The Master and Margarita

Based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov
Translated, Adapted, and Directed by Mike Lion

Produced at 12th Ave Arts
Dacha Theatre is a Seattle-based theatre company founded in 2016 that specializes in devised, playful, and ​immersive work. A “dacha” is a Russian cottage, a retreat and a time apart, a place for family where the generations mingle. We tell stories full of movement, laughter, and audience interaction. Our shows and events are always ticketed on a sliding scale with a pay-what-you-can option, to eliminate any financial barrier to seeing our shows.

Cast

Azazello/Ensemble - Adele Lim*
Koroviev - Angela M Thomas
​The Master - Ben Symons*
Berlioz - Bob Downing
​Woland - Cody Smith
Rimsky/Ensemble - Danny J Hassett*
Natasha/Announcer - Emily Huntingford^
Ivan Homeless - James Lee
​Pilate/Ensemble - Jen Faulkner
​Margarita - Ksenia Boisvert
Behemoth/Ensemble - Nolan Spencer
Afranius/Ensemble - Paula Wilson Nitka*
Yeshua/Ensemble - Rachael Uyeno*

Creative & Production Team

Director - Mike Lion^
Rehearsal Stage Manager - Joe Flynn
Production Stage Manager - Haley Thomas^
Assistant Director/Swing - Hannah Votel*
Scenic Designer:  Robin Macartney
Costume Designer:  Fantasia Rose
​Sound Designer:  Kyle Levien^
Lighting Designer:  Sara Staven*
Props Designer/Master Carpenter - Olivia Dagley
Choreographer - Alexandra Kronz*
Movement Associate/Swing - Emma Cady*
Assist. Lighting Designer - Montse Garza
Props Assistant: Henry Behrens*
Costume Assistant: Briana Schwartz*
Production Manager - Ayla Wallace*
Assistant Stage Manager: Ro Miller*
Poster/Graphic Design: Rachael Uyeno*
Promo and Production Photography: Brett Love
Technical Director - Montana Rizzuto
Master Electrician - Nate Olson^
COVID Safety Officer: Steph Couturier
​Marketing Manager - Audrey Herold*
Director of Audience Services: Orianna O'Neill^
Asst. Producers of Audience Services/ House Managers: Patrick Hogan​*, Paula Wilson Nitka*, Steph Couturier
Social Media and Press Associates: Valerie Miller*, Henry Behrens*
​* denotes Dacha company member
​^ denotes Dacha staff member

Tonight's Performance Brought to You by:

Cast and Crew Bios

Mike Lion^ - Director, Translator, Adapter

Mike (he/him) is a director, actor, translator, and clown. He is the Co-Artistic Director and co-founder of Dacha Theatre, and works as the Program Associate and improv coach at Youth Theatre Northwest. Mike is drawn to physical theatre, spectacle, and generative work. Recent directing credits include Dice Keeper: 12th Night, Dears in Headlights, The Moors (Dacha Theatre), The Wall and the Woods, The Hobbit (Youth Theatre Northwest), Insomnia (JetLag Festival), and The 14/48 Projects. The Master and Margarita is one of Mike’s favorite novels. He is grateful to his parents for the fact that he can read it in Russian, and is thrilled and humbled to be part of bringing this story to the stage.​

Hannah Votel* - Assistant Director and Swing

Hannah (they/them) is a teaching artist with South End Stories, a Cornish Musical Theater graduate, and Dacha Company Member/Accessibility Manager. Despite this being Hannah's first time on the directing team of a full-length show, they have enjoyed directing elsewhere in Seattle including Strawberry Theater Workshop's "Strawberry Jam" this past Summer. Hannah is so grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to share this whacky, beautiful show with you!

