MEET
Tom Wells (Artistic Director) spent 6 1/2 years acting, teaching, and directing with Shakespeare & Company (Lenox, MA.) A Senior Education Artist, Tom was a 5 time director for the Fall Festival of Shakespeare, co-directed Shakespeare & Young Co., and was integral in the design of one of their most popular youth programs, Riotous Youth. He also assisted with the Shakespeare in the Courts program supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council as well as countless professional development workshops, including Shakespeare & Co.’s National Institute on Teaching Shakespeare (NEA grant recipient). He has performed at the The Pearl Theater (NYC) and regional theaters across the country. Tom holds a BFA from Drake University, and is an Alumnus of The National Theater Institute’s Acting and Advanced Directing Programs. Other training includes workshops with The Moscow Art Theater and The Royal Shakespeare Company. Tom is a proud member of the AEA. // Tom@TwoPenceShakespeare.org
Sarah Augusta (Managing Director) Acting credits include Actors Theatre of Louisville, ATL's Humana Festival, Actors Shakespeare Project, Shakespeare Now! and the New York City Fringe Festival. Sarah has trained at Chicago Shakespeare, California Shakespeare Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse and American Conservatory Theatre, in addition to four years of classical training while obtaining her BFA in Acting from Emerson College in Boston. Teaching credits include NYC's 92 Street Y, The White Pony/Meher Schools and TWO PENCE's own classes "Owning Shakespeare: A Workshop In Progress" and "Revealing Shakespeare." // Sarah@TwoPenceShakespeare.org
Lucy Carapetyan (Educations Programs Manager) is a graduate of Northwestern University. Over the last 6 years Lucy has taught and performed with TWO PENCE, Actors Gymnasium, The Mime Company, and the National High School Institute (Cherub program). She has studied in Prague, Bali and Indonesia. Chicago acting credits includeTWO PENCE, Steppenwolf, Steep, Lifeline, Griffin, Dog and Pony, House, Caffeine, New Leaf, and The Building Stage.
Michael Mercier (Grants Manager, Educations Programming Assistant) Michael has worked for the educational company Chicspeare and serves as interim managing director of Vintage Theater Collective. A graduate of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program, Michael also studied at Shakespeare’s Globe in London. Acting credits include Oliver in TWO PENCE’s As You Like It. He has also been seen at 16th Street Theater, Bohemian Theatre Ensemble, Sideshow Theatre Company, The Strange Tree Group, and the Great River Shakespeare Festival (apprentice).
Kathryn Walsh (Director of Training) Directing credits with TWO PENCE include As You Like it and The Tamer Tamed. Additional directing credits include The Make-Out Queen at The Common Tongue at Ars Nova, New York City, Island of Slaves with Boston’s Orfeo Group (Eliott Norton nomination for Outstanding Design), Next Theatre’s A Very Merry (Un)Authorized Children’s Scientology Pageant, and the Midwest premiere of David Harrower’s Kill the Old Torture Their Young at Steep Theatre. Additional assisting credits include Feast: An Intimate Tempest and The Madness of George III (Chicago Shakespeare), Our Town (Lookingglass), the world premiere of August: Osage County, Dead Man’s Cell Phone and When the Messenger is Hot (Steppenwolf). She has studied and worked at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA, and received her B.A. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University. Kathryn holds an MFA in Directing at Northwestern University.