Tag Archives: Memorial Hall

CINCINNATI, OH – Casting has been announced for the final two productions of Memorial Hall’s Resilience Staged Reading Series.

UGLY LIES THE BONE – Regional Premiere Drama
By Lindsey Ferrentino
Directed by Phillip Webster
The fight continues for a discharged soldier striving to recuperate her injuries and save the life she knew.
November 6, 9, 11, 14, 17; all performances at 8:00pm

Cast:

• Jess – Katie Groneman
• Kacie – Linsey Rogers
• Stevie – Noah Berry
• Kelvin – Aaron Whitehead
• Voice / Mom – Spring Starr Pillow

Veteran performer, playwright and educator Spring Starr Pillow highlights a cast of gifted young actors including Noah Berry, on pandemic hiatus from a national touring career including SPAMALOT and BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY. Active Know Theatre performer and Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati apprentice program alum Katie Groneman takes on the challenging role of Jess, who is recuperating her severe injuries from an IED explosion in Afghanistan. Talented actor and director Aaron Whitehead makes his second Resilience Staged Reading Series appearance on the heels of a memorable performance in CRY IT OUT, while busy multi-instrumentalist, actor and competitive pinball player Linsey Rogers makes her Memorial Hall debut.

SILAS, THE UNINVITED – World Premiere Reading
By Derek Snow
Directed by Daryl Harris
A black man imbued with the gift of time travel searches for freedom in three American eras.
November 10, 13, 16, 20, 21; all performances at 8:00pm

Cast:

• Silas LeTour – Geoffrey Barnes*
• Olivia Dotson – Jasimine Bouldin
• Vincent – Christine Dye*
• Marlene Hartfield – Burgess Byrd*

In what must be considered an all-star cast, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company member Geoffrey Barnes leads an ensemble of exceptional performers who are well-known to Cincinnati audiences. Burgess Byrd has appeared memorably on nearly all the region’s major stages, including recent turns at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, The Human Race Theatre Company and as part of Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s “Monologues of Hope” program. Christine Dye’s exceptional gifts as an actress may be belied by her regular gig in Miami Valley Gaming’s “lucky buckeye” campaigns, but she has nonetheless established herself as one of the Queen City’s finest acting talents, having appeared recently at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, Clifton Performance Theatre and in Kevin Crowley’s SARGE at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. A company member of OTRImprov, and frequent performer in the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, Jasimine Bouldin makes her Memorial Hall debut as Olivia, the fearless and passionate love interest of Silas.

Actor and Director Biographies

GEOFFREY BARNES* (Silas, SILAS) is thrilled to be a part of this project and to have the opportunity to work with this wonderful group of artists! Credits include: Gabriel in FENCES, A FLEA IN HER EAR, MACBETH and THE WINTER’S TALE with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Other credits include MARIAN: OR THE TRUE TALE OF ROBIN HOOD at Know Theatre of Cincinnati, HANDS ON A HARDBODY (Ronald McCowan) with Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, Seattle Children’s Theatre, the ZACH Theatre in Austin, Texas, American Globe Theatre and the Storm Theatre Company in NYC. “Be well, stay safe, and yes…please wear a mask. Thank you.”

NOAH BERRY (Stevie, UGLY LIES THE BONE) has spent the last four years touring the country in various musicals and regional productions. Before the pandemic, he could be seen in the National tour of BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY (Jerry Allison). Other favorite tours and regional credits include the National tour of SPAMALOT (Ensemble), LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (Seymour), [TITLE OF SHOW] (Hunter Bell), and THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE (Leaf Coneybear). Noah is very thankful to be able to bring a bit of art to these troubling times. Much love to his family, friends, and his Sunshine.

JASIMINE BOULDIN (Olivia Dotson, SILAS) is a Cincinnati native who attended Northern Kentucky University to obtain a BA in Acting. After taking a five-year hiatus from performing, she’s been making strides to be more present in Cincinnati’s acting scene. She’s been a member of OTRImprov since 2017. She made her Cincinnati Fringe Festival debut in 2018 and has since also appeared in the Festival with Performance Gallery in KUMFERTED (2019) and HIVE MIND (2020). She’s been featured in independent films such as “Slasher” (written and directed by Jonathan Rowan, 2019) and “Wildfire, OH” (written by David James, 2019).

BURGESS BYRD* (Marlene Hartfield, SILAS) is delighted to perform with a great group of folks in a show that’s not over a Zoom call. Recent credits: “Monologues of Hope” Cincinnati Playhouse in The Park, “Say Their Names” with Pones, Monologues For Us By Us with Cincinnati Black Theatre Collective, GLORIA: A LIFE at Human Race Theatre, and THE FROG PRINCESS at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati. Some of her favorite credits include SKELETON CREW (Faye) with Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, A RAISIN IN THE SUN (Lena) with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, MERCHANT OF VENICE (Shylock) with UT Austin, AVENUE Q (Gary) with Showbiz Players, and the solo show PRETTY FIRE (Charlayne) with Know Theatre of Cincinnati. “Thank you for being here!”

CHRISTINE DYE* (Vincent, SILAS) is delighted to be part of this production alongside fellow actors for whom she holds great admiration. She is an actress who has enjoyed a 30-year career on stage and has now added film and television to her resume as well. She takes get pride in reading the words of her longtime friend, Derek Snow. She would also like to show her gratitude to you, the audience for supporting this project, and hopefully many more to come.

