What’s On
JULIUS CAESAR
Power. Betrayal. Ambition.
Revolution.
In a world divided by politics and personal gain, one leader's rise threatens to tear a nation apart. As power is consolidated and stakes are raised, a faction of opposition forms that is determined to stop him by any means necessary. But do they take action for the good of Rome, or for their own ambitions?
Julius Caesar explores the fragility of a republic and the cost of betrayal in a gripping political thriller that resonates today more than ever. Don’t miss this exhilarating journey into the heart of power and the lies we tell ourselves to justify our ambitions.
Julius Caesar runs from February 27 - March 16 at The Siren Theater (3913 N Mississippi Ave)
Cast And Crew
Elliott Robert
BRUTUS
This is Elliott's (he/him) debut both taking the stage with The Canon Shakespeare Company and on any stage in the PNW. He is honored to be able to cross off this bucket list role with such wild cast. Selected acting credits: Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew, Lorenzo in Merchant of Venice, Michal in The Pillowman, and Alex in The Little Dog Laughed. When not on stage, Elliott is an SLP specializing in voice disorders (@thevoice_slp) and a storytime animator (@misbehavingminds).
Isabella Giordano
MARK ANTONY
Chloe Lovelady
CASCA/OCTAVIUS
Meghan Lawson
PORTIA/ENSEMBLE
Stephanie Crowley
CASSIUS
Stephanie (she/her) has been acting on stage for over 40 years in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, South Carolina, California, Oregon, and Washington. Since moving to the PNW six years ago, she has performed with Twilight Theatre Company, Lakewood Theater Company, Blinking Eye Theater, the Fertile Ground Festival, and Magenta Theater. She is happy to be returning for her sixth show with The Canon Shakespeare Company, having previously played Touchstone in As You Like It and Queen Gertrude in Hamlet, among others. Stephanie teaches yoga three days a week in Salmon Creek, does media outreach for performing arts, and lives in Hazel Dell with her husband and their cat Jazmyn.
Isabella (she/they) is beyond words with excitement to play such an icon and make her debut with Canon Shakespeare Company. She is a classically trained actor and just recently moved to the PNW to continue perusing that love of the stage. Her favorite previous classical roles include; Hermione in The Winters Tale (New World Shakespeare Company), Macduff in The Scottish Play (NWSC), Duchess in Duchess of Malfi (Three Penny Theatre) and Demetrius in Midsummer Nights Dream (Rotten in Denmark Productions). Isabella received her BFA in Classical Acting from Southern Utah University, during which she also trained in stage combat with the SAFD. Isabella is looking forward to continuing her role as co founder with Rotten in Denmark Productions and directing Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night!
Ryan (he/him) is thrilled & honored to perform again with Canon Shakespeare Company as Julius Caesar! Shakespeare's plays have long been among Ryan's favorites, from college & local theatre in Montana (Jaques in As You Like It; Don John in Much Ado About Nothing) to here in Portland (Duke Solinus in The Comedy of Errors; King Henry in Henry IV, Pts. I & II), and even to the big screen of indie film (Claudius in Hamlet). Most recently, Ryan played in a summer production with Canon as Malvolio in Twelfth Night. In each & every show, a bundle of sweet memories to be cherished; Ryan is delighted be crafting more memories with Canon. “Once more unto the breach, dear friends!” Kudos to Alec for the superb directing; to Jamie for the awesome stage managing; to every one of the amazing cast & crew for giving it their all, come snow or shine; to family & friends for catching a bloody good show!
Ben Lawrence
METELLUS CIMBER
Ryan Pfeiffer
JULIUS CAESAR
Chloe (she/her) is incredibly excited to be a part of Julius Caesar. She has a wide range of experience in theatre, her most recent being stage manager for The Greenbriar Ghost, as well as stage manager for Henry IV Parts One and Two, and sound designer for The Curious Incident of the Dog and the Nighttime, as well as the QWIT play festival. Her recent acting credits include Sebastian in Twelfth Night, Kaliope in She Kills Monsters, and Lady Macbeth in Unsex Me Here, Shakespeare.
Ira Kortum
DECIUS BRUTUS
A charter member of The Canon Shakespeare Company, Ira (he/him) also serves as the company’s Artistic Director. He has studied at several schools for the performing arts over the years including The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and Portland State University, where he holds a Master of Science degree in Theatre Arts. Ira has over thirty years of experience as an actor in both film and stage. Some of his more memorable stage roles include that of John Falstaff in Henry IV Parts One and Two, Claudius in Hamlet, Alfered Packer in Cannibal the Musical, Vince in Buried Child, Macbeth in Macbeth, Uncle Ernie in The Who's Tommy, and Delmont Williams in The Miss Firecracker Contest. He wishes to dedicate this production to his wife, Christina Kortum. His most avid supporter and his number one fan!
A native to Portland, Ben (he/him) has appeared recently in A Perfect Arrangement at Triangle Theatre, Here We Are Again Still at 21ten’s Barebones wing (in cooperation with Open Hearts Open Minds), and Hand To God at Oregon Contemporary Theater. He thanks his teachers, Chris Connor and Brooke Totman.
