Candide
GREG PICULELL (Candide)
SHANNON GRACE (Cunegonde), a native of Rhode Island, is currently a senior at Ithaca College with a BM in Voice. Past MTC credits include "the soprano" in the ensemble of Sweeney Todd and Dolores in Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party. Other credits include Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Guys and Dolls, Camp Broadway’s Fiddler on the Roof (soloist) at PPAC, Bay View Academy’s A Comedy of Errors, and the Bishop Hendricken Summer Stage’s production of The Music Man in which she played Alma Hix. She is proud and delighted to be performing with such a talented and supportive cast. Thank you all for this experience!
ERIC HAGREEN (Pangloss/Voltaire)
ARIEL ARBISSER (Old Woman), a native of Davenport, IA, is in her second performance with the MTC after playing Woman #2 in Songs For a New World in Fall '08. She is the graduating president of the Cornell Chordials, Cornell's award-winning co-ed a cappella group. Arbisser co-produced the Chordials' latest album "Shake the Poet," with her lead vocals on two tracks - "Ramalama (Bang Bang)" (originally performed by Roisin Murphy), recipient of the 2010 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award for Best Mixed Collegiate Song in the nation and featured by celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, and "Cold Shoulder" (originally performed by Adele), for which Arbisser received the 2010 CARA for Best Mixed Collegiate Solo. Ariel recently had the exciting opportunity to perform with Broadway composer Scott Alan. As owner of Ariel Makeup Artistry, Arbisser served as Makeup Designer for five past MTC productions and is also involved in fashion, TV, and film projects in and around the Ithaca area. Ariel would like to thank her parents for supporting her passions and the cast and crew for such a great show!
ALEX MOGIL (Maximilian) a junior, Television-Radio major at Ithaca College, is excited to be returning to the MTC in this exciting production! Previous roles include: Mereb in Aida, Anthony in Sweeney Todd, Juror #3 in 12 Angry Men, and Danny Zuko in Grease. He would like to thank his family and friends for their continued support. Break a leg to the cast and crew!
KRISTEN MIXTER (Paquette) is a Sophomore Art major at Ithaca College. She has been involved in theater for about four years, performing in productions of Beauty and the Beast, Grease (Marty), Seussical the Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, West Side Story (Consuela), and Into the Woods (Stepmother). Within several productions she has also taken on set and prop design/construction. Kristen is overjoyed to be a part of such a talented cast and crew, as well as having the opportunity to perform in one of her all-time favorite shows. She'd like to thank her family for supporting her through everything and finding a way to make it to every show.
PRIYA IYER (Ensemble/Martin) is ecstatic to be a part of Candide, her first MTC show! She is a musical theatre major at Ithaca College. She was most recently seen as Rosetta in Mint Juleps with IC Underground Theatre, a featured vocalist in the Ithaca Theatre Project's Summer Cabaret, and a featured dancer in L'enfant et les Sortileges with IC Main Stage Theatre. She is from Pittsburgh, PA. She would like to thank her family and friends for their constant love and support. "Life is a mistake that only art can correct. Hope you enjoy the show!"
ZINAN CHENG (Ensemble/Inquisitor III/Tsar Ivan)
KIRSTEN CORNILLE (Ensemble/Vanderdendur, Choreographer) is a junior Journalism and Drama Major at Ithaca College. She is making her debut in MTC theatre this semester. Kirsten just got back from a semester at the Moscow Art Theater School. Most recently she was in IC Player's Women of No Importance and IC Triple Threat's Once on this Island. She wants to thank the cast and crew for putting together a great show. Thank you also to her wonderful friends and family, I love you all very much!!
MEG GLASSCO (Ensemble/Cacambo) is a sophomore Drama major at Ithaca College, and is thrilled to working with MTC for the very first time! Some favorite roles from the recent past include: Lumiere in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Juliet's Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Little Cosette/Barricade Boy in Les Miserables, Ruth in Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Liza Spinelli in Eating Disorders: the Musical! (a senior thesis film). She would like to thank the cast and crew for their boundless enthusiasm and the opportunity to put on such a wonderful, challenging show!
AMANDA MARTIN (Ensemble/Inquisitor II/Charles Edward)
DAVID MUSSELWHITE (Ensemble/Governor/Inquisitor/Hermann Augustus) is a senior in Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Past MTC credits include Jamie in The Last Five Years, Assistant Director for Cabaret and director, set and lighting designer of I Love You Because. Other theatre experience includes four semesters with Anything Goes, Andrei in Anton Chekhov’s The Three Sisters, Robert in David Auburn’s Proof, as well as directing a regional debut of Marsha Norman’s ‘Night, Mother. He would like to thank the MTC staff and crew for being such thoroughly lovely people, and his grandparents for their unending love and support.
GABRIELLE TAN (Ensemble) is sophomore Human Development major at Cornell University currently pursuing pre-medicine. She sang in her high school choir for all four years and was also in the vocal group, Vocalise. Her previous acting experience includes, Beauty and the Beast (Enchantress, Ensemble), South Pacific (Liat), Once Upon a Mattress (Lady Larken), and Thoroughly Modern Millie (Millie). This is her first show with MTC but she is so excited to be a part of the production of Candide and thanks the entire theatre family for welcoming her, as well as their enthusiastic encouragement.
