| Our 2012 Company |
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 RON BOBB-SEMPLE* (Steve, A Lesson from Aloes) – This award-winning Guyana-born actor was last seen as Headley in the American Stage Theatre’s production of Seven Guitars, and was a cast member of the World Premiere of OyamO's Famous Orpheus, a production in collaboration with Garth Fagan, winner of the Tony Award for his choreography of The Lion King on Broadway. A few of Bobb-Semple’s other stage credits include: award-winning playwright August Wilson's Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Seven Guitars, The Piano Lesson and Fences, the latter with Avery Brooks; South African playwright Athol Fugard's My Children, My Africa!; Schlemiel, The First; Shango de Ima; Steel by Derek Walcott, and Bingo!!, a musical directed by the late legendary Ossie Davis who said, “Ron, you are one of the most gifted performers I have worked with.” In 2005, Ron won the AUDELCO's Lead Actor Award for his portrayal of Durbin Freeman in Joyce Sylvester's A Freeman’s Hope at The Billie Holiday Theatre in Brooklyn, New York. Ron’s one-man cultural and educational presentation, The Spirit of Marcus Garvey, has been seen in Jamaica, Bermuda, Ghana, Senegal, Barbados, St. Lucia, The Virgin Islands and throughout the United States. Bobb-Semple can be heard weekly on the Uhuru Radio Network – www.uhururadio.com. His film credits include Nursing Tuskegee, Truth, Mental Vengeance, Playing Both Sides, Deep Trouble, Pressure and the soon-to-be released Tyler Perry’s The Marriage Counselor, and several national commercials. |
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 KELLY CAMPBELL* (Meg, Crimes of the Heart) is a member of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor
Training, class of 2013. She has recently performed on the Cook stage as Grushenka in The Brothers Karamozov, Spiegelberg in The Robbers, and Ellen in Cloud 9. Previous roles have included Catharine (Suddenly Last Summer), Imogen (Cymboline) and Alice (Closer). Originally from Houghton, Michigan, she received her B.A. from Kalamazoo College. |
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 WILL CESPEDES* (Doc, Crimes of the Heart) is new to the Banyan Theater stage, but was born and raised in Miami. His recent New York credits include: As You Like It (Classic Stage Company), Death Valley (Bushwisk Starr), Three Sisters (Columbia Stages), and Medea (Miller Theater). Recent regional theater includes: Macondo (Guthrie Theater) and The Mission (New Theater). He is a graduate of the Columbia University M.F.A. acting program and a former member of the Guthrie Experience for Actors in Training. He is excited to be part of such a wonderful cast and bring this favorite classic to life. |
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 MEGAN DELAY (Mary, The Piano Teacher) is delighted to join the Banyan Theater Company this season. She just received her M.F.A. from FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, where she was seen in Once in a Lifetime (Miss Leighton), Hamlet Redux (Ophelia) and Yentl. Before attending the Conservatory, Megan called New York City home; she performed with many theater, film and television companies, and was featured in the Academy Award-winning film Man on Wire. Favorite credits include In the Next Room (Mrs. Givings), Tartuffe (Dorine), Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Suzanne), Fiddler on the Roof (Chava) and Anne of Green Gables (Anne). Megan thanks her family and friends for their love and support. |
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 JESSE DORNAN (Barnette, Crimes of the Heart) is honored to be invited to work with the Banyan again this summer. Last summer he was in Becky's New Car as Chris. This past year has been a eclectic group of roles for him. With the Asolo Conservatory he was Ivan in The Brothers Karamazov, Count Von Moor in The Robbers, and finally, Betty and Gerry in Cloud 9. A Salt Lake City, Utahn, he is excited to have the beaches of Sarasota as his home. Next year he will join the Asolo Rep Company. |
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 DONNA GERDES* (Mrs. K, The Piano Teacher) began her professional stage career with the Gilbert and Sullivan repertory company, The American Savoyards, Off-Broadway in NYC over 50 years ago and continued with leading roles in musical productions at Actors’ Theatre of Louisville; Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven; Goodman Theatre, Chicago; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; and Center Stage, Baltimore. She toured with the national company of Mame (starring Patrice Munsel) in the role of Agnes Gooch. In 1972 she took a 15-year hiatus from acting to raise a family and earn an M.B.A. degree in financial management. Ms. Gerdes joined the Asolo Repertory Theatre Co. in 1987 as their business manager and in 1995 assumed the duties of development director until her retirement in 2003. Since then Ms. Gerdes has again actively pursued her acting career appearing on the Asolo Rep stage in Front Page, with the FSU/Asolo Conservatory in Kindertransport and most recently as A in Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women at Player’s Backstage Theatre. |
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 GEORGIA MALLORY GUY (Chick, Crimes of the Heart) is thrilled to make her Sarasota debut in Banyan Theater’s production of Crimes of the Heart. Regional credits include: The Rocky Horror Show (American Stage Theatre), Cabaret, A Christmas Carol (Milwaukee Repertory Theatre), Othello (Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre), Proof, The Taming of the Shrew, 12 Angry People, Kiss Me Kate (Festival 56, IL), The Merry Wives of Windsor, Doubt, The Matchmaker, Guys and Dolls, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Monomy Theatre, Cape Cod). Independent/Ohio University films: Death of the Cool, Wiggah – The Hip-Hopera, Mirror on the Ceiling, Carousel, The Show. M.F.A. 2010, Ohio University. Georgia is originally from central Alabama. For my family, because they are wonderful to me (Luke 12:27-28) |
