After over a year on hold due to the pandemic, on July 17 & 18 we were finally able to present A Midsummer Night’s Dream - outdoors and in midsummer at the Hyde Playground Bandstand in Newton.
Free admission (with suggested donation)
NCT thanks you for your generous support!
NCT thanks the Hyde Community Center for inviting us to perform in their Summer Series. Check out all the fun events (including theater, music, movies, and more!) at Hyde Community Center this summer by following @hydehighlands on social media.
Cast and Production Team Bios
Ilan Barzilay (Theseus)
Ilan can’t really say that he gives to airy nothing a local habitation and a name, but he is full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
Jenn Bradbury (Hippolyta)
This is Jenn’s 5th Season with NCT. She is delighted to play the part of the Amazon Queen, Hippolyta. Previously Jenn has played Adella in NCT’s production of The Little Mermaid, a member of the Ensemble and the part of Milkmaid in the song “Who Will Buy?” in NCT’s production of Oliver!, and her debut role as Mother Sarn in NCT’s Workshop production of Precious Bane: The Musical. Jenn is also involved in Set, often found painting or building in between rehearsing her scenes, and received a 2020 Dash Award for Set Dressing for NCT’s Mary Poppins, and a 2019 Dash Nomination for Set Dressing for NCT’s The Little Mermaid. When not on stage, Jenn spends her time with her multitude of backyard farm animals, or tinkering on a new project! She wants to thank her friends and family for their continued love and support!
Lauren Inker (Philostrate)
Lauren’s past NCT shows include Oliver (ensemble), Much Ado About Nothing (Friar and Sexton), Miracle on 34th Street (Bailiff). She has also appeared in the Dover Foundation’s Drowsy Chaperone (ensemble), Guys and Dolls (Mission Band), and Pirates of Penzance (ensemble).
Kim Marie Nicols (Egeus)
Kim Marie has come full circle since performing the role of Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Northeastern University, 41 years ago. She is grateful that NCT considered changing the gender of this role, and has had a wonderful time with the cast and crew, even though it took 14 months to finally bring it before an audience. She has previously performed on the NCT stage in The Women (Lucy), The Secret Garden (Mrs. Sowerby), and The Crucible (‘Goody’ Sarah Good), and has also appeared in No Exit (Ines) at the Footlight Club. Kim Marie recently retired as a social worker / educator with Deaf and Hard of Hearing people, and is active in many Needham community organizations. She is grateful to her husband Cliff Hayden for all his love and support, and appreciates her family in attendance, even coming from as far away as Nebraska.
Darren Cornell (Lysander)
Darren is a graduate of Emmanuel College where he studied Theater Arts and Chemistry. Some favorite acting credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream at T@F (Lysander) and Xanadu (Sonny Malone), and Sweet Charity (Vittorio Vidal) at Emmanuel College. He has also worked on the scenic design for productions of X, Antigone, Delicate Particle Logic, at Flat Earth Theatre and A Day in Hollywood/ A Night in the Ukraine and Medea at Emmanuel College. He would like to thank his family and Sammy for their constant support.
Eliza Morton (Hermia)
Eliza is excited to be back at NCT after playing Susan in Miracle on 34th Street and being part of the pandemic’s Musical Revue. Other recent favorite roles include Chana/Rifkele in Indecent, Romaine Patterson in The Laramie Project, Helen in The Miracle Worker, and Hermia in another production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other interests include film acting, computer programming, and fiber arts. A big thanks to everyone who made this production possible!
Alexander Slocum (Demitrius)
If I get hit in the show it’s not scripted, they just hate me. Send help.
Lydia Bailey (Robin Starveling)
Lydia is excited to be a part of her first performance with NCT. It’s been a while since her last show (for obvious reasons). When not doing theater, she enjoys competitive eating competitions and prolonged eye contact.
Hannah Brown (Snug)
Hannah is delighted to finally be back on the stage after the longest year without theatre ever! She was last seen onstage in NCT’s Mary Poppins (Valentine/Ensemble); other previous credits include The Little Mermaid, Our Town, and Oliver! with NCT, and One Man, Two Guv’nors with the Burlington Players. Outside of the theatre, Hannah works as a manufacturing engineer and can usually be found cooking, hiking, rowing, or flinging herself around the ninja gym.
