Encore theatrical company
Morristown, Tennessee
meet the cast
SARAH BOWEN
Mrs. Swanson
It has been (adjective) years since Sarah last (verb) on stage; (transitional word), she is no (noun) to the theater, having (verb) in (adjective) plays and musicals. During the week, Sarah performs her one woman show titled, Teaching for 17 Years, at (proper noun) where she (verb) English and coaches (noun). An (adjective) runner, she is always looking for another (noun) to run with her husband, Aaron. Life became more complete and full of meaning the day she said, “I do.”
ERIC BULLARD
Ground Control / Landscaper / Janitor
After a lifetime of theater with several companies, Eric’s favorite parts have been playing the Forman/Montparnasse in Les Miserables, El Gallo in The Fantasticks, Roger in Noises Off, three runs of The Sound of Music (Kurt, Fredrick, Rolph), Clown in The 39 Steps, and he has a clear recollection of his first performance at age 4 as part of the horde of the king’s children in The King and I. Eric owns Bullard Insurance Group in downtown Morristown, and spends his spare time woodworking, camping as much as possible, attending Scottish Highland games, and keeping up with his wife Kimberly and their 4 kids.
SOPHIA CARDONE
Sweetheart
Sophia is so excited to be playing sweetheart in Encore's production of Middletown. She is a senior at Morristown West High School this year. She participates in the choir and art programs at school. Outside of school and acting, she can usually be found in dance classes at Dance Elite. She would like to thank her wonderful parents for putting up with her and her busy schedule, and the amazing cast and crew who welcomed her despite joining the cast late and being very young. This show has been a wonderful experience she will not soon forget.
CAROL COLLINS
Tour Guide / Attendant 2
Carol is glad to have the opportunity to be back on the Encore stage again after being cast last year in Follies as a tap dancer (thank you Allison East for teaching me how to tap). She has been involved with a number of Encore plays and loves to work with the other cast members and crew. She recently helped with Ragtime as the theater and the arts are her passion. She was an art major in college in Michigan and moved to Morristown in 1980. Carol is the Assistant Director of the Senior Citizens Center where she has worked for the past five years. She would like to thank Ivan for casting her in this role and to welcome him back to Morristown.
ALEX COOPER
Mechanic
Alex is thrilled to be taking the stage again for yet another incredible Encore performance! He was seen most recently as Drew Boley last year in Encore's production of Rock of Ages. Other credits include Spamalot, Cats, Into the Woods, Seussical the Musical, Hamlet, The Tempest, Sweeney Todd, and many many others. Alex has been involved with various community theatre companies since he was seventeen. He was involved with many Walters State productions and was a part of the Walters State Sensations, Men's Ensemble, and Concert Choir. He is a musician and songwriter in his free time and enjoys playing many instruments including piano, guitar, drums, ukulele, and some mandolin. Middletown has opened his mind and his heart to new ideas and the endless possibilities that life has in store. "Life is about what happens between those two big events: birth and death. It's all about what you do with the time in between."
LINDA HIGH
Librarian
Linda has appeared with Encore as the pill-popping, catfish-flinging matriarch, Violet, in August: Osage County and as the equally formidable but less foul-mouthed Sister Aloysius in Doubt. In a complete change of pace, she played the Bird Woman in Mary Poppins and was last seen as the Senator’s wife who came to dinner in City of Conversation.
Keith Kimbrough
Cop
Keith is glad to be in his first Encore production. Although he has been in many plays, Middletown is his first show in 8 years. Keith was formerly a wind tunnel instructor and got to travel often, opening up wind tunnels and training staff. He also lived on a drop zone in CA for a while, skydiving all day and packing parachutes. Currently, Keith sells commercial and residential real estate with The Realty House. He would like to thank his lovely wife and two children for their support and understanding while he has been involved with this show.
Ashley Lodge
Woman / Attendant 1
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."-Carl Sagan. Ashley spends the majority of her existence in a constant state of enthusiastic confusion; yet she plays it off so well, you may start to wonder if it was all part of a bigger plan. Don't worry, it isn't. She runs one of the best photography studios in Downtown Morristown, which by an odd twist of fate is also named after her. Bizarre. Ashley loves being on stage. So much, you can't keep her away. She has been in many things, which she would rather leave shrouded in mystery. She dances, she sings, she captures life in a frame while having the time of her life. She hopes you have the time of your life as well while you take a journey with us to Middletown. Thanks to all invested in the art of creating art. Enjoy the show!
