Wendy Almeida has performed in several BRT productions, including Check, Please!, Steel Magnolias and The Octette Bridge Club. She also works with Actors' Circle Theatre, Hourglass Readers and Theatre at the Mount. Earlier this summer, Wendy played Beatrice in Actor's Circle's production of Much Ado About Nothing and she is currently working on an early-November reading of School for Scandal with Hourglass Readers. Wendy would like to thank Gail Connelly for giving her the opportunity to reconnect with her New York roots (and also her 1950's roots, except she really doesn't want to admit she was around then). 2005 NH Theatre Award winner - Best Actress, for Actor's Circle Theatre's production of  Jake's Women!

Mary Armstrong is excited to be part of this ensemble and to create a character that represents her worst nightmare of a person. During this summer's monsoon season, she appeared in ACT's Shakespeare-in-the-park production of Much Ado About Nothing, which was held inside. Besides BRT and ACT, she has performed with Raylynmor Opera, Hillcat Summer Theater, Keene Lion's Club, Mario Cossa productions, MoCo Arts, and Jeff Stout Concepts. Some of her favorite roles include: Maria in The Sound of Music, Dotty in Noises Off; Mona Kent in Dames at Sea, Agnes Gooch in Mame; Annelle in Steel Magnolias; Alice in You Can't Take it With You; Billie Jo Casta in Oedipus Tex; and Mr. Cox (That's right - Mister) in Box and Cox. She salutes first-time director Gail Connelly for a job well done. When Mary directed her first show (Check, Please!), Gail was in the cast. During the day, Mary can be found working as a Dance/Movement Therapist at assorted retirement homes in the area. She also does some part-time work for NGM Insurance. She lives in Harrisville with her multi-talented husband Mark.

Heather Bennett is a junior at Keene High School and Twelve Angry Women is her first play with Branch River Theatre. After moving to NH, she began getting involved with groups such as the Moving Company Dance Center, Acting Out, and the Keene Lions Club. Heather has been acting, singing and dancing for the past eleven years, and has loved every minute of it! She has performed in plays such as Annie Get Your Gun, Dames at Sea, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Godspell, Guys and Dolls, Music Man, High School Musical and 'Denity Crisis.

Jennifer Bond has been acting for as long as she can remember.  As a child, her mother affectionately nicknamed her “Sarah Heartburn”.  As such, she decided to use her drama queen tendencies for good and not for evil and minor in theatre arts at Franklin Pierce College in Rindge.  Locally, she has appeared in several Branch River Theatre shows including, My Three Angels, Selections from Working, Bus Stop, On Broadway, Rumors and Back to Broadway.  She has also appeared with Jeff Stout Concepts as Trixie Norton in The Honeymooners.  But she is perhaps most famously (and definitely least clothed) remembered for her role in The Jeff Stout Concepts production of Noises Off! as Brooke/Vicki.  She also had the opportunity to get a different perspective of the theater (from the backstage) when she assistant stage managed this year's Lion's Club musical, Oliver.  When not on the stage, Jennifer enjoys playing the role on “mommy” to her two beautiful, amazing, brilliant daughters, Abigail and Lily (little drama queens in their own right), and is employed by the Monadnock Radio Group where you may recognize her voice as she transforms into her alter-ego, “J Bo”.  Jennifer lives in Keene with her husband, Matt (genius set designer) and daughters.

Gail Connelly and BRT have had a close relationship for the past 15 years. She has had the opportunity to act in many shows, stage manage for quite a few, help build a couple of sets and sit on the Board of Directors, of which she is currently the President. But most important, she has come to know and love so many fantastic people who have provided her with wonderful memories to last a lifetime!

C.J. Cummings is absolutely thrilled to be working with the outstanding talent of the greater Keene area and to get a chance to put on her Morgan Le Fey wig once again! She wishes to give a big, loud SHOUT OUT!! to BRT on it's 25th Anniversary and much success over the next 25 seasons of playing around! CJ would also like to thank BRT for giving her  first big break into showbiz about eight years ago in the Agatha Christie murder mystery Ten Little Indians. Since then she has enjoyed working along side the "wild & crazy" BRT board members and having the best friendships ever with many of amazingly talented & generous BRT actors and production teams. She is truly grateful to have a place (the stage, of course) where “playing around” is acceptable behavior!! CJ would like to urge all patrons and friends of BRT to donate often, attend shows regularly and/or eat generously at intermission so this community theatre will always stay a part of your lives in the years to come. Thank you again BRT!!!! Earlier this year you may have caught CJ in the Raylynmor Opera production of Don Giovanni at the Colonial or as the neurotic, crystal-crazy Cassie Cooper in the Vermont Theatre Company's highly successful comedy play Rumors or the “woman you love to hate”, Miss Dolly Tate, in the Keene Lions Club musical Annie Get Your Gun. Highlights of her theatre “career” include, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, Mame, The Music Man, Anything Goes, Gypsy, Morgan Le Fey in Merlin (2006), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Wait Until Dark, Noises Off, The Mousetrap, The Unexpected Guest, On Broadway and Back To Broadway. She sends out big hugs & kisses to all her friends, family, theatre groupies (yes, groupies are out there!) and her spoiled little dog, Ripley. Special love and thanks go out to her patient and almost never complaining hubby Tommy!

