Directed by Patrick Ciamacco
Music Direction by Matt Dolan
Choreography by Sarah Clare
Stage Managed by Cass Penegor
Costume Design by Luke Scattergood
Set Design by Patrick Ciamacco
Lighting Design by Patrick Ciamacco
CAST
Maggie Adler (Ensemble/Sam Understudy) is so excited to be back at Blank Canvas Theatre and back on the stage after so many years! Back in 2014, you may have seen her as Alison in High Fidelity. She has spent the last seven years in Los Angeles, training in scene study and film/television. Maggie’s past theatre credits include The Children’s Hour (Martha Dobie), The Foreigner (Catherine Simms), Anne of Green Gables (Anne Shirley), Peter Pan (Twin 1), and Into the Woods (Lucinda). She just moved back to Cleveland, and is excited to see where life takes her and her cat, Potato, next!
Kyla Burks (Ornella) is very excited to return to Blank Canvas Theatre on the actual stage and not through a window; Kyla’s most recent performance with BCT was the Make Them Hear You concert in February, 2021, part of our pandemic-safe series of drive-in productions. To know more about Kyla’s recent performances, visit her Instagram: @kyla_burks. Kyla is very excited for y’all to see the show, and she hopes you enjoys it!
Amanda Bender (Ensemble) is thrilled to be back at Blank Canvas Theatre for the second time! Recent credits include The Music Man (Eulalie Mackenine Shinn), The Spongebob Musical (Mrs. Puff), and Young Frankenstein (Elizabeth Benning). She would like to thank her family and friends for being such supportive humans. Extra love to her mom for being literally the best of the best. She would also like to thank all of you for supporting the arts in Cleveland! Follow all of her shenanigans on social media @Amandanicole328.
Kai Daniels (Ensemble) cannot wait to be part of this amazing musical, Leap of Faith! Kai performed in many productions in high school, including The Worst High School Play in The World (Friar Fred), We Will Rock You (Commander Kashoggi), Descendants: The Musical (Ben), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream(Lysander). Kai has always loved the theatre industry and is hoping to be a professional performer, and maybe even make it to Broadway someday. In spare time, Kai likes to play video games and sing and, in a couple months, plans to move to Philadelphia, PA with two friends. Kai is very glad to be part of this show with such amazing people.
Simon Keating (Jake Understudy) is thrilled to be performing at Blank Canvas Theater. His recent credits include Fun Home (Christian), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Joseph), Newsies Jr. (Albert), Frozen Jr. (Kristoff), School of Rock (Swing), and The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (Percy Jackson).
Elicia Kinder (Marla Understudy) is new to the Cleveland theater scene, having previously lived in Pittsburgh, PA and in Toledo, Columbus, and Athens, OH. Her performance credits include Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Beggar Woman), A New Brain (Lisa/Homeless Woman), Godspell (Soloist), The Addams Family (Wednesday), Spring Awakening (Ilse), The Rocky Horror Show (Columbia), and more. Elicia is an Ohio University journalism grad (Go Bobcats!) and a professional digital marketer, as well as happy wife to Jake, whom she met through theater, and super-proud mom of baby "Big Al" Alexander. You can usually find her with a book in one hand, a wine glass in the other, and a baby on her hip.
Reed Randall Kruger (Ensemble) is very excited to be back on the Blank Canvas Theatre stage! He is a recent graduate of Baldwin Wallace University with a B.A. in Acting and Directing and a minor in Creative Writing. Recently, he was in the BCT production of American Psycho (Craig McDermott), and some of his other favorite credits include The Learned Ladies (Ariste), The Crucible (Thomas Putnam), Troilus and Cressida (Pandarus/Menelaus), and Marginalia: An Interplay With Edgar Allan Poe (Raven).
Rebekah Mallory (Ensemble) is excited to be back on the Blank Canvas Theatre stage, after last being seen here in American Psycho (Courtney). She is a recent graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and holds a B.F.A. in Performing Arts. Past credits also include a staged reading of an original play, Everything Feels Like the End of the World (Devon) at The Access Theatre Project, and The Crucible (Mercy Lewis) at Avenue Arts. She wants to thank her family for always being supportive of her work. Thank you for supporting the arts! Enjoy the show!
