Dracula: A Horror Story at Renaissance Theatre

Samantha Woodill (she/her) is honored to appear once again at the Renaissance Theatre. An Akron native and now Columbus local, she is an actor, dancer, and choreographer. Recent acting credits include “Jesus Christ Superstar” (Pontius Pilate), “The Producers” (Ulla), “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat” (Narrator), “Our Town” (Emily), and “Rent” (Maureen). She would like to thank this amazing team that helped create this beautiful yet haunting piece. And thank you Ryan Shealy, for trusting an amazing cast with your work.

George Swarn is excited to return to his hometown and to the Renaissance Theatre as Dracula. His last performance here at the Ren was back in 2023 as William Shakespeare in “Something Rotten”. Since then, Swarn moved to Columbus and has been seen in plays/musicals such as “Good Grief” with the Contemporary Theatre of Ohio and “HAIR” with Short North Stage. As always, he would like you to know that pickles do, in fact, belong on pizza.

Jacob Poiner holds a B.A. in Theatre (Musical Theatre Emphasis) as well as a B.M. in Music Education from Ashland University and currently serves as the 7–12 Director of Choirs and Director of Theatre at Lexington Local Schools. Previous credits include Roger (“Rent”), Gaston (“Beauty and the Beast”), Caiaphas (“Jesus Christ Superstar”), Roger (“Grease”), Jeff (“[title of show]”), Pirelli (“Sweeney Todd”), Dan (“Next to Normal”), and Emile (“South Pacific”). Previous Music Direction credits with the Renaissance include “Cabaret”, “Spring Awakening”, “South Pacific”, “Rent”, and “Next to Normal”. He hopes you all enjoy the show!

Nykera Gardner is a graduate of Bowling Green State University where she studied musical theater. You may have seen Nykera in her last performance of Anna in HÄXAN the new musical in Theater 166. She has also performed in multiple shows during the Renaissance's last season, performed at the Harmony Dinner Theater in BEEHIVE as Jasmine, in her school's production of SPONGEBOB THE MUSICAL as Perch Pekins, and Clare in POOR CLARE. Nykera has also appeared on screen in "The Lifeguards Movie" as Brenda, available on Amazon Prime. She hopes you have as much fun at the show as much as she does. You can keep up with her by following @kera.kate on Instagram to see what she's up to next.

Drew Traxler would like to thank you for taking the time to actually read these bios. Most people ignore these blurbs, but not you! You are special; you’ve taken time to dig into the fine accomplishments of this incredibly talented group of actors, crew and production team members. We’ve had a blast putting this show together for you as I’m certain you could tell. As for me? You all know me. I’ve been kicking around on these boards since 1998. It’s always a pleasure. Thank you for joining us yet again. P.S. Shout out to my son Atlas!!

Nikki Stitak is happy to join The Renaissance's production of Dracula once again. She is a graduate of AMDA New York and works in the executive offices here at the theatre. Previous Renaissance credits include Mamma Mia (Donna Sheridan), A Funny Thing . . . Forum (Gymnasia), Dracula (Dr. Seward), Fiddler on the Roof (Fruma-Sarah), and Jesus Christ Superstar (Annas). She has also worked as a vocalist at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Niko Carter (they/he) is an actor and director based out of Central Ohio, but is originally from the Cleveland area! They have a BFA in Acting/Directing with a focus in Stage Combat. They would like to thank their friends and family for always being their biggest supporters and the cast for the amazing work on this production. Recent Credits include Jude Holloway (“Bobby & The Chimps”), Eric Glass (“The Inheritance”), Ben (“Straight”), Marcellus (“The Music Man”), and Moritz (“Spring Awakening”). BLM. Trans Rights are Human Rights. Facebook: Niko Carter, Instagram: @KneeCoCarts

Jake Sustersic is so grateful to be returning to the 166 for this refreshing take on a dark classic! A regular of NE Ohio theatre for over a decade, some of Jake's favorite roles include Sweeney Todd (“Sweeney Todd in Concert”), Cornelius Hackl (“Hello, Dolly!”), Leon Czolgosz (“Assassins”), Frank N. Furter (“The Rocky Horror Show”), Luther Billis (“South Pacific”), and Jacob Marley (“A Christmas Carol”). You might even catch him performing jazz around the area these days as well! He would like to thank Ryan for his sheer vision as writer and director, the production team for getting the whole thing running through creative force and discipline, and his wonderful castmates for the heart they've each brought to the production to make this show as layered and heartfelt as it has become. He would also like to thank his partner, Sharon, and the community here who has welcomed him with open arms! Here's to the fools who dream!

Zakari Ramos is a junior this year at Ontario High School where he participates in the Rhapsody in Blue Show Choir. He spends his free time taking dance and music lessons at the Richland Academy of the Arts, playing guitar, choreographing, playing with his dog, and hanging around downtown Mansfield. Zakari has participated in many shows at the Renaissance Theatre, on stage and off. You may have seen him as Mark in “A Chorus Line”, LeFou in “Beauty and The Beast”, The Prince in MY Theatre’s “Cinderella”, Patsy in “Spamalot”, and many more. Recently he also filmed for Miss Ohio, and worked backstage for “Fun Home” and “[title of show]”. He hopes you enjoy the show!