Cynthia Elmour's first performances with BRT were in On Broadway and Back to Broadway. She has served on the BRT Board of Directors, focusing mainly on running concessions and dinner theatre. Her most recent role was the evil (but misunderstood!) Nurse Ratched in BRT's June 2007 production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. She has also performed with the Keene Lions Club, with AIDS Services for the Monadnock Region, and with Small Pond Productions. She is happy to be a part of BRT'S Silver Jubilee where she will reprise her role of Mrs. Lovett in a duet from Sweeney Todd.

Tracy Flower has a long and storied history of performance in the region, including Branch River Theatre, Keene Lions Productions, and Keene’s UCC. With a son that wants to do professional theater, a daughter who loves to sing and dance, and a husband who seems to appear in everything from High School Musical to Oliver (and every show in between) Tracy is making her own name in regional theater. She lives by the adage; “There are no small parts, only small people who refuse to take the small parts”. Tracy is a professional woman by day as Compliance Administration Officer for Savings Bank of Walpole, and acting nut by night. She pays her dues for being allowed to tread the boards by her active membership on the Board of Directors for BRT. Tracy dedicates her Friday performance to the president of her fan club, GG, who says he always reads her bio in the program first because it is so well-written.

Beth Freeman, after a decade-long hiatus from acting, is excited to be making her stage debut as Juror #6 in Twelve Angry Women. Beth graduated from Colby-Sawyer College in 1999 with an Arts Management degree with a high focus in theater. During her time at CSC she enjoyed being Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors,  Frenchie in Grease, Sheila in The Boys Next Door, and Rosie in Bye, Bye, Birdie. Some other credits include West Side Story, Carousel, Annie, Damn Yankees, Brigadoon, and Music Man. Thanks to the cast for making this a great experience and thanks to Lori Goldring for being that extra kick I needed to get back in the game, and to Gail Connelly for giving me a shot. She would also like to thank all of her friends and family, especially Andy, Beth and Kate, for their encouragement and support!

Gary Gagnon is proud to be a long time member of BRT and has been instrumental with the technology and sound aspect of the group in recent months. Working with Sharon McHugh, the website has been modernized and the ticket reservation system, through phone and email, has been streamlined. As an actor he has participated in the revitalization of the group back in the 90’s and has been involved with musicals, plays and dinner theater(re). He has been an actor, artistic and musical director, producer and concession guy for many productions. Acting and singing is his favorite BRT activity while tearing down the set and lifting the piano on stage are his least favorite. Gary has been on stage with many of his friends, as well as his daughter, Kaeleigh who sang a Les Mis song, and his sons, Dan, who was a disco dancer in a variety show, and Ben who ate Cap’n Crunch, sang, and drummed with his dad in several productions. His daughter-in-law, Kate, has also trod the boards with Gary. The ever-increasing production values of recent shows are astounding and only promises to get better. Gary welcomes everyone to join up in some way; we always are looking for new talent. When not working, doing laundry, or keeping his cars and motorcycles running, Gary is the lead singer in the Rage ‘N Age Band out of the Manchester, NH area. He would like to remind all patrons of the arts that paper money and personal checks cause less damage to the new curtain when thrown onto the stage in appreciation of an enjoyable production, and is a sure harbinger of good fortune for the theater-goer who participates in this age-old tradition!

Lori Goldring has been performing with a number of different theatre groups in recent years, including BRT (coordinator/director for Silver Jubilee, Improv Smackdown, Kate in Love, Sex and the I.R.S.), Actors' Circle Theatre (The Wizard of Oz), Vermont Community Theater (Lights Up Broadway), and Springfield Community Players (Louise in Gypsy). She also serves on BRT's Board of Directors.

Julie Hinman . . . this is her first performance with Branch River Theatre and she is so excited to be a part of this wonderful community theatre group! She has been involved with Actors' Circle Theatre in Peterborough, NH for the past twelve years (with a few breaks here and there!) Starting with Brigadoon and great shows like Oklahoma!, Into the Woods, Guys and Dolls with the last show being the award winning Jakes Women. After a three year hiatus and with two of her three children off to college, she was ready to take the plunge again and what better return to the stage then having 11 terrific women up there with you! As always, Julie thanks her family for their love and support (especially all the late night dinners!)

Carrie Kidd, is pleased as punch to be appearing in Twelve Angry Women. It is her first speaking role with Branch River Theatre, having appeared as the dead body in Wait Until Dark. Many thanks go out to Gail Connelly for the opportunity to take on this challenging role. Carrie holds a bachelors degree in Theatre Arts from Rutgers University and later studied at The Actor's Institute in Manhattