t  h  e    e  n  s  e  m  b  l  e

c  o  r  e   m  e  m  b  e  r  s  :
joel ewing
artistic director

since leaving the buckle of the bible belt, joel co-founded and now serves as artistic director of open cage.  with the cage, he has appeared as an actor rigged with a beehive bouffant as nancy in tim reardon's US, sported a "leaves little to the imagination" tracksuit as jack in Boys’ Life, and donned prosthetic facial hair to play einstein in Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and directed neil labute’s bash: the latterday plays.  when not brooding, mulling and chawing all things artistic with the cage, joel masquerades as an office furniture superhero.  go ahead.  ask him about the passive ergonomics in your task seating.  if you dare!
robin kelso
production manager
robin played millie in the premiere of US, maggie in Boys’ Life, and multiple characters in Picasso at the Lapin Agile. she looks forward to playing more roles whose names start with “m”. other treasured credits (prior to her m-phase) are; Sylvia with the FV Theatre of the Deaf, Cabaret, Into the Woods and Hair. which is ironic, because she has none. hair, that is. completely bald, this one. don’t let the headshot fool you- they make amazing wigs these days. and look, she has even penciled in a sassy little widow’s peak. robin’s attention to detail is impeccable.
laura neckermann
outreach co-director

Things Laura loves: the OCE, singing sing-songs, Italian sandwiches from Potbelly, Joel, doing plays and stuff, babies, not going to the gym, Cardinals baseball & Mugs. Things Laura doesn’t love: people who don’t give the wave when you let them in front of you in traffic, asparagus, freight claims, Hummers in the city, eye boogs & Western Hash. Some of her favorite roles include Germaine in Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Jenny in The Shape of Things, Adelaide in Guys & Dolls, and her most challenging role to date, the latest addition to a long line of Mrs. Ewings. Viva le macaroni & cheese!!!
zachary quarles
director of nerds

zq hails from the hallowed halls of southwest missouri state university, along with the majority of the oce.  He graduated after a brief hiatus in 2003 with his bfa in musical theatre performance.  he has been seen  throughout the midwest in productions such as: Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Comedy of Errors, The Bacchae of Euripides, Assassins, Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, Godspell, and The Spoon River Anthology.
he recently moved to the chicago area to be more hands-on with OCE and to accept a job as audio director for day 1 studios.  that's right.  he makes video games for a living.  he is a nerd.  represent.
danyel read
executive director
danyel derives great pleasure from; consuming whiskey sour slushies, actoring, roller derbying, dog walking, bunny wrangling, playing her new set of air drums, soundly pinching the artistic director on the arm, lurking in shadowy corners, giggling maniacally and quite simply, plotting world domination. but not all at once. that’s just crazy.
matt reese
technical director
matt reese currently serves as the technical director of oce. in the last four years matt has built shows for A Red Orchid, Mary-Arrchie, Steppenwolf, Apple Tree, Piven, Victory Gardens and Northlight Theatre. film credits include Prisonbreak, Stranger than Fiction, and the Break Up.  occasionally, matt can be seen on stage, most recently in Hunger and Thirst at A Red Orchid Theatre and oce’s own production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile.
kristen rudolph
outreach co-director
kwist enjoys peanut butter and tomato sandwiches. she would like to give a heartfelt thanks to oce’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile for bringing her to the Town Hall Pub where the twinkle-light stars shimmered sweetly to reveal her destiny, her true love . . . the photo booth.
hal wehrenberg
financial manager
hal enjoys long moonlit walks on the beach with puppies. other hobbies include; wordsmithy, juggling and wig making. hal is a leo.

 

a  r  t  i  s  t  i  c   a  m  b  a  s  s  a  d  o  r  s  :


jason grimm jason moved to chicago in '99 (that's right before the great fire), and had the pleasure of working with Child's Play Touring Theatre for two seasons. while there, he also had the opportunity to teach acting for Gallery 37 and The Goodman Theatre's summer camp.  The Penelope Blues, an original musical that he wrote with his best friend, was also recently produced. and despite often working with children, jason still possesses an uncanny ability to write wonderfully dirty burlesque songs.  jason is currently the musical director of the Second City's national touring company and studies improv and writing at their conservatory. thanks to mom, the townsend brothers, and all the "springpatch" kids.

jeff kongs where to begin? grew up on a farm with horses. but he is now allergic to them. don't feel bad for him because he is now living in los angeles where he swims twice a day, runs 14 miles and does his crunches and push-ups. ask him to show you his rippling six-pack. i did, and he showed me. jeff is constantly pursuing his acting in any form he can. he has done commercial, film, voice-over and print work. he is a member of both SAG and AFTRA and the BBQ Grillmaster Alliance. he is a graduate of columbia college chicago with a B.A. in film. he misses his chicago friends deeply and welcomes all new fans of oce with open arms. jeff kongs. the end.
 
chad morris chad appeared as a very tony danza-like freddy in the OCE's production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile and did some major acting to play a responsible father in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at the Beverly Performing Arts Center.  chad would like to give a very heart-felt thank you to his mentor and soul coach, Fang-Face. "your generosity and acting brilliance has been a true inspiration in my life.  you, sir, are a God."
 
lani morris lani was the woman in bash.
 
kate novak kate has a passionate and undying love for stuff. Most important among said stuff is thee kirk, othello, pooper, and the fat one (elvis). Thank you. That is all.
 
tim reardon tim reardon graduated from smsu in may of 2002 and moved to chicago the next month.  he has played sam byck in Assassins, reverend vincent in The Living, dobchinsky in the Inspector General, the cowtender in The Bacchae of Euripides, and estragon in Waiting for Godot.  tim likes girls that wear abercrombie and fitch.  tim dislikes rainy days and mondays.
 
chad reinhart chad is a graduate of the Second City Conservatory and Improv Olympic Training Center where he explored long-form improv with Metropolis and Trick Dogs. he improvised regularly at The Playground with Pastor of Muppets and The Mighty and also performed his solo-improv show Sybilization.  in addition to oce, chad has worked with WNEP, Hi-Volt Theatre Co., The Argos Agency, and The Giving Tree Theatre. while he currently resides in a far off land somewhere between Pretendville and Crazytown, he continues to take over cities in ohio by eating chili and selling appliances.
 
rusty sneary rusty is currently residing in kansas city where he has kept busy at the Unicorn Theatre, Kansas City Rep, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Just Off Broadway Theatre, and Late Nite Theatre. his recent professional credits include Take Me Out, Omnium Gatherum, The Exonerated, Killer Joe, Frozen, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, and A Christmas Carol. he also dabbles in film and television work and most recently portrayed jeffrey dahmer in the not yet released Raising Jeffrey Dahmer. he is a member of Actors Equity and the Puddin Pops Fan Club.

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