Meet the Bite-Sized Company!
Our Actors:
Zack O'Connell (Jake in "Two Chairs")
Zack is a freshman Economics major that has been in a handful of shows back in high
school including Anything Goes and Les Mis! He plays Jake in “Two Chairs”. He is very excited and grateful for the opportunity to continue what he loves with the Fairfield Theater Program!
Samantha Learson (Gretchen in "Two Chairs" and Social Media PI)
Samantha Learson is a Senior Politics Major at Fairfield University and has been deeply involved in the Theatre Program both onstage and behind the scenes throughout her four years. She served as Assistant Stage Manager for DollHouse during her freshman year, performed in “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief” and “Mask Play”, “39 Steps: Even More Abridged”, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare” and contributed to the “Steel Magnolias” team as part of the wardrobe crew. Samantha is thrilled to return to the stage for her final production, “Two Chairs” where she portrays Gretchen, and says it's a meaningful way to close her Fairfield theatre journey.
Sophia Papp (Melissa in "A Mother's Love")
Sophia Papp is a Sophomore majoring in Business Management and plays Melissa in “A Mother's Love”. This is her second Theater Program production, and she is so excited to be back! “I am glad to be back in the black box this fall for this production of Bite Sized with the Theater Fairfield community. I am so grateful to the entire cast and crew who have made this production possible. I hope you all enjoy the production as much as we've enjoyed bringing it to life!”
Katharine Gutkoski (AN in "Ragnarok" and Alumni Relations PI)
Katharine is a Senior with double majors in Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies and Theatre and a minor in Communication. Her past credits with the Theatre Program include Letter Writer in “Tiny Beautiful Things”, Lillian in “Lillian Goes to the Mirror” from “Director’s Cut”, Nora in “Dollhouse” and Annabeth Chase in “The Lightning Thief”. She also has worked as the Front of House Manager for “Mask Play”, “The 39 Steps: Even More Abridged”, and “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare”. Additionally, she is the Ambassador & Alumni Relations Production Manager for the Theatre Program. In this show, she plays AN in “Ragnarok”. “It’s been so much fun working with the cast to figure out how all the short plays fit together into one theatrical piece!”
William Young (YG in "Ragnarok")
William Young is a Sophomore Accounting major with a minor in Accounting Analytics and is happy to be able to participate in Bite-Sized as YG in “Ragnarok”! His previous roles include Dave from Almost Maine, Clyde from The Alibis, and Marty Z. from Mean Girls. A fun fact about him is that he loves rock climbing. He’d also like to thank Jake and everyone on the production team for making this opportunity possible!
Madelyn Rufino (Gabriel in "The End of All Things")
Madelyn Rufino is a Freshman English Major with a Philosophy Minor from Sparta, NJ. She plays the Angel Gabriel in “The End of All Things”. In the past, she has starred in productions of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “The Jungle Book”, and “Midsummer/Jersey”. Upon graduating in 2029, she hopes to continue her education by going to law school.
Katherine Cash (Uriel in "The End of All Things")
Katherine Cash, a Sophomore Nursing major and Italian minor, plays the role of the Angel Uriel in “The End of All Things”. A fun fact about me is that I’m studying abroad this spring in Florence. This is her fourth show with the Fairfield Theatre Program, and she is so excited to showcase these plays that everyone has worked really hard on! “I hope you enjoy the show!”
Clancy Malloy (Michael in "The End of All Things")
Clancy Molloy is a Sophomore Communication Major from Chicago Illinois. This is his second show with the Fairfield Theatre Program where he plays the Angel Michael in "Te End of All Things". He was Gabe in “Next to Normal” last year. “I hope you all enjoy the show!”
Jacob Chaffee (Mitch in "A Singular Kind of Guy")
Jacob Chaffee is a Sophomore Film major and is excited to be playing Mitch in “A Singular Kind of Guy” in his first Theater Program production. Some of his previous productions include Moonface Martin (Anything Goes), Jimmy (Almost, Maine), and Bert (42nd Street). Jacob would like to thank the director, Jake, for giving him the opportunity to join this amazing cast and production. Outside of theater, Jacob is a member of the Bensonians, Fairfield’s Male Acapella Group, and the Fairfield University Glee Club. Love and thanks to his friends and family for their support!
