Holiday Spirits
Cast
Riles August Holiday
Riles August Holiday [he, him] (George Ashburton) Is excited to be working with Ghostlight! He recently moved to Chicago after living in Northwest Arkansas for 5 years. So far his favorite roles in Chicago have been Pilot Island and Her Keepers (Emmanuel) with The Impostors Theatre Company and Love At Stake (Christopher) at The Annoyance! His favorite roles in Arkansas include The Tempest (Stephano) and Much Ado About Nothing (Don John) with Arkansas Shakes, Edward Tulane (Traveler), The Interrogator (Hans), and several swing roles with TheatreSquared and Ride The Cyclone (Noel), Tartuffe (Tartuffe) and Love's Labour's Lost (Don Armado) with University of Arkansas. Riles holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Arkansas.
Miona Lee
Miona Lee (Evelyn) is delighted to be working with Ghostlight Ensemble again and has been working in Chicago for over 15 years. Previous Ghostlight credits include The Thirteenth Chair, The Selfish Giant, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Six Characters in Search of an Author, The Shadow of A Doubt, along with countless live movie readings. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre from Missouri State University. In addition to acting, you can find her flinging herself off a trapeze or devising new works using physical storytelling and contact improv.
Allison McCorkle
Allison McCorkle (Mrs. Smith/Mrs. Montgomery), a native Texan, has been in Chicago for more than 15 years and has worked with numerous theatres, including Black Ensemble, Red Tape and GreatWorks. Besides staged and online readings, she was last seen in Duality Theatre's An Enemy of the People as Mayor Polly Stockman. Last seen with Ghostlight in An Ideal Husband, Allison is thrilled to be treading the boards of such a beautiful space with such great people.
Khnemu Menu-Ra
Khnemu Menu-Ra (Dr. Alan Forsyth) is thrilled to be joining G.E.T. for another production! Previous appearances with Ghostlight include Joshua Moore in Alabama Story, the live screenplay readings Q the Tribbles (two Star Trek episodes), I’m Your Boyfriend Now, Nancy (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Dot Dot Dot (Mamma Mia! The Movie), KHAAAAAAAAAN! (Star Trek II) and dancing about architecture (Playing By Heart). Other stage credits include A Chorus Line (Skokie Theatre), Hair (Barn Theatre), Pirates! (The Muny), Amadeus (St. Louis Repertory Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (St. Louis Black Rep) and Six Degrees of Separation (Carpenter Square Theatre). Film/TV: Chicago Med. Khnemu holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre Performance from the University of Oklahoma. RIP Papa
Scott OlsOn
Scott Olson (Mr. Hunt/Dr. Price/Mr. Roberts) is happy to be working with Ghostlight Ensemble again where he was most recently seen as Garth Williams and many others in their production of Alabama Story. Scott has worked with Timeline, Red Orchid, City Lit, Remy Bumppo, Aston Rep and Redtwist among others. Favorite roles at those theatres include Ben in The Normal Heart, Donny in The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Dr. Worthing in Porcelain, Bennett in Travesties, Mr. Marsh in The Beautiful Dark and John in Now and Later. When not on stage, Scott works as a Standardized Patient at the Feinberg School of Medicine and is teaches acting at Columbia College where he is in his 26th year of teaching.
Hannah Perez
Hannah Perez [she/her] (Lady in Black) is a Cuban-American actress and comedian based in Chicago. She can be seen performing with the team Improvised Jane Austen at iO Theater, as well as Portal Prov at Otherworld Theatre. Some of her favorite credits include Vice Principals (HBO), Pocus Hocus: A Virgin's Revenge (Rejected Sequel Theatre) and They Could Give No Name (Northwestern University). She is very excited to be performing with Ghostlight!
Squeek Rangel
Squeek Rangel [she/her] (Mrs. Sweeny & The Ghost) is always buzzing to work with Ghostlight. Apart from haunting a holiday show in a historical building, you can find her performing with Voila: The Improvised Musical (iO Theater), personifying a coffee creamer for International Delight (TikTok), or riffing with a comedy writers table to produce commercial ads. With a degree in comedy writing and performance under her belt, a minor in voiceover acting on the brain and Stewart Talent as her rep, she feels honored, humbled and loved this holiday season. Gratitude to the Ghostlight Ensemble!
