2019 Hamlet Cast Bios
Lorenzo is a New York based actor who has worked regionally and internationally. He holds a BFA in Acting from the UNC School of the Arts(Go Fighting Pickles!) He is so grateful to Indy Shakes and the entire Indy community for welcoming him with open arms.
Jen is thrilled to return Indy Shakes with this production after her debut with the company in Coriolanus last summer. Locally she has appeared in several productions at the Indiana Repertory Theatre and at the Phoenix Theatre. She has also performed at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the Human Race Theatre, Geva Theatre Center, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, and her next stop is The Kitchen Theatre in Ithaca, NY. She is also on the board of a new theatre company, American Lives Theatre. americanlivestheatre.org Jen lives in Indy with her best friend and husband Rob and their pup and kit, Olive and Mr. Tibbs. Thank you Diane and Ryan and thanks to the entire team and cast and fantastic interns. Indy Shakes is a true gem.
Abdul-Khaliq Murtadha has enjoyed various classical and contemporary roles in regional and repertory theatres across the country and is delighted to be making his debut appearance at IndyShakes. Past Shakespeare roles include: Othello, Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, Jacques in As You Like It, Escalus in Measure for Measure, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Valentine in Two Gentlemen of Verona. A few of his most recent roles include Orsino in Twelfth Night at Pioneer Theatre Co.(Salt Lake City), Martin Luther King, Jr. in Mountaintop at WBTT (Sarasota) , James T in Barbecue at the Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis), Macduff in Macbeth for Ensemble Theatre Co. (Santa Barbara), and Martin Luther King, Jr. in the LBJ plays - All the Way and The Great Society , as well as Dr. Prentice in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner at Asolo Rep in (Sarasota). Some of his TV and Film credits include: NCIS-LA, All My Children, Raising the Bar, The Unit, Medium, Numb3rs, and the current streaming feature – 8989 Redstone. (Amazon Prime). Awards include Best Actor - New Orleans Short film festival - In the Wind; NAACP Award: Best Ensemble - All My Sons (playing Chris Keller) at The Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles. He was recently the Featured Guest Artist for the Africana Repertory Theatre of IUPUI where he directed The People Speak/ Voices of the African Diaspora. He is an ensemble member of the Fonseca Theatre Company in Indianapolis and his interactive multimedia play The American Muslim Project was the resident umbrella project for the 2019 Indy Convergence. BA – Indiana University, Bloomington; MFA – University of California, San Diego ** Member: AEA, SAGAFTRA
Joshua is grateful to be working with Indy Shakes again; he played Jacques in 2017’s As You Like It. He’s also been seen at the Phoenix Theatre, IRT, and Brown County Playhouse. Much love and thanks to Charles for everything!
LaKesha Lorene is honored to be cast as Ophelia in Indy Shakes production of Hamlet! Lorene works in stage and film while owning production company Loving Life Productions LLC. Her recent stage credits include, Barbecue, Fairfield, and The Ballad of Klook and Vinette. She is appreciative to Diane and Ryan for this opportunity. She is grateful to God for allowing her to do meaningful art professionally along with her family, and Drew for their continued love and support.
Ryan Claus (Laertes/Musician) is a local Indianapolis actor. Indy Shakes credits include As You Like It (Orlando), Coriolanus (Ensemble), Macbeth (Malcolm/Witch), and Winter’s Tale (Florizel). He would like to thank his family for their support.
Indiana Repertory Credits: YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU (Essie), A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Martha, Et. Al) NOISES OFF (Poppy) , THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME* (Punk Girl, Et. Al) **Co-production with Syracuse Stage. Other credits: New York Theatre Workshop staged reading of WE LIVE IN CAIRO; Illinois Shakespeare Festival's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (First Fairy) and I HEART JULIET (Lady Montague and Nanna); Colorado credits: A CHRISTMAS CAROL and the world premier of James Still's APPOGGIATURA (Kate and Musician) at the Denver Center for Performing Arts; THE HAPPIEST SONG PLAYS LAST (Shar) at Curious Theatre Company; GUYS AND DOLLS (Adelaide), DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS (Jolene), AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (Johnna) at Creede Repertory Theatre.
Zachariah is an Indianapolis-based actor, and this is his third production with IndyShakes. He has appeared at the Indiana Repertory Theatre, Phoenix Theatre, Cardinal Stage, Storefront Theatre of Indianapolis, EclecticPond, Wisdom Tooth Theatre Project, Catalyst Repertory, Newfields, Indiana Historical Society, and the Act Out Ensemble. Love and thanks to Audrey.
Scot is an Indy Shakes Company member, having appeared in The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, A Winter’s Tale, and Coriolanus. Other credits include Buyer and Cellar, An Act of God, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Urinetown, and many others (Phoenix Theatre); The Santaland Diaries, The Grapes of Wrath, and Little Shop of Horrors (Cardinal Stage Company), and The Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Three Musketeers, You Can’t Take It With You, and A Christmas Carol (Indiana Repertory Theatre). Scot lives in the historic Holy Cross neighborhood with his partner Zack & their dog Minnie.
IndyShakes Past Credit: Winter’s Tale Local credits include ComedySportz, A Very Phoenix Xmas 13 (Phoenix Theatre), Complete History of Comedy: Abridged (Cardinal Stage), All the Best, Jack (Nova), The Great Bike Race (Zach & Zack), Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged (Civic), Drankspeare (EclecticPond), Gal Pal Comedy Festival (CSz Indianapolis), and Red Curb Comedy. Many thanks to the beautiful cast and crew for their energy, imaginations, and patience. Frankie is an Indiana native who trained at AMDA NYC and with Phoenix Theatre in the Meisner Technique.
Jo Bennett (they/them) is an actor, voice-actor, professional storyteller, and theater educator based in the Midwest. They graduated from Butler University with a bachelor's degree in Theater. Recent performances include Charles/Phebe in As You Like It, Leonata/Boracchio in Much Ado About Nothing, & Lady Macbeth in Macbeth for Indyshakes' Traveling Troupe '18-'19. They also appeared in All the Best, Jack with Nova Theater Company, Sweat with Human Race Theater Company, & Barbecue with the Phoenix Theater of Indianapolis. Jo would like to thank their brilliant brothers Noah & Jonah Winston for their love & support and their wonderful partner James Bennett for keeping them steady through a busy year bustling with beautiful Shakespeare.
Alexandria Miles is very thankful to be working with Indy Shakes for the first time! The Indiana State University alum will begin an MFA program at the University of New Orleans for theatre performance this fall.
Kelsey Leigh Miller makes her Indy Shakes debut with this wonderful team. Recent credits include ‘The Christians’ (Phoenix Theatre) & ‘Speaking for Myself’ (Summit Performance). Up next is ‘Pilgrims’ with Storefront Theatre. Thank you to Ryan and Diane for bringing me on board. Thank you to Ronn for the foundation. And thank you to Adam for the strength and support.
Sally is thrilled to make her Indy Shakes debut! Local credits include The Phoenix Theatre, ATI, Q Artistry, Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre, Indy Fringe, Bobdirex, etc. Instructor @purebarrebroadripple, Butler grad, proud mama of Finn, 2.5.