Maria VJ Matthews (Ensemble) is very excited to return to Blank Canvas Theatre after appearing in American Psycho. Maria’s love for performing started at a young age with shows for family and friends, and developed through her graduation from the prestigious Cleveland School of the Arts High School as a theatre major. She is known to be unique, ecstatic, and unpredictable -- and that’s what makes her fun! Maria would like to thank her parents and friends for putting up with the long hours and craziness, and for loving her through it all. She wants to extend a special thank you to the ones who show that it’s okay to be different, and how to function in this unpredictable world.
Kate Leigh Michalski (Marla McGowan) is so stoked to leap! Her credits include She Loves Me (Amalia Balash), Parade (Lucille Frank), Evil Dead - The Musical (Cheryl), The Spitfire Grill (Shelby), The Toxic Avenger (Mayor/Ma), Ragtime (Emma Goldman), The 25th...Spelling Bee (Olive), We Will Rock You (Oz), Reefer Madness (Mae), The Texas Chainsaw Musical! (Lucretia), Jekyll & Hyde in Concert (Lucy Harris), Guys and Dolls (Sarah Brown), and The SpongeBob Musical (Pearl Krabs). Kate holds a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from Point Park University, and is an Equity Membership Candidate. Love you, Mom! Love you, Dad.
Shane Patrick O'Neill (Jonas Nightingale) is thrilled to return to Blank Canvas Theatre after previously being seen in Avenue Q (Princeton), High Fidelity (Rob), and Godspell! Locally, he has been seen at Beck Center in The Spitfire Grill (Joe), The Little Mermaid (Eric), and Forever Plaid (Frankie); at Lakeland Civic Theatre in The Bridges of Madison County (Robert) and The Light in the Piazza (Fabrizio); and numerous times as a soloist with The Musical Theater Project. Shane’s regional credits include Legally Blonde (Emmett), the orchestral premiere of Songs for a New World (Man 2), The 25th… Spelling Bee (Chip), and I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (Man 2). His film work includes My Friend Dahmer. Shane is a proud graduate of the musical theatre programs of New York University (M.M.) and Ashland University (B.A.). Shane sends love and thanks to his wife, Alicia, and their two children, Riley and Emmett! www.shanepatrickoneill.com
Amy Pilgrim (Sam Nightingale) is thrilled to perform in her first Blank Canvas Theatre show! Her most recent credits include Ride The Cyclone (Jane Doe), Shrek The Musical (Princess Fiona), and The Rocky Horror Show (Chorus). Catch her next in The Knight Of The Burning Pestle (Rafe) at Ohio University!
Colin Primrose (Jake) – is very excited to be playing Jake in his debut at Blank Canvas Theatre. His recent credits include Elf (Michael Hobbs), Wonka Jr. (Charlie Buckets), The Addams Family (Pugsley), Frozen Jr. (Oaken), and Once Upon a Mattress (Knight).
Jack Routhier (Ensemble) is thrilled to be making his professional debut with Blank Canvas Theatre! Following years of being jammed into a pit to play the piano, he'll move onto the stage of a musical. Some of his previous favorite credits include The Glass Menagerie (Tom), The Three Sisters (Vershinin), and Ripped (Jared), as well as his time as pianist and actor with IMPROVment. Please stop asking him to speak German, because he doesn't actually know any. Special thanks to Maja for encouragement, as well as to Cass and Pat for taking a chance - a leap of faith, one could even say.
Neda Spears (Ida Mae) is looking forward to raising the roof here with Leap of Faith. She just finished her journey Into the Woods that was supposed to be at Olde Towne Hall Theatre before the fire marshal closed it down…but the show did go on, albeit WAAY over in Oberlin, OH. Before that, she trod the boards here at BCT in The Last Starfighter, at Cassidy Theater in The Drowsy Chaperone and at Access Theatre Project in The Spitfire Grill. You’ve seen her here in The Texas Chainsaw Musical!, Avenue Q, We Will Rock You, and the drive-in concerts Still Standing and Make Them Hear You. She has also appeared in Matilda The Musical (Beck Center), Sherlock Holmes: The Baker Street Irregulars (Dobama Theatre), and The All Night Strut! (Theater in the Circle). Thanks again to Patrick, Matt, and all the crew and staff, because being at BCT makes the creative process fun for the actors as well as the audience. Thanks to all of you who have come out to support theater in all its forms.