Joe Flynn - Rehearsal Stage Manager / Production ASM

Joe Flynn (he/him) is an Edmonds-based stage manager and recent graduate of Case Western Reserve University. He most recently served as stage manager for Ballyhoo Theatre’s Ride The Cyclone. For Dad, always

Haley Thomas^ - Production Stage manager

Haley Thomas (she/her) is a Stage Manager and Producer in Seattle. She is the Program Coordinator at UW's School of Drama, and on the Dacha Staff as a Director of Production. Recent Dacha credits include Production Managing Girl's School Memory Play and Stage Managing Dice Keeper: Twelfth Night. When she's not in a theater Haley enjoys exploring the PNW with her fiancée Adam, drinking a good cup of coffee, and caring for her many houseplants.

Ksenia Boisvert - Margarita

Ksenia (she/her) is an actress and film producer, who began acting as a 9 year-old in Riga, Latvia. From stage to immersive shows to films and from Europe to North America, she's been amazed to see acting take her around the world. As a producer, she's brought wild stories of Gelato rebels and animal rescuers to screens and festivals. She arrived in Seattle with her daughter, husband and her limitless sense of adventure.

Bob Downing - Berlioz

Bob (he/him) played the King in Dacha’s second production The Snow Queen. He has also performed with Greenstage, Seattle Shakespeare Company, the Shattered Glass Project, InD Theatre, Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, and more. He is known for his original solo show The New Shakespearience Presents Julius Caesar. Bob trained at Freehold Theatre Studio. He works as a labor union organizer and is active in the peace movement. Free Palestine.

Jen Faulkner - Pilate / Ensemble

Jen (she/her) acts, makes films, writes, directs, works as a voiceover artist and generally spins a lot of plates. Favorite theatre roles include: Robyn in Meet Me at Dawn (Radial theatre), Janelle in Want (Shattered Glass), Agatha in The Moors (Dacha), Margarita in The Master and Margarita (theater simple) as well as originating several characters through puppetry and movement in Faeriestruck (Annex).

​Jen is thrilled to be working with Dacha again (and with an especially caring, funny, and authentic group). In addition to the performing arts, she adores her family and friends and loves spending time with them. Raising two amazing humans makes her life extra sweet and her spouse and parents make it possible for her to work as an artist while doing so. She is grateful. Big thanks as well to her wonderful agent, Tim Crist. ​

Danny J Hassett* - Rimsky / Ensemble

Danny J (they/she) believes in the magic woven by the stories we share. They graduated from Cornish College of the Arts in 2020. Their art strives for expressionism and absurdity with a focus on physicality and clown. As an actor, they have worked with DACHA Theatre and portrayed Thea Elvestead in Hedda Gabler with General Gabler’s Theatre. In a world ravaged by empire and capitalism, it is imperative for us to share our selves with authenticity in community. ​

Emily Huntingford^ - Announcer / Natasha

Emily (she/her) is an actor and producer and so excited to be working with such kind and intelligent artists on this show. Some favorite Dacha credits include 5 previous Dacha Dice shows, Sometimes the Rain (Bessie), Much Ado About Nothing (Beatrice), and The Moors (Moor-Hen). Other recent Seattle credits include: Dream House (WET), The Moors (UW), An Improvised Christmas Carol (Taproot Theater), Taming of the Shrew and Backyard Bard (GreenStage), Falling Awake (UMO Ensemble). She also enjoys board games, reading thick fantasy novels, and yelling at old episodes of Survivor. Learn more at emilyhuntingford.com​

James Hyun Lee - Ivan Homeless

James (he/they) is absolutely giddy to make his Dacha debut! Credits include Toby in Hotdish by Pony World Theatre and Noah in Under: A New Musical at the New York Fringe Festival. Outside of acting, James can be found dancing to R&B, playing violin, writing short fiction, and nibbling on an assortment of Korean snacks. Yum. Much love to the Beeb, the Gaggle, the residents, and the many other friends who keep him grounded and thriving. IG: @dogtorjames

Adele Lim* - Azazello / Ensemble

Adele (she/her) is enchanted to be in her 2nd Dacha show! She detoured in the veterinary, tech and climbing industries after studying Musical Theatre at UW Seattle (2017) and found some of her favorite roles since returning to theatre in late 2022: Rain Cloud in Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea (Dacha) & Jo in Little Women (Viva Vocalists). Adele is a passionate boulderer & snacker, and sends her eternal gratitude to her community. @adeleacts

Paula Wilson Nitka*- Afranius / Ensemble

Paula (she/her) is an actor, producer, and volunteer in theatre. Her most recent Dacha appearance was in Dears in Headlights, joyfully storytelling with all who came to our drive-in. She is so grateful to be an artist, to get to share within this ensemble a delightful story of dreaming, scheming, and, dare she say, magic. The journey of life asks us to make bargains every day and watch the magic unfold as it may.

Cody Smith - Woland

​Cody Smith (he/him) is a local actor in Seattle ready to get back on stage after taking a couple years off for... reasons.

Nolan Spencer - Behemoth / Ensemble

Nolan Spencer (he/him) is excited to be joining Dacha for the first time for their production of The Master and Margarita! Soon to be graduating from Cornish College of the Arts, you might’ve seen him last in their production of Fun Home as Bruce Bechdel or in Pericles as Thaliard. He has also performed with Red Rover in their production of Asylum in Georgia.

Ben Symons* - The Master

Ben (he/him) is an Actor and IT professional. He loves board games, reading books, and playing the guitar poorly. Previous credits include: Dacha Theatre's Dice series, Emma with Centerstage Theater, miku, and the gods with ArtsWest, Three Musketeers with Greenstage, Eat Cake with Annex Theater, and As You Like It with Ghostlight Theatricals. He'd like to thank his wife for going along with all the nonsense, and his son for being wonderful.

Angela M Thomas - Koroviev

Angela (she/her) has a MA in Performance Studies from Louisiana State University and has written/directed for the HopKins Black Box Theatre. She has also worked with the Lauren Reilly Eliot Theatre Company (Lafayette, LA), in shows like Fences (Rose), and The Sound of Music (Mother Abbess) in a career that spans 20+ years. Angela is a school administrator by trade, the proud mother of three teenagers, and a recent transplant to Seattle.

Rachael Uyeno* - Yeshua / Ensemble

Rachael (she/her) is excited to be back on stage with Dacha, where she has served as an actor, ASM, fight choreographer, and just recently as a poster designer. She enjoys bouncing back and forth between Seattle and Honolulu for indeterminate amounts of time. Previous Dacha credits include: Metamorphoses, The Moors, and Dice: Romeo and Juliet.

Romijn Miller* - Assistant Stage Manager

Ro Miller (he/him) is an art educator to young (and sometimes old) creatives, with a focus on making sewing and crafting approachable and accessible to all. Past credits with Dacha include The Veil (props design) and Dice Keeper: Twelfth Night (costume design). Ro hails from California where he did theatre in a barn, and he would like to thank any goats in the audience who have made it out to a show in the city.

Ayla Wallace* - Production Manager

Ayla Wren Wallace (she/they) is a Seattle-based theatre maker, artist and yogi. They received their BA in Musical Theatre, Acting and Dance from the University of Washington and went on to study Classical and Contemporary Text Acting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. She is passionate about making art more accessible and collaborating on new works.

Kyle Levien* - Sound Design

Kyle (he/him) is a Seattle area musician/sound designer/composer who can be heard in theatres across the city. When he's not flying through Moscow and drinking Apricot soda he enjoys playing board games, and getting out on the lake. Past Dacha credits include Star Play, The Veil, Incomplete List, Dice (Twelfth Night, Romeo & Juliet, Pride & Prejudice), and Secret Admirer.

Robin Macartney - Scenic Design

Robin Macartney (she/her) is an award-winning set and prop designer who has been fortunate to work with a large number of the theater companies in Seattle and the Puget sound area. She is the resident set designer at Theatre off Jackson, as well as the former scene shop supervisor for the University of Puget Sound’s theater department.

