Artists' Bios
You're A Good Man Charlie Brown
Jerome Riley (Snoopy)
Jerome is thrilled to be making his debut with Open Door Rep. as the role of Snoopy! Originally from St. Louis, he is currently a senior in Columbia College Chicago’s BFA Musical Theatre program.
Hannah Redmond (Sally Brown)
Hannah Redmond is a native of West Virginia where she earned her BFA in Acting from West Virginia University before moving to Chicago. She was most recently seen in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and A Christmas Carol with Hampstead Stage Company, with whom she has performed on two national children's theatre tours.Hannah would like to thank the cast and everyone at Open Door for giving her the opportunity to be a kid again. She sends her love to her family and friends for their unwavering support.
ADAM SHENK
(Music Director) Adam Shenk is brand new to Chicago and is thrilled to be the musical director for You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. He has been a freelance musician in NYC, LA, and most recently, onboard cruise ships, as musical director for Second City on Norwegian Cruise Lines. In addition to being a musical director, he is a pop singer & songwriter. A Berklee College of Music graduate with a BM in Songwriting, he has performed his original music all over the country and released several albums & songs on ITunes. His music has been featured on The Real World andKeeping Up with the Kardashians, and his voice was heard in a promo for iCarly. He was a semifinalist on MTV’sMaking the Band 4, where he worked with Michael Bivins & sang for P. Diddy. One of Adam’s songs, “Top of the World,” was recorded by Nigerian superstar D’Banj, and used in promos and live performances at the Africa Cup of Nations 2013.
Mason Gregory Pearson
(Schroeder)
Mason Gregory is thrilled to join Open Door Repertory for Charlie Brown. He studied at Southeast Missouri State University for Musical Theatre. Most recently he appeared as a Bad Idea Bear in Avenue Q (Highland Park Players). Special thanks to his family and friends for their never ending support. Hooray Beethoven!
JEFF PREDDIE
(Director) This the third show that Preddie has directed in the Open Door family series. After directing successful runs of last seasons A Year with Frog and Toad and this past falls Stuart Little. He is so excited to bring some of his favorite childhood characters to life with this amazing cast and crew for You're a good man Charlie Brown. Preddie is co-founder and artistic director of Li'l Buds Theatre company in Chicago, which is in its 11th season! Thanks to Mary Pat, Steve, Josh, and the whole open door team. Enjoy the show!
ERICA BUSH
(Stage Manager) Erica Bush recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse last May with a B.A in Arts Administration, Stage Management, and Performance. Since moving to Chicago she has been fortunate to work on such fantastic productions as Khecari Dance Company's The Cronus Land, Piven Theatre's YPC productionQuality of Mercy, and Collaboraction's Sketchbook 15. She is excited to be working with Open Door Repertory on such a lovable and classic group of characters.
ETHAN KWAS (Assistant TD) is employed full time outside the theater but theater is where he likes to spend his time. He started his hi-tech career in high school and has been at it
ever since. With a background in electrical, stage rigging and construction, he has worked on various municipal festivals, rigging light sand sound and has been Open Door's Technical 'Wizard' for the past 12 years.
David Gordon-Johnson
(Charlie Brown)
David Gordon-Johnson is thrilled to bring Charlie Brown to life with Open Door. David is a recent graduate of Indiana University, where he earned a B.M. in Voice from the Jacobs School of Music and a B.A. in Theatre & Drama. Some of David’s favorite roles at IU were Joshua/Martin in Cloud 9, Jamie Wellerstein in The Last Five Years, and O Li Roon/The Man From State in In the Red and Brown Water. Regional credits include Dracula (JPAC Theatre), Tinsel! The Musical (Li’l Buds Theatre), Twelfth Night, As You Like It, The Gentleman From Indiana, and Moses Man (Indiana Festival Theatre), Coming to See Aunt Sophie (Jewish Theatre of Bloomington), 1776 (Cardinal Stage Company), and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Cincinnati Opera). David is a member of the EMC Program through Actor’s Equity and the American Guild of Musical Artists.
SHAWN QUINLAN (Costumer/Choreographer) - is ecstatic to be doing his second show with Open Door! Other theaters he has worked with include Circle (company member), Porchlight, Victory Gardens, About Face, Light Opera Works, Bailiwick, and Hubris Productions(company member). Shawn is also an actor - he was in Open Door's production of A Year with Frog and Toad last season. Thank you to Preddie for this opportunity!
PAUL KERWIN
(Light Board Op/Tech Staff) This is Paul’s 12th season with Open Door. He came to the company to do the lighting for Just So and has stayed to do nearly 22 shows since then, doing lighting design and rigging, set construction, painting and working Front Of House. Paul is a computer specialist at Triton College during the day.
Elizabeth Rentfro (Lucy)
Elizabeth Rentfro holds an MFA in Shakespeare and Performance from the American Shakespeare Center and is a proud ensemble member with Midsommer Flight. Her most recent credits include Promethean Theatre Ensemble’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, The Foundlings' Chicago premier of To the New Girl, (re)discover Theatre’s Farewell My Friend: The Romance of Romeo and Juliet, and Midsommer Flight’s Much Ado about Nothing, Macbeth, and Twelfth Night. As always, she is grateful to her parents for their love and support.
JOSH PRISCHING
(Lighting Design/Set Design) is pleased to be working again with Open Door Rep. Past credits with Open Door include: Clybourn Park, The Marvelous Wonderettes, No Witness, Go, Dog, Go!, The Game of Love and Chance, Superior Donuts, Small, Train Is Comin, and Crowns. After graduating from Columbia College he wanted to pursue his combined passions of theater and film and landed his first gig as the sound engineer for a small film called "Love, Blood, Kryptonite" and recently was the light board technician for the ABC network series "Betrayal". In his theater life he has designed for Chicago Folks Operetta: credits include Girl on the Train, Peter Paul and the Land of Nod, Pinocchio, Snow White, and Babes in Toyland; for Proud Kate Theater Project, The Dumbwaiter, and has worked for a few local high schools. At the end of the day he always returns to what he calls home - the CAST program at Julian Middle School as their Technical Director & facilites manager.
VERONICA FABRY
(Box Office) is a founding member of Open Door and appeared in many early Open Door shows and is happy to be helping the company in many different ways now.
Paul Michael Thomson
(Linus)
Paul Michael Thomson is beyond stoked to be a part of this production, in a cast of such talented five year olds. Paul Michael recently graduated summa cum laude from The University of Arizona, where life was much warmer. He holds a BFA in Acting, a BA in Africana Studies, and minors in Spanish and Art History. Past credits include: Tom in The Glass Menagerie (Arizona Repertory Theatre); Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Southwest Shakespeare); and A Fabulous 50's Christmas (Towle Theatre). He is so grateful to his incredible support system here and God. Paul Michael is a proud Equity Membership Candidate.
STEVAN SALINY
(Sound Design/Company Technical Director) is a founding member of Open Door. As Company Technical Director (along with Paul, Ethan and Josh) he over-sees sound, lights, set design and construction and is the facility manager. His theater experience began in 1989 acting in Bye-Bye Birdie, Peter Pan, The Music Man, Into The Woods, Romeo and Juliet, and West Side Story, with the CAST program, then To Kill a Mockingbird, the first CAST/Open Door production. His favorite musical performances were the Doo-Wop quartet in Smokey Joe’s Café and various numbers in three Open Door musical reviews. Favorite sets include: The Memory of Water, Spinning Into Butter, A View From The Bridge, The Sisters Rosensweig, Bleacher Bums, Crowns and Daddy’s Home! Thanks are extended to his Open Door family and, most importantly, to his wife and family for all the years of support
MARY PAT SIECK
(Producer) is a founding member of Open Door and the company’s Artistic and Managing Director. She has directed 17 productions for Open Door. Among her favorites are: Superior Donuts, Good, The Laramie Project, Of Thee I Sing, A View From The Bridge and Daddy’s Home! She loves working with the amazing people she meets through Open Door and would liketo thank her wonderful family, especially Bill, for always being there.