Emmanuel Stewart (Isaiah Sturdivant) is thrilled to be playing Isaiah in this production. He’s most recently appeared in a previous production of Leap Of Faith (Jonas Nightingale), 110 Stories (F.F. Donald Casey), and Sister Act (Sweaty Eddie). This is one of Emmanuel’s first shows outside of high school and his second production of this musical, so he is very excited and grateful for being given the opportunity to bring another role from this show to life, and hopes to deliver the best experience for his peers and, of course, the audience. He would like to thank God for the talent and opportunity, and his family and friends for their love and support!
Sydney Noelle Warren (Ensemble/ u/s Ornella Sturdevant) is excited to do her first show at Blank Canvas Theatre. As a graduate of Baldwin Wallace University with a B.A. in Film Studies and a minor in Theater, she has a thorough background in music, film, and theater. Sydney has performed various roles in different shows before and after college including Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Cinderella), Hair (Shelia Franklin), Little Shop of Horrors (Chiffon), and most recently Head Over Heels (Gynecia). After four years in Cleveland, Sydney is happy to work on her first show at BCT. She is super-excited to work with Pat and the rest of the cast!
STAFF
Patrick Ciamacco (Director, Lighting and Set Design) is so excited to be back and directing on the BCT stage and working with people he loves and respects! Patrick is the Artistic Director and founder of Blank Canvas Theatre. He dedicates this show to the person sitting in the third row, fifth seat from the left.
Sarah Clare (Choreographer) has worked as an actor, director, choreographer, and teacher all over Northeastern Ohio. She has a B.A. in Dramatic Arts from, Cleveland State University and received her teaching license through Baldwin Wallace University’s education program. By day she works as the Associate Director of Theater Education at Beck Center for the Arts, where she also teaches, choreographs, and directs. Some favorite past choreography credits include Altar Boyz, Kiss Me Kate, Children of Eden, Urinetown, and Seussical. She is thankful to be a part of this production after appearing in the audience laughing and crying at Blank Canvas Theatre shows since 2012. “Love to Eric, Charlie, Gizmo, Rory, and the outdoor babies. "Thank you, for supporting the arts, and live theater."
Matthew Dolan (Music Director) is an active music director, composer, arranger, and pianist in Northeast Ohio. He has been acknowledged as one of the "Best Music Directors" of 2018 by Cleveland Scene Magazine, and also received a "Superior Achievement" acknowledgement from the Cleveland Critics Circle for his work on Avenue Q at Blank Canvas Theatre. Recent credits include Urinetown : The Musical (Music Director, Oberlin College Theatre Department), Evil Dead - The Musical (Music Director, Blank Canvas Theatre), and the world premiere productions of 33 1/3 (Music Director, Dobama Theatre) and Light It Up! (Music Assistant/Keyboard 2, Cleveland Play House). Later this year, he will serve as Music Director for the world premiere of The Land of Oz at Dobama Theatre. Matthew earned both his Bachelor of Music in Music Theory and Composition and his Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Akron. He serves as the current Director of Music for Rocky River United Methodist Church, while also accompanying for Cleveland Heights High School, and St. Ignatius High School. Matthew is an avid cyclist, longboarder, and lover of vintage keyboard instruments. He loves Blank Canvas Theatre and is excited and honored to bring Leap of Faith to its stage!
Cass Penegor (Stage Manager) is excited to be working at Blank Canvas Theatre and with this wonderful team. Cass has most recently been involved in stage management with the Youth Theater at the Beck Center, teaches at the Great Lakes Science Center, and somewhere between all of that, works as a studio artist. Cass would like to thank Pat and BCT for this opportunity, as well as mom and friends for all of the love and support! Enjoy the show!
Luke Scattergood (Costume Design) has worked on the Blank Canvas Theatre stage over these past twelve years as an actor, costumer, stage manager, assistant director, and more. He would like to thank Patrick for the opportunity to create and grow in such an inspiring atmosphere. Thanks to his wife, Laura, and kids Lucy, Levi, and Lincoln for their love and support. Enjoy the show!