The Festival Announces the Cast of Troilus and Cressida
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is thrilled to announce the cast of this season’s production of Shakespeare’s rarely-performed tragedy Troilus and Cressida. As one of the final plays in our 14-year goal to “Complete the Canon," this will be only the third time in the Festival’s 65-year history that this story––based on the Trojan War––will grace our stage. At the helm is director Carolyn Howarth, who directed Antony and Cleopatra last season and The Winter’s Tale in 2024.
“Troilus and Cressida is one of my favorite plays,” says Howarth. “I so enjoy how it deconstructs traditional love stories and heroic myths, and simultaneously feels incredibly modern. It is so rarely performed and yet this darkly-witty satire offers a critical and sarcastic take on war and love, is full of humor and song, and overall is quite the thriller! It feels relevant in that it highlights how powerful countries can lose their soul when consumed by pride, greed, and a relentless pursuit for victory. Plus the characters are so intriguing! And there are high-octane sword fights! I think it’s a great night in the theatre!”
Working alongside Howarth to create the world of this show are the following lead artistic staff: Scenic Designer Apollo Mark Weaver, Costume Designer Jen Gillette, Lighting Designer Michael Gilliam, Sound Designer/Composer Lindsay Jones, Music Director Brandon Grayson, Voice/Speech/Text Coach Philip Thompson, Dramaturg Lezlie Cross, Choreographer/Intimacy Coordinator Sacha Comrie, Fight Director Geoffrey Kent, and Stage Manager Martinique M. Barthel.
Both new and returning actors make up the cast of Troilus and Cressida, which is as follows:
Calvin Adams returns for his first full season with the Festival, after performing as Falstaff in last year’s Shakespeare in the Schools tour of Henry IV. This summer he will perform as Patroclus/Myrmidon in Troilus and Cressida. He has worked at Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, Guthrie Theater, and Chicago’s Lifeline Theatre, among others. He holds a theater degree from the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program.
Lavour Addison is returning for his second season at the Festival as Ajax in Troilus and Cressida. Audiences may remember him as Macduff in last season’s Macbeth, among other roles. He has also worked at Creede Repertory Theatre; Idaho, Lake Tahoe, and Colorado Shakespeare Festivals, Cleveland Playhouse, and Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company. Addison received his MFA in acting from Case Western Reserve and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Kyleen Doman is new to the Festival and is playing Alexandra/Trojan Attendant/Soldier in Troilus and Cressida. She is currently pursuing a BFA in acting at Southern Utah University and will appear this season courtesy of the SUU Fellowship Program, a partnership between SUU’s Theatre Department and the Festival. She has performed roles in The Three Sisters, Julius Caesar, and The Prom.
Luke Elison is also appearing courtesy of the SUU Fellowship Program and is pursuing a BFA in musical theatre at SUU, where he recently played Pippin in Pippin and roles in Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play and The Secret Garden. His roles this season include Trojan Attendant/Greek Soldier in Troilus and Cressida.
Gabriel W. Elmore returns for his second season, as Diomedes/Myrmidon in Troilus and Cressida. He performed last summer as Orlando in As You Like It and Octavius Caesar in Antony and Cleopatra, among other roles. He has appeared with Fulton Theater, Quintessence Theatre Group, InterAct Theatre Company, and Delaware Shakespeare Festival, among others. Elmore was also in the film Alice-Heart and taught at Temple University where he received his MFA in acting.
John Harrell returns for his third Festival season, this time as Pandarus/Myrmidon in Troilus and Cressida. Audiences may remember him as Hortensio in 2024’s The Taming of the Shrew and Autolycus in The Winter’s Tale, among others. He has also performed the title characters in Hamlet, Cyrano de Bergerac, Richard II and more at the American Shakespeare Center. Harrell received a Bachelor of Arts in English from James Madison University and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Emily Hawkins makes her Festival debut as Helen of Troy in Troilus and Cressida. She performed numerous roles at Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, including Rosalind in As You Like It, Hermione in The Winter’s Tale, and Milady de Winter in The Three Musketeers. Other regional credits include Chicago Children’s Theatre, Great River Shakespeare Festival, and The House Theatre of Chicago. She received her BFA in acting from Oklahoma City University.
Blake Henri returns for his fourth season, playing Thersites in Troilus and Cressida. He was in last season’s Macbeth and As You Like It, as well as The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, The Play That Goes Wrong, and A Raisin in the Sun from earlier seasons. 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 The Chosen, Walker, and HBO’s Love and Death, as well as the films American Underdog and Great Plains. He holds a BFA from the University of Oklahoma.
Mat Hostetler makes his Festival debut this season as Paris/Myrmidon in Troilus and Cressida. His Broadway work includes Death of a Salesman and the North American Tour/Japan Tour of War Horse. Off-Broadway he has performed at Lincoln Center and NYTW Next Door, while his regional credits include La Jolla Playhouse, Denver Center, and Colorado Shakespeare Festival. His television work includes The Gilded Age, Boardwalk Empire, The Blacklist, and Six Feet Under, among others. He was also seen in the film The Utopian Society. He is the creator and host of the Sometimes It Rains Podcast. He received his MFA from the National Theatre Conservatory, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
Avery Michael Johnson is debuting at the Festival as Troilus in Troilus and Cressida. His work at Montana Shakespeare in the Parks includes roles in Henry V, The Winter’s Tale, and The Three Musketeers. He has also performed at Richmond Shakespeare and Signature Theatre, and received his BFA in theatre from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Loren Jones will be performing the role of Menelaus this season in Troilus and Cressida. He was an understudy for numerous roles last season for all the shows in the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre. He has also worked at the Goodman Theatre, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and Boise Contemporary Theatre, as well as in the film Sharing Air. He has a master’s degree in acting from Northern Illinois University and is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors.
