Bill Larkin he/him (Chauncy) is thrilled to be making his Raven Theatre debut! Production credits include: The Comedy of Errors, Disney’s Aladdin (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), The Producers (Mercury Theater), A Class Act (Porchlight Music Theatre – Jeff Award: Performer in a Principal Role) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Porchlight: Jeff nomination), Call Me Madam (Porchlight Revisits), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Broadway in Chicago), The Paper Machete and Knowing Your Audience album recording (Green Mill Jazz Club), Death by Evening (Second City e.t.c.), 25+ years in the piano bar circuit (Redhead Piano Bar, Howl at the Moon) The Agony and the Ivories (Edinburgh and Orlando Fringe Festivals), El Grande de Coca-Cola (Civic Theatre of Central Florida), Streetmosphere and Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue (Walt Disney World). FILM: No Ordinary Hero. TELEVISION: Chicago PD (NBC), Premium Blend (Comedy Central). He is a proud member of Actors Equity.
Terry Guest he/him (Nsaku) is a three-time Jeff Award winning playwright, actor, director and teaching artist. His play The Magnolia Ballet had its National New Play Network (NNPN) rolling world premiere in 2022 and has since gone on to win two Jeff Awards, the NNPN Best New American Play Award, and was featured on NPR. Terry went on to direct his play Marie Antionette and the Magical Negros at the Story theater which won three Jeff Awards (including Best Director and Best New Play for Terry). Other works include: Milo Imagines The World, At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen, OAK, Nighbirds (Goodman New Stages Residency), and A Ghost in Satin (Williamstown Theatre Festival). As an actor Terry has worked at regional theaters including Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf, Alliance Theatre, About Face Theatre and Actors Express. He is a Governing Ensemble member at The Story Theatre, a Hermitage Fellow and a teaching artist at Jackalope, Goodman Theatre, Writers Theatre and Chicago Children’s Theatre.
Juan Muñoz he/him (Jose (U/S Nsaku) is a performer, writer, and comedian based in Chicago. Juan was a 2022 Bob Curry Fellow at The Second City, and was a part of its showcase performance “Call Me By My Actual Name”. Acting credits include “The Leopard Play: or Sad Songs for Lost Boys” at Steep Theatre which won a Jeff Award for Best Ensemble. He was also part of “Must Be the Entrance to Heaven” at Vision Latino which was a recipient of the non-equity Jeff award for best short run production. Juan was a member of the 2021 Intensive Ensemble, instituted by Off-Broadway’s Labyrinth Theatre Company. Additionally, Juan was a part of Jackalope Theatre’s Playwright’s Lab in 2023. Juan’s solo show “I’m Not Sad!” will be a part of Theo Ubique’s 2025 Winterfest. Interested parties can follow Juan on instagram @juanwithwords or check out his website: www.juanwithwords.com. Disinterested parties can eat a single rock 🙂
Philip Dawkins he/him/anything respectful (Playwright, U/S Chauncy) is a Flagstaff-based playwright and educator whose plays include Failure: A Love Story (Victory Gardens Theater), Le Switch (About Face Theatre, The Jungle), The Homosexuals (About Face Theater), The Burn (Steppenwolf for Young Audiences), Dr.Seuss’s The Sneetches, the Musical with composer David Mallamud (Children’s Theater Company, Minneapolis), Charm (Northlight Theatre; MCC), and his solo play, The Happiest Place on Earth (Sideshow Theatre/Greenhouse Theater Center). Philip is very pleased to be returning to Raven following his premier production of 2018’s The Gentleman Caller. Many of Philip’s plays are available through Dramatists Play Service, Playscripts, Inc., Dramatic Publishing and at The Understudy bookstore and coffee shop. He is currently working on an American English translaptation of Michel Tremblay’s Messe Solennelle Pour Une Pleine Lune D’été, and probably knitting a sweater.
Colm Summers he/him (Director) is an award-winning Irish director, based in NYC, and the Artistic Director of the Working Theater. Most recently he directed Every Brilliant Thing at the Geffen Playhouse by Duncan MacMillan, starring Daniel K Isaac (Theaterly’s BEST OF 2023). Colm has developed work with Berkeley Rep, New York Stage & Film, Clubbed Thumb, PG73, Rattlestick Theatre, Abbey Theatre, Irish Rep and more. He was a 2023 Groundfloor cohort member at Berkeley Rep and was the inaugural Resident Director at both the Geffen Playhouse and at the Abbey, the National Theater of Ireland. He is the 2024 Drama League Next Stage Resident Fellow. In 2023, he won Ireland’s Next Generation Artist Award for playwriting. He is a writer in the Origin Theater / Irish Arts Center playwrights’ group and BMI Musical Theater Book Writers Workshop alum. He is a RELENTLESS AWARD honorable mention for his play, FALLS. This Season: The Comedians by Philip Dawkins at The Raven, Chicago, and Carmen by Bizet, at New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, New Jersey. @colm_summers
Peter Clare they/them (Sound Designer) is a multi-disciplinary theatre artist and musician originally from Milwaukee and currently based in Chicago. Select sound design and music credits include: In His Hands (First Floor Theatre); a home what howls (Steppenwolf for Young Adults); Blues for an Alabama Sky, Anna in the Tropics, Routes (Remy Bumppo Theatre); The Mamalogues, American Son (Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre); Hoops, The Island (Milwaukee Chamber Theatre); Natural Shocks (Third Avenue Playhouse/Next Act Theatre); Quality Street (Acacia Theatre); and The Nautical Tragedy of Dick III (Quasimondo Physical Theatre). Love and thanks to Sky, Jennifer, Kelsey, Bree, Ellen, and their family at Zao MKE.
