“I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly.”

Their faithful Friend and Servant, C.D. December, 1843

Charles Dickens was the son of John Dickens, a naval clerk, and Elizabeth Barrow, who aspired to be a teacher. In 1824, when he was just 12 years old, his father was sent to debtor’s prison. The family was living in a poor neighborhood in London. Charles left school to work in a rundown boot-blacking factory. In 1827, he found work as an office boy, and in a couple years began freelance reporting at the law courts of London and later for two London newspapers. He also submitted sketches to magazines and newspapers, which in 1836 were compiled in a book. His experiences left him with a concern for impoverished children, and influenced his writing, as seen in Oliver Twist (published 1838) and A Christmas Carol (published 1843), among many of his short stories, novels, and plays. A Christmas Carol was an immediate hit, selling 6,000 copies.

-Courtesy of the BBC

A Glimpse of the 1800's

1800 – Alexander Brown arrived in Baltimore from Ireland, and with his sons launched a linen business; later, they expanded into cotton, shipping and investments and became financial giants. The city’s population then was 27,000.

1807 – The College of Medicine of Maryland (later known as University of Maryland) was chartered.

1830 – B&O Railroad began America’s first commercial railroad passenger service (horse-drawn), from Baltimore to Ellicott City. Steam locomotives were added in 1832.

1835 – Edgar Allan Poe, about age 25, left his Baltimore home at No. 3 Amity Street to edit the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond, VA.

1840 – With an estimated population of 102,000, Baltimore was the second largest urban center in the country. Only New York City was larger. A gritty city, Baltimore was a center of shipbuilding, trade and finance. Maryland was a slaveholding state, but Baltimore also had the largest free black community in the country, roughly 26,000 people, comprising about one quarter of the city’s population. Their rights were severely restricted and frequently challenged, leaving many destitute, but others achieved a measure of economic success in trades and built their own churches and schools. Around 1840, a wave of German and Irish immigrants poured into the city.

1840 – The city skyline of the 1840s included the Baltimore Basilica, America’s first cathedral; the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon, which was built from 1815-1829; the red brick Phoenix Shot Tower, which was for a long time the tallest structure in the city; and the St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church on Front Street. The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery -- the world’s first dental college – was founded in 1840; it is today part of University of Maryland.

1842 – Charles Dickens toured America and stayed in Baltimore at Barnum’s City Hotel, located at Calvert and Fayette Streets.

1843 – In England, the first Christmas card was invented. Prominent Baltimore attorney and Star-Spangled Banner writer Francis Scott Key died at the home of his daughter, a mansion on the site now occupied by Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church.

1844 – The Maryland Historical Society was founded. Builders of the telegraph first tried laying cable underground in 1843, and by 1844 decided instead to string the line on poles from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore; Samuel B. Morse successfully sent the message, “What hath God wrought” in 1844. Eastern High School and Western High School, for girls, opened.

1845 – Construction on Lloyd Street Synagogue was completed. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, an African-American abolitionist and poet who was born free in Baltimore, published her first book of poetry, Forest Leaves. Frederick Douglass, who escaped slavery in Baltimore in 1838, published his autobiographical Narrative

CAST BIOS (in alphabetical order)

William Beckstrom (Pianist/Poe) returns to A Christmas Carol for his second year. Other Baltimore-area theatre appearances include Machinal (FPCT), LOVE/SICK and Laughing Stock (Spotlighters).

Tyrel Brown (Dick Wilkins/ Horace/ Businessperson 1) previous CSC credits include Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet (2025), Flute/Moth in A Midsummer Night's Dream (2024), Paris in Romeo and Juliet, (2023, 2024). Other regional credits include Tiny Joe Dixon in Dreamgirls, (Baltimore Center Stage/ArtsCentric), Sebastian/Trinculo in The Tempest (Devils Isle Shakespeare Company). What the holiday season means to me: There’s a certain energy in the air during the holiday season. Even though the holidays happen during the coldest time of the year, it tends to bring me the most warmth. It’s almost as if everyone understands that we can give each other sympathy, grace, kindness, appreciation and love. And it feels like a big hug:) IG and Tiktok: @tyreltyrelbrown

Gregory Burgess (Ebenezer Scrooge) previous CSC credits include Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (2012), Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream (2012), Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (2014-Present). Other credits include Tevye in A Fiddler on the Roof (JFK High School, 1978), and Harold Hill in The Music Man (Richmond Summer Stock, 1978). The Christmas season gives all a chance to have the courage and compassion to be our better angels. It is also a chance to reconnect with family. 

