The Kingdom of Slovenalia: Virtual Tour
January 15-February 21, 2021
Fridays and Saturdays at 6pm CST
Sundays at 2pm CST
Online via Zoom
Cast
Brook Celeste (GRETEL) (she/they) performs regularly with Curious Theatre Branch and is a company member with The Conspirators. She is looking forward to spending time with you in Slovenalia. It isn't a perfect place but it's not here and that's a welcome change.
Morgan Eliza Cooper (ELOWEN) (she/her/hers) is a Chicago born and raised actor, dramaturg, director, and writer. A proud East 15 MFA Acting International alumni, she had a residency and performed at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre as well as a residency in Acting and Biomechanics at Russian University of Theatre Arts (GITIS). Acting credits include: CHICAGO: Safe Keeping (Charlotte-Nothing Without a Company's New Play Festival), Cartoon (Ensemble-Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival). NYC Off-Broadway: Ohio Bites Back (Andrea-The Strawberry One-Act Festival) LONDON: Medea (Medea-Tristan Bates Theatre), The Good Doctor (Madam Brassilhov/The Drowned Tramp-Arcola Theatre). Morgan is a teaching artist to people of all ages and experiences including private lessons. You can reach her at morganelizacooper@gmail.com or on Instagram @morganelizacooper
Jessica Kearney (RED/RAPUNZEL) has recently been seen in Small Hours with Prop Thtr. She graduated from Northern Illinois University with a BFA in acting where she learned Meisner Technique, Mikhail Chekov movement, and Fitzmaurice Voice Training. She also has stage combat experience, which includes Fencing, Broadswords and hand-to-hand combat. She studied abroad in Moscow, Russia at The Moscow Art Theatre School where she learned the Stanislavski Technique. She has also trained at The Second City, and Vagabond School Of The Arts, First Folio Theater and Chicago Dramatists. She has taken dance classes with The Giordano Dance School. She also had the opportunity to take a class with the dance group Les Twins as well as train with The Alvin Ailey Dance Company. She has performed at theatres in the Chicago area including Goodman Theatre, Nothing Without a Company, Akvavit Theatre, Prop Thtr, Uptown Underground, Collaboraction, Filament Theatre, Gorilla Tango, Playground Theatre, and Cornservatory. She was a member of Piven Theatre’s Young People’s company and Little Ti Moune in Once On This Island in Gallery 37. She has produced, directed, and acted in the web series Chi City Dreamzzz
Wanda B. Jin (WANDA WITCH)
After graduating from Duke university with a degree in English Literature and minors in Dance and Theater Studies, Wanda is having a blast acting, dancing, singing, and slinging Tarot cards in Chicago.
David Nesbitt Taylor (ORLANDO JAMES) is an actor, writer and director, and recent graduate from Loyola University Chicago with his BA in Theatre. He has been seen on stage at LUC in Our Town, Exit Pursued by a Bear, 1984 and Machinal, with writing and directing credit for A Time to Heal.
Francesca Sales (FLORENCIA) (she/her/hers) is an actor originally from the Philippines. She is a proud graduate of East 15 Acting School and the Michael Chekhov Actors Studio Boston, and is currently a member of Anthony Meindl's Actor Workshop NYC and The Crow Collective, an NYC-based grassroots production company. Favorite past projects include: NYC: Vive l'abortion (S, Nuyorican Poets Cafe Theatre Festival), A Real Bitch (Annalise, The Crow Collective), On the edge of/a cure (Ensemble, The Rogue Players), The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Aunt Em/Glinda, Tier5). LONDON: Antony & Cleopatra (Pompey/Iras, Outcast Theatre Festival), Lobby Hero (Dawn, The Empty Desk), Neaptide (Val, Arcola Theatre).
Website: francescasales.com. IG: @fransales.
Lazarus Simmons (NANCY) Graduating from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in Dramatic Art, Lazarus Simmons moved on to attend Rutgers University, several years later, hoping to get his MFA in Acting. He will graduate in May (five months behind schedule thanks to Covid-19). He is excited to work on this devised piece, the first for him in a few years. Some of his favorite projects have been: The Winter’s Tale, The Shipment, The Nether, The Typographer’s Dream, Recall, Dead End, and Brabo. Follow him on Instagram @lazarussimmons.
Kevin Sparrow (VICTOR E. MARCH) (they/them) is a writer and performer in Chicago. They are Literary Manager for Nothing Without a Company theatre. Kevin also curates the Museum of Unnatural history Chicago (MUnCh), an imaginary space that exists for real at munchicago.org.
Dramaturg
Rachel Perzynski is a dramaturg, teaching artist, and curator focused on new play development and devised story-telling. She received her BFA in Dramaturgy/ Criticism from The Theatre School at DePaul University. She recently dramaturged Nothing Without a Company’s annual New World Play Festival and currently reads scripts for local and national play festivals.
Assistant Director
James Anthony
Stage Managers
Jacob Dimuzio, Geoff Maxfield, Rachel Perzynski, Allison Sparrow
Illustrations & Map Design
JI YAng is a PUZZLE MAKER and a FICTION BUILDER who makes art like saying “2 x 2 = 5 ?” or “fighting with a puffy pillow” while holding whose aesthetic underwhelmingly.
