Cyrano

Elana Swartz (Cyrano) (she/her) is an actor, costumer, and acting coach originally from Virginia and based in SF. She holds a BA in Theater Performance from James Madison University. Few favorite local credits include: The Tempest (Ariel 2), King Lear (Cordelia/Fool) with Berkeley Shakespeare Company, Romeo and Juliet (Juliet) with Theatre Lunatico, and Constellations (Marianne) with The Pear Theatre. Visit elanaswartz.com for more info and credits.

Amber McCann (Roxane) is an actor based in San Francisco. Recent credits include: Catherine in Pippin, Chava in Fiddler on the Roof, and Marie in Ebenezer Scrooge (Contra Costa Civic Theatre). Amber holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University. Amber is delighted to be working with Berkeley Shakespeare Company for the first time!

Jess Rodgers (Christian) is thrilled to be doing his first show with Berkeley Shakes! He graduated with his theatre degree from California State University Fullerton in 2019. Jess made his way back up north and has been performing at different theaters around the Bay Area since 2023. Some recent acting credits include Compton’s Cafeteria Riot with the Tenderloin Museum, Arabian Nights with Inferno Theatre, and Six Degrees of Separation with Sonoma Arts Live.

He’s very excited to share this very special version of this classic story with you all. Keep supporting live theatre! He’d like to thank his family, friends, and girlfriend for their constant love and support.

Tristan Kelley (Christian) is so excited to debut with Berkeley Shakespeare Company! He is a student, theatre performer, and teacher in the bay. Recent credits include Gretchen and the Grudge (Asst. Director) and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (Tragedian). As Cyrano says, fight hard and stand proud!

Shelly McDowell (Countess de Guiche) (she/her) is excited to be making her debut at Berkeley Shakespeare Company! Favorite roles include Morticia in The Addams Family (Pittsburg Theatre Company & Tri-Valley Theatre Company), Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins (TMC Arts), Velma in Chicago (PTC), Miss Scarlet in Clue (OnStage Rep), Val in Pal Joey (Altarena Playhouse), Janet in The Drowsy Chaperone (Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble), and Cassie in A Chorus Line (Pinole Community Players).

She graduated from UC Irvine with a BA in Drama and was recently awarded two BroadwayWorld Awards for Best Performer in a Musical (Morticia, Addams Family) and Best Choreography of a Musical (The Drowsy Chaperone). Shelly is a Risk Manager for a local construction company by day, and when not performing, spends her free time choreographing in the area.

She would like to thank her mom and Kaia for all their love and support. Follow her on Instagram: missshellbell12.

Evan Winet (The Count) is pleasantly perplexed to find himself in his FOURTH BSC production. Much love to this merry band! In the Bay Area, Evan has also performed with the Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, Anton’s Well, the Curtain, the Pear, the Los Altos Stage Company, Silicon Valley Shakes and Bay Area Stage Company. Before that, he did various theatrical things in Pittsburgh PA, Ithaca & Poughkeepsie NY, St. Paul MN, Madison WI, and Jakarta, Indonesia. Favorite roles include Lear, Titus, Malvolio, and Vladimir (Godot).

Evan is a trust & estate lawyer, parent to two teenage boys and nene to his dear Penny.

Erin Perry (Diana) is delighted to join Berkeley Shakes for her third production with this lovely company, with past roles in their King Lear and Julius Caesar. She is a Bay Area actor and theater artist, with training from SFSU, A.C.T., and the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Some favorite roles of hers have been Sister James in Doubt, and Kent in King Lear.

Catch her this spring for her directorial debut of The Emperor of the Moon, and this summer performing in Alice in Wonderland, both with AEB. She thanks her entire support system.

George Alexander K. (Le Bret) (He/Him/They) began his acting journey in 2022 and has since been steadily building a versatile portfolio both on stage and on screen. His recent highlights include the west coast premiere of the stage adapted Da Vinci Code with Palo Alto Players, a reality-bending take on Constellations with The Pear Theatre and a thrilling horror short called Friends-Killing.

Driven by a passion for storytelling, George aspires to become a trusted name for theater companies and independent artists within the Bay Area and beyond.

Torey Bookstein (Ligniere) is an accomplished professional musician, improv comedian, actor, director, writer, lyricist, and producer. She is the founder and Artistic Director of Aunt Flo Productions. Torey trained at the Thibaud Music Conservatory in Bordeaux, France, as well as with Berkeley Rep & SF ACT.

