Macbeth

Faran Tahir has appeared in over 50 theater productions, 20 films and countless
television roles. He has a long history with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. He
appeared in the very first production of CSC in 1996 as Oberon/Theseus in A Midsummer
Night’s Dream.
Tahir was most recently seen as Baba in the Broadway production of The Kite Runner. He has also worked off-Broadway at Lincoln Center and Manhattan Theatre Club and in major theaters across United States such as American Repertory Theatre and Goodman Theatre. Tahir’s work ranges from classical to contemporary. In 2012, Tahir performed
the title role of Othello at Shakespeare Theatre Company to rave reviews. In summer of 2018, Tahir took on the title role of Richard III at Commonwealth Shakespeare Company for which he earned a nomination for Elliot Norton Awards for best actor, as well as the best actor nomination from IRNE awards. He received the 2010 Male Actor of the Year award and the 2010 Elite Asian Award in Canada. Tahir was also nominated for the Robert Prosky Award for Best Theatre Actor in 2000.
Tahir’s film credits include the President in Elysium (2013), with Matt Damon and Jodi Foster; Escape Plan (2013), starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone; Star Trek (2009); and as the unforgettably vicious nemesis in Iron Man (2008), opposite Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow. He can be seen in three upcoming
movies, The Martial Artist, The Window, and Coup!
Tahir’s work on television spans across all genres, with recurring roles on Scandal, Prison Break, Once Upon a Time, 12 Monkeys, American Crime, Satisfaction, Dallas and Warehouse 13, and over a100 guest lead appearances on shows like Supergirl, Blacklist, Criminal Minds, Elementary, Supernatural, Lost, NYPD Blue, Grey’s Anatomy amongst many others. He was awarded a “Voices of Courage and Conscience Award” from the Muslim Public Affairs Council and submitted by ABC network for a 2010 Emmy Award for his performance in Grey’s Anatomy.
Tahir was born in Los Angeles. He holds a B.A. in Development Studies from University of California, Berkeley, and an MFA in Theatre from Harvard University.

Joanne Kelly is from Bay D’Espoir, Newfoundland. Her recent television credits include Showtime’s “City on a Hill,” Apple TV+’s Emmy-nominated series “Severance,” and Epix’s “Godfather of Harlem.” Other favorite television credits include SyFy’s “Warehouse 13,” City TV’s “The Disappearance,” and “Slings and Arrows.” Film credits include Closet Monster, Runoff, Away from Everywhere, and The Bay of Love and Sorrows. She appeared onstage in Canada in Shakespeare by the Sea’s productions of Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, and Measure for Measure, HurlyBurly Theatre Company’s Macbeth, Same Plan Co-op’s Seven Stories, Castawayhorse Productions’ Oleanna, QED Theatre Co-op and Red One Theatre Collective’s Proof, and The Dynasty Collective’s House of Yes.

Marianna Bassham returns to CSC after appearing as Desdemona in Othello.  Other credits include Becoming Cuba (Huntington Theatre) and The Cherry Orchard with Actors’ Shakespeare Project where she is a resident acting company member.  She is an IRNE and Elliot Norton award winner and has worked with SpeakEasy Stage, New Repertory Theatre, Elm Shakespeare, The Lyric Stage, and many others.  Film: “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Olive Kitteridge”.

Jesse Hinson is excited to be making his CSC debut.  Merrimack Repertory Theatre: Christmas at Pemberly.  Speakeasy Stage Company: Shakespeare in Love.  Central Square Theatre: Photograph 51. Actors’ Shakespeare Project: Exit the King, The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale, King Henry VI Part 2, The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, Pericles, Twelfth Night, Antony and Cleopatra. New Repertory Theater: The Whipping Man, Holiday Memories. Greater Boston Stage Company: Seminar, Miracle on 34th Street. The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theater: As You Like It, Arcadia, The Winter’s Tale, Morality Play.  Berkshire Theatre Group: The Puppetmaster of Lodz, Moonchildren, Macbeth, The Einstein Project, A Christmas Carol. Georgia Shakespeare: Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Coriolanus, Cymbeline. Jesse earned an MFA in acting at Brandeis University and a BA in theatre at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA. He is an assistant teaching professor at Northeastern University.

