David Adams (Martin)
David is excited to be making his Lifeline Theatre Company debut. David is a native of New York City. Some of his previous credits include: Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil, Why Black Men Play Basketball, Pill Hill, In The Wine Time (ETA); The Cherry Orchard, Radio Golf (Raven Theatre); The African Company Presents Richard III, Elmina’s Kitchen, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Congo Square Theatre Company); Weekend, House With No Walls (Timeline). He has received several nominations and awards from the African American Arts Alliance and The Black Theatre Alliance as well as a recipient of a 3Arts Illinois Relief Fund Grant. He thanks the staff at Lifeline for the work they did for this production and for the work they do for the community at large.
Patrick Blashill (Father)
Patrick (he/him) is an ensemble member with Lifeline for 25 years and has performed in roughly 40 productions during that time, some favorites include The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Talisman Ring, Neverwhere, Midnight Cowboy, Ferdinand, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, and Middle Passage. Other Chicago credits include Long Days Journey into Night (Eclipse), Much Ado about Nothing (Oak Park Festival Theater), The God of Isaac (Victory Gardens), Blue Stockings (Promethean Theater), Euridyce (Filament Theater), The Harvest (Griffin Theater) and May the Road Ride Up (Factory Theater). Patrick has also appeared on Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, and Empire and is represented by the Gray Talent Group.
Bilal Dardai (Herni/Andrej | Audio Drama Consultant)
Bilal has been a Lifeline ensemble member since 2017. His work for Lifeline has included writing the adaptation for The Man Who Was Thursday and roles as performer and/or consultant for the company’s audio productions of The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, Miss Holmes, Sense & Sensibility, and a collection of short stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe. He is an alumnus ensemble member and former artistic director for The Neo-Futurists, and is also a staff writer for acclaimed audio productions Unwell (2020 winner of the BBC Audio Award for “Best Podcast/Online Drama”), Alba Salix, Royal Physician, and The Imagine Neighborhood. Bilal is the creator of Spellcast, an audio production within Six to Start’s Zombies! Run fitness app, and the adaptor of Book-It Repertory’s recent audio production of The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes. Bilal has been nominated for four Joseph Jefferson Awards as a writer and actor, and has appeared onscreen in independent films Unexpected (dir. Kris Swanberg, 2015) and Operator (dir. Logan Kibens, 2016).
Gabriela Diaz (Bertha/Janna/Peasant)
Gabriela is so excited to be making her Lifeline debut. Previous credits include: Thin Mints (Greenhouse Theatre Center); Always, Patsy Cline (Firebrand Theatre u/s); Bury Me (Dandelion Theatre); Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (Bower Theatre); La Ruta (Steppenwolf u/s); The Escape (Art Institute of Chicago); The Wolf At The End of the Block (16th Street Theatre); 50 Shades of Shakespeare (rediscover theatre); Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding (Chicago Theatre Works); In The Heights (R-S Theatrics); Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Found At Sea (Shakespeare Festival St. Louis). Gabriela received a BFA in Acting from Webster Conservatory and is represented by Lily’s Talent Agency.
LaQuin Groves (General Speilsdorf/Baron Vordenburg)
LaQuin returns to Lifeline where he has been seen in Middle Passage, Neverwhere [2018], Her Majesty’s Will, and Miss Holmes. Other recent credits include: Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, and CATS for Theatrical Arts in California. He is looking forward to another fine collaboration with Lifeline and this talented cast.
