HOLLY TWYFORD (Director) is a Washington, D.C.-based director and actor and is thrilled to be at Village Theatre for the first time. She is excited to once again be collaborating with her amazing Dr. Ruth team and especially to be reunited with Adam Immerwahr, who made it all possible. Ms. Twyford’s Washington area directing credits include: most recently, Gloria: A Life by Emily Mann (Theater J) as well as The Upstairs Department, a new play by Chelsea Mercantel at Signature Theatre where she previously directed Escaped Alone; Stop Kiss (No Rules Theatre Company); A Lump of Coal for Christmas (Adventure Theatre MTC); Edgar and Annabel and Mary Kate Olsen is in Love (Studio Theatre); and The Amish Project (Factory 449) for which she received a Helen Hayes Award nomination. Ms. Twyford directed a Zoom production of Steel Magnolias (Ford’s Theatre) as well as an audio version of Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting). As an actor, she has performed in over 80 productions in many of the highly acclaimed theaters in and around the D.C. Metropolitan area as well as nationally. Most recently, she played the title role in Ukrainian playwright Sasha Denisova’s new play My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and will reprise the role at the Wilma in Philadelphia in late January.
PAIGE HATHAWAY, (Set Designer) is a Washington, D.C.-based scenic designer. D.C. credits include: The Mountaintop (Round House Theatre); The High Ground (Arena Stage); No Place to Go and Rent (Signature Theatre). Regional credits include: On Clover Road (Santa Fe Playhouse); Assassins (Arden Theatre); A New Brain (Barrington Stage); Miss Molly (Amphibian Stage); A Distinct Society (Writer’s Theatre); and Mary Poppins (The Muny). paigehathawaydesign.com IG: @paigehathawaydesign
COLIN K. BILLS, he/him (Lighting Designer) previously designed Hello, Dolly! at Village Theatre. His work has been seen all over the U.S. and internationally, at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., where he is a company and board member, and has designed over 50 productions. Colin is the recipient of a Princess Grace Award and three Helen Hayes Awards. He has taught at Howard University and is a graduate of Dartmouth.
KENNY NEAL, he/him (Sound Designer) is a Helen Hayes Award-winning sound designer and composer. Credits include: She a Gem and Digging Up Dessa (Kennedy Center); The Upstairs Department, Daphne’s Dive, Heisenberg, John, and The Gulf (Signature Theatre); English, Straight White Men, Jumpers for Goalposts, and Choir Boy (Studio Theatre); A Nice Indian Boy, Dance Nation, The Royale, and Oil (Olney Theatre Center); and Becoming Dr. Ruth (Theater J and Cleveland Play House).
SARAH TUNDERMANN, (Projection Designer) is thrilled for her debut at Village Theatre. Recent projection design credits include: Becoming Dr. Ruth (Cleveland Play House and Theater J); Tomas and the Library Lady (Children’s Theatre of Charlotte); Corduroy, Escape from Peligro Island (Imagination Stage); She the People (Second City at Woolly Mammoth); Watsons go to Birmingham (Kennedy Center); Queens Girl in the World and Queens Girl in Africa (Everyman Theatre). Sarah holds an MFA from the University of Maryland.
JESSICA C. BOMBALL, she/her (Stage Manager) is delighted to be back at Village Theatre. Regional theatre highlights include Steel Magnolias (Village Theatre); Little Women, Lydia and the Troll, Bruce, Teenage Dick, Indecent, and Tiny Beautiful Things (Seattle Rep); The Secret Garden, Disney’s Aladdin, and A Christmas Story: The Musical (The 5th Avenue Theatre); and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Seattle Children’s Theatre). Other regional theatres include ACT Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, and Seattle Shakespeare Company.
NICOLA KRAUSE, she/her (Assistant Stage Manager) is a graduate from Seattle University (‘22), where she studied theatre and anthropology. Notable productions she’s been a part of include Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood (Village Theatre); Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Village Theatre’s KIDSTAGE); Eurydice and the virtual production of She Kills Monsters (Seattle University), and productions at The Williams Project and Book-It Repertory Theatre.
JESS K. SMITH (Assistant Director) is a freelance director, intimacy director, Founding Artistic Director of ARTBARN, and Chair and Associate Professor of Theatre Arts at the University of Puget Sound. Recently: Intimacy Director for Little Shop of Horrors (Village Theatre), Intimacy Director for I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (Seattle Rep), and Director for The Game of Love and Chance, Indecent, and Machinal (University of Puget Sound). She received her MFA in directing at Columbia University under Anne Bogart. www.jessksmith.com
CASEY PRICE, he/him (Associate Lightning Designer) is excited to work again with Village Theatre. Recently, he worked on Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Previously, he was an assistant lighting designer for the 21-22 Season. Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Casey has worked across the nation as a designer and technician for many companies including Arts West, Seattle Rep, Hale Center Theatre, Pioneer Theatre Company, Cape Playhouse, Walt Disney World, Orlando Rep, Arizona Broadway Theatre, and many more. Casey holds a BS from Utah Valley University.
MEL WILLIAMS (Assistant Lightning Designer) is a Seattle-based lighting designer, assistant, and electrician. After receiving her BFA in lighting design from The Theatre School at DePaul University, she moved to Seattle to work as the lighting design apprentice at Seattle Rep. Previous assistant credits: Lydia and the Troll (Seattle Rep), Every Brilliant Thing (ACT Theatre), and The Chinese Lady (Timeline Theatre).
NAOMI JACOBSON, (Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer) is an Affiliated Artist at Shakespeare Theatre Company and a company member at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. Most recently, she played Harriet in POTUS at Arena Stage. Credits include: Scenes From An Execution (Off Broadway), The Guardsman (Kennedy Center), Ford’s Theatre, Studio Theatre, Round House Theatre, Signature Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Theater J, Center Stage Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Goodman Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Delaware Theatre Company, Berkshire Theatre Festival, and Cleveland Play House. TV/Film Credits: I Fall To Pieces, Her Father’s Eyes, Inside Out, and Homicide. Naomi has received 3 Helen Hayes Awards, numerous nominations, the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship, the Anderson-Hopkins Theatre Excellence Award, and a DC Arts Individual Artist grant. Voice Over work includes documentary narration for NPR, PBS, Discovery Channel, and the Smithsonian. naomijacobson.com
MARI NELSON, (Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer U/S) Broadway: Six Degrees of Separation, Guys and Dolls, Translations. Off-Broadway: Up Against It, Slain in the Spirit. Regional: Alley Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, New York Shakespeare Festival, Center Stage Theatre, Hartford Stage, Intiman Theatre, Seattle Rep, ACT Theatre, The 5th Avenue Theatre, Village Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company. Film: Bad Girls, Back Spot Turn, Laggies. TV: “One Life to Live,” “Another World,” “MTV’s Pirate TV.” Concert Stage: King David. Radio: Hilary Caine series. Voice Over: Converse, KitchenAid, United Way, Campbell’s. 5 Gordos, 3 Gregory Awards. Juilliard graduate.