Dorothy Craven she/they (Asst. Stage Manager) is a Chicago based stage manager and recent graduate of the University of Iowa. Previous production credits include: ASM on Happy Days Are Here (Again) and A Case for the Existence of God (Steep Theatre). She is grateful to be working with Raven Theatre for the first time and would like to thank the entire team for making this such an enjoyable and fun process!
Izumi Inaba she/her (Costumes Designer) Previously at Raven: The Luckiest, A Doll’s House, Sun Down Yellow Moon, Undeniable Sound of Right Now, and Good Boys and True. Recent credits: Noises Off (Steppenwolf Theatre), I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (Denver Center Performing Arts), Milo Imagines the World (Chicago Children’s Theatre), Every Brilliant Thing (Writers). Upcoming: Empty Ride (The Old Globe), The Play That Goes Wrong (Indiana Repartory Theatre), Cats (Paramount Theatre). Izumi is a member of United Scenic Artists Local USA 829 and represented by Gersh.
Lee Keenan he/him (Production Designer) is Director of the Theatre Program and a Senior Lecturer of Lighting Design at Loyola University Chicago. Lee has designed lights for Lookingglass Theatre, Court Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Victory Gardens Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory, Centerstage Baltimore, The House Theatre of Chicago, Kansas City Rep, Albany Park Theatre Project, 500 Clown, Next Theatre, Silk Road Rising, Steppenwolf Theatre SYA & Garage Rep, Griffin Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre: Short Shakes, Bailiwick Chicago, Buzz22, Theatre Seven, Eclipse Theatre, Walkabout Theater Company, About Face Youth Theatre, Apple Tree Theatre, Circle Theatre, Bailiwick, Infamous Commonwealth, and Adrienne Arsht Center Miami.
Catherine Miller they/them (Casting Director) is excited to be back at Raven Theatre, having cast Ironbound, Brother Sister Cyborg Space, The Prodigal Daughter, Night Watch, The October Storm, Right to be Forgotten, Private Lives, The Luckiest, Sundown, Yellow Moon and Hoodoo Love. They have recently cast productions for About Face Theatre, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Theatre Wit, American Musical Theatre Project, Northwestern University and Backstitch Arts, among many others. Additionally, Catherine has done dramaturgy and gender consulting work for Paramount Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville and About Face Theatre. Catherine was a 2021 3Arts Make A Wave recipient and was featured in American Theatre Magazine’s Role Call. They also were on NewCity Magazine’s 2020 + 2019 Players: The Fifty People Who Really Perform for Chicago and the Windy City Times’ 30 Under 30 list. Catherine has a BFA in Dramaturgy/Criticism from The Theatre School at DePaul and is a proud Artistic Associate at About Face Theatre. For more, subscribe to their substack at https://frombehindthetable.substack.com/
Newton Schottelkotte they/them (Asst. Sound Design) is a sound designer, composer, and engineer hailing from Appalachia and based here in Chicago. Recent design credits include the love object (The Story Theatre), Poe Evermore and THE DEAD (Bloody Disgusting), Jersey Boys (Mercury Theater), and Where the Stars Fell (Caldera Studios). You can find them at newtschottelkotte.com or pleading with their cat to “get down from there”.
Emmitt (Emm) Socey they/them (Asst. Lighting Designer) is a recent graduate of Loyola University Chicago with roots in Indianapolis and Richmond, IN. They were the properties intern at Peninsula Players Theatre in Door County, WI this summer. Since then, Emm was guest co-director of Orange Julius with Kelly Howe at Loyola. They did the lighting design for Blood to Drink by Maggie Lou Rader and direction/dramaturgy for You Will Speak Again Kapemba’tona by Helena Aleluya Jose, both at Earlham College. And this December, Emm will do the lighting design for Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs ‘A Christmas Carol’ Again at The Den. They would like to thank Lee for this opportunity and for helping them become a better designer and collaborator.
Olivia Sullam she/they (Stage Manager) is delighted to be working at Raven Theatre for the first time! She is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago with a B.A. in Theatre and a minor in English. Other select Chicago credits include HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN (Steep Theatre); DISHWASHER DREAMS, WIFE OF A SALESMAN, TIGER STYLE!, MANUAL CINEMA’S CHRISTMAS CAROL, EURYDICE (Writers Theatre); THE DREAM KING, SOMEWHERE OVER THE BORDER (Teatro Vista); THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT, BLACK SUNDAY, NOTES FROM THE FIELD, BOULEVARD OF BOLD DREAMS (TimeLine Theatre); AND NEITHER HAVE I WINGS TO FLY (First Folio Theatre).
Lucy Whipp she/her (Production Manager) is a Chicago-based production manager, stage manager, and a generally useful set of hands to have around. She is the production manager at Raven and is honored to work on The Comedians, as Philip Dawkins is one of her personal icons. Recent production credits that made her smile: Production Manager on Ironbound, Assistant Stage Manager on Short Shakes! Romeo & Juliet (Chicago Shakes), Assistant Production Manager on the immersive production Port of Entry (APTP/TRP); Production Stage Manager of world premieres Gender Play: or What You Will and The Magnolia Ballet (About Face); Anna in the Tropics and Routes (Remy Bumppo); ASM for Kitty & Georgiana: Christmas at Pemberley (Northlight); Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play, Who’s Holiday (Theater Wit); Plano (First Floor Theater). She is proud to be a Governing Ensemble member at The Story Theatre. She has worked with The Story since Season I, most recently production managing The Love Object, in addition to stage managing Leave Me Alone! and At the Wake of a Dead Drag Queen, production managing Marie Antoinette and the Magical Negroes, and producing several emerging playwright workshops and festivals including The (W)rites of Summer in 2023 and 2024. She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
This season is sponsored in part by a grant from the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation.