ABOUT THE CAST
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DWIGHT CHILES
Harlowe Dexter-Ward/Ghost Mom

Dwight Chiles is excited to return to The Magnetic Theatre to book end their year! You may have seen them earlier this season in Happyland! Dwight is an Director/Actor/Designer in town and has worked with many companies all over WNC. Most recently, they directed The Tempest for Montford Park Players. Up next, they will be directing New Queens Eve here at The Magnetic Theatre! Thanks for supporting The Magnetic and their effort to bring new works to life on stage. It's alive! It's AliiiiiiiIIIIIIIiiiiive!!!

ASHLEIGH GOFF
Mother Ironwood/Amy Anthrax/Lethalia Abbums

Ashleigh Goff has been doing theatre in one way, shape, or form since she was still single digits. Ash has been onstage, off stage, backstage — you name it, she's done it. Some of her favorite recent off stage mentions include directing Starbright & Fish at The Magnetic, and costuming for Caroling by Gaslight at The Magnetic and Wendy & Peter at Montford Park Players. Ashleigh is the founding Artistic Director of the Montford Moppets Youth Shakespeare Company, a youth focused classical theatre company here in Asheville, and wishes them a FANTASITC success on the opening of Romeo and Juliet in Memoriam (running the same time frame as The Splatter Play)! Ashleigh is immensely proud of the Moppets, The cast and crew of The Splatter Play, and herself for getting all this shit done. She is so excited to share this stage and creative process with her love, Skyler, and now with all of you!

SKYLER GOFF
Dr. Diabolus/Romero Abbums

Skyler Goff is a local director, playwright, and performer. He recently opened the 51st season of The Montford Park Players with his play, Wendy and Peter, co-written and directed by Sami Mills. He is thrilled to be in this production with his fellow gore enthusiast and life long partner, Ashleigh Goff.

MORGAN MILLER
Tina

Favorite roles include: The Frankenstein Rubrics, Happyland, and Fish at The Magnetic Theatre; Oliver, All Shook Up, Big Fish, and Spamalot at HART; and Boeing Boeing, Sherwood:The Adventures of Robin Hood, and The Star Spangled Girl at Parkway Playhouse. She would like to thank her partner Ben and her family and friends for all of their love and support. 

JASON PHILLIPS
Uncle Ivill

Jason Phillips studied theatre at Southwestern University. He has worked in Austin, TX with the Rude Mechanicals and Vortex Theatre, and in Chicago with Lifeline Theatre. He has over 30 years experience as an actor, director, and writer. He directed the world premiere of HappyLand! here at The Magnetic Theatre. He was most recently onstage at The Magnetic Theatre as Charlie in Fish and Scrooge in Caroling by Gaslight. He has also performed at Parkway Playhouse as Little John in Sherwood and as a principal in Working: The Musical. He is thrilled to be working on this production with this amazing cast and crew, especially his daughter, Daphodil. He would like to thank Cullen for all his love and support every darned time he does a show.

JERED SHULTS
D4-DDY/Agent/Presenter/Box Office Manager

Jered is excited to return to his home theater: The Magnetic. He has been an actor in the WNC area for twelve years and has had the privilege of working with multiple theaters, such as Montford Park Players, Parkway Playhouse, and Attic Salt. He is very excited to be a part of this wonderful show and honored to work with some of the best actors in the area. Jered would like to thank his wonderful partner Olivia, his supportive parents and friends, and most importantly the audience. Thank you for coming and enjoy the show.

ERIN MCCARSON
Mr. Levinsky

Erin McCarson hails from Yadkinville, North Carolina. She grew up with cows in her backyard, as good girls should. Erin is an actor, writer, director, and artist currently based in Western North Carolina. Erin studied dramatic arts and communication studies with a focus on performing arts at UNC Chapel Hill. She studied musical theater at New York University and has trained with many industry professionals through the years. She enjoyed over a decade working on stage, film, and television projects in NYC before moving to WNC. Locally, she has worked with HART, The Magnetic Theatre, NC Stage Company, Immediate Theatre Project, Mountain Art Theater, and Nemesis Theatre Company. Thank you Jess, Evan, Abby, and all my besties in this bonkers talented cast and crew! I love you Luis and Coop! www.ErinMcCarson.com

DANIEL MOORE
Hames Blonde

Daniel Moore is a Mars Hill based actor & director who studied theatre at Greensboro College. Some of his most recent acting credits include; Joe Buck Allen in Southern Appalachian Christmas at SART & Lord Byron in Frankenstein Rubrics here at The Magnetic Theatre. He was an actor & director for the dramatic series How to be a Human, or at Least Try at NC Stage. He’s been a featured director four times with The Magnetic Theatre’s Annual One Act Play Festival. 