Sara Staven* - Lighting Design

After spending the last 4 years working as a Technical Director and Lighting Designer for an Eastern WA high school, Sara (she/they) is thrilled to be making their Seattle debut as a lighting designer. Past Seattle credits include Stage Managment work with Pony World Theatre, Strawberry Workshop and Kirkland Performance Center. Sara would thank her family for all their love and support Dacha for this opportunity.

 Fantasia Rose - Costume Design

Fantasia (she/they) is a Seattle-based theater artist, with a focus in costume design. This is her seventh show with Dacha and she is absolutely thrilled to be back! She hopes you enjoy this wonderful show.

Alex Kronz* - Choreographer

Alex (they/them) is a Seattle based contemporary dancer+choreographer, theater artist, playwright, swing dancer, and drag king whose choreography weaves together high energy camp, surrealism, and emphasis on musicality and narrative. They last choreographed for Dacha in Orpheus & Eurydice and Kaleidoscope (2020-21). In January 2024 they produced, choreographed and danced in ‘Punchbowl’ an immersive dance show. Their dance film ‘the Wheel’ is upcoming.

Emma Cady* - Movement Associate and Actor Swing

Emma Cady (they/he) is a Seattle based circus artist, actor, dancer, mover, and physical comic. As a multi-media creator and performer his work focuses on combining different performance disciplines to tell exciting, authentic, and entertaining stories that explore themes of community, healing, self discovery, and the power of sharing joy. Learn more at emmacady.com

Olivia Dagley - Props Designer / Master Carpenter

Olivia (she/her) started her journey as a Props Master at Indiana University Jacob's School of Music, where she quickly climbed the ladder from back-painter to props assistant in mere months. She worked for JSOM for 5 years before setting off to St. Louis to be a props artisan for Opera Theater of St. Louis. After the Opera theater season came to a pass, Olivia then worked for a high-school, teaching kids the world of carpentry, while also helping build otherworldly sets for their theater program.

Ellie Hughes - Intimacy Coordinator

​​​​Ellie (she/her) is a Seattle-based producer, production manager, intimacy director, administrator, and performer. She has worked with Seattle Rep, Pony World Theatre, Washington Ensemble Theatre, Drama Dock, Vashon Repertory Theatre, ACT, and the 14/48 Projects. She is a proud company member of Pony World Theatre. Huge shoutout to the amazing humans of PNW Theatrical Intimacy for being an incredible community for theatrical intimacy work!

Audrey Herold* - Marketing Manager

Audrey (she/her) is an actor, costume designer and arts administrator from Seattle, WA. She received her BFA in Acting from TWU and MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle U. Favorite Dacha credits include: Ascendant (Veil), Cobalt (robot_face), Janitor (Ghost Party), US/Swing (Star*Play), and costume design for Pride & PrejuDICE. When not making theatre, Audrey perfects her penne arrabiata recipe and hangs out with her sweet ‘fraidy cat: Beth.

Montana Rizzuto - Technical Director 

​​​Montana (he/him) worked both on stage and off in Honolulu for many years after earning his theatre degree. He previously worked on Dacha Theatre’s (F)UNFAIR.

Montse Garza - Assist. Lighting Designer

Montse (she/her) is a Latina theater artist who moved to Seattle just over a year ago. She’s worn all sorts of hats from performer to designer to director, but lighting design is the niche she’s found for herself since graduating. This is by far the most complicated show Montse’s ever done - so she’s incredibly grateful to the Dacha production team (and especially Sara!) for having been so inclusive and teaching her so much. You can see Montse’s lighting design in The Shattered Glass Project’s New Works Festival coming this May!

Nate Olson^ - Master Electrician 

Nate (he/him) is a Stage Manager and general theatre technician, happy to be back in his hometown of Seattle after several years in New York. He has previously stage managed for NYU's Law Revue and several productions while a student at Whitman College. He loves singing and watching the magic of theater come together during the production process. During his daytime hours, Nate is an attorney and spends his free time reading or playing tabletop games. 
Past Dacha credits include: Stage Manager for Much Ado About Nothing, (F)unfair, An Incomplete List...; Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea

Henry Behrens* - Assist. Props Designer / Press Associate

Henry Behrens (they/them) is an actor, editor, designer and cat dad. They have handled props for Dacha Theatre, Centerstage Theatre and Auburn Community Players, including the recent production of Into the Woods. They enjoy storytelling through props and are excited to help bring The Master and Margarita to life!

