Sizwe Banzi is Dead

RON OJ PARSON is a Resident Artist at Court where he has directed The Piano Lesson, The First Breeze of Summer, Flyin’ West and the highly acclaimed, Jeff Award-winning production of Fences. He is the co-founder and former Artistic Director of The Onyx Theatre Ensemble of Chicago. He hails from Buffalo, New York and is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s Professional Theatre Program. In Chicago he has directed shows at The Goodman (Let Me Live), Steppenwolf (Wedding Band, a co-production with Congo Square Theatre, Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, and The Horn, a co-production with City Lit Theatre), Victory Gardens (Hambone), Congo Square (The Piano Lesson and co-directed and acted in Ali), and Urban Theatre Company (Short Eyes). He has also worked with Black Ensemble Theatre and eta Creative Arts Foundation, most recently directing Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil. For Onyx, he directed East Texas Hot Links, Sty of the Blind Pig, and Flyin’ West, among many other shows. Regionally he has directed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival (Palmer Park), the St. Louis Black Repertory Co. (Jitney), Portland Stage Company (Fences, The Piano Lesson), Virginia Stage Company (Yellowman), Studio Arena Theatre (A Raisin in the Sun), Village Theatre in Issaqua, Washington (One Red Flower), Madison Repertory Theatre (Topdog/Underdog), Actors Theatre of Louisville (Gem of the Ocean), and Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati (Radio Golf). Also an accomplished actor, Parson has worked at various theatres in and out of the U.S. Some TV and film credits include E.R., Early Edition, Turks, Primal Fear, Ali, Barbershop 2, and Drop Squad. Find out more at www.ronojparson.com.

JACK MAGAW works as a freelance scenic designer and also teaches design at The Theatre School at DePaul University.  Recent design credits include Wait Until Dark (Court Theatre), All My Sons (TimeLine Theatre), Evie’s Waltz (Geva Theatre), This Wonderful Life (Indiana Repertory), Radio Golf (Pittsburgh Public Theatre), Winesburg, Ohio and A Flea in Her Ear (Kansas City Rep), Pure Confidence (Florida Studio Theatre), Souvenir (Skylight Opera Theatre), Four Places (Victory Gardens Theater), Better Late (Northlight Theatre), Love’s Labor’s Lost (Clarence Brown Theatre), and Picnic (Writers’ Theatre).  He received Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for Picnic and Bus Stop (Writers’ Theatre), Fences (Court Theatre), and Seven Guitars (Congo Square).  Upcoming projects include Funny Girl (Drury Lane Oakbrook) and A Life (Northlight Theatre).

CHRISTINE PASCUAL is delighted to be working at Court Theatre and with Ron once again. Previous Court Theatre shows: The First Breeze of Summer, Flyin’ West. Recent credits include: The St. James Infirmary at Congo Square, Four Scenes in Three Acts at Roosevelt University, True West and Topdog/Underdog at American Theater Company with Congo Square, Our Lady of the Underpass at Teatro Vista, Capriccio Barocco for the Yale Baroque Opera Project, Jarred for Teatro Luna at Chicago Dramatists, Ten Cent Night at Chicago Dramatists, The People’s Temple at American Theatre Company, and Fast Forward at About Face Theater.  Other companies she has designed for: Defiant Theatre, Remy Bumppo, Centerstage Baltimore, Apple Tree Theater, Infusion Theater,Silk Road Theatre Project, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Infusion Theater, Pegasus Players. Upcoming productions include: Sanctified at Congo Square Theatre and Blackbird at Victory Gardens Theater.  Christine is an Artistic Associate of Teatro Vista and member of the United Scenic Artists Local 829. For examples of her work, visit www.ChristinePascual.com. She wishes to thank her family for their unwavering support.

NICK KEENAN is delighted to return to Court Theatre after designing last season’s The Piano Lesson.  Designs include Goodman Theatre (Strange Interlude, assistant for Mirror), TUTA (The Wedding), Next (Return to Haifa, End Days), Rivendell (These Shining Lives), BackStage, Collaboraction,  Raven, Apple Tree, A Red Orchid, the Neo-Futurists, the side project, and New Leaf Theatre, where he is a company member.  Nick engineers sound at the Goodman, teaches at Northwestern’s Cherub program, and authors a blog (theaterforthefuture.com) discussing arts sustainability and technology in theater.

SARA GAMMAGE is always delighted to return to Court Theatre. Previous Court credits include The Mystery of Irma Vep, Guys and Dolls, Fräulein Else, Travesties, Man of La Mancha, Lettice and Lovage, Raisin, Flyin’ West, What the Butler Saw, The First Breeze of Summer, and Wait Until Dark. Other Chicago credits include Edward II at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Botanic Garden at the Greenhouse Theater, A Christmas Story at Theatre at the Center, Once Upon a Time in New Jersey at Marriot Theatre, Dessa Rose and Tale of the Allergist’s Wife at Apple Tree Theatre, the pre-Broadway tryout of All Shook Up, Sink, Sank, Sunk with Redmoon Theater, The World Goes ‘Round with LaRed Productions, and The Last Five Years with Syndicate Productions. She recently finished another season at Peninsula Players Theatre in Door County, WI; credits there include Wait Until Dark, Is He Dead?, Rumors, and The Lady’s Not for Burning. Sara is a proud graduate of Northwestern University.

JONATHAN NOOK loves coming home to share in the work with the family at Court.  He has worked on productions of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Wait Until Dark, The Wild Duck, Caroline, or Change, The First Breeze of Summer, Carousel, Titus Andronicus, What the Butler Saw, and Thyestes.  Other stage management credits include Sex with Strangers, The 3rd and 4th Annual First Look Repertory of New Work, Superior Donuts, Huck Finn (Steppenwolf); Radio Macbeth (Court/SITI); Measure for Measure, Arms and the Man (American Players Theatre); Misalliance, The Taffetas, Moonlight Room, Take Me Out (Milwaukee Chamber Theatre).