DAPHODIL PHILLIPS-SPRAGUE
Pooky/Beppo

Daphodil is delighted to do her second show, The Splatter Play, with The Magnetic. She first appeared at Montford Park Players in 2018 as Little Fan in A Christmas Carol. She was part of the ensemble in Sherwood at Parkway Playhouse and played Alyx in something i cared about with Magnetic. She has played various roles while at Tanglewood and other performing arts camps. Most recently, she’s performed in The Moppets One Act Festival in the spring and Wendy and Peter as Cookson and a Druid. She is a rising 8th grader this year at The Franklin School of Innovation and enjoys reading, dance, and talking to her friends when not performing.

MELON WEDICK
Realtor

Melon Wedick is excited to appear onstage for the first time since 2019! Previous roles include The Bear in Sixteen Years Tried, Mark Antony in Julius Caesar, and Marianne in Constellations. As the Artistic Director of Nemesis Theatre Company, Melon spends most of her time directing and teaching Shakespeare, so being elbow-deep in gore and monsters is a welcome treat!

 
PRODUCTION TEAM
Playwright & Sound & Lighting Designer Abby Auman
Director Jessica Johnson
Stage Manager Evan Eckstrom
Assistant Stage Manager & Dramaturgy Sarah Hajkowski
Set Designer Tyler Johnson
Scenic Dressing Amanda Brown
Composer Zach Knox
Costume Designers Ashleigh Goff, Christine Caldemeyer
Fight Choreographer Jered Shults
Props Designer & Puppetry Skyler Goff
Puppetry Katie Jones
Board Operator Maddie Anderson
Projections & Media Jennifer Bennett
Special Effects Brandon McIver, Tyler Johnson, Abby Auman
Production Assistant Quinn Terry

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION TEAM

MADDIE ANDERSON (Board Operator) - Maddie received her technical theatre degree from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2021. She has been working as a freelance lighting designer and technician for live theatre, music, and dance in the WNC area since then, and recently moved to Asheville to be closer to the art scene. She is looking forward to being a part of this wild, immersive, and intensely interesting piece.

ABBY AUMAN (Playwright, Sound & Lighting Designer, Special Effects) - Abby is the Technical Director of The Magnetic Theatre. She also works as a lighting designer in theaters all over WNC.

JENNIFER BENNETT (Projections & Media) - Jennifer Bennett, aka JenBen, is a designer and photographer living outside of Asheville, North Carolina. She's spent decades designing maps, buildings, games, festivals, merch, and just about any other type of thing you can imagine. Her focus these days is on the performing arts by helping artists and arts organizations meet their potential through creative and practical support. 

AMANDA BROWN (Scenic Dressing) - Amanda likes to get involved in all sorts of creative projects, especially with her friends.

CHRISTINE CALDEMEYER (Costume Designer) - Is beyond delighted to crawl out of artistic hibernation to help work on this show! Watching this play grow from a hilarious idea into fully animated madness has been a wonderful experience. It’s singularly the zaniest show I have ever had the pleasure of working on, and I am beyond proud of my wife for sharing it with the world. The Magnetic holds a special place in my heart, and I’m so happy to do the mad dash again with the brilliant creatives who work here. 

EVAN ECKSTROM (Stage Manager) - Evan is thrilled to be working behind the scenes on such a production-heavy show. The last time he acted as stage manager was for his own small company, Strange News Theatre, in Boston, MA. Since then he's gotten to work on lots of props and set construction. Thanks always to Emily for supporting me in my passion!

ASHLEIGH GOFF (Costume Designer) - Ashleigh Goff has been doing theatre in one way, shape, or form since she was still single digits. Ash has been onstage, off stage, backstage — you name it, she's done it. Some of her favorite recent off stage mentions include directing Starbright & Fish at the Magnetic and costuming for Caroling by Gaslight at The Magnetic and Wendy & Peter at Montford Park Players. Ashleigh is the founding Artistic Director of the Montford Moppets Youth Shakespeare Company, a youth focused classical theatre company here in Asheville, and wishes them a FANTASITC success on the opening of Romeo and Juliet in Memoriam (running the same time frame as The Splatter Play)! Ashleigh is immensely proud of the Moppets, The cast and crew of The Splatter Play, and herself for getting all this shit done. She is so excited to share this stage and creative process with her love, Skyler, and now with all of you!