Maurice Emmanuel Parent is an award-winning actor, director, educator and mentor with 20 years of professional experience. He has over 40 credits at theatres across the nation and abroad, having performed and directed for some of Boston’s oldest and most respected companies such as the Huntington Theatre Company, Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, SpeakEasy Stage Company, Lyric Stage Company, New Repertory Theatre, and Central Square Theater among others. His work as an actor has earned him two Elliot Norton Awards from The Boston Theater Critics Association, three Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) awards, and an ArtsImpulse Award. Parent’s history as an educator extends back nearly a decade. He’s taught for Northeastern University, MIT, The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Boston University and spent nearly 6 years as a Performing Arts Specialist in the Boston Public School System. Currently Parent is a full time Professor of the Practice in the Tufts Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies. Parent is the co-founder and Executive Director of The Front Porch Arts Collective, “a black theatre company committed to advancing racial equity in Boston through theater.” In its fifth season, “The Porch” has quickly become a well respected voice in the Boston theatrical landscape. www.MauriceParent.com

Joe Penczak is Artistic Director, Troupe of Friends. Regional Theatre: Macbeth (Hanover Theatre), A Lie Agreed Upon (Gamm Theatre). Film: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, Blood Feuds, and Maniac.

Daniel Rios Jr.

Eviva Rose (Charlie) is honored to have the opportunity to debut with the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. Previous credits include another Boston Common fan favorite, Make Way For Ducklings, with Wheelock Family Theater, and Peter Pan, Jr., (Michael Darling) with Sheehan Elementary School.

Lily Ayotte (Juliet) is excited to be making her CSC2 debut after participating in CSC’s 2022 Apprentice Program and the 2021 Virtual Apprentice Program. Theater: Into the Breeches!, Pilgrims of the Night, Seven Deadly Sins. Virtual: To Gather Apart, Noted. Film: Lightkeepers, UAP, Mr. Winslow’s Bell, I Want Time to Move Faster, When Max Met Lorelai. More info at lilyayotte.com

Nick Baum (Benvolio) is thrilled to be making their CSC debut in Romeo and Juliet! Nick is a New York-based actor who has performed regionally as Mercutio in Isle of Shoals Productions’ Romeo and Juliet as well as in Woodstock Playhouse’s M. Butterfly and A Charlie Brown Christmas. College credits include: John Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility as well as Jesus of Nazareth in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. More can be seen from Nick @nickbaumactor on most platforms and at nickbaumactor.com

John Blair (Mercutio/Prince/Sampson) is thrilled to work with CSC again after completing their Apprentice Program in 2022.  He will be reprising the role he played last summer in Romeo and Juliet, directed by Bryn Boice. Off-Broadway: On How to be a Monster, Macbeth. Training: NYU Tisch (Atlantic Theatre School, Stonestreet Studios, RADA). @johnblairdc

Elijah Brown (Lady Montague) is absolutely thrilled to be a part of CSC’s production of Romeo and Juliet!! He is in his last semester of Emerson College studying to get his BFA! Recent credits include: Men on Boats (Sumner), Marisol (Angel), This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing (Narrator), The Wolves (u/s #00,#13), Antigone (Creon) and As You Like It (Duke Senior) – Emerson College. 

Annika Burley (Tybalt) is thrilled to make her CSC debut in Romeo and Juliet after participating in the Virtual Apprentice Program 2020. Recently, she made her London debut in As You Like It (Phoebe) & her New York debut at 54 Below. Annika is the voice of Jane in Dead Sea Squirrels, a new animated series by the creators of Veggie Tales, premiering on streaming platforms this year! She has developed several roles for new works with Nashville Repertory Theatre, Studio Tenn, Atlanta Musical Theatre Festival, and more. Favorite projects include As You Like It (Rosalind), You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Sally), and But How Fantastic (Elle). BFA Musical Theatre Lipscomb University. annikaburley.com; @annikaburley

Alexa Cadete (Paris/Abraham/Friar John) is delighted to be a part of the 2023 CSC2 Company! Guerilla Opera: The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage (Assistant Director). Lyric Stage Company of Boston: The Play That Goes Wrong (Annie). Guerilla Opera: I Give You My Home (Rose’s Mother). Studio Theatre Worcester: Doubt, A Parable (Sister Aloysius). Intermittent Theatre Company: Sisters (Louise), Titus Andronicus (Demetrius). A graduate of Green Mountain College, Alexa has trained at the Dorset Theatre Festival Conservatory and was a Virtual Apprentice in 2021 at Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. @alexacadete

Jack Greenberg (Romeo) currently studies acting and theater arts in the School of Theater at Boston University. He graduated from the high school drama program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and soon after became a winner in acting for the National YoungArts Foundation competition. He was previously a Virtual Apprentice with CSC in 2021, and has most recently studied with the British American Drama Academy at University of Oxford. He dedicates this performance to his dog and cats.

