Emily Zhang (she/her) is a Chicago based actor and is excited for her first show with Strawdog! Some favorite Chicago credits include Hannah and Halmoni Save the World at Filament Theatre, Flush at Campfire Repertory, Blood of My Mother’s and RACECAR RACECAR RACECAR at Bramble Theatre Company, Woo Girls at The Factory Theater, and Among the Dead at Jackalope Theatre. She performs in improv and sketch comedy shows around town as a proud member of Asian Takeout Improv, and is also a producer and workshop leader with Asian American Arts Chicago. She is a Northwestern graduate and is represented by Gray Talent Group.

Olivia Lindsay is an actor, clown, and violinist. She's worked with companies such as The New Theatre Project (UNCLE VANYA, FAR AWAY, upcoming: BLACKBIRD), Bramble, Avalanche (playwright), Young Krones, Lookingglass, among others. Offstage, Olivia works as a healthcare clown for Vaudeville Chicago; an organization that treats those living with Alzheimer's and dementia through the power of music and laughter. Olivia is a proud graduate of the Professional Circus Training Program at The Actor’s Gymnasium. She is represented by Gray Talent Group. More at olivialindsay.com.

Naomi Zhanel Kalter is a Chicago-based actress and is thrilled to be joining as an understudy for The F*ck House. She recently played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet with GreatWorks Theatre Company and collaborates as an artistic associate at The Village Theater. Other credits include The Merry Wives of Windsor (Anne Page) and Romeo and Juliet (Ensemble) with American Players Theatre as part of their 2023 Acting Apprenticeship, as well as A Christmas Carol (Fan), Much Ado About Nothing (u/s Hero), and Nativity Variations (u/s Jules) as an Emerging Professional Resident at Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Naomi is grateful to be working with such a talented team!

Maddy Brown (she/her) is a Chicago-based actor and dramaturg. Recent credits include The Singularity Play (u/s Heidi/Jules), Trial in the Delta (Carolyn), and a short on The Onion. She is a company member at Avalanche Theatre and a graduate of UNCSA.

PLAYWRIGHT

Susan H. Pak is a Chicago-based playwright, who received an MFA in writing for the screen and stage at Northwestern University. She received both a BA and a JD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Productions and readings of her work include: The F*ck House at Strawdog Theatre, The Name Jar at Stages Theater in Minneapolis, Masks Off at the Goodman Theater, Miguk Saram at Denver’s Local Lab 2021, Election at the Goodman Theater, The Fixer at the Steppenwolf Theater, Ghost Girl at the Workshop Theater, T.A.B. at New York’s Downtown Urban Theater Festival and the Manhattan Repertory Theater Festival, and Incredible Invisible at Chicago’s Bailiwick Director’s Fest.

Susan’s plays Miguk Saram and The F*ck House were both finalists at the 2020 and 2021 O'Neill National Playwrights Conference. Susan was also a member of the 2021/2022 Goodman Playwrights Unit, and the 2023/2024 BIPOC Resident Playwright at Strawdog Theatre Company.

DIRECTOR

CHRISTINA CASANO (she/her) is a 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: Dear Elizabeth (Remy Bumppo), I Build Giants, Poison (The Plagiarists), Henry IV Pt. 1 (Starling Shakespeare Co), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Stone Soup Shakespeare), Plaid As Hell (Babes With Blades), Grape Leaves (workshop, Avalanche) Socks & Co. (workshop, Eclectic Full Contact Theatre), Work in Progress (workshop, The Plagiarists) How To Murder… (workshop, Bramble Theatre), Blood of My Mother’s (workshop, Wayward Sisters), Deep Shadows (audio drama, EFCT), Fame Heaux (staged reading, Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival). Other favorite projects: Short Shakes! Romeo & Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Some Like It Red, The Epic of Gilgamesh (The Plagiarists), How To Defend Yourself (Victory Gardens), Bury Me (Dandelion Theatre), The Light Fantastic (Jackalope Theatre). She is the Creative Producer for Remy Bumppo. www.cmrcasano.com

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Mariah Koss (She/Her) is a Chicago based director and is so excited for her first show with Strawdog! Recent directing credits include How to Defend Yourself (Snails on a Bike), Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons (Snails on a Bike), and Holly Daze 2024 (Corn Productions).

