Claire Aberasturi – Tracker Orc/
Rosie Cotton
This Cincinnati transplant hails from San Clemente,
CA; Charlottesvile, VA; St. Louis, MO; and Newport,
RI. A former military brat, Claire received her BA in
theatre while living in St. Louis and is now able to
add "puppeteer" to her resume since moving
to Cincinnati in June 2000 to work with Madcap Puppet
Theatre. Some favorite roles include Dora in
Equus, Carol in Oleanna,
Miss Julie in Miss Julie,
and as the delicate creature in The
Good Doctor.
Robert Allen – Saruman / Denathor
Bob returns this year as Denathor, Stewart of Gondor.
No stranger to the wizard's way, Bob has played Prospero
in The Tempest and reprises his role
as Saruman from The Two Towers.
A stage veteran, he has performed as MacBeth
in MacBeth, Claudius in Hamlet,
Van Helsing in Dracula, John
Hancock in 1776, Thomas More
in A Man for All Seasons, and Atticus
Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Bob is Chair of the High School Certificate Acting Program
in the Preparatory Department at U.C.'s College-Conservatory
of Music.
Aretta Baumgartner – Gollum/Sméagol
and others
Aretta is thrilled to join the world of The Lord of
the Rings for a third time -- and will never forget
this amazing 5-year journey. Recent theatre involvements
include the world prepiere of the "popera"
Blues Alley Cat, puppeteering Audrey
II for Rising Phoenix Theatre's Little
Shop of Horrors (directed by none other than
Gimli, Elizabeth Harris), and singing and dancing
in Schoolhouse Rock Live! for Covedale
Center for the Performing Arts (finally able to play
the role of Interplanet Janet, a life-long
dream). She's proud to be incoming Great Lakes Regional
Director for the Puppeteers of America and is a member
of UNIMA-USA. She is the recipient of the Puppeteers
of America/Great Lakes Applause, Applause Award
and teaches puppetry mask and acting for Northern Kentucky
University Theatre and Dance (NKU). Just so everyone
knows: next to Eric, Dad, and John-- Carus and Blake
are the best guys in the whole wide world.
Troy Andrew Bausch – Pippin
Troy (Pippin Took) is a proud graduate of Thomas
More College having earned his BA in theatre in 2000,
and has been active in Cincinnati theatre since age
15. His first role was at the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati
playing Roger in Everything in The
Garden, written and directed by Edward Albee.
Now he is very proud to be the Artistic Director of
Clear Stage Cincinnati. Troy has worked with several
theatres in the area both on and off the stage including
ETC, Showboat Majestic, Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative
(CPI), Madcap, and most recently as Production Manager
for Stage First. Select roles include the title role
in the one-man show, The Story Wizard
(Madcap), Cain in Creation of
The World and Other Business (ETC), Marat
in Marat/Sade, The Mayor
in The Visit, and Will Kemp
in A Cry of Players (Thomas More).
Off stage Troy has designed sound for many shows including
Three Days of Rain at ETC and received
a Cincinnati Enquirer Jackie Award for his design in
The Tempest at Stage First. He can
also be seen in the local independent film People
Like Us as Philip Vanover. This year
has been a very important year for Troy, not only founding
Clear Stage but marrying his wife Andrea in July. They
are pleased to announce they are expecting their first
child in April. He would like to thank all who made
this company and this production possible including
the Clear Stage staff, his parents and family, Jesus
Christ, and most of all his wife for helping him to
never lose faith in his dream.
Casey Bell - Legolas
Casey just finished his eighth year at the
epic outdoor drama, Blue Jacket. Casey
has been involved in many productions in Dayton and
the surrounding area, including the regional premiere
of the stage version of Shane with
Bruce Campbell (Casey played gun-fighter, Stark
Wilson). Other regional credits include Craig/Hiram
in The Normal Heart and his award-winning
portrayal of Geoffrey in The Lion in
Winter. Thanks to his fiancée, Melissa
Depenbrock, with whom he is excited to be working again!
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of Casey’s
favorite works of fantasy-fiction. He thanks you, the
audience, and hopes you enjoy the show!
Melissa Bennett – Shagrat,
Boffo
Melissa (Shagrat/Boffo) is a recent graduate of Bowling
Green State University where she earned a degree in
theatre. There she studied both acting and technical
theatre, serving also as Resident Scenic Artist. She
has been involved in theatre since the age of eight
when she developed her love of the stage with the newly
formed community theatre organization, Showbiz Players,
here in Cincinnati. In the future, she hopes to continue
her passion as an actor/technician in whatever capacity
her path takes her. She wouldn’t be surprised
if she found herself sharing her love and talents as
a teacher within the next ten years. Her true aspiration
is to just be able to do whatever makes her happy, as
she has learned her life’s plans can rarely exist
more than a day in advance. For now, she’s more
than happy getting to be a part of the Clear Stage family
and thanks Gina and Baca for telling her about the production.