Jason Fogler (Bottom)
After a 20+ year diversion into the field of clinical psychology, Jason Fogler is delighted to return to the stage in a play that is near and dear to his heart. (He played Lysander in high school and Theseus in college). The chance to share this experience with his son as his [weird, donkey-headed temporary step-] father has made it all the more special.
Maeve McCluskey
(Peter Quince)
(she/her or they/them) Maeve is ecstatic to be reentering the stage after an extremely long pandemic-induced theatrical drought. Maeve is a Boston-based actor, vocalist, and comedian: prior to the pandemic you could find her on stage all over the greater Boston area performing literally anywhere they would let her in through the stage door. She is passionate about Shakespeare, especially his comedies, and this rendition of Midsummer will be her 5th (she played Puck in her first show at around 10 years old) to date! Previous credits with NCT include Peter in Peter Pan, Ms. Andrew in Mary Poppins, and Jetsam in The Little Mermaid (nominated for the EMACT DASH Award for Best Specialty Ensemble in a Musical, 2019). Maeve and her best friend and roommate, Hannah (playing Snug), just moved to Newton in June and are thrilled to be performing in their new neighborhood!
Kyle W. Porter (Flute)
Actor, director, Equity Member Candidate, and tea snob, Kyle W. Porter has worn many hats since graduating Summa Cum Laude from Dean College’s Bachelor of the Arts, Theatre program. He has recently returned to America after living abroad in China for almost 5 years. While he was abroad, he taught English and Drama, produced different live events, and starred as his dream role of Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with an international cast. He is very excited and grateful to be working once again in the Boston Theatre scene and hopes to make acting his full-time profession.
Nicola Thomson (Snout)
Nicola is so excited to be joining the Needham Community Theater for her first play since high school! She has spent the last four years doing improv comedy at ImprovBoston and with the groups Shestory Show and Tailored Shorts. You can catch Nicola performing with Tailored Shorts on July 25th, 7pm at Remnant Brewing in Somerville for her first in-person improv show in over a year!
Kathryn DePaola (Titania)
Kathryn is thrilled to be performing with NCT again. Her previous credits include Bye Bye Liver: The Boston Drinking Play, The Opposite of People’s Star Wars Saga, and Tubiforce’s award winning The Bacchae. (Evoe!) Look for her next in an upcoming Abbynormal Productions that is so secret, even SHE does not know what the show is- just that she has been cast! Kathryn sends love and thanks to her family, friends, cast and crew. And a very special thank you to her husband Geoffrey and their cat Lana for putting up with her crazy rehearsal schedule-I love you! For Frank.
Ben Fogler (Mustardseed)
Ben is a graduate of Charles River School and will be attending Needham High School this fall. He has acted with the Freelance Players, Lynx, and in school plays since his elementary days, and he has taken acting and improv classes at Wheelock Family Theatre. This is his NCT debut, and he hopes to continue acting in high school. He thanks his family for supporting his interest in acting and comedy (especially for driving him to all those rehearsals!).
Dan Henderson (Oberon)
Pratfalling, fetishistic British judge (Witness for the Prosecution); genteel, erudite town doc (Our Town); tipsy, excitable Irish enforcer (Twentieth Century); kite-mending, falsely condemned town drunk (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer); doddering, batty widower (And Then There Were None); enraged, confused identical twin aristocrat (The Comedy of Errors); gentle-giant keeper of magical creatures (Harry Potter series)… sure, the obvious next role is mischievous, meddlesome King of the Fairies, right? Dan Henderson is happiest on a stage and this time around he’s especially humbled to think of the thousands of actors who have recited Oberon’s lines before him. He thanks his family and friends for support and his castmates and crew for camaraderie and memories.
Nicki Ramshaw
(Puck, Producer)
Nicki is pleased as punch to be back doing live theater. Having appeared in numerous NCT shows, including Much Ado About Nothing, Miracle on 34th Street, and Our Town, she brings her impish antics to Midsummer, where playing Puck pretty much means being herself. Nicki thanks her loving and supportive husband, David, and children, Lily and Josh, for putting up with her every day.
