Marcella Barbeau (she/her) (Lighting Designer) is a New York City based lighting designer and excited to make her Chicago theatrical design debut. Recent credits include Rigoletto (Opera Columbus), Maria de Buenos Aires (Opera Columbus, Opera San Antonio), Cabaret, As One, The Threepenny Opera, The Threepenny Carmen (World Premiere) (The Atlanta Opera), You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown (Village Theatre), The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (co-design, Austin Opera), Five Guys Named Moe (Playhouse on Park), Murder on the Orient Express, Meet Me in St. Louis: A Live Radio Play (Sierra Repertory Theatre), Trayf (New Repertory Theatre). Upcoming projects: Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s 2023 Season. She received her Master of Fine Arts at Boston University. As a Chinese-American lighting designer, Marcella actively seeks to collaborate with and amplify the voices of fellow BIPOC artists of all intersectionalities.
R&D Choreography (Violence Design) is a Chicago-based violence design company comprising partners Victor Bayona (he/him) and Rick Gilbert (he/him). We are as ebullient as Snoopy at Suppertime to be back at Lookingglass, after designing violence for Her Honor Jane Byrne. R&D was founded in 1997 for the purpose of improving the power and effectiveness of Chicago area theatre through the art of violence design – choreographing better fights for better shows. We have designed violence for over three hundred productions and films. Our work has been seen at dozens of Chicago area theatres, including 16th Street, Backroom Shakespeare Project, Chicago Opera Theatre, Chimera, Citadel, Factory, Goodman, Haven, Hell in a Handbag, Lifeline, Metropolis, Oak Park Festival, Oil Lamp, Pride Films and Plays, The Paramount, Piven, Steep, Strawdog, and Theo Ubique.
Paul Deziel (he/him/his) (Projections Designer)+ is a New York and Chicago based projection designer. Selected design credits: Into the Woods, Hand to God (Paramount Theater), The Color Purple (The Muny), The Great Leap, Eureka Day (Asolo Rep), I Hate It Here (Goodman Theatre), Photograph 51 (Court Theatre), P.Y.G. or the Mis-Edumacation of Dorian Belle (Jackalope Theatre Company), X, Tilikum (Sideshow Theatre Company), The Vagrant Trilogy (Mosaic Theatre Company), Sotto Voce (Theater J), Churchill (SoloChicago), United Flight 232 (The House Theatre), and Mutt (Stage Left Theatre & Red Tape Theatre). Paul is the recipient of two Jeff Awards and holds an MFA in Projection and Multimedia Design from the University of Maryland. He is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829 and is an Artistic Affiliate with American Blues Theater. Outside of theatre, Paul enjoys game design and eating lahmacun. Pauldeziel.com
Katrina Herrmann (she/her/hers) (Stage Manager)^ is happy to be back at Lookingglass after working on The Steadfast Tin Soldier. Chicago credits: The Comedy of Errors, All’s Well That Ends Well, As You Like It (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Seussical the Musical, Rock of Ages (Drury Lane Theatre); The Hundred Dresses, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Chicago Children’s Theatre); The Royale (American Theater Company). Regional credits: Diana the Musical, Queens, The Cake, At the Old Place (La Jolla Playhouse); The Garden, Twisted Melodies (Baltimore Center Stage). Off Broadway: The Flick (Barrow Street Theatre); The Flick, The Whale, The Big Meal, Completeness, The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World, Kin, The Burnt Part Boys, Circle Mirror Transformation (Playwrights Horizons); Close Up Space (Manhattan Theatre Club); In the Wake (The Public Theater). Katrina is a working mom, an alum of The Theatre School at DePaul University and a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Gaby Labotka (she/her/hers or anything respectful) (Intimacy Director) is an actor, director, choreographer, and more based in Chicago and working across the country. She is a fierce advocate for respect, empathy, representation, inclusion, and safety in the theatre, and so she is dedicated to making art that reflects that.
Recent Selected Intimacy and/or Fight Direction credits include: Paradise Square (Broadway); Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Steep); House of Joy (Repertory Theatre St. Louis); Revenge Song (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); La Ruta (Steppenwolf); First Deep Breath (Victory Gardens); Hamlet (The Gift Theatre); A Story Told in Seven Fights (Neo-Futurists); The Gulf (AboutFace); Kentucky (The Gift); NewStages 2021 (Goodman); In the Blood (Red Tape Theatre); Kniky Boots(Paramount); Night in Alachua County (WildClaw Theatre); and Romeo and Juliet (Teatro Vista).
Recent Directing credits include: Revenge Song and Peter and the Starcatcher (Oregon Shakespeare Festival [Assistant Director]); The Wonder (Eclectic Theatre); Groups of Ten or More People (Littlebrain); Tilikum (Sideshow Theatre Company [Assistant Director]); Wasteland Hero (Reutan Collective); [Trans]formation (The Living Canvas); and The Dictionary Project.
Selected Performance credits include: Groups of Ten or More People (Littlebrain); She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms (Signifying Nothing); The Legacy of Sherwood Forest (Inkwell Productions); Neverland (Prop Thtr); Much Ado About Nothing (Back Room Shakespeare Project); Romeo and Juliet (Teatro Vista); and The Hammer Trinity (The House Theatre of Chicago).
