Chris Salem – Rosencrantz

Chris Salem is a local actor and musician. Some recent credits include playing the Emcee in Cabaret, Ensemble roles in Sweeney Todd and In The Heights, and a personal favorite, Patchy the Pirate in The Spongebob Musical. He was first introduced to R&G in his English Literature class in High School and it left a lasting impression on him. What even is life? Do we have free will? Does it matter? Why or why not? This work will pose those questions and will not answer them. After a brief hiatus, Chris is excited to be back on stage performing this absurd play.

Zed Warner – Guildenstern

Zed Warner (he/they) is a local theatre artist who is so grateful to have played on so many local stages recently. Recent credits include: Charlie Brown (You're A Good Man...), Lysander (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Lucas (The Addams Family), Victor (Cabaret), Tunny (American Idiot) and more both on and off-stage. Words cannot express how honored he is to step into this incredibly wordy, iconic role. Enjoy the show!

Ward Willats – Player

44 years ago, as a theater arts undergraduate at UCSC, Ward performed The Player in a production of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern at the Barn Theater, under the supervision of the late, great Audrey Stanley. It was during this show he met and fell in love with woman who designed the set and to whom he has now been married for 38 years. So this show holds a special place in his heart and he is delighted and grateful for the opportunity to revisit this fantastic role.

Recently Ward has appeared as King Midas in Metamorphoses at Cabrillo College, directed by Andrea Hart, George in Humble Boy at The Western Stage, directed by Rebecca Clark, and the last 6 years of the 8 Tens @ 8 Short-Play Festival. Other favorite roles include Ezra Chater in Arcadia, Hamlet in Dogg's Troupe 15-Minute Hamlet, Antipholus and Dromio in separate productions of The Comedy of Errors, Trebonious in Julius Caesar, Jerry in The Thin Place, and Hummel in The Ghost Sonata.

Ian Dyer – Hamlet

Ian Dyer is extremely excited to be a part of Simon’s first independent production, and believes that now is the time for theater in this beautiful county. Recent highlights of Ian’s include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Evil Dead, The Odd Couple and Something Rotten! at MCT, Cabaret and Street Theater with Renegade, American Idiot with Cabrillo PAC, How to Get Appointments by Telephone with Gay Innocent Heartless, and Misery, and White Sky Falling Dragon at Actors’ Theatre. Later this year, you can see Ian in Henrymania with Gay Innocent Heartless and being involved in any future Good Egg shows!

Andy Waddell – Claudius

Andy Waddell is a retired English teacher who generally wastes most of his time but does sometimes manage to scratch out a few pages of fiction, including a novel Hard Rain he published last year. He ended a four-decade hiatus from acting a few years ago when he appeared in Santa Cruz Actors' Theatre's 8 Tens at 8. This year he was again on the stage again in that festival, and so was a play that he wrote, Sacred Trust. He is very excited to be a part of this production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Jennifer Stanford – Gertrude

Jennifer (she/her) is so delighted to be part of this production! Jennifer has recently returned to performing after a long hiatus and is so thrilled to be in the vibrant Santa Cruz theatre community. She could recently be seen in Best of the Rest and as “Helena” in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Mountain Community Theater. When not performing she’s probably chasing a toddler.

Kevin Karplus – Polonius / Fortinbras

Kevin only started acting in February 2023, after retiring from 39+ years as an engineering professor, but has been training intensively, taking the equivalent of ~15 college courses at Cabrillo, Actors' Theatre, and UCSC. He has previously appeared in The Artist in 8 tens @8 and Beyond the Bus and The Fabulists in Best of the Rest at Actors' Theatre, as Claudius in Fortinbras at Cabrillo, as Mathis Zell in Katherina of Strassburg, as Egeus and Robin Starveling in Midsummer Night's Dream at Mountain Community Theatre, and in about 10 roles with NextStage Productions' Readers' Theater. He will also appear this summer as Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet with Milo Rep. "My lord, I have news to tell you!"

Juno Aliah – Ophelia / Laertes

Juno Aliah is a Santa Cruz local and has been performing here for most of their life. Previous roles include Ralph in Reefer Madness, Bobby in Cabaret, and Squidward in Spongebob: The Musical. In her free time she likes to read, watch movies, and pour over her CD collection like a dragon with its hoard. She is most excited to be involved with this production, and is prepared to paint as many inches thick as it takes.

Raven Voorhees – Alfred (Queen)

Raven is thrilled to be performing in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. Based in Santa Cruz, he is a local performing artist and works as a barista in Abbott Square and enjoys expressing his creativity both on and off the stage! Raven has been performing locally for many years with companies including Cabrillo Stage, All About Theatre, and Renegade. Recent credits include Reefer Madness (Jimmy Harper), Sweeney Todd (Tobias Ragg U/S), American Idiot (St. Jimmy), and Cabaret (Ensemble/Bobby U/S). In his free time, Raven enjoys creating art, listening to music, spending time with friends and his cats, and going on long drives and adventures. He hopes you enjoy the show!