Mindy Tishue—She has been seen in “Wizard of Oz”, “Sweeney Todd”, “Something Rotten”, “Follies”, “Rent”, and “A Chorus Line”, just to name a few. She is also involved with the Emerging Artists series at the Ren and works backstage for many shows. When not involved in performances, Mindy is the Manager and Buyer for the Kingwood Center Garden & Gift Shop. She hopes you enjoy the show.

Haley Noel Bedocs is a local actress and you may recognize her as she is the Patron Experience Manager here at the Ren. She's been involved in several productions over the past five years or so but her most recent Renaissance credits include Mirala in “Fiddler on the Roof” in concert and Usherette in “The Producers”. Haley is also involved with the local Mansfield Shakespeare Company and most recently performed in “Twelfth Night” as Antonio (2024) and Helena in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (2025). When Haley’s not performing or working, she’s busy being a mom of two and a bonus mom of one. She likes to read fantasy novels and play video games in her free time. She is incredibly grateful for the endless support for her passions that she receives from her partner, her friends, her coworkers, and her family. Enjoy the show!

Katie Harrigan is excited to be participating in her eighth show at the Renaissance Theatre! Previous productions include “Newsies”, “Annie”, “Mamma Mia”, and “Rock of Ages”. This will also be her second time performing in “Beauty and the Beast” at the Ren. Outside of musical theatre, Katie is a content coordinator and choreographer with Ashland Regional Ballet where she has trained in tap, jazz, ballet, modern, and pointe. She enjoys all things arts related including singing, dancing, figure skating, photography, playing guitar, and songwriting. She is so proud to share the stage with a wonderful cast and crew and hopes audiences love the show!

Nikki Stitak is a professional actor, singer, and dancer located in the mid-Ohio region. She graduate of AMDA New York's Studio Conservatory Program. She has originated the roles of "Dr. Seward" in Ryan Shealy's Dracula and "Sister Cecelia" in Haxan: A Witchcraft Musical, both at Theatre 166. Other recent credits include "Nicely Nicely Johnson" in Guys & Dolls (The Renaissance Theatre), "Donna Sheridan" in Mamma Mia (The Renaissance Theatre), "Rachel" in Gloria! (Busch Gardens Williamsburg), and "Bella" in Scrooge No More (Busch Gardens Williamsburg). 

Ryan Shealy (Director) is excited and honored to be directing his twelfth production for the Renaissance. Previous productions include “Annie”, “The Last Five Years”, “Cabaret”, “Little Shop of Horrors”, “Spring Awakening”, “Spamalot”, “Next to Normal”, “title of show”, “Rent”, and “Beauty and the Beast”, and “Dracula”. Ryan has been with the Ren since 2017. He is very grateful to Michael Thomas, Chelsie Thompson, and the rest of the staff for this continued opportunity.

Aaron Nicolas (Sound Designer) has had a passion for music and the arts his entire life. That passion drove him toward music performance, composition, and eventually production. From the age of fourteen, Aaron has honed his music production skills, working from makeshift recording rooms, made of mattresses, to professional recording studios. After studying music composition at Indiana Wesleyan University, Aaron transferred to the Berklee College of Music where he studied Electronic Music Production and Sound Design. Aaron left Berklee to tour full time as an electronic producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist for The La De Les and Trouper. After The La De Les, Aaron taught music for a year in Battambang Cambodia eventually returning to Mansfield, Ohio where he became an adjunct audio engineering instructor for Pioneer Performing Arts and the front of house sound engineer for Crossroads Community Church. Now, Aaron is excited to use his production talent, experience and passion for the arts at the Renaissance.

Linda Turske (Costume Designer) holds a Business Administration degree from Ashland University and is owner of Sew What’s New!? Linda has costumed for the Renaissance Theatre since 2019. When not sewing, Linda enjoys reading, thrifting, and spending time with her six children (one of whom is Ren set designer, Jason Kaufman) and nine grandchildren. Enjoy the show!

Katie Harrigan is excited to be participating in another show at the Renaissance Theatre! Previous productions include “Newsies”, “Annie”, “Mamma Mia”, and “Rock of Ages”. This will also be her second time performing in “Beauty and the Beast” at the Ren. Outside of musical theatre, Katie is a content coordinator and choreographer with Ashland Regional Ballet where she has trained in tap, jazz, ballet, modern, and pointe. She enjoys all things arts related including singing, dancing, figure skating, photography, playing guitar, and songwriting. She is so proud to share the stage with a wonderful cast and crew and hopes audiences love the show!

