Cassandra Austen

Cecilia Alali from Oklahoma City is a recent Western Kentucky University graduate and is thrilled to make her Oklahoma Shakespeare debut as Miss Cassandra Austen. Some of her previous credits include Sonia in LIFE SUCKS. at OKC Repertory Theater, Miriam in The Prince of Egypt with Beautiful City Productions, and Chorus in Henry V on WKU's Mainstage. Outside of theatre, Cecilia is a 9-time national champion in competitive speech and acting, with events ranging from Dramatic Interpretation to Duo. When she’s not performing, she enjoys exploring new dance styles, coaching young performers, and making chapatis with her mom. She is grateful to her family, mentors, and friends for their unwavering love and support.

Colonel Brandon

Andrew is delighted to be making his Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park debut. He has previously worked as a character actor with Oklahoma City Ballet in roles such as Kaa in Mowgli - The Jungle Book Ballet and the Duke of Courland in Giselle.  He resides in Oklahoma City with his partner and their cat.

Jane Austen

Emma Cox is a classically trained actor who recently graduated from Southern Utah University with her BFA in Classical Acting and BS in History. Her credits include Macbeth (Utah Shakespeare Festival); Antony and Cleopatra (Utah Shakespeare Festival); As You Like It (Utah Shakespeare Festival); The Abundance (Kayenta Center for the Arts’ New Play Lab, original work by Chelsea Sutton). Born and raised in Kansas City, Emma transferred to SUU in the fall of 2022, where she had the pleasure of performing in SUU’s TDAA main stage productions of Julius Caesar as Brutus, Twelfth Night as Malvolio, Roe as Sarah Weddington, and Cloud 9 as Maud/Victoria. Emma is delighted to be a part of her first show with Oklahoma Shakespeare!

Mrs. Bennet

Zaneen Fletcher-Hall is pleased to be once again playing Mrs. Bennett and overjoyed to be working for OSP once more. Zaneen is originally from England but is happy to have made Oklahoma her home.  Zaneen has also worked for many other theatre companies, some of her favorite performances are “Top Girls” at OCTC, and 19th Century hound with the interactive show of “What lies beyond.” Zaneen also has many commercial and film credits.

Edward Ferrers

Teegin Hacker is an Oklahoma City based actor originally from Enid, Oklahoma. He is currently a senior at Oklahoma City University. This is his second show at Oklahoma Shakespeare, he was recently seen as Longaville/Dull in Love’s Labour’s Lost. He would like to thank his friends and family for all of their continued support!

Elizabeth Bennet

Charli Mai Henn (They/them). Charli is a Senior BFA Acting major with minors in Lighting and Directing at Oklahoma City University from Richardson, TX. Recent credits include Elektra (Clytemnestra), Life Sucks (Babs), Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker (Elizabeth Bennet), Hurricane Diane (Renee), Puffs (Megan Jones), Bellwether (Doll), & Let The Right One In (Eli). Instagram: @charli.mai.henn

Lydia Bennet

Lily (she/they) is a junior at Oklahoma City University, pursuing a BFA in Acting with a double minor in Directing and Dramaturgy. Her recent university credits include The Government Inspector (Grusha), Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Emily u/s) , Gross Indecency (Carson & Others), Puffs (Swing), and Romeo & Juliet (Swing). She is delighted to be working with OSP again, following her previous work in Love's Labours Lost (Jaquenetta), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Assistant Director), Macbeth (Lennox), and Jane Austen’s Christmas Cracker (Elinor Dashwood).

