Placer Repertory Theater Announces Cast for GHOSTS OF PLACER COUNTY

Placer Repertory Theater has announced the cast for the Ghosts of Placer County mainstage world premiere, which performs the first two weekends of October in Roseville. This is the first multi-week mainstage world-premiere production for this young, but already award-winning, professional theater company in its third year of service to Placer County.

"I auditioned for Placer Repertory Theater because I am attracted to its vision, its high
bar of excellence, positive energy, warmth, and collaborative nature. Placer Rep
reminds me of why I got into the arts in the first place. I was particularly attracted to
Ghosts of Placer County because of its relevance to our community, its sharing of
history, the warm, likeable, and often hilarious characters who take us on a poignant,
timeless journey," said Kevin Foster, who plays the dysfunctional but loveable Kenny
Greene in the world premiere production. Additional cast members include Matt Heyer,
Brennan Villados, Judy Merrick, Katherine Stroller and Anne Merino.

In Ghosts of Placer County, Anne Merino plays the formidable history buff Dr. Dessa
Dagmar at age 40, 50 and 70. Audiences may recall Anne Merino as Mrs. Musgrove in
Persuasion: A Holiday Romantic Comedy in December 2021. A former internationally
touring professional ballerina, Anne's professional acting experience includes working
with Tim Robbin's The Actors' Gang, and prior actor training from Alan Rickman. She is
also the author of the novel Hawkesmoor and has won multiple awards for her
screenplay "A Season for Wolves."

Dr. Dagmar's daughter who seeks to get out from under her mother's shadow, Aubrey, is
played by Katherine Stroller, whose local professional credits include the role of Laura in
The Glass Menagerie for Sacramento Theater Company. Joining Aubrey onstage as
Guide-Master Jack, the Army veteran and surrogate father figure, and her quirky first
and second husbands Damon and Raymond, is Brennan Villados. Audiences may have
seen him as Patrick Stone in Inventing Van Gogh with Big Idea Theatre. Matt Heyer,
who performs regularly with Placer Repertory Theater, understudies the Guide-Master
Jack track, as well as Kenny Greene. Judy Merrick understudies Dr. Dagmar and
Aubrey. Judy's professional credits include over 10 years in New York off-broadway
theaters such as Playwrights Horizons and the best actress award for her performance
in Knuckleball at the Traverse Theatre Fringe Festival in Scotland.

"Producing professional theater is costly, but those dollars stir and grow the economy as
we hire and purchase locally, and professional theater attracts out-of-county dollars that
are spent at local businesses. Placer County has reached a critical mass such that it
deserves and can support a professional theater company. We are so grateful for the
opportunity to serve, and hope we make everyone in the community Placer County
Proud," said Ghosts director/playwright, Teresa Stirling Forsyth. Placer Rep is very
honored to have received two Arts Council Placer County individual artist grants, the
Gloria Burt Sacramento Region Arts Fellowship in Literature, and donations from Armrod
Charitable Trust to help support the development of this professional mainstage world
premiere - an historic first for Placer County. "In addition to monetary support, in-kind
support from Oakmont High School's Jackie MacKusick, and our partners, friends and
local businesses has been much appreciated. Particularly, we want to give a big SHOUT
OUT to Tamraloo Studios of Lincoln for use of their space for rehearsals. Thanks to all
the support received, this will be an engaging and transformational show not to be
missed," said Teresa. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.com
(https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ghosts-of-placer-county-tickets-408874423407).

Placer Repertory Theater (https://PlacerRep.org) is a regional award-winning
professional theater company that servers Placer County and the greater Sacramento
metro area. A 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Placer Rep's mission is to offer
educational and quality-of-life enriching professional performing arts and cultural
programs relevant to the people of Placer County, while supporting local organizations
and acting as an economic engine for the area. Follow Placer Repertory Theater on
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram: @PlacerRep, and subscribe to our YouTube
Channel to access our digital recordings.

TERESA STIRLING FORSYTH - Director / Playwright
MFA, MS, is an award-winning & critically acclaimed professional director/playwright who plays the role of Producing Artistic Director for Placer Repertory Theater. Previously, the artistic director for two San Francisco theater companies, her performing arts background includes international tours as an actor/singer/dancer, and director/playwright
for national and international touring productions with renowned performing artists, such as Brenda Wong Aoki, and Equity theater companies like Dell'Arte Players. As an educator, she has instructed and/or directed at UC Davis, University of San Francisco, University of
Minnesota, and other educational institutions. Projects on which Forsyth worked performed at venues such as the Kennedy Center, Dallas Theatre Center, San Diego Repertory Theater, and many other renowned venues, with the works receiving Dramalogue Awards, Critics Circle Awards, Broadway World Awards, Indy Award: Best Spoken Word Album, as well as numerous grants from the NEA, NEH, CAC, ACPC and corporations. She is a member of the professional organizations: Stage Directors & Choreographers Society (SDC), The Dramatists Guild (DG), The Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), TCG and NNPN/New Play Exchange.

