LaQuin Groves (Edwin)
LaQuin is a Chicago based actor born in Los Angeles and raised there and Chicago. This is his 4th production with Lifeline Theatre where he was last seen as Vandemar in Neverwhere [2018]. You may have seen him as Edmond in Miss Holmes or as John Savage in Her Majesty’s Will. In the last year he has performed for TAI at The California Theater in San Bernardino for productions of Tarzan as Kerchick, CATS as Old Deuteronomy, and Beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. He has also played Father in Children of Eden at Performance Riverside and Bullfrog/Turkey in Honk! at Music Theater Wichita and San Gabriel CLO.
Katie McLean Hainsworth (Sherlock Holmes)
Katie has been a Lifeline ensemble member since 2006. Her adaptation of The Mark of Zorro won 2009’s New Adaptation Non-Equity Jeff Award, and she directed Watership Down, and Johnny Tremain for the Mainstage. As an actor, her favorite Lifeline productions include Miss Holmes, Monstrous Regiment, A Tale of Two Cities, Hunger, Neverwhere (2010), Mariette in Ecstasy, Gaudy Night, and Cooking With Lard. A native of Central New York, Katie has made Chicago her home since 1993, and is very excited to be revisiting this particular production in a new format, five years after its original run.
Christopher Hainsworth (Mycroft)
Lifeline Ensemble Member since 2010. Chris has been seen on the Lifeline Stage as Oliver in Talking It Over, Israel Hands in Treasure Island, Marquis de Carabas in Neverwhere (2010), Edmond Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo, Dhatt in The City & The City, Athos in The Three Musketeers, Buford/Taylor in The Killer Angels (2013), Barsad/Evermonde in A Tale of Two Cities, Mycroft in Miss Holmes, Islington in Neverwhere (2018 ext.), The Creature in Frankenstein, and Josiah Squibb in Middle Passage. He also played Bob/Mac in the Lifeline National Tour of The One and Only Ivan (2019). He directed Her Majesty’s Will in 2017. And penned the Adaptations of Hunger, Monstrous Regiment, and Midnight Cowboy for the Mainstage and Fable-ous! for the Kid Series. He also adapted and directed The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus for Lifeline’s podcast, On the Air. He has also been seen at The House Theatre of Chicago, Uma, Defiant, Steppenwolf, Crew of Patches, The Factory, The Side Project, WildClaw – where he also contributed the script The Fourth Wall to Motel 666, and Strawdog where he is an Emeritus Ensemble Member.
Abie Irabor (Mrs. Hudson/Eudora)
Abie is excited to be back working on Miss Holmes with the Lifeline Theatre fam! She is a Los Angeles native/based actress and writer. She received her MFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. She is represented by Firestarter Entertainment.
Kate Nawrocki (Lizzie/Washerwoman)
Kate is thrilled to return to Miss Holmes in this new format after appearing in the world premiere in 2016! Other Lifeline credits include Crossing California and Snowflake Tim’s Big Holiday Adventure. She has also performed with TUTA, Muse of Fire, The Plagiarists, Pegasus Theatre, Caffeine Theatre, Haven, The Griffin (Non-Equity Jeff Award, Angus Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging), and most recently Black Button Eyes Productions with Whisper House, as well as several productions with the Strange Tree Group including The Three Faces of Dr Crippen at the Steppenwolf Garage and the NYC Fringe Festival. As a director, she has worked with Transcendent Ensemble Theatre, The Plagiarists and the Strange Tree Group where she was an ensemble member, Associate Artistic Director, band member and scenic and lobby designer for a number of original and immersive productions.
Michael Reyes (Stamford)
John Henry Roberts (Thomas)
Mandy Walsh (Dr. Dorothy Watson)
Mandy is thrilled to be returning to the role of Watson with Lifeline Theatre where she has also been seen in Monstrous Regiment, Watership Down, and The Count of Monte Cristo (U/S). Other recent credits include Alabaster (16th Street Theatre), Oh Sh*t! It’s Haunted! (The Factory Theater), Noises Off (U/S – Windy City Playhouse), Traitor (U/S – A Red Orchid Theatre), and Night in Alachua County (WildClaw Theatre). She’s also worked with Strawdog Theatre, City Lit, Akvavit Theatre, and numerous others. She is an Artistic Associate with The Factory Theater and an emeritus company member of WildClaw Theatre. Mandy is represented by Big Mouth Talent, Inc.