Briana Schwartz* - Costume Assistant

Briana (she/her) is thrilled to assist Dacha on another show! You may have seen her previous work in previous Dacha shows, including As You Like It, Light Princess, Much Ado About Nothing, Dice: Romeo + Juliet, Dice Keeper: Twelfth Night, and Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea. Outside of theatre, she works at Arundel Bookshop. 

Steph Couturier* - COVID Safety Officer

Steph (they/she) is an actor, administrator, and informal educator. They are a graduate of the Seattle Children's Theatre Teaching Apprenticeship and have a BA in Theatre Education and Performance from Emerson College. You may have seen them as The Alchemist in The Veil, Luca in Girls School Memory Play, Goby in (F)UNFAIR, and Ophiuchus/Polaris in Star Play. Thank you for coming!

Patrick Hogan​* - Associate Producer of Audience Services/House Manager

Patrick (he/him) is thrilled to be at your service as Associate Producer of Audience Services, creating the space in which to maximize your theatrical experience. Past Dacha credits on the other side of the curtain include: An Incomplete List… (Orlin), :robot_face: (Chris Naff), Ghost Party (Regis Yaroz), Dears In Headlights (Clown). Fun fact: Patrick appeared in the first ever Dacha show, in 2016, as Juliet’s Nurse in Dream Things True.

Valerie Miller* - Associate Producer of PR/Marketing

Valerie (she/her) is an actor, casting consultant, and recently certified Artistic Mental Health Practitioner. She joined Dacha as a clown in Dears in Headlights and is delighted to continue supporting them. You can see her onstage next in Swing State at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts.

Rachael Uyeno* - Poster/Graphic Design

Kate Drummond^ - Co-Artistic Director, Additional Support

Daisy Schreiber^ - Dacha Staff Member, Additional Support

Orianna O'Neil* - Dacha Staff Member, Audience Services

Special Thanks

Russian Community Center, Theater Puget Sound, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Theatre off Jackson, University of Puget Sound, Renton Civic Theatre, Krikland Performance Center, Youth Theatre Northwest, Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Phinney Neighborhood Association, G&H Printing, Shunpike, Keep Posted, SIS Productions, The Harborview Confessions LLC, TGB, IU Musical Arts Center, Mila Nazyrova, Leo Lion, Pavel Lion, Polina Barskova, Monty Rozema, Joel Reid, Tim Moore, Desiree Kong, J Kimberly, Jilly, Louise Huntingford, Mike Drippé, Kristina Roy, Claire Stark, Charlie Collison, Robin Williams, Ralph Wiggum, Lilah, Laila, and Laelon Thomas, Steph Couturier, Mimi Katano, Jinbe, Tobiko, Jorin Young, Christine Lamborn, Harvey Melo, Charlie Levin, Christie Olsen, Terry Cady, Adam LaPine, Patrick Hogan Casey Bowen, Olivia Kridle, Thistle Theatre, Eric Mead for a beautiful first stab at this hilarious script, our promotional photographer Brett Love, our Dacha Company Members, and of course we are always grateful for the generous support of our subscribers and donors!

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Subscribers at every level will receive these perks:
- 1 ticket to each show in the 2023-2024 season
- Reserved priority seats
- Surprise gift/treat at each subscriber performance 
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Artistic Producing Staff
Co-Artistic Directors: Kate Drummond and Mike Lion
Co- Director of Production: Daisey Schreiber
Co-Director Production: Haley Thomas
Director of Development: Emily Huntingford
Director of Finance & Administration: Nathan Olson
Director of Audience Services: Orianna O'Neill
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