JULIA CICERO (she/her)
BAURENFEIND
Julia is thrilled to be back with The Plagiarists! A Chicago native, Julia is an actor, writer, & musician who holds a BFA in musical theatre from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Recent credits include Valhalla (The Plagiarists) & A Town Called Progress (Promethean Theatre Ensemble). You can see more of her work at juliacicero.com. Julia would like to thank Jeremy, her family, & her cat Mac for their love and support!

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UNDERSTUDIES:

IMAN KAMEL (she/her)
U/S NARRATOR
Iman is very excited to be a part of her first show with The Plagiarists! She is a Chicago based actor and was most recently in About Face Theatre’s production of Mosque4Mosque where she understudied the role of Sara. Iman is a Graduate student at Northwestern University where she is receiving her Masters of Literature. She will be writing her thesis on French colonial influence of the North African literary movement in the twentieth century. A special thanks to her family and friends! Iman is represented by Gray Talent Group.

ANNA DORIAN (she/her)
U/S NIEBHUR
Anna is excited to be collaborating with The Plagiarists for Arabia, Arabia! Anna is originally from California, but in August of 2022, she felt ready to take on Chicago. The winter was brutal for this California girl, but the deep dish and draft beer helped keep her warm. She'd like to thank her husband, Lucas, for his love and support, and her family for always being there for her. IG: @ughmymemories

ANDRE COLIN (he/him)
U/S FORSSKAL
Andre is an Actor/Streamer based in Chicago. He is so excited to work with The Plagiarists for the first time. Andre’s recent theatre credits include The Last Queen of Camelot with Idle Muse (U/S Sir Gaiwan and Sir Kay) and Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons with Snails on a Bike (Oliver). He’d like to thank his shrewd acting coach (and dog), Giorgio Bebop, for all his hard work and guidance.

LAYKE FOWLER (he/him)
U/S VON HAVEN
Layke is a Chicago actor and improviser. He attended Ball state University and moved to Chicago in 2019. He has appeared in shows such as Veronica's Room (MadKap Productions), Parade (BSU) and No Exit (NALPA). As well as films Jac Kessler's Popsy and Eat the Brain, Raymond! (PMC). He is very excited to be working with The Plagiarists, and would like to thank his friends and family for their support.

AUSTIN RAMBO (he/him)
U/S KRAMER
Austin is a Jeff Award earning actor (2019) with a concentration in physical theater. Austin has trained in various places such as the Moscow Art Theater in Moscow, Russia (2018), The University of Toledo (2019), and The Actor’s Gymnasium Professional circus training course with a focus on clown (2021-Present.)

KATIE BEVIL
U/S BAURENFEIND
Katie Bevil is a graduate of the University of Chicago BA and MA programs in Theatre and Performance Studies. During the day, Katie is a rock climber and routesetter at Movement Gyms Chicago, and at night, the Front of House Manager at TimeLine Theatre in Lakeview East. Katie is a big fan of Shakespeare, Annie Baker, and accessibility initiatives in theatre. A proud resident of Uptown, Katie shares a home with two cryptozoological cats named Jelly and Toast.

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CREATIVES

ALEXANDER UTZ (he/him)
PLAYWRIGHT
Alexander is a Chicago-based playwright and actor, as well as the Artistic Director of Avalanche Theatre. His plays have been performed with The Plagiarists, Bower Theatre Ensemble, Three Brothers Theatre, the International Museum of Surgical Science, Otherworld Theatre, Benchmark Theatre, the Community Co-Op, Eclectic Full Contact Theatre, Three Cat Productions, and 5th Wall Productions. His plays Generation Red, Outpost, and Sunflowers are published through Next Stage Press. He was a Resident Playwright with Three Brothers Theatre from 2018-2020. He received his BFA in Theatre Performance from Niagara University.

