CARTER NORTON (Gordon Michael Schwinn) (he/him) is THRILLED to be a part of this show! This is his third main stage performance at Cornish. Previously, he performed as Tulsa in Gypsy, and in the Ensemble of Sweeney Todd. He is very appreciative of the love and support from the people in his life and is grateful for the opportunity to tell this story, which he doesn’t take for granted one bit. He hopes you enjoy it as much as he does! 

RAELYN BJORKMAN (Lisa/Homeless Woman) (she/her) is a second year Musical Theater major from a small town in Illinois. She is overjoyed to be making her main stage debut as Lisa, the Homeless Lady. Raelyn started her theater journey in her sophomore year of high school in Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella in the ensemble and absolutely fell in love with the beautiful combination of song, dance and acting all in one. Cornish has had an amazing influence on her performance; she can’t thank her instructors enough. Be the CHANGE! 

NATALIE TRIPP (Rhoda) (she/her) This is Natalie’s 3rd mainstage here at Cornish. She understudied Johanna in Sweeney Todd last fall and was Dainty June in Gypsy last spring! She is honored to be working with this amazingly talented cast and crew. She’s so excited to a part of this show and she hopes you enjoy! #whyisthesmartsonalwaysthegayson 

LEAH LUSK (Waitress, Minister) (she/her) is very grateful to return as the Minister in A New Brain. She’s been filling Skinner with songs as Johanna in Sweeney Todd, Mopsa in The Winter’s Tale, and Georgette/Amadine in Amélie. As her last Mainstage show, she thanks Rich for always believing in her, her mom and dad for always showing up, and her friends and faculty for guiding her. She will be seen next in Jane, a one-woman play about the perpetuation and impact of sexual abuse. @leahmarielusk 

JOSH MILLER (Mr. Bungee, U/S Gordon) is so excited to be wearing a big froggy suit in A New Brain!! You may have seen Josh last semester as The Chaplain in Mother Courage and Her Children, or as The Beadle in Sweeney Todd in Fall 25’. Josh is so excited to be back on stage with their friends and honored to perform this show for everyone. All the love to Miller fam and Deej. Enjoy the show. 

OLESIA WINBUSH (Nancy D., Dance Captain) (she/her) is new to Seattle and Cornish College of the Arts and is very excited to be in her first production here. She has spent the last two years at PCPA in their acting conservatory and chose to transfer to Cornish to continue her education. She is so excited to be here and can’t wait to see what the future holds.  

BEA WILLIAMS (Ensemble, U/S Rhoda) (she/her) is excited to be participating in A New Brain this fall. She is a 3rd year Musical Theatre student at Cornish and has previously been involved in productions of Gypsy: A Musical Fable and Everybody with the college. She would like to thank everyone involved in the production, and she hopes the audience enjoys the show! 

ELLIE NUCCI (Dr. Jafar Berensteiner) (she/her) This is Ellie’s last show before her senior thesis and would like to thank every single person in the cast, crew and production team who made it not only possible but amazing. Big shoutout to each and every professor who supported and helped her grow as an artist up to this point, and especially to friends all the way from day one that gave her a much-needed push in the right direction. Love you all, could not have done it without you. Here’s to songs of improving! 

JOAQUIN QUIOGUE-BARTON (Richard) (he/him) is a sophomore Musical Theatre Major and is ecstatic to make his Cornish Main Stage debut! Joaquin is originally from Riverside, California, where he was involved in many theater projects in and out of school. Joaquin would like to thank his family for all their love, support, and trust. He could not have made it this far without any of them. Joaquin hopes that this is just the beginning here at Cornish, and the greater Seattle area. He can’t wait to see what’s in store for him in the next coming years.  

