Middle School Ensemble | High School Ensemble | Traveling Troupe | Commedia Troupe | Stage Combat Intensive | Acting Intensive | Technical Theatre | Film
2010 Summer Faculty
TPE's faculty is our greatest asset. Each season we assemble an outstanding group of mature and motivated theatre professionals. Our Directors hold or are currently pursuing a graduate degree in theatre arts. Every staff member is personally interviewed by the Artistic Director, subject to a complete background investigation, and certified in CPR/First Aid.
Traveling Troupe
High School Ensemble/Commedia Troupe
Middle School Ensemble
Technical Staff
Intensives
Leah Vonderheide, Camp Director
From her undergraduate work at Davidson College in North Carolina to her MA in Theatre and Film Studies at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, Leah’s coursework has included the study of French theatre, theatricality in film, and experimental film. During her summers at Davidson, Leah worked as a River Guide and Backcountry Trip Leader for Davidson’s outdoor orientation program, The Odyssey, leading groups of first-year students on whitewater sections of the French Broad River and backcountry sections of the Appalachian Trail. As a member of the coordinating committee for the Washington, DC International Film Festival, Leah recently organized Cinema for Seniors, a free screening that served over 300 senior citizens. This is her second summer at TPE.
Jeanne E. Harrison, Founder/Producing Artistic Director/Traveling Troupe Director
In her 21-year teaching career, Jeanne has taught for The Folger Shakespeare Library, Catholic University, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Loyola University (MD), The Chapin School (NYC) and Interlochen Center for the Arts (MI), where she directed the Shakespeare program. An expert on Commedia dell'Arte and a physical trainer for actors, Jeanne has presented workshops at the National Conference of the American Alliance for Theater & Education. She holds an MA in Theater from University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MFA in Directing from Catholic University. Jeanne has worked in camping for 22 years, directed two other camps, is a certified Camp Director (American Camping Association), Wilderness First Responder (SOLO), and an Instructor with the American Red Cross. Jeanne just finished four years of service to the Helen Hayes Awards as a Judge.
Jessica Lynn Rodriguez, Assistant Director
After spending the summer as the Assistant Director for the Traveling Troupe's production of Love's Labour's Lost, Jessica is pleased to be returning to Traveling Players as a teacher. Jessica is a DC actress and teaching artist. Professionally, she has acted with Open Circle Theatre, The Inkwell, The Hegira, Trumpet Vine Theatre Company, Washington Shakespeare Company, Round House Theatre, The Capital Fringe Festival and The Monomoy Theatre in Cape Cod. She has taught with Creative Kids, Fairfax County Public Schools and The Flint Hill School.
Samantha Sheahan, Assistant Director
Sam will be returning for her fifth camp season with Traveling Players this summer. Her TPE career began when she acted in Much Ado about Nothing in 2005, and she continued to act in shows through 2007. In 2008, she returned as an Assistant Counselor, and she worked as a teaching assistant for TPE's classes in the fall of that year. Samantha worked as an office assistant for TPE from the fall of 2008 through the beginning of 2010, and she is thrilled to return to working with TPE's outstanding summer community. She took a gap year for the academic year of 2008-2009 between high school and college, during which she worked at REI and traveled to Ghana for 11 weeks, teaching English and Integrated Science to 11- to 17-year olds, painting maps, and touring the country with a program called Global Routes. She is now entering her second year at Kenyon College, where she studies psychology, theater, and cultural anthropology.
High School Ensemble and Commedia Troupe
Toby Mulford, Associate Artistic Director, High School Ensemble and Commedia Troupe Director
Toby holds an MFA in ensemble-based physical theater from the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theater. He has also studied with Commedia dell'Arte master Antonio Fava and with faculty from the Moscow Art Theater School. A member of Faction of Fools, DC's only company dedicated specifically to Commedia dell'Arte, he performed in this spring's The House with Two Doors. His play Crawdaddy was performed at the 2009 Festival of Animated Objects in Calgary, Canada. For TPE, he has directed Love for Three Oranges, Blue Monster, Bourgeois Gentleman, and the Commedia Troupe's No Room at the Inn.