JONATHAN SHABOO (he/him)
DIRECTOR
Jonathan is thrilled to be making his Plagiarists debut in bringing Arabia, Arabia! to life. Chicago credits: the world premiere of Layalina (Goodman Theatre) the world premiere of Peabody (Young Peoples Theatre of Chicago). U.S. National tour: Evil Dead: The Musical. International credits: We Will Rock You (Starvox Ent.), North American premiere of Julie: After Strindberg (Untold Wants.), Greater Expectations (Second City Toronto), and The Ministry of Mundane Mysteries (Outside The March Theatre). Jonathan is a SWANA-Canadian director, and award-winning comedian. Graduate of The School at Steppenwolf, he is a founding member of Bramble Theatre Company in Chicago and is slated to direct their world premiere of Evil Perfect fall 2023.

MACK FINKLEA (they/them)
STAGE MANAGER
Mack recently moved to Chicago after graduating with a BFA in Directing from the Webster Conservatory for Theatre Arts. Their favorite companies they've worked with include the Muny, Repertory Theatre St. Louis, New Canaan Summer Theatre, the Den Theatre, and of course, the Plagiarists. Mack stage managed the Plagiarists' recent productions of Valhalla and I Build Giants and is so happy to be back! A huge thank you to Ryn Harter for keeping me sane and alive.

OSWALD AVILE
(he/him)
PREVIEW STAGE MANAGER
Born and raised in Chicago, Oswald has been working in theatre since high school. Past work includes Tatjana in Color (Prologue Theatre Co), Fefu and Her Friends (Halcyon Theatre), The River (BoHo Theatre), and Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins 2021 (Strawdog Theatre), The Secretaries (First Floor Theater), Botticelli in the Fire (First Floor Theater). In his spare time, Oswald works in non-for-profit housing.

KY ANDERSON (they/them)
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Kylie (Ky) is a EMC physical actor and model represented by Stewart Talent, located in Chicago, IL. They have BFA in Drama with an emphasis in Acting from the University of Oklahoma. Ky is a founding company member at Bramble Theatre Company, but has worked with a medley of other theaters in Chicago including Redtwist, Steppenwolf, Remmy Bumppo, and Lookingglass. Ky was apart of the Professional Training Program class of 2021 at Actor’s Gymnasium and Circus School, where they were in the inaugural Clown Program. Ky has also trained at Stella Adler’s in New York for physical theatre and was in the School at Steppenwolf class of 2019. You can find even more info about Ky through their website www.kylieandersonactor.com

CLARA BYCZKOWSKI
(she/they)
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Clara is a Chicago based theatre artist and an ensemble member with The Plagiarists. Chicago theatre credits include I Build Giants, and UBU II, Electric Boog-UBU (The Plagiarists), Girl Found (Idle Muse Theatre Company), Unifying the People: The Rudy Lozano Story (Valiant Theatre), Born Ready (The Factory Theatre), & You Are Here: Camino (Theatre Y) among others. Clara received her BFA in Theatre from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and currently daylights at OPEN Center for the Arts. Check out more clarabyczkowski.com

ANDY CAHOON (he/him)
SET AND PROPS DESIGNER
Andy is new to Chicago having just moved here in July of 2022. He brings with him over ten years of professional theater experience from Phoenix, Arizona. He’s been an actor, technical director, master carpenter, props designer, set designer, electrician, and fight choreographer. Most recently you’ll have seen his work as the TD for Shattered Globe’s production of London Road, and the TD and Props Designer for Red Theater’s Indoor Cats. He is extremely excited to bring his skills to The Plagiarists. Andy would love to thank his wife, Mary, for her constant support and dedication to this shared dream.

