Elyssa Bjorkman (Edwin Drood/Alice Nutting) is ecstatic to be participating in The Lilac Players debut musical! Elyssa received her degree in Theatre and Voice from Salem State University. Throughout her career, Elyssa has been in numerous productions including Kiss Me Kate (Fred Graham/Petruchio), The Pirates of Penzance (The Pirate Queen), The Mikado (Pitti Sing), Twelfth Night (Feste), HMS Pinafore (Cousin Hebe), and Into The Woods (Rapunzel) to name a few. She would, of course, love to thank her friends, family, and husband for their love and support, as well as the wonderful cast whose friendships make it all worth it. Elyssa would also like to dedicate her performances to her loved ones who have passed.

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Anna-Constantia Richardson (Clive Paget/John Jasper, Producer, Set Designer, Publicity Designer) is thrilled to be a part of the Lilac Players’ first full production, with so many talented and lovely people. Past theatrical highlights include Buttercup, HMS Pinnafore; Ruth, Pirates of Penzance; John Adams, 1776 (MIT Gilbert & Sullivan Players); Sonny, Grease (MIT Musical Theater Guild); Frederick, Pirates of Penzance (Smith College); Leading Player, Pippin; Dr. Parker, Bat Boy: The Musical (Duct Tape Productions, née Leading Ladies). She has also directed, TD’d, set-designed, costume-designed, etc offstage with MITG&SP (RIP), MTG, DTP, and the AFD. She is Vice President of The Lilac Players, as well as a co-founder with Emma Brown. Toi toi toi!

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Amelia Smith (Angela Prysock/Princess Puffer) has had so much fun with this preposterous role. She’s grateful to the incredibly welcoming and supportive company and to her family for coming all this way to see the show. God love you, I’m sure!

Hubert Hwang (Reverend Crisparkle) has certainly killed people on stage before, and has frequently been killed as well, but has never before been in such a superposition of quantum murder states. Curious.

Kelvyn Koning specializes in composing for choir and theatre and in performing as a countertenor and pianist. He recently completed his Master of Music in Composition from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and has been commissioned to write pieces for Zeeland High School, Batesville High School, and the Da Camera Singers. He is currently the Director of Music at First Baptist Church of Melrose and sings soprano with The Oriana Consort and Boston Quorum, where he also serves as interim director and accompanist. Kelvyn is a founding member of the Nightingale vocal ensemble and also accompanies voice lessons and directs musical theater at the Boston Conservatory. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" is the first musical he has acted in since high school and he is thrilled to be cast as Helena Landless and fulfill his dreams of pursuing acting professionally.

Zoe Sheinkopf has been hoping for a chance to be in DROOD since 2009. It’s now been a full two years since her last time onstage, and she’s so happy to be doing theater again, as a grownup person, and especially with this wonderful cast and prod staff. It’s truly been a treat to work with a group of people so professional and yet so chill.

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Émile Lewis is a noted wastrel, professional foreigner, and impoverished rake who has spent over two decades trying his best. A born-again theatre kid, he has performed sketch comedy at Improv Boston and standup at whatever venues still allow him access to a mic since The Incident. His first musical performance was playing Sir Joseph Porter, KCB in the MIT Gilbert & Sullivan Players’ Spring 2018 production of HMS Pinafore. He is currently developing a comedy webseries entitled ‘Not Even’ with his friend Kristen Hale, and ultimately aspires to become a voice actor... if he can ever put together a demo reel. His parents are very proud of him. He has performed at two of the Lilac Players’ fundraiser shows, and was delighted to take part in their first full play. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram as @EmilePleaseStop.

Kim Dauber is happy to be onstage again! She lives for community theater and original content. She will gladly recommend a podcast for you to listen to, should you require one.