EMERY VAN SICKLE (Roger) (he/him) is a second year Musical Theatre major from Milwaukie, Oregon and is incredibly proud to be making his mainstage debut as Roger. He would like to thank his family for always supporting him in his musical journey. From a young age, Emery understood the importance of queer representation and strives to depict beautiful, compelling, and complex queer characters and relationships on stage. He wants to thank his director Rich Gray for this incredible opportunity and the entire cast and artistic team creating such a beautifully supportive environment. 

MCKENNA HOOVER (Mimi Schwinn) (she/her) is thrilled to be making her return to the Cornish stage as the loving and, some might say, over-protective mother, Mimi Schwinn in this production of A New Brain. A Las Vegas native, McKenna started her artistic journey in opera studies and has since shifted her focus to musical theater. As she begins her second year here at Cornish, she is looking forward to continued expansion of her artistic endeavors and to paving her way into the theater scenes of Seattle and beyond. She hopes that after today, we are inspired to love louder and to make the most of the time that we are given. 

JAMIE MATTHEWS (U/S Mr. Bungee) (he/they) is a 3rd year Acting & Original Works student at Cornish College of The Arts at Seattle University! They’re born and raised in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. You may remember them from the Cornish production Mother Courage and Her Children back in April this year as The Town Crier. Jamie thanks their friends, family, and everyone else who supported their passion for performing and storytelling! 

RICHARD GRAY (Director) is currently the Program Director of Musical Theater at Cornish. He has also directed Cornish productions of Hope This Helps, Amélie, Chess, Head Over Heels, Pippin, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Theory of Relativity, Company, Lift, Nine, Quilters, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Grand Hotel and last year’s production of Sweeney Todd. As an actor, he was last seen at the Seattle Rep in Come from Away. 

LIV JACKSON (Assistant Director) 

JAKE DAHMS (Music Director) (he/him) is a Performer, Composer, Playwright, and Educator in Seattle. Jake has taught at Seattle University, Seattle JazzEd and Seattle Public Schools. Jake holds a BM in Music from Cornish College of The Arts. Jake’s Recent work includes Original Music for: Mother Courage and Her Children (Cornish @ SU) and Rat Cage (Annex Theatre) and his original song cycle Hope This Helps (2026). Thank you Rich, Holland, this incredible cast and Jess. 

HOLLAND GRAHAM (Choreographer) (they/them) is a choreographer, director, performer, and educator returning to Seattle after a decade on the East Coast. Their work includes choreography and performance at Village Theatre, The 5th Avenue Theatre, and Seattle Children’s Theatre. They have held faculty appointments at Berklee College of Music, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and Cornish College of the Arts. Holland holds a BA in Dance from Point Park University and an MA in Theatre Education and Applied Theatre from Emerson College. They are delighted to be making theatre in Seattle again. 

MOLLIE SCHAFER (Scenic Designer) (she/her) is a fourth year and a transfer student from Moorpark, California. She is excited to work on her first production at CCA at Seattle University with a lead scenic position. Previous productions include Twelfth Night, Our Lady of the Tortilla, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Sweeney Todd as Scenic Designer and Master Carpenter at her last college. She has also worked as Prop Manager on Gypsy as well. Upcoming projects include As You Like It in the spring semester. 

TAYLOR ROSE BUDZYNSKI (Costume Designer) (they/she) is a Costume Design BFA 4 student at Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University. Previously they studied at The Theatre School at DePaul University, Chicago. Her work focuses on under-represented groups such as the LGBTQ+ and disabled communities. Professionally, Taylor has designed for The Emerald Theatre Company and Tacoma Musical Playhouse. She works with IATSE Local 887 and 15 in Seattle, WA. 

BREA SMITH (Assistant Costume Designer) 

LEX VILLANI (Assistant Costume Designer) (they/them) is a third-year costume design major at Cornish and has worked as an assistant on Cornish Dance Theater. 