Kayland Jordan returns for her third season at the Festival, playing Aeneas in Troilus and Cressida. She performed as Rosalind in last year’s As You Like It and Second Weird Sister in Macbeth, along with other shows including A Raisin in the Sun and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She has also acted Off-Broadway and at Asolo Repertory Theatre, 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 in Dallas, earned a BFA in acting from Pace University, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
John Keabler is making his Festival debut as Hector in Troilus and Cressida. He has performed Off-Broadway at Cherry Lane Theatre, as well as at Shakespeare Theatre of D.C., The Old Globe, Berkeley Rep, and Cincinnati Playhouse, among many others. His on-screen work includes many television shows including 30 Rock; Madam Secretary; All My Children; and The Men Who Built America; as well as films like Faith, Love and Whiskey; SUGAR!; and Where The Snow Fell. He earned an MFA at The Old Globe Professional Actors Program, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG.
Walter Kmiec returns for his third season, as Achilles in Troilus and Cressida. Audiences will remember him as Macbeth in last year’s production of Macbeth, Touchstone in As You Like It, and Canidius in Antony and Cleopatra. Before that, he 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.
Rodney Lizcano returns to the Festival as Agamemnon in Troilus and Cressida, after directing The Importance of Being Earnest last season and performing in Much Ado About Nothing and The Taming of the Shrew in 2024. He also spent 24 seasons with the Denver Center Theatre Company and 10 seasons at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, among many other theaters. He received an MFA from The National Theatre Conservatory and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and Society of Directors and Choreographers.
Brianna Miller is debuting at the Festival, playing Cressida in Troilus and Cressida. She has performed at Cleveland Play House, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, among others. She has received the KCACTF Irene Ryan Regional Award and the Janicka Zuck Richards Playwriting Award. She earned an MFA in acting from Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House.
Harry B. Reid makes his debut as part of the ensemble in Troilus and Cressida. He is currently pursuing a BFA in acting at Southern Utah University, is appearing courtesy of the SUU Fellowship Program, and was part of the Festival’s house management team last season. He has performed in Three Sisters; Cloud 9; Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play; The Comedy of Errors; and Alice by Heart, among others.
Thom Rivera is making his first appearance at the Festival as Priam/Nestor in Troilus and Cressida. His Off-Broadway work includes The Acting Company, Culture Project, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Roundabout, among others. He has performed regionally at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, The Denver Center, and South Coast Rep, including numerous others. He has been in many television shows such as Law & Order, Bunk’d, New Girl, Lucifer, and The Mindy Project, and films like Eddington, El Tigre, and Once Upon a Time in Venice. He has taught at UCI Irvine, SUNY Albany, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
Ivy Robbins is new to the Festival and will be part of the ensemble in Troilus and Cressida. She has been in Pippin; Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play; Sweet Charity; and The Secret Garden, all at Southern Utah University where she is currently pursuing a theatre degree. She is appearing courtesy of the SUU Fellowship Program.
Veronique Robledo makes her Festival debut as part of the ensemble in Troilus and Cressida. She has performed in Sweet Charity, Pippin, and The Secret Garden at Southern Utah University. She has also worked at The New Play Lab at Kayenta Center for the Arts. She is a current Musical Theatre major and is appearing courtesy of the SUU Fellowship Program.
Ty Saunders is also a Southern Utah University Musical Theatre major, appearing courtesy of the SUU Fellowship Program, and will be seen as Greek Page in Troilus and Cressida. His work at SUU includes Mr. Burns in Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play and other roles in Pippin, Cloud 9, and Black Comedy.
Kathryn Tkel is returning for her second season at the Festival, and will be performing the role of Cassandra/Ensemble in Troilus and Cressida. She was seen last season as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra, Audrey in As You Like It, and Lady Macduff in Macbeth. Other 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 and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Mare Trevathan is making her Festival debut as Ulysses in Troilus and Cressida. She has performed at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and Denver Center Theatre Company, and is a founding member of the Local Theater Company in Boulder, Colorado. She has worked with Sundance Lab, Saratoga International Theater Institute (SITI), and P3, and was seen in the film Silver City.
Braedon Young returns for his fourth season at the Festival, as Antenor/Myrmidon in Troilus and Cressida. His previous roles include George Seacole in Much Ado About Nothing, Robin Starvling in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Abram in Romeo and Juliet, among others. Other performing credits include She Loves Me, Don’t Stop Me, and Drowsy Chaperone, as well as being a two-time soloist at Carnegie Hall. He received his BM in Musical Theater from The Manhattan School of Music.
The Festival’s 65th season runs June 18 through October 3, 2026. Troilus and Cressida plays in rotation with Hamlet and Twelfth Night in the outdoor Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre. Book your tickets now for these unforgettable performances under the stars online at bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX (800-752-9849).