KATIE GRONEMAN (Jessie, UGLY LIES THE BONE) is a proud Cincinnati native and graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington where she studied performance. She is an Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati acting apprentice alumna, who has also been seen at Know Theatre Cincinnati in Serials and as part of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. shows. She is very excited to have just finished recording THE ELECTION OF MS. REBECCA’S THIRD GRADE CLASS as an audio play for the Know. She has filmed commercials for Macy’s, Gold Star Chili, Bob Evan’s, KY Lottery, and Cradle Cincinnati, to name a few. Recent film credits include the Amazon Prime series “Wildfire” and the movie “Hard Kill” starring Bruce Willis Some of her favorite performance moments to date are RABBIT HOLE (Izzy), the off-Broadway tour of THE JEWELER’S SHOP (Anna), and recording her own stories for FBi Radio when she lived in Australia. Follow along on IG: @katie_groneman

DARYL HARRIS (Director, SILAS, THE UNINVITED) is a Full Professor in the Theatre and Dance Program in the School of the Arts (SOTA) at Northern Kentucky University. He is a 52-year veteran of traditional, experimental, educational, and applied theatre. He has studied and worked throughout North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. In addition to teaching diverse interdisciplinary theatre courses, Daryl also acts in, directs and costume-designs theatrical productions. His primary passion: engaging scholars and communities transculturally and transnationally across disciplines.

LINSEY ROGERS (Kacie, UGLY LIES THE BONE) is so thankful for this opportunity to return to live theatre! AKA The Wandering Linstrel, she has performed professionally all over the world as a violist, fiddler, pianist, vocalist, and actress. Locally she has worked with Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Cincinnati Landmark Productions, and The Carnegie. Favorite local theatre credits include DARKEST NIGHT AT THE GNARLY STUMP (Band), JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (Annas), THE WINTER’S TALE (Musician), and GUYS AND DOLLS (General Cartwright). She is also a competitive pinball player and co-hosts the What The Flip pinball stream on Twitch. She’d like to thank the countless people who have supported her crazy career choice, including you for keeping live theatre alive! http://www.facebook.com/TheWanderingLinstrel

SPRING STARR PILLOW (Voice / Mom, UGLY) graduated from Northern Kentucky University with a degree in Musical Theatre Performance and holds Master’s Credits from the University of Cincinnati in Education and Counseling. She is currently employed as the Education Specialist for Wordplay Cincy. Spring is a very active part of the initiative to combine theatre and education. She has developed several after school and in school workshops combining curriculum and drama in the Tri-state schools. Spring has worked for several tri-state theatres, including Ensemble Theatre, Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, Covedale Theatre, and The Showboat Majestic, and was a featured cabaret performer at The Celestial. Spring has also had the privilege of singing and writing with David Kisor, a prolific children’s song writer, on several nationally recognized CDs and play projects through Growing Sound. In her spare time, Spring enjoys writing poetry, short stories, plays and music, rehabbing old homes, singing with her band No Guarantees whenever possible, and spending time with her boys, Nick, Eli, and Max and her dogs, Sophie and Herman.

DEREK SNOW (Playwright, SILAS) has been in the Cincinnati theatre community as an actor, writer and director for over 35 years. A graduate of the School for Creative and Performing Arts, Derek then continued his education in New York City before returning after graduation to teach dramatic arts to inner-city youth in the public school system. He has been with the popular physical theatre group Performance Gallery for the past 18 years. His written work has been produced in Atlanta, New Jersey and Sydney, Australia. He recently had his latest short play, WIND KILL FACTOR, read for a sold-out audience at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, and is thrilled to be bringing SILAS, THE UNINVITED to audiences for the first time.

PHILLIP WEBSTER (Director, UGLY LIES THE BONE) is a musician, actor and all-around dilettante who’s been onstage and behind the scenes at the Horizon Theatre (Atlanta), the Georgia Shakespeare Festival, Prince George’s Co. Shakespeare in the Park, The Carnegie and New Stage Collective, among others. He is also veteran of the US
Air Force and a graduate of the Defense Language Institute’s Arabic program. Phillip is the creator of two podcasts, a historical news program called Queen City Bulletin and the upcoming Froghammer Shakespeare Radio Hour, a behind the scenes look at Northern Kentucky’s longest-running and most bizarre classical theatre company.

AARON WHITEHEAD (Kelvin, UGLY LIES THE BONE) is happy to be making his first appearance at Memorial Hall. Working by day at a Cincinnati non-profit, Aaron spends his evenings involved with as much theatre as possible. Some of Aaron’s recent local appearances include THE ELEPHANT MAN (Merrick) with Center Stage Players, THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS (Melvin) at Warsaw Federal Incline Theater, and DRY LAND (Janitor) at Clifton Performance Theatre. Aaron was rehearsing the role of Anthony in THE END OF THE RAINBOW at the Carnegie when COVID-19 hit, cancelling the show. Aaron was also scheduled to direct THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO at Mariemont Players, but this was rescheduled for autumn 2021. Aaron is glad to have the opportunity to be involved with theatre that has such strong social relevance as a means of speaking out for marginalized voices in these difficult times.

*Actor is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

Box Office
The series takes place in Memorial Hall’s opulent Green Ballroom, which offers a safe setting for up to 24 guests at socially distant tables. Seating is available for socializing groups of two or four; single tickets are not available. Patrons may reserve tables by making a pay-what-you-can donation; the recommended donation is $20.00 per patron. All net proceeds of the intimate productions will directly benefit the theater artists on stage and behind the scenes.

Seats may be reserved online at MemorialHallOTR.com, or by calling the Memorial Hall Box Office at 513.977.8838 (Tu – Fr, 1pm – 6pm).

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