Favorite credits include: Rosalind, As You Like It; Quince & u/s Titania, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Musical!); Lily, Loose Knit; Hodel, Fiddler on the Roof; Karen, Chanteuse, & others, A…My Name is Alice; u/s Audrey, Little Shop of Horrors; Stank, The Very Last One And Only Highly Endangered Mountain Lion In Pennsylvania. Torey has also written, produced, and directed seven autobiographical cabaret shows, including Parenting: How Bad Could It Be? and Parenting 2: I’m So Glad I Caught the Vomit In My Hand!

Find Torey at facebook.com/toreybooksteinsinger

Erika Bakse (Ensemble) is delighted to play with her friends at Berkeley Shakes yet again! She was last seen in their productions of Julius Caesar (Cassius), King Lear (Curan, Ensemble) and Cymbeline (u/s Cloten). Prior local credits include Basilia in The Marriage of Figaro and Sis in Panhandle, both with Actor’s Ensemble of Berkeley, as well as Charlotte in The Real Thing at Masquers Playhouse.

Much love to her daughters, for letting mommy “go to stage” and to her husband, Reg, for years of love and support.

Kendra Eisenmann (Ensemble) is thrilled to be returning to the stage with Berkeley Shakespeare Company! You may have seen her in last year’s adaptation of Julius Caesar as Portia. She is delighted to be back for the fun and frenzy of Cyrano.

She thanks the cast and team for all the laughs! And she thanks her friends and family for their unwavering support!

Aurora Schueler (Ensemble) (they/ them) is incredibly excited to be in their first show with Berkeley Shakespeare Company. They have previously been an actor and assistant director with Solano Community College’s production of Everybody performing as an understudy “Death” while directing alongside Jan Lee Marshall. They have appeared in a few other roles such as Matilda Ill in The Visit directed by Marshall; Catherine (U/S) in The Foreigner, directed by Trey Reeves; and performed as Estelle (U/S) in No Exit, directed by Alex Camerino.

They have also done tech for multiple shows and stage managed for Bay Area Stage’s production of “Alice by Heart” Directed by Trey Reeves.

Thank you to the amazing cast and production members of “Cyrano” for such an amazing experience! On instagram as fae.au and always looking to expand their experience on and behind the stage!

Sara Guillen (Ensemble) is so thrilled to be a part of this wonderful cast and crew and cannot wait for you to see the show! You may have seen her recently in As You Like It at PVTC, or Murder on the Orient Express at San Leandro Players.

She hopes you enjoy your experience while watching this labor of love we have created.

Juleanne Millan Antunez (Cyrano u/s) is so excited to be doing her first show with Berkeley Shakes! Most recently she played Alice Hemings in Book of Will and Fritzie in Cabaret with Pacifica Spindrift Players. She has worked with NCTC in their touring YouthAware show Puppy Mind and performed in The Great Dickens Christmas Fair as a Fezziwig daughter. Over the summer, she trained at Shakespeare&Company’s Summer Intensive in Massachusetts.

She is currently working on her MA in Theatre Arts at San Francisco State University. IG: @juleanne.millan

Nathaniel Howe (Ragueneau)

Emmett Smith (Montfleury)

Skyelar Clouse (Director) is honored to lead this fabulous production of Cyrano as her directorial debut. Skyelar mainly works as an actor around the Bay, you may recognize them from other Berkeley Shakespeare Company productions like Julius Caesar (Decius Brutus) or Cymbeline (Cloten). Some other proudest productions include Everybody (Everybody), All Shook Up (Mayor Matilda Hyde), and The Wolves (#00).

Skyelar would like to thank her beautiful cast for diving into these characters and giving them such rich life, her production crew for believing in her vision and helping create something truly magical, and a special shoutout to their assistant director Zach for the constant support and belief in her skills. All of the art she creates could not be possible without the unwavering support of her family and loved ones. They hope you enjoy the show!

Zach Vaughn-Munck (Assistant Director, Dramaturg) is very pleased and scared to be on this incredible production team backing up the incredible Skyelar Clouse! Having been born at a very young age, Zach has longed for an outlet for his creative “talents”.

