Meet
The Cast
Hiko Addison (They / Them)
Knight, Attendant, & Gentle
Old Man
Nathaniel Hiko Addison is a Denver-based actor and storyteller, thrilled to make
their Colorado debut with Bowls with the Bard in King Lear, one of their personal favorite
Shakespearean dramas. They earned their BFA in Theatre Performance from Central
Washington University, where they trained in acting, voice, and movement.
As a Black and queer artist, they are passionate about the role of theatre as both reflection and
reckoning, especially within classical work like Shakespeare.
They are deeply grateful to be part of this production and to the Bowls with the Bard community for keeping live theatre accessible and alive. When not performing, Hiko continues to pursue work across stage and screen, while also working across creative and community-based fields, including fashion production with the Black-owned brand HAUS, real estate, and hospitality.
They are always excited to connect with fellow artists, craftspeople, collaborators, and creatives.
Ayden Armstrong (She / They)
Kent / Oswald
Costume Designer
Ayden Armstrong is excited to be joining her first performance with Bowls with the
Bard as both a performer and designer! Born and raised in the Denver theatre community,
Ayden has worked with many local companies. Recently, she has been seen as Governor
Ferguson/ensemble in Bonnie and Clyde (Bright Heart Stages), The Witch in The Wood
(ArtsHub), and ensemble characters, Juliet’s Understudy, and the costume designer for Romeo
and Juliet (Upstart Crow)! Ayden received her BFA in Music Theatre from Metro and uses her
training both in theater and in the classroom as she teaches a high school theatre class!
Erin Banthoff (She / Her)
Regan & Edgar
Erin is a Denver-based theatrical artist who is always on the hunt for the next creative opportunity. By day, she serves as Operations Manager for the nation’s longest-running disability theatre, Phamaly Theatre Company. By night, she is trying to find time for everything else: performance, voice over, design, directing, and spending time with her beloved cats. Every day, she is thankful for her supportive circle and husband, Jeremy.
Aidan Blank (They / Them)
Steward, Attendant, & Curan
Swing for Lear, Fool, France,
& Albany
Movement Director
Aidan Blank is a Denver-based actor and movement choreographer. You may have recently seen his performance side as Kyle Carter in Exit, Pursued by a Bear (prod. Shifted Lens) or George/The Drowned in The Legend of Anne Bonny (co-prod. by Two Cent Lion and Shifted Lens). You could have also seen his choreography work in Matilda Jr. (with Girls Athletic Leadership School) or Romeo & Juliet (prod. The Upstart Crow). They are so pleased to continue working with Shakespeare’s words and bring some comedy to this classic tragedy!
Enjoy the show!
@aidan_blank
August Carpenter (They / Elle)
Swing for Goneril, Edmund, Cornwall, Burgundy, Oswald,
& Kent
After taking some time away from the stage to focus on personal life amidst gender transition, I am/Andrea is thrilled to return to the vaunted works of Shakespeare! Having once performed in As You Like It and Much Ado About Nothing, her first Shakespearean tragedy is one of her first roles since coming back to performing. With a Major in Kicking Ass and a Minor in Taking Names, I am/she is thankful most especially to her closest friends, incredible family and ridiculous cat for their support and constant rambling about the nuances of Olde English.
Adrianna DelPercio (She / Her)
Cordelia & Gloucester
Adrianna is very excited to be back with Bowls with the Bard for King Lear. She is from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and has been in beautiful Colorado for about 2 years. Although she was raised in South Carolina she spent 6 years in Oklahoma where she received her BFA in Acting and a minor in Directing from Oklahoma City University. Some recent credits include Macbeth (Porter/Hecate) Bright Star (Mama Cane), Eurydice (Loud Stone), ALiEN8 (Janet), and Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey 2). When she is not performing on the stage Adrianna likes to spend her time being creative through painting, writing, or reading whatever new fantasy book has taken her attention that week. Adrianna would like to thank her family, friends, her cat Hamilton, and her wonderful boyfriend John for always supporting her.