MOVEMENT DIRECTOR AND ACCESSIBILITY DIRECTOR

Ellie Levine (she/her) is a director and teaching artist with a focus on devising, physical theatre, and puppetry. She has recently led devising processes for exciting new works and adaptations, including Splish, Splash (Northwestern University), Growing Pains (Columbus Children’s Theatre), The Little Prince (Improv Playhouse), and Deep Sea Melody (Arts on the Horizon). Ellie is a teaching artist with Chicago Children’s Theatre, Lookingglass, and Filament Theatre. She is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University, teaching Theatre for the Very Young. Ellie received her masters from the University of Kent in England, where she wrote her dissertation on cultivating curiosity and joy in the creative process.

INTIMACY AND VIOLENCE DIRECTOR

MADISON HILL (they/them) – is jazzed to be the Intimacy and Violence Designer with Strawdog Theatre Company! You may have seen Madison’s work in other spaces such as Raven Theatre Company, Babes with Blades Theatre Company, The Plagiarists, Kerfuffle TVY, and Imagination Theater. Most recently, Madison was the Assistant Fight Choreographer for A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Babes with Blade Theatre Company, and coming up they will be in the ensemble of DREAM HOU$E at Refracted Theatre Company. They have multiple certifications with the Society of American Fight Directors, and regularly attend workshops and classes with the SAFD. As a designer and an actor, Madison draws on their experiences on both sides of the table to inform their practice as a multi-disciplinary artist. Madison is thankful for their partners, chosen family, and their sweet little black void of a cat.

SCENIC AND PROPS DESIGNER

PROPS ASSISTANT

LIGHTING DESIGNER

ELLIE HUMPHRYS she/they (Lighting Designer) graduated in 2012 with a BFA in Lighting Design from The Theatre School at DePaul University and has been working the Chicago theatre scene ever since. Ellie is delighted to be involved in their premier design with Strawdog Theatre Company. Other design credits include "Wise Guys", "Die Hard 4 Your Luv", and "Last Night in Karaoke Town" (The Factory Theatre), "Sweet Charity", "A Bright Room Called Day" and "On the Twentieth Century" (Blank Theater) "Think Fast, Jordan Chase!" and "Gather" (Filament Theatre), "Detour Guide" (Silk Road Rising/Stage Left Theatre), "Hellcab" (The Agency Theatre Collective), "Valhalla" and "When You Awake You Will Remember Everything" (The Plagiarists), "The Portrait of Madame X" and "RUR" (Lookingglass Theatre Youth Ensemble), and "Evolution of a Sonero" (Urban Theater Company/Latino Theater Company) in both Chicago and Los Angeles. Love and gratitude to her partner, Shelby, for her endless support.

SOUND DESIGNER

COSTUME DESIGNER

Aly Amidei is a Strawdog ensemble member and Board president. She is an Associate Professor of Costume Design and the Artistic Director of University Theatre at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a costume designer and playwright, her focus is on new works and re-envisioned classics. She has designed at Lifeline Theatre, Steep Theatre, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Children's Theatre of Madison, Michigan Shakespeare Festival, and Irish Theatre of Chicago, to name a few. Favorite Strawdog designs include: Tooth of Crime, Three Sisters, Barbecue, and Detective Story. She is a regular writer for Strawdog's Hit Factory and a co-writer of Strawdog's Masque Macabre. Aly is a proud member of USA 829.

MUSIC CONSULTANT

STAGE MANAGER

Emily Szymanski (she/her) is thrilled to be working with Strawdog for the first time! Originally from Milwaukee, she holds her BA in Comprehensive Theatre from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. SM/ASM credits include Chicago Sings!, Fun Home (Porchlight Music Theatre), Coronation (Refracted Theatre Company), When You Awake You Will Remember Everything, The Wordshop (The Plagiarists), The Lisbon Traviata (Sunstone Studios Milwaukee), and Medea (UWEC). Directing credits include Legally Blonde (Greenfield High School), Murder by Midnight (UWEC), and Alice in Wonderland (Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild). UWEC acting credits include Silent Sky, Head Over Heels, The House of Blue Leaves, Hand to God and more. Emily is also an independent music artist. Listen to her debut album, “my coping mechanism” on all streaming services now! IG: emilys.acts

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

CASTING DIRECTOR

KARISSA MURRELL MYERS (she/her) is Filipino-American theatre artist from Boise, Idaho who works as a playwright, actor, producer, and casting director here in Chicago. She serves as the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Bramble Theatre Company, and a Board Member for the League of Chicago Theatre. She teaches theatre at the University of Illinois Chicago. MFA in Performance from University of Hawaii at Manoa, BA in Theatre Arts from Boise State University, and graduate of The School at Steppenwolf. Member of the Dramatist Guild and SAG-AFTRA. www.kmurrellmyers.com

PRODUCTION MANAGER

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

PRODUCER