After years away from California, Zach is back to terrorize participate in local community theater and is humbled to have worked with several amazing local companies directing Berkeley Shakes’ production of King Lear and treading the boards as Casca in Julius Caesar and Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing (Berkeley Shakespeare Company), Zyclo in Anon(ymous) and Jack in The Art of Murder (Pear Theater Co), Buster in Misery (Palo Alto Players), Eddie in The Rocky Horror Show and Viktor in Truce (City Lights theater co) and most often, whenever he manages to make it on a stage before being escorted out by security to the chagrin of his talented, patient, and amazingly brilliant husband.

Phillip Leyva (Producer) co-founded Berkeley Shakespeare Company in 2021 with his fearless comrades Emily, Jen, and the brilliant cast of Macbeth. He is an actor and educator originally from the San Joaquin Valley who most recently performed as Gomez in The Addams Family at Tri Valley Theatre Company in January. Other theatre credits include Franz in The Sound of Music (Berkeley Playhouse), Wadsworth in Clue (Onstage Repertory Theatre), Sir Galahad in Spamalot (Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble), Posthumus in Cymbeline (Berkeley Shakespeare Company), and Igor in Young Frankenstein (Pittsburg Theatre Company).

Phillip holds a BA in English from UC Berkeley and an MA in Teaching from Saint Mary’s College of California. He currently plays bass for Flowers for Angela.

Follow him on Instagram: @phillleyva

Galilea Soto (Stage Manager) is happily once again stage managing for Berkeley Shakespeare Company! Her last production with them was Julius Caesar back in summer 2025.

Galilea holds a BA in Theatre, Film and Digital Productions with a concentration in Directing at the University of California, Riverside. Her other stage managing credits include: Harvey (Pittsburg Theatre Company), Chicago (Pittsburg Theatre Company) and Julius Caesar (Berkeley Shakespeare Company). She hopes to learn and grow more as a stage manager with an amazing production team, local artists and actors!

She also wants to thank her friends, family, peers, and boyfriend for all the love and support. Outside of stage managing, she also has a passion for drawing and funny animations, check her out on her social media! IG: @galilegend and Tik Tok: @galilegend.

Thank you for supporting local theatre, art, and artists!

Hunter McCombs (Assistant Stage Manager) is excited to have gotten to work with such a wonderful cast & creative team and would like to thank Berkley Shakes’ for allowing him such a wonderful opportunity. He would also like to thank his Family and Friends as well as his late Mother, Thelma Suit McCombs for always supporting him in his Theater journey.

He hopes that you all enjoy this wonderful show!

Alejandra Wahl (Costume Designer) is a multidisciplinary theater artist and singer with a weakness for Shakespeare, ensemble work, and beautiful chaos. By day, Alejandra facilitates restorative justice programs; by night, she makes art. A longtime board and company member of Berkeley Shakespeare, her past BSC credits include The Tempest (Producer, Ariel 3), Julius Caesar (Props), Cymbeline (The Queen/Soothsayer), Much Ado About Nothing (Director, Borachio u/s), and Macbeth (Porter, Lady Macduff).

Endless gratitude to the artists, board members, and audiences who keep this joyful little theater community alive. IG: @alej_onstage

Court Sutherland (Set Designer) is an artist born and raised doing theatre in the East Bay and they are very excited to collaborate with Berkeley Shakespeare for the first time! Court would love to thank Skyelar, their dear friend, for this amazing opportunity and a wonderful creative experience.

Court is currently the Scenic Art Fellow at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Technical Director and Scenic Designer at Las Lomas High School, and Incoming Technical Director and Scenic Designer at Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette. Court has had the pleasure of collaborating with incredible companies acting, stage managing, scenic painting, intimacy directing, and well… whatever else they can get their hands on at Masquers Playhouse, Berkeley Playhouse, Cal Scenic, TVTC, San Ramon Valley High School Black Sheep Theatre Co, and The I Can Do That! Performing Arts Center.

Courtney would love to thank you for supporting live theatre, there is truly nothing like it. Support local art, show up, and speak your mind. If you want to follow their crazy journey you can find them @courtneysutherland!

Bessie Zolno (Intimacy Coordinator, Fight Coordinator) is a mental health-informed violence and intimacy choreographer and mental health coordinator for theater and film. She thoughtfully cultivates collaborative and consent-driven environments, an approach deeply rooted in her certification in Mental Health Coordination (Association of Mental Health Coordinators). Her expertise is dedicated to facilitating the safe and impactful execution of heightened moments on stage and screen for performers of all ages, across both professional productions and educational settings.

For more information, please visit: bessiezolno.com