Destini Huston (Laura/Young Laura)
Destini is excited to be working with Lifeline Theatre for the first time! Most recent Chicago credits include Ohio State Murders (Goodman Theatre), Cardboard Piano (TimeLine Theatre), Linda (Steep Theatre), ID: Images of Diversity (Steep & Chicago Sinfonietta), Breath Boom (Eclipse Theatre). Recent onscreen credits include Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and The Onion. Destini was also awarded Best Actress in a Drama Series for pilot, Public Housing Unit at Series Fest Colorado. www.destinihuston.com
Michaela Petro (Carmilla)
Michaela returns to Lifeline after their 2018 production of Neverwhere, as well as Monstrous Regiment in 2014. She’s spent stage time at Haven Theatre, Writers Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Strawdog Theatre, Wildclaw Theatre, Mary-Arrchie Theatre, Interrobang Theatre Project, Red Tape Theatre, Lakeside Shakespeare & Cole Theatre. Her passion outside of theatre is teaching self-defense with For Womxn, By Womxn, a female-led, inclusive program designed to empower. She’s represented by Big Mouth Talent. www.macpetro.com
Josh Razavi (Dr. Hesselius/Matska)
Josh is thrilled to be making his Lifeline Theatre debut with Carmilla! A now-seasoned resident of Chicago (by way of Missouri), he received his BA in Acting from Illinois State University and has trained and performed with The Second City and iO Chicago. Prior to theater closures, his recent credits include: Hell Followed With Her (Wildclaw Theater u/s), PROPHET$ (Factory Theater u/s). TV Credits: Empire, Chicago Fire, and Chicago Justice. Proud member of SAG-AFTRA. Represented by Stewart Talent. @JoshRzv
Jenifer Tyler (Madam Perrodon/Mother)
Jenifer has been a Lifeline ensemble member since 2001. She has been delighted to appear as Harriet Vane in the Dorothy Sayers’ mysteries Strong Poison (2004), Gaudy Night (2006), and Busman’s Honeymoon (2009). Other Lifeline credits include: Mina in Dracula; Lydia in Pride and Prejudice; Kitty in Cotillion; Jane in Jane Eyre (Non-Equity Joseph Jefferson Award: Outstanding Actress in a Principal Role); Ida/Phyllis in Trust Me on This; Bathsheba in Far From the Madding Crowd, and Estelle in Mrs. Caliban. She also directed the KidSeries production of The Velveteen Rabbit. Most recently, Jenifer was seen in Lifeline’s production of Pride & Prejudice: A Virtual Play.
Aly Renee Amidei (Adaptor)
Aly is a proud ensemble member of Lifeline Theatre. Previous playwriting at Lifeline includes Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters and Bunny’s Book Club. She is the Associate Professor of Costume Design at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte since 2015 with an MFA in Costume Design from Carnegie Mellon University in 2000. Carmilla first began as a staged production in 2011 by WildClaw Theatre. It was also produced at the College of Dupage in 2015 and premiered in audio drama format in April of 2021 at Transylvania University.
Scott Cummins (Director)
Scott has been involved in over 90 productions throughout the United States either as an actor, director and/or fight choreographer and is an Artistic Associate for both WildClaw Theatre Company and Lakeside Shakespeare Theatre, and a company member of Vs. Theatre Company. He directed the World Premiere of Carmilla for WildClaw Theatre Company in 2011. Other Chicago productions including the Midwest premiere of Scenes From The Big Picture for Seanachai Theatre and I’m Spritual Dammit by Jennifer Weigel for Route 66 Theatre. Recently, he directed Pool Boy by Wendy Hopkins for Lost Angels Theatre in Los Angeles, as well as True West at Vs. Theatre Company.
Kate Reed (Stage Manager)
Kate is excited to be working with Lifeline again after most recently stage managing last season’s Sense & Sensibility (audio drama). Her Lifeline credits include several MainStage productions: Emma, Her Majesty’s Will, Northanger Abbey, Soon I Will Be Invincible, One Came Home, Jane Eyre [2014], and Monstrous Regiment. Her other Chicago area credits include work with Griffin Theatre Company, Mudlark Theater, The Side Project, and Northwestern University. She has a degree in Performance Studies from Northwestern.
Keith Conrad (Sound Designer/Engineer)
Keith Conrad is the Sound Designer and Audio Engineer for Carmilla. He has produced radio shows in Huntsville, AL, Milwaukee, WI, Atlanta, GA and Chicago, IL He currently produces the Garry Meier podcast, the new podcast series “The Fitz Files – Manhunt: Unabomber” with former FBI Profiler James Fitzgerald, which releases in April 2021 and acts as the Sound Designer for the Lifeline On The Air podcast. He also hosts two podcasts, “The Greatest Story Ever Podcast” and “Time Enough At Last: Re-Watching The Twilight Zone” and has recently written his first novel, Righteous Might, which was released in the Summer of 2020.
Elise Kauzlaric (Dialect Coach)
Elise has been a member of Lifeline’s artistic ensemble since 2005 and has coached numerous productions (The Killer Angels, The Moonstone, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Mark of Zorro, The Piano Tuner, et al). She has also coached for Steppenwolf, Marriott Theatre, TimeLine, Irish Theatre of Chicago, Griffin Theatre, the Hypocrites and others. Twice nominated for Non-Equity Jeff Awards for her dialect work (Busman’s Honeymoon at Lifeline and Punk Rock at Griffin), she also directs and acts around town and has received NE Jeff nominations for her direction of Northanger Abbey and Mariette in Ecstasy (Lifeline) as well as a Supporting Actress nomination for her work in On the Shore of the Wide World (Griffin). Elise also teaches at CCPA at Roosevelt University.
Amelia Ablan (Production Manager)
