Meet Our Artists

Molly Kempfer (Imogen)

Molly Kempfer is delighted to be making her second appearance with Whirligig Productions - this time in Milwaukee! She is an actor and educator in the Milwaukee/Madison areas. Some of her favorite roles include Little Red in Into the Woods (Forte Theatre Company), Artemis in Finder and the North Star (Children’s Theatre of Madison), Amy in Little Women (FTC), Various Characters in A Plague on All Our Houses (WP), and Eden in Between Two Rivers (Sunstone Studios). Molly would like to thank her friends and family for their unwavering love and support. Without them, she probably would have gone crazy long ago. Follow her on Instagram @molly_kempfer

Theodore Olson-Johnson (Posthumus)

Theodore is very excited to be a part of Whirligig’s production of Cymbeline. Some of his previous roles include Black Stache in Peter and the Starcatcher and Gomez Addams in The Addams Family Musical. This past summer, Theodore attended the Stella Adler Teen Summer Conservatory in New York, where he first fell in love with Shakespeare's language. In September, Theodore will be returning to New York, to attend The American Academy of Dramatic Arts Two-Year Conservatory Program.

Joshua Biatch (Iachimo/Fight Choreographer)

Joshua Biatch (He/Him/His) received his training in theatre from Kenyon College and in Shakespeare from American Players Theatre and The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. He also received his Stage Combat training from APT and STNJ, and (with much gratitude) from Christopher Elst. Josh's recent credits include Scott (Orion, Placeholder Players), Mike Deller (The Lisbon Traviata, Sunstone Studios) and RJ (R.I.P, Sunstone Studios). When not on stage, Josh can be found at the front desk at Jewish Museum Milwaukee with his nose in his research. Shalom! 

Paul Weir (Belarius)

Paul began his theater career at eight years old playing Peter in 'Peter and the Golden Goose!'  And now, sixty years and nearly a hundred shows later, he finally gets his chance to do Shakespeare!  He'd previously been cast as Antoinio in 'The Merchant of Venice' with Off The Wall Theater in 2020, but the Covid outbreak shut that production down before rehearsals began. Paul was a late addition to this production, and thanks Samantha Biatch and this wonderful cast for helping him get up to speed. Enjoy the show!!

William Molitor (Cymbeline/Frenchman)

William has most recently appeared in Romeo and Juliet (Friar Laurence) for Voices Found Repertory and in I’m Gonna Pray for You so Hard (David Berryman U/S performance) for The Constructivists. Other favorite castings include: The Tempest (Prospero) for Voices Found Repertory, The Nativity Variations (Hank U/S) at The Milwaukee Rep, SummerStage of Delafield's productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Egeus/Quince) and Anne of Greene Gables (Matthew Cuthbert). Other notable credits include Things I Know to Be True (Bob Price); Hamlet (Polonius) and Oedipus Rex (Tiresias) for Fleeing Artists Theatre; Bad Seed (Richard Bravo) for Waukesha Civic Theatre; On Golden Pond (Norman Thayer), Twelfth Night (Malvolio) and Pride and Prejudice (Mr. Bennet) for SummerStage of Delafield; and Medea (Creon) for Voices Found Repertory.

Alex Szabo (Pisanio)

Alex Szabo (she/they) is new to Milwaukee as of June, arriving from Oregon where they received their BFA in Theatre (performance) and Minor in Shakespeare Studies at Southern Oregon University. Most recently she's understudied Helena, Titania, and Oberon in a university production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Annas in Jesus Christ Superstar. She also played Lysistrata in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Greenshow's production of Lysistrata. Aside from acting, Alex also writes, directs, and movement directs. They're excited to start this new chapter in the Midwest and hope you enjoy the show! @alexandra.c.szabo

Sam Scherrer (Cloten/Captain/Third Briton)

Sam is very excited to dive back into Shakespeare for his Whirligig debut! A Milwaukee based actor, you may have recently seen him in the Ensemble of Sunset Boulevard (Bombshell Theatre Company) or Georg Nowak in She Loves Me (Sunset Playhouse). Other favorite credits include Mick Fitzgerald in Artifice and Dr. Zubritzky in Neil Simon’s Fools. He’d like to thank both his parents and partner for their unwavering support. 

Kenan Pulver (Guiderius/Second Lord)

Kenan Pulver is pursuing a degree in Acting from UWM. Previous UWM credits include the Laramie Project (Performer) and Sweat (Stan). Non-UWM credits include Costal Players’ production of Boeing Boeing (Bernard) and Theatre on the Bay’s production of The Mousetrap (Giles) and The 39 Steps (Richard Haney). Kenan is very excited to be performing in his first Shakespearean play and thanks Whirligig Productions for the opportunity!

