The Festival Announces the Cast of Antony and Cleopatra
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is excited to announce the cast of this season’s production of Shakespeare’s rarely-done tragedy Antony and Cleopatra in the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre. Last produced at the Festival almost 20 years ago in 2006, this will be only the fourth production in its 64-year history and it will be directed by Carolyn Howarth.
“I’ve never been quite so surprised by a play as I am by Antony and Cleopatra,” says Howarth. “Its personality is unique. Sometimes tragedy, sometimes history, oftentimes comedy, now poetry, now prose…At its core are magnificently messy, complicated characters, feeling the most human of emotions, and looking to fulfill their humanity, both here and in the afterlife.”
Working with Howarth to create the world of this show are the following lead artistic staff: Scenic Designer Apollo Mark Weaver, Costume Designer Raven Ong, Lighting Designer Shannon McKinney, Sound Designer/Composer Lindsay Jones, Music Director Andrew Flasch, Voice/Speech/Text Coach Jeremy Sortore, Dramaturg Isabel Smith-Bernstein, Choreographer/Intimacy Coordinator Sacha Comrie, Fight Director Geoffrey Kent, and Stage Manager Caleb Thomas Cook.
Returning and new actors to the Festival make up this cast, which is as follows:
Lavour Addison is making his first appearance at the Festival as Scarus/Ensemble in Antony and Cleopatra. He has also worked at Long Wharf Theatre; Idaho, Lake Tahoe, and Colorado Shakespeare Festivals, Cleveland Playhouse, and Creede Repertory Theatre. He received his MFA in acting from Case Western Reserve and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Cassandra Bissell returns for her fifth season at the Festival, playing Agrippa/Ensemble in Antony and Cleopatra this season. She has acted regionally at the Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, Arizona Theatre Company, and Cleveland Playhouse, among many others. She earned a BA in gender studies from University of Chicago and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
Olivia D. Dawson is debuting at the Festival as Maecenas/Soothsayer/Ensemble in Antony and Cleopatra. She has performed at Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and Indiana Repertory Theatre to name a few. Television credits include Chicago Med, The Resident, Cobra Kai, and more. Dawson’s film credits include Honk for Jesus and teaching credits from UW Madison. She received the 2020 Arts and Social Justice Fellowship at Emory University and was the 2021 Fellow with the Hambidge Center. Dawson has a BA and MFA and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Gabriel W. Elmore is debuting this season as Octavius Caesar in Antony and Cleopatra. He has appeared with Quintessence Theatre Group, InterAct Theatre Company, and Delaware Theatre Company, among others. He was also in the film Alice Heart and taught at Temple University where he received his MFA in acting.
Blake Henri returns for his third season, playing Eros/Ensemble in Antony and Cleopatra. He was previously seen at the Festival in The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, The Play That Goes Wrong, and A Raisin in the Sun. He has worked at the American Shakespeare Center; the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa; Cleveland Playhouse; and Dallas Theatre Center, among many others. He has appeared in numerous television shows such as HBO’s Love and Death and The Chosen, as well as the films American Underdog and Great Plains. He holds a BFA from University of Oklahoma.
