Squared; All My Sons and Not Enough Air with TimeLine Theatre, u/s; The Philadelphia Story at Remy Bumppo, u/s; Lord Goring An Ideal Husband (Non-Equity Jeff Nominee and Best Supporting Actor) directed by Jim Schneider; Escanaba in Love, Simon in Hay Fever and Leo in Jim Schneider’s production of Design for Living; and The Judas Kiss at Circle Theatre; Assassins at Porchlight, Gaudy Night Lifeline; Twelfth Knight and Romeo & Juliet: TYA, First Folio Shakespeare; A Christmas Carol Provision; Prairie Lights for Stage Left and The Sound of Music with Chamber Opera Chicago and Waiting for Lefty with the American Blues Theatre. Bradford is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf and the Second City Conservatory. He received a B.F.A in Acting from Wright State University. Bradford is a member of the Dead Writers Theatre Collective.  Noah Sullivan (David Lancaster)is delighted to be a part of The Vortex. Recent credits include Claude in The Baker’s Wife (Circle Theater), Mr. Stanley in The Man Who Came to Dinner (Circle Theater), General Harrison Howell in Kiss Me Kate(Circle Theater), and Sherriff Earl Dodd in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Circle Theater), for which he earned a Jeff nomination. Notable past credits include theroles of Decker in Bleacher Bums, (Open Door Repertory), Eichmann in C.P. Taylor’s Good, (Open Door Repertory), and Burton Strauss in Rebecca Gilman’s Spinning Into Butter,(Open Door Repertory). Noah is a Guest Artist of the Dead Writers Theatre Collective.  Betsy Pennington (Clara Hibbert) trained at Mountview Academy of Dramatic Arts, London. West End Credits: Isabel in Pirates of Penzance, Peep Bo in The Mikado and Fleta in Iolanthe (all at the Gielgud) other London credits include Jordan in Gatsby, Lina Lamont in Singin’ in the Rain, Listen to my Heart and Annie Ross in Twisted (one-woman show). Tours include: Lulu/Betty Blast in Footloose (European tour), My Fair Lady (Cyprus and Singapore), Kate in Pirates of Penzance (US/Canadian tour), Peep Bo in The Mikado (US tour) and The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s The Complete Millennium (Abridged) (UK tour). TV credits include My Hero (BBC). Betsy is delighted to be joining this wonderful production of The Vortex! Betsy is a Guest Artist of the Dead Writers Theatre Collective.  Hillary Sigale (Preston) a native of Flossmoor, Illinois is making her professional stage debut in tonight’s performance of The Vortex. Former appearances have included Scotland’s Fringe Festival, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Program, London where she trained in stage combat and fencing, Shakespearean acting and text analysis and voice and appeared there as Lucetta in Two Gentlemen of Verona. At Homewood-Flossmoor High School Hillary has appeared in many major productions and currently is a student at Washington University in St. Louis, performing in The Threepenny Opera, Kid Peculiar,Isn’t it Romantic? and The Woods are for Suckers andChumps. Hillary is a Guest Artist of the Dead Writers Theatre Collective.  Joanna Rioplle (Florence Lancaster/Clara Hibbert US) is delighted to be working with Dead Writers Theatre Collective. Chicago-area roles include Bananas in The House of Blue Leaves with Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Miss Maudie in To Kill a Mockingbird with Chase Park Theatre, Queen Elizabeth in Richard III with Chicago Shakespeare (understudied and performed role), Aunt Sally in Fifth ofJuly with Infamous Commonwealth Theatre, Mrs. Magi in Mrs. Magi with Light Opera Work’s Midwest New Musicals, Maxine Clifton in My Kinda Town with Nothing Special Productions, the Nanny in Antigone with Muse of Fire, and Ronnie in Love in the Middle Ages with Village Players. She is also a cabaret and opera singer and has performed at Davenports, the Noble Fool and Hot House and with Chicago Chamber Opera and Skylight Opera Theatre. Joanna is a Guest Artist for the Dead Writers Theatre Collective.   Ben Muller (Nicky Lancaster, Tom Veryan, Bruce Fairlight US) is an ensemble member of Piccolo Theatre in Evanston, where he has appeared as the Stationmaster in The Cherry Orchard, Ambassador Snoozer in Space Wars: The Panto, Pulcinella in Servant of Two Masters, and Sir Guy of Gisbourne in Robin Hood: The Panto. Other regional credits include Detective Fix in Around the World in 80 Days with Theatre-Hikes, and Oberon/Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Queer Tale with MidTangent Productions. Ben holds a BFA in acting from The Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Ben is a Guest Artist with the Dead Writers Theatre Collective. |