Jessica Golden (Lady Capulet) is delighted to be back with CSC2! Her previous credits with CSC include: Much Ado About Nothing (Military Messenger/Nikkole), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Oberon and Theseus), and The Tempest (Iris). She was a 2019 CSC Apprentice, and played Oberon in Midsummer, also directed by Bryn Boice. Other local credits include: Into the Breeches!, Love’s Labour’s Lost, and Much Ado About Nothing (Hub). Jessica is a proud graduate of NYU/Tisch. @_jessicagolden

Bella Grace Harris (Nurse/Gregory) is thrilled to make their CSC Stage2 debut! After participating in the Apprentice Program in the summer of 2022, and playing the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet directed by Bryn Boice, she is honored to reprise the role here. Select previous credits include originating the role of Staci in Motherf**king Girl Scouts (Fresh Fruit Festival, NYC), Maria Josefa in Bernarda Alba (NYU), and Rose in Working (NYU). Training completed at NYU Tisch’s Lee Strasberg Studio and the New Studio on Broadway for Musical Theater. Bellagraceharris.com

Cleveland Nicoll (Lord Capulet) is extremely grateful to be performing in his first production with CSC. He is an instructor and the artistic director for Klouns Theatre Co. (@klounstheatreco). Over the last decade, he has directed and performed for a multitude of theatre companies along the Wasatch Front: HCTO, Sundance, An Other Theater Co., and more. Now, a new local to New England, he lives on the North Shore with his wife and dog. @cleveland_nicoll

Xander Viera (Lord Montague) is ecstatic to bring Shakespeare to young audiences with CSC2 again! Xander received his BFA Degree from Salem State University ‘21 and currently resides in Swampscott, MA. This is their third performance with the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. Previous CSC credits include: First Watchman in Much Ado About Nothing and Flute/Thisbe in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, CSC2. Other credits include: As You Like It with Third Citizen (Touchstone); The Laramie Project (Greg/Hing/Minister/Rulon); and Harvey (Dr. Chumley) at SSU.

Steven Maler is the Founding Artistic Director of Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC). At CSC he has been directing Free Shakespeare on the Boston Common productions since 1996, including Richard III, Love’s Labour’s Lost, King Lear, Twelfth Night, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Coriolanus, All’s Well That Ends Well, Othello, The Comedy Of Errors, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, Henry V, The Tempest, Julius Caesar, and Romeo & Juliet. Other CSC works include his critically acclaimed production of Naomi Wallace’s adaptation of William Wharton’s novel Birdy, Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden, the world premiere of Jake Broder’s Our American Hamlet, and the world premiere of Robert Brustein’s The Last Will.  In collaboration with Boston Landmarks Orchestra, he directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream, featuring the Overture and Incidental Music of Felix Mendelssohn, as well as concert stagings of The Boys from Syracuse and Kiss Me Kate at Boston’s iconic Hatch Shell.  For CSC he has also directed one-night-only readings of iconic plays featuring Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Paul Rudd, Anthony Mackie, Blair Brown, Tony Shalhoub, Brooke Adams, Leslie Uggams, David Morse, and Jeffrey Donovan among others.  He conceived and directed Shakespeare at Fenway, an evening of Shakespeare scenes performed at Boston’s iconic Fenway Park, featuring Mike O’Malley, Neal McDonough, Maryann Plunkett, Jay O. Sanders, Kerry O’Malley, Seth Gilliam, Zuzanna Szadkowski, Max Von Essen, Christian Coulson, Jason Butler Harner, and many others.

In collaboration with Google, he adapted and directed a first of its kind sixty minute virtual reality film of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, entitled Hamlet 360: Thy Father’s Spirit, starring Jack Cutmore-Scott, Jay O. Sanders, Brooke Adams, and Faran Tahir.  It is currently available for viewing on Boston public media producer GBH’s YouTube channel; for more information, visit www.wgbh.org/hamlet360.