Elijah Eliakim Hernandez is debuting on the Festival’s mainstage, as Menas/Ensemble in Antony and Cleopatra. They are currently on tour with the Festival’s Shakespeare in the School production of Henry IV as Hotspur and have performed with Tennessee and Wisconsin Shakespeare Companies. They earned a BA in theatre performances from University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Kayland Jordan returns to the Festival, as Alexas/Menecrates/Ensemble in Antony and Cleopatra. She previously performed in A Raisin in the Sun and A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2023. She has also acted off-Broadway and at Theatre SilCo and American Stage Theatre Company, among many others. She has appeared in HBO’s Betty, ABC’s Emergence and The Brides, and in the films Gap Year and Keep Me At Bay. She is a resident teaching artist at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, earned a BFA in acting from Pace University, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Geoffrey Kent returns for his sixth season, as Mark Antony in Antony and Cleopatra, as well as Fight Director for these three productions. Last season he played Polixenes in The Winter’s Tale and Buckingham/Lord Chancellor in Henry VIII. He has also been seen in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare in Love, Treasure Island, and Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). He spent fourteen seasons with Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and multiple seasons with The Denver Center, as well as time at Orlando Shakespeare Theater, The Arvada Center, and American Shakespeare Center. He has taught at University of Northern Colorado, University of Denver, and ASOLO MFA. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Walter Kmiec is returning for his second season, as Canidius/Ensemble in Antony and Cleopatra. He previously portrayed Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing and Norfolk in Henry VIII. He has also worked at Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Festival, Endstation Theater Company, and People’s Improv Theater, among others. He has taught at Stetson University and Florida State University, where he received an MFA in directing. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Chris Mixon is returning for his thirteenth season at the Festival and will be seen as Enobarbus in Antony and Cleopatra. Some of his previous Festival roles include last year’s Cardinal Wolsey in Henry VIII, Baptista in The Taming of the Shrew, and Old Shepherd in The Winter’s Tale, as well as in productions of Jane Austen’s Emma The Musical, The Play That Goes Wrong, Big River, The Foreigner, The Book of Will, and Mary Poppins, among many others. He has been in the Broadway tour of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and on off-Broadway at the Pearl Theatre Company and Manhattan Theatre Club. His work has also been seen at The Denver Center, Milwaukee Rep, Pioneer Theatre Company, as well as in the film The Rosa Parks Story and on the television shows All My Children, One Life to Live, and Law & Order. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
Alia Shakira is returning, as Charmian in Antony and Cleopatra. Previous roles at the Festival include Camae in The Mountaintop and Annie Cannon in Silent Sky. Other credits include those at Horizon Theater, Impact Theater, New Federal Theatre, and more. Television credits include The First Lady, The Come Up, Woke, and the film The Color Purple. Shakira received a BFA in acting from Howard University and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Chauncy Thomas returns for his second season at the Festival, as Pompey/Ensemble in Antony and Cleopatra. He was seen in last season’s The Winter’s Tale as Leontes and in Henry VIII as Duke of Suffolk. He has performed at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Bay Street Theatre, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and Gulfshore Playhouse. His television work includes Madam Secretary and Run the World, and is a winner and five-time nominee for St. Louis Theater Circle Awards for his work at St. Louis Black Rep. He holds a BA in drama and psychology from Washington University and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Kathryn Tkel is making her Festival debut as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra. Her previous work includes productions at Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, Folger Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, and many more. She was seen in the film Harriet and currently teaches at Southern Utah University. She has an MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting, as well BAs in drama and anthropology from University of California, Irvine. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Patrick Vest returns for his second Festival season, as Thidias/Ensemble in Antony and Cleopatra. His previous work includes last season’s Much Ado About Nothing and Henry VIII. Other theatres where he has performed include Rubicon Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, and Asolo Rep. He earned an MFA in acting from Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
Graham Ward is debuting at the Festival as Lepidus/Ambassador/Clown in Antony and Cleopatra. He has performed at The Arvada Center, Creede Repertory Theatre, and Lone Tree Arts Center. He has performed with Boomtown Improv Comedy and at Ghostlight RPGs. He received a BFA in acting from Brigham Young University and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Amara Webb returns as Iras in Antony and Cleopatra. She was previously seen as Miranda in The Tempest, Diana in All’s Well That Ends Well, and Ensemble in Ragtime and The Pirates of Penzance at the Festival. She was in Little Shop of Horrors at Oregon Cabaret, The Tempest at Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, and A Christmas Carol at the Kansas City Rep. She has a BFA in musical theatre from Webster University.
Caitlin Wise is returning for her second season, as Octavia in Antony and Cleopatra. She played Kate in The Taming of the Shrew and Emilia in The Winter’s Tale in last year’s season. She has also worked at The Denver Center, The Arvada Center, and Creede Repertory Theatre, among others. She received a Henry Award, Denver Post Ovation Award, and Donald R. Seawell ANTA Fellowship. She earned an MFA from the National Theatre Conservatory and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
The Festival’s 64th season runs June 16 through October 4. Tickets are available online at bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.
