our director |
Eric Mercado is a NY based director and designer with a focus of new work. He is dedicated to making work that is challenging, thoughtful, and approachable. Eric holds BFA from NYU Tisch where he studied at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School. He is thrilled to be working on another production with Stone Soup! He previously directed As You Like It (2014) The Comedy of Errors (2016) and Julius Caesar last season. Other directing credits include: Fruit of the Sea (Dixon Place; Barn Arts Collective; Wolfbane Productions; PortFringe), Butter Knife (Crashbox Theater Company), Uzume (La MaMa, Experiments 16), The Scientists (Geva, Rochester Fringe Festival; Chicago Fringe Festival; PortFringe; 1978 Maplewood Arts), Borrowed from the Sea (La MaMa, Puppet Slam), Not Without My Gallbladder (Robert Moss, Planet Connections Award for Outstanding Direction), In Memory (HERE Arts), Smartphones (Segal Theatre Center, CUNY PEN World Voices), Magic 8 Ball (The Brick, Tiny Theater Festival), Choking the Butterfly (Ninth Space), Open Up (Theater for the New City, Dream Up), Baby Plays the Banjo (Bleecker Street Theatre), and The Ape and the Child (Wings Theatre: Robert Moss). Eric served as Staff Director for Aquila Theatre’s 2011-12 tour of Macbeth and The Importance of Being Earnest and is a member of the 2016-17 SDC Foundation Observer Class.
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Hasanah Brown (intern/understudy) is a 16 year old homeschooler with a love for all things Shakespeare. Her favorite role is Viola in Twelfth Night, which she played when she was 9. She has also appeared in Much Ado and As You Like It, as well as staged readings of Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Measure for Measure and The Merchant of Venice, among others. She is thrilled to be interning with Stone Soup Shakespeare.
Ross Frawley (Petruchio) is excited to be on this adventure with Stone Soup Shakespeare. Since returning to Chicago, after obtaining his MFA from Florida Atlantic University, he has appeared with Three Crows Theatre in Our Country’s Good, Promethean Theatre in Gross Indecencies: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, with Idle Muse in their production of The Veil, traveled the country with Hampstead Stage’s Frankenstein, and currently performs theatre for young audiences in Julius Caesar, Number the Stars, Tubman, and Diary of Anne Frank with GreatWorks Theatre Company.
Nicole Goeden (Bianca/Tranio) is thrilled to be joining Stone Soup again for her fifth tour with the company! She looks forward to playing both a lover and a jester/muppet this year as she takes on the roles of Bianca and Tranio. Previous tours include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, As You Like It, and A Comedy of Errors. Currently based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Nicole has also worked with Classical Actor’s Ensemble, Open Window Theatre, Shakespeare & Company (MN), and Theatre Unbound, where she will be performing as Mariana, Julietta, and Barnardine in Measure for Measure before tour begins. Nicole holds a BA in Theatre with a Music Minor from College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University and an MA in Classical & Contemporary Text - Acting from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. She is a proud company member of Stone Soup Shakespeare. Nicole loves holidays, excessive laughter, and exploring the hidden gems in each tour town!
Samie Jo Johnson (Lucentio) is a fresh Chicago transplant having recently hiked, camped, and couch-surfed through every state west of Texas. Some of her favorite credits include several roles (with many quick changes!) in Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Greenstage in Seattle, a janitor searching for her place in the world in The Royal Society of Antarctica at the University of Evansville, and a runaway girl (literally) dancing through the streets of Italy in In. Sight. Out. with La Mama Umbria. Samie Jo has a BFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Evansville. She is thrilled to be working with Stone Soup Shakespeare! http://www.samiejojohnson.com/
Mark Maxwell (Baptista/Widow) is an actor, writer and teacher based in Chicago. He has recently appeared in productions by Cold Basement Dramatics, the Kinematics, Mercy Street Theatre Company, and the Jades. He is a founding member of the Electric Brain and co-creator of their site-specific funeral comedy, “We Regret to Inform You That Reza is Dead.” Currently, Mark is working on devising new plays with Theater Unspeakable and Rough House.
Mel McCray (Hortensio) graduated with a BFA in Acting from Missouri State University. She is simply a human who is passionate about other humans and theatre is her way of sharing it. She has done a lot of interactive theatre work with preteens, worked closely and performed with the Stl Black Rep Company, and is excited for her new adventures with Stone Soup Shakespeare!
Julia Stemper (Katherina) is so happy to be hitting the road once again with Stone Soup Shakespeare. As Founder and Artistic Director she's been lucky enough to do all the tours (and see all the readings). When she's not touring you can find her mostly in Chicago where she is also a company member with The Plagiarists and was most recently seen in Some Like It Red (a fast-paced farce that paired Shakespeare with Communism - who knew!?). Other Chicago theaters she has worked with include First Folio Theater, Red Tape Theatre and Lifeline Theatre, Ka-Tet. In 2016 Julia was a Guest Artist at Hope College, playing Prospero in their production of The Tempest. She holds a BA from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN and an MA in Classical & Contemporary Text - Acting from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. https://juliastemper.weebly.com/
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our artist |
Patricia Linehan is a rootin' tootin' midwestern wife, mom of 4 and an art dabbler. Her current favorite art form is stained glass, but she also enjoys painting, glass fusing, mixed media and random doodling. She currently calls Wisconsin home, but grew up in Southern Illinois (Go Terriers!) and studied education at Indiana University (Go Jaguars!)
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