Eden Lee Murray is a professional actor / director /producer / artist-educator. Since coming to O‘ahu in 1992, she has directed or performed in every major venue on O‘ahu, earning sixteen Po‘okela Awards for her work. From 2009–2016, she served as Education Director at the Hawaii Theatre Center, producing, directing, performing, and teaching at that beautiful historical venue. For ten years she ran the Hawaii Young Actors Ensemble, the pre-professional training program in classical theatre for high school students from across O‘ahu. Over the years a number of her students have been featured in Hawaii Shakespeare Festival productions.
Eden Lee has had featured roles on Lost and Magnum P.I., and recently portrayed Edna Allyn —first librarian of Hawaii—for the Mission Houses Museum Pupu Cemetery Theatre.
With HSF Eden Lee has performed in Antony and Cleopatra, Henry V, Pericles, The Tempest, Richard III, A Winter’s Tale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (invented language!) and as The Fool in King Lear, and Falstaff twice—in Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV, Part 1. She is delighted to tackle Pompey-the-Pimp and another role in this production—see if you can find her in the second one.
Carolyn Grace Corley is a recent import to O‘ahu and thrilled to make her debut with HawaiiShakes. She is an actor and stage combat choreographer, who loves Shakespeare and fake violence with shiny, shiny swords. Her favorite past roles include Vanda in Venus in Fur, Hal in Henry IV, Part I, and of course, Lady Macbeth.
Rebecca Mahar has spent the previous two seasons with HSF as an actor, fight director, and intimacy director, and is delighted to return this summer as lighting designer for Measure for Measure. A graduate of UH Mānoa, she recently earned her dual MFA in Lighting Design and Acting. As a multi-hyphenate theatre artist, scholar, and educator, Becca has also studied and trained at the University of Alaska Anchorage, the University of Oxford, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and in the autumn of 2023 will be relocating to Scotland to begin her PhD in European Theatre at the University of Edinburgh. Recent design credits include: Footholds: Merge (UHM), Ordinary Days (Late Night) and Finding Nemo, Jr. (Ohana Arts). Currently running: SpongeBob SquarePants, Jr. and Mean Girls (Ohana Arts). Becca is a proud member of IATSE and SAG-AFTRA.
Kat Rothman is a director, intimacy director, educator, and devised theatre practitioner. Winner of the 2019 National KCACTF SDC Directing Award, Kat has a Directing MFA from the University of Hawai‘i, and their work centers on artist-participant agency and applications of consent-forward and trauma-informed practices in applied theatre. They have facilitated devised projects in Mānoa and Waipahu; Chengdu, China; and Southeast Michigan. They serve as co-director of Corpus Productions, a nonprofit focused on devised and original theatre work on O‘ahu; Kat directed their most recent production, You’re Not Sick, focused on ableism in society.
Chloe Evans recently graduated from Northeastern University with a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience; despite studying the brain, her heart has always been with the theatre. She is incredibly excited to be back on island and to participate in her first community theatre show as an assistant director. She hopes that this show will be the first in a long list of theatre experiences in Hawai‘i! She had the pleasure of directing Henry IV, Part 1 and Friends with Guns at Northeastern.
Nicholas B. Gianforti After leaving military service in 2005, Nick took up acting in pursuit of a life-long desire. Nick has accrued a wide and varied acting resume. In Hawai‘i, Nick was a regular Manoa Valley Theatre cast member in plays that include Flaming Idiots, Little Shop of Horrors, and Speed-the-Plow. However, Nick has spent most of his time doing film/TV. He has been in feature films and appeared on TV shows like Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum PI. Nick has also done a slew of short films, webseries, and commercials. Locally trained for years by Scott Rogers, Nicholas moved to Los Angeles in late 2013 to pursue acting full-time where he studied at the prestigious Meisner-technique school, Playhouse West. Nick also studied at UCLA Extension in directing and cinematography. Besides being an actor and director, Nick is an award-winning writer. His recent script Oli won the ‘Ohina & Creative Industries Award during the 2019 ‘Ohina Labs. Nick recently opened Pacific Playhouse —a Meisner-technique acting class.
Nou Lee is a pop & rnb singer, songwriter, and actor who has recently made her way to Hawaii and is brimming with enthusiasm as she embarks on her theatrical journey with the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival. With several released singles, Nou is currently in the process of creating her debut EP and is thrilled to be immersed in Hawaii’s vibrant and incredibly gifted live music scene. She eagerly anticipates the opportunities that lie ahead, hoping for an exciting and fulfilling future in the world of songwriting and performing arts.