SKYLER GOFF (Props Designer & Puppetry) - Skyler Goff is a local director, playwright, and performer. He recently opened the 51st season of The Montford Park Players with his play, Wendy and Peter, co-written and directed by Sami Mills. He is thrilled to be in this production with his fellow gore enthusiast and life long partner, Ashleigh Goff.

SARAH HAJKOWSKI (Assistant Stage Manager & Dramaturgy) - Sarah Hajkowski is part of stage management and dramaturgy for The Splatter Play. She is a recent graduate from nearby Brevard College studying Theatre and English, and aims to keep theatre collaboration in her life for the long haul. Excited by the constellatory nature of dramaturgy, she also writes plays of her own, and dabbles in performance as seen in The Magnetic's own One Act Festival in August 2023. Thanks to all for their energy and break legs, cast!

JESS JOHNSON (Director) - Jess has over 20 years of experience as a stage manager, director, props and scenic designer, and dramaturg. She currently serves as the Co-Artistic Director for The Magnetic Theatre. The biggest, warmest thanks to Abby, the cast, and the production team for birthing this collaborative creation (after all, we were all pregnant) and for bringing all of the best and weirdest parts of yourselves to the process! And thanks to you, our incredible audience, for supporting local theatre.

TYLER JOHNSON (Set Designer, Special Effects) - Tyler is a woodworker and furniture designer who moonlights as a set designer. When not figuring out ways to transform spaces, he’s busy taking big pieces of wood, turning them into smaller pieces of wood, then sometimes turning them back into big pieces of wood. You can see some of his work on Instagram at @tothebonewoodworking and catch him at The Big Crafty in December or check out his work at Foundation Woodworks.

KATIE JONES (Puppetry) - Katie is a theatre director, performer, and educator. She grew up down south but spent her 20s living and working in Chicago. She founded Wishbone Theatre Collective in 2009 and continues to perform with them throughout the country. Katie has a BA from Clemson University and an MFA from Naropa University. In addition to serving as The Magnetic Theatre's Co-Artistic Director, she has worked locally with Asheville Creative Arts and the Asheville Fringe Arts Festival, and teaches at Brevard College.

ZACH KNOX (Composer) - Raised in the hills outside of Austin, Texas, Zach Knox first learned how to play piano from Elvis Presley's sister-in-law. Since then, he has completed 8 harmonious years as a music teacher for the public schools of Houston, TX and Western North Carolina. When he's not at the theatre, you can probably find Zach on stage playing keyboards with Smooth Goose or Supatight, or maybe seeing one of his brilliant wife's plays, or in Hominy Creek with his fascinating daughter.

BRANDON MCIVER (Special Effects) - Brandon is excited to help make the messes at The Magnetic. He is the Technical Director at Flat Rock Playhouse and has 20 years of experience in technical theatre. He has also created effects for numerous stage plays including Evil Dead the Musical and the Lieutenant of Inishmore. In addition to his stage work he has designed and built both practical and digital effects for several independent films as well as serving as Art Director for numerous local and national commercials. Thanks to everyone at The Magnetic for inviting him to help with this production. He looks forward to further involvement in the local arts scene.

QUINN TERRY [HE/THEY] (Production Assistant) - Quinn is the Box Office Manager for The Magnetic Theatre. Recent production credits include stage managing for Fish earlier this year and directing for the One Act Festival at The Magnetic! Recent onstage roles include Ferdinand in The Tempest (Montford Park Players), multiple roles in the 2023 One Act Festival (The Magnetic), and Rhonda in Happyland (The Magnetic). You can also catch him in our upcoming holiday show, New Queer's Eve. A million thanks for supporting local theatre!

We’d like to thank The Puffin Foundation for their support of this project

A BIG THANKS TO NEW BELGIUM BREWING, OUR 2023 SEASON SPONSOR!

PHOTOS by JENNIFER BENNETT / JENBENMEDIA
www.jenbenmedia.com

GALLERY
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SPECIAL THANKS TO…

Keith Shubert

Luther Thompson

THE MAGNETIC THEATRE STAFF
Co-Artistic Director Jessica Johnson
Co-Artistic Director Katie Jones
Technical Director Abby Auman
Marketing Manager Jennifer Bennett
Box Office Manager Quinn Terry

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

George Awad
Eliza Heath
Jason Phillips
Josh Sullivan