MICHAEL TEDESCO (Ensemble) has performed with MTC since 2005. While living in New York City, Michael taught theater education to students in public schools. He recently became a member of the Blue Hill Troupe, a theatre company performs and fundraises for local charities in the New York area. Now Mike is temporarily back in Ithaca to pursue his education, and is excited to again be part of Cornell's premier musical theatre company! Mike dedicates this performance to all the people with whom he has lost touch over the years- you are all always in my thoughts and in my heart.
KATIE VAN CLEAVE (President) is a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University, majoring in Atmospheric Science. She has served as Stage Manager for MTC’s productions of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street as well as Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party and served as General Manager for The Last Five Years, Songs For A New World, and Cabaret. I Love You Because marks her sixth season with the MTC. She would like to thank her ever-supportive family and friends. Congratulations to a wonderfully talented and dedicated cast and crew!
RACHEL MAYER (General Manager, Stage Manager) is a junior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, majoring in Biology and Society and Education. This is her fifth season with MTC, and her third as stage manager. She made that choice when she realized that being super organized (read OCD) could be put to great use! Beyond Melodramatics, she is a member of Kappa Delta Sorority, of which she was the philanthropy chair last year. She is very excited to be with the company, and would like to thank the cast and crew for their stupendous efforts this semester on this gargantuan show!
JULI KLEIST-MENDEZ (Director), a native of Iowa City, Iowa, is a sophomore at Cornell, double majoring in Theatre and the College Scholars Program (creating a Peace Studies curriculum). This is Juli's second season with MTC, having first served as the Assistant Director for I Love You Because. She would like to thank the cast for their unwavering poker faces in dealing with her somewhat eccentric directing style. Un grand merci y muchisimas gracias to her family and friends, you keep me grounded!
TIM DYSTER (Assistant Director) is a sophomore biology major with pre-med in Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences. Candide is Tim's second production with MTC. Last semester, he played the role of Jeff Bennett in MTC's production of I Love You Because. Tim is so grateful to be assisting an incredible director and working with such a brilliant cast. He would like to thank his family and friends for their endless support and encouragement. He would also like to thank the cast of Candide for their dedication to their performances and one another.
BRENDON SHAPIRO (Music Director) is a senior piano major at Ithaca College who focuses on collaboration and hopes to attend graduate school in Boston next fall to continue his studies in collaborative piano. He's worked on two Ithaca College Mainstage productions: Children of Eden and The Little Prince. In addition, he's played for four IC Triple Threat productions, and served as Music Director for two of them: The Fantasticks and Once on This Island. With MTC, he has played for The Wild Party, Songs for a New World, and The Last 5 Years. This is his first time musically directing for MTC, and he's been having a blast working with this outstanding cast and crew!
CHRIS TOLBERT (Orchestra Director, Conductor) is currently a senior at Ithaca College majoring in Music Education. As a trumpet player, he is on the substitute list with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the brass quintet Five Cents Sharp. Conducting has become one of his prevailing interests since his first production with the MTC in the spring of 2007. Since then, his involvement in musical theatre has extended not only to conducting and playing in semi-pro and professional orchestras, but also to arranging and composing for Cornell’s Schwartz Center and other private theater projects.  Special thanks to the outstanding MTC staff, looking forward to another year of making great music!
MELINDA ZOEPHEL (Technical Director)
CHRIS WOOD (Director of Marketing)
JESSICA WESTON (Director of Photography, Graphic Designer) is a senior English major and photography minor at Ithaca College, originally from Western New York. She is also in her third semester at The Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca, where she studies the technique of Sanford Meisner under the inspiring direction of Katie Spallone.  I Love You Because marks Jessica’s second production with the MTC, having performed in Cabaret.  She has previously performed in George M!, Guys and Dolls, Bye Bye Birdie, and How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Jessica would like to thank her family and friends for supporting her in everything she does and is so excited to have the opportunity of sharing this experience with such a wonderful cast and crew!
BETH SPERGEL (Director of Photography) is a Senior at Cornell University in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences studying a Natural Resources and Photography and a senior photographer for the Cornell Daily Sun.
ANDRE VALEZQUEZ (Assistant Graphic Designer)
ELIZABETH WHEELER (Costume Designer)
LAO OWENS (Makeup Designer)
KRISTIN SUNDVOR (Business Manager)
TIM FASANO (Property Master), originally from North Haven, CT, is currently a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University, majoring in English and Psychology, with a concentration in biopsychology. MTC credits include The Wild Party (Eddie), Little Shop of Horrors (Mushnik), and Cabaret (Ernst Ludwig). Past credits include Rumors (Ernie), Twelfth Night (Toby Belch), and The Tempest (Caliban). Tim can currently be seen in Romeo and Juliet (Paris) at Cornell University’s Schwartz Center. He would like to thank all MTC members, new and old, for their enthusiasm and dedication.
BRENDAN HAMMOND (Dramaturg)
JASON McNAMARA (Construction Crew)
JEFF COX (Rehearsal Accompanist)
NATALIE BRANDT (Violin)
ZACHARY SLACK (Viola)
ALLIE REHN (Cello)
CASEY GEORGI (Bass)
JENNIFER NESKE (Flute, Piccolo)
VIRGINIA DODGE (Oboe, English Horn)
MICHAEL COLLETTI (Clarinet)
MEGHAN KININGER (Bassoon)
ETHAN URTZ (Trumpet)
LORI ROY (Horn)
HANK CURREY (Trombone)