Cast of Macbeth
MICHAEL A. NEWCOMER (Macbeth) is a Founding Company Member of CCS. With CCS Virtual Reading Series: Uncle Vanya and The Importance of Being Earnest. New Orleans theatre includes: A Christmas Carol (2018/19) and Freud’s Last Session at Le Petit Theatre, Christmas at Pemberly with Southern Rep and The Illusion at the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival. Additionally, Michael was the curator of a staged reading series at the New Orleans Shakespeare festival, directing and performing in Othello, Titus Andronicus, and King Lear. Michael spent two summers at The Old Globe performing in Macbeth, Othello, Titus Andronicus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Comedy of Errors, Winter’s Tale. Other Shakespeare works includes Merchant of Venice at Portland Center Stage and Romeo and Juliet at the Alliance Theatre. For all the work that is fit to print on his career, visit www.michaelanewcomer.com. Proud AEA and #FairWageOnStage advocate.
Kim Griffin (2nd Witch / Ensemble) is a multi-passionate maker currently living in LA. She has been fortunate to perform at theatres across the country, such as: the Humana Festival of New American Plays, Huntington Theatre Co., Olney Theatre Center, Roundhouse Theatre, Ford's Theatre, Imagination Stage, City Theatre Co. and more. She holds a BFA in Acting from Boston University's School for Theatre, and an MFA in Shakespearean Performance from The Old Globe PATP, where she starred as Helena in All's Well That Ends Well directed by Darko Tresnjak, as well as Romeo & Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Measure for Measure. As a theatre professor she has been fortunate enough to teach for the University of Pittsburgh, Point Park University's COPA, and Pomona College. Kim is a fledgling stand-up comic, passionate pediatric patient advocate, and can be followed on Instagram @thekimgriffin.
Thomas Eldon Anderson (Duncan) has been seen professionally in over 70 productions across the country from Off Broadway to Idaho Repertory, American Stage, the Hippodrome, Company One, to the Hangar Theatre, NY; roles include: Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, All's Well That Ends Well, Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, The Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard, Tartuffe, All My Sons, You Never Can Tell, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Lie of the Mind, Lend Me a Tenor, Noises Off, among others. Musicals include Gypsy, Guys and Dolls, Anything Goes, Fiddler, among others. Tom was in the original Off Broadway cast of Peter Parnell's Hyde in Hollywood at Playwrights Horizons in NYC (PBS American Playhouse). Tom was a guest artist at Oberlin Conservatory in Taming of the Shrew with Peter Needham of the Royal Shakespeare Company and as Mr. Peachum in Threepenny Opera. Locally he did the title roles in staged readings of Titus Andronicus and King Learat the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival -Tulane both directed by Michael A. Newcomer. At LSU’s Swine Palace URTA Theatre in rotating rep of Chekov’s The Seagull (Sorin) with Stupid F***ing Bird (Sorn); Mr. Bennett in Pride and Prejudice;and Judge Irwin in All the King’s Men. He has a BA in Cultural Anthropology and Interracial / Intercultural Communication, and an MFA in Theatre Performance from The Meadows School of the Arts at SMU. He is a professional voice and dialect coach for stage and feature film.
Daisuke (pronounced Dice-Kay) (Porter / Ensemble) is an LA-based actor, VO artist, and clown. Daisuke has worked as a company member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 6 seasons, most notably as Fool in King Lear, Bertram in All’s Well That Ends Well, and Duch in Cambodian Rock Band. His theater/circus credits include Cirque du Soleil, South Coast Rep, American Conservatory Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Cal Shakes, and many more. You can catch him on TV in Love, Death & Robots, The Man in the High Castle, Brockmire, and Blacklist. In exciting near future news, Daisuke will appear as the protagonist Jin Sakai in the video game Ghost of Tsushima by Sucker Punch Productions. The much anticipated PlayStation exclusive game will be released on July 17th, 2020, just in time as you run out of things to do in quarantine. www.daisuketsuji.com Insta: @dicek2g
Christopher Collier (Donalbain / Ensemble) is glad for the opportunity to appear in Crescent City Stage's virtual reading of Macbeth. Previous credits include Francisco and the Captain in Pittsburgh Public Theater's production of Hamlet, Gregory and the Apothecary in PICT's production of Romeo and Juliet, Mitch in Pittsburgh Classic Player's production of A Streetcar Named Desire, Darcy in Cross-Stitch Theater Company's production of Pride and Prejudice, as well as Aaron in Cup-A-Jo's Titus Andronicus.
