Cast and Creatives

sara benbella

SARA BENBELLA (she/her/them/they) is so exited to be joining Stone Soup Shakespeare for their A Midsummer Night's Dream Tour. Most recently Sara worked with The Plagiarist as an Understudy for I Build Giants. Other acting credits include shows with; Eclectic Full Contact Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, and Epic 'O' Productions. They have also worked as a Director at Pride Films & Play and Cornservatory. And most recently worked as an ASM/Stage Manger Cover for Redtwist Theatre.
Playing: SNUG/LYSANDER/FAIRY

sofia carvajal

SOFIA CARVAJAL(she/her) is a new Jersey native that recently relocated to Chicago last year. Along with a passion for theater, she is also an aspiring music producer/songwriter and dj. She is extremely excited and grateful to be a part of this unique experience! Sofia would like to thank her family and her partner Emma for all of their love and support! She would also like to thank the cast and crew of stone soup for being so welcoming and supportive throughout this whole run!
Playing: SNOUT/DEMETRIUS/TITANIA

christina casano

CHRISTINA CASANO (she/her) is a freelance theatre artist based in Chicago. Her training includes a BA in Theatre from Miami University, Victory Gardens Theater’s Director’s Inclusion Initiative, and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's Summer Professional Training Program. Selected directing credits: I Build Giants and Poison (The Plagiarists), Blood of My Mother’s (workshop reading, Wayward Sisters), Deep Shadows (audio drama, Eclectic Full Contact Theatre), Anne Frank, Sleepy Hollow (GreatWorks), Fame Heaux (staged reading, Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival), Festival of Unfinished Works (Bramble Theatre), The Living Newspaper Festival (Jackalope Theatre), Fighting Words Festival (Babes With Blades). Other favorite projects: Some Like It Red and The Epic of Gilgamesh, etc. (The Plagiarists), How To Defend Yourself (Victory Gardens), Bury Me (Dandelion Theatre), The Light Fantastic (Jackalope Theatre). She is the Artistic Director of The Plagiarists and the Creative Producer at Remy Bumppo. www.cmrcasano.com.
DIRECTOR

tess galbiati

TESS GALBIATI (she/her) is so excited to get to play with Stone Soup for her second time! She is a Chicago theatre artist, most recently seen in When We Were Young and Unafraid with AstonRep. Favorite Credits include I and you (Wharton Performing Arts Center), Hamlet (Stone Soup), Doctor Faustus (Mythfest), The Wild Party (Front/Slash). Tess holds a BA with concentrations in writing and performance from Arizona State University. Watch her Hamlet Vlog Series on Tiktok @princesgumby
Playing: FLUTE/HIPPOLYTA/EGEUS/PUCK

olivia jackson

OLIVIA JACKSON (she/her) is a Chicago- based actor who loves reading in the park and chocolate milkshakes. Originally from Bellevue, Iowa; Olivia studied Literature and Theatre at Saint Mary's College then went on to train in improv and sketch comedy in Chicago. Catch her around the city with improv team, The Mermaids, or on Instagram, @livdawg3 
Playing: BOTTOM/THESEUS/HELENA/FAIRY

carina lastimosa

CARINA LASTIMOSA (she/her) is a San Francisco Bay Area native, currently residing in Chicago. This is her costuming debut! Primarily working as an actor, Chicago theatre credits include the world premieres of W.o.W. (Theatre Above The Law), Poison and I Build Giants (The Plagiarists). Selected SF/Bay Area theatre credits include: Sisters Matsumoto (Center REPertory Company), A Dreamplay (Cutting Ball Theater), Dogeaters (Magic Theatre), and as a performer/educator for Kaiser’s Educational Theatre. In all her work, Carina aims to celebrate and highlight the strength of Filipino/a/x-Americans. This mission has led her to branch out in other theatre disciplines such as playwriting and directing. In July 2021, her short play The White Room was selected as one of the recipients of Exposition Review’s Flash 405 contest which received an online publication and a production by Our Digital Stories. In July 2022, she will direct Sarah Lina Sparks’ short play Sunshine and The Sea of Lost Things for Ghostlight Ensemble’s Make/Believe festival. Carina is a recipient of the Theatre Bay Area TITAN Award and a graduate of Indiana University. Carina is represented by Lily’s Talent Agency. www.carinalastimosa.com
COSTUMER

AZUCENA REYES (she/her) is a Milwaukee based artist
​UNDERSTUDY/ALL ROLES

julia stemper

JULIA STEMPER (she/her) is Stone Soup's Artistic Director and Founder. She has performed and directed many tours and readings. A Chicago-based actor, and teaching artist, she is a company member with The Plagiarists, teaches yoga for Wildlight Yoga, and is the Grant Writer/Theater & Creative Writing Program Director for FAME Center. Select credits include I Build Giants, and Poison (The Plagiarists), Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed (Lifeline), Pericles (Shakespeare Project of Chicago), Romeo and Juliet (First Folio), and Moon Rhymes (Filament) in Chicago. Outside of Chicago she has performed in Heuristics in the Diner (Tron Theatre & Hampstead Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Arches) (UK); New Visions/New Voices Festival (The Kennedy Center), Star Spangled Banner (Smithsonian Museum of American History), The Drunkard (Solas Nua), Romeo and Juliet (Company III.ii), The Emperor Jones (American Century Theater), and Alice in Wonderland (Classika) (DC area). Julia served as a guest artist at Hope College in Holland, MI in their 2016 production of The Tempest. She holds a Masters in Classical and Contemporary Text-Acting from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and a BA from Macalester College.
www.juliastemper.weebly.com
Playing: QUINCE/HERMIA/OBERON/FAIRY

next performance:
wed, sep 7 - palmisano park (chicago - in partnership with night out in the parks)

full schedule