Trustus Company
Laura Anthony is a Lighting Designer, Stage Manager, and former Apprentice Company member at Trustus. After receiving her BA in theatre from the College of Charleston, she moved back to the Columbia area hoping to continue working in the theatre community. Last season she was excited to light design several mainstage shows at Trustus ( The Underpants, Strom in Limbo, and Golf, the Musical) as well as be involved in various other projects with NiA and Armed Chair. In addition to working at Trustus, Laura also does lighting and other stage work at Keenan Theatre as a Richland One Theatre Services employee. Laura is delighted to be once again be working at the Trustus Theatre during the 22nd season, starting as LD for God's Man in Texas, and is exceedingly grateful to Jim, Kay, and the rest of the Trustus family for taking her back under their wing.
Catherine L. Bailey has appeared in a wide variety of roles at Trustus – she most recently appeared as a murderess in Strom In Limbo and as a Kit Kat Klub girl in Cabaret. Other credits include The Rocky Horror Show (as Magenta), BatBoy: The Musical, The Bald Soprano, Sex With Aliens II, Proof, Sister Mary Ignatious Explains It All For You, The Root Of Chaos, and The Rocky Horror Show (as a Transylvanian.) She will also be performing in October in Into The Woods as The Witch (to be presented by Wingit Theatre.) She currently spends her days working at Rockaway’s (sit in her section – you’ll get good service!) and playing “mom” to her three cats and her newly adopted dog, Sadie.
Sumner McLain Bender is a Public Relations major at USC and is honored to be a member of the Trustus Company and Armed Chair. She has stage managed the Armed Chair's Late Night Poona, Trustus' mainstages Talking With, Crowns, and The Graduate. She recently appeared on the Trustus stage as Laura in Wax Work. Other credits include: Samantha in Innersite Multi-Media's The MacGregor Crest, and various roles in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the White Witch in RCPL's children's production of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and Cavale in High Voltage Theatre's Cowboy Mouth. For several years she was a part of Emigre ICE's readings of The Vagina Monologues to benefit VDAY. She served as the Publicity Manager for Trustus' 21st season, and is looking forward to continuing her position for the coming season. She has enjoyed working at Trustus this summer as the Box Office Manager giving her the opportunity "to work in a box with her best friend" EG Heard.
H. Loretta Brown is a graduate of Trustus Theatre's African American Acting Workshop and a charter member of the NiA Company where she has stage -managed and appeared in several productions. She has also worked on productions for Benedict College (The River Niger), Workshop Theatre (A Raisin in the Sun) and of course, Trustus (The Colored Museum). When not pursing her thespian interests, she can be found working (as an office manager at the Breedlove Agency), working out (at Gold’s Gym), worshipping (at Brookland Baptist Church) or with her nose in a book (reading).
Matthew DeGuire is delighted to be a new addition to the Trustus company roster. After receiving his BA degree from the University of Alabama, he attended graduate school at USC and has made Columbia his home ever since. He has been seen on the Trustus stage in Golf: The Musical, When Pigs Fly, Cannibals, and Psycho Beach Party. Favorite roles at other theatres include Sancho Panza in Man of La Mancha with the S.C. Shakespeare Company, Albin in La Cage Aux Folles, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, leading roles in Evita, Jesus Christ, Superstar and The Life all at Workshop Theatre, and several stints as the Emcee in Cabaret. He has also performed as a guest artist with the SC Philharmonic. When not appearing onstage or working behind the scenes he keeps busy as the co-owner of Travel Unlimited.
Gerald Floyd has become a familiar face at Trustus, both as a performer and a patron. In recent months he has played roles at Trustus in The Fantasticks, Rocky Horror Show, Cabaret, and The Underpants. He has performed in all of the major theaters in the Columbia area since his colleges days at USC. Most of his roles were done in musical comedies, operas, and operettas. This production marks his 50th one since coming to Columbia as a freshman in 1956 -- exactly 50 years ago! A retired English teacher from Dreher High School, he was honored four different years as "Teacher of the Year" and twice chosen "Columbia's Best Teacher" by readers of The State newspaper.