Maryellen Wood
LUCIUS/THIRD PLEBIAN
Maryellen (she/her) is excited to play Lucius in her first production with Canon Shakespeare Company. She hopes to make it out of this production alive, as she has failed to do in previous Shakespearean endeavors, including Ophelia in Hamlet (Portland Shakespeare Project/TAC). Some of her other favorite roles include Laura in Chatroom (Cal Poly Theatre Dept.), Dale Prist in 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche (Cal Poly Theatre Dept.), and Young Girl in Blood Wedding (Shaking the Tree Theatre).
Cobbler, Octavius' Servant, First Plebeian, First Soldier
Meghan Lawson (she/her) is excited to perform in both her first show with The Canon and her first Shakespeare production! Meghan recently graduated from Rowan University with a B.A. in Theater and a Minor in Dance and currently teaches with Northwest Children's Theatre. Past roles include Portia U/S & Ensemble in Something Rotten (Sherwood Foundation of the Arts), Sandra/Florence in The Play that Goes Wrong, Queen Marguerite in Exit the King, Clytemnestra in Clyt; Or the Bathtub Play among others. She would like to thank Emmy and Uncle David for all their love and support!
Yoonie Cho
CALPURNIA/ENSEMBLE
Yoonie Cho (she/her) wants to thank the folks at the Canon Shakespeare for giving her the opportunity to take part in Julius Caesar. Yoonie has moved around a lot and is happy to finally settle in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She has a degree in English literature from University of Illinois, and she is a recent graduate of The Actor's Conservatory's two year professional actor training program. Yoonie feels a lot of gratitude that Julius Caesar will be her third Shakespeare project in 2024 and 2025. Yoonie was Gertrude in The Actors Conservatory and Portland Shakespeare Project co-production of Hamlet and Lady Montague in Anonymous Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet. She has also worked with Shaking the Tree and Passin' Art. Much appreciation and love to Charles and Jinju for their encouragement and support.
Soothsayer, Carpenter, Antony’s Servant, Second Plebian, Second Soldier
Alec Henneberger
DIRECTOR
Alec Henneberger (he/him) is an actor, director, and jack-of-all-trades from Fairfax, Virginia, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from George Mason University. A founding member of The Canon, he directed the company's inaugural production of Hamlet (also playing the eponymous role), The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, and Henry IV, Parts One & Two. He recently performed as Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night and as Proteus in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. For the foreseeable future, he will continue dedicating his work to making the Bard for everyone, and to creating theater that brings communities closer together.
Jaime Fields (she/her) has been backstage or in the booth since her sophomore year of high school, and she is excited to still be there--just in different buildings! Recent shows include Jeeves at Sea at Magenta Theater (sound designer), Alone, Broken, Afraid at Chapel Theatre (playwright), Fezziwig's Fortune at Twilight Theatre (sound designer & booth operator), What Happened While Hero was Dead with Bumpy Chalice Productions (costume designer, sound designer, dresser, ASM), and Twelfth Night with Canon Shakespeare Company (Maria, stage manager, costumer).
Sawyer Jackson
FIGHT DIRECTOR
Jaime Fields
STAGE MANAGER
Sawyer Jackson (they/them) is a Portland local theater artist, director, and violence designer. They hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts in directing from Southern Oregon University, and have managed the fight choreography for such illustrious projects as The Three Musketeers (Company of Warriors), Henry IV, Parts One and Two (The Canon Shakespeare Company), and Hearts Like Fists (Rewrite Theater and the Oregon Center for the Arts).
Ezra Veenstra
COSTUME DESIGNER
Ezra Veenstra (they/he) is a costumer, actor, and playwright from Portland, Oregon and a graduate of Portland State University’s Theater Arts program. Costume credits include Blinking Eye Theatre’s productions of The Seagull, Romeo and Juliet are Dead, and Swipe Right. Ezra was most recently on stage as Andrew Aguecheek in The Canon Shakespeare Company’s production of Twelfth Night and has loved working with this wonderful group of artists again in a new capacity.
Genevieve Larson
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Genevieve Larson (she/her) has been involved with theatre in the Portland area for 10 years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Portland State University with a focus on performance and stage managing. She's a former board member and co-founder of The Canon Shakespeare Company, along with the box office manager for Twilight Theater Company. She has designed lights for The Canon, Twilight Theater, Whisper Skin Theater, and Broken Planetarium. Recent and upcoming credits include American Son and the upcoming The Temperamentals, both at Twilight. She had a lot of fun working with this talented group of people and she hopes you enjoy the show!
Vinisia Cirigo
BOARD OPERATOR
Vinisa (she/her) loves working in theatre, both on stage and off, having enjoyed ping-ponging around various different positions such as Midsummer Nights Dream (Snug), Jesus Christ Superstar (Costumer/House Manager/Playbill), and Home/Land (Receptionist/Front of House). Now primarily a Stage Manager, her previous SM credits include Hamlet (Shake&Pop), The Seagull (Blinking Eye Theater), Everybody (Twilight Theater), Twelfth Night (Speculative Drama), and Romeo and Juliet are Dead (Blinking Eye Theater). She is honored to have been tapped to be the Board Operator for Julius Caesar.