THEWINTER’S TALE
Production Team Biographies

Mark Harrison (Director)

SSC: Debut

New York directing credits include a year as Resident Director of Playwrights Horizons, The Power Project in the NEXT WAVE Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (co-authored with Bob Berky), and two opera premieres at the Manhattan School of Music–The Yellow Wallpaper by Ronald Perera and Constance Congdon and The Sea Gull by Thomas Pasatieri and Kenward Elmslie. Regional productions include the premiere of Eric Overmyer’s In A Pig’s Valise at Center Stage in Baltimore, The Alchemist with the original Empty Space Theatre company, and Twelfth Night at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. International credits include Love’s Labour’s Lost for the Recklinghausen Ruhrfestspiele in Germany. Film credits: At Night the Sun Shines (co-authored with Guillermo Real), which premiered at the Director’s Guild of America and was featured in numerous film festivals; second unit photography for Fool’s Fire by Julie Taymor (American Playhouse and Sundance); and Ty Cobb by William Packard, which he directed for public television based on his production of the play at St. Clement’s Theatre in New York.

Melanie Taylor Burgess (Costume Designer)

SSC: Debut

Melanie is delighted to be collaborating with Mark Harrison. She has designed twenty-four productions for Seattle Children’s Theatre, including The Red Badge of Courage, The Big Friendly Giant, The Outsiders, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse, Pinocchio, The Midwife’s Apprentice and The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland. Also in Seattle, she has designed costumes for Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT Theatre, Seattle Opera, The Empty Space Theatre, Village Theatre, Tacoma Actor’s Guild, and The Group Theatre. Additionally she has designed for Idaho Theatre for Youth and Honolulu Theatre for Youth. As a visiting artist in Hawaii, she designed the operas: Green Eggs and Ham and Gertrude McFuzz for HTY and Hawaii Opera. Other operas include Il Matrimonio Segreto and The Begger’s Opera for the University of Washington School of Music. Melanie had received the Seattle Times Footlight award for best costume design of 1995 for Seattle Children’s Theatre’s production of Pinocchio and 2003 for The Empty Space Theatre’s production of Ming the Rude. She is also on the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts

Tim Wratten (Lighting Designer)

SSC: Much Ado About Nothing, Cyrano de Bergerac, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Othello, 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 this show. 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.

Jennifer Zeyl (Scenic Designer)

SSC: Debut

Jennifer was named “Best Scenic Designer in Seattle” by Seattle Weekly in 2005 and “One to Watch” at the Stranger’s 2005 Genius Awards. Regularly moonlighting as a costume designer, Jennifer holds a MFA in scenery design from the University of Washington and a BFA in design and directing from the University of Rhode Island. Her scenic and costume designs have been seen at Washington Ensemble Theatre, Intiman Theatre, The Empty Space Theatre, Benaroya Hall, Village Theatre, Book-It Repertory Theatre, Capitol Hill Arts Center, Civic Light Opera, Exchange Theatre, and A Theatre Under the Influence. She has also designed in various spaces for Annex Theatre, The Shunpike, Poisonous Toy Theatre and Alter Ego Productions. She is a founding Co-Artistic Director and the Resident Set Designer at Washington Ensemble Theatre. Jennifer recently directed In Disdress by Marya Sea Kaminski for the On the Boards New Works Festival, which toured in summer 2006 to the Myrna Loy Theatre in Helena, Montana.

Douglas N. Paasch (Puppet Designer/Director)

 SSC: Debut

Douglas has over 20 years of experience in professional puppetry, with extensive credits as a puppet performer, designer, builder, director, and consultant. Douglas’ recent projects include his first independent production, Infinite Noir, which he wrote and directed, and performing in Strawberry Theatre Workshop’s production of The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Douglas is best known to Seattle audiences for the many performances and creatures he has created at Seattle Children’s Theatre, where he has been the puppet master for the last 16 years, and where he is currently designing puppets for Sorcerers Apprentice and Goodnight Moon. In addition to his work at a variety of local and regional theaters, Douglas has also performed internationally in Bulgaria, Serbia, and China.

Marleigh Driscoll (Properties Designer)

SSC: Much Ado About Nothing, Cyrano de Bergerac, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Othello, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Kate and Isabel, Macbeth, The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Marleigh is delighted to be working with Seattle Shakespeare Company for the third full season. 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 ACT Theatre. She has also designed props for Wooden O for their last seven seasons, and served as Production Manager for the last two seasons, including their most recent productions of Hamlet and As You Like It. Marleigh also has a Master’s Degree in Architecture and spent seven years as Production Manager for the Drama Department at North Seattle Community College.