Outside of CSC, he directed Maria, Regina D’Inghilterra for Odyssey Opera, Péter Eötvös’ operatic treatment of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America (U.S. Premiere) and Thomas Adès’ Powder Her Face for Opera Boston, The Turn of the Screw at New Repertory Theatre, Santaland Diaries and Chay Yew’s Porcelain at SpeakEasy Stage Company, Top Girls and Weldon Rising at Coyote Theatre, and The L.A. Plays by Han Ong at A.R.T. His New York City credits include the New York Musical Theatre Festival production of Without You, written by and starring Anthony Rapp. The production has been seen in Boston, Edinburgh, Toronto, London, and Seoul.

He received the prestigious Elliot Norton Award for Sustained Excellence, as well as for Best Production for Twelfth Night and All’s Well That Ends Well; Outstanding Director, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Best Production, SubUrbia; Best Solo Performance, John Kuntz’s Starf***ers (which also won Best Solo Performance Award at New York International Fringe Festival). His feature film “The Autumn Heart,” starring Tyne Daly and Ally Sheedy was in the Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival.

William Shakespeare was a renowned English poet, playwright, and actor born in 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon. His birthday is most commonly celebrated on 23 April, which is also believed to be the date on which he died in 1616. Shakespeare was a prolific writer during the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages of British theatre (sometimes referred to as the English Renaissance or the Early Modern Period). Shakespeare’s plays are perhaps his most enduring legacy, but they are not the only things he wrote. Shakespeare’s poetry has also remained popular to this day.

Shakespeare’s work includes 38 plays, 2 narrative poems, a collection of 154 sonnets, and other poems as well. No original manuscripts of Shakespeare’s plays are known to exist today, and about half of Shakespeare’s plays are only available to us because a group of actors in his company collected them for publication after his death. These writings were brought together in what is known as the First Folio (‘Folio’ refers to the size of the paper used). It contained 36 of his plays, and none of his poetry. Shakespeare’s legacy is as rich and diverse as his work; his plays have spawned countless adaptations across multiple genres and cultures, and his plays have had an enduring presence on stage and film.

His writings have been compiled in various iterations of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by different entities, which usually include all of his plays, his sonnets, and his other poems. From Stratford to London and beyond, William Shakespeare was and is one of the most important literary figures of the English language.

Riw Rakkulchon is a Set & Costume Designer, Animator, and Chef from Bangkok, Thailand. He/They has worked at Yale Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, The Old Globe, Drury Lane Theatre, Asolo Rep, The Acting Company, 59E59, Edinburgh Fringe, Primary Stages, Hartford Stage, The Public Theatre, amongst others . He/They also works with designers Wilson Chin, Riccardo Hernandez, Jason Ardizzone-West, Donyale Werle, Santo Loquasto, Dane Laffrey, Rachel Hauck, Clint Ramos and Walt Spangler. Board member of WithAll, a non-profit Organization on a fight to end eating disorders. @riwrdesign, B.F.A. Ithaca College, M.F.A Yale School of Drama (Donald & Zorca Oenslager Fellowship Award in Design Recipient).

Nancy Leary is a Costume Designer who’s visionary work for Opera and Theater has graced stages across the United States. Experienced in producing both highly conceptual and more traditional models of Opera and Theater costuming, Nancy has successfully applied her expertise to a wide array of theatrical styles and artistic endeavors.  From 2000 to the present Nancy has worked on well-established productions, recently developed pieces, and the premier of new works for such places as; Opéra Royal Château de Versailles, Glimmerglass Festival, The Pittsburg Symphony, Virginia Opera, Utah Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Saratoga, Mannes Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Mobile Opera, Juilliard Opera, Opera Boston, as well as Commonwealth Shakespeare Co.mpany, Westin Playhouse, The Julie Harris Theatre, The Barrow Group Theatre, and New York Live Arts to name a few.

Maximo Grano De Oro is a Lighting Designer for theater, opera, dance, and music originally from New Jersey. He is currently an MFA candidate at Northwestern University studying Lighting Design which he is expected to complete in June 2023. This is his first production with CSC and he is excited to be here. Recent design credits include: Resiliencia (Northwestern Dance), Albert Herring, Gianni Schicchi, Il Tabarro (Rutgers University Opera), and Bitter Greens (Station 26 Productions).

Dewey Dellay is happy to be part of CSC again after working on Blue Kettle and Here We Go here, which was included in The Boston Globes Top Ten. Some other of his recent shows have been The Bakelite Masterpiece, Ideation, Thurgood (New Rep); Anna Christie and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Lyric Stage Company); and Constellations (Underground Railway Theater) which won an Elliot Norton award. In past years he has received an Elliot Norton award for Outstanding Design and an IRNE for Best Sound Design. His television credits include original music for Emmy nominated National Geographic’s China’s Mystery Mummies, Discovery Channel’s Miami Jail, and he was the composer for five seasons of the show Our America with Lisa Ling for the OWN Channel. He presently is contributing music to This is Life with Lisa Ling on CNN, and composing music for digital children’s books produced by Live Oak Media.

