The Taming of the Shrew - Cast Biographies

In alphabetical order

Dale Bowers (Pedant / Widow)

SSC: Love’s Labour’s Lost (Sir Nathanial)

Dale is a 35-year veteran of the stage. He holds a Master’s Degree in Theatre Arts from Washington State University. He has taught Speech and Oral Interpretation at the college level. Dale most recently appeared in the SecondStory Repertory’s production of Arsenic and Old Lace. Some of his favorite roles include Scrooge in Scrooge: The Musical, Pappy Yokum in Li’l Abner, and Mayor Shinn in The Music Man.

Mark Dias (Hortensio / Officer)

SSC:The Taming of the Shrew (Hortensio - 03)

Locally, Mark has appeared at the Group Theatre in NWWYP, in References to Salvador Dali at Empty Space Theatre, and has been a part of the 14/48 theatre festival as a director and actor. Recently he directed the IN-G production of Two for the Seesaw. Mark was also a founding member of the Offstage Actors Group based in Hawaii; performances there included Pale in Burn This, Nick in Bodies, Rest, and Motion and Father Dan in Jeffrey. In Honolulu, Mark also appeared as Victor in Private Lives at the Diamond Head Theatre and as rookie cop Vincent Allegro in the very bad TV show One West Wakkiki.

David Goldstein (Tranio)

SSC: The Taming of the Shrew (Tranio - 03), Twelfth Night (Sir Andrew Aguecheek), Romeo and Juliet (Balthazar), Much Ado About Nothing (Verges)

David is happy to be working again with Seattle Shakespeare Company and this wonderful cast and crew. Other Shakespeare credits include The Tempest (Trinculo) with Wooden O Theatre. David has appeared locally with Book-it Repertory Theatre, ArtsWest, Theater Schmeater, Seattle Public Theater and others.

Keith Dahlgren (Baptista)

SSC: Richard III (Murderer), Much Ado About Nothing (Dogberry)

Keith has been involved in the Puget Sound theatre community since 1978, when he graduated from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA with a degree in Theatre. Keith was the General Manager of Village Theatre at the Everett Performing Arts Center from 1999 to 2004. Prior to that he was the Managing Director and one of the founding members of Unexpected Productions. He has acted and directed with over twenty companies in the Puget Sound area, including Bellevue Civic Theatre, Exchange Theatre, New City Theatre, Renton Civic Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Public Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Tacoma Actors Guild, and Village Theatre. He married his college classmate Kerin and is still married after 26 years. They have three beautiful and intelligent daughters: Ann, Emily, and Audrey.

Timothy Hornor (Grumio)

SSC: Debut

Tim is very pleased to be making his first appearance with Seattle Shakespeare Company. He received his BA in Theatre Arts from Whitworth College in Spokane and his MFA in Acting from the University of Nebraska. Past Shakespeare credits include Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, Macduff in Macbeth, and Angelo in Measure for Measure. Other favorite roles include Floyd in Floyd Collins, Elyot in Private Lives, and Snoopy in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Tim can also be seen improvising at Unexpected Productions’ TheatreSports at the Market Theatre and hosting the late-night television show RainierVision on UPN 11.

Chris Laxamana (Biondello)

SSC: The Taming of the Shrew (Officer, Servant - 03)

Chris is honored to be back with Seattle Shakespeare Company for the remount of The Taming of the Shrew. He’s recently had the pleasure of working with Book-It Repertory Theatre in Red Ranger Came Calling and the Seattle Children’s Theatre in Tibet Through the Red Box. Chris received his BFA from Cornish College of the Arts. Apart from acting, Chris spends the rest of his time working in television and film production.