THEODORE PIGEON (Lighting Designer) (he/him) is a second year transfer student at Cornish who has worked in professional technical theater since 2022. This is his third show here at Cornish in the lighting department and his first show at the school in a designer position, although he has been a programmer/board op and assistant lighting designer here in the past. Theo has previously designed for shows such as The Addams Family and Into the Woods, and he loves William Finn’s work, so he was thrilled for the opportunity to dive into this production and learn all he could in his designer role debut here at Cornish. 

ALEX MARZOLF (Assistant Lighting Designer) 

EVAN MOSHER (Sound Designer) (he/him) is a Seattle-based audio engineer, sound designer, musician, and performer who’s pleased to be returning to collaborate with Cornish (previously: Amélie and Sweeney Todd). His sound designs have also frequently been heard at ArtsWest, Seattle Public Theatre, Union Arts Center, Seattle Rep, WET, On the Boards, Whitman College, and at Cafe Nordo, where he was a performing company member and designer for nearly all productions from 2012-2022. He is also a member of the art-pop band “Awesome” with whom he’s played (and made eight records) across two decades. 

AHREN BUHMANN (Projection Designer) (he/him) is a Lighting and Video designer based in Seattle. His previous shows include Hymon and Parfunkel, Brigadoon, Jersey Boys, and Beautiful with Village Theatre, Twelfth Night with Seattle Shakespeare and ACT, Hurricane Diane, The World Looks Different Sitting Down, The Park, The Moors, Hometown Boy, and This Bitter Earth with Seattle Public Theater, Eulogy and Parliament Square with Pony World, How Shakespeare Saved My Life, White Noise, The Good Book, Angels In America and Out of Character with Berkeley Rep, and Carefree with NJPAC. Ribbet. 

RENEE ONEEL (Animator) 

CHARLIE STUHLSATZ (Props Manager/Artisan) (he/him) is a third year performance production major, he has worked on shows from the previous years such as; Mother Courage, Gypsy, Alice by Heart, The Winter’s Tale, Sweeney Todd, and The River Bride. 

ASHLYN GALLINGER (Stage Manager) (she/her) is thrilled to be back here at Cornish College of the Arts after recently graduating with a BFA in Performance Production this May! In her time at Cornish she had the pleasure of serving as stage manager on Sweeney Todd and The Winter’s Tale as well as an assistant stage manager on Gypsy and Amelie. She most recently was the stage manager at Village Theater for their Kidstage Summerstock production of Anastasia. Before her time here at Cornish, she frequently did productions at Shoreline Community College and has worked as a photographer at Walt Disney World.   

DJ SWAN (Assistant Stage Manager) (they/them) is a third year Stage Management student with a dedication to an actor-forward philosophy and a passion for making theatre accessible to all. Their recent credits include:  Assistant Stage Manager: The Winter’s Tale, The River Bride, A New Brain (Cornish College of the Arts). Stage Manager: Mother Courage and Her Children (Cornish College of the Arts), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bread & Roses Theatre Company). They give their thanks to Josh for their unwavering love, support, and understanding throughout anything and everything. I love you! 

NOELLE MCEWEN (Assistant Stage Manager) (she/her) is a Washington-based Stage Manager. She has worked on The Prom, Tacoma Musical Playhouse, RENT, Tacoma Little Theater, and many more at home. At CalArts School of Theater, she has worked on Is God Is (SM), Property Rites (SM), The Bald Soprano (ASM), Master and Margarita (ASM), and Mother Courage (ASM), and many more. She’d like to thank her parents and her bestie Amara for always supporting her, listening to her complain, and getting her coffee on long nights, and she is excited to begin her new journey at Cornish as ASM for A New Brain! 

RIVEN BECKWITH (Dramaturg) (they/them) is a current Senior here at Cornish College of the Arts pursuing their BFA in Musical Theatre. They have been working all summer and throughout this semester researching, consolidating, and presenting the real life medical information in this show to, alongside SU nursing department, provide actors an accurate understanding to inform their performance. This effort to provide medical accuracy is a part of their senior thesis.