Andrea Humez was last seen on stage in the Lilac Players' Scared Queer: Get Out The Vote cabaret, and in Kiss Me, Kate with the MIT Gilbert & Sullivan Players. Favorite roles include Margaret Fuller in The Margaret Ghost(Theatre@First) and Mme. Armfeldt in A Little Night Music (MIT Gilbert & Sullivan Players). She can more often be found behind the scenes as a director, most recently taking the helm of Theatre@First's 2019 productions of Burningand What They Think We Are.

Deborah Gaz is so happy to be a part of the Lilac Players' production of the Mystery of Edwin Drood playing the role of Jenny/James Throttle. Previously she performed with the former MIT Gilbert and Sullivan Players, participating as a chorus member for almost all of the G&S canon. She also appeared as Charles Thomson in the MIT Gilbert and Sullivan Players' production of 1776. Professionally, Deborah is a software engineer.

J.C. is a writer and educator currently working in reproductive rights. They proudly sing bass with Quorum, podcast at The Immortals, and write plays that you can find at the New Play Exchange.

John Hanley is very excited to perform with this amazing group. He has previously performed with MIT G&SP in Kiss Me Kate (Lucentio/Bill Calhoun), The Flowers of Progress, The Peer and the Peri, The Town of Titipu, The Merryman and His Maid, The Slave of Duty, Bunthorne's Bride and The Sorcerer. He would like to thank his friends, family, and wife Elyssa for being totally awesome! Enjoy the show.

Kris Kim (Ensemble/Harry Sayle) is excited to be in one of their favorite musicals ever and over the moon to be a part of the Lilac Player's first musical. He's had a blast dancing and singing with the cast and crew and can't wait for the next show! She would also like to remind you not to fall back on your assumptions when voting - hasty presumptions may very well do you in... for an evening of surprises!

A musical theatre lover for many years, Laura is so excited to be joining the cast of the Lilac Players to act in her very first musical! She has been singing for the past several years in Voices Rising, a Boston-area women's chorus, as well as taking voice lessons and acting classes; additionally, she volunteers at Girls' Rock Campaign Boston, an organization that aims to instill self-confidence in youth through musical collaboration and expression. When she's not singing or acting, she teaches high school math and special education outside of Boston. Laura would like to thank her partner, her family and friends, and all of her teachers who have supported her to accomplish things she hadn't even thought possible.

Honeywood is honored and humbled to escape from the circus (if only for a moment) and share the stage with the likes of Msr. Piaget (and everyone else). She believes in Compassion, Social Justice, and the power of Spec Fic. She also wants you to check out her bad @$$ social justice a cappella group if you: are nerdy and want to sing at protests/rallies/concerts/living rooms/etc; like awesome music; have a protest, rally, or event that could use beautiful, participatory, inspirational sangin'; are alive, undead, or otherwise capable of using the interwebs. https://www.trebleallianceboston.com/

Lorraine Fryer is intended for entertainment and/or informational purposes only, and should not be used to diagnose or treat any medical conditions.

Steph Wooler was convinced by her middle and high school experiences that she hated theatre and was not cut out for it. Twenty years later, in 2016, she retired from a cappella and needed a new musical outlet. Since then she has appeared in Yeoman of the Guard and Chess with the MIT Gilbert and Sullivan Players, Spamalot with the MIT Musical Theatre Guild, and Le Comte Ory and Cosi Fan Tutt(I) with Lowell House Opera. She is delighted to be performing in Drood with a group that is not only talented but inclusive and supportive.

Theresa is pleased to be appearing in the premier performance of the Lilac Players. Past performances include Debra (Animal Cursing), Miss Campbell (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), Cabaret Performer (Turning Points and Revelations), Harry Trevor/Bapista Minola (Kiss me Kate), Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Elaine Harper (Arsenic and Old Lace), Belinda Blair/Flavia Brent (Noises Off), Hope Harcourt (Anything Goes), and Guenevere (Camelot). Offstage, Theresa is a Medical Writer and full time crazy cat lady. She would like to thank her friends and family for their support, the insanely talented cast of Drood for their hard work, the Lilac Players for the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful production, and her husband, Matt, for his ongoing encouragement and love.