ADVISORY COMPANY
The Advisory Company is responsible for artistic oversight of Forward Theater Company.
Casem AbuLughod is a Madison based performer and human. A graduate of University of Wisconsin - Madison, he also holds a Master of Arts in Applied Theatre from the City University of New York. He is an improv performer and instructor with the Monkey Business Institute, an actor and teaching artist with Whoopensocker, and has performed with several Madison area theaters, including CTM, Are We Delicious?, and Strollers. Forward audiences may know him from his time as a droid in crisis during the Within These Walls monologue festival. He is currently working on his newest role, father. He almost has the lines down.
James Carrington is an actor and singer based in Milwaukee and a graduate of UW-Madison's Acting Specialist B.F.A. Program. Some favorite roles include Matt in Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play, Man 3 in The Ballad Of Emmett Till, The Lion in The Wiz, William Barfèe in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Jim Fingal in Lifespan of a Fact, Dun in Pipeline and Golden Thunder in Airness. James has worked with: Children's Theater of Madison, Door Shakespeare, Renaissance Theaterworks, First Stage Theatre, Skylight Music Theatre, Forward Theater, Northern Sky Theater and more. When not acting he can be found cooking, playing Dungeons and Dragons, or watching copious amounts of Disney or Marvel. Support the arts!
Jono de Leon is a freelance designer and photographer who recently moved back to Madison after working in California, New York, and Texas. A Texas native, Jono graduated from UW Madison with his Master's Degree in 2012. After graduating he worked for the UW Madison Theater Department as the Lighting and Sound Supervisor before moving to California to become the Master Electrician for the University of California, Davis. While in California he helped update the standards, safety procedures, and training for the department while mentoring students to take professional internships and careers across the US. Jono also worked as the Lighting Supervisor for a local theater in Austin, Texas as well as for New York Stage and Film's 2018 season in Poughkeepsie, New York. Throughout all of this Jono has continued to pursue photography as a hobby and his most recent project included documenting the amazing artwork that came out of the downtown protests here in Madison.
Elyse is a proud Milwaukee-based actor and theater educator. Elyse’s professional Wisconsin acting credits include multiple productions with Forward Theater Company, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, In Tandem Theatre, First Stage, Door Shakespeare, Ruach Inc., American Players Theatre, and the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Some other regional theater credits include The Guthrie, Park Square Theatre, Minnesota Shakespeare Company, People’s Centre Theatre (Minneapolis/St. Paul), Utah Shakespeare Festival (Cedar City), Chicago Children’s Theatre, The Accidents (Chicago), and Riverside Theatre in the Park (Iowa City). As a teaching artist, she has developed curriculum for many professional theaters, schools, and youth correctional facilities. This includes serving as Director of Camp Will, Door Shakespeare’s summer theater program, and on the faculty for First Stage Milwaukee’s Young Company. Training: University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor’s Training Program. London International School of Performing Arts.
Mike is a Milwaukee-based dramaturg. From 2003-2018, he saw over 200 plays each year on behalf of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, covering theater productions throughout Wisconsin as well as northern Illinois while also writing book reviews that appeared in newspapers throughout the United States. In his post-critic’s life, Mike has served as a dramaturg or written educational materials on behalf of Wisconsin theater productions at Forward as well as the Constructivists, First Stage, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Next Act Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks and Theatre RED. Mike is also a Joseph Jefferson Committee judge in Chicago and a longtime judge for the Steinberg New Play Award competition. Mike received his undergraduate degree from Yale and his MA from the University of Michigan, both in English Literature. He lives in Whitefish Bay with his wife, Elaine.
Emily Glick is a Madison based performer and educator. She is the Chair of the Theatre Department at Madison Country Day School, where she recently won a Jerry Award for directing. As a performer, she has worked with Forward Theater, Madison Opera, Children's Theater of Madison, Capitol City Theatre, and Music Theatre of Madison. Chicago credits include Timeline Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Paramount Theatre, and Chicago Children's Theatre. Emily holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from The University of Michigan.
Laura is a Milwaukee based actor and director. For Forward she has directed Heisenberg, Red, and >i>Going to St. Ives, and has acted in Artemisia and Good People. She was recently seen as Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre; Prospero in The Tempest, Santa Cruz Shakespeare; Winnie in Happy Days, Renaissance Theaterworks. Directing credits include work at American Players Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Renaissance Theaterworks, Next Act Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Utah Shakespeare Festival, and Santa Cruz Shakespeare. A twenty year member of the Milwaukee Rep’s resident acting company, her credits there include the Stage Manager in Our Town, Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman, Sister Aloysius in Doubt, Queen Elizabeth in Mary Stuart, Maureen in The Beauty Queen of Leenane. A Lunt-Fontanne Fellow, Laura received her MFA in Acting from the University of Iowa and is a member of SDC and Actors Equity Association.
