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Biographies

Yu Shibagaki (she/her/hers) (Scenic Design)+ is a NYC based set designer, originally from Nagoya, Japan.  Recent designs include 1919 (Steppenwolf for Young Adults); Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Studio Theatre); Dishwasher Dreams (Hartford Stage); Her Honor Jane Byrne (Lookingglass Theatre); America v.2.1 (Definition Theater); School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play (Goodman Theatre); I, Banquo, I, Cinna (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); and more. http://www.yushibagaki.com/ 

Mara Blumenfeld (she/her/hers) (Costume Designer; Ensemble Member)+ has designed costumes for over 45 Lookingglass productions, including such company favorites as Lookingglass Alice, The Arabian Nights, Metamorphoses, and Cascabel. Based in Chicago, she has designed numerous productions for Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Writers Theatre, and Court Theatre. A frequent collaborator with fellow Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman, their credits include the Broadway and Off-Broadway productions of Metamorphoses, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci at Second Stage Theatre, and Rusalka, Lucia di Lammermoor and La Sonnambula for the Metropolitan Opera. Regional credits include: 12 seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and numerous productions at the McCarter Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Asolo Repertory Theatre, and the Weston Playhouse, among others. Internationally, her work has been seen in Canada (Stratford Shakespeare Festival), the UK (Barbican Center and Donmar Warehouse), France (Opera du Rhin), Italy (Teatro alla Scala), Australia (Melbourne Theatre Company), China (Wuzhen Theatre Festival), and Japan (K-Ballet and Disney TokyoSea). She is the recipient of four Jeff Awards, and the Michael Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration. 

John Culbert (he/him/his) (Lighting Designer)+ John Culbert returns to Lookingglass Theatre where he previously designed Argonautika and S/M.  Other Chicago credits include: Arsenic and Old Lace, The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice, The Adventures of Augie March, The Hard Problem, All My Sons, Caroline Or Change,  and  Carousel at Court Theatre; White Guy on the Bus and A Civil War Christmas at Northlight Theatre; Twelfth Night and Arcadia at Writer’s Theatre; Regina at Lyric Opera of Chicago; Having Our Say, Two Trains Running, and Objects in the Mirror at the Goodman Theatre. Regional credits include productions with: Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Long Wharf Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, McCarter Theatre and Shakespeare Theatre Company. International credits include productions with Singapore Repertory and Opera National du Rhin. Other projects include the lighting design for the Chicago Park District’s Buckingham Fountain. John served as a faculty member and Dean of The Theatre School at DePaul University for many years. 

Deon Custard (he/him/his) (Co-Sound Designer) After completing BAs in English and Theatre (Directing) at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, Custard graduated in the spring of 2021 and began PhD study at Northwestern University. In addition to his work as a PhD student, Deon is a freelance director, lighting & sound designer, dramaturg, and teaching artist who has worked with Steppenwolf, the Goodman, and Underscore Theatre Company, among others. 

Brandon Reed (he/him/his) (Co-Sound Designer) is a composer/sound designer based in Chicago. His regional credits include productions for Goodman Theatre, American Players Theatre, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Cape Fear Regional Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Constellation Stage & Screen, Chautauqua Theater Company, and more. His Chicago credits include Northwestern University, Windy City Playhouse, Underscore, About Face, Congo Square, Teatro Vista, and much more. He was nominated for a Jeff Award in 2016 and was the recipient of the 2019 USITT Robert Cohen Sound Achievement Award. He’s a member of both United Scenic Artists, Local 829 (USA829), and the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association (TSDCA). MFA: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, BS: Ball State University. www.brandonreedsounddesign.com

Katie Klemme (she/her) (Stage Manager)^ is pleased to make her Lookingglass debut with Villette. Recent Chicago credits include Tiger Style!, Wife of a Salesman, Into the Woods (Writers Theatre); Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley, Intimate Apparel, Mr. Dickens' Hat, The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, Landladies (Northlight Theatre); If I Forget, Indecent (Victory Gardens); Mr. Burns, The Realistic Joneses, others (Theater Wit). She was resident production stage manager at American Theater Company from 2008-2018 where highlights included the world premieres of Disgraced (Pulitzer Prize), The Project(s), and columbinus (Chicago and ArtsEmerson, Boston). National & Regional credits include Hamilton: An American Musical (Eliza Tour, Sub); Mamma Mia!, Much Ado About Nothing (Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival); Sorin: A Notre Dame Story (National Tour); Mother and Me (Geva Theater Center, Rochester, NY). She is on the faculty at Loyola University Chicago and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. 