David Remedios CSC: Romeo and Juliet (2017); Our American Hamlet, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Twelfth Night (2014, IRNE nom.), The Last Will, Coriolanus, All’s Well That Ends Well, Othello. Recent: Knyum, The Royale, Women in Jeopardy!, The Making of a Great Moment, Merrimack Rep; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Scottsboro Boys (IRNE Award), SpeakEasy Stage; Wild Horses, The Niceties, Contemporary American Theater Festival; The Effect, Gloucester Stage; Faithful Cheaters, Trinity Rep; Finish Line, Boston Theater Company at Shubert Theatre. Other regional and local credits include Geva Theatre, 59E59, Huntington Theatre, Studio Theatre, Portland Stage, Theatre for a New Audience, American Repertory Theatre, Centerstage Baltimore, LaJolla Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse, among many others. International: prominent arts festivals in Bogotá, Paris, Hong Kong and Edinburgh. David is Assistant Professor and Program Head of Sound Design at Boston University. remediosssound.com.

Robert Walsh (Fight Director) is delighted to be a part of the production team for Macbeth.
One of the earliest members of the Society of American Fight Directors, he has previously acted
in and staged fights for past CSC productions of: Coriolanus (Cominius), Macbeth (Macduff),
Henry V (Exeter) and Julius Caesar. Other fight direction credits include: the American
Repertory Theater, Huntington Theatre Company, Hartford Stage Company, Long Wharf
Theatre, Portland Stage Company and most of the theater companies in and around Boston. A
founding member of the Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Robert has enjoyed acting in, directing or
staging the fights for many of the Bard’s plays over the last eighteen years. From 2014 – 21, he
served as the Artistic Director of Gloucester Stage Company and prior to that, was the Producing
Artistic Director of the American Stage Festival in Milford, N.H. Recent films include: “Fourth of
July”, “Black Mass” and “Dead Reckoning” (as a stunt performer). Most recently, he appeared in The
Gaaga, produced by Arlekin Players, written and directed by Sasha Denisova. He is a member of
the theater faculty at Brandeis University, as well as AEA, SDC, SAG-AFTRA, & the SAFD.

Nikta Sabouri is very excited to be part of CSC again after being the assistant director on the “Death and the Maden” performance in 2018. She is an Iranian-American freelance theatre director, translator, and actor based in Boston.
As an artist living in the diaspora, she finds her way of expressing herself and contributing to socio-cultural activities by presenting part of her culture that is less known to the rest of the world. To do so, she embarked on a multi-year project to translate and direct the works of Bahram Beyzaie, one of Iran’s essential contemporary playwrights. She co-translated the book “Naqqali Trilogy,” by Bahram Beyzaie, published in the spring of 2023 by Ilex Foundation and Harvard university press. She is currently doing a residency at New Repertory Theatre in the Pipeline Project program.

Jenna Worden is a producer, director, and stage manager with a passion for storytelling, education, and access to the arts. Favorite CSC credits include Birdy, Universe Rushing Apart, and Our American Hamlet. Additional regional credits include New Rep Theatre, Gloucester Stage Company, Phoenix Theatre, and Childsplay AZ. She collaborates often with Brian O’Donovan and is the director and producer of A Christmas Celtic Sojourn. She earned both her BA in Theatre Studies and BSEd in History from Northern Arizona University and is constantly looking for new ways to teach and be in conversation with the past. Proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Brian M. Robillard returns to CSC after previously working on Romeo & Juliet and King Lear. Recent Area Credits Include Jersey Boys (Ogunquit Playhouse). 1776, We Will Not Be Silent, The Bakelite Masterpiece, Lonely Planet, Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act, Ideation, The Gift Horse, Brecht on Brecht, Fiddler on the Roof (New Repertory Theatre). Bedlam’s Pygmalion and A Christmas Carol (Central Square Theatre); as well as credits with Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra and Boston Opera Collaborative. Brian received his BFA in Stage Management from Boston University and is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. Upcoming projects include the premiere production of Bedlam’s The Crucible at Central Square Theatre.