Shannon Murphy
(Lead Fairy/Peaceblossom)
Shannon is an avid fan of Shakespeare and of musical theatre. She loves working with NCT, most recently in 2019’s Mary Poppins. She hopes everyone enjoys the show!
Isabel Dirks (Helena)
Isabel is so excited to be back with Needham Community Theatre for this summer’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream! Isabel is currently studying directing at Pace University in Manhattan. She credits Ted as being one of her directing inspirations, and would like to thank him for his constant encouragement. Isabel is ecstatic for her first live show since the pandemic and she hopes you are too!
Edward Eaton (Director)
This is Ted’s 4th directorial gig with NCT (he helmed Our Town, Tom Sawyer, and First Love, Last Love). He has also directed and staged fights extensively throughout the Boston area, in New York, regionally, and overseas. Ted has published several works, including the award-winning Rosi’s Doors YA series, as well as verse and dramatic works. Beyond the arts, Ted works as an adjunct college professor at MassBay Community College (English, Philosophy, and Critical Thinking) and is a full-time father and househusband (Chief Domestic Operative). He skis and does SCUBA. He lives in Needham with his wife, Silviya (a hospital administrator), and his son, Christopher (a nut).
Nadine Sa (Stage Manager)
Nadine is excited to be part of this cast and crew in her first experience doing outdoor theater. Favorite credits include Little Mermaid and Mary Poppins (SM) with Needham Community Theater, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (SM) and Secret Garden (ASM) with Concord Players and Mountain Top (SM) with Lexington Players. This summer, Nadine is combining two of her loves, theater and traveling, and will be joining Lexington Players as their Stage Manager in Monaco at the Mondial du Theatre Festival to present Who Will Sing For Lena. This festival is an international theater festival of 15 countries from August 17-22nd . It is truly wonderful to have theater with a live audience again.
Heather Daley
(Assistant Stage Manager)
Heather first joined NCT as an ensemble member for Oliver! in 1996. Since then, she has participated either on stage or backstage for every mainstage show. Her roles include Costume Designer, Props Mistress, Scenic Artist, Set Designer, Director, ASM, stage crew, cast member and Stage Manager. She is the recipient of 7 DASH awards for props, costumes, scenic artistry and stage management. Thanks to Ted, Nadine, Nicki and all the cast and crew for bringing this show to an audience after a 15 month Covid related hiatus!! Enjoy the show!
Chris Tess
(Sound Designer,
Sound Engineer)
Chris’ amazing and talented daughter, Amiya, volunteered to write this for him. He’s excited to be doing his first outdoor production and his first Shakespeare play. Chris has been a part of NCT since Miracle on 34th Street, where he sang in the carolers’ choir. Since then, he has designed and operated sound for over a dozen shows including Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Our Town, and Mary Poppins. He also did video and audio editing for NCT’s 2021 musical revues. Enjoy the show, and watch out for those mosquitoes!
Amiya Tess
(Sound Designer,
Sound Engineer)
Amiya is excited to design and operate the sound for A Midsummer Night’s Dream! She has been helping backstage with sound since Tom Sawyer, but was able to officially assist during Mary Poppins in 2019. She has also performed in several other productions with NCT including Peter Pan (fairy/mermaid), Oliver! (workboy/pickpocket), and Mirror, Mirror (Rapunzel). In her spare time, she reads, sings, and participates in debate and mock trial. She wants to thank her dad for showing her the ropes of sound engineering!
Elizabeth Micci (Props)
Elizabeth is an educator and arts aficionado who has participated in theater projects in Houston, Boston, and Hong Kong. She is thrilled to be working with this incredible team on her first show with Needham Community Theatre and to be back to live productions!
Kathy Magni (Costumes)
Kathy joined NCT in 1988, and has been an active participant in nearly every show since that time. She has performed in nearly 30 shows and designed costumes and taken headshots for over 40 shows. She has also produced many NCT shows, worked on set painting, set decoration, as house manager, and assistant stage manager. A member of the Board of Directors for over 25 years, Kathy currently serves as NCT's President.
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