Derek Preston Ray
Derek Preston Ray [he/him] (Andy Sweeny) is thrilled to be returning to Ghostlight Ensemble after previously understudying for Alabama Story. Some of his favorite credits include Right Now (Facility Theatre; Jeff award for Best Ensemble), Light Falls (Steep Theatre) and Sunny Days (Ego Death Theatre Collective). Derek is a proud member of the acting ensemble at Ego Death, as well as the grant writer for the company, and he is ecstatic to be performing in their upcoming production of Treefall this coming February. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Acting from Illinois State University. Thank you to Mom, Dad and Aviva for your endless love and support.
Sydney Ray
Sydney Ray [she/her] (Mrs. Price/Anne) is incredibly delighted to be part of this production with Ghostlight at the Driehaus museum, where she was last seen in Plays for Women!. She is an actor and an educator based in Chicago. Local theatre credits include: The Princess Without Pots (Ghostlight Ensemble Theatre), The Wild Party (Music for Theatre Chicago), Into the Woods, Spoon River Anthology (E.D.G.E. Theatre) and Ruddigore (Savoyaires). She is an Ensemble Member with Ghostlight Ensemble and is currently pursuing her Masters of Social Work from the University of Illinois Chicago.
James Sparling
James Sparling (Stranger/Medium) is an actor, director and voice over artist who has performed in London, Chicago, Frankfurt, Durham and Edinburgh. Favorite roles include Thomas Becket in Murder in the Cathedral, Goldberg in The Birthday Party, Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles (all City Lit Theater, Chicago). He is delighted to have worked at Timeline Theater, Lifeline Theater, Writers Theater, Northlight and Theater at the Center. He is represented by the wonderful people at Stewart Talent (for voice) and DDO Chicago (for everything else!) more information at James-sparling.com
Maria Burnham
Maria Burnham [she/her] (Guide/Playwright) is thrilled to bring her love of horror to the holiday season once again. Previously she terrified audiences as the writer of The Nutcracker Nightmare and director of Krampus!, but is delighted to bring a little class to the holiday horror genre this year. She’s also excited to be back at the Driehaus museum after previously acting in both The Shadow of A Doubt and Plays for Women!: A collection of overlooked suffrage plays. She was most recently seen in Ghostlight’s production of Alabama Story and is busily working on Ghostlight’s Nightlight production for young audiences, Invaders of Mathmatica and its spring production Drink the Past Dry. She is looking forward to June when she plans to have a nap. Special thanks to her husband, Chad, who keeps putting up with her saying, “OK, I know I said I was going to take a break, but what if…”
Jessye GRACE Mueller
Jessye Grace Mueller [she, her] (Host/Guide) is an actor, writer and improviser based in Chicago. Jessye is thrilled to return to Ghostlight Ensemble Theatre. Previous Ghostlight credits include: Plays for Women!: A collection of overlooked suffrage plays, Miss Elizabeth Bennett, Warp and Woof and Playoffs. Selected credits include Improvised Jane Austen (iO Chicago), Ask Your Doctor: A Pharmaceutical Musical, Trigger Happy! Lab Cast Season 5 (Annoyance Theatre), Buzzed Broadway (CSz Chicago), This American Lie, Mary Scruggs Works by Women Festival, Improvised Young Adult Fiction (de Maat Studio Theater), The Masterpiece Players Present: Improvised Masterpiece Theatre (Donny’s Skybox). Jessye has studied at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in its Experimental Theatre Wing and has her Bachelor of Arts in theatre and drama from Indiana University-Bloomington. She also studied in The Second City Training Center’s Conservatory and Music Conservatory. Jessye has also appeared on the podcasts Hello from The Magic Tavern, its spinoff series Usidore’s Fetching Quests and on The Topical, a daily podcast from The Onion.
Holly robison
Holly Robison [she/hers] (Guide/Director) is Co-Artistic Director of Ghostlight Ensemble and a Chicago-based director, actor and improvisor. Favorite directing credits include Alabama Story, An Ideal Husband, Picasso at the Lapin Agile and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She also conceived Ghostlight's ongoing reading series, For Your (Re)Consideration, which explores historically overlooked works by female writers. She has directed a number of readings for this series, including Plays for Women! A Night of Suffrage Plays & Shadow of a Doubt at Driehaus Museum and The Woman of Colour, which she also co-adapted with Ghostlight Ensemble member Song Marshall. She has studied directing with various organizations, including the summer program, A Practical Approach to Directing at Yale School of Drama, and is a member of Lincoln Center Directors Lab. She is also a Cast Member and Producer with Improvised Jane Austen.