Jana Mestecky (Lady Macbeth) is a Founding Company Member of Crescent City Stage. With CCS Virtual Reading Series: Uncle Vanya and The Importance of Being Earnest. After two decades in New York City, Jana has found her a new home in New Orleans this past year. She has appeared with companies on stages across the country including the Astoria Symphonic Choir, The New Group, Cherry Lane Theatre, The Mint, The Gene Frankel Theatre, Lincoln Center Festival, Ernie Martin Studio Theatre, DR2. Playhouse on Park, Shakespeare and Co (Paris), The Players Club, Little Light Productions, and the Bleecker Street Theatre. She has also been a resident company member of The New Globe Theatre Inc., the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ Imaginary Theatre Company, and now Crescent City Stage. Her work extended beyond the stage to include television, film and commercial work nationally and internationally. In addition to her BA in French and Theatre, she holds an MFA in Acting from the Actors Studio Drama School at New School University and has studied at The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, Théâtre des Cinquantes in Paris, France, and The Actors Studio in New York City. Her other passion is teaching where she has held positions as Chair of the Performing Arts at The Spence School (NYC) in addition to other appointments at St. John’s University, The Birch Wathen Lenox School, The Buckley School, and Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré (New Orleans). She is a member of the professional unions AEA and SAG-AFTRA.
Markia Nicole Smith (3rd Witch / Ensemble) is a Baltimore native living in NYC. She attended college in Pittsburgh at Point Park University; graduating with a BFA in acting. While there, she performed in Big Love, The Who’s Tommy, Cabaret and Vinegar Tom. Markia’s passion for the arts is deeply rooted in her desire to connect through truth and empathy. Most recent credits include: Paulina Sarpong in “School Girls or the African Mean Girls at the Pittsburgh Public Theater and Cleo in the world premiere of Indoor Person off-broadway at Normal Ave. She is a strong advocate for arts education and for the past 9 years has dedicated her summers to teaching several week long theatre intensives to Baltimore City students with the Hippodrome Foundation Inc. Markia is a Shakespeare loving empath who is very happy to be involved in the virtual theatre circuit.
Abdul-Khaliq Murtadha (Macduff) has enjoyed various classical and contemporary roles in regional and repertory theatres across the country and is delighted to be appearing in his first Crescent City Stage Virtual Reading. He has played Macduff before in Macbeth at the Ensemble Theatre Company in Santa Barbara and his past Shakespeare roles include: Duke Vincentio in Measure for Measure , the title role in Othello, Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, Jacques in As You Like It, Escalus in Measure for Measure, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Valentine in Two Gentlemen of Verona. A few of his most recent roles include playing Claudius and the Ghost in Hamlet for the Indianapolis Shakespeare Company , Orsino in Twelfth Night at Pioneer Theatre Co.(Salt Lake City), Martin Luther King, Jr. in Mountaintop at WBTT (Sarasota), James T in Barbecue at the Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis), for Ensemble Theatre Co. (Santa Barbara), and Martin Luther King, Jr. in the LBJ plays - All the Way and The Great Society, as well as Dr. Prentice in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner at Asolo Rep in (Sarasota). Some of his TV and Film credits include: NCIS-LA, All My Children, Raising the Bar, The Unit, Medium, Numb3rs, and the current streaming feature – 8989 Redstone. (Amazon Prime). Awards include Best Actor - New Orleans Short film festival - In the Wind; NAACP Award: Best Ensemble - All My Sons (playing Chris Keller) at The Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles. He was recently appointed the position of visiting Assistant Professor at the University of South Dakota and was also the Featured Guest Artist for the Africana Repertory Theatre of IUPUI where he directed The People Speak/ Voices of the African Diaspora. He is an ensemble member of the Fonseca Theatre Company in Indianapolis and his interactive multimedia play The American Muslim Project was the resident umbrella project for the 2019 Indy Convergence. BA – Indiana University, Bloomington; MFA – University of California, San Diego ** Member: AEA, SAGAFTRA
Brad Makarowski (Ross) is thrilled to be working again with Crescent City Stage. In New York, he's a Resident Company member of the TITAN Theatre Co. where he's been seen in: Richard III, King Lear, Hamlet, Love’s Labour’s Lost, and A Christmas Carol. Off Broadway: The Flea: Design Your Kitchen; Metropolitan Playhouse: Both Your Houses; Resonance Ensemble: R.U.R., Caesar and Cleopatra; Attic Theatre: The Time of Your Life, Moonchildren. Regional: Shakespeare Theatre Co., Asolo Rep, Palm Beach Dramaworks, People's Light, Depot Theatre. Film: Ask for Jane, The Heart Outright TV: Happy!, Redrum. MFA: FSU/Asolo Conservatory. Much Love to all during this pandemic. www.BradMakarowski.com