CARINA LASTIMOSA (she/her)
COSTUME DESIGNER
Carina is a San Francisco Bay Area native, currently residing in Chicago. She previously assisted in costuming for Stone Soup Shakespeare. Primarily working as an actor, Chicago credits include world premieres of W.o.W. (Theatre Above The Law), Poison and I Build Giants (The Plagiarists) and SF/Bay Area credits include Dogeaters (Magic Theatre), Sisters Matsumoto (Center REPertory Company), A Dreamplay (Cutting Ball Theater), Slaughterhouse-Five (Custom Made Theatre Co.), A Kind of Sad Love Story (Bindlestiff Studio) and as a performer/educator for Kaiser’s Educational Theatre. She has previously directed Sarah Lina Sparks’ short play Sunshine and the Sea of Lost Things for Ghostlight Ensemble’s Make/Believe festival. Her short play The White Room was selected as one of the recipients of Exposition Review’s Flash 405 contest which received an online publication and a production by Our Digital Stories. Carina is a recipient of the Theatre Bay Area TITAN Award and a graduate of Indiana University. Carina is represented by Lily’s Talent Agency and a proud company member of The Plagiarists. www.carinalastimosa.com

HANNAH FOERSCHLER (she/her)
SOUND DESIGNER
Hannah is a Chicago-based sound designer and musician. She holds an MA in Sound Arts & Industries from Northwestern University and a BA in Music from Kenyon College, and she apprenticed with the Purple Rose Theatre Company during their 2015-2016 season. Her design credits span from podcasting to theatre, including work on the audio dramas Unwell: A Midwestern Gothic Mystery and The Vanishing Act, and performances by Third Avenue PlayWorks (Sturgeon Bay, WI), Babes With Blades Theatre Company, The Actor's Gymnasium, Jackalope Theatre Company, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, and other Chicagoland performing arts organizations. Hannah is currently the Interim Sound Manager for Theatre & Performance Studies at the University of Chicago and a proud member of the Theatrical Sound Designers & Composers Association.

CHARLES BLUNT (he/him)
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Charles Blunt is a graduate of Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance in England where he got his undergraduate degree in Lighting Design. Having lit shows in both London & Oxford, he moved to Chicago where he has continued his design work. Charles is excited to be collaborating with the wonderful people at The Plagiarists for a 3rd time!

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FROM THE DIRECTOR

I’ve always been fascinated by human exploration: our innate desire to see what’s over the next hill, or behind the next door. Maybe that’s because my personal default is cowardice. Why would you ever go over that hill? It’s far too hot out…also, my feet hurt…also hills are presumptuous anyway; do they think we have nothing better to do than just climb them all day? How rude. And doors? Don’t even get me started on doors… And yet, armed with a wide array of excuses, procrastinations, delays, doubts, fears, anxieties, and something-better-to-do’s, a human, not too different than you or I, stood on a beach, pointed across the vast ocean in front of them and said, “I want to go there. Bring me a boat.” To which the response was, “what’s a boat? Jeff’s being weird.”

And so, humanity, despite themselves, have climbed hills, opened doors, crossed oceans, and put men from Ohio on the moon.

Which brings us to today. We seem to be in an explorative malaise of sorts. It feels like every beach has been discovered, every hill climbed, every door opened…or removed entirely off its hinges. We can roam vast deserts on our phones and explore galaxies on our PlayStations. Which leaves us in an odd spot. Because no matter how many travel vloggers you follow, that itch doesn’t seem to get scratched.

We’ve changed in the last few years. Our exploration is of “the self.” We stand on the edge of our own internal lives with our history, pains, traumas (both our own and generational) and point out across the ocean of identity. Somewhere out there is who I am. Somewhere out there is who I want to be…which, come to think of it, is probably what Jeff from my previous example was actually aiming at. What’s my place in all this?

That’s what Arabia, Arabia! is to me. Based on an actual Danish expedition sponsored by the King of Denmark in 1761, it’s a story that connects who we are, where we came from, and our given circumstances to where we dream of being. Every one of the adventurers you will meet, no matter how silly or petulant they are, has come to the edge of their own world, and is seeking a life changed. They crash head first into fear, fate, colonialism, grief, sickness and disease and their own wild ineptitudes on their journey together, and like all of humanity before them, they keep pressing on.

Jonathan Shaboo

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