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 LUCY LAVELY (Babe, Crimes of the Heart), a native of Connecticut, graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2011 where she studied film, television and theatre. This season, she enters her second year at the Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, where she is earning a Master of Fine Arts. Lucy has spent her summers working with the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, both performing and costume designing. Favorite credits include Squeaky Fromme in Stephen Sondheim's Assassins, Joanne is Sondheim's Company, and Julia in Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona. She is a proud member of the Screen Actors Guild since 2007. Lucy would like to thank Barbara for this opportunity to work together. She thanks the faculty at the Asolo Conservatory for preparing her to perform this year. She also thanks her sponsors, mentors, parents, and friends for believing in and supporting her need to imagine. |
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 SARA MORSEY* (Gladys, A Lesson from Aloes) – Banyan Theater Company debut. A long-time associate artist with The Hippodrome Theatre, Sara has been a regional theater actor for over 20 years. Recent Florida productions include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Over the Tavern, End Days (The Hippodrome); and The Year of Magical Thinking, August: Osage County (Florida Repertory Theatre). Other theater affiliations include Actor's Theatre of Louisville, American Stage, New Harmony Theatre, Kentucky Repertory Theatre (formerly Horse Cave Theatre), Playhouse on the Square, American Shakespeare Center and the Kentucky and Indiana Shakespeare festivals. International: Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Mary Hausch's An Enchanted Land (one-woman show, pick of the fringe), Ani Collier's Sex/Female at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria. Professional narrator, Library of Congress Talking Books, M.F.A. in acting, University of Louisville. Sara is a member of Actors' Equity Association. |
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 CHRISTOPHER SWAN* (Michael, The Piano Teacher) was last seen with the Banyan as Andy in Animals Out of Paper, also directed by Jim Wise. More recent credits include The Turn of the Screw at The Hippodrome Theatre, In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) at freeFall Theatre Company, A Streetcar Named Desire at Tampa Rep, and This Wonderful Life, a one-man tribute to the classic holiday film which he's presented at American Stage and The Hipp. A former member of the acting company of Playhouse on the Square, Chris has performed around the U.S. with Arkansas Rep (Angels in America), Arkansas Shakes (Romeo and Juliet), Theatre-by-the-Sea (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and Dorset Theatre Festival (The Mousetrap), but has enjoyed working in the Sunshine State with Florida Rep, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Gulfshore Playhouse, The Gorilla Theatre, Hudson Show Palace, and Sarasota's Golden Apple. A graduate of the Boston Conservatory, Christopher is a proud member of Actors’ Equity. |
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 PETER THOMASSON* (Piet, A Lesson from Aloes) has appeared in the previous Banyan productions of Becky’s New Car, Ghosts and The Retreat from Moscow. Most recently he performed in the very successful Rumors, It’s A Wonderful Life, and the regional premiere of A. R. Gurney’s Black Tie at Bob Cacioppo’s Florida Repertory Theatre. At his home in Atlanta he appeared in Theater in the Square’s 30th anniversary production of On Golden Pond and the Suzi Award-winning The Little Foxes. In 2010 he was named Atlanta’s Actor of the Year for his work in The Men of Mah Jongg and The Sunset Limited. |
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 MAXEY WHITEHEAD (Lenny, Crimes of the Heart) is originally from Dallas, Texas and is thrilled to be making her debut with Banyan. Maxey just finished her first year at the Asolo Conservatory. She has performed regionally at Kitchen Dog Theater, Watertower Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Second Thought Theater and Shakespeare Dallas, as well as spending time as a company member with the Barter Theater in Virginia. In addition to her stage work, Maxey is also a voice actor for Funimation Entertainment. Maxey would like to thank her amazing castmates, as well as the wonderful people at Banyan. All her love goes out to Mom, Dad, Lauren and Doug for their unending love and support and for being the best family ever!
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Executive Director
 JERRY M. FINN got his first job in radio at age 14 on WBGO in Newark. Following his formal training at Emerson College and law school at Boston University, he pursued a career in professional theater and radio drama and performed in over 100 productions before settling down to win over smaller audiences in courtrooms in New Jersey. He is a member of the Bars of New Jersey and Massachusetts and is admitted before the Federal and Supreme courts. Jerry was a partner and chief trial lawyer in the New Jersey law firm Schneider, Goldberger, Cohen & Finn for over 30 years until his retirement and relocation to Sarasota with his wife Terri in 1999. Jerry and Terri founded the Banyan Theater Company in 2002. Jerry has performed in several Banyan seasons, playing The Waiter in Betrayal in the inaugural season, Alex Gal in Rough Crossing and Telegin in Uncle Vanya. He also played Bobby Franklyn in Run For Your Wife at The Lemon Bay Playhouse in Englewood and Hamilton Orr in Smoke and Mirrors at the Island Players in Anna Maria Island. |
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*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers
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