Casie Morell (she/her) (Stage Manager Cover)^ is excited to join the Stage Management team for Villette. Most recently, she has worked at the Marriott Theater, Third Ave Playworks in Sturgeon Bay, WI, and Victory Gardens. A proud Nashville native, Casie has also worked at the Drury Lane, the Mercury Theater, 16th Street, the Chicago Children’s Theatre, First Folio, Theatre at the Center, Porchlight, Music Theatre Works, and with the Northwestern Opera. She has also worked regionally at the Clarence Brown Theatre in Knoxville, TN, The Weidner Center in Green Bay, WI, and Peninsula Players Theater. Thanks to the folks at Lookingglass for this opportunity! 

Hai Alvarez-Millard (she/her) (Assistant Stage Manager)^ is thrilled to make her Lookingglass debut! Select past Chicago credits include It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago (American Blues Theatre, ASM), The Last Match (Writers Theatre, ASM), Sunset Boulevard (Porchlight Music Theatre, ASM), Hedwig and the Angry Inch and The Bridges of Madison County (Theo Ubique, PSM). Hai received her BFA in Stage Management from SUNY Purchase and is now also represented by 10MGMT for modeling. She thanks her friends and family for their constant love. 

Madie Doppelt (she/her) (Assistant Director) is a Chicago-based theater and circus artist. She is a recent graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University, where she earned a BFA in Playwriting and BA in English Literature. Madie is the Associate Artistic Director of the Actors Gymnasium, the place she has always considered her artistic home. Recent credits include: Sub-Culture (Playwright, Interrobang Theatre Project), I and You (Dramaturg, DePaul University), and Matilda the Musical (Circus Consultant, Northwestern University). She is thrilled to be working on her first show at Lookingglass!

Wenke (Coco) Huang (she/her) (Dramaturg/Cultural Consultant) is a recent graduate from Northwestern University, having majored in Performance Studies and Art History. Born and raised in Beijing, China, she is currently based in Chicago and working as a freelance dramaturg and performance-maker. It's her pleasure to aid the brilliant cast and team of Villette in unraveling and shaping this story. She designed and performed in The Garden of the Phoenix, a toy theatre short film featured in Lookingglass’ 50 Wards Series. Other credits include The Gospel at Colonus (Dramaturg) and The Island (Assistant Director) at Court Theatre, The Seagull (Assistant Dramaturg) at Steppenwolf Theatre, and When the Sun Melts Away (devised with Token Theatre). 

Heidi Stillman (she/her/hers) (Artistic Director; Lookingglass Ensemble Member) has been Artistic Director for nearly seven years. A writer, director, and used-to-be actor, Heidi most recently directed the World Premiere of Act(s) of God. She has both written and directed for Lookingglass: Hard Times, Cascabel, The North China Lover, Hephaestus, The Brothers Karamazov, and The Master and Margarita. Additional writing credits with Lookingglass include: The Last Act of Lilka Kadison, The Old Curiosity Shop, and The Baron in the Trees. Directing work with Lookingglass includes: Death Tax, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Trust, The Wooden Breeks, and Hillbilly Antigone. Heidi’s adaptation of The Book Thief premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. She directed Minita Gandhi’s Muthaland for Silk Road Rising Solos and Victory Gardens Theater’s Ignition Festival, CAATA/ConFEST, and at 16th Street Theatre. She co-wrote and directed The Year I Didn’t Go to School at the Chicago Children’s Theatre. 

