Othello - Production Staff

Russ Banham (Director)

SSC: Bill’s Birthday Bash (Emcee), Twelfth Night (Director)

A director, writer and actor, Russ directed Twelfth Night at Seattle Shakespeare Company in 2003, and adapted and directed both Ethan Frome and Romance with Double Bass for Book-It Repertory Theater. For seven years, Russ was the artistic director of Montana Players Inc., overseeing 28 productions and directing nine plays at the Missoula theatre company, including Speed of Darkness, House of Blue Leaves and Sylvia. He directed Loot for Spokane’s Interplayers, Hubcaps for Montana Repertory Theatre, assorted summer stock musicals and farces at the Bigfork Playhouse, and was a teaching fellow at the University of Montana, directing Seagull, What the Butler Saw, and others. Russ has an MFA in directing and an MA in Drama Theory and Criticism. Acting credits include the Broadway production of The Merchant with Zero Mostel. Off-Broadway roles include David in Sticks and Bones, Sebastian in Twelfth Night, Hadrian in Hadrian’s Hill and Peter in Night Over the Tiber. Russ co-starred as Brad in the NBC sitcomJoe’s World, mercifully canceled after one season, and to his dying lament will best be remembered as big-haired Crockett in the cult Bill Murray movie Meatballs. The author of nine books, Russ’ latest, The Ford Century, a biography of the Ford dynasty, landed him on The Today Show and won the Best History award from the Publishers Marketing Association in 2004.

Anthony R. Marsters* (Stage Manager)

SSC: Love’s Labour’s Lost, As You Like It

This is Anthony’s third show with Seattle Shakespeare Company. He graduated with a BS in Theatre Arts from the University of Idaho with an emphasis in Stage Management and Directing. Anthony has worked at Idaho Repertory Theatre and Colorado Shakespeare Festival.

John Kirshenbaum (Scenic Designer, Technical Director)

SSC: Love’s Labour’s Lost, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear, Measure for Measure, Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, The Tempest

John is honored to be in his third season at Seattle Shakespeare Company building playgrounds for talented actors.

Deborah Skorstad (Costume Designer)

SSC: King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, Richard II , Wild Oats, The Merchant of Venice

Deborah designs for many Seattle theaters as well as working as a costumer for the University Of Washington. Favorite design projects include: Candida, The Spitfire Grill, The Man Who Was Thursday and Much Ado About Nothing for Taproot Theatre; The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale for Wooden O Theatre; When I Grow Up I’m Gonna Get Some Big Words, The Wrestling Season and Into The West for Seattle Children’s Theatre.

Tim Wratten (Lighting Designer)

SSC: Love’s Labour’s Lost, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear, Measure for Measure, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet

Tim loves to play with light and is delighted to return to Seattle Shakespeare Company to light Othello. Having worked in British rep theatres (Bristol Old Vic, Manchester Library, Coventry Belgrade) for many years, in 1996, Tim and family decided to come and play in Seattle (the weather is the same). Since then he has completed over 40 shows, including designs for the Empty Space Theatre, New City Theatre, Seattle University, and the Alliance Theatre Atlanta.

Marleigh Driscoll (Properties)

SSC: Love’s Labour’s Lost, Kate and Isabel, Macbeth, Two Gentlemen of Verona

Marleigh is delighted to be back working with Seattle Shakespeare Company again. She has been a stage manager and assistant director at Book-It Repertory Theatre for I Am of Ireland, Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant, and In a Shallow Grave, as well as the Flying Karamazov’s Fun House at A.C.T. She also designed props for Wooden O Theatre’s productions of Othello, Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It, The Tempest, Love’s Labour’s Lost, and Julius Caesar. Marleigh has a Master’s Degree in Architecture and worked for seven years as the Production Manager for the Drama Department at North Seattle Community College.

Kimberly White (Voice and Text Director)

SSC: Love’s Labour’s Lost, As You Like It, King Lear

Kimberly has worked with Shakespeare’s text over the past 16 years as coach, teacher, director, and producer. She has taught and coached for the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington, Freehold, University of British Columbia, Otterbein College, and the Korean University of the Arts. Kimberly spent the past five summer seasons in Idaho where she directed and coached for Sun Valley Shakespeare Festival, a company she co-founded in 2000 and served as its Artistic Director for several years. She was Associate Director on Richard III for Harvard/Radcliff University at the Loeb Theatre. She has been a faculty member with Shakespeare and Company (Lenox, Mass.) for eleven years and worked as “Lamentation Coach” for their ground-breaking production of Richard III. Kimberly has also worked with Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Children’s Theatre and served as Co-Director of the local innovative youth program Young Shakespeare Workshop. Kimberly is a Designated Linklater Voice Teacher. She is the proud mother of Hannah.

Lenore Bensinger (Dramaturg)

SSC: Love’s Labour’s Lost, As You Like It, King Lear, Measure for Measure

Lenore is a playwright and dramaturg. This is her fourth show with Seattle Shakespeare Company. Other recent dramaturgy includes Pride and Prejudice and Travels with Charley, both directed by Jane Jones for Book-It, and Rhinoceros at the Capitol Hill Arts Center (John Farrage directing). She is currently writing As Your Doctor, a play about the pharmaceutical industry and revising her 2004 Fringe/ACT play SEED about the Greek earth goddess, Demeter, and her daughter, Persephone.

Gordon Carpenter (Fight Choreographer)

SSC: As You Like It (Charles/Silvius)

Gordon is happy to be working for Seattle Shakespeare Company once again. He staged the wrestling match in the fall production of As You Like It as well as playing the roles of Charles The Wrestler and Silvius. In addition to acting at many local theatres over the years, his fight directing credits include Henry IV Part One, Romeo and Juliet, and Taming of the Shrew with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks and Twelfth Night at Tacoma Actors Guild. He is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors.

Susanna Wilson (Assistant Director)

SSC: Shakespeare’s Top Ten (co-creator)

An actor, director, teacher, and mother, Susanna has directed locally for Wooden O Theatre, Annex Theatre, Theater Schmeater, Theatre Babylon, SecondStory Repertory, and Book-It Repertory Theatre. Susanna was most recently seen trodding the boards in Village Theatre’s Steel Magnolias, and will be co-directing Pirates of Penzance this spring for SecondStory Rep with artistic director Stan Gill. This summer, she will be directing Twelfth Night for Wooden O’s Shakespeare-in-the-Parks. Susanna is married to actor/teacher James Lapan, and they have an energetic six-year old.

Miller Freeman (Production Assistant)

SSC: Debut

Miller most recently stage managed for Book-It’s production of Rebecca, and their season opener, Waxwings, as well as Cinderella Stories and Pink & Say for Book-It All Over. Miller has also acted and stage managed for several shows at Theater Schmeater (most recently in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), for the University of Washington’s PATP class of 2003, and at several other theatres around Seattle.

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.