The Return of the King has been her
idea of a dream job: not only does she get to be an
actor and scenic artist, but the show also incorporates
puppetry & plenty of combat, two of her favorite
areas of performance. She is grateful to Clear Stage
Cincinnati for giving her this opportunity.
Josh Beshears - Aragorn
On the verge of living a life of normalcy, Josh (Aragorn)
decided to become a theatre major at NKU, where he met
a slew of both creative and wonderful students and professors.
Thank you Aretta, Gina, and Blake for believing in me
and allowing me to be a part of such a wonderful journey.
Thank you Mom and Dad for allowing me to walk the road
less traveled. To the rest of my family and friends
back home and at the Prima Vista, thanks for being there.
Patricia Blessing – Galadriel
/ Robin
Patty (Galadriel/Robin Smallburrow) joins the Fellowship
after a long hiatus from performing. Following her graduation
from NKU in 1990, she traveled with a children's touring
company for a time. Since then however, she has been
working in the real world. Patty would like to take
this opportunity to thank, Gina, Blake and Clear Stage
Cincinnati, “for allowing me to join in this journey,
and to experience and explore that which is Middle Earth.”
Blake Bowden – Samwise
Blake (Sam Gamgee) is pleased to return on the Jarson-Kaplan
stage and ecstatic to be working with Clear Stage Cincinnati
to complete this amazing journey —it all, finally,
feels like home! He has appeared around town at Music
Hall with The Cincinnati Ballet (The Nutcracker),
The Taft with The Children’s Theatre (Androcles
& The Lion, The Crucible,
Annie, Jr,), and the Fifth-Third Bank
Theatre of the Aronoff with Cincinnati Public Theatre
(The Kentucky Cycle) and numerous Ovation
Theatre Company productions (including Who’s
Afraid of Virginia Woolf). Blake has been a
part of several award-winning regional productions including
The Compleat Wrks of Wllm. Shkspr (abridged)
(1999 Cincinnati Entertainment Award (CEA) nominee);
Old Wicked Songs (2000 CEA winner);
and The Scarlet Letter (2000 Jackie
Award for his portrayal of Arthur Dimmesdale).
He also serves as the administrator and occasional performer
for Clear Stage Cincinnati ’s Books in Action
Program — bringing drama into Headstart preschool
classrooms within Cincinnati Public Schools. Blake was
cited by Cincinnati Magazine as a member of the “Creative
Class” - one of 70 young professionals that brings
creativity and vibrancy to the tri-state region. Blake
thanks his patient and loving wife, Wendy, for tolerating
his Hobbit hair (“last time, dear, I promise!”)
and his one-year old son, Samuel, for bringing unparalleled
joy (and The Wiggles) into our lives.
Jaimss Carpenter – Treebeard,
Nazgul, Mouth of Sauron
Rev. Jaimss is a writer, adventurer, part-time super
hero (identity withheld per request) wrapped in a candy
quixotic shell. Dabbled with theatre through the years
but found the drama taxing (Renfield, Puck, Boo Radley,....you
get the picture). His main pursuits are music, speculative
science and Victorian literature though the occasional
pun (ok, frequent) will distract him. Much thanks must
be extended to my close circle of friends without whom
I would have collapsed to banality long ago. An extra
special thanks to Joseph, my mentor, whose undying patience
and insight have instilled in me much dignity. “Seek
and learn to recognize what, in the midst of inferno,
is not inferno, then help it endure, ...give it space.”
Melissa Depenbrock – Arwen
Melissa (Arwen) is thrilled to join the cast
of The Return of the King after a lifetime
of enjoying Tolkien's novels. She just graduated from
Thomas More College with a BA in Theatre and thinks
this show is a perfect way to begin her journey. Melissa
recently finished yet another summer as Head Equestrian
for the outdoor drama Blue Jacket,
also performing the role of Clearwater. Some
of her favorite roles include: Jacie in Comic
Potential, Marian in the classic western
Shane, Amanda in The
Glass Menagerie and Kate in All
My Sons. Melissa would like to thank Casey
for letting her live vicariously through him during
The Two Towers, Gina for giving her
this chance, and her mom for introducing her to Middle
Earth.