Christopher Wayland (Lestrade)
Christopher is thrilled to breathe new life into Inspector Geoffrey Lestrade. He originated the role in his very first professional Chicago production. Since then, in the Chicago area, he has worked at Marriott Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, First Folio Theatre, 16th Street Theater, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Raven Theatre, Griffin Theatre, Teatro Vista, Haven, Story Theatre, and Stage Left Theatre. Regionally he has worked at TheatreWorks, Spotlighters Theatre, Fells Point Corner Theatre, and Baltimore Shakespeare Factory. His television credits include: The Chi (Showtime), neXt (Fox), Chicago Med (NBC), and APB (Fox). Christopher received an MFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University, and is represented by Gray Talent Group.
Christopher M. Walsh (Writer)
A member of Lifeline’s artistic ensemble since 2010, Christopher’s plays have been performed all over the United States, as well as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Turkey. Previous Lifeline playwriting credits include: Miss Holmes, Soon I Will Be Invincible, A Tale of Two Cities, The City and the City, and The Count of Monte Cristo. Other credits include: The Hunters (commissioned by WildClaw Theatre as part of Motel 666, a live horror anthology), Fracture Zone,(winner of the Deathscribe 2014 Bloody Axe Award), and Comparing Notes at the End of the World. Onstage appearances at Lifeline include The Man Who Was Thursday, Monstrous Regiment, and The Three Musketeers. Other credits include Steppenwolf Theatre, The House Theatre, The Factory Theater, and A Crew of Patches. Miss Holmes Returns, a sequel commissioned by the Greater Boston Stage Company, will hopefully premiere as soon as theaters are safe again.
Paul S. Holmquist (Director)
Paul joined the Lifeline Ensemble in 2006. Mainstage directing credits include the Lifeline MainStage productions of The Island of Dr. Moreau (winner of 5 Non-Equity Jeff Awards including Best Production-Play), Busman’s Honeymoon, Neverwhere (2008), The Moonstone, The Count of Monte Cristo, Soon I Will Be Invincible, Miss Holmes, and Frankenstein. For Lifeline’s KidSeries, Paul directed Rikki Tikki Tavi and Other Just So Stories, Flight of the Dodo, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, The Mystery of the Pirate Ghost, and Mr. Popper’s Penguins. Paul holds a BFA in Acting from the Theatre School at DePaul University and a master’s in education. He teaches high school English with Chicago Public Schools.
Becky Bishop (Stage Manager)
Becky is so glad to return for this audio drama after stage managing the original stage production of Miss Holmes. in 2016. She is frequently found at Lifeline and has also SMd Middle Passage, Frankenstein, Neverwhere (2018), Miss Buncle’s Book, Jane Eyre, Monstrous Regiment, and The City & The City. Other productions include The Plagiarist’s Choose-You-Own Adventure play Season Pass: Deaux Over, and Some Like it Red; Prowess (Jackalope); The Dead Prince, The Half Brothers Mendelssohn, Funeral Wedding: The Alvin Play (Strange Tree); Robber Bridegroom, Letters Home, and Stage Door (Griffin Theatre). Additional productions have been with Steep, Caffeine Theatre, and The Gift. She has been a non-equity stage manager in Chicago since 2006.
Keith Conrad (Sound Designer/Engineer)
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’s 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.
Bilal Dardai (Audio Drama Consultant)
Bilal is an ensemble member of Lifeline Theatre, an alumnus ensemble member of The Neo-Futurists, and a staff writer on the acclaimed audio dramas Unwell: A Midwestern Gothic Mystery (HartLife) and Alba Salix, Royal Physician (Fable & Folly). His plays include the Jeff-nominated works The Man Who Was Thursday and The Sovereign Statement, as well as the recently released Spellcast adventure for Six to Start’s Zombies, Run! fitness app. Upcoming work includes a world premiere audio adaptation of Jamyang Norbu’s The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes for Book-It Repertory in Seattle, WA, and a new production of the collaborative piece 45 Plays for America’s First Ladies for Forward Theater in Madison, WI.
Andrew Hansen (Composer)
Andrew is pleased to the return to the world of Miss Holmes. He writes music for theater in Chicago and has been a frequent collaborator with Lifeline Theatre since The Picture of Dorian Gray in 2008.
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.