Harry Milvid (Seyton / Macduff Son) is excited to work on Macbeth with Crescent City Stage. Harry is in the graduating Class of 2020 at Isidore Newman School, and has been directed multiple times by the wonderful host of the show. Musicals: The Wizard of Oz, Annie, Once Upon a Mattress, Cinderella, The Lion King, The Addams Family, Into the Woods, Peter and the Starcatcher, Once on This Island. Plays: Leading Ladies, The Importance of Being Earnest, Noises Off! TV Credit: Looking for Alaska. Harry’s original music: soundcloud.com/user-963445321
Brooke Ishibashi (1st Witch / Lady Macduff) originated roles in the world premieres of Cambodian Rock Band (La Jolla Playhouse, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, South Coast Repertory), Takarazuka! (music by Dave Malloy), A Beautiful Day In November... (Women’s Project), Saturnalia (directed by Daniel Fish). With CCS Virtual Reading Series: The Importance of Being Earnest. Other notable: the critically acclaimed Good Person of Szechwan with Taylor Mac (The Public), Qui Nguyen’s The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G (Ma-Yi), Happy Sunshine Kung Fu Flower (Ars Nova), All’s Well That Ends Well (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). Developmental: created new works with Vampire Cowboys, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Thomas Kail, Maltby & Shire, Lear deBessonet, Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, BD Wong, Evan Cabnet, May Adrales, Lee Sunday Evans, Lloyd Suh, Kimber Lee, Baayork Lee, Geffen Playhouse, Lincoln Center, NY City Center, La MaMa, Vineyard Theatre, New Georges, Lark Play Development, NAAP, NAATCO, Soho Rep, Clubbed Thumb, HERE Arts, The Foundry. Concerts: Joe’s Pub, Highline Ballroom, City Winery, Stonewall Inn. TV: Series lead in DJ Nash’s People Are Talking (NBC, dir. Pam Fryman). Education: BA in Theatre/Musical Theatre, Marymount Manhattan College; Upright Citizens Brigade. Proud Actors’ Equity Association Western Region Principal Councilor and core member of Fair Wage Onstage. @BrookeIshibashi / FairWageOnstage.org
David Ryan Smith (Banquo): Broadway: One Man, Two Guvnors; Passing Strange. Off Broadway: Where We Stand (The Women's Project); Passage (Soho Rep); A Midsummer Night's Dream Henry V, Twelfth Night, Romeo & Juliet, The Comedy of Errors, Pericles (The Public Theater), Gone Missing (City Center/Encores! Off Center), Mankind (Playwrights Horizons), The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World (Signature Theater), The Glory of the World (BAM), #9 (59E59); The Rover (NY Classical Theater); Marat/Sade (Classical Theater of Harlem). Regional: Repertory Theater of Saint Louis, Shakespeare Theater Company, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Actors Theater of Louisville, Barrington Stage, American Conservatory Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Triad Stage, Crossroads Theater Company, California Shakespeare Theater, etc. Film: The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Medal of Victory, Bee Season. Education: MFA, American Conservatory Theater, BFA University of Evansville.
Leicester (Malcom) is a theatre artist and educator based in Baton Rouge. He has performed on stages across the country. He is an alum of the Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA program, the Chautauqua Theatre Conservatory, and the LSU School of Music and Dramatic Arts. He is a member of The Willams Project theatre company in Seattle and the International theatre outreach organization Stories 4 Strength.
Jason Bayle (Lennox / Ensemble) originally from Chicago, Jason graduated from LSU’s MFA Actor Training Program in 2013 and continues to call Baton Rouge home. Film/TV Credits (Selected): Happy Death Day, Happy Death Day 2 U, The Big Short, Trumbo, NCIS New Orleans, Claws, Roots, The Purge, Cloak and Dagger. Theatre Credits (Selected): Scrooge: The Musical (Nat’l Tour), Anyone Can Whistle, King Lear, The Full Monty, A Free Man of Color, Once Upon a Mattress, August: Osage County, All the King’s Men, Pride and Prejudice, Forever Plaid. Proud to be AEA. For Mary and Georgia, always. jasonbayle.com.
Liz Elkins Newcomer (Host) is a Founding Company Member of CCS. With CCS Virtual Reading Series: Uncle Vanya and The Importance of Being Earnest. Theatre Credits: Off-Broadway World Premiere of Sea of Tranquility (Atlantic Theater Company), The Deception (La Jolla Playhouse / Theatre de la Jeune Lune), LoveSick (59E59Theaters), and The Fox (George Frankel Theatre). Liz has an MFA in Theatre from UCSD, where she performed in Pericles, Good Breeding, The Love of the Nightingale and Gum. She received a BFA with Honors from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School and Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Film/T.V. Credits: SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for Black Panther, Breaking News in Yuba County, Assassination Nation, Out of Blue, Bad Moms, Award-Winning Short Film Harry Grows Up, NCIS: New Orleans, Army Wives, and Mercy. She is a proud member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA. Liz is also a Certified Enneagram Teacher, and offers individual sessions and workshops as owner of Art of the Enneagram.