Shattered Globe Adds New Ensemble Members: AmBer Montgomery, Adam Schulmerich, and Leslie Ann Sheppard

Chicago’s Shattered Globe Theatre, now in its 33rd year of redefining what it means to be an ensemble theater, is pleased to announce the addition of three new Ensemble Members and four new Artistic Associates.

AmBer Montgomery, Adam Schulmerich and Leslie Ann Sheppard are the company’s newest Ensemble Members. Montgomery, Shattered Globe’s associate artistic director, will stage SGT’s Midwest premiere of Jump by Charly Evon Simpson next spring. Schulmerich is currently on stage in Shattered Globe’s hit production, A View from the Bridge. Sheppard most recently performed with SGT last spring in SGT’s widely acclaimed American premiere of London Road.

Shattered Globe also welcomes Elizabeth Margolius, Jasmine Cheri Rush, Becca Smith and Austin Winter as new Artistic Associates.

Producing Artistic Director and fellow Ensemble Member Sandy Shinner said, “SGT is thrilled to continue to expand our Ensemble and network of Artistic Associates with these talented Chicago theater artists. Adam Schulmerich and Becca Smith are currently on stage and behind the scenes in our now extended and soon-to-sell out production of A View From the Bridge. We look forward to AmBer Montgomery and Jasmine Cheri Rush’s work this spring on the Chicago premiere of Jump. Meanwhile, the artists of London Road, including Elizabeth Margolius (Jeff Award winner, best director), Leslie Ann Sheppard, Becca Smith and Austin Winter are all celebrating our Jeff Award for Best Production of a Musical! This is a great time to be at SGT and I couldn’t imagine a more exciting group of artists to add their voices to the company.”

Shattered Globe’s roots in ensemble-based theater are exemplified in the company’s current hit, A View From the Bridge. It’s directed by SGT Ensemble Member Louis Contey, who also staged the company’s 1993 production, 30 years ago. Fellow Ensemble Member Eileen Niccolai, who played Beatrice in 1993, also returned to reprise her role, alongside one of SGT’s new Ensemble Members, Adam Schulmerich. 

A View from the Bridge must close Sunday, October 22, but two additional performances have been added to the run due to strong box office demand. Purchase tickets online at sgtheatre.org, by calling the Theater Wit box office, (773) 975-8150, or in person at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. 

Better yet, there’s still time to buy, save and support Chicago storefront theater with a Shattered Globe Season Traveler Membership. SGT’s discounted, three-show package includes A View from the Bridge, the Chicago premiere comedy Flood by Mashuq Mushtaq Deen (January 25-March 9, 2024), and the Midwest premiere of Charly Evon Simpson’s Jump (April 19-June 1, 2024). Memberships range from $55 to $115 and are on sale now at sgtheatre.org/Membership. 

AmBer Montgomery (she/her) is a director, educator and multi-disciplinary artist from Detroit, Michigan. She is Shattered Globe Theatre’s associate artistic director, where she recently served as lead producer for Radial Gradient and directed Rasheeda Speaking, earning her a Jeff nomination for Best Director. This spring she will direct Jump for SGT. Montgomery also recently directed The Snow Queen (The House Theater), Countess Dracula (Otherworld Theater) and hippolytos (Story Theatre New Play Festival). Her associate and assistant directing credits include Sheepdog (Shattered Globe), School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play (Goodman Theatre), LINDIWE (Steppenwolf Theatre), Too Heavy for Your Pocket (TimeLine Theatre), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Writers Theatre), Measure for Measure (American Players Theater) and First Love is the Revolution (Steep Theatre). She was awarded a 2020 FAIR Assistantship at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and a 2018 Fellowship at Steppenwolf Theatre. She has attended training programs at the Globe Theater in London and LISPA (now Arthaus Berlin). Originally trained as an actor, Montgomery holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Minnesota Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program.

 
Adam Schulmerich (he/him) is currently playing Mike, an immigration officer and other characters as well as understudying the role of Eddie in SGT’s hit production of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge. His SGT credits also include Marvin’s Room, Five Mile Lake and Rasheeda Speaking. Other Chicago credits include The Spirit of '76 (The Agency Theatre Collective), Scissortail (Adapt Theatre), Inventing Van Gogh (Strange Bedfellows Theatre), Pontypool (Strawdog Theatre) and Wild (Kid Brooklyn Theatre). He holds a BFA in Theatre Arts and Film from SUNY Purchase College.

 
Leslie Ann Sheppard (she/her) is grateful to join SGT’s Ensemble where she has been an Artistic Associate since 2022. Her Shattered Globe credits include London Road (Jeff Award for Best Production of a Musical: Midsize) and Sheepdog (Jeff Award/BTAA nominations). Select Chicago credits include MJ’s Palmer Square Picnic Adventure (Chicago Children’s Theatre), Mr. Burns: a Post-Electric Play (Theater Wit, Jeff Award/BWW Chicago /Chicago Reader Best of 2021 nominated), SS! Macbeth (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Harriet Jacobs (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Eclipsed (Northlight Theatre, BTAA Award), The Lost Boys of Sudan (Victory Gardens), Cinderella and the Theatre of Potatoes (The Hypocrites), The Tragedy of King Christophe (House Theatre of Chicago) and A House with No Walls (TimeLine Theatre Company). Resident/Touring: Gershwin’s Magic Key (Classical Kids Live!/Kennedy Center), Pirates of Penzance (The Hypocrites Chicago/Pasadena Playhouse). TV/Film: Chicago Fire (NBC), Mob Doctor (FX/Sony), Subordinate. She's an alum of Illinois State University. leslieannsheppard.com