Elinor Dashwood

Lindsey Newell is an award-winning film and stage actor originally from Enid, OK. After obtaining her BFA in Acting from The University of Oklahoma, she ventured out west to Los Angeles where she spent 13 years acting, singing with the International Pin-Up darling group, The Satin Dollz, teaching comedy at Scott Sedita’s Acting Studio, and writing/directing/producing her own various short films and series for her YouTube channel, Maven Of Mess. It was through this self-produced venture that she earned her union status with SAG. She also lent her writing skills to The Satin Dollz for their cabaret shows around Hollywood. Theatre credits include: Elizabeth “Lizzy” Bennett - Pride & Prejudice (University Theatre of OU & Gaslight Theatre of Enid), Viola - Twelfth Night (Reduxion Theatre), Hermia - A Midsummer Night’s Dream (LOFT Ensemble, LA), Sam - Catalyst (LOFT Ensemble & Hollywood Fringe Festival, LA), Tilly/Tillius - She Kills Monsters (LOFT Ensemble), Sheila - Selling Love (Elite Theatre, Oxnard), Bianca - Taming of the Shrew (Thousand Oaks Rep., Ojai). Film acting awards include: Best Supporting Actress - Action On Film Fest for Shades, Best Actress - Bare Bones Festival for LA Fadeaway, and Best Actress - Santa Barbara Int’l ShortsFest for One Night In Noho. Lindsey is a proud member of SAG/AFTRA.

Captain Wentworth

Nic Pizzuti is proud to be a part of this year's production of Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker. He is a current junior at Oklahoma City University pursuing a BFA in acting. Other roles he has portrayed are Oscar Wilde in Gross Indecency, Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, and Konstantin Levin in Anna Karenina.

Fitzwilliam Darcy

Andrew Smith is excited to be a part of Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park's production of Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker. Andrew is an Oklahoma native actor, but he just graduated this past May from Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelor’s Degree in Theater, majoring in Acting and minoring in Voiceover. During his career at Columbia College, Andrew had the opportunity to understudy Claudius in Hamlet, as well as to play various characters in Dark Play: or Stories for Boys and Charles Bingley and Grandpa Lawrence in You on the Moors Now. Most recently, he played Orcus in She Kills Monsters at Carpenter Square Theater. Alongside his acting and voiceover training, Andrew is a certified actor combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors. Andrew would like to thank his parents for being so supportive of him as he pursues his dreams.

Anne Elliot

Sydney Wehmeyer is a Stillwater-based actor drawn to characters with exuberance, wit, and quiet strength. She is delighted as ever to return to Oklahoma Shakespeare, affectionately reprising the role of Anne Elliot. Previous credits include Princess of France in Love's Labour's Lost, Eurydice in Eurydice at Upstage Theatre, and Vera Claythorne in And Then There Were None at Town & Gown Theatre. Sydney holds a BA in Theatre with a performance emphasis from Oklahoma State University. When she’s not on stage, she enjoys treasure hunting at thrift stores, getting lost in a good book, and occasionally attempting recipes that make the house smell like home. She is deeply grateful to her family, cast, crew, and mentors for their steady love and support, which shine brighter than any winter light.

Marianne Dashwood

Bethany is a recent graduate from Oklahoma City University where she received her BFA degree in Acting and minor in costume design. Recent credits include: Merry Wives of Windsor, King Lear, and Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy. She would like to thank her parents, Zoe and Piper for their unconditional support.

Playwright and Director

Erin Woods is a director, playwright, actress, and graphic designer with over 25 years’ experience in Oklahoma Theatre and beyond. Directing credits include Art for Oklahoma City Theatre Company, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Uncle Vanya for Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, and Pride and Prejudice, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Hamlet, Sense and Sensibility, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Women, and Les Liaisons Dangereuses for Reduxion Theatre Company. As a playwright, Erin has written adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Tome Jones, and a holiday play often produced by Oklahoma Shakespeare: Jane Austen’s Christmas Cracker. Look for a workshop of her upcoming work: on a new play (not an adaptation!) based on her favorite book genre called How to Write a Regency Romance coming in

Music & Improvisation Director

Amanda Lee worked as a performer all over the country and the world for 10 years before settling down in 2014 in Norman, OK near her hometown of Noble. She can now be seen onstage with Whodunit Dinner Theater and occasionally at Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park where she also directs and music directs for various productions. Amanda has a degree in music theater from the University of Central Oklahoma which has somehow also garnered her entry into the corporate world of experiential marketing where she currently holds the position of Field Marketing Producer for the New York City-based firm JetFuel. Amanda also runs a Facebook page called The Central Oklahoma Theatre Calendar where she updates her followers on which shows are playing on which stages all over the central Oklahoma region. She is passionate about supporting theater and the arts and is a proud member of Actors Equity.