Ellie Cattle (Fiddler) is a Baltimore-local musician who performs with groups and acting companies around Maryland. This will be their sixth time performing with CSC's A Christmas Carol, and they can be found annually at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. They also perform locally with their bands, Madwitch and The Bramblers.

Morganne Chu (Ghost of Christmas Past/ Louisa/ Businessperson 2) returns for her fourth year in A Christmas Carol (Christmas Past 2024, Belle 2023, 2022). Select Previous Credits: Olney Theatre Center- Kim’s Convenience (Janet u/s; Amma u/s) Cumberland Theatre- The Haverton Howler (Bea), Escape to Margaritaville (Ensemble), Comedy of Errors (Luciana), Rock of Ages (Constance), CLUE On Stage (Cook and Telegram Girl) Toby’s Dinner Theatre- GREASE (Female Swing), Spamalot (Ensemble/Female Swing), A Christmas Story (Ensemble); NextStop Theatre- 46 Plays for America’s First Ladies (Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy, Others); Annapolis Shakespeare- R&G are Dead (Ophelia), Cabaret (Lulu), A Christmas Carol (Martha). BFA Musical Theatre from AMDA NYC/LA. www.morgannechu.com

Kathryne Daniels (Mrs. Pickersgill/ Businessperson 3) previous CSC credits include Adrianna in It’s the Comedy of Errors Hon! (2025), Katie in Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)[revised][again] (2023), Nurse in Romeo and Juliet (Multiple years). Other credits include: Olivia in Sex with Strangers (Fells Point Corner Theater), Mae in Wild Party (Iron Crow). What the holiday season means to me: Time! Its a time to see those you love and to give one of the most beautiful gifts we can give which is our time. It is a gift that can't be returned and one that we always long for.

Kayla Earl (Belle) is making their CSC debut. Previous performance credits include Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood (Ensemble U/S) and The Last Martyr (Nour/Pastor Greene U/S) at Imagination Stage, The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin (Ensemble/Vivica U/S) at Creative Cauldron, If Pretty Hurts... (Adama) at Jubilee Theatre, Twelfth Night: The Musical (Ensemble/Officiant) at SMU Theatre. They graduated from SMU in 2023 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre. (she/they)

Brett Earnest (Mr. Fezziwig/ Charles Dickens) is making his CSC debut. He studied musical theater at New York University’s Tisch School for the arts, and he holds an MFA in classical acting from George Washington University — where he attended The Shakespeare Theatre Company Academy. Credits for STCA include Romeo & Juliet (Friar Lawrence), The Rover, or the Banish’d Cavaliers (Ned Blunt), Cymbeline (Cymbeline and Dr. Cornelius), and The Odyssey (Old Odysseus and Helios). For Georgetown University: Marino Faliero (Marino Faliero). For John’s Hopkins University/Goethe-Instituit: Immanuel Kant (Cardinal). BrettEarnest.com.

Kate Forton (Mrs. Dilber) previous CSC credits include Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet (2024), Hero in Much Ado About Nothing (2022), Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream (2018). Other credits include Cookie in Rumors by Neil Simon with Just Off-Broadway theatre. My favorite CSC A Christmas Carol memory: My favorite ACC memory was getting to sing Joni Mitchell's "River" in 2015 and again in 2016. I got to perform it with my friend Nick the first year, and just a month later he unexpectedly passed away, so I got to dedicate it to him the following year. I so miss making music with him, but any time I sing at CSC (especially in A Christmas Carol) I feel just that little bit closer to him.