Gaby is a Certified Intimacy Director and Certification Pending Intimacy Coordinator with Intimacy Directors & Coordinators, an Advanced Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors, and the recipient of two Alliance of Latinx Theatre Artists Awards for Outstanding Fight Choreography. www.gabylabotka.com @theatre_warrior
Karissa Murrell Myers (she/her/hers) (Production Dramaturg and Cultural Consultant) is a theatre artist based in Chicago, where she works as an actor, playwright, producer, dramaturg, and casting director. She is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Bramble Theatre Company. Professional acting theatre credits include: Top Girls (Remy Bumppo); Pinocchio, Borealis (House Theatre of Chicago); Top Girls (Renaissance Theaterworks); Gloria, King of the Yees (Goodman Theatre, U/S); Othello (Invictus Theatre). Television credits include Chicago Med, Chicago PD, Electric Dreams, and The Exorcist. As a playwright, her work has been developed and/or produced at Strawdog Theatre, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, American Blues Theatre, The Gift Theatre, Silk Road Rising, Avalanche Theatre, Our Perspective: Asian American Plays, and Bramble. Karissa received an outstanding "New Work" Jeff Awards nomination for the world premiere of her play, On the Greenbelt. She was featured in American Theatre Magazine’s “Theatre Workers You Should Know” for her work in casting and in Newcity Stage's "Players 2023: Who Really Performs in Chicago Right Now." MFA in Performance from University of Hawaii, BA in Directing and Acting from Boise State University, and proud graduate of The School at Steppenwolf 2019. www.kmurrellmyers.com
Andre Pluess (he/him/his) (Sound Designer; Ensemble Member)+ is a composer/ sound designer based in Chicago. His credits include composition and sound design for numerous productions for Lookingglass, Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Northlight Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, About Face Theatre and many other Chicago and regional theaters. Broadway credits: Metamorphoses, I Am My Own Wife, 33 Variations and The Clean House (Lincoln Center).
Andre has received multiple Jeff Awards, an LA Ovation Award, Barrymore Award, Drama Critics Circle Award, and Drama Desk/Lortel nominations for composition and sound design. Recent projects include: The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Life Sucks, Mr. and Mrs. Pennyworth, Treasure Island, Title and Deed, Eastland: A New Musical, Cascabel, In the Garden: A Darwinian Love Story, Metamorphoses, and Peter Pan (A Play) (Lookingglass); Equivocation (Arena Stage); Stage Kiss and Jungle Book (Goodman Theatre); Endgame (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Milk Like Sugar (La Jolla Playhouse/ Playwrights Horizons); The Arabian Nights and Argonautika (Lookingglass, subsequent regional productions); Ghost Light, White Snake, King Lear, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); and Macbeth and Titus (California Shakespeare Festival).
Sully Ratke (she/her/hers) (Costume Design; Artistic Associate)+ is a Chicago-based theatre maker, and an artistic associate at Lookingglass Theatre Company and The Actors Gymnasium in Evanston. She has worked with various Chicago theatres including Steppenwolf, Drury Lane, Marriott, Irish Theatre of Chicago, and the Gift, among others. Her work has been nominated for awards in Chicago, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and St. Louis. She continues to write, create, and design in Chicago while teaching design at various institutions in and around the city, including The University of Chicago, Northwestern University, DePaul University, Columbia College, and North Central College. Follow her @sully.ratke and see more of her artwork and design at sullyratke.com and sullyratkestudios.com.
Yu Shibagaki (she/her/hers) (Scenic Design)+ is a NYC based set designer, originally from Nagoya, Japan. Recent designs include Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play (The Old Globe); The Sound Inside (Everyman Theatre); Villette (Lookingglass Theatre); 1919 (Steppenwolf for Young Adults); Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Studio Theatre); Dishwasher Dreams (Hartford Stage); Her Honor Jane Byrne (Lookingglass Theatre); School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play (Goodman Theatre); I, Banquo, I, Cinna (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); and more. Upcoming designs include Alice Bliss (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley); Madama Butterfly (Boston Lyric Opera); Dishwasher Dreams (The Old Globe) and more. http://www.yushibagaki.com/
Alexis Wiley (they/them, she/her) (Assistant Stage Manager) is ecstatic to be joining Lookingglass Theatre for this hilarious new musical. Working on a production with representation and discourse with fellow Asian Americans has truly been a moving and fulfilling experience. It’s also been fantastic having such a supportive and collaborative administration, production team, cast, and crew. HUGE shoutout to Katrina, Aaron, Sarah, and Nikolaj for being the best managers someone could ask for and being amazing and inspiring each in their own way. Favorite credits for Alexis include Shining in Misery (Capital City Theatre), 42nd Street and SPUNK (Roosevelt University CCPA), Into the Woods and Singing in the Rain (McLeod Summer Playhouse), Unto These Hills, Kong's Night Out (Pioneer Playhouse), and as resident ASM Cabaret, A Few Good Men, Murder for Two, Skeleton Crew, I and You, and Comedy of Tenors (Bristol Riverside Theatre). So much love and thanks to her family, friends, and partner for their everlasting support. Enjoy getting the music stuck in your head since Alexis has been singing it on loop for weeks!
Yiwen Wu (she/her/hers) (Research Dramaturg) is a dramaturg and scholar. She is currently a PhD student at the University of Chicago, in the joint program between Theater & Performance Studies and East Asian Languages & Civilizations. Yiwen finds her passion in amplifying Asian voices on contemporary stages, from translations and adaptations of classical works to new plays that explore what it means to be Asian in modern America. Her dramaturgical credits include Akutagawa (Chicago International Puppet Festival), The Chinese Lady (TimeLine Theatre), Hungry Ghost Festival (Lifeline Theatre), and The Feet of God (TimeLine Theatre). Yiwen is currently working as an associate producer at PlayGround-Chicago. She is thrilled to make her Lookingglass debut with this playful and powerful production.
*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.