Dave Early – Beregond
Dave (Beregond) is glad to return the Cincinnati
stage after a hiatus training horses, settling into
downtown and exploring southern California (yes, he
went to Ca. and didn’t do any acting…).
In between the miles, he has worked on Elizabeth Harris’s
opus, Someday, and increased his contact
with his extended family all over the internet domains.
Much thanks to Blake, Gina and Jaimss for the next journey
along the paths we’re all taking.
Elizabeth Harris - Gimli
Elizabeth (Gimli) is proud to be returning
to the story of The Lord of the Rings for a third season.
You may remember her as Gimli and Butterbur
in The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001
and as Gimli in The Two Towers
in 2002. Elizabeth's other Cincinnati theatre credits
include: Diane in Square One
(2003 Jackie Award winner) with New Edgecliff Theatre
Company, Puck in A Midsummer Night’s
Dream and Female Player in Love's
Fire both at ETC, and The Mad Hatter in
Alice in Wonderland with Theatre IV.
She has also appeared in Steel Magnolias
with Professional Actor's Workshop, Big River
with Flat Rock Playhouse, and Someday
with Someday Outdoor Drama. As a member of the Pier
Group Theatre Company, Elizabeth co-wrote The
Big Bored which was produced at both the Cincinnati
Shakespeare Festival and The Horizon Theatre in Atlanta.
Elizabeth serves as one of Clear Stage Cincinnati’s
performers and curriculum developers for the drama component
of the Books in Action Program—serving Headstart
preschoolers in Cincinnati Public Schools.
Megan Hils – Éowyn
Megan (Éowyn) is in her junior year
as a Theatre major at NKU where she has appeared as
Helen in Trojan Women and
Cobweb in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
She also portrayed Grishnahk in 2002’s
The Two Towers. She is excited to continue this journey
with such an incredible company. Thanks to Mom, Dad,
and Angela for their love & support.
David Hyden – Merry
David (Merry Brandybuck) has worked in the NKU theatre
department but is better known as a comedian at clubs
& colleges across the nation. From his first role
ever, as the Nutcracker, he is pleased to become a part
of Tolkein’s tale as a Hobbit. “Who knew
that tight pants would’ve gotten me here?”
Darren Lausa – Theoden /
Ted Sandyman
Darren (Theoden/Ted Sandyman) began acting
at the age of eight in an after school program at the
YMCA in his hometown of Lima, Ohio. He appeared in many
roles throughout his school career, as well as in community
and professional theatre. With a proclivity to mimicry,
Darren began doing impressions of personalities (both
famous and not) at the age of six beginning with Ernie
from Sesame Street. He spent eight years as a cast member
of the Ohio Renaissance Festival (ORF) and has appeared
in the independent film The Golem.
A student of medieval and renaissance history, Darren
was a founding member of The Open Book Historical Society.
Darren continues to publish poetry, has begun his first
novel and is looking to publish an on-going series of
essays. Darren's notable roles include Dr. Einstein
in Arsenic and Old Lace, Fabian
in Twelfth Night, and as Lord Ambrose
Dudley, Earl of Warwick at the ORF.
Wilfried
Meybolm – Elrond
Wilfried received his degrees in Literature and Theatre
from Barry University in Miami, Florida, where he studied
Shakespeare and Directing. He has performed in such
plays as A Streetcar Named Desire,
The Merry Wives of Windsor, The
Zoo Story, Waiting for Godot,
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)
and Macbeth. He is a recognized Actor/Combatant
with the Society of American Fight Directors and resident
Fight Choreographer for the Hollywood Shakespeare Festival.
Wilfried performs at Renaissance Festivals throughout
the country with his love and partner, Elizabeth Ritchie,
in the Gypsy stage show, 9 Fingers/6 Toes.
When not performing, he is an avid reader, teacher,
choreographer and composer, having composed music for
outdoor drama and the stage for over twenty productions.
Wilfried would like to thank Blake Bowden, the Cast
and Gina for opening their arms and welcoming this born-and-raised
Floridian to Cincinnati. He is currently bracing for
his first real winter.
Pete Moore – Faramir
Pete (Faramir) is “all fired up”
about joining this production. A teacher and drama director
at King's High School, Pete has proudly presented productions
of Plaza Suite, Greater Tuna,
Over the Tavern, Zorro,
and The Three Musketeers. Moving out
of the director's chair, this is his first acting experience
in over ten years (save in the 2002 production, The
Two Towers). Pete would like to thank his family
and friends, especially his wife, Lisa, and his son,
Ryan.
Timothy Rhoades – Éomer
Tim (Éomer) returns to The Lord of the
Rings a second time, appearing in 2002’s The
Two Towers as Merry Brandybuck. Tim
is also credited with receiving the heralded honor of
“Hobbit Boxing Runner-up Champion” from
last year.
