MAGGIE RAMSEY, mezzo-soprano, most recently performed the role of Queen Gertrude in Shakespeare Opera Theatre’s production of Hamlet. Previous principal roles include Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors and Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with SOT, Woman #2 and the role of Liz (cover) in the professional premiere of Sweets by Kate with Marble City Opera, Sandman in Hansel and Gretel with Knoxville Opera, Silver Dollar in The Ballad of Baby Doe and Giovanna in Rigoletto with the Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center, Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte and Medea in the world premiere of Larry Delinger’s Medea with the University of Tennessee Opera Theatre. Maggie also enjoys singing with D.C. Metro Opera On Tap and the all-female vocal ensemble Sopranessence. She lives in Alexandria, VA.
Elizabeth Keith is excited to join the Midsummer cast in her first production with Shakespeare Opera Theatre. Past Shakespeare credits include A Comedy of Errors and Much Ado About Nothing. Most recently, she was part of an eight-week immersive theater experience at the Torpedo Factory by Through the Fourth Wall Productions based on the life and works of Edgar Allen Poe. Other area community theater credits include: Almost, Maine; The Glass Mendacity; The Great Gatsby; Children of Eden; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Proof (WATCH Award for Outstanding Featured Actress); The 39 Steps; Widdershins; Picnic; An Inspector Calls (WATCH Award winner for Outstanding Featured Actress); The Dresser; Arsenic and Old Lace; Prelude to a Kiss; and Room Service.
Ms. Straus, is a soprano and actress residing in Washington D.C. and a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University Music. Ms. Straus has participated in masterclasses with artists such as Arianna Zukerman, Ann Baltz and Jennifer Casey Cabot. She has performed a variety of roles including: Jou-Jou (Merry Widow), Papagena (Die Zauberflote) and Gianetta (The Gondoliers). As a featured soloist she has performed as the soprano soloist for works like Vivaldi’s Gloria and Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate. She is excited to make her DMV stage debut as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Shakespeare Opera Theatre!
A proud graduate of the 2016 Honors Conservatory at the Theatre Lab, Cassandra Newman is thrilled to be working with Shakespeare Opera Theatre. Recent credits include Melanie in “Subtraction” and Mary Prendick in “The Island of Dr. Moreau” for the Theatre Lab, multiple roles in “Atheist’s Paradise” for the Edge of the Universe Players and the lead in “Cecilie La Rue, Vampire Hunter,” a web series pilot she wrote and produced. Her play “Truth and Reconciliation” is published with Lazy Bee scripts.
Local Credits: Arena Stage – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Studio Theatre – The Steward of Christendom, Woolly Mammoth Theatre – Half Off, Kennedy Center – Little Women, Metro Stage – Stars in the Morning Sky, American Century Theatre – The Children’s Hour, Rep Stage – More Fun Than Bowling & Les Liasions Dangereuses, Ford’s Theatre – A Christmas Carol, Adventure Theatre – A Little Princess, Round House Theatre – More Fun Than Bowling, Source Theatre – Dumb Supper & A Cry of Players. Film/ TV Credits: Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Homicide: Life on the Streets, That Night, Blue Mouse, Rebel Rebel. Directing credits: Circus Millennia, Arts on the Horizon, Kennedy Center & Arlington Children’s Theatre. Jen is a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, attended Ithaca College and has a degree in Theatre from UMW. Locally, she studied acting with Joy Zinnoman at Studio Theatre, physical theatre at Living Stage as well as mask work and LeCoq clowning with Dody DiSanto. She is grateful to her family and Dr. Lind for helping launch her out of retirement!
Michael Harris returns to SOT as a teaching artist after masterfully portraying Falstaff in Merry Wives of Windsor in the 2016 season. In the 2017 season he will take on the role of Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
A versatile artist, Mr. Harris has served as the Artistic Director of the Baltimore Improv Group (BIG) since 2010. Mr. Harris has been an invited performer at Comedy and Improv Festivals throughout the country. In the DC area, he has performed with Studio, Signature, and Spooky Action Theaters. He is a company member of Lean & Hungry Theater, and is an alumnus and faculty member of the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Georgetown. He regularly produces comedy videos as part of the duo, The Siegfried Olsson Band. You can find the videos on Youtube at The Siegfried Olsson Band or follow on twitter @siegfriedolsson
Playing Master Page/Simple in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Fight Captain for Merry Wives and Falstaff, Aaron Sulkin is considered to be one of the greatest eaters of salad on the east coast. He is honored to have the privilege of working with such talented artists and truly wonderful and strange people.