Rachel L. Fink (she/her/hers) (Executive Director) has served as Lookingglass Theatre Company’s Executive Director since 2018, and along with the dedicated staff, Board and Ensemble, has led Lookingglass through the tumultuous past few years from shutdown to rebuilding and reemergence.  

A strong advocate of leadership development and cultural policy, she previously was the Managing Director of Theatre Bay Area, serving more than 300 theatres and 2,000 artists across the San Francisco Bay Area.  

Prior to her time at Theatre Bay Area, Rachel spent 16 years at Berkeley Repertory Theatre where she founded and grew the School of Theatre into a nationally-recognized learning hub which incubated programs exploring global citizenry, active advocacy, professional development, arts skill-building, leadership training, and community engagement – all using the lens of theatre.  

Rachel has held professional distinctions including selection as a Fellow at the Civic Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago / Harris School of Public Policy, the US delegate for the British Council’s Cultural Leadership International Programme, as a member of the American Express/Aspen Institute Fellowship for Emerging Nonprofit Leaders, and as a 2016 artEquity cohort member. She is a League of Chicago Theatres board member, has served on the board of Theatre Bay Area, and has planned numerous national professional convenings for emerging arts leaders.  

She has spoken on conference panels for Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and TBA and served on grant review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and TCG. She was also recognized for her regional work as a 2013 “Face of Theatre Bay Area,” and alongside Lookingglass Artistic Director Heidi Stillman, was recognized as New City Stages’ 50 Players in 2022. 

Earlier in her career, Rachel worked at theatres across the United States including the Yale Repertory Theatre, International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Long Wharf Theatre, Lyric Opera Cleveland, and the Cleveland Play House. Rachel holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Case Western Reserve University and an MFA in Theater Management from the Yale School of Drama. 

*Member of Lookingglass Theatre Company, Ensemble Member or Artistic Associate. 

^Member of Actors' Equity Association (AEA), the union for professional actors and stage managers. 

+ Member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829 of the IATSE. 

Biographies

Yu Shibagaki (she/her/hers) (Scenic Design)+ is a NYC based set designer, originally from Nagoya, Japan.  Recent designs include 1919 (Steppenwolf for Young Adults); Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Studio Theatre); Dishwasher Dreams (Hartford Stage); Her Honor Jane Byrne (Lookingglass Theatre); America v.2.1 (Definition Theater); School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play (Goodman Theatre); I, Banquo, I, Cinna (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); and more. http://www.yushibagaki.com/ 

Mara Blumenfeld (she/her/hers) (Costume Designer; Ensemble Member)+ has designed costumes for over 45 Lookingglass productions, including such company favorites as Lookingglass Alice, The Arabian Nights, Metamorphoses, and Cascabel. Based in Chicago, she has designed numerous productions for Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Writers Theatre, and Court Theatre. A frequent collaborator with fellow Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman, their credits include the Broadway and Off-Broadway productions of Metamorphoses, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci at Second Stage Theatre, and Rusalka, Lucia di Lammermoor and La Sonnambula for the Metropolitan Opera. Regional credits include: 12 seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and numerous productions at the McCarter Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Asolo Repertory Theatre, and the Weston Playhouse, among others. Internationally, her work has been seen in Canada (Stratford Shakespeare Festival), the UK (Barbican Center and Donmar Warehouse), France (Opera du Rhin), Italy (Teatro alla Scala), Australia (Melbourne Theatre Company), China (Wuzhen Theatre Festival), and Japan (K-Ballet and Disney TokyoSea). She is the recipient of four Jeff Awards, and the Michael Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration. 