Ali Haas (Mrs. O'Leary/ Mrs. Fezziwig/ Nancy) has most recently performed in CSC’s student matinee of Romeo and Juliet as Lady Montague. Additionally, she made her CSC debut in A Christmas Carol (2024) as Mrs. Fezziwig and others. Past performance credits include Santa Fe Opera’s Falstaff directed by Sir David McVicar, Complete Female Stage Beauty, Die Mommie Die, and Yellow with the New Conservatory Theater Company, A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Vallejo Shakespeare Company, Troilus and Cressida with Poltergeist Theater, The Speakeasy SF with Boxcar Theater, Two Coins for the Ferryman with 3 Girls Theater, and Infernal Motel, Alice in Wonderland, and Neverland with Epic Immersive.

Isaiah Mason Harvey (Young Scrooge/ Topper) previous CSC credits include Charles Musgrove/Mr. Elliot in Jane Austen’s Persuasion (2025), Orestes in The Oresteia (2024), Young Scrooge/Topper in A Christmas Carol (2024, 2025). Other credits include Caelum in Lyra and the Ferocious Beast (Truepenny Collective), Flat Joe/Black Superman in Black Superhero Magic Mama (The Strand). My favorite A Christmas Carol memory: We did a Secret Santa exchange the 2019 production and I was gifted a lovely book called “The Soul of an Octopus" by a dear friend that I still own to this day. However, they gave it to me wrapped in approximately 8 extra-large trash bags. It took me several minutes to unwrap it. IG: isaiah_mason

Elgin Martin (Ghost of Christmas Present/ Joshua) Previous CSC credits include 2025’s Julius Caesar (Metellus Cimber/Others). Other regional credits include The America Play (Perisphere Theater), Elysian Fields (Ford’s Theatre), Richard II (Frederick Shakespeare Festival), The Pliant Girls and Dua: The Monster’s Story (Theatre Prometheus), Cold Country and Testosterone (ExPats Theatre). Elgin is a graduate of Kenyon College and the Theatre Lab Acting Conservatory.

Elana Michelle (Frances) previous CSC credits include Ophelia in Hamlet (2023), Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2018), Juliet in Romeo & Juliet (2016). Other credits include The Witch in Into the Woods (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), Project Run-away (Avalon Theatre). What the holiday season means to me: I think of the holiday season as a kind of rehearsal for joy… a quiet invitation to show up with an open heart, to give freely, and to rediscover what’s simple and good: laughter, warmth, forgiveness, and connection. It reminds me how one person’s light can spark another’s; joy doesn’t always arrive easily, it’s something we make together. Each year, I try to carry that feeling forward - not as perfection, but as practice: keeping hope in motion, and light between us. www.elanamichelle.com

Dawn Thoms Reidy (Mrs. Cratchit) previous CSC credits include Henrietta Musgrove in Jane Austen’s Persuasion (2025), Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (2023), Ruth in A Raisin in the Sun (2022). Other credits include Lynley Robbins in Hazardous Materials (Perisphere Theatre) and Bit in Our Black Death (Taffety Punk Theater Company). The last couple of years have brought holidays seasons marked by loss. Two Decembers in a row, loved ones have crossed over. In 2022, I brought my son to see A Christmas Carol at CSC for the first time. He got to meet Greg, our Scrooge, and has asked about him ever since. This year, I’m in the show for the first time. And my son is here with me. He now gets his own scene with Greg. It puts the biggest smile on my face. Joy and grief can exist so closely together in the same space. Doing this show with my son has helped that joy to grow.

Samuel Richie (Bob Cratchit) previous CSC credits include A Christmas Carol (Bob Cratchit, Jacob Marley, Nicholas, others) and 2022’s Henry V (Pistol). His other credits include; As You Like It (Devil's Isle Shakespeare Co.) Cymbeline, Romeo & Juliet, and Man and Superman (STC Academy) Macbeth (Rapid Descent), Henry VI, and The Tempest (Do It Live!) www.samuelrichie.com

Steven Todd Smith (Marley/ Nicholas) is a Baltimore area actor with over a decade of theatrical experience in the DMV, NYC, LA, regional tours, and virtually. CSC: 2025’s Mary Stuart (Amias Paulet), 2024’s A Christmas Carol (Swing/Understudy - Cratchit, Marley, and others); Recent credits: The Shark Is Broken, Maryland Ensemble Theatre (Roy Scheider); Richard II, Frederick Shakespeare Festival (King Richard); Cymbeline, Baryshnikov Center, NYC (Guiderius); Picking Up, DR2 Theatre, NYC (Michael); Halfway There, Regional Tour/New World Stages, NYC (Barry). B.F.A., NYU Tisch School of the Arts; iO West Improv Training Program, Los Angeles.