Kylee Faulkner (Gary in "Two Pigeons Talk Politics")
Kylee Faulkner is a Senior Theatre and English double-major. She plays Gary in “Two Pigeons Talk Politics”. She has been participating in the Fairfield Theatre Program since her first year. and I am playing Gary. “I am very excited to be acting in this show and wish the rest of the cast luck with the run!”
David Ilagan (Paul in "Two Pigeons Talk Politics”)
Majoring in Computer Science, David is exhilarated to be involved in his first production with the Fairfield Theatre Program as Paul in “Two Pigeons Talk Politics”. Having worked in previous shows in New York City and Connecticut as both cast and crew, including “Into The Woods” and “42nd Street”, he’s immensely honored and grateful to work with such an adept and dedicated group. Alongside theater, David often practices and shares photography in his spare time.
Tessa Collins (Thalia in "Two Muses Slumming It")
Tessa Collins is a Sophomore Psychology major and Film minor here at Fairfield. She plays the role of Thalia in “Two Muses Slumming It” This is the second production that she has had the pleasure of participating in with the Theatre Program, but she has been doing theater all her life. “I am very excited to further my experience in theater through Fairfield!”
Cassie Arena (Terpsichore in “Two Muses Slumming It”)
Cassie is a Sophomore Business Analytics major here at Fairfield. She plays Terpsichore, the Muse of Dance, in “Two Muses Slumming It” Recently, she was Natalie in “Next to Normal" last year here at Fairfield and was on the wardrobe crew for “Steel Magnolias”. “Hope you enjoy the show!”
Rebecca Almeida (Melpomene in “Two Muses Slumming It”)
Rebecca Almeida is a Politics major and is playing Melpomene, the Muse of Tragedy in “Two Muses Slumming It”. She started in the Theatre Program this year and her favorite thing about the program is the community! “A fun fact about me is that I have a puppy named Moon and I love Christmas!”
Samuel Enriquez (Sam in "Two Muses Slumming It")
A Junior Film major and president of the Fairfield Film Club, Sam is very excited to be in his first show with the Theatre Program, playing the character of Sam in "Two Muses Slumming It". He has acted in shows since middle school and throughout high school along with being in an improv troupe for three years. He is a junior film major and the president of the Fairfield Film Club. A fun fact about Samuel is that if he could adopt any breed of cat in the world, he would adopt a jaguar.
Our Team:
Jackob Hofmann (Director)
Jackob Hofmann has been working professionally in the theatre since the early 1990s. His NY directing credits include an array of Off-Broadway productions, and staged readings, for Abingdon Theatre including the NY premieres of John Morogiello's Engaging Shaw (NY Times Critics' Pick) and Blame it on Beckett. Additional NY directing credits include productions of: Unwrap Your Candy, Test Patterns, Xavier Speaks, Tracking Gertrude Tredwell, and Tales From The Wichita Skyline. Notable acting credits include Theatre Row productions of: Marat/Sade, Holy Ghosts, Dark of the Moon, Footprints on the Moon, and The Tempest.
Also a playwright, Jackob's drama, A Persistent Memory, was produced Off-Broadway at The Beckett Theatre, in 2016, by MBL Productions. He is also a proud finalist of Samuel French's annual OOB Short Play Festival with his original works: The Speed Date and Tower of Toys.
As an actor instructor, Jackob teaches acting and directs at The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, NYC. He also works as an adjunct theatre professor/director at Fairfield University. NYU, Strasberg, and Theatre Fairfield directing credits include: You On The Moors Now, Avenue Q, Rhinoceros, Mask Play, Authenticity, The Thanksgiving Play, and Silent Sky.
Jessie Lizotte (Scenic Designer)
Jessie Lizotte is a proud alumna of the Theatre Fairfield program. Previous design credits include The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)[revised][again] (Theatre Fairfield), The Thanksgiving Play (Theatre Fairfield), and Twelfth Night (Shakesperience Productions). She was previously the resident scenic designer for Music Theatre of Connecticut's 2019 and 2020 seasons (Ragtime, Steel Magnolias, Sylvia, Fully Committed, RFK, and It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play). She is currently the resident scenic designer for The Fairfield Prep Players (Little Shop of Horrors, Puffs, Pippin, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Something Rotten).