Original Music
sauer//jaffy
Kevin Sparrow
Additional image credits:
Allspice Tree photo by McKay Savage. Adapted for screen under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
Brook Celeste (GRETEL) (she/they) performs regularly with Curious Theatre Branch and is a company member with The Conspirators. She is looking forward to spending time with you in Slovenalia. It isn't a perfect place but it's not here and that's a welcome change.
Morgan Eliza Cooper (ELOWEN) (she/her/hers) is a Chicago born and raised actor, dramaturg, director, and writer. A proud East 15 MFA Acting International alumni, she had a residency and performed at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre as well as a residency in Acting and Biomechanics at Russian University of Theatre Arts (GITIS). Acting credits include: CHICAGO: Safe Keeping (Charlotte-Nothing Without a Company's New Play Festival), Cartoon (Ensemble-Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival). NYC Off-Broadway: Ohio Bites Back (Andrea-The Strawberry One-Act Festival) LONDON: Medea (Medea-Tristan Bates Theatre), The Good Doctor (Madam Brassilhov/The Drowned Tramp-Arcola Theatre). Morgan is a teaching artist to people of all ages and experiences including private lessons. You can reach her at morganelizacooper@gmail.com or on Instagram @morganelizacooper
Jessica Kearney (RED/RAPUNZEL) has recently been seen in Small Hours with Prop Thtr. She graduated from Northern Illinois University with a BFA in acting where she learned Meisner Technique, Mikhail Chekov movement, and Fitzmaurice Voice Training. She also has stage combat experience, which includes Fencing, Broadswords and hand-to-hand combat. She studied abroad in Moscow, Russia at The Moscow Art Theatre School where she learned the Stanislavski Technique. She has also trained at The Second City, and Vagabond School Of The Arts, First Folio Theater and Chicago Dramatists. She has taken dance classes with The Giordano Dance School. She also had the opportunity to take a class with the dance group Les Twins as well as train with The Alvin Ailey Dance Company. She has performed at theatres in the Chicago area including Goodman Theatre, Nothing Without a Company, Akvavit Theatre, Prop Thtr, Uptown Underground, Collaboraction, Filament Theatre, Gorilla Tango, Playground Theatre, and Cornservatory. She was a member of Piven Theatre’s Young People’s company and Little Ti Moune in Once On This Island in Gallery 37. She has produced, directed, and acted in the web series Chi City Dreamzzz
Wanda B. Jin (WANDA WITCH)
After graduating from Duke university with a degree in English Literature and minors in Dance and Theater Studies, Wanda is having a blast acting, dancing, singing, and slinging Tarot cards in Chicago.
David Nesbitt Taylor (ORLANDO JAMES) is an actor, writer and director, and recent graduate from Loyola University Chicago with his BA in Theatre. He has been seen on stage at LUC in Our Town, Exit Pursued by a Bear, 1984 and Machinal, with writing and directing credit for A Time to Heal.
Francesca Sales (FLORENCIA) (she/her/hers) is an actor originally from the Philippines. She is a proud graduate of East 15 Acting School and the Michael Chekhov Actors Studio Boston, and is currently a member of Anthony Meindl's Actor Workshop NYC and The Crow Collective, an NYC-based grassroots production company. Favorite past projects include: NYC: Vive l'abortion (S, Nuyorican Poets Cafe Theatre Festival), A Real Bitch (Annalise, The Crow Collective), On the edge of/a cure (Ensemble, The Rogue Players), The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Aunt Em/Glinda, Tier5). LONDON: Antony & Cleopatra (Pompey/Iras, Outcast Theatre Festival), Lobby Hero (Dawn, The Empty Desk), Neaptide (Val, Arcola Theatre).
Website: francescasales.com. IG: @fransales.
Lazarus Simmons (NANCY) Graduating from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in Dramatic Art, Lazarus Simmons moved on to attend Rutgers University, several years later, hoping to get his MFA in Acting. He will graduate in May (five months behind schedule thanks to Covid-19). He is excited to work on this devised piece, the first for him in a few years. Some of his favorite projects have been: The Winter’s Tale, The Shipment, The Nether, The Typographer’s Dream, Recall, Dead End, and Brabo. Follow him on Instagram @lazarussimmons.
Kevin Sparrow (VICTOR E. MARCH) (they/them) is a writer and performer in Chicago. They are Literary Manager for Nothing Without a Company theatre. Kevin also curates the Museum of Unnatural history Chicago (MUnCh), an imaginary space that exists for real at munchicago.org.
Dramaturg
Rachel Perzynski is a dramaturg, teaching artist, and curator focused on new play development and devised story-telling. She received her BFA in Dramaturgy/ Criticism from The Theatre School at DePaul University. She recently dramaturged Nothing Without a Company’s annual New World Play Festival and currently reads scripts for local and national play festivals.
Assistant Director
James Anthony
Stage Managers
Jacob Dimuzio, Geoff Maxfield, Rachel Perzynski, Allison Sparrow
Illustrations & Map Design
JI YAng is a PUZZLE MAKER and a FICTION BUILDER who makes art like saying “2 x 2 = 5 ?” or “fighting with a puffy pillow” while holding whose aesthetic underwhelmingly.
Original Music
sauer//jaffy
Kevin Sparrow
Additional image credits:
Allspice Tree photo by McKay Savage. Adapted for screen under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