Robin Gottlieb is happy to be spending her 6th season at Trustus, where she has been afforded a multitude of amazing theatrical opportunities, and an extended family. Top on her list of performance experiences at Trustus, are Cabaret, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (1 & 2), Rocky Horror Show (3 & 4), The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Jar the Floor, Sylvia, Blues in the Night, Piaf, and A...My Name Will Always be Alice. Other credits include, Chicago, Gypsy, Little Shop of Horrors, A Chorus Line, Evita, Beehive, Smokey Joe's Cafe, and Into the Woods, all at Workshop Theatre. When not on stage, robin enjoys her fantastic job, teaching drama at Conder Elementary Arts Integrated Magnet School, where she teaches over 650 youngsters the power of the theatre! Robin is especially grateful to Jim and Kay Thigpen, Dewey Scott-Wiley, her supportive family, friends, and menagerie of pets, for inspiration and love.
Elisabeth Gray Heard, or EG, is a graduate of USC with a BA in Theatre. Favorite Trustus credits include: Patty in Holy Ghost, Elaine in The Graduate, and Paula in My Name is Bess. Other favorite credits include: Amy in Tape and Poona in Poona, both with Armed Chair Productions, Melibea/Isabelle/Hippolyta in The Illusion, Cherie in Bus Stop, Skinheadgirl in Polaroid Stories, and Dunyasha in The Cherry Orchard all with Theatre South Carolina. EG is a graduate of Florida State University’s London Theatre Experience and is also a founding member of Trustus Theatre’s young adult company Armed Chair Productions (Check out our Loaded Late Night Sketch Comedy Series!). EG currently serves as the Production Manager for Trustus Theatre as well as the Program Coordinator/Lead Teacher for the Richland One Knight Foundation Afterschool Program at Trustus. She is also very excited to be Co-Directing this year's Apprentice Company.
Martha Hearn is a proud member of Armed Chair productions and a theatre major at USC. She has written many sketches for Loaded Late Nights and performs improv with local troupe Toast. Past shows include Lysistrata, Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage, and The Real Thing. In her spare time she feeds orphans. Very, very sick orphans.
Chad Henderson is one of the newest members of the Trustus family. While his speciality is directing, Chad has appeared in every one of the Loaded Late Night Sketch Shows that Armed Chair Productions has produced. In the Fall of 2006, Chad directed the original rock musical Cycle Of Their Fathers at Trustus. He'll also be directing for the Trustus Mainstage when he helms Hedwig And The Angry Inch in the summer of '07. Chad graduated from USC in 2007 with a degree in Advertising and Theatre. At USC he acted in Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage, A View From the Bridge, Measure For Measure, As You Like It, and The Country Wife. He also directed Hedwig And The Angry Inch at USC in February of 2007. Other directing credits include: Wonder of The World (Spartanburg Next Stage), All In The Timing (Spartanburg Next Stage), The Ballad Of Four (Spartanburg Next Stage), and The Pied Piper of New Orleans (Spartanburg Youth Theatre). Chad is very excited to be taking the director's chair for the 2007 Trustus season opener: Dog Sees God: Confessions Of A Teenage Blockhead.
Vicky Saye Henderson hails from Athens, GA, where her love for music, learning and the arts began. After earning a BA in Theatre & Speech from Newberry College, she moved to the land of sunshine and citrus where she received on-camera and improv training at KVG Studios, Orlando. Her life in the arts now includes doing stage, film and commercial work. Her character quests of the past year have involved some time-travel and globe-trotting of sorts—an American cabaret dancer in dawning-World War II Berlin; a wildly impractical estate owner in post-revolutionary Russia; a bored and seductive alcoholic housewife in sunny 1960’s California; a wealthy mastermind of colonial times; and a lady of the night in modern day Atlantic City. Now in her fifth season as a Trustus company member, her previous credits on this stage include The Graduate (Mrs. Robinson), Cabaret (Texas), The Rocky Horror Show (Janet), The Night of the Iguana (Hannah), Wonder of the World (Cass), No Place Like Home (Mother) and the 2006 Playwrights’ Festival winner, My Name is Bess (Pamela). Collaborations at other venues include Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard (Madame Ranevsky) with Theatre South Carolina (USC), California Suite (Beth) and A Chorus Line (Connie) with Workshop Theatre of South Carolina, and Postmortem (Louise) with Town Theatre. This summer she completed filming for Innersight Multimedia’s upcoming stage & screen adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Mrs. Van Tassel). She is a member of the Southeastern Theatre Conference and serves as an approved teaching artist with the South Carolina Arts Commission (Arts in Education program), teaching improv and theatre arts to people of all ages in a variety of venues around the Carolinas. She considers it both a privilege and a calling to be counted among a band of artists whose task is to mirror the human condition.