Emogene Lovey (He / Him)
Burgundy & Cornwall
The Bard has been a part of Bruce's life since he was in the womb. On the eve of his birth, his mother performed Kate in Taming of the Shrew. Bruce's love of Shakespeare inspired him to join the acting profession, and he has been in five Shakespeare productions. Today he is still inspired by the orations, as he performs closing arguments as an attorney. This is Bruce's first, but hopefully not last, appearance with Bowls with the Bard. Bruce is ecstatic to be sharing the stage with this wild and wildly talented cast and crew.
Andrea Mérida (She / They)
Goneril & Edmund
Happily returning to perform with BWTB, I offer my wit, laughs and a heaping helping of magic to the roles of Goneril and Edmund! These roles would not be possible without my cat distracting me from learning my lines, my loving family and friends lending a listening ear to the wonderful concept of the show, and of course, Nature, that most blessed goddess.
Daniel Mothershed (He / Him)
Lear & Fool
Daniel Mothershed is thrilled to work with Bowls with the Bard again and attempt to be every inch the king… and Fool, too, apparently. Daniel is an actor/director based in Denver, with over a decade of experience making theatre in Colorado and in a tiny Chicago apartment. Favorite theatre credits include Nick Bottom (2019) and Theseus (2024), A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Hamlet, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged); Friar Francis, Much Ado About Nothing; and directing the Colorado premiere of Austin Tichenor’s Fool: The HILARIOUS True Story of King Lear. He also co-wrote Oh Greeley: An All-American Musical. It has been a joy escaping to the circus with these brilliant artists and “expressing our darker purpose.”
Drake Simon (She / They)
Swing for Regan, Edgar, Cordelia, Gloucester, Old Man, & Attendants
Drake is very excited to have his Denver debut with Bowls with the Bard! Drake is an all around Performing artist that recently moved into the Denver area from Grand Junction. He most recently worked as a professional Ballet/Contemporary dancer but is excited to branch out into his passion for theatre! He has loved Shakespeare since performing it every summer on the Oregon Coast where he grew up, so is excited to join in bringing shakespeare to the Denver community. Along with dancing and acting he plays multiple instruments including the flute and the ukulele.
Jaylin Weise (He / Him)
France / Albany
Meet
The Production Team
Clove Love (They / Them)
Director
New Paragraph
Cheri Bauman (She / Her)
Lighting Designer
Audrey is a big-time crafter and lifelong theatre lover. Her most recent involvements include playing Sister Margeretta in The Sound of Music and Frenchie in Cabaret. In between projects, you can find Audrey singing in the car, working at the library, and hanging out with her dog, Sadie.
She is thrilled to be involved in her first paid theatre gig. She would like to thank all her sweet friends and family for their constant support.
Frieda Dunkelberg (They / Them)
Stage Manager
Tech Director
Cameron Gillespie is excited to join her first Bowls with the Bard production, bringing in 10+ years of experience as a stage manager in New York (Spellbound Theatre, Bluelaces Theater Company, New York University) and Texas (Overtime Theater) plus a lifetime of nerding out over Shakespeare. Cameron's love of dabbling in all things theatrical has led to additional experience as a house manager, production manager, director, lyricist, puppeteer, prop designer, lighting/sound operator, immersive and site-specific deviser, and occasional actor.
Micaela Mannix & Jonathan Miot
Artistic Director & Production Manager
Micaela Mannix (she/her) is an actor, content creator, and Shakespeare lover from Draper, Utah. She is the face of 10kshakespeare on instagram and TikTok where she is working towards 10,000 hours of Shakespeare practice. Micaela is the founder and host of Bowls with the Bard. Acting credits include: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, Othello (BSF); Macbeth, King Lear (Commonwealth Shakespeare); Henry V, Pirate Macbeth (Cohesion Theatre Company); Loves Labors Lost (Chesapeake Shakespeare); Twelfth Night (Three Leaches); Antony and Cleopatra (Brave Spirits Theatre). Micaela holds a BM in Musical Theatre from The Catholic University. Learn more at micaelamannix.com.