Dawn Molly Dewane (Queen/First Briton)

Dawn Molly Dewane (Queen, First Briton): Recent credits include Hamlet (Gertrude), Joe Hill: A Song Of Protest (Elizabeth Gurley Flynn), Macbeth (Lady Macbeth), and The Tempest (Alonza). Molly is also a costume designer. Recent credits include An Evening Of Shaw, Salome, The Tempest and Hamlet. “Theater is the art of looking at ourselves.” – Augusto Boal

Suze Falk (Arviragus/First Lord)

Suze was most recently seen as Lily in Lake Country Playhouse's production of The Secret Garden, and Molly Aster in their production of Peter and the Starcatcher. They have also been seen performing at Sunset Playhouse, Racine Theatre Guild, Fleeing Artists Theatre, and Greendale Community Theatre. They also work as a costume designer for the Lake Country Playhouse Performing Arts Academy where they are also a resident teaching artist. They graduated from Bradley University in 2021 with a degree in Theater Performance. In their free time, Suze loves to thrift, listen to true crime podcasts, and hang out with their cat Obie. They currently work at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre in the Education and Engagement department.

Cat Sadler (Cornelia/Second Briton)

Cat Sadler (They/Them) is delighted to be a part of Whirligig’s production of Cymbeline. They are a local Milwaukee actor currently studying Theatre (Acting) at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. Previous credits include Grandma (The Sparrow, UWM), Announcer (The Sparrow, UWM), and Gemma (Street Signs, UWM). Aside from acting, Cat is also a playwright, director, and volunteer reader for Librivox. They’re excited to enter the Milwaukee theatre community and hope you enjoy! @cat_sadler

Grace Berendt (Caius Lucius/Philario/Musician)

Grace Berendt is very excited to be working with Whirligig Productions for the very first time! Grace graduated from UW Milwaukee in May of 2021 with their BFA in Acting. Some of their most recent roles include KIKI in Boulevard Theatre’s staged reading of “Significant Other”, FERDINAND, ANTONIO, and TRINCULO in “The Tempest” with Voices Found Repertory Theatre,  AIDAN in “Rocket Baby” with MCT’s Young Playwrights Festival, and YVETTE in “Clue on Stage'' with West Bend Theatre Company. They are excited to make new connections in Milwaukee’s performing arts community and would like to thank their friends and family for their continued support!

Samantha Biatch (Director)

Sam is immensely grateful to the incredible team that came together to produce Cymbeline! Sam has been directing for ten years, and began Whirligig Productions two years ago, just as the world was beginning to come out of quarantine. Some of Sam's past productions include The Winter's Tale (Smith College); The Iliad, The Odyssey, and All of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less (Upstart Crows Productions); The Lion in Winter (Upstart Crows Productions); and Augustus Does His Bit (Whirligig Productions). Enjoy the show!

Zackary Henke (Stage Manager)

Zackary Henke is honored to work with Whirligig Productions. He is usually seen on stage, most recently at LCP in ‘Curious Incident of the Dog in the NIght-Time’ (Ed) and at Waukesha Civic in ‘Heathers’ (Veronica’s Dad/Ensemble). Other favorite appearances are ‘The Glass Menagerie’ (Tom), ‘Proof’ (Hal), and ‘Freud’s Last Session’ (Freud).  Enjoy all the raunchy Shakespearean jokes!

Melanie Strickland (Set Designer)

Melanie Strickland is an educator in Milwaukee and most recently was seen in the ensemble of Greendale Community Theatre's The Prom. She is immensely grateful for the chance to work on Cymbeline and flex her other artistic muscles. She loves her two rat sons very much.

Alan Piotrowicz (Lighting Designer)

Alan Piotrowicz makes his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he has designed for several companies including All In Productions, Cooperative Performance, Danceworks, Falls Patio Players, First Stage Children’s Theatre, In Tandem Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Next Act Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Theatre Gigante, Theater RED, and Windfall Theatre. Work outside Wisconsin includes TITAN Theatre Company in New York City, Hope Summer Repertory Theatre in Holland, MI, and The Ivoryton Playhouse and Brief Cameo Productions in Ivoryton, CT. He received his training at UW-Madison and The Santa Fe Opera. Proud Board Member and Associate Producer for Brief Cameo Productions. Much love to Jason. www.alanpiotrowicz.com

Kaila Bingen (Music Director)

Kaila Bingen is a collaborative musician and theater artist from Kenosha. Kaila’s recent composition/music design credits include ‘Neath The Hills Of Bastogne (Sunstone Studios), The Tempest (Voices Found Repertory), The Revolutionists (Carthage College), and The Melancholy Play (Fleeing Artists Theatre). Kaila has performed on stage and in the pit orchestras of numerous productions, including being the violinist for a new musical performed at the Chicago Musical Theater Festival and the New York Musical Theater Festival (off-Broadway). This performance, and every performance after, is dedicated to Mom - I love you and miss you.

Victoria Hudziak (Intimacy Director)

Chris Flieller (Intimacy Director)