Meet the Actors
Paul Deines (Abbas)
Paul has been the Hippodrome’s Literary Intern since August and is excited to be making his professional stage debut in The Sleeper. Born and raised in Louisville, KY, he received his Bachelors in Theatre at the University of Evansville in Indiana. Paul would like to thank Lauren and Tammy, Rachel, all the super-fun interns, and his family for supporting him and consistently dragging him out of debt.
Bryan Garey* (Bill)
A Baltimore native, Bryan spent two years playing Nick O’Brien in the Chicago production of Shear Madness. Other notable roles include John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Ellard Simms in The Foreigner, Chris Keller in All My Sons, King Arthur in Camelot, and Don Juan in Don Juan. Bryan has worked with many theatre companies in Chicago and along the East Coast, including the Folger Shakespeare Library, Heritage Repertory Theatre, Maryland Shakespeare Festival, Source Theatre, Olney Theatre, Folio Theatre, Jekyll Island Musical Theatre Festival, and Shakespeare on the Green. Film and television credits include Exorcist III and CryBaby. A graduate of St. Mary’s College of Maryland (BA) and the University of Virginia (MFA), Bryan appeared at the Hippodrome last season in The Underpants and Our Town and wore many hats (and even a tutu!) in this year’s opener, Mere Mortals.
Sara Morsey* (Anthrax Expert, Therapist, Guard)
Sara made her Hippodrome debut in the early 1990’s in Earthly Possessions directed by Mary Hausch. That same season she played “Bella” in Lost in Yonkers directed by Lauren Caldwell. This began a long collaboration including roles in Broken Glass, The Illusion, The Sisters Rosensweig, The Lion in Winter, The Glass Menagerie, Private Eyes, Dinner with Friends, All in the Timing, Misery, Closer the Carpetbaggers Children, Master Class, Three Tall Women and many more. A regional theatre actor for more than twenty years, Sara has had long associations with a number of regional theatres throughout the country, but is proud to call Gainesville home. Her international credits include Mary Hausch’s An Enchanted Land in Edinburgh, Scotland’s Festival Fringe and Ani Collier’s Sex Female in Sofia, Bulgaria. Sara has appeared in several independent films and has served as a narrator for the Library of Congress’ “Talking Books” series. This summer Sara played “Stevie” in Edward Albee’s The Goat at Circuit Playhouse in Memphis. American premieres include Mrs. Klein (American Stage, St. Petersburg), Autumn Sonata (Pegasus Rising, Louisville), In the Attic (Dance Alive, Gainesville) and War of the Worlds (Hippodrome).
Laura Rohner (Gretchen)
Laura Rohner is pleased to be back on the Hippodrome stage, having appeared here this season in A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings and last season in Nickel and Dimed. Ms. Rohner is currently in her final semester of graduate studies at the University of Florida, where she will receive her MFA in Acting, and is working at the Hippodrome as an acting intern. Her university credits include Gertrude in Hamlet, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mrs. Prentice in What the Butler Saw, and Miriam of Magdalah in Hendeka/The Eleven. Other credits include Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire, Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Nora in A Doll’s House.
Rusty Salling* (Toy Store Salesman, Terrorism Expert, Student)
This is Rusty’s 88th Hippodrome show. He has appeared in all 28 annual productions of A Christmas Carol, the last sixteen in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge. Most recently he was glimpsed, between hurricanes, as Klinglehoff in The Underpants. Previous appearances include roles in Macbeth, Master Class, Frankenstein, The Rocky Horror Show, A Streetcar Named Desire, To Kill A Mockingbird, All in the Timing, Lonely Planet, The Sisters Rosensweig, Lost in Yonkers, West Side Story, Lettice and Lovage, Accomplice, Rumors, Driving Miss Daisy, The Boys Next Door, Absent Friends, Noises Off, Season’s Greetings, Amadeus and The Elephant Man, as well as the title roles in The Norman Conquests, The Dresser, and Cyrano de Bergerac. He toured the Southeast, including 11 Florida prisons, in Waiting for Godot and has appeared in two films: A Flash of Green and The Savage Hunt. Additionally, he is the Hippodrome’s Computer Geek-in-Residence and Webmaster of the Hippodrome internet site, http://thehipp.org.
Christine Sellers* (Vivien)
Christine Sellers is excited to join The Hippodrome team as Director of Education. She is a graduate of University of Florida with a MFA in Acting. Before returning to Florida, Christine lived in Chicago and New York City working as an actress and assistant art dealer. Theatre: David Ives’ Mere Mortals (Actress 3), Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed (Gail), Steve Martin’s The Underpants (Louise) and Picasso at Lapine Agile (Germaine), Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull (Nina), Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (Nora), Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), and Larry Shue’s The Foreigner (Catherine). TV: “NBA” national commercial, “Law & Order” and “Guiding Light.” Love to Lauren, my mentors, Hipp family, and Brian. (Now how did I find you?) Also, big birthday wishes to my beautiful mom, Claudia Fort.
Bryant Smith (Matthew)
Bryant is delighted to be back onstage here at the Hippodrome. Currently a first year MFA Acting student at the University of Florida, he was last seen onstage here at the Hippodrome in the staged reading of Second, directed by Tim Altmeyer, as well as at UF as Osric in Hamlet, Jabez Stone in the UF Opera’s The Devil and Daniel Webster, and most recently as Al Sereno in Road to Nirvana. Favorite onstage credits include: Nick in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?, John Utterson in Jekyll & Hyde, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Amadeus, Donny Dubrow in American Buffalo, Max in Lend Me A Tenor, Mr. Andrews in Titanic, and Chuck Rascal in Dollywood’s Buddy Baxter’s Bandstand USA. Special thanks to Lauren and Tammy for trusting me with this role…love to the Baker’s Dozen…and as always, all my love to Mom, Dad, BethAnn, and Mary Elizabeth for being my biggest fans!
Christafer Ivan Sobbing (Khidir)
Christafer Ivan Sobbing has worked in the Development Department at the Hippodrome State Theatre since last August. In that time he has also been a part of the artistic side of the Hippodrome. Working Wardrobe Crew of Tuna Christmas, commercial acting for TV and radio spots, acting in the reading of Second, directing a One City One Story community presentation, directing Day to Day in the Teen Playwright Festival, and also producing and acting in the late night production Follow Me, Siggy. Before his twenty hour drive to Florida he attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa where he dabbled in all aspects of theatre, but maintained a primary focus in playwrighting. He’d like to thank his mom for always letting him wear hats.
*Member of the Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers In the United States
Tuesday, September 7