YOUTH CAST BIOS

Everett Engler (Tiny Tim) is in the second grade at Monsignor Slade. This is his second year with CSC. Everett has performed as part of a musical revue at Musical Theatre Summer Camp with Musical Stages. He spends all of his extra time on the baseball field.

Lavinia Engler (Belinda Cratchit) is in the fourth grade at Monsignor Slade. This is her second year with CSC. At Musical Theatre Summer Camp with Musical Stages, Lavinia played the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. She has recently performed an Irish Dance piece in her school talent show. 

Charlotte Molitoris (Martha Cratchit) is in the 8th grade at Dumbarton Middle School. Charlotte made her mainstage CSC debut in 2024’s The Oresteia as Iphigenia and performed in last year’s A Christmas Carol. Previous credits include Dragon in Shrek Jr. at Relay Elementary School.

Fallon Reidy (Turkey Boy) is in the 5th grade at Stevens Forest Elementary School. After two summers of CSC camp, walking the boards as a camper, he is making his acting and mainstage CSC debut. Fallon is an avid runner, which comes in handy for Turkey Boy, and is training for his first 10K. He’s also a burgeoning saxophonist.

Cassius Rife (Peter/ William) is in 6th grade at The Green School Baltimore.  Cassius previously appeared in A Christmas Carol (Chesapeake Shakespeare Company) in 2023 and 2024.

Isabella Tanase-Coles (Elizabeth Cratchit/ Internal Swing) is in the 7th grade at The Bryn Mawr School. She is making her CSC debut. Her recent stage work includes performances with Suburban Players of Baltimore in Hairspray and with Mid-Atlantic Dance Ballet in The Nutcracker. She has appeared annually in Peabody Preparatory’s ballet productions and has performed in chamber and solo viola concerts through Peabody’s music program. Her additional creative experience includes work in the Destination Imagination Maryland competition and ensemble performances at Park School and Green Spring Montessori.  

Mikayla Uqdah (Little Fan) is in the 7th grade at McDonogh School. She previously appeared in CSC’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (2024). Other credits include High School Musical 2 (Arena Player Playhouse); Newsies (McDonogh School); Raise Your Voice, A Broadway Junior Revue (Arena Players Playhouse); Matilda the Musical (McDonogh School)

UNDERSTUDY BIOS

Ronnita Freeman returns after previously understudying for CSC production of It’s The Comedy of Errors, Hon! (2025). Previous credits include Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (Baltimore Shakespeare Factory); Rosaline and Constable Dull in Love's Labour's Lost, Regina in She Like Girls, Demeter in Girls on a Dirt Pile, Beneatha in A Raisin in the Sun, and Mrs. Muller in Doubt: A Parable (University of Maryland, Baltimore County).

Holly Gibbs is returning to CSC after appearing earlier this year in It’s the Comey of Errors, Hon! Other local credits include Venus in Gallathea (Baltimore Shakespeare Factory), Witch 3 in Macbeth and Richmond in Richard III (MD Renaissance Festival), Norma in Perfect Arrangement (Fells Point Corner Theatre), and Lenny in Crimes of the Heart (Vagabond Players) among others. Holly is a current member of the resident Acting Company at the MD Renaissance Festival. She holds a degree in Theatre from Goucher College. 

Lloyd Marcus is a member of CSC’S Black Classical Acting Ensemble and returns after previously performing in Shakespeare Beyond’s 2025 production of It’s The Comedy of Errors, Hon!,  The Oresteia (2024), the summer production of Macbeth (2023), the student matinee of Macbeth (2022), and A Raisin in the Sun (2022). His previous credits include: A Civil War Christmas at the Strand Theatre, Girls on a Dirt Pile as a part of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. He was nominated for the Irene Ryan Acting Award and won 'Outstanding Performance in a Play Reading'.