Seena A. Hodges is very excited to be a member of the Trustus Theatre family where she is a member of the NiA Company. Seena is a graduate of Columbia College with a degree in English. She has appeared in the Trustus productions Holy Ghost, the Playwrights’ Festival winner; The Rocky Horror Show; and the NiA production Whisper. Seena has also worked on several Trustus productions. Her favorites include Sylvia, Jar the Floor, No Place Like Home, The Night of the Iguana, and When Pigs Fly. She also serves as one of the Directors of the Trustus Apprentice Company. Seena looks forward to another exciting season and is very blessed to be doing what she absolutely loves. She would like to thank her family, friends, and coworkers for their constant love and support.
Barbara Lowrance Hughes has appeared recently at Trustus as the Actress in Talking With, Dean Kenny in Spinning Into Butter, and previously in such roles as Barbara in Drift, Claire in Free Will & Wanton Lust, Linda in Death of a Salesman, Kate in Sylvia, Grace in Pterodactyls, and Hannah & Ethel in Angels in America, as well as roles in The Seagull, I Hate Hamlet, and others. She also works in other area theatres, having appeared as Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter, Paulina in The Winter’s Tale, and Eleanor in King John with the SC Shakespeare Company. At Workshop Theatre she has performed lead roles in Steel Magnolias, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Social Security, Love Letters, Rumors, Double Double XX, and others. She performed at Theatre SC in You Can’t Take it With You, as well as in lead roles in numerous productions such as Moon Over Buffalo, Cabaret, Broadway Bound, et al, in theatres throughout the Southeast. She does film and TV work, and in “real life” is a Realtor with The Wolfe Co.
Becky Hunter has appeared on stage at Trustus in The Rocky Horror Show, Blues That Go Bump in the Night, Balm in Gilead, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, Sister Mary Ignatious Explains it All for You, Pigs of Love, Sex and Rage in a Soho Loft, Indians, Hair, The American Car, Tapestry, Bus Stop, Company, Sexx Rangers of Venus, This Town, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, How I Learned to Drive, The Death of Bessie Smith, Hello Again, The Bald Soprano, Dirty Blonde, Bat Boy: The Musical, Sylvia, Heart Divided, and Wax Work. She has also performed at Workshop Theatre in Ruthless, Love Letters, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Pippin, La Cage Aux Follies, Death Trap, and Sordid Lives. In addition to acting, Becky has worked at Trustus as a director (Mavens), stage manager (Falsettos, Oleanna, Clishmaclaver), A…My Name is Alice, Whimsigiddy, A…My Name is Still Alice, Dick Johnson Again, A Show of Hands, Indians, Closer Than Ever, What Doesn’t Kill Us, Fuddy Meers, and Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune), sound production assistant (The Boys Next Door, All in the Timing, Closer Than Ever, and The Kiss of the Spider Woman), and costumer (As Bees in Honey Drown, The Wonder of the World, and Crowns). At Workshop Theatre, Becky costumed Messiah on the Frigidaire and Tiny Tim is Dead. In real life, Becky is the Deputy Chief Staff Attorney at the South Carolina Supreme Court.
Abbie Isaac is a junior McNair Scholar at USC from Northern Virginia. She is double majoring in theatre and economics. Abbie has worked on many shows in areas ranging from dancing to directing, but favorite credits include Peachblossom in Midsummer Night's Dream, Jessica in This is Our Youth and stage managing Dancing at Lughnasa. Abbie recently spent time studying at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland. With two Armed Chair Productions on the resume, Abbie is excited about the projects to come!
Kevin A. Johnson was a participant in the 2003 Multi-Ethnic Acting Workshop at Trustus. His radio and television credits include work at WNOK, WCOS, WRTI, WOLO ABC 25, WACH FOX 57, QVC Network and PRISM. He received his BA in Communications from Temple University. Kevin is married and the father of two children, Bradley and Phoebe.