Charles Leggett (Gremio)

SSC: King Lear (Fool); The Taming of the Shrew (Gremio - 03); As You Like It (Charles the Wrestler, Martext- 95)

A Seattle resident of sixteen years, Charles is pleased to return to Gremio in this most manly of productions. He recently appeared in the Seattle Repertory Theatre’s renderings of The Constant Wife and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. He has worked at Seattle Children’s Theatre, Empty Space Theatre, Book-It Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Tacoma Actors Guild, Village Theatre, Wooden O Theatre, and Capitol Hill Arts Center. His voice-over work is featured in such games as Dungeon Siege and Hoyle’s Casino Empire, and he appeared in last year’s locally made independent feature, Evergreen, an official Sundance entrant. Charles holds a B.F.A. from Carnegie-Mellon, plays blues harmonica, and is happily married to Sheila Daniels.

Cecil Luellen (Vincentio / Curtis)

SSC: The Taming of the Shrew (Vincentio - 03)

Cecil has recently been seen in several productions, including Driving Miss Daisy and To Kill A Mockingbird with Village Theatre. He also played the role of Oscar Charleston in Lee Blessing’s play Cobb and Blackamore in Meet & Greet at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center. Other favorite productions include The Life and Death of King John, True West, In A Shallow Grave, I’ll Be Back Before Midnight, Inspecting Carol, West Side Story, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, Godspell and Black Nativity, among others.

George Mount (Kate)

SSC: King Lear (King of France/Doctor), The Taming of the Shrew (Kate - 03, Tranio - 96 tour), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Slender), Romeo & Juliet (Paris - tour), Richard III (Richmond), Macbeth (Witch)

George is pleased to return to this production of The Taming of the Shrew. Other area Shakespeare credits include Cassius in Julius Caesar, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, Caliban in The Tempest and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, all for Wooden O Theatre, a free Shakespeare in the Parks company which he founded in 1994, and still serves as Artistic Director. He recently appeared in Waxwings at Book-It Repertory Theatre and also played Tom in The Glass Menagerie at SecondStory Repertory. As a director, George has staged Wooden O’s Julius Caesar, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, among others. In addition to his work onstage for Seattle Shakespeare Company, he also pitches in administratively as Education Coordinator. He has an MFA in Acting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Beethovan Oden (Bianca)

SSC: Love’s Labour’s Lost (Longaville), Measure for Measure (Lucio), The Taming of the Shrew (Bianca - 03), Shakespeare’s Top Ten

Beethovan is proud to be making his return to Seattle Shakespeare Company. He is a native of Oakland, California and is enjoying his stay in the Emerald City. A Cornish College of the Arts graduate, he has worked locally with Wooden O Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Taproot, Seattle Opera, Book-It All Over and Theater Schmeater. This fall, Beethovan will be appearing in Riff Raff directed by Aimee Bruneau.

Michael Patten (Petruchio)

SSC: The Taming of the Shrew (Petruchio - 03, Christopher Sly - 97), Twelfth Night (Malvolio)

Michael is very grateful to return to Seattle Shakespeare Company to reprise the role of Petruchio in this production. Other Seattle credits include Noises Off, The Odyssey, and Pygmalion at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant at Book-It Repertory Theatre, and Bernardo in Zastrozzi for AHA! Theatre. He has also performed around the country at The McCarter Theatre Center, The Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Huntington Theatre, Tacoma Actors Guild, Camden Shakespeare Festival and Mill Mountain Theatre. Film credits include Inheritance, Highway, Georgia, Prefontaine, The Beans of Egypt, Maine and Countdown. TV credits include Gordy Tuefel in The Commish (Seasons 1-3), The Highlander and As The World Turns.

Nathan Smith (Lucentio)

SSC: Debut

The Taming of the Shrew marks Nathan’s first production with Seattle Shakespeare Company, of which he is very excited to be a part. Recent credits include Anna in the Tropics at Seattle Repertory Theatre, True West at Spokane Interplayers Ensemble, Love’s Labour’s Lost with Wooden O Theatre, The Devil & Billy Markham (his one-man show at Re-bar), Tom & Jerry and Hurly Burly at iDiom Theatre and Cowboy Mouth at the old Speakeasy backroom. You can also see Nathan as the young Norwegian tutor in the Film Company’s upcoming feature film We Go Way Back. Nathan graduated with a degree in acting from Western Washington University and now lives and works in Seattle.

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