John Dickson Wakefield is making his CSC debut.  This is his sixth regional production of A Christmas Carol.  John is best known for his work at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, where he has performed for the past 26 years as an actor and as a musician with his band, The Hooligans.  He is the co-creator and playwright of Renaissance Rumble’s Shakespeare in the Ring shows.

Joseph Wilson is making his CSC debut. Other theatre credits include Craigslisted (Nu Sass); Muffed! (Prologue); Strange tales VI (COIL Project); Medea (Songs of the Goat); Much ado about nothing (Shakespeare Opera Theatre); and By the seashore (Arts on the Horizon). Opera credits include The yeomen of the guard (Young Victorian Theatre); Le villi (Opera Festival of Niagara); Carmen (Bel Cantanti); Il tabarro (Opera Niagara); La rondine, La bohème (Operavision Academy); Il barbiere di Siviglia, The pirates of Penzance (Loudoun Lyric Opera); I pagliacci (Maryland Lyric Opera); and Ruddigore (Victorian Lyric Opera).

Séamus Miller (Director) is a longtime CSC Company Member and the Associate Artistic Director of Shakespeare Beyond. He also serves as Chesapeake's Major Gifts Officer. CSC directing credits include A Christmas Carol (2024), A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, and the student matinee productions of Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet. He has created numerous Shakespeare adaptations, including Coriolanus (Helen Hayes Award Winner, Avant Bard Theatre), and has directed at The Kennedy Center and many other theatres in the DMV. CSC acting credits include Measure for Measure, Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, Romeo & Juliet, Wild Oats, Twelfth Night, Red Velvet, and many others. Séamus is also the Artistic Director of Devil's Isle Shakespeare Company in Bermuda and the Co-Founder & CEO of Ardan Community Living, the premiere sober living facility for women in early recovery from substance use disorder in Washington, DC. BA: Cornell University. MFA: STC Academy (GWU) www.seamusdirects.com @almostseamus

Quāé Simpson (Director & Dance/Movement Choreographer) returns to CSC as the Co-Director and choreographer for A Christmas Carol. His previous CSC credit includes assistant director and choreographer for 2024's production of A Christmas Carol. Quāé is a Baltimore native and a proud Actors Equity Association member with over 25 years experience traveling the globe as an entertainer, teaching artist, director, choreographer and music director. He is the founder and executive artistic director of Q Entertainment. Q Entertainment is multifaceted entertainment company specializing in education, performing arts and media communication. During the school year, Quāéworks as a theater consultant for Baltimore County Public Schools. He is also the choreographer at Carver Center for the Arts and Technology and music director and choreographer at The Baltimore School for the Arts.

Lauren Engler (Production Manager) is a CSC Touchstone Company Member, has stage managed CSC’s productions of Macbeth (2023), The Adventures of Pericles, Loves Labour’s Lost (2019), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2018) and has performed with CSC in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014), A Comedy of Errors (2015), and A Christmas Carol (2017).  Locally, Lauren has performed in Do or Die Productions’ Poe’s Last Stanza, Cohesion Theatre Company’s Coriolanus, and StillPointe Theatre’s Sweeney Todd. She also stage manages at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Lauren holds a BA in Performance Theater and Studio Art from High Point University.

Kris DiBastiani (Production Stage Manager) returns to CSC after previous work as Stage Manager on A Christmas Carol 2023 and ASM on two productions of Macbeth. Additional recent credits include Be More Chill; Silent Sky (Milburn Stone Theatre); Lady Day At Emerson's Bar and Grill; Tiny Beautiful Things (Baltimore Center Stage); A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Opera A Capella, The Wolves, and Fugitive Songs (TU). Education: Towson University, B.S. Theatre Arts.

Dan O’Brien (Technical Director) is a founding member of CSC. Daniel has performed, designed scenery, lights, and served as Technical Director for many productions (among other jobs too numerous to name). He oversaw the construction of CSC’s theatre in Baltimore and designed the sets and lighting for Macbeth (2016); for the inaugural season plays A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Richard II; Romeo and Juliet (2015-2019); A Christmas Carol (2014-2025), and many others.