Wade Madsen (Choreographer)

SSC: Debut

Wade has been in Seattle teaching, performing, and choreographing since 1977. He has toured nationally with the Bill Evans Dance Company and with Tandy Beal & Company ,and he has performed with Amy O’Neal and Amii Legendre dance groups. Since 1979 Wade has been producing work with his own company, Wade Madsen & Dancers, along with various tours nationally and internationally. Wade has received grants and fellowships for choreography from King County Arts Commission and Seattle Arts Commission, Bossak Heilbron Foundation, and Allied Arts. Madsen has twice been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Choreographer Fellowship. Madsen’s choreography has been commissioned by Spectrum Dance Theatre, Arc Dance Company, Dance Gallery, Co-Motion Dance, Rockhopper Dance Company, Third Avenue Dance Company, D-9 Dance Collective, Lehua dance theatre, and Bill Evans Dance Company. Wade is currently a professor of dance at Cornish College of the Arts, where he has been on faculty since 1985. Wade also has been teaching in the Seattle area in various studios since 1977. He will be performing with Dayna Hanson in November at On The Boards.

Karl Fredrik Lundeberg (Composer)

SSC: Debut

Regional: Power Project (Brooklyn Academy of Music), King Stag, Jaques and His Master, The Changeling (American Repertory Theater), In a Pig’s Valise (Center Stage), Doll’s House, A Christmas Carol (American Conservatory Theater), A Flaw in the Ointment (Seattle Repertory Theater), Weights (Kennedy Center), King Lear (Portland Center Stage), The Moliere Comedies (Chicago Shakespeare Company/Schubert Theater), As You Like It (Old Globe Theater), Innocence of Ghosts (NYC Pan Asian Repertory Theater), The Old Matador (Arizona Theater Company), Company of Heaven, The Dazzle, The Drawer Boy, Major Barbara, Retreat from Moscow, View from the Bridge, The Real Thing, The Studio (South Coast Repertory Theatre). Los Angeles : Enigma Variations, Death and the Maiden, Bandido, Skylight,Hysteria, Moliere Comedies, Poison Tree, The Talking Cure, Closer, School for Scandal, Ten Unknowns, Stuff Happens (Mark Taper Forum), Perfect Wedding, Flight, Distant Shore (Kirk Douglas Theater), Romeo and Juliet, Measure for Measure, Midsummer Nights Dream (Ahmanson Theater). The Underpants, Take Me Out (Geffen Playhouse). International: Mitsui Festival (Japan), Biennale Festival (Venice), Perugia Festival (Italy), Castle Hill Festival (Essex), Next Wave Festival (NYC). Discography: Columbia Records (five albums). Film & Television: Paramount Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, UPN, CBS, NBC,ABC, Fox, PBS,BBC, NRK (Japan), Norwegian Broadcasting, Swedish National Radio.

M. Elizabeth Eller (Sound Designer)

SSC: Cyrano de Bergerac (Co-Sound Designer, Assistant to the Director), Richard III (Sound Board Operator), Romeo and Juliet (Production Assistant)

Elizabeth is thrilled to be back with Seattle Shakespeare Company. She is a nationally acclaimed theatre artist and has been recognized by the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC for her work. Elizabeth has worked at the O’Neill Theatre Center as a guest artist, and at a number of theaters in the Seattle area directing and designing. Some of her most recent work includes directing Romeo and Juliet for Paper Trail Productions’ Shakespeare on the Troll series and sound designing upstart crow’s critically acclaimed King John. In addition to her freelance work, she is also the co-founder/co-Artist Director of SMACK Productions. Elizabeth is, as always, deeply grateful for the support of her loved ones.

Kimberly White (Vocal/Text Director)

SSC: Much Ado About Nothing, Cyrano de Bergerac, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Othello, 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 Conservatory Theatre, 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/Radcliffe 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 and Seattle Children’s Theatre, and she 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.

Megan Smithling (Dramaturg)

SSC: Richard III

Megan comes to Seattle from the other coast. She worked as a teaching artist and company dramaturg with Hampshire Shakespeare Company in western Massachusetts. She also served as dramaturg for Hartford Stage Company’s My Hartford: The Oral History Project, a community-based exploration of the diverse communities of Hartford, CT. In addition to her work with Seattle Shakespeare Company, she has collaborated locally with Strawberry Theatre Workshop, Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT Theatre, and Book-It Repertory Theatre. In her free time, she teaches dramaturgy and research methods at Cornish College of the Arts and works for Theatre Puget Sound.

Rod Pilloud* (Stage Manager)

SSC: Cyrano de Bergerac, Richard III, The Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Rod has been a professional actor and stage manager for theatres around the nation over the past 30 years. He has worked with such companies as Seattle Repertory Theatre, Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, The Empty Space Theatre, Portland Repertory Theatre and A Contemporary Theatre.

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