Rachel Spicknall, Assistant Director/Improv Teacher
Rachel is returning for her fourth summer at TPE. She is an actor, improv teacher, and the director of marketing at Faction of Fools Theatre Company. She holds a BA in Theater from the University of Maryland, College Park. Rachel has studied in various performance styles at the National Theatre Institute, St. Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy, DC’s own Center for Movement Theatre, the Staniewski Centre for Theatre Practices “Gardzienice” in Poland, and with the improvisers of WIT, iO Theater, Annoyance Theatre, and Second City. In the DC area, Rachel has taught acting and improvisation at TPE, the Holton-Arms School, and Melvin Berman Hebrew Academy. She is also a proudly licensed commercial driver and TPE’s commercial driver trainer.
Robert Gordon, Assistant Director
Suzanne Konicek, Director, The Miser
Suzanne holds a BA in Musical Theatre from Viterbo University in Wisconsin and MFA in directing from The University of Mississippi. She has performed with the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis and was the Artistic Director at Thunder Bay Theatre in Michigan. Her recent work as the Artistic Director of The Orphan Girl Theatre in Butte, MT includes directing numerous youth productions and developing many educational programs.
Lane Pianta, Director, The Learned Ladies
Lane acted in his very first play at the age of 7, got serious about it in his teens, received his BFA (Theatre Studies) from the University of Texas at Austin in 1997 and his MFA (Theatre) from Towson University in 2008. Aspiring to be a ‘total theatre artist’ he has acted in 40 productions, in addition to writing, directing and stage-managing numerous others. Furthermore, Lane has worked as a props master/artisan, a carpenter and in assorted production assistant positions for too many theatres to name. In pursuit of his scholarly interests, Lane conducted an interview with Ben Spatz of Urban Research Theater that was published in New York Theater Review 2009. Combine that with the fact that Lane has written over 150 songs since the age of 13 and his career amounts to something more than the sum of its many parts. The producer of five original productions since 2006, including 65 Days: Lost at Sea with Alain Bombard, SONGSCAPES, Hijos Del Limbo, and My Comic Valentine: A Comic Book for the Stage, Vols. 1 & 2, Lane currently teaches aspiring performers as a faculty member of the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Washington DC.
Robin Irene Goldensohn, Assistant Director
Robin Irene Goldensohn has just finished her first year at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she is studying acting with the Atlantic Theater Company. She attended Traveling Players Ensemble for 4 years and is now returning to the land of purple buses after two summers working as counselor at Valley Mill Camp. Though Robin Irene has performed in six TPE shows, this is her first time directing at camp.
Sarah Stein Lubrano, Assistant Director
Sarah is a proud TPE alumna, having spent 3 summers as a student and the prior summer as staff. She also has assistant-taught with Jeanne Harrison at the Holton-Arms School, directed a mafia-style version of Macbeth and assistant-directed The Odd Couple at her alma mater Walt Whitman High School, and is a graduate of Bethesda Academy of Performing Arts' Acting Conservatory. Sarah is particularly excited to be a text teacher and to work on Learned Ladies as the translation is in iambic pentameter. Sarah is a rising sophomore at Harvard College.
Micah Jasny, Assistant Counselor
Micah has been acting since elementary school in school plays, and also attended TPE as a camper for the past three years. He loves working with kids. Besides being a Sunday school teacher, he has also created a mentor program within his high school to help the Juniors. He looks forward to working with the middle schoolers this summer and having lots and lots of fun.
Jeffrey Robb, Assistant Counselor
Jeffrey attended TPE for six years: three years in middle school and three in Traveling Troupe. He most recently performed in his school's production of Anne Frank and Me and TPE's winter show, Hamlet. He recently graduated from the Edmund Burke School, where he helped assistant direct the middle school plays for four years. He will be attending Muhlenberg College this fall.