Joe
Sofranko – Frodo Baggins, others
Joe (Frodo Baggins) is very excited to be returning
to The Lord of the Rings after his performance as Frodo
in 2002’s The Two Towers last
year. He has been seen locally at Playhouse in the Park
in Inherit the Wind and A Christmas
Carol, with The Children's Theatre in
Jack and the Beanstalk, The Fantastic
Toy Shoppe, Noah's Ark, Snow
White, and Androcles and the Lion,
and with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in the May
Festival production of The Prophets,
conducted by James Conlon. Joe is a junior at Walnut
Hills High School where he participates in the theater
program and will be seen next as Sky Masterson
in Guys and Dolls. He is a graduate
of the two-year CCM High School Certificate Acting Program
and is a certified Actor/Combatant in the Society of
American Fight Directors. Last year, Joe won a Cappie
Award for his portrayal of the Emcee in Cabaret
and the Cincinnati Arts Association's Overture Award
for high school theater. He also spent a month last
summer studying acting in Paris with NYU's Tisch School
of the Arts Summer High School Theater Program. Special
thanks to Gina for being such an amazing and inspiring
teacher.
Zachary Stewart – Bilbo Baggins, Grima Wormtongue
Zach is positively thrilled to be portraying Bilbo Baggins and
Grima Wormtongue in CLEAR STAGE CINCINNATI's premiere production:
The Return of the King. Zach is a senior at Indian Hill High School.
He has appeared in several shows at Indian Hill including:
The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Macbeth, Lend Me a Tenor, and recently,
The Pirates of Penzance in which he played Major-General Stanley. He is very
active in the International Thespian Society, serving not only as troupe President
for Indian Hill and on the Ohio State Board, but also as the Chairman of the International
Thespian Officers. He would like to thank his family for their ever-present support.
He would also like to thank the fellowship of amazing people who made this show possible!
Thomas Stiver – Gandalf
Tom (Gandalf) is a USAF retiree who
served 27 years on active duty at bases around the world.
He has a BS in Industrial Engineering from Louisiana
Tech and an MS in Facilities Management from the Air
Force Institute of Technology. He took up acting as
an avocation in 1999, appearing in 24 productions, including
Twelfth Night as Sir Toby Belch
and The Merry Wives of Windsor as Falstaff.
Other favorite roles include Little John in
Robin Hood, Friar Felipe in
Zorro, The Giant in Jack
& the Beanstalk, and Jellybend
in The Scarlet Pimpernel. Tom appears
at the Ohio Renaissance Faire as the crusty old woodsman,
Benjamin Killian Knobby. He has portrayed Santa Claus
for 27 Christmases, appearing on Christmas Cards, in
print and commercials, and on The Tonight Show with
Jay Leno. He says being Gandalf is simply "wizard!"
Matthew York – Driver / Soldier
Orc / Gorbag / Hob
There’s no way to describe just how excited Matt
(Driver/Soldier Orc/Gorbag/Hob) is about being
a part of The Return of the King. Not
only is it the inaugural performance for Clear Stage
Cincinnati, but it’s also a living breathing version
of one of the greatest stories ever told - the kind
of larger than life hero story that has long attracted
Matt to the stage. In high school, Matt was the man
behind the mask in Zorro: The Curse of Capistrano.
The year after he returned to help the swashbuckling
trio in The Three Musketeers as an
Assistant Director/Assistant Fight Director, a mantle
Matt would be more than happy to take a swing at again.
Stage combat has a special place in Matt’s heart,
and he looks forward to any future chance to brandish
a weapon. Matt’s other love in theatre is making
people laugh. He’s goofed off in Greater
Tuna, Over the Tavern, and
The Merry Wives of Windsor. But this
guy does more than act — he experienced the high-stress
world of crew work on Annie. As for
the future, Matt is open to suggestions! He welcomes
any opportunity to keep learning about anything and
everything and hopes to spend the next few years in
college doing just that. Matt’s friends and family
are often one in the same, and he’s got a lot
of them to thank: Mom, Dad, Pete, Megan, Tosha, Janelle,
Kelly, Ryan, Kel, Planet Marsto, and Klatter the Killifier.
Gina Cerimele-Mechley — Director, Fight
Choreographer
John Baca – Asst. Director, Asst.
Fight Choreographer
Katie Trauth – Directing Intern
Rachel Mock — Administrative
Assistant
Josh Newmeyer — Stage Manager
Emma Robertson – Stage Management
Interm