Clare is a Wisconsin native, and received her MFA in Acting with an emphasis in Voice for the Actor from UW-Madison. She has since worked as a professional actor, voice and speech coach, and teaching artist for theaters throughout the Midwest, including Theatre LILA, American Players Theatre, Overture Center for the Arts, Wisconsin Story Project, Children's Theatre of Madison, First Stage, Renaissance Theaterworks, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, and Madison Opera. She recently appeared as Henrietta Leavitt in FTC's production of Silent Sky, as well as Theatre LILA’s The Suitcase Dreams. Clare is currently working with UW-Madison to create and develop curriculum for a new Communicative Sciences program. She is a proud member of AEA, VASTA, and TESOL. She resides in Sun Prairie with her dear son Ben, her crazy dog Wilson, and her ever-supportive and rockstar of a husband, Scott.
Josh grew up in Milwaukee and now makes his home in Menomonee Falls, WI with his wife, Rachel, and their cats. He went to Cardinal Stritch University in Glendale, WI where he received his BA in Theater before going to Indiana University to get his Masters in Acting. He returned to Wisconsin because his mentor, C. Michael Wright, former artistic director of Milwaukee Chamber, offered him his first professional job, Great Expectations (Pip), and Josh is forever grateful. His love of theater making has led him to perform with many theaters around the area including Milwaukee Chamber Theater, Children’s Theater of Madison, Next Act, American Players Theatre, and Forward Theater. In addition to acting, Josh is a teaching artist for the Milwaukee Rep and American Players Theatre, and works as a private coach. When not making theater he can be found playing D&D, reading Stephen King, or watching Great British Bake Off.
Neil (he/they) is a proud transgender and queer Scenic Designer, Art Director, and Educator with over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre and Drama at the University of Wisconsin Madison where he teaches everything from Scenic Design to Script Analysis. As an artist, Neil has experience working all over the country and has extensive experience in a variety of fields including: theatre, television, themed entertainment, and museum exhibit design. Selected theatre credits include: Airness (Forward Theater), Act a Lady (Stage Q – Madison, WI), The Time Machine (New York Musical Theatre Festival - Nominee for Best Overall Design), and A Dog Story (Off-Broadway – NYC). Selected themed entertainment credits include: The Secret Life of Pets – Dark Ride (Universal Studios, Hollywood), and the Dodger Stadium All-Star Game renovation (Los Angeles, CA). Neil is a proud member of United Scenic Artists – USA 829. He earned his MFA in Scenic Design at Carnegie Mellon University. Website: www.neilmillsdesign.com
Nadja is a Milwaukee based actor and teaching artist. She moved from Cincinnati, Ohio to attend Marquette University and received degrees in both theater arts and digital media. Since then she has acted in regional theaters around Wisconsin, including First Stage Children's Theater, The Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Northern Sky Theater, Summit Players Theater, and the Children's Theater of Madison. She found her way to Forward Theater in 2019 where she performed as Amelia/Kat in Mary Jane. She immediately fell in love with the Forward family and is ecstatic to be a member of the Advisory Company. Lots of love goes to her family back home and to the incredibly supportive theater community in Wisconsin.
Noele Stollmack is a Milwaukee based lighting and scenery designer. Forward Theater productions include the lighting for Life Sucks, I and You, Every Brilliant Thing, Mary Jane and The Lifespan of a Fact. Her work has appeared onstage at The Brooklyn Academy of Music, Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, The Library of Congress Theatre, as well as the opera companies residing in Ontario, Houston, Portland, Vancouver, New Orleans, Nashville, Madison and Milwaukee. Regional design for the theatre includes Jeff Daniels Purple Rose Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Houston’s Alley Theatre, Wisconsin’s Chamber Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Skylight Music Theatre, American Players Theatre, Children’s Theatre of Madison and First Stage Children’s Theatre. Some notable examples of Noele’s scenic realization and set design includes Meredith Monk’s international tours of mercy & impermanence, Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Albert Herring, Dido and Aeneas, Venus and Adonis, Rio de Sangre, Macbeth, Tristan und Isolde and Magic Flute for the Florentine Opera; Rape of Lucretia at Toledo Opera; Pagliacci with Columbus Opera; and Mirandolina for the Milwaukee Rep. As Lighting Director for Houston Grand Opera, she supervised the lighting and special effects for over 50 productions along with designing the lighting for such productions as Andrei Serban’s Elektra, Dr. Jonathan Miller’s Der Rosenkavalier and the world premieres of Harvey Milk, Desert of Roses and Dracula Diary. Noele’s AIA award winning architectural and public space lighting is installed throughout the Midwest.