Jim Johnson 
Suzanne Dean 
Scott Jackson 
Jennifer Le Blanc 
Aaron Wilton 
Joel Bryant 
Laura Baranick 
Karel Heřmánek 
Matthew Cowell 
Jessica Romero 
Benjamin Stowe 
Abbe Fralix 
Ray Jacildo 
Nadina Espinosa 
Bailey Smith 
Ross Turkington 
Carolyn Johnson 
Jennifer King 
Laura Cole 
Kevin Kemp
JIM JOHNSON (Prospero) is a professor of voice and accents at the University of Houston, and founder of www.AccentHelp.com, offering accent materials for actors. He teaches and performs with Prague Shakespeare Company each summer, when there’s not a pandemic, and travels the world recording accents every possible opportunity. With PSC, Jim has played Prospero, Julius Caesar, Demetrius, and Gratiano. He is based in Houston, TX.
SCOTT JACKSON (Alonso) has served as the Mary Irene Ryan Family Executive Director of Shakespeare at Notre Dame since the position was created in 2007, providing executive oversight for the many Shakespeare-related programs housed at the University of Notre Dame. He has produced, directed, and performed in over 150 productions, and taught acting at Notre Dame, Holy Cross College, Indiana University, and for the Prague Shakespeare Company. A firm believer in the power of Shakespeare and the theatre arts to effect positive social change, he is a co-founder of the Shakespeare in Prisons Network and teaches a weekly Shakespeare in performance course at the Westville Correctional Facility. In 2018 he adapted and directed a world-premiere adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It specifically for neurodiverse audiences. He holds a dual BA (Theatre and History) from Indiana University and is currently pursuing an MFA in Actor Training and Coaching from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He is the recipient of the Robinson Community Learning Center’s Arthur Quigley, PhD award for outstanding community service and the Fairbanks Downtown Association’s Golden Heart Award.
SUZANNE DEAN (Antonia / Director / Producer) is an award-winning Actress/Director/Producer. Suzanne is the owner of Globetrotting Shakespeare and Rebelfilm Productions LLC, co-Creator of the We Are Shakespeare Digital Video Festival, co-Founder of Little Fish Theatre, and co-Artistic Director of Shakespeare by the Sea. As a theatre maker, she has produced, directed, and performed in over 175 live events – from large-scale touring open-air productions, to intimate black box performances, and site-specific Pop-Up events. She created Pub Shakespeare and, most recently, is producing live stream and recorded content for a Virtual Stage. EMMY nominated, Suzanne has produced and managed over 120 commercials as well as feature-length and short films. As an Actress, she is known for dramatic work and comedy with extensive experience in Noel Coward, Tennessee Williams, Harold Pinter, Edward Albee, and Shakespeare – having performed leading roles in 20 of his plays, some multiple times. Suzanne is a recurring Faculty Member/ Director and performer with Prague Shakespeare Company and the Arabian Shakespeare Festival. She also serves as Executive Treasurer of the international Shakespeare Theatre Association.
JENNIFER LE BLANC (Sebastia) studied in Prague Shakespeare Company’s 2019 Summer Shakespeare Intensive where she played Bolingbroke in Richard II and Second Witch in Macbeth. Other roles include Oberon/Snug in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Sir Andrew/Antonio in Twelfth Night at Perspective Theatre Company, Thaisa/Bawd in Periclesand Viola in Shakespeare in Love at Pacific Rep, Alice/Susannah in The Book of Will at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Roxanne in Cyrano de Bergerac and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing at Livermore Shakespeare Festival. Jennifer is a teaching artist, playwright/adapter, and an Associate Artist with Livermore Shakespeare Festival and Perspective Theatre Company. www. jenniferleblanc.com
AARON WILTON (Boatswain) is an award-winning American actor, voice-over artist and motion-capture artist, known for small roles in film (Jexi, The Boat Builder), television (Criminal Minds, Sunset Glory) and video games (Watch Dogs 2, Godfather 2, Battlefield: Hardline), as well as commercials with Taco Bell, Xfinity, Wells Fargo, Blue Shield, Charles Schwab, Chase, Cisco, Adobe, EA Games and Pixar. Notable stage productions include George Street Playhouse’s “Inspecting Carol” (with Peter Scolari & Dan Lauria), Aurora Theatre’s “John Gabriel Borkman” (with Karen Grassle), the lead in the World Premiere of Hudson Stage’s “After All” (with Broadway’s Walter Charles & Susan Pellegrino) and the Western Premiere of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” at San Jose Stage.