Lynne Porter (Producer)
Lynne Porter is a theatre professor and the Resident Designer of Theatre Fairfield. At Fairfield, Lynne has designed numerous productions such as Avenue Q, Stop Kiss, Rhinoceros, The Rocky Horror Show, She Stoops to Conquer, Lend Me a Tenor, and Waiting for Godot. In addition to her work with Theatre Fairfield, Lynne has designed extensively with Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, where she is an Affiliated Artist of the Ensemble. She has also designed for CT Lyric Opera, Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival, Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, Arden Theatre, Horizon Theatre, Penobscot Theatre, and the Maine Shakespeare Festival, among others. Lynne is also the Founding Artistic Director of Shakespeare Ventures, a professional classical summer theatre, where she both directed and designed. Over the past few years, Lynne has done extensive research on creativity and the design process, culminating in her book, Unmasking Theatre Design which was recently published by Focal Press. lynneporter.com
Julie Leavitt-Learson (Costume Designer)
As Costume Director for the Fairfield University Theatre Program, Julie designs and builds costumes for TF productions, manages the costume shop, and mentors student theatre artists and technicians. Her TF costume design credits include Silent Sky, The Taming of the Shrew, Dead Man’s Cellphone, The Arabian Nights, and The Rocky Horror Show, among many others. She also collaborated with Shakesperience Productions in Waterbury, CT, costuming Shakespeare from Comedy of Errors to King Lear, as well as The Sword in the Stone and Alice in Wonderland. Before coming to Fairfield, Julie was an Assistant Professor of English at Westfield State College, the Assistant Costume Designer at Chicago’s The Goodman Theatre, and a freelance costume designer at Organic Theatre Company (Mere Mortals), Pyewackett Theatre (The Belle of Amherst), and Emerald City Children’s Theatre (The Wizard of Oz). She holds an MFA in Costume Design from Northwestern University, and a BA in Theatre and English Literature from the University of New Hampshire.
Anne Kendall (Technical Director)
Anne is the Technical Director and Production Manager for Theatre Fairfield. She also teaches courses in Entertainment Technology, Prop Construction, and Lighting Design.
Lynne Chase (Lighting Designer)
Lynne Chase (lighting designer) has lit over 200 productions nationwide. Highlights include Doubt (Portland Stage Company), As You Like It and Enchanted April (Pioneer Theatre), Light Up the Sky and La Bête (Two River Theatre) and Speed-the-Plow and Over the Tavern (Merrimack Repertory Theatre.) She has spent 17 summers working in rotating repertory and counts among her favorite shows Pericles, King Lear, Hamlet and The Glass Menagerie (Theater at Monmouth.) She has worked extensively at Horse Cave Theatre and Penobscot Theatre Company (Art, Betrayal, The Crucible, and Skylight among others.) Memorable shows at Fairfield include Arabian Nights, Cabaret, Three Sisters, Romeo & Juliet, Dancing at Lughnasa, Avenue Q and The Spitfire Grill. Lynne is a graduate of Cornell, Harvard and the Yale School of Drama and is a member of United Scenic Artists Local USA 829. www.lynnechaselights.com
Jamie Monahan (Intimacy Director)
Jamie Monahan is an award-winning filmmaker, director, actress, intimacy director (theatre), and certified intimacy coordinator (film/TV). Jamie completed IDC’s Intimacy Coordinator training, fostering intimate, safe spaces for performers. She is currently listed on the SAG-AFTRA Intimacy Coordinator Pre-Registry. Jamie intimacy coordinated the short films: ONLY THE DEAD, IN THE NIGHT, HEALING TREE, BETTY BITES BACK, and THE BIG 3-OH to name a few. She also intimacy coordinated the award-winning feature film ESCAPING OHIO, and I’LL FIND YOU. Jamie intimacy directed POWERHOUSE Off-Broadway, GREASE at The Wilton Playshop, 9 to 5 at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre, and she is going into her third year at Fairfield University as resident intimacy director and adjunct professor for their 2024-2025 season.
Jaeyoon Lee (Assistant Stage Manager)
Jaeyoon Lee is majoring in Marketing and Media Entertainment. This is her first time working as an assistant stage manager! In the past, she has been on lighting crews in film production projects. A fun fact about her is that she’s an exchange student from South Korea!
Not Pictured:
Christina Ronquillo (Stage Manager)
HB Burrows (Asst. to the Costume Designer)
Gianna Coccomo (Wardrobe Construction)