Meet the RIDDLE PUZZLE PLOT Cast and Creative Team

The Riddle Puzzle Plot team is bursting with top Minnesota Talent – some you may know well and others you will be seeing for years to come!

CAST

Alessandra Bongiardina (she/her/hers) (Betty – The Ingenue) is a twin cities actor, director, and theatre maker. She graduated from the University of Minnesota/ Guthrie Theatre BFA Actor training program in 2018, and has since worn a myriad of hats including: assistant directing with Ten Thousand Things on Into the Woods, playing a Witch in Macbeth with Wayward Theatre Company, and leading a site-specific workshop of The Seagull. She’s also continuing to train in both fight choreography and intimacy direction. Had it not been cancelled due to the pandemic, you would have most recently caught her as Juliet in Park Square’s production of Romeo & Juliet. Nevertheless, she’s excited to explore the ways we can remain connected through the arts in this theatrical experiment. She wishes you love and safety in these uncertain times, and thanks you for joining us!   

Aimee K. Bryant* (Petra – The Hard-Boiled Dame with a Heart of Gold) is an actor, singer, and teaching artist who has appeared on many stages throughout the Twin Cities and across the nation since graduating from Howard University. Her Park Square credits include Nina Simone:Four Women, A Raisin in the SunThe Color Purple and Constant Star.  City Pages named Aimee Best Actress of 2015 and Aimee K. Bryant is a 2015-16 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow at the Playwright’s Center.  Her debut album Becoming is available online.

Pearce Bunting* (Frye – The Perfect Suspect) has been living and working in Minneapolis for 10 years – WHOOOOPEEEE! He’s appeared at the Open Eye, Children’s Theatre, Latte Da, Ten Thousand Things, withTheatre Novi Most, Workhaus, in many, many readings at the Playwright’s Center and with The History Theatre, most recently as LBJ in All The Way and The Great Society. In his hometown of Philadelphia, Pearce has worked with Theatre Exile, The Wilma, PTC, The Arden, People’s Light and Theatre, Big House, Philly Fringe and The Walnut St. He’s also appeared in Mamma Mia (national tour and Broadway), with the Jo Strømgen Kompani at the Oslo Opera House and as Bill McCoy in Boardwalk Empire for HBO. This is his first Jeffrey Hatcher play (and it better not be his last) and his first production with Park Square Theatre. YES!!!

Sun Mee Chomet* (Saskia – The Femme Fatale) is a St. Paul-based actor, theater-deviser, and playwright. She has worked with the Lincoln Center’s LCT3, Hartford Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, Repertory Theater of St. Louis, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Ten Thousand Things Theater, Penumbra Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Pillsbury House Theatre, Theater Mu, History Theatre, and many more locally and nationally. At Park Square Theatre, she played one of her favorite roles, Cornelia, in Aubergine by Julia Cho. Sun Mee is determined to help keep Twin Cities theaters afloat during this challenging time. She is grateful to theater for giving her life and helping her to find her voice over the last 25 years.

Shanan Custer (Hilda – The Gimlet Eyed Cynic) is a theater maker, writer and improviser who has performed with Interact, History Theatre, Frank Theater, Theatre Pro Rata, Comedy Suitcase, The Mystery Café, Mu Performing Arts as well as directed productions at Theatre in the Round, Artistry and DalekoArts. At Park Square Theatre she appeared in Dead Man’s Cell PhoneThe LiarCalendar GirlsAubergineRomeo & Juliet and currently with the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society. Shanan is one half of the award-winning 2 Sugars Show (with Carolyn Pool) and the final installment of their beverage-inspired trilogy Bad Things, Good Whiskey will play at Park Square when the world is able to play again.   

Singer, Actor, and Musician, Rodolfo Nieto* (Chet – The Gigolo) is pleased to make his virtual debut with Park Square Theatre. His work in the Twin Cities and abroad focuses on American Musical Theater, Opera, and the performance of music from México and Latin America. Recent highlights include the opera Émilie, ou la Belle Esclave, performed in Paris, France with Really Spicy Opera; A Little Night MusicCandide, and All is Calm with Theater Latté Da; A New Brain with Artistry; and Dirty Business with History Theatre. Of special note is a performance at Chanhassen Dinner Theater of The 24 Hr. Musicals last year, where he and Warren Bowles had a dance-off as the last bear and the last salmon in the world. Prior to the pandemic, Rodolfo was about to open La Bohème with Theater Latté Da, which is projected to open once it is safe to do so. Learn more about his work at www.rodolfo-nieto.com

E.J. Subkoviak* (Arno – The Host) moved to the Twin Cities in 1997 and has since appeared at several theaters, but perhaps most frequently at Park Square, where, among other roles, he has played Lennie in four productions of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, and fictional detective Nero Wolfe in the first two plays based on the Rex Stout mysteries ever produced (The Red Box and Might as Well Be Dead). He enjoys writing his own comedy and drama, doing film and standup on occasion, and dogs of all breeds. He hails from Madison, Wisconsin, and is a graduate of the theater arts program at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

CREATIVE TEAM

Jeffrey Hatcher (Playwright) is a local playwright and screenwriter, beloved for home-grown work like the musical Glensheen, with music by Chan Pohling. He wrote the stage play Compleat Female Stage Beauty, which he later adapted into a screenplay. He also co-wrote the stage adaptation of Tuesdays with Morrie with author Mitch Albom, and Three Viewings, a comedy consisting of three monologues – each of which takes place in a funeral home. He wrote the screenplay Casanova for director Lasse Hallström, as well as screenplays for The Duchess (2008); Mr Holmes (2015); and The Good Liar (2019). 

 

Warren C. Bowles (Director) is an experienced actor, director, fight choreographer, and playwright. He is very at home at Park Square having directed five shows there (A Raisin in the Sun; Visiting Mr. Green; Constant Star; I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given To Me By A Young Lady From Rwanda; Trying), and appeared in a few more (My Children! My Africa!; Of Mice and Men; To Kill a Mockingbird). He has worked at theatres including Mixed Blood Theatre, The Guthrie Theater, 10,000 Things Theater, American Players’ Theater, Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company, San Diego Public Theatre, and others across the country. His degrees come from the Universities of Minnesota and Notre Dame with studies at l’Université Catholique de l’Ouest. He received a 2005 McKnight Fellowship for Theater Artists and a 2016 Ivey recognition for directing.

Aaron Fiskradatz (Video Editor and Zoom Technician) is a theatre artist and educator in the Twin Cities.  His technological expertise has come in handy in the age of stay-at-home theatre, as he works with artists across Minnesota to bring their programming onto Zoom and other digital platforms.  In addition to his work with Park Square, he has provided tech support for organizations including Springboard for the Arts, the Minnesota Theater Alliance, Frank Theatre, and Upstream Arts, where he currently serves as Program Manager.

Lizzie Streif* (stage manager) is a freelance stage manager and scenic carpenter. Most recently, she participated in Park Square Theatre’s twenty-first iteration of The Diary of Anne Frank. Other Park Square Theatre productions include The Rocky Horror Show, Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Talent Pageant, Agatha Christie: Rule of Thumb, and Marie and Rosetta. Other local credits include Dark and Stormy Productions’ The Norwegiansand Blackbird, Theatre Mu’s production of The Last Firefly, and Old Log Theatre’s Beehive: The ‘60s Musical, Guys and Dolls, and Life Could Be A Dream. When not working, she enjoys reading novels and biking. Lizzie is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

*Member, Actors Equity Association

Tickets

The box office is currently closed. Please email tickets@parksquaretheatre.org with any questions.

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