2022 Children’s Revels: Brave Night

Program Information

Artistic Team

By Kate Belden
Stage Direction by Michael O’Neill
Music Direction by Betsy Branch
Children’s Music Direction by Lynn Mendoza-Kahn

December 29: 11:00am & 1:00pm
December 30: 11:00am & 1:00pm

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Location

Brunish Theatre
1111 SW Broadway, Portland Oregon

Brave Night

Thank you for coming to our very special Revels story for children ages 2-7. We loved singing, playing and laughing away the darkness with you!

Inspired by themes from our mainstage production The Midwinter Revels: Andalusian Night, Brave Night follows three children on their magical journey through the land of dreams.

Artistic Team

Michael O’Neill

Stage Director

Artist Bio

Betsy Branch

Music Director

Artist Bio

Lynn Mendoza-Khan

Children’s Music Director

Artist Bio

Kate Belden

Playwright

Artist Bio

Cast

Allie Menzimer

Actor

Artist Bio

Elizabeth Jackson

Actor

Artist Bio

Isabel McTighe

Actor

Artist Bio

Shuhe Hawkins

Actor

Artist Bio

Tatiana Muzica

Puppeteer

Artist Bio

Stage Management and Designers

Jesi Robison

Production Stage Manager

Artist Bio

Jenn Lindell

Children’s Stage Manager

Artist Bio

Michael O’Neill

Michael O’Neill is the founder of the ArtBarn, a pilot low income artist eco village located in SE Portland OR., and Co-founder of Nomadic Theatre Co. Michael is an acting, directing, Commedia Dell’Arte, and clowning extraordinaire! Michael is armed with a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Directing from the University of Portland, and is a graduate from the prestigious Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, as well as the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre. One of Michael’s passions is Clowns Without Borders USA. He has performed with Portland Revels co-creating their Solstice Children show in past seasons. He is delighted to be directing Brave Night, the Revels Solstice Children show this year!

Betsy Branch

Betsy joined Revels in 2006. She arranges music for the Midwinter Revels chorus and instrumental groups as well as appearing on stage with her fiddle in the Midwinter Revels. Betsy has been the Music Director and played fiddle onstage for all four previous years of the Children’s Revels. She has been teaching fiddle and violin out of her Portland home since 1999, and she plays regularly for contra and English Country dances both locally and all around the country.

Lynn Mendoza-Khan

Lynn (she/her) is a classically trained professional singer, private voice teacher, composer, musical director, and choir director. She has been fostering and developing talent in singers of various ages and abilities for 20 years in San Diego, CA, and now in Portland, OR. Whether her work is on stage, private studio, choir, or in a workshop she leads with her heart, soul, and experience to inspire others in their journey with music.

Kate Belden

Kate Belden studied theatre at the University of Idaho and then was so fortunate to get to learn even more here in the city of Portland making theatre with some of the best. Portland Playwrights started her producing and writing new works and is always a home for her own work. She is so thankful to the Revels and all the clowns involved for creating such a fun opportunity and trusting her with this story. And of course, thanks go to her mother for being her first storyteller.

Allie Menzimer

A San Francisco native and graduate of Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, Allie has been a proud Portland cryptid since 2014. You may recently have seen her on the other end of a puppet in Oregon Children’s Theater’s production of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show. She is a company member of Glitter Gizzard, an all-female international theater collective, and is the co-creator of the two-woman show The Seminar With Madge and Taffy, which has toured throughout the US and Canada. She is so happy to be bringing back the light with the Portland Revels once again! Learn more at www.alliemenzimer.com

Elizabeth Jackson

Elizabeth is delighted to be working on her first project with Portland Revels. She can currently be seen onstage at Lakewood Theatre as Ruth in Blithe Spirit (running through October 16), and onscreen as Woman in Matt Smith’s The Altruist (featured on BloodyDisgustingTV). Favorite roles include Cate in Blasted, Halo in Girl in The Red Corner, both at Defunkt Theatre, and The Red Queen in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at Hip Pocket Theatre in her native Texas. She loves Portland, loves dogs, and she probably loves you too.

Isabel McTighe

Isabel Strongheart McTighe is a multidisciplinary performance artist and facilitator currently living on Cowlitz and Clackamas lands in so-called Portland, Oregon. They hold a BA in Theatre with a distinction in Performance from Lewis and Clark college and are a graduate of the 2017 From The Ground Up Young Women’s Residency. This year Isabel is delighted to be a member of the Institute for Contemporary Performance’s 2022/23 cohort. Isabel’s work is deeply informed by adrienne maree brown and the Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute. They are a pleasure activist in training and a hopeful shaper of change.

Shuhe Hawkins

Shuhe is a Portland based actor, musician, puppeteer and Pirate. He also proudly teaches mask making in schools as a teaching artist with Young Audiences of Oregon and SW Washington. Shuhe has made PDX his home since 1996 and has worked with many theatre companies over the years. His most recent performance with Portland Revels was in the role of the dragon (surprise!) in the 2021 virtual production. “I am happy to be celebrating the return of the light, live again, with my friends!” Shuhe is the co-proprietor of Seven Sails Vineyard with his partner Kate Larsen, whom he fell in love with while they both performed in the Portland Christmas Revels in 2003. Visit Seven Sails Vineyard at www.margotproductions.com

Tatiana Muzica

Tatiana Muzica was born in the Republic of Moldova, and found her love for puppetry through the PDX Puppet Collective, a wonderful community of puppeteers, located in Portland. Through her other interests such as music, dance, and a passion for nature, Tatiana brings with her a unique presence adding to the development of her character on stage.

Jesi Robison

Jesi (she/her) is a graduate of the University of Portland where she received her BA in Spanish and Theater Production Management, along with a minor in Psychology. This last year she finished working on Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio as the Puppet Production Coordinator, but she can still be found in and around the theatre, whether it be designing, performing, managing, or directing. Her most recent credits include being the Props Master for the Midwinter Revels shows as well as stage managing the children’s show Brave Night. She is so excited to be back with Revels this spring to continue making magic together.

Jenn Lindell

Jenn works as a paralegal at an immigration law office by day and is a freelance stage and production manager on nights and weekends. Since graduating from Reed College in 2014, Jenn has been happily immersed in Portland theatre, working with various companies around town. Favorite credits include Cabaret (Fuse Theatre Ensemble), King Lear (Portland Actors Ensemble), We’re All Gonna Die (The Reformers), Ghosts of Haddon Hall (Portland Revels), and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Experience Theatre Project). Jenn is a company member with The Reformers and loves making weird stuff with friends.

2022 Children’s Revels: Brave Night

Program Information

Artistic Team

Location

Brave Night

Artistic Team

Michael O’Neill

Betsy Branch

Lynn Mendoza-Khan

Kate Belden

Cast

Allie Menzimer

Elizabeth Jackson

Isabel McTighe

Shuhe Hawkins

Tatiana Muzica

Stage Management and Designers

Jesi Robison

Jenn Lindell

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Michael O’Neill

Betsy Branch

Lynn Mendoza-Khan

Kate Belden

Allie Menzimer

Elizabeth Jackson

Isabel McTighe

Shuhe Hawkins

Tatiana Muzica

Jesi Robison

Jenn Lindell