Jason Kaufman (Set Designer) is the set designer at the Renaissance Theatre. He is also a sculptor, poet, and enjoys growing native plants on his property in Bellville. To see more of Jason’s work, please follow him on Instagram @jasonkaufman_artist

Seth Morrison (Technical Director) is a lighting designer, technical director, scenic carpenter, and audiovisual technician with a BA in Theatre from Ashland University. He has worked on productions such as “Trojan Women”, “Seussical the Musical”, and “Baskerville” at Ashland University, as well as “Back to the Divine Comedy” with The OSU Mansfield Theatre Program. Seth has also designed for “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at Weathervane Playhouse, which earned a Theatre Roundtable award for excellence in lighting. He has supported live events at The Ashland Theatre and served as Stage Manager for the Ashland Symphony Orchestra. Seth is thrilled to join the Renaissance Theatre team and contribute to their artistic vision!

Niko Carter (they/he) is an actor and director based out of Central Ohio, but is originally from the Cleveland area! They have a BFA in Acting/Directing with a focus in Stage Combat. They would like to thank their friends and family for always being their biggest supporters and the cast for the amazing work on this production. Recent Credits include Jude Holloway (“Bobby & The Chimps”), Eric Glass (“The Inheritance”), Ben (“Straight”), Marcellus (“The Music Man”), and Moritz (“Spring Awakening”). BLM. Trans Rights are Human Rights. Facebook: Niko Carter, Instagram: @KneeCoCarts

Nikolas Demers (Asst. Director/Stage Manager) (He/They) first became involved at the Renaissance Theatre through a college internship in the summer of 2018. Since then, he has worked on nearly every production in a variety of positions, including stage manager, assistant director, props master, assistant technical director, etc. He is honored to be a part of this production, and to have had the opportunity to work with such a talented cast and crew. He hopes you enjoy “Dracula”!

Michael Thomas (Director) has served as Artistic Director at the Renaissance Theatre for the past 18 years, and has directed nearly 100 productions on our stages, including “Hello, Dolly!”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “Grease”, “Follies”, “Something Rotten!”, “The Music Man”, “Once”, “Hairspray”, “Dreamgirls”, “Les Misérables”, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, “Assassins”, “Sweeney Todd”, “Sunday in the Park with George”, “The Light in the Piazza”, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”, “Cinderella”, “Ain’t Misbehavin”, “Sister Act”, “Ragtime”, “A Chorus Line”, “Mamma Mia”, “Newsies”, “White Christmas”, “Rock of Ages”, “Matilda”, “Avenue Q”, “Mary Poppins”, and “Chicago”. Originally from New London, he attended the Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College, and Wright State University before heading off to Chicago where he musical directed the national tours of “The Secret Garden” and “Once On This Island”, co-wrote the long-running “Hamlet: The Musical” with Jeff Richmond, performed with The Second City, and also received three coveted Joseph Jefferson Awards for his theatre work, including “With or Without Wings”, which was named ‘Best New Play of 2001’. His original musical, “Melancholy Baby” (also written with Jeff Richmond) was the inaugural show at New York City’s acclaimed Ars Nova Theatre in 2002. His original works that have had their world premiere on our stages include, “At Last: An Evening with Etta James”, “The Last Act”, “Hot Mess: A Lethal New Musical”, “Remember Me Always: Highschool Yearbook 1977”, “The Unforgettable Marvelenes”, “Twilight Gardens”, and the film for Ren Studios, “Heartaches”. Michael has spearheaded the Emerging Artists Program, a nationally recognized program that fosters new works for the stage and film. Housed at Theatre 166, our black box space, it allows writers, composers, lyricists, choreographers, and poets to workshop and develop original plays, musicals, and dance and film projects.

Jeff Richmond is an award-winning composer, songwriter, and producer for television, theatre, and film. He served as composer and an Executive Producer on NBC’s “30 Rock”, winning three Primetime Emmy Awards alongside his wife Tina Fey. He was a musical director at “The Second City” in Chicago and at “Saturday Night Live”, where he spent five seasons composing original songs for stars like Jack Black, Queen Latifah, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Jeff’s New York theatre credits include his musical “Melancholy Baby”, the inaugural production of the Ars Nova Theater, and the score for “Fully Committed on Broadway” starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Jeff is also the Tony-nominated composer of “Mean Girls: The Musical”. He also executive produced, directed and scored episodes of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”. Other producing, composing, or song writing credits include Netflix’s “Girls 5Eva” with Sarah Barellis and the upcoming “The Four Seasons” with Tina Fey and Steve Carell.

Since joining the Renaissance team in 2010, Chelsie has held various roles including Symphony Operations and Education Manager, Director of Operations in 2012, President in 2018, and President & CEO since 2022. With a background including positions at organizations like the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and COSI Columbus Science Center, she brings a wealth of experience. Chelsie holds a bachelor's in music performance from Capital University, an M.A. in Arts Administration from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and an MBA from UC's Lindner College of Business. Her extensive community involvement encompasses roles such as Allocations Chair for the United Way of Richland County, Vice President for Richland Newhope Industries, and participation in various boards and organizations. Beyond her professional life, Chelsie enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.

Lee McIntosh was born in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. He is the owner and founder of Potent Studios which specializes in film, audio and design. He is the producer and drummer of the alternative rock band, Oddepoxy. He is also the co-founder of Dyad Games who has produced successful titles such as the card game Kamakura: A Game of Feudal Japanese Warfare.