Costume Design

LLOYD CRACKNELL (Costume Designer) originally from Cambridge England, is the associate professor of Costume Design and resident Costume Designer at the University of Oklahoma. Lloyd’s career includes both costume and fashion design, working for prestigious design houses including The Emanuels and Versace. Lloyd’s designs have been seen in London, New York, Paris, Milan, and South America. He was invited to exhibit his costume designs at the World Creativity Forum in Cardiff, Wales in 2010. Lloyd has costume designed in all genres of the performing arts, including drama, opera, classical ballet, modern dance and musical theatre. He has designed costumes for over a hundred productions, including over forty for OU’s University Theatre.

Cracknell’s regional design credits include Regional premieres of Heisenberg; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time; LetThe Right One In, World premieres: Haydn’s The Seasons at Haydntage, Austria. Film and Television: P.B.S. Special Early Music Program; and Film Distance Vision, Francis Ford Coppola, Director.

Awards for Professor Cracknell include the USITT-SW Oscar Brockett Teaching Award (2023), the Irene and Julian. J Rothbaum Professor of Excellence in the Arts Award (2020), and the USITT-SW Mildred and Glen Martin Jr. Award for Outstanding Service. Other awards and nominations include: DFW Theatre Critics Forum Award-Best Design Team for a Season (2015, 2017); Theatre Jones Best Costume Design Runner-up Award (2015); Kennedy Center American College Theater Award (2010), Region VI National Partners in American Theatre KCACTF Award (2010). In 2021, Lloyd received the Broadway World Oklahoma Award for Best Costume Design of a Play or Musical (Professional) for Pride and Prejudice (Oklahoma Shakespeare.)

Lighting Design

Clara Starkwell is a Lighting Designer who is passionate about storytelling through the expression of color and form. She enjoys painting and sees lighting as an extension of that art form coming to life. She has been honored to be a co-recipient of KC/ACTF National Barbizon Award for Excellence in Lighting Design for her Woe Is Me lighting design. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Clara has worked with a diverse group of artists and directors. She interned as an Assistant Lighting Designer for LA Opera’s 2017-19 seasons. She received her Associate of Arts and Emerging Theatre Technology certificate at Citrus College. Then after achieved a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatrical Design and Production from Oklahoma City University, with an emphasis in Lighting Design and Technology. (clarawiebe.com)

Dance Choreography

Rebekah Valencia has been the dance choreographer for Jane Austen’s Christmas Cracker since 2022 (4 years now!).  She also consulted for Oklahoma Shakespeare’s production of Shakespeare in Love in 2023.  She comes to Oklahoma Shakespeare through her involvement with Scissortail Traditional Dance Society, which dances English Country Dance and Contra Dance throughout Oklahoma.  She has been dancing and calling since 2016 – starting with English Country Dance as her first dancing love.  Rebekah has a degree in Electrical Engineering, as do many folk dancers.  Bringing her love of social dancing into a theatre setting has been a wonderful unique expression with different considerations than a regular evening gathering that get the mind engaged in unique ways.  Jane Austen’s Christmas Cracker has quickly become a greatly-anticipated holiday staple.  Greatest appreciation to all those at Oklahoma Shakespeare!

Stage Manager

Jayvion Frazier is a recent graduate of Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in Theatre. Some shows to his credit are: The Wedding Singer (Ensemble), A Year with Frog and Toad (Snail/Bird/Lizard), Godspell (Ensemble/US: Jesus & George), Airness (Golden Thunder), May We All (Ensemble), and Rumors (Officer Pudney/ US: Glenn Cooper). This is his third production with OSP as Stage Manager, and he is very excited!