ACTOR BIOS

KEVIN FOSTER - Kenny Greene
Kevin Foster is a Rocklin local and Sacramento area native, excited to work at Placer Repertory as Outreach Director and in various other capacities. He began training in acting at UC Davis while earning his B.A. in Music Performance. After graduation and his return from a professional stint in New York, he performed at Davis Musical Theater Company in Peter Pan, The King and I, Damn Yankees, and the Elly Award winning production of Chicago. His other credits include The Importance of Being Earnest at Chautauqua Playhouse and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Sacramento Theater
company, where he taught youth theater classes. He played Bridgers in New Beginnings, Dr. Watson in An Evening with Sherlock Holmes, and he may be seen online in Placer Rep's digital series Sherlock Holmes: Domestic Mysteries on YouTube.

ANNE MERINO - Dr. Dessa Dagmar
Merino danced for the American Ballet Theatre and London Festival Ballet and won the Vanguard Award for Choreography. Merino's traditional theatrical training was received at Chicago's Goodman Theatre, Second City with Del Close and Jim Belushi and under Alan
Rickman at the British American Drama Academy. As an actress, and former member of AEA, SAG/AFTRA, Ms. Merino performed with The Groundlings and Tim Robbins' The Actors' Gang and is a member of the theatre faculty at William Jessup University.

KATHERINE STROLLER - Aubrey Emersyn Dagmar
Katherine is thrilled to be joining Placer Rep for this new work, Ghosts of Placer County! She received her B.A. in Dramatic Art from UC Davis and is a graduate of Foothill Theatre Conservatory. Favorite past roles include Portia from The Merchant of Venice, Mindy from Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, Cathleen in Long Day's Journey into Night, and The
Woman from The Woman in Black. When she is not acting, Katherine is a character
movement coach and writer. Learn more at katherinestroller.com. Former member of
Actors Equity Association.

BRENNAN VILLADOS - Guide-Master Jack / Liam / Damon / Raymond
Brennan's most recent acting credits include The Picture of Dorian Gray with Freefall Stage, A Soldier's Play with Celebration Arts, and Marat/Sade with Falcon's Eye Theatre. Brennan made his directorial debut in 2019 with Romeo and Juliet for Freefall Stage's Shakespeare in the park. He attended The American Academy of Dramatic Art and has worked for the UC Davis School of Medicine Standardized Patient Program for eight years. One of his favorite roles is Patrick Stone in Inventing Van Gogh with Big Idea Theatre. This is his first performance with Placer Repertory Theater.

Judy Merrick-Dr. Dagmar / Aubrey (understudy)
Judy worked for 13 years in New York as a performer and director. Her favorite credits include Portia in Merchant of Venice (Santa Monica Playhouse) and Lysander in Midsummer Night's Dream (RADA). She co-founded the NYC theatre Company, The Amoralist, and some of her credits include The Cheaters Club, Adam Rapp's Ghost in the
CottonWoods and Bring Us the Head of Your Daughter. Judy also worked at Playwrights Horizons, and the Manhattan Theatre Club, and toured with Knuckleball, which won best show, and she best actress, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. With an MFA from USC, she trained at RADA and AADA in NY. Recently, Judy performed in Persephone's Tale with her new Nevada City theater company House of Fates, and currently teaches and performs improv with the House of Yes in Nevada City.

MATTHEW HEYER - Kenny Greene / Guide Master Jack track (understudy)
Graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he received his BFA in Theatre, Matthew won the Irene Ryan award for his ensemble work in 2018 and for his performance as Elliot in Completeness in 2019.His favorite mainstage productions include Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire, Charles in As You Like It, Thomas Putnam in The Crucible, and Shakespeare in The Bard on Broadway. Matt studied IPA and performs duties as a Dialect Coach for Placer Repertory Theater productions. As an actor, for Placer Rep in 2021, Matthew has played the characters George and Milo in From the Mind of Scott Charles, and the title role in "An Evening with Sherlock Holmes" featuring a new play based on The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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