Caroline Record, Assistant Counselor
Sasha Goldstein, Head of Scene Shop, Scenic Designer for A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Learned Ladies
Sasha is excited to be returning for a second summer with TPE. She is a graduate of Boston University’s College of Fine Arts with her BFA in Scene Design. She has worked as freelance scenic artist with Adventure Theatre, The Madeira School, Shakespeare Theatre Company and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington. Sasha has spent time working abroad as a scenic artist and technician for Punchdrunk Theatre Company and the English National Opera, respectively. She just completed an apprenticeship with Woolly Mammoth Theatre and is a proud Associate Artist with Constellation Theatre, as their Scenic Charge.
Jessika Watson-Tetting, Assistant Head of Scene Shop, Scenic Designer for The Miser and Love's Labour's Lost
Jessika is new to TPE. She is currently a graduate student at George Washington University, getting her MFA in production design. Her emphasis in set design, she is excited to be designing The Miser and Love's Labor's Lost, and particularly thrilled to go on tour with LLL. She has ample experience as a scenic artist for both theatre and film, and to help thlooking forward to help the students with thier summer sets. She recently designed The Best of Friends at The Washington Stage Guild, and assisted designer Alex Nichols on Arena Stage's Sophisticated Ladies
Adalia Vera Tonneyck, Head of Costume Shop, Costume Designer for A Midsummer Night's Dream
This is Adalia's first summer with TPE. She is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, Fiber Arts program, and is finishing her Masters in Costume Design from Gorge Washington University in fall 2011. She is now working for the Folger Shakespeare library as Head Wardrobe and Assistant Costume Designer. She loves making wonderful costumes and looks forward to a fun summer.
Jenny Bernson, Assistant Head of Scene Shop, Costume Designer for Love's Labour's Lost
Jenny is a second year MFA candidate at George Washington University, studying Costume Design. She has earned two bachelor’s degrees in Theatre and History of Art & Design. Jenny does freelance costume construction work for the Folger Shakespeare Library. This year she worked as assistant costume designer to Valerie St.Pierre-Smith for Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers at the Native American Museum in DC. She is head of Theatre J wardrobe at the DCJCC, whose most recent production was Mikveh. Jenny works as a Teacher’s Assistant in the Theatre Department of George Washington University and designs for three shows a year, as well as working full-time in the costume shop. This is her first year working for the Traveling Players Ensemble.
Mallory Harney, Costume Shop Assistant
Joanna Miller, Scene Shop Assistant
Joanna is a graduate of Walter Johnson HS and plans on attending the University of Michigan this fall, where she will double major in theater and communications. She spent three years as a camper at TPE, two of them in Traveling Troupe, and loved all of them. This past year, she spent 150 hours interning with TPE, and is excited to build on the experience. Recent artistic achievements include performances with TPE, WJ S*TA*G*E and designs for the Sarah Play at Round House Theatre, as well as numerous awards from school mock trial and speech teams. Joanna is delighted to be working for TPE this summer.
Drew Kopas, Improv Teacher
Drew is very happy to return to the Traveling Players Ensemble! Since last summer, he has played Young Charlie in Da at Olney Theatre Center and toured Ireland with Keegan Theatre's production of Of Mice and Men. In June and July, Drew will be performing in Keegan's There Are Little Kingdoms and The Playwright Zone for the Capital Fringe Festival. He can be seen this August in the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Free for All production of Twelfth Night and this fall in Olney Theatre Center's production of Misalliance. Drew studied improvisational comedy with Second City and Improv Olympic members in Cleveland and Chicago. He holds an MFA in acting from Western Illinois University and teaches acting throughout the NOVA/DC area.
Casey Kaleba, Stage Combat Instructor, Fight Choreographer
Casey’s teaching experience includes the Virginia Governor’s School, Theatre Arts Directors’ Association, Shakespeare Theatre Company, and Imagination Stage. Along with recent fight director work at Rorschach Theatre, Signature Theatre, and Studio Theatre SecondStage, Casey was stunt coordinator for the PBS documentary A Prince Among Slaves. He is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors and Fight Directors Canada. He received his MA at University of Maryland-College Park, where he is also working toward a PhD.