John Culbert (he/him/his) (Lighting Designer)+ John Culbert returns to Lookingglass Theatre where he previously designed Argonautika and S/M.  Other Chicago credits include: Arsenic and Old Lace, The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice, The Adventures of Augie March, The Hard Problem, All My Sons, Caroline Or Change,  and  Carousel at Court Theatre; White Guy on the Bus and A Civil War Christmas at Northlight Theatre; Twelfth Night and Arcadia at Writer’s Theatre; Regina at Lyric Opera of Chicago; Having Our Say, Two Trains Running, and Objects in the Mirror at the Goodman Theatre. Regional credits include productions with: Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Long Wharf Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, McCarter Theatre and Shakespeare Theatre Company. International credits include productions with Singapore Repertory and Opera National du Rhin. Other projects include the lighting design for the Chicago Park District’s Buckingham Fountain. John served as a faculty member and Dean of The Theatre School at DePaul University for many years. 

Deon Custard (he/him/his) (Co-Sound Designer) After completing BAs in English and Theatre (Directing) at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, Custard graduated in the spring of 2021 and began PhD study at Northwestern University. In addition to his work as a PhD student, Deon is a freelance director, lighting & sound designer, dramaturg, and teaching artist who has worked with Steppenwolf, the Goodman, and Underscore Theatre Company, among others. 

Brandon Reed (he/him/his) (Co-Sound Designer) is a composer/sound designer based in Chicago. His regional credits include productions for Goodman Theatre, American Players Theatre, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Cape Fear Regional Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Constellation Stage & Screen, Chautauqua Theater Company, and more. His Chicago credits include Northwestern University, Windy City Playhouse, Underscore, About Face, Congo Square, Teatro Vista, and much more. He was nominated for a Jeff Award in 2016 and was the recipient of the 2019 USITT Robert Cohen Sound Achievement Award. He’s a member of both United Scenic Artists, Local 829 (USA829), and the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association (TSDCA). MFA: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, BS: Ball State University. www.brandonreedsounddesign.com

Katie Klemme (she/her) (Stage Manager)^ is pleased to make her Lookingglass debut with Villette. Recent Chicago credits include Tiger Style!, Wife of a Salesman, Into the Woods (Writers Theatre); Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley, Intimate Apparel, Mr. Dickens' Hat, The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, Landladies (Northlight Theatre); If I Forget, Indecent (Victory Gardens); Mr. Burns, The Realistic Joneses, others (Theater Wit). She was resident production stage manager at American Theater Company from 2008-2018 where highlights included the world premieres of Disgraced (Pulitzer Prize), The Project(s), and columbinus (Chicago and ArtsEmerson, Boston). National & Regional credits include Hamilton: An American Musical (Eliza Tour, Sub); Mamma Mia!, Much Ado About Nothing (Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival); Sorin: A Notre Dame Story (National Tour); Mother and Me (Geva Theater Center, Rochester, NY). She is on the faculty at Loyola University Chicago and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. 

Casie Morell (she/her) (Stage Manager Cover)^ is excited to join the Stage Management team for Villette. Most recently, she has worked at the Marriott Theater, Third Ave Playworks in Sturgeon Bay, WI, and Victory Gardens. A proud Nashville native, Casie has also worked at the Drury Lane, the Mercury Theater, 16th Street, the Chicago Children’s Theatre, First Folio, Theatre at the Center, Porchlight, Music Theatre Works, and with the Northwestern Opera. She has also worked regionally at the Clarence Brown Theatre in Knoxville, TN, The Weidner Center in Green Bay, WI, and Peninsula Players Theater. Thanks to the folks at Lookingglass for this opportunity! 

Hai Alvarez-Millard (she/her) (Assistant Stage Manager)^ is thrilled to make her Lookingglass debut! Select past Chicago credits include It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago (American Blues Theatre, ASM), The Last Match (Writers Theatre, ASM), Sunset Boulevard (Porchlight Music Theatre, ASM), Hedwig and the Angry Inch and The Bridges of Madison County (Theo Ubique, PSM). Hai received her BFA in Stage Management from SUNY Purchase and is now also represented by 10MGMT for modeling. She thanks her friends and family for their constant love. 