Mollie Singer (Set Designer) previous CSC Credits include the following; (Props): Julius Caesar, Red Velvet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Winter’s Tale, The Fantastics, Richard III, Anne of the Thousand Days. Other Credits: Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed (Scenic Design), Glass Menagerie (Scenic Design) Fuller (Scenic Design), Grace (Asst. Props) Acoustic Rooster (Asst. Scenic Design) My Lord What a Night (Asst. Props) Unknown (Scenic/Props), Hookman (Scenic Design) Subject to Change (Scenic Design), She Kills Monsters (Scenic Design) Souvenir (Scenic Design), Becoming Dr. Ruth (Props) Lady Day at Emerson’s… (Scenic Design).

Luis Garcia (Lighting Designer) returns after designing lighting for CSC’s 2024 production of A Christmas Carol. He is a lighting and media designer based in College Park, MD.  He holds an MFA from the University of Maryland, College Park (2024) and a BA in Theatre Arts from Stetson University (2016). He currently serves as the Co-IDEAS Coordinator for the USITT Lighting Design and Technology Commission and is an alumnus of the 2017 OSF F.A.I.R. Program and the 2016 USITT Gateway Cohort. Selected credits include: Professor Woland’s Black Magic Show at Quinnipiac University, Beautiful Carol King Musical at Fulton Theatre, The Waverly Gallery at 1st Stage, Funny Girl at Maine State Music Theatre, Kumanana at GALA Hispanic, Espejos:Clean at Studio Theatre. Web: luisgtech.com (he/él)

Kristina Lambdin (Costume Designer) won the Broadway World Best Costume Design award for her designs for A Christmas Carol (2016). Some of her costuming credits with CSC include Dracula (2013 and 2019); The Diary of Anne Frank; She Stoops to Conquer; Alice in Wonderland; Red Velvet; Anne of the Thousand Days; The Fantasticks; Macbeth (2016); A Christmas Carol (2014-2018); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2005, 2011 and 2014); The Importance of Being Earnest; The Taming of the Shrew (2006 and 2013); Romeo and Juliet (2003, 2012, and student matinees 2015-2019); A Doll’s House; As You Like It (Broadway World Best of Baltimore Award); and The Country Wife. Broadway World named her as a top artist of the 2007 Baltimore Theatre, and she won the Greater Baltimore Theater Award for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2005). For more than a decade, she served as the Costume Supervisor for the Baltimore Opera Company and then Lyric Opera Baltimore

Grace Srinivasan (Music Director) has programmed and arranged the music for CSC productions since 2016 as Resident Music Director. A soprano who performs a wide-ranging repertoire throughout the region, she appeared as a soloist in a program of works inspired by Shakespeare’s plays, If Music Be the Food of Love, with CSC artists, the Peabody Baroque Band, and the Peabody Renaissance Ensemble. Grace holds a master’s degree in vocal performance from the Peabody Conservatory and sings professionally at St. Stephen Martyr Church and the National Cathedral.

Dawn Thomas Reidy (Production Associate) See Cast Bios.

Vanessa Strickland (Youth Coach) returns for another year with CSC’s A Christmas Carol. Previous CSC credits include: Macbeth (Banquo/Malcolm u/s), Merry Wives of Windsor (u/s), and Child Supervisor for Joe Turner’s Come & Gone (2024), The Oresteia (2024) and A Christmas Carol (2023, 2024). She has also worked with Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) in Frederick, MD as a performer, puppeteer and teaching artist. Past roles with MET include: The Glass Menagerie, Frankenstein, The Elephant Man, Antigone, A Clockwork Orange, Dracula and others.

Andrew Pfluger (Light Board Operator) returns to CSC after working on A Christmas Carol (2024) and Jane Austen’s Persuasion (2025) . They have stage managed Small Mouth Sounds and Hotel Cassiopeia at the Community College of Baltimore County, where they graduated with an A.A. in Theatre Design/Production in 2023. They have also stage managed with Stevenson University (By the Way, Meet Vera Stark) and lighting programmed with Bethesda Conservatory of Dance. They have held a variety of positions at Drama Learning Center—including production manager, technician, and carpenter—across over 20 productions."

