ABOUT THIS SHOW

Mel, a once-dedicated staff member at a nonprofit organization increasingly, obsessively hates the man she hoped was her former boss. Now she's facing off against the mostly-beloved and mythologized founder, following his surprise return from a scandalous company exit. A comedy that asks: how do you forgive, forget and survive the bullshit of leaders, when you’re stuck needing leadership?

THE WHOLE SEAMUS THING will be featured in Bramble’s Fall Reading Series happening this fall.

Public Reading on October 16th, 2023

Luke Halpern at the Festival of Unfinished Work 2023

THE ARTISTS

Playwrights | Ben Auxier and L.C. Bernadine

Director | Spencer Huffman*

Stage Manager | Adriana Rodriguez

Dramaturg | Ashley Greenwood

Casting Director | Karissa Murrell Myers*

CAST

Amber Calderón*

Johnny Arena

Alexander Utz

Luke Halpern

Olivia Lindsay

* Bramble Ensemble Member

CAST

  • JOHNNY ARENA

    Johnny Arena is originally from Miami, Florida where his theater teacher thought he would be a great Hamlet at 16. Video evidence proves otherwise but his hair was amazing. He graduated from the Theater Program at SMU in 2001, moved straight to Chicago and never looked back. He's very excited to be a part of the Fall Reading Series with Bramble! Credits include: The Defamation Experience (Canamac Productions), United Flight 232 (Vanessa Stalling), The Nutcracker (Tommy Rapley), Death and Harry Houdini (The House Theatre), A Tragical Comedy for Mr. Punch (Kara Davidson/Shade Murray), The Sparrow (The House Theatre).

  • AMBER CALDERÓN

    Amber Calderón* (she/they) is a multidisciplinary theatre artist working in Chicago and New York. Amber was a 2050 Artistic Admin Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop for their 2022-2023 season. Directing credits include: Ginger Bug, Pigeons and 27 Moths, developed with Eden Theatre Company and has collaborated with Nomad Theatrical, Primary Stages ESPA, The Shrill Collective and LAByrinth Theatre Company. Currently she is Assistant Directing Sanctuary City at Steppenwolf Theatre. In Chicago, she has assisted with casting at Steep Theatre Company in their 2016/17 season and has worked at various talent agencies and casting offices in both New York and Chicago. Amber is a founding ensemble member at Bramble Theatre and an alumni of The School at Steppenwolf 2019.

  • LUKE HALPERN

    Luke Halpern (They/He/She) Previous Credits include: TICK TICK… BOOM (Boho Theatre) Susan; CHILDREN OF EDEN (Broadway in Chicago) Ensemble; KINKY BOOTS (Paramount) Swing/ensemble; NEWSIES (Paramount) Swing/ensemble; A CHORUS LINE (Porchlight) Tom u/s Paul, Al, Don; MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Chicago Shakes) Moth; A CHORUS LINE (Metropolis Performing Arts Centre) Paul;. Much love to their friends and family for the unwavering support!

  • OLIVIA LINDSAY

    Olivia Lindsay is an actor, writer, violinist, and visual artist from San Diego. She is currently attending the Professional Training Program at the Actor's Gymnasium and Circus School, specializing in Clowning. Previous Chicago credits include The Buttcracker: a Nutcracker Burlesque (Subversion Productions), LOVE STORY! (Bramble Theatre), Twelfth Night (Midsommer Flight), Zack Peercy’s That’s Fucked Up, and The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Improv Playhouse). Her play BATSHIT was featured in Bramble’s first annual Festival of Unfinished Works. Olivia is a graduate of Kenyon College and the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.

  • ALEXANDER UTZ

    Alexander Utz is an actor, playwright, and the Artistic Director of Avalanche Theatre, a theatre company which develops new plays by Chicago playwrights. This spring and summer, he has celebrated the world premieres of his plays Arabia, Arabia! (The Plagiarists), The Creators (Three Brothers Theatre), and is looking forward to a production this fall of his play Gut (Platform Productions). He was also recently a member of Jackalope Theatre's Playwrights Lab. He's so thrilled to be working with Bramble on this festival, and in their upcoming production of Evil Perfect.

CREATIVE TEAM

Ben Auxier, Playwright is an actor, writer, and comedian from Kansas City, MO, now working in Chicago with the improv ensemble RIFF! at iO and as a performer on numerous other stages. The former Artistic Director of The KC Improv Company, he is co-author of the award-winning musical comedy THE BALLAD OF LEFTY & CRABBE, co-creator of the comedy channel Friend Dog Studios, and writer/performer of sketch comedy and one-man shows including BEN AUXIER'S CAVALCADE OF FEARS, recently performed in KC and coming soon to Chicago.

L.C. Bernadine, Playwright is a Chicago playwright whose work has been produced at City Lit Theatre, Underscore Theatre, and other companies. In addition to THE WHOLE SEAMUS THING, she is currently at work on TRANSPORT, a new play about two drivers in the so-called troubled teen industry;  IS YOU IS, a musical she’s developing with Nik Whitcomb and Erik Olsen, set in Chicago Public Schools in the 1930s and revolving around The Field Museum’s exhibit “The Races of Mankind”; and a screenplay called The Linoleum Club, with actor Paul Raci. This summer, she was a Playwright-in-Residence with the University of Alabama’s Theater department, which workshopped her play WELCOME J-1 STUDENTS.

Spencer Huffman, Director is a playwright, director, and actor based in Chicago. His plays include: Evil Perfect, The Shape of the Bones, The Baseball Gods, When We Were Little, Shine Down On Us, The Swamp Play, and If Only We Were Ghosts. His plays have earned recognition from theatres and festivals across the country, including The National Playwrights Conference, American Stage’s 21st Century Voices New Play Festival, Landing Theatre Co. New American Voices Festival, Southwest Theatre Production’s Rising Artists Playwriting Competition, and Relative Theatrics, among others. Most recently, his play The Shape of the Bones was translated into Hungarian and produced at FreeSZFE in Budapest. He has been a fellow at The Millay Colony, The Marble House Project, and the Kerouac Project of Orlando. His directing work includes site-specific productions of Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth, Bug by Tracy Letts, and Aaslt by Duncan McLean and Pol Heyvaert, among others. Spencer's stage credits include: Spay (Rivendell Theatre) and Spinning into Butter (Janus Theatre Co). Spencer is a Fulbright Arts Scholar, a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf, and an ensemble member at Bramble Theatre Co. BA: Kenyon College.

Adriana Rodriguez, Stage Manager is a Chicago-based stage manager and is so happy to be working with Bramble on this reading! Selected credits include The Cleanup (Prop Thtr) and After The Blast (Broken Nose Theatre). When not color-coding a script, she's bullying her cat and ordering emotional support pizza. Thanks to Reggie!

Ashley Greenwood, Dramaturg is excited to be working with Bramble for the first time as a dramaturg! She recently assistant directed The Revolutionists at Oil Lamp Theater and served as the dramaturg. Ashley recently worked on a new film titled, Hair Wraith, which comes out in December. Ashley thoroughly enjoys working on new works, and believes new works are paving the way for the future of theatre in this city!