Sizwe Banzi is Dead

RON OJ PARSON is the cofounder and former Artistic Director of the Onyx Theatre Ensemble of Chicago, and he is currently the Resident Artist at Court Theatre. He has worked with such Chicago theatres as Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, Northlight Theatre, Black Ensemble Theatre, eta Creative Arts Foundation, Chicago Theatre Company, Eclipse Theatre Company, Congo Square Theatre Company, City Lit Theater Company, Urban Theater Company, Writers’ Theatre, and a variety of arts in education programs. Regionally, Ron has directed at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Portland Stage Company, Virginia Stage Company, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Madison Repertory Theatre, Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Signature Theatre Company in New York City, Centerstage in Baltimore, and the world premiere of Palmer Park at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada. Most recently, he directed August Wilson’s Two Trains Running at Geva Theatre in Rochester, New York. For Court Theatre, Ron has directed Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson and Fences, The First Breeze of Summer, Wait Until Dark, Flyin’ West, and last year’s season finale Sizwe Banzi is Dead.  Ron also recently directed The Old Settler at Writers’ Theatre. Ron will be remounting his production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at Actors Theatre of Louisville and Milwaukee Rep this season. He is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and SDC, the stage directors’ union.

JACK MAGAW lives in Chicago and teaches design at both DePaul and Northwestern Universities. He most recently designed Sizwe Banzi is Dead for Court Theatre. Other recent Chicago and regional theatre credits include A Life and Lowdown Dirty Blues (Northlight Theatre), Heroes (Peninsula Players Theatre), The Mystery of Irma Vep (Court Theatre), Funny Girl (Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre), Mauritius (TheatreSquared), She Loves Me, The Old Settler, and Picnic (Writers’ Theatre), All My Sons (TimeLine Theatre), Evie’s Waltz (Geva Theatre), This Wonderful Life (Indiana Repertory Theatre), Radio Golf (Pittsburgh Public Theatre), Winesburg, Ohio and A Flea in Her Ear (Kansas City Repertory), Four Places (Victory Gardens Theater), and Love’s Labour’s Lost (Clarence Brown Theatre). He received Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for Picnic and Bus Stop (Writers’ Theatre), Fences (Court Theatre), and Seven Guitars (Congo Square Theatre). Upcoming projects include Madagascar (Next Theatre) and Eclipsed (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 delighted to return to Court Theatre. Previous Court Theatre credits include Flyin’ West, What the Butler Saw, The First Breeze of Summer, Wait Until Dark, The Mystery of Irma Vep, The Illusion, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, Home, Orlando, Porgy and Bess, Spunk, and An Iliad. Other Chicago credits include productions with Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Greenhouse Theater, Theatre at the Center, Marriot Theatre, Apple Tree Theatre, and Redmoon Theater. She spent several seasons at Peninsula Players Theatre in Door Country, WI; credits there include A Little Night Music, Comic Potential, Wait Until Dark, Is He Dead?, Rumors, and The Lady’s Not for Burning. Sara is a proud graduate of Northwestern University.

JONATHAN NOOK is excited about returning to Court for a fifth season, where he has worked on productions of: Orlando, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, The Year of Magical Thinking, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and The Piano Lesson. Other stage management credits include: Want, No Sugar Tonight, Animals Out of Paper, The North Plan, Sex with Strangers, and The 3rd and 4th Annual First Look Repertory of New Work (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Waiting For Lefty (American Blues Theater), and Radio Macbeth (Court/SITI). He has also worked with American Players Theatre and Milwaukee Chamber Theatre.