MERCY KILLING

Madeline Ackerlund

Madeline Ackerlund is thrilled to work with Open Space Arts and continue her 9-year tradition of exclusively collaborating on new work! Select Chicago credits include: Stabbed in the Heart (The Factory Theater), Batsu! (FaceOff Unlimited), Lucky: A Musical (Chicago Musical Theater Festival, Second City), Thrones! The Musical Parody (Apollo Theater), Bad Date (Stage Left Theatre), Tony n Tina’s Wedding (Chicago Theatre Works), and more. When not acting, you can find her writing and performing in the original Fantasy Football web series ScottsCenter with her equally unhinged husband. Graduate of Webster Conservatory. Love to Scott, Misty, and Luna. See her in action at @madelineackerlund and madelineackerlund.com. Proudly repped by DDO Artists Agency.

Stephanie Fongheiser

Stephanie Fongheiser (she/her) is so excited to be working with Open Space Arts for the first time! Chicago credits include: The Brightest Thing in the World (u/s, About Face), A Christmas Carol (u/s, Drury Lane Theatre), Little Women (First Folio Theatre), Frankenstein (Oil Lamp Theatre), I Build Giants (u/s, The Plagiarists), Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog (Black Button Eyes Productions), and ‌Fast‌ ‌Company‌‌ ‌(u/s,‌ ‌Jackalope‌ ‌Theatre). She is a company member at Avalanche Theatre and is represented by BMG Talent.

Lydia Hanman

Lydia Hanman (she/her) is a Chicago based actor and couldn’t be more excited to be performing for the first time with Open Space Arts! More recently she has worked in locally in Romeo and Juliet (Lakeside Shakespeare) and in Hamlet (Greenhouse Theatre) but usually you can found in a Studio recording for Radio Dramas, Audiobooks, and Animation. Previous TV/Film credits include: They Might be Saints (EWTN), Erlkonig (Northwoods Revolution), and Wingman (Mark Rodney Productions). Off-stage you can find her working with Children as a Registered Nurse, biking around the city, or nose-deep in a good book. She would like to thank her own partners in crime and coworkers, her friends and family for their steadfast support. www.lydiahanman.com

Artem Kreimer

Artem Kreimer is still somewhat new to Chicago, having previously spent ten years in the NYC theater scene. He’s thrilled to death to join OSA for his first full-length in his new city. Prior shows include Adam Rapp's Wolf in the River and NYT Critic's Pick Inanimate (The Flea Theater), The Illuminati in Drama Libre (Chicago Park District), Rand/Feinstein (The Conspirators), Usual Girls (Signature/Columbia), Boy Crazy Till the Day I Die (EST/Youngblood), As You Like It and The Cherry Orchard (Columbia Stages). Aspirations include owning a giant dog. – www.artemkreimer.com

Alandra Hileman

Alandra Hileman is a writer, TTRPG creator/player, podcast producer, recovering former stage manager, and ancient bog witch. Her plays have been read and produced on small stages throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, and you can occasionally find her playing TTRPGs and board games with Quests & Chaos on Twitch or yelling about theater, vampires, and Arthurian Legend on Twitter. She holds a double B.A. in Drama (Play Development & Dramaturgy) and English (Literature), and an M.F.A. in Playwrighting, all from San Francisco State University.

Tadhg Mitchel

Tadhg Mitchel is a Chicago-based theatre artist, documentarian, and editor. He studied Theatre and Digital Media Production at Butler University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Communication at DePaul University. When not working or studying, he can be found spending time with his partner and four cats. He began his work with OSA with LIGHT SWITCH.

Lex Newman

Lex is excited to return to tech theater after several years away! This is their first production with Open Space Arts. They hold a BA in literature and by day work at Myopic Bookstore. They can usually be found with their nose in a good book or two, or three. They're looking forward to doing more tech work in Chicago!