Chris Reuther (Puppet Designer) graduated from Towson University in 2010 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Art and Design, and has spent the past ten years designing and building puppets, creatures, and scenes for the Baltimore Rock Opera Society, Submersive Productions, Cohesion Theater Company and various smaller performances. He was also the Show Creator and Puppets Designer for the Baltimore Rock Opera Society’s Fall 2022 production, Love & ROAR!

Hannah Brill (Wardrobe Supervisor) is a costume and lighting designer from Baltimore. She is the Assistant Costume Shop manager for Towson University’s Department of Theatre Arts. Hannah has worked as CSC’s wardrobe manager for Jane Austen’s Persuasion (2025) Julius Caesar (2025), Mary Stuart (2025), Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (2024), The Merry Wives of Windsor (2024), Romeo and Juliet (2024), The Oresteia (2024), A Christmas Carol (2022, 2023, & 2024) and Shakespeare Beyond’s It's the Comedy of Errors, Hon! (2025). Recent work includes costume design for Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress (Maryland Ensemble Theatre), Marie Antoinette: The Color of Flesh (Perisphere Theater), Scrooge.0 (Towson University), A Year with Frog and Toad (Towson University), TU Dance Company shows Episodes, Four Seasons: Reimagined, Multiplicity, Echoing Visions, Legacy, and Surging (Towson University), Marie Antoinette and the Magical Negroes (Single Carrot Theatre), The First Thing That Happens (Acme Corporation), and lighting design for Rachel (Rapid Lemon Productions.)  (Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.) https://www.hannahbrill.com/

Chester Stacy (Assistant Technical Director) has designed, built, and painted many CSC productions, including Alice in Wonderland, The Fantasticks, Red Velvet, and Titus Andronicus; and for Baltimore Center Stage’s Thoughts of a Colored Man and Shakespeare in Love.  Chester Creates LLC, has provided film production design for The Night Watchmen, set decoration for House of Cards and The Wire; and environmental graphics for Crunch Fitness, Royal Caribbean, Bmore Greek Grill, and Healthy Highlandtown.

Erin Branigan (Backstage Swing) is making her CSC debut. Previous backstage roles include A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Play That Goes Wrong (The Arlington Players); Parade (Wildwood Summer Theater); and various shows at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Wolf Trap Opera Company, and the University of Maryland, College Park. Previous onstage roles include Much Ado About Nothing (Baltimore Shakespeare Factory); Sweeney Todd (Rockville Musical Theater); Richard III (Strand Theatre); Peter and the Starcatcher (2nd Star Productions); and various roles at the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

Ellie Skoda (Backstage Swing) has worked as a box office manager, stage manager, assistant stage manager, backstage swing, and teaching artist at CSC since 2021. They have also stage-managed local theatre productions at Rapid Lemons Productions and Truepenny Productions. She had previously taught theatre classes at Arlington Elementary School for the past 2 years. Ellie holds a BA in Theatre Arts from McDaniel College. 

LEADERSHIP

Ian Gallanar (Founding Artistic Director) In addition to founding the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in 2002, Ian has worked as a professional actor, director, and writer for more than 150 professional productions. He has directed 40 productions for CSC. Previously, Ian has served as Artistic Director for the National Theatre for Children, Minnesota Shakespeare in the Park, and the Repertory Theater of America. Ian is a proud member of the distinguished National Theatre Conference and the Dramatists Guild of America; a Helen Hayes Tribute Award, Telly Award, and Howie Award (Howard County Arts Council) winner. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he is a Member of the College of Fine Arts Advancement Council. He is Immediate Past President of the international Shakespeare Theatre Association, an organization for professional Shakespeare companies around the globe.

Lesley Malin (Producing Executive Director) is a founder of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, and served as its Executive Director since 2003. She managed CSC’s building renovation of an 1885 bank into our modern Shakespeare playhouse as well as the associated $6.7 million capital campaign. She has performed in 28 CSC productions and previously in New York. She was, for 20 years, Vice President of the Board of Trustees of The Lark, the landmark new play development center in New York City, where she earlier was Managing Director. She served for five years on the Executive Committee of the international Shakespeare Theatre Association and organized its annual conference that CSC hosted in Baltimore in 2017. She is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, NYU’s Arts Management program, Leadership Howard County, and LEADERship Baltimore (2018).