Jonathan Miot (he/him) is less than a year into his Denver theater journey and is already enamored with what this incredibly diverse and welcoming community has to offer. Thank you for coming and enjoy this fresh new experience!
Emy McGuire (They / Them)
Fight Director
Clove Love is a queer and disabled Multidisciplinary and Generative Theatre Artist. They are based in Denver, CO and believe in theatre's innate and immense power to change minds, lives, and worlds. Their focus lies with the importance of the progressive steps we must take today to keep theatre alive and well for years and generations to come.
In their work, Clove most enjoys exploring social justice through absurdism, horror, immersion, and physical metaphor/movement choreography within their staging, conceptual analysis, and overarching themes. They believe that movement onstage expands the creative capacity of live storytelling and they enjoy exploring the balance between scripted movement and movement that is devised with a certain group of people for a production.
Ashley Abbink (She / Her)
Musician
Hildegard Von Blingin' is a Canadian based musician who specializes in creating early modern versions of pop songs. Bowls with the Bard is psyched to feature some of the tunes in this production of Romeo & Juliet. You can find more music here!
https://www.youtube.com/@Hildegardvonblingin
Production Dedication
This production is dedicated to our long time friend and collaborator Paige Flores-Medrano
Paige became one of our favorite artists during our very first production of a Midsummer Night's Dream as our Assistant Director and Movement Director. They went on to direct our productions of Cymbeline and Twelfth Night as well as playing the role of Dramaturg in our production of As You Like It. Paige was set to direct the Tempest for us this fall but unfortunately passed away in February. This production, and all of our future work, is created in their honor. They are dearly missed.
Plot Summary by the Folger Shakespeare Library
King Lear dramatizes the story of an aged king of ancient Britain, whose plan to divide his kingdom among his three daughters ends tragically. When he tests each by asking how much she loves him, the older daughters, Goneril and Regan, flatter him. The youngest, Cordelia, does not, and Lear disowns and banishes her. She marries the king of France. Goneril and Regan turn on Lear, leaving him to wander madly in a furious storm.
Meanwhile, the Earl of Gloucester’s illegitimate son Edmund turns Gloucester against his legitimate son, Edgar. Gloucester, appalled at the daughters’ treatment of Lear, gets news that a French army is coming to help Lear. Edmund betrays Gloucester to Regan and her husband, Cornwall, who puts out Gloucester’s eyes and makes Edmund the Earl of Gloucester.
Cordelia and the French army save Lear, but the army is defeated. Edmund imprisons Cordelia and Lear. Edgar then mortally wounds Edmund in a trial by combat. Dying, Edmund confesses that he has ordered the deaths of Cordelia and Lear. Before they can be rescued, Lear brings in Cordelia’s body and then he himself dies.
Special Thanks
to B. Ryan Glick for accessibility consultation
to the Tetra Lounge and the Three Leaches for our performance spaces
to Nicholas Setty for legal counsel
to Daniel and Carolyn Mannix for considerable contributions
to Lizzy Colandene for our Graphic Design
Land and Labor Acknowledgements
Bowls with the Bard acknowledges that by performing in Denver, we are performing on the land of the Apache, Comanche, Cheyenne, Ute, and Arapaho Tribes. We also recognize that statements like these are merely words without action. We encourage our patrons to make donations to the organizations at the links below:
Native American Rights Fund: https://secure.narf.org/page/64457/donate/1?locale=en-US
First Nations Development Institute: https://www.firstnations.org/fndi_donate/
We acknowledge our debt to the enslaved people, primarily of African descent, whose labor and suffering built and grew the economy and infrastructure of a nation that refused to recognize their humanity. We encourage our patrons to make donations to the following organizations:
Black Lives Matter 5280: https://www.coloradogives.org/donate/Blm5280
YouthSeen Colorado: https://youthseen.app.neoncrm.com/forms/2022-individual-donors