Family Magic Show at Smoke & Mirrors Magic Theater

Amanda Schaar

Prior to Co-Founding New Fortune, Amanda has proudly served as Founding Co-Artistic Director of the youth nonprofit, Into Theatre; Director of Educational Outreach for Southwest Shakespeare Company; Production Manager for Child’s Play Touring Theatre; Executive Assistant for Poor Players Theatre Co., as well as Shakespeare Sedona; and Actor Manager for Phoenix Theatre Educational Outreach. An accomplished writer, dancer, musician and actress, Amanda has appeared in experimental and classical venues around the country. Credits include, New Fortune: Henry V, Birthday Party, Les Liaisons Dangereuses; Poor Players: Measure for Measure and Richard II ; Sledgehammer: Heaven on Earth; Southwest Shakespeare: As You Like It, The Winter’s Tale, Tartuffe, Othello, Two Gentlemen of Verona, London Assurance, Romeo and Juliet; Timeline Theatre Company (Chicago): Pitmen Painters (US Premiere) (Chicago Jeff Award, Best Ensemble), The Front Page (Jeff Nomination, Best Show); North Coast Repertory Theatre; Perfect Wedding, Odd Couple; Northwestern University; Teatro Caliente Festival; Teatro Bravo; TIMB; Stray Cat; and a National Tour of New Voices. Ms. Schaar is proud to have written extensively for theatrical performance: sketch comedy, syndicated live theatre, performance art pieces (notable: The Black Chicken, Naked with a Banjo, and Pancake of Truth), as well as full-length plays: Rummy Starker Love Fest (Best Avant Garde - EV Trib.) enjoyed completely sold-out runs at ASU and TIMB (Phoenix), and Kill Socrates, A Comedy only recently made its electric stage-reading debut here with New Fortune! Ms. Schaar holds a B.A. in Theatre from the Herberger College of Fine Arts, highest honors.

Steven Lone

Born and raised in San Francisco, Steven moved here to attend UC San Diego where he graduated with a degree in Theatre. Credits include Cygnet Theatre: The Virgin Trial, Pride and Prejudice, The Last Wife, The Motherf**ker with a Hat; San Diego Repertory: Roz and Ray; The La Jolla Playhouse: The Uber Driver in Car Plays: Interchange; Moonlight Stage Productions: Anna in the Tropics; Ion Theatre: The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity.

Richard Baird

Mr. Baird is an award-winning actor, director and producer. Richard served as Associate Artistic Director of Southwest Shakespeare Company 2008-09 and is the Founding Artistic Director or Poor Players Theatre Company. Richard has been seen throughout the United States in regional Theatre. Select acting credits include: New Fortune: Henry V (Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Performance and for Outstanding Direction), The Birthday Party and Les Liaisons Danegereuses. North Coast Rep: An Iliad, The Homecoming, Ben Butler, Holmes & Watson, Betrayal, Romeo and Juliet, Gabriel, Way Downriver, The Tempest; Old Globe: Dolls House; San Diego Rep: Disgraced; Backyard Renaissance: American Buffalo; Arizona Theatre Company: Disgraced, Romeo and Juliet; Santa Barbara Ensemble Theatre, Measure for Measure; Southwest Shakespeare Company: Cyrano de Bergerac (Arizoni Best Actor Winner), Taming of the Shrew (Arizoni Best Actor Winner), Othello, Tartuffe, The Winter’s Tale, The Merchant of Venice; Kingsmen Shakespeare: Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale; Portland Centre Stage: A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Oregon Shakespeare Festival: The Winters Tale, Cyrano de Bergerac, Two Gentlemen of Verona; Santa Cruz Shakespeare: Macbeth. AS YOU LIKE IT marks Mr. Baird’s 51st Shakespeare production.

Rachael Van Wormer

New Fortune Theatre: Henry V, Cygnet Theatre: Arcadia, The Matchmaker, The Little Foxes, Curse of the Starving Class; ion Theatre: In the Heat of the Night, The Woolgatherer, bash: latterday plays, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, In a Dark Dark House; Intrepid Shakespeare: Oleanna; Diversionary Theatre: Birds of a Feather, Speech & Debate, Corpus Christi, Beautiful Thing; PCPA TheaterFest: The Wizard of Oz, Lifeboat, The Reluctant Dragon; San Diego Rep: boom; Moonlight Stage Productions: The Mousetrap, You Never Can Tell; New Village Arts: Waving Goodbye, Things We Want, Time Flies, Be Aggressive, This Is Our Youth, The Playboy of the Western World, The Two Gentlemen of Verona; Moxie Theatre: Eleemosynary, The Sugar Syndrome, The Listener; North Coast Rep: A Christmas Carol; Playwrights Project: American Idyll, The Best Mistake, Lifted.

Walter Murray

New Fortune Theatre: Henry V. Walter Murray has appeared on stages in NY, LA and San Diego. He is co-founder and former Executive Director of the San Diego Black Ensemble Theater.

Taylor Henderson

TAYLOR HENDSERON (Dynamite) is feeling ultra groovy to be returning to New Fortune Theatre Company. Selected regional credits include: Home Of The Brave, Under Construction and Ojo (La Jolla Playhouse), All Shook Up (Moonlight Amphitheater), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (New Fortune Theatre Company), Loves and Hours (Scripps Ranch), American Idiot (Patio Playhouse), RENT (Mayan Hall), as well as Avenue Q and A Little Night Music (Coronado Playhouse). Huge thank you to Jeremy for allowing her to help tell a story that’s more important now than it ever was; this show is dedicated to her Hairspray Las Vegas girls for life, Jon and Brent. Inspire, Aspire! – Social Media @tayloritah

Dan Hodge

New Fortune is ecstatic to welcome Dan Hodge as our director of AS YOU LIKE IT. Dan Hodge returns to San Diego after a decade directing and acting in Philadelphia. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Artists’ Collective, one of the city’s premier homes for classical theatre, Dan holds an MFA from the Old Globe/USD. He’s excited to reunite with Richard Baird, and to work with such a fine array of San Diego theatre artists. As a director for the PAC: Duchess of Malfi, Timon of Athens, Mary Stuart, and the Rape of Lucrece, his one actor adaptation of Shakespeare’s epic poem.