Christopher Elst (Movement Consultant) is a Milwaukee-based fight director and violence and intimacy designer, holding ranks of Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD) and Associate Instructor with Dueling Arts International (DAI). Since 2005, he has trained with world-renowned instructors, including several members of the College of Fight Masters of the SAFD, and has served as fight director for over 100 productions in the Great Lakes area and nationwide. He is also one half of the dynamo team that runs Theater RED, an upstart Milwaukee theatrical production company dedicated to three core tenets: substantial roles for women, growth in craft for artists, and support for new playwrights.

Keya Myers-Alkire (Sound Designer) has been working in lighting and sound for professional theatre and events for more than 25 years. After earning her BFA in theatre arts from Ohio University, she has worked with theatre companies such as The Utah Shakespearean Festival, Players Theatre Columbus, CATCO, Available Light Theatre, and Tantrum Theatre. At CATCO, she served as the Master Electrician and Sound Designer for 20 years, working with many talented lighting designers and having fun creating a vast number of sound designs. As a member of the IATSE Local 12 Stagehand Union, she works events with BalletMet, in Columbus’ downtown theatres, in the Convention Center, and across Columbus.

Stephen Spottswood (The Musician) native of Silver Spring, MD, moved to Columbus, OH to study music education at Capital University. He proceeded to inspire students and communities as the musical director of the inner-city youth orchestra, Urban Strings Columbus. Upon completion of his undergraduate studies, Stephen went on to start his solo career performing as a hip-hop and jazz violinist, while simultaneously working as a middle school orchestra teacher at Reynoldsburg City Schools. Stephen has worked to inspire African American classically trained musicians to incorporate contemporary genres in their performance. In January of 2020, he founded the Columbus Cultural Orchestra, whose mission is to advance a collective of multi-generational musicians of color by performing high-quality music. Stephen is married to Jhay Spottswood, and they live in Olde Towne East.

AntiShadows LLC (Lighting Design) has consumed mass quantities of electricity all over the country bringing illumination solutions to plays, musicals, operas, ballet, videos, concerts, and corporate settings. Global touring experience includes lighting for the magician David Copperfield and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Theatrical designs include multiple shows for American Players Theatre, The Milwaukee Repertory Theater, The Milwaukee Ballet, First Stage Children’s Theatre, Skylight Music Theatre, Peninsula Players, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Next Act Theatre, Forward Theatre Company, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, and many others. Portfolio and information at www.AntiShadows.com

Edith D. Wadkins is a theatrical artist, fine artist, and children’s book illustrator. She rarely spends a day without negotiating one art medium or another in her home studio. She’s a successful theatrical designer and scenic painter with over 20 years of experience and hundreds of shows to her credit. She has worked on plays, musicals, and other performances in almost every Central Ohio professional theatre and in many of its educational institutions and other venues.

She’s also an avid Plein Air painter with a passion and curiosity for fine art. She has participated in workshops with pastel portrait artist Sandy Reddig. She spent two years at Cooley Studios studying under Michael Cooley, where she learned to draw and paint in the academic tradition. She has received many awards, including a Best in Show Ribbon at the Ohio State Fair for Creative Arts (2011) and a Best in Show Ribbon at Grove City’s Arts in the Alley (2019).

Edith and her husband Andy are wildlife fanatics and birders, and for many years, Edith has participated in and supported the annual Federal Duck Stamp competition and the Ohio Wetlands Stamp competition. She edited a wildlife coloring book, “Rare Creatures in Your Backyard” for Grove City Arts Council, where she was a board member for six years.

Edith illustrated the 2016 children’s book, Rooster Tale by Linda Lee Greene. Her work was featured in a solo exhibition at Salt Kettle Gallery in Salineville, Ohio. Westerville Parks & Recreation hosted another public solo exhibition of her work in 2019 at Westerville Community Center. After the advent of COVID-19, she launched The Artist Table, a vlog series in partnership with Westerville Parks & Recreation, comprising 10 vlogs, each teaching a painting or drawing technique. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Design and Technology from Otterbein University.

This past spring her article was featured in an article in Columbus Underground by Elizabeth Saltzgiver.

Most recently she was part of the Studios on High new artist show “Hit the Hop” and was featured in an article in Columbus Alive written by Joel Oliphant.

Originally from the rural foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, she now resides in Grove City, Ohio with her husband and their very spoiled cat.

Rachel Heine* is excited to return to CATCO after stage managing A Columbus Christmas Carol, Prima Donna, and 20K Leagues Under the Sea. National Tours: Rock of Ages 10th Anniversary Tour, The Illusionists, 42nd Street, Once. Off-Broadway: The Body of an American, Daddy Long Legs. Other NYC Credit: The Flea Theatre, NYC Fringe Festival. Regional: Alley Theatre, Columbus Children’s Theatre. Education: Otterbein University.

Angela Iannone (The Poet) returns to her hometown of Columbus, and is pleased to be working with CATCO. Credits include Maria Callas in Master Class, Kate Hepburn in Tea at Five, Brutus in Julius Caesar,  Diana Vreeland in Full Gallop, Medea in Medea, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Sarah Bernhardt in Memoir, Queen Margaret in Richard III, Ariel in The Tempest, Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, and Mattie Fae in August, Osage County. Theatres include Titan Theatre, NYC, Hope Summer Repertory, InTandem Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Door Shakespeare, Utah Shakespeare, Optimist Shakespeare in the Park, Oak Park Shakespeare, Resident Ensemble Players at Delaware Rep, Next Act Theatre, and Pittsburgh Public Theatre Play On Series. Ms. Iannone is a 2018 Folger Shakespeare Library Research Fellow/Artist in Residence, a 2020 Hendrix/Murphy Directing Fellow,  a 10 Chimneys Estate/Lunt Fontanne Fellow, an American Theatre and Drama Society Research Grant recipient, and Resident Playwright at Theater RED, Milwaukee. Awards include Broadway World Best Actress, Joseph Jefferson Award Best Actress in a Musical, Queens Kudos Award, Milwaukee Footlights Award, Ruth Schudson Leading Lady Award, and four-time Reader’s Choice Best Actress Award. www.angelaiannone.com

Tabitha Abney is an independent costume designer and wardrobe supervisor/stylist. She received her education at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, and in 2010, she moved to Columbus to create a new life for herself. She lives in Groveport, OH with her partner, Mark, and youngest son, Daniel. Fashion has always been at the heart of what she does, and it has taken her on an incredible journey – from an independent fashion designer, showcasing several collections at Columbus’ Alternative Week presented by The Alternative Fashion Mob, to creating costumes for zombie contestants for Ms. Living Dead Columbus. Tabi has also worked with Awalkonwater Entertainment as costume designer/wardrobe supervisor on their films Holy Hustle and A Family Affair. Working on films helped her to discover her love for costume design and working with actors to bring characters to life through clothing. Her aptitude for quick thinking on the spot and problem solving has given her the nickname “Miracle Worker” on any set where she’s worked. Her motto is “We’ll Make It Work.”