Shane Chung is hitting the stage after a long hiatus! Since graduating from Mid-Pacific Institute in 2016, they’ve trained at AMDA in both their LA and NY campuses. The last time they did Shakespeare was with Tony Pisculli in 2016 speaking an invented language! Shane is excited to be rejoining the theater community and is looking forward to working alongside this incredible cast.
Alex Bishop is excited to be on stage again after playing Neville Landless this past winter in The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Manoa Valley Theatre. After years of enjoying Shakespeare from the audience he is thrilled to be part of a production, especially one with such a talented cast! Special thanks go out to Al for their unfailing love and support.
Alex Monti Fox is extremely excited to be directing with HSF. As an actor, Alex has been awarded multiple Hawaii State Theatre Council Po‘okelas for his work in local theatre. His Hawaii stage credits include: The Seagull, Both Your Houses and Romeo and Juliet with HSF, True West and The Zoo Story with TAG, and Darling Sonya (an original adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya) with O‘ahu Acting Studio at the O‘ahu Fringe.
As a director, Alex’s local theatre highlights include: The Illusion, Black Snow, Tartuffe, The House of Bernarda Alba, Goodnight Clara, and Julius Caesar (all with MPSA), Jamie and the Gigantic Loquat (with UH CRDG), and Darling Sonya (with OAS). Alex has a Master’s in Drama from the University of Washington PATP, and a BA from USC. He would like to thank his family for all of their love and support. Additionally, he would like to acknowledge and thank all of his classmates, students, and teachers (even the mean ones) for illuminating the many paths toward a sustained and fulfilling life in the theatre. Mahalo!
Julia Frazier has been involved in theatre since age eight. She acted in numerous productions, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying, and Fefu and her Friends, before discovering her passion for directing. Julia graduated from Oglethorpe University, in Atlanta, with a BA in Theatre and a minor in Shakespearean Studies. She is excited to be participating in the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival for the first time. Julia would like to thank her family and especially her husband for their constant support and encouragement.
Hal Akiko is an actor/writer. Born and raised in Kaneohe, HI. BFA NYU. Past HSF credits: The Tempest (ninja puppeteer) and She Stoop to Conquer (Pimple). Big mahalo to everyone at HSF and all the unseen work that you do! What a joy and privilege to share Isabella with my company and the world.
Vania Reyes is a former Hawaii DOE middle school teacher who fell headfirst into directing and costuming youth theatre when she co-founded Ilima Intermediate’s drama program in 2016. Since then, she’s co-directed and costumed Annie Jr., Willy Wonka Jr., The Little Mermaid Jr., Aladdin Jr., and Into the Woods Jr. She is grateful for this opportunity to work with HSF and to witness the hard work and talent of this cast and crew.
Michael Niranjan met the Theatre 50 years ago. It was love at first sight (and sound and feel). Michael devoted himself, and Theatre graced him with inspiration, adventure, livelihood, and challenge. It never failed him. Rather, it taught him that failure is his own invention—that it’s all his own invention. Theatre showed Michael that he could invent anything. Create anything. Be anything.
Sharon Garcia Doyle is a local theater artist having served both on and offstage in many capacities including management, design, and performance. She has designed costumes at Manoa Valley Theater, Honolulu Theater for Youth and Kumu Kahua Theater. She has performed at Honolulu Theater for Youth, Hawai‘i Shakespeare Festival, Kennedy Theater, Kumu Kahua Theater, Manoa Valley Theater and Playbuilders of Hawai‘i Theater Company.
Sharon has trained as a Lao Dan (老 旦) in Jingju (京 剧) with Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak and China National Actors of the First Rank Master Lu Genzhang and Master Zhang Ling. Additionally, she’s trained with David Smukler, Judith Koltai, and Gary Logan at the Canada National Voice Intensive.
She has served on several productions as voice, accent, and acting coach and holds an MFA in Theater from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.
Kitsana Dounglomchan is a 21-year Air Force Veteran. He is an author, having had his work published in Reader’s Digest, The Eastern New Mexico News Journal and The Air Force Times. Also an accomplished orator—he was the keynote speaker at numerous military ceremonies, delivered his college commencement speech, and was featured on the spoken word storyteller podcast The Moth. He graduated from University of Maryland in 2015 with a degree in Digital Media Web Technologies with a minor in English. This is his first time performing in a Shakespeare production.