Lou Kaplan is the senior member of the company and, as such, has done everything there is to do in theatre. Lou’s stage work includes Death of a Salesman, Long Day’s Journey into Night, I’m Not Rappaport, Angels in America, Merchant of Venice and Glengarry Glen Ross, among others.
Patrick Kelly is the Artistic Director of Armed Chair Productions and has been working on Trustus shows ever since his days as an apprentice. He has appeared multiple times on the stage in The Laramie Project, A Streetcar Named Desire, Master Harold…and the Boys, A Heart Divided and, most recently, The Graduate. You may also have seen Patrick on stage at USC in Polaroid Stories, Bus Stop, or Tartuffe. In addition to being onstage, Patrick has directed the hit late nights Tape and Poona the *$@#dog (and other Plays for Children), as well as co-organized Improv comedy featuring Toast and the We’re Not Your Mother Players, all through Armed Chair. Patrick is also proud to have co-produced Columbia’s first Rock the Vote event, held last fall at Trustus. As
always, Patrick is incredibly grateful to Jim and Kay and the Trustus family for their open arms and opportunities they have offered him, and he looks forward to pushing Trustus and Armed Chair into the exciting future.
Joe Laney is superfluously ecstatic to be part of the Trustus family as their master electrician, or as he is affectionately called in the theatre, Mr. Bro Go, God of Ladders and Lighting. Joe began his lighting career at the University of South Carolina as a technician, and through his wonderful friends and co-workers, acquired the coveted post of ME at Trustus. In his spare time, while not dangling from the rafters, Joe enjoys acting, stage combat (choreography and performance), moonlit walks, and the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard. Within the last two years, Joe had participated in the Society of American Fight Directors’ National Stage Combat Workshop in Las Vegas. While there, he tested and became certified in Unarmed, Rapier/Dagger, and Broadsword forms and has since written the choreography for GreenRoom Productions’ Lysistrata at USC, Killing Chivalry at Converse College, Scotfree Productions’ Wonder of the World at the David Reid Little Theatre in Spartanburg, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow for Innersite Multimedia in West Columbia. Coming up for Joe, he will be playing the role of Brom Bones in this year’s production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and will also be returning as fight choreographer. He would like to thank all those who have been good enough to give him a chance and to those who continually support all of his efforts.
Darion McCloud has been performing on the Trustus stage for ten years now. On the long road since The Salvation of Iggy Scrooge, many things have occurred. Darion is now the Artistic Director of the critically acclaimed NiA company. He is also a master storyteller who is an approved artist with the SC Arts Commission’s Arts in Education program. After a long tenure with the Richland County Public Library, Darion is now working with the Columbia Museum of Art as the Education Outreach Coordinator. Darion is also a member of the SC Shakespeare Company and the on again off again We’re Not Your Mother’s Players Improv troupe. Some favorite roles are Lincoln in Topdog/Underdog, Don Pedro in Much Ado about Nothing, Levee in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Walter Lee in A Raisin in the Sun, New in The Transparency of Val and Bernard in Boys in the Band. Darion would like to thank all those who support Peace.
Randy Moore happily joins Trustus as one of its newest company members. As musical director, Randy has worked with several theatres in the Columbia area. At Trustus, he collaborated with director Dewey-Scott Wiley on the two wild rides called When Pigs Fly and Golf: The Musical. Other credits include Shenandoah, Getting My Act Together… and Cabaret at Act I Theater, and Baby, Jesus Christ Superstar (1 &2), Evita, The Life, A Chorus Line, The Who’s Tommy, and La Cage Aux Folles, all at Workshop Theatre. Last year he had the privilege of being musical director for the S.C. Shakespeare Company and their outdoor production of Man of La Mancha at Finlay Park. He is the accompanist for the Contemporary Ensemble and Coro Hispano at St Peters Catholic Church. By day, he is a co-owner of Travel Unlimited. Randy thanks Jim and Kay for their support and the opportunity to be part of the Trustus family.
Teddy Palmer is a long time member of the Trustus family. He started here as a volunteer and ended up as a Lighting Designer and part-time actor, having appeared in Day of Absence and Macbeth. As Master Electrician and Late Night Lighting Designer he worked on Sex With Aliens and The Dick Johnson’s, among others. For the Mainstage he has designed Pounding Nails into the Floor with My Forehead and the “No” play, to name just a few. Teddy is the Assistant Technical Director at USC-Aiken.