Savana Nix

Savana Nix studied costume design for film, theatre, and fashion at Columbia College Chicago. She describes herself as “a multidimensional creative problem-solver,” adding: “I would describe my leadership style based on connection and community.” She has worked on a range of projects from Carnival Cruise Ship installations to touring with The Bridgeton Experience to helping Cirque Du Soleil create their new show in Nashville. Currently she is the costume director for Lookingglass Theatre Company for the 2024-2025 season. As she works within theatre, standing for inclusion, diversity, and change are at the forefront of her work.

Rick Paul

Rick Paul has happily designed over 100 LGBTQA+ plays, films, and ballets in a long career. Incidentally, this play represents a circularity his having first designed john McNaughton and Steve Jones cult film classic ‘Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer’ and its sequel. He produced the first Midwest Gay and Lesbian choreographer event for the second Gay Arts Festival as well as the first American gay theater performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and at the New Orleans World Fair. His Lionheart Gay Theater gratefully received numerous awards and induction in Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame. He did the set designs for LIGHT SWITCH and SUNSETS for Open Space Arts.

Kit Ratliff

Kit (they/them) is excited to stage manage for Open Space Arts! They are an ensemble member of Three Crows Theatre and most recently stage managed their show, The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me. They have also been seen on stage in The Danish Play, Macbeth, Our Country's Good, and These Shining Lives. Kit is passionate about bringing queer voices and perspectives to all genres of theatre and is proud to share this performance with you.

James Napoleon Stone

James Napoleon Stone is thrilled to be working with Open Space Arts for the first time! As the former Artistic Director of Theatre Coup d'Etat in Minneapolis, Minnesota (now based in Chicago), his directing credits include Ivey Award-winning Hamlet, One Flea Spare, and the Ivey Award-winning Equus, for which he was awarded City Pages "Best Director 2016". He also wrote and directed an original adaptation of Moby Dick, honored with "Exceptional New Work" at the Minnesota Theatre Awards. Coup d'Etat was also honored to receive "Best Theater Troupe" in 2019 from City Pages. He holds a Master's degree in education from Metropolitan State University and an MFA in Theatre Arts with an emphasis on Directing and Theatre Pedagogy from the University of Idaho. James is a stage fight and intimacy choreographer, dialect coach, playwright, producer, educator, judge and workshop leader for KCACTF, director and actor in a number of short films and series, grant writer, freight train hopper, and enthusiastic corruptor of the public good. For information about classes, coaching, and more, visit www.jamesnapoleonstone.com!

Greta Zandstra

Greta Zandstra (director/intimacy) is delighted to return to Open Space Arts for another project. She is a Chicago-based director, actor, and intimacy professional. Recent favorite projects include intimacy direction for Angels in America (Eastline Theatre in New York) and Sex Please We’re 60! (Cornwell Dinner Theatre in Michigan), adapting and directing A Christmas Carol (Encore Center in North Carolina) and Henry V (Viroqua Shakespeare Festival in Wisconsin), and playing Eliza in The Güt Life Christmas (Blue Gate Musicals in Kentucky), and Annabella/Margaret/Pamela in The 39 Steps with St. Patrick’s Summer Theatre here in Chicago. Thanks to the cast, crew, and you–the audience! GretaZandstra.com

David G Zak

David Zak is the driving force behind the QUEER EXPRESSION Film and Theater Fest, an initiative of Open Space Arts. With over 40 years of experience as an award-winning theater director, Zak’s diverse body of work spans from the thought-provoking musical Animal Farm to the audacious Jerry Springer - The Opera and the beloved The Christmas Schooner. Recently, he directed The Kramer Project at the Center on Halsted, along with Sunsets and Massage Therapy for Open Space Arts. A six-time Joseph Jefferson Award winner for his outstanding contributions as both a writer and director, Zak’s legacy extends beyond the stage—he was inducted into the City of Chicago's Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame. Additionally, Zak has ventured into film production, producing Dan Pal’s award-winning short film Counting.