Karen Ainsley (Assistant Stage Manager, First Season) is a recent graduate of Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. In addition to stage managing, performing, and designing in college, she also has worked with Theatre In the Park and North Carolina Theatre. Favorite credits include Blithe Spirit, Into the Woods, Eros and Illinois, The Wizard of Oz, David’s Redhaired Death, and Steel Magnolias. Karen would like to thank her family and friends for their support and God for always making her life an adventure.
Nicolette C. Davis (AEA Resident Stage Manager, Fourth Season) is originally from Jacksonville, Florida. Niki completed her B.A. at Morehead State University, where she stage managed various productions. Among her favorites were The Matchmaker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Good News, and Orpheus Descending. Niki has completed two internships at Walt Disney World, where she stage managed all shows at MGM Studios, including Fantasmic, Indiana Jones: Epic Stunt Spectacular, and Beauty and the Beast. She is also an Ex-Army Reserve Military Police Officer and a member of the Actors’ Equity Association.
Jennifer Johnson (Resident Sound Designer/Composer, Fourth Season) holds a B.A. in music and a minor in theater from Morehead State University. She is a certified Audio Engineer with emphasis in studio recording, and has been creating music and sounds to enhance your theatrical experience for almost a decade. She is also a new mother of the sweetest baby girl in the world. Hugs to Emelia and hubby, Matt.
Amanda McGee (Costume Assistant, First Season) is originally from Plano, Texas, and received her B.F.A. from Abilene Christian University. Amanda has completed a costume internship with Colorado's Creede Repertory Theatre and served as wardrobe mistress for Triad Stage in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Megan Pressley (Props Artisan, Second Season) continues to be grateful for the many opportunities to learn and grow that Cincinnati Shakespeare Company has offered her. Before moving to the Queen City, Megan worked for a year as a props intern at the Orlando Shakespeare Festival in Orlando, Florida. She graduated from King College in Bristol, Tennessee, where she learned her greatest properties lesson: "Hot glue fixes everything." She would like to leave you with a final thought from that master of wit Mark Twain: "Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Heidi Jo Schiemer (Resident Costume Designer, Eighth Season) has lived most of her life in Orlando, Florida. She received her M.F.A. in costume design and technology from the University of South Dakota. Heidi previously has worked for the Black Hills Playhouse, New Harmony Theatre, Nebraska Theatre Caravan, Orlando Shakespeare Festival, and the Orlando Opera.
Will Turbyne (Resident Scenic and Lighting Designer, Seventh Season) has designed scenery and/or lighting for more than 100 productions in the last decade and a half, including more than 40 for Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. His work has also been seen at Utah Music Theatre, Papermill Theatre (NH), Birmingham Children’s Theatre, and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. He is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and received his M.F.A. in scenic design from the University of Alabama. He is also the owner/operator of Will Turbyne Woodworking, a Cincinnati-based company focused on custom woodworking and furniture making.
Sara Watson (Assistant Technical Director, Second Season) graduated from Centre College with a B.A. in dramatic arts. Her favorite Cincinnati Shakespeare Company credits are The Dumb Waiter, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest. Sara also has worked for the Berkshire Theatre Festival, Mill Mountain Theatre, and Actors Guild of Lexington. She would like to thank her parents for their support and the pirates for being her mates on this voyage.