Kevin Radford is originally from Philadelphia and a graduate of the African-American Workshop at Trustus in 2000. He has appeared in several plays since including Dreamgirls at Workshop, A River Niger at Benedict, Darker Face of the Earth at USC and most recently, A Heart Divided and Whisper at Trustus. Kevin is no stranger to NIA having shared friendships and working with several company members of the group. Kevin is thrilled and looks forward to working with this very talented group of artists.
Rebecca Reaves is honored to be a member of the NiA Company and the Trustus family! She minored in theatre at Francis Marion University, working in all aspects of both educational & community theatre (even directing a production of her original one act). While there, she participated onstage & off in a number of productions with several local theatre groups and, upon moving to the south Grand Strand, helped found the Murrells Inlet Community Theatre. She has thoroughly enjoyed working with the talented members of the Trustus family since coming to Columbia and looks forward to many future collaborations!
Ellen Rodillo-Fowler is thrilled to continue being a part of the Trustus family as a member of the NiA Company. She most recently appeared in My Name Is Bess, the 2006 Trustus Playwright’s Festival Winner and in Strom In Limbo. She also performed in various NiA Company productions such as ...Whisper..., The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein, and various iterations of the Holla series, and Whatchamacallit! Aside from onstage work, she enjoyed her first outing as an Assistant Stage Manager for the Trustus Late Night, Torch Song Trilogy. As a statistician during the day, theatre and running help keep her sane. She looks forward to another exciting season!
Dewey Scott-Wiley is proud to be in her 13th year as a Trustus Company member. Since 1993, she has directed or acted in almost 70 Trustus productions. She has also dabbled in costume and lighting design, and has designed sound for over 30 productions. Some of her favorite Trustus directing credits include Bat Boy, When Pigs Fly, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, The Piano Lesson, Fires in the Mirror and all three versions of A…My Name is Alice. Her favorite Trustus roles include Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire, Louise in Always...Patsy Cline, Lil in Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, Harper in Angels in America, and Mo in The Kathy & Mo Show. A New York/New Jersey girl, Dewey received an MFA in Directing from USC in 1994, trained at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC, extensively toured the Eastern United States, and has acted and directed Off-Broadway. She was recently recognized by the Kennedy Center for her work as a director. Dewey is an assistant professor of theatre at USC Aiken, where she acts, directs and heads up the performance classes. Dewey’s work has been seen in other local venues, such as Workshop Theatre, The South Carolina Shakespeare Company, Columbia College, USC and USC Summer Rep.
Dianne Wilkins has been involved with Trustus since the Assembly Street days. Most Saturday nights she can be found behind the bar trying to push champagne on the clientele. She’s done costumes for a number of plays and even occasionally appears on stage. Her Trustus stage credits include A Shayna Maidel, Company, Mavens and Talking With.
Lonetta Thompson is entering her third season as part of the Trustus family. A member of the NiA Company, she most recently appeared in the NiA/Trustus co-production Strom in Limbo. Other Trustus stage credits include ...whisper..., The No Play, Whatchamacallit, and An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein. She also served as stage manager for NiA's late night production of The Eight: Reindeer Monologues and the
2006 Playwrightes' Festival Winner, My Name is Bess. Her non-Trustus credits include Purlie at Workshop Theatre; Loose Knit at the Newberry Opera House; and Strange Fruit at USC’s Longstreet Theatre. Lonetta is the proud, yet slightly frazzled, mother of a 13-year old daughter (Love ya, Taylor) and would like to thank her family and friends for their continued love and support.
Monica Wyche received her MFA in Acting from the University of South Carolina, and teaches drama at E.L. Wright Middle School. Favorite Trustus roles include Nancy in this season's Frozen, Catherine in Proof, Transylvanian #6 in the most recent production of The Rocky Horror Show, and Louise in The Underpants. She has worked regionally with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Aspect Theatre and Theatre Hikes in Chicago, and has toured the United States with the Aquila Theatre Company. Also a company member with the SC Shakespeare Company, Monica has appeared in The Rover, Richard III, and most recently played Lady Macbeth. Monica is also proud to be on the advisory board of the Imperfect Theatre Company, where she appeared this summer as Frankie in their inaugural production of Some Americans Abroad.