Madie Doppelt (she/her) (Assistant Director) is a Chicago-based theater and circus artist. She is a recent graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University, where she earned a BFA in Playwriting and BA in English Literature. Madie is the Associate Artistic Director of the Actors Gymnasium, the place she has always considered her artistic home. Recent credits include: Sub-Culture (Playwright, Interrobang Theatre Project), I and You (Dramaturg, DePaul University), and Matilda the Musical (Circus Consultant, Northwestern University). She is thrilled to be working on her first show at Lookingglass!

Wenke (Coco) Huang (she/her) (Dramaturg/Cultural Consultant) is a recent graduate from Northwestern University, having majored in Performance Studies and Art History. Born and raised in Beijing, China, she is currently based in Chicago and working as a freelance dramaturg and performance-maker. It's her pleasure to aid the brilliant cast and team of Villette in unraveling and shaping this story. She designed and performed in The Garden of the Phoenix, a toy theatre short film featured in Lookingglass’ 50 Wards Series. Other credits include The Gospel at Colonus (Dramaturg) and The Island (Assistant Director) at Court Theatre, The Seagull (Assistant Dramaturg) at Steppenwolf Theatre, and When the Sun Melts Away (devised with Token Theatre). 

Heidi Stillman (she/her/hers) (Artistic Director; Lookingglass Ensemble Member) has been Artistic Director for nearly seven years. A writer, director, and used-to-be actor, Heidi most recently directed the World Premiere of Act(s) of God. She has both written and directed for Lookingglass: Hard Times, Cascabel, The North China Lover, Hephaestus, The Brothers Karamazov, and The Master and Margarita. Additional writing credits with Lookingglass include: The Last Act of Lilka Kadison, The Old Curiosity Shop, and The Baron in the Trees. Directing work with Lookingglass includes: Death Tax, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Trust, The Wooden Breeks, and Hillbilly Antigone. Heidi’s adaptation of The Book Thief premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. She directed Minita Gandhi’s Muthaland for Silk Road Rising Solos and Victory Gardens Theater’s Ignition Festival, CAATA/ConFEST, and at 16th Street Theatre. She co-wrote and directed The Year I Didn’t Go to School at the Chicago Children’s Theatre. 

Rachel L. Fink (she/her/hers) (Executive Director) has served as Lookingglass Theatre Company’s Executive Director since 2018, and along with the dedicated staff, Board and Ensemble, has led Lookingglass through the tumultuous past few years from shutdown to rebuilding and reemergence.  

A strong advocate of leadership development and cultural policy, she previously was the Managing Director of Theatre Bay Area, serving more than 300 theatres and 2,000 artists across the San Francisco Bay Area.  

Prior to her time at Theatre Bay Area, Rachel spent 16 years at Berkeley Repertory Theatre where she founded and grew the School of Theatre into a nationally-recognized learning hub which incubated programs exploring global citizenry, active advocacy, professional development, arts skill-building, leadership training, and community engagement – all using the lens of theatre.  

Rachel has held professional distinctions including selection as a Fellow at the Civic Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago / Harris School of Public Policy, the US delegate for the British Council’s Cultural Leadership International Programme, as a member of the American Express/Aspen Institute Fellowship for Emerging Nonprofit Leaders, and as a 2016 artEquity cohort member. She is a League of Chicago Theatres board member, has served on the board of Theatre Bay Area, and has planned numerous national professional convenings for emerging arts leaders.  

She has spoken on conference panels for Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and TBA and served on grant review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and TCG. She was also recognized for her regional work as a 2013 “Face of Theatre Bay Area,” and alongside Lookingglass Artistic Director Heidi Stillman, was recognized as New City Stages’ 50 Players in 2022. 

Earlier in her career, Rachel worked at theatres across the United States including the Yale Repertory Theatre, International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Long Wharf Theatre, Lyric Opera Cleveland, and the Cleveland Play House. Rachel holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Case Western Reserve University and an MFA in Theater Management from the Yale School of Drama. 

*Member of Lookingglass Theatre Company, Ensemble Member or Artistic Associate. 

^Member of Actors' Equity Association (AEA), the union for professional actors and stage managers. 

+ Member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829 of the IATSE.