New Artistic Associates - Biographies 

 
Elizabeth Margolius (she/her) is a stage and movement director. She most recently won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Director of a Musical for Shattered Globe’s London Road. A five-time Joseph Jefferson Award nominee, her directorial credits include work with American Stage, Opera Southwest, Peninsula Players, Renaissance Theaterworks, Firebrand Theatre, Chicago Opera Theater, Underscore Theatre, Chicago Folks Operetta, American Theater Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Assistant Director), City Lit Theater, Bailiwick Chicago, and Bohemian Theatre Ensemble. Margolius is an alumna of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, is a trained classical flautist, and has studied movement techniques from around the world. She is a proud member of the American Guild of Musical Artists and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

 
Jasmine Cheri Rush (she/her) is excited to become an Artistic Associate with Shattered Globe, where she played Nelly in their production of STEW in 2022. She is elated to return to SGT in the Chicago Premiere of Jump in 2024. Other credits include Twelfth Night (St. Louis Shakespeare Festival), School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park) and King Lear (Shakespeare & Company). Rush holds a BFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. She is represented by Gray Talent Group.

 
Becca Smith (she/her) is excited to be joining the team with Shattered Globe. Her SGT credits include A View From The Bridge, London Road, STEW, Rasheeda Speaking, This Wide Night and Sheepdog. Other Chicago credits include This Is Only A Test (Broken Nose Theatre). Smith holds a BFA in Theatre Arts from The Theatre School at DePaul University and is currently both a Production Assistant with Broadway In Chicago and a Company Member with Playmaker’s Laboratory.

 
Austin Winter (they/them) is proud to join Shattered Globe as an Artistic Associate. SGT costume design credits include STEW and London Road. Other Chicago credits include 1919 (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), She Loves Me (Blank Theater) and Passing Strange (Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre). Regional credits include West Side Story, A Christmas Carol (Milwaukee Repertory Theater); Romeo and Juliet, A Midnight Cry, Matilda, The Amazing Lemonade Girl (First Stage Theater); The Wiz, Dragon Pack Snack Attack (Hope Repertory Theater); STEW, Underneath The Lintel, How to Catch Creation, Home (Milwaukee Chamber Theater). Winter holds their BA in Music Theater and MM in Musical Theater Pedagogy from Carthage College. There, they were the recipient of the Herbert C. Kuth Scholarship, Hazel Bothe Memorial Scholarship, Graduate Music Assistantship, and KCACTF’s National Citizen Artist Award, for Carthage’s world premiere of A Seat at the Table by Regina Taylor. Winters is represented by Gray Talent Group. austinwinter.com @austwintermint

About Shattered Globe Theatre
Shattered Globe Theatre was born in a storefront space on Halsted Street in 1991. Since then, SGT has produced more than 80 plays, including nine American and world premieres, and garnered an impressive 44 Jeff Awards and 118 Jeff Award nominations, as well as the acclaim of critics and audiences alike. 

Shattered Globe Theatre, guided by Producing Artistic Director Sandy Shinner, seeks to discover new connections between story, artist and audience by exploring drama from bold, challenging perspectives, and continuously redefining what it means to be an ensemble theatre. 

Shattered Globe’s values are rooted in a commitment to racial equity, respect for all artists and support for the ensemble, while creating new opportunities to amplify traditionally marginalized voices and collaborate in all aspects of our work. Through initiatives such as the Protégé Program, Shattered Globe creates a space which allows emerging artists to grow and share in the ensemble experience.

Shattered Globe Theatre’s Ensemble has 31 members: Judy Anderson, Rosie Chevalier, Louis Contey, David Dastmalchian, Demetra Dee, Joe Forbrich, Christina Gorman, Daria Harper, Tina M. Jach, Rebecca Jordan, Steve Kleinedler, Vivian Knouse, AmBer Montgomery, Tina Muñoz Pandya, Eileen Niccolai, Jazzma Pryor, Hailey Rakowiecki, Deanna Reed-Foster, Linda Reiter, Nate Santana, Drew Schad, Adam Schulmerich, Leslie Ann Sheppard, Sandy Shinner, Joe Sikora, Roger Smart, Shelley Strasser, Devonte E. Washington, Sarah Jo White, Joseph Wiens and Brad Woodard.

SGT’s Artistic Associates now number 20 including Daniela Colucci, Mikey Gray, Lawrence Grimm, Darren Jones, Christopher Kriz, Jason Lynch, Elizabeth Margolius, Kelsey Melvin, Tim Newell, Jane Nix, Aila Peck, Steve Peebles, David Antonio Reed, Jasmine Cheri Rush, Angie Shriner, Abbey Smith, Becca Smith, Michael Trudeau, Ayanna Wimberley and Austin Winter.

Shattered Globe Theatre is partially supported and funded by generous grants from The Bayless Family Foundation, The Shulman-Rochambeau Charitable Foundation, Brenda and James Grusecki, Carol P. Eastin, a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Daniel Cyganowski, The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council and The Saints.

Visit sgtheatre.org for subscriptions, tickets and information, and follow the company @shatteredglobe on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

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