Sophia Blum

Originally from Rhode Island, Sophia now lives in Brooklyn. Off Broadway: Vilna (Theatre at St Clement’s), understudy in Public Enemy (The Pearl Theater Co) Regional: The Bungler, Henry IV Part I, Shakespeare LIVE! (The Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey); Antony and Cleopatra (Orlando Shakespeare Theater); King Lear, CSC2’s Romeo and Juliet (Commonwealth Shakespeare Theater); Breaking Legs (Ocean State Theater Company); Look for her this fall in the film, 21 Brides starring Chadwick Boseman.

 Ezra Barnes  is a New York actor, the Founder and Artistic Director of Shakespeare on the Sound for thirteen seasons, and the 2018 winner of the Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Director (The Diary of Anne Frank). In addition, his production of Fraser Grace's Breakfast with Mugabe, which he also acted in, was nominated for Best New Play by the Off-Broadway Alliance and was a Critic's Pick for the NY Times and Time Out. He is director of the Young Actors Workshop Brooklyn.

 Sean Edward Evans is a New York-based actor from Los Angeles. His recent stage work includes "Conrad" in Aaron Posner's Stupid Fucking Bird, "Camillo" in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale and  “Cohen” in Steve Martin’s The Underpants where he was nominated for a Broadway World Regional Award for Best Actor. Studio trained, Sean has starred in many independent shorts and web series including “The Mailroom,” directed by Sarah Hamblin (The Daily Show With Trevor Noah.) 

 Michael Sean McGuinness  

TV/Film: The Plot Against America, City on a Hill, The Good Fight, New Amsterdam, The Blacklist, Frasier, Law and Order, Terry Tate Office Linebacker, Double Header, The Guiding Light, As The World Turns.

Theatre: The Stage Manager in A Wilder Christmas at Peccadillo Theatre; Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest at The Pearl Theatre; U. S. Grant in Grant and Twain at PS21; Tolstoy in The Gospel According to Jefferson, Dickens and Tolstoy: Discord at Chester Theatre; Prospero in The Tempest at Vermont Shakespeare; Malvolio in Twelfth Night at Pig Iron Theatre; Iago inOthello at Philadelphia Area Repertory.

Education/Training: BFA Acting, New York University; Stella Adler.        

Anthony Michael Martinez   

Off-Broadway: Romeo & Juliet (Classic Stage Co.),  I'll Be Damned (Vineyard Theatre), Restoration Comedy (Flea Theater). Recent credits include: Will Shakespeare in Shakespeare In Love (Illinois Shakespeare Festival), Antony & Cleopatra (Folger Theatre), Antigone (Miami New Drama),Native Gardens(Florida Rep), Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare Theatre of NJ). He holds a MFA in Acting from Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting at The George Washington University.  

  Jay William Thomas was born in Lexington, KY.  Jay attended Western Kentucky University and obtained a BFA double Major in Acting and Directing. Jay resides in New York, NY and has worked on stage, in film, & television. He is best known for his work in "Dementia 13" a remake of Francis Ford Coppola's cult classic produced by NBC universal. Jay has produced his own short film "FOR HOPE" currently competing in the festival circuit. Jay is currently working on a new script called #ROMANCE about millennial relationships and how social media influences them. Jay most recently performed and produced a two night contemporary scene performance called "Sew Buttons on Ice Cream" that was a charity benefit for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Jay would to thank the Heloise artistic team for putting together this amazing group of people. Lastly, Jay would like to thank Chessa for her unending support.  

William Brenner 

Off-Broadway: Incident at Vichy(Jewish Rep); David Edgar’s Mary Barnes (New York premiere); Visions of Kerouac; Marathon ’33 (Lion Theatre Company). Regional: Denver Center Theatre Company; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Shakespeare Festival of Dallas; GeVa Theatre, Rochester, others. He is a member of the Brooklyn-based site-specific Brave New World Repertory Theatre, for whom he has played Giles Corey in The Crucible, Gonzalo in The Tempest, and Justice Shallow in The Merry Wives of Windsor (Terrace). Mr. Brenner is a baritone who sings with Grace Chorale of Brooklyn.

 Damani Varnado, a Northern California native, is currently based in New York City. He started his training under the tutelage of James Dunn at The College of Marin, with a focus on Shakespeare. He received scholarships from Irene Ryan and Robin Williams to attend the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studied Theatre, Film and Movement. He has worked with The Classical Theater of Harlem in Alfred Preisser’s production of The Trojan Women. He played Julius Caesar in the Mo Sun production at The Beckett Theatre Festival. And he has found a niche in European TV advertisements—and was a featured actor in the film I Am Not My Mother. Most recently, he was featured in the CBS Television showBull, and  he will be featured in an upcoming episode of the new television series “The Hunt,” produced by Jordan Peele, staring Al Pacino     

 Marika Proctor is a Brooklyn-based actor and writer. Most recently, she appeared in As You Like It at the Guthrie Theater. Marika was a member of the Professional Training Company at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, where she worked with playwrights Jaclyn Backhaus, Brian Otaño, Dipika Guha, and Jason Gray Platt as part of the Humana Festival. She has performed her original, character-driven pieces “Otto in D Major” and “Pete Presents” in New York and regionally.  

Lauren Pisano 

NY: Juliet + Romeo (Pocket Universe), Regional: Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet (Vermont Shakespeare Festival), Orson Welles/Shylock (Redhouse Arts Center), UK: world premiere of Whistleblower (Off West End). She also does voiceover, independent film, and has appeared in web content for Elite Daily and Glamour Mag. Lauren holds an MFA in Acting from East 15 Acting School, London.