Nick Bilardello – Poisoner / King

Nick is looking forward to be in an ensemble of Tragedians. Recent productions include Metamorphoses and Fortinbras at Cabrillo where he was also in Noises Off, The Full Monty, Anything Goes, and Twelfth Night. Other local productions include Freud's Last Session, Henry V, The Taming of the Shrew, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Brad Roades – Murdered King / Polonius

Brad recently earned a Broadway World Bay Area Best Supporting Actor nomination for his work as an actor and set designer at Actor’s Theatre production of Misery. He has worked with Mountain Community Theatre in Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Becky’s New Car and Miracle on 34th Street Brad has appeared in 8 Tens@8 with Actor’s theater for the last three years as well as directing. In 2023 and 2024 directed the Storytellers for Next Stage. Locally Brad has worked with All About Theatre where he directed Billy Elliot, Batboy, Spring Awakening, and the Addams Family, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In addition, he works with Miracles Santa Cruz. Brad won the Mimi Steinberg playwriting award at Brandeis University where he studied writing and directing with Martin Halpern, David Wheeler, Michael Murray and Edward Albee, Jayne Anne Phillips, Geoffrey Wolff and others.

Tom Boyle – Spy / Ambassador 1

Returning to the stage after a 20 year hiatus, a recent transplant to the west coast, Tom’s local debut was in a supporting role as Murray the cop in MTC’s production of Oscar and Felix. Tom joined Actors Theater for the 2025 and 2026, 8 Tens @ 8 Festivals, with roles in Wakers, Exit Strategy, Blue Bag and Pelusa. Tom also took part in Actors Theater’s wonderful 2025 Spring Shakespeare Gala with a small role in Richard III. Tom’s hope is to continue to rediscover the joy that the theater brought to his earlier life during 30 years of community theater with this newly found performing artist family here in the Santa Cruz area.

Benjamin Canant – Spy / Ambassador 2

Benjamin is happy to be joining this prestigious cast! Notable credits include: Groundhog Day the Musical (Sheriff); Evil Dead the Musical (Jake); The Thanksgiving Play (Jaxton); Spamalot (Mayor/French Taunter/knight who gets killed by the rabbit); Assassins (Sam Byck); Addams Family the Musical (Mal Beineke); Young Frankenstein (Frederick Frankenstein). He resides in Scotts Valley, CA and is a software engineer, videographer, dance student, board game enthusiast, and cat dad.

Simon Hayward – Producer/Director

Simon Hayward had the opportunity for involvement in a wide range of theatrical activities while studying at the University of Oxford. This including touring in the US (through the Midwest in midwinter!) with a production of As You Like It, plus directing Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author and Ibsen’s The Doll’s House (at the Oxford Playhouse). However the desire for a career in the professional theater was cut short by the need to earn a living…

While working in the tech industry, he was involved in many technology conferences, both as a paid presenter and director or producer of large scale events, with greater or lesser degrees of theatricality…

Since retiring he has been able to return to directing on a “real” stage, initially with Mountain Community Theater’s production of The Odd Couple (Female Version) in 2024. In 2025 he directed Balloon Release as part of the 8x10s@8 Festival of New Short Plays at Actors Theater, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime for MCT. He then directed a murder mystery (Final Checkout by Kathy Perrin) in conjunction with the Friends of Santa Cruz Libraries. In 2026 he returned to 8x10s as co-director of Best of the Rest. He is now delighted to have the opportunity to present this production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead — which he confesses does make him feel a bit like a philosophy undergrad again. But he hopes you also enjoy the jokes.

Josephine Czarnecki – Lighting Design & Choreography

Josephine is a freelance theatre professional working locally as a director, fight director, and lighting designer. She directs with a variety of youth and teen theatre companies (Santa Cruz Parks & Rec, Santa Cruz Shakespeare Education, Pacific Elementary, Gateway School, Renegade Theatre Co.) and designs fight/light for groups like Actors Theatre, Renegade Theatre Co, and Cabrillo College. Josephine holds an MFA from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama in Advanced Theatre Practice, and has been certified in ten weapon systems from the British Association of Dramatic Combat and British Academy of Stage & Screen Combat. View her work portfolio at www.GayInnocentHeartless.com

Sue Ann Guilderman – Costumes

Sue Ann Guildermann (Costume Design) is originally from Queens, NY, but traveled west and graduated from San Jose State University with an M.A. in Theatre Arts. After suffering through many Minnesota winters, she returned to the Bay area six years ago to be closer to her grandson and became involved with the local theater community. She has directed or designed costumes and/or props for many shows at Mountain Community Theater, Santa Cruz Actors Theatre, Scotts Valley Performing Arts and Renegade Theater, as well as performing with Next Stage reader’s theater. She has loved becoming part of the Santa Cruz theater family!

Stephen Phillipps – Set Design

Stephen Phillipps (Set Design) earned his M.A. in Theatre at the University of Minnesota, directing, acting and designing in many theatres in Minneapolis and St. Paul, including appearing in the Guthrie Theatre production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. After 45 years as an educator and theatre artist in the Twin Cities, life brought him to Boulder Creek to be closer to his grandson, Kellan. Since arriving here, he has worked both onstage and backstage on many productions, most recently directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Mountain Community Theater. He is awed by the talent in the Santa Cruz area theater community and is overjoyed that the community has included him!

Benjamin Canant – Website & Photography

Benjamin has been a website designer and programmer for more than 30 years. With a lifetime of interest in digital creativity, he is happy to be contributing his skills in coding, photography, videography, and design to the Santa Cruz theatre community. As a founding member of Footlight Films, he films and edits performance videos for theatre companies all around Santa Cruz and Monterey.