JOEL BRYANT (Gonzalo) J was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, studied theatre at Pepperdine University and with Randy Moss and since, his career has literally taken him around the world. On the stage, he’s played the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Texas Shakespeare Festival, is a multiple BroadwayWorld nominee and Desert Theatre League nominee and winner. His favorite roles of the Bard are Hamlet, Bottom, Orlando, Marc Antony, Peter Quince, and Mercutio. He has a number of TV, streaming and films credits (“Heartbreak Kid,” “Monk,” “LA Macabre,” “You Are Nothing” [Winner: Best Actor, First Glance Film Fest]), is a coveted live Host who’s emceed the Main Stage at the last two Super Bowls, events at CES and corporate functions. He’s also on the standup stage as well, having just returned from 2 weeks entertaining the troops in Afghanistan this winter. You can find him at a club, corporate functions or private events doing standup somewhere in the US at any given time. He also loves to travel, which makes sense the way things are going… www.JoelBryant.net
LAURA BARANICK (Miranda) Laura has performed in over a dozen productions as Associate Artist with Prague Shakespeare Company. Off-Broadway: World premieres of Kate Hamill’s Dracula (Classic Stage Company), Sense & Sensibility (Off Broadway Alliance Award; Drama League, Lucille Lortel nominations), and Pride and Prejudice (Cherry Lane/Primary Stages); Bedlam’s The Seagull (Wall Street Journal Best Classical Production of 2014). Regional: Othello, Henry V, 1 Henry VI (Colorado Shakespeare Festival); As You Like It, King Lear (Classical Theatre Company, Houston/Prague Shakespeare); Much Ado About Nothing (Main Street Theater, Houston/Prague Shakespeare); Human Error (Public Theatre, ME); Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (Cape Rep). TV/Film: Hulu’s “Future Man,” “Crossing Lines,” Solomon Kane. Slovak-Canadian. BFA: NYU/Tisch. www.laurabaranick.com
KAREL HEŘMÁNEK (Ferdinand) comes from Prague, Czech Republic. He had his training at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York. Karel has worked with several Czech and international theatre companies and his theatre credits include: Max in The Play That Goes Wrong Prague (Bez zabradli Theatre), Mark in After the End (Bez zabradli Theatre) or Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing (PSC / Main Street Theatre Houston). Karel also appeared in several Film and TV projects, including: Anthropoid, Shadowplayor Freud.
MATTHEW COWELL (Stephano / Sound Designer) has been an actor is the San Francisco Bay Area for over 20 years. He is the Technical Director for Napa Valley College Performing Arts Center, as well as an accomplished sound designer, recording engineer, fight director, actor, and drummer. Matthew has a Bachelor’s degree in Theater and Performance Studies from UC Berkeley and a Master’s degree in Theology and Film Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. He lives in Napa, California with his wife and two daughters.
BENJAMIN STOWE (Caliban) is very excited to be working with Napa Valley Shakespeare again. You may have seen him last on the NVS stage as Tranio in The Taming of the Shrew. You may have also seen him in One Man Two Guvnours (receiving a TBA award for Best Supporting Actor) at 6th Street Playhouse. Other credits include McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cookoo’s Nest and John Proctor in The Crucible at Lucky Penny Productions, Macduff in Macbeth and Laertes in Hamlet with WE Players , Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet at Lake Tahoe Shakespeare, and the titular character in Hamlet at Sonoma County Repertory Theater.
JESSICA ROMERO (Trinculo) is an actor/director based in the Napa Valley in California. She has been seen onstage in such productions as The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Speed, Shakespeare Napa Valley), Hamlet’s Big Adventure – a prequel (Ophelia/King, Napa Valley College), Annie (Mrs. Greer, Lucky Penny Productions), and The Zero Sum Mind(Hallie, On The Fringe Visual and Performing Arts). Directing credits include A Charlie Brown Christmas (Napa Valley College), and The Vagina Monologues (The Black and White Center).
ABBE FRALIX (Ariel/Ether) is a Virginia-based actor and education artist specializing in early modern English drama and musical theatre. She previously appeared in Prague Shakespeare’s 2019 Summer Institute production of Love’s Labour’s Lost as Rosaline. Other credits include Macbeth (Macbeth), Troilus and Cressida (Ulysses), All’s Well That Ends Well (Helen), Gallathea (Hebe/Venus), The Music Man (Marian), and Agnes of God (Agnes). MFA Shakespeare and Performance, Mary Baldwin University; BFA Musical Theatre, William Peace University. To find out about upcoming projects, visit abbefralix.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
RAY JACILDO (Ariel/Earth) is an Asian-Canadian actor and theatre creator. Ray’s work focuses on classical and political texts, giving voice to underrepresented intersections, and bridging cultural schisms. Recent credits: Oberon/Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Prague Shakespeare Company Dir: Jennifer King), Koji in Burning Vision (NTS Dir: Mike Payette), Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (NTS Dir: Danielle Irvine). Ray is a recent Graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada Acting Program, and Queen’s University Drama Program. This is Ray’s second time performing a Zoom play and is excited to connect with actors from around the world. www.rayjacildo.com
NADINA ESPINOSA (Ariel/Water) is excited to work with such a wonderful group of people on creating this virtual global production of The Tempest. Her most notable credits include Kayleen (Gruesome Playground Injuries), Fairy (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and Violet (9 to 5). Nadina hopes everyone is staying safe during these trying times and that we can go back to viewing live theatre soon!
BAILEY SMITH (Ariel/Wind) is a young actor in the Los Angeles area. She is deeply passionate about the works of Shakespeare and is excited to be working with some of her favorite creatives on The Tempest. Bailey was the Artistic Intern at Prague Shakespeare Company performing in Julius Caesar (Decius Brutus) and Midsummer Night’s Dream (Starveling). Recently, she has been seen in Much Ado About Nothing (Hero), and in Sockhop on Saturn (Guth), an immersive theater experience in Los Angeles. She currently finishing her degree at Chapman University, where she is the president of the Shakespeare performance club on campus.
ROSS TURKINGTON (Ariel/Fire) is honored to be back at it again with Prague Shakespeare. He played Nick Bottom in last summer’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by the same mighty team as this production. Ross is finishing college at Northwestern University, great timing Ross! Ross loves these zoom shows, and feels they are such a drop of joy, especially in these times. Ross wishes everyone to be safe and healthy, and hopes hopes his Fire Ariel warms their spirits through these cold times.
CAROLYN JOHNSON (Director) is an Equity actress, singer, director, dialect coach and voice/acting teacher based in Houston, Texas. She regularly teaches, directs and performs for Prague Shakespeare Company and their summer training intensive. In 2019, she directed PSC’s production of The Tempest, as well as performing the role of Emilia in their Othello. Previous roles with PSC include Don John in Much Ado About Nothing and Lady Capulet in Romeo & Juliet. Upcoming, she will be serving as the dialect coach for productions of Amerikin and Baskerville for the Tony award winning Alley Theatre.
JENNIFER KING (Producer / Director) is a director, actor, and actor trainer. Her practice focuses on cultivating a dynamic connection between artists and audiences through a rigorous, collaborative and playful approach to text and storytelling. She has performed, directed and created work in the US, UK, Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Regional directing projects include Slowgirl (Capital Stage), As You Like It (Shakespeare Napa Valley), The Comedy of Errors (Prague Shakespeare Company) and Dry Powder (Aurora Theatre Company).An arts advocate, she has held senior leadership positions at Sonoma County Repertory Theater (Artistic/Executive Director), California Shakespeare Theater (Director of Artistic Learning), and Dallas Theater Center (Director of Education and Community Outreach). She is a tenured Professor of Theater Arts and Artistic Director at Napa Valley College, where she founded and runs Shakespeare Napa Valley.
LAURA COLE (Director), is the Director of Education & Training Atlanta Shakespeare Company at The Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse and works internationally as an actor and director. As an Actor: Prague Shakespeare Company – Midsummer, Titania; Calpurnia in Julius Caesar. Off-Broadway- New York Classical Theatre; Twelfth Night, Maria. Atlanta Shakespeare Co.-Elizabeth in RIII, Cleopatra, Queen Katharine, Lady Hotspur, Mrs. Ford, Lady McB, Hermione, Margaret, Titania, Kate, Rosalind, Audrey, Beatrice, Viola, Emelia, Luciana, Adriana, Mephistopheles, Dr. Faustus, Queen Isabella, Edward II. Duchess, The Duchess of Malfi, (Resurgens) Rapture Blister Burn, (Out of Box). As a Director :Loves Labors, Othello, 12th Night, Macbeth, Tempest, Merchant, Romeo and Juliet
Kevin Kemp (The Streaming Theatre) is a British actor and director with a professional career of more than 16 years. Kevin has been fortunate to work in theatre and screen across the UK, Europe, India, and the US, winning numerous awards. He now lives and works out of Los Angeles, California. He has a deep love for the classics and traditional storytelling. Kevin launched The Streaming Theatre as a way for artists and audiences to stay connected during the Stay Home orders across the world. The Streaming Theatre curates, live-edits, and live-streams play readings, theatrical works, gigs, and other creative projects. Kevin has been directing and engineering a range of projects through The Streaming Theatre, combining techniques from filmmaking, streaming and theatre, and collaborating with other artists to find the most compelling ways to experience art online.
GUY ROBERTS, Artistic Director Prague Shakespeare Company