Rus Mattocks
John Dodge
Rus, also called Robert, Rusty, Bob, or Bill, has been participating in live theatre for a long, long time. Favorite roles include Tweedle Dum in Alice in Wonderland, all the dead bodies in Arsenic and Old Lace, and Herbert in Unfair Arguments with Existence. He thanks his beautiful trophy wife Paige for allowing him the time for this pursuit, and Frank Williams for letting him out of some of his responsibilities as Chief Assistant Flunky (2nd Class) for set construction. He’ll sort those used screws another day. Oh, and the boys – Joshua, Owen and Braxton – who (well… two out of three) can cook their own meals.
Iliff McMahan
Public Speaker / Male Tourist / Freelancer / Male Doctor
Middletown marks Iliff’s first production with Encore Theatre Company. In fact, this is Iliff’s first time back on a stage in 17 years, since he last appeared as Vladimir in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot with the WSCC Theatre Company. He also appeared in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost at WSCC. A native of Cocke County, Iliff was raised in Washington DC where he earned both a BA in Drama & Psychology, and an MFA in Modern & Classical Acting from The Catholic University of America. Iliff spent over a decade working as a professional actor/stuntman for regional theatres throughout the US, feature films, television, commercials, training films and radio. Iliff is thrilled to be working with his fiancée, Deborah, for the first time ever! (She told me to say that…) Since moving back to TN in 1995, Iliff has dedicated his life to public service, currently for the State of TN. Iliff is also so very thankful to Micah-Shane Brewer and Ivan Perez for taking a chance on “the oldest rookie…EVER!”
Deborah Seidel
Female Tourist / Aunt / Female Doctor
Deborah is grateful for the opportunity to not only perform in her first Encore production, but to be on stage with her fiancée Iliff McMahan for the first time! After moving to East TN from Los Angeles in 2013, she ended a 20 year hiatus from the stage when she appeared in 2015's River Song: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (NPAC), followed by Greeneville Theatre Guild's Dixie Swim Club (Jeri Neal) and Stocking Stuffers. In her previous life as a professional actress, she studied in London and spent many years performing in theatre, film, and television in the Washington, D.C. area and Los Angeles. She recently appeared in several episodes of Snapped and Murder Comes to Town. Her day-time role is as a Real Estate Broker and Trainer with Realty Executives East TN Realtors. A big thanks to Ivan and Micah-Shane for such a fabulous experience!
Meet the production team
Ivan Perez
Director
Ivan is a theatre professional who has spent the last decade working across the country acting, directing, and teaching. His family moved to Morristown when he was five, and shortly thereafter, Ivan began pursuing any opportunity he could to tell stories. His 5th grade teacher would let him take the other students who finished their work earlier than most into the empty classroom next door and direct them in scenes he'd written about subjects ranging from The Boston Tea Party to the board game, Clue. He would later find outlets with The Theatre Guild, West High Speech and Debate, and WSCC. The summer before leaving to attend school at Marymount Manhattan College he appeared in the Rose Center Summer Player's production of The King and I directed by Micah-Shane Brewer. It has been fifteen years since he has participated in the Morristown theater community, and is thankful to be given the opportunity to reconnect with that via Encore. The road ahead is never certain, but he is happy that it has led him to this time and place. Thank you to Micah-Shane and Drew, everyone on Team Middletown, and his ever amazing family and friends. May all of you never cease seeking out stories.
James Templin
Stage Manager
James is a company member with Encore and is excited to be stage managing his 7th production with the company. Past SM experiences include James and the Giant Peach, Jr., Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Trip to Bountiful, Children’s Letters to God, Love, Loss, and What I Wore, and Lion King, Jr. He was last seen serving as choreographer for the 2017 Young Stars production of Hairspray, Jr. James is a full time chef at Jersey Girl Diner and Little City Catering and teaches dance at Dance Elite. He is thrilled to have the opportunity to work alongside the ever so talented Ivan and his good friend (and “stage wife”) Allison. James would like to thank the cast and crew for their professionalism and dedication to this amazing production.
Allison East
Assistant Stage Manager
As a member of the Encore company, Allison has been onstage and behind the scenes in numerous ETC productions, including choreographer for last summer’s production of Follies and ensemble for the winter production of Mary Poppins. By day, she is a pediatric psychologist, and she teaches dance at Studio 180. Allison is delighted to be assisting her friend and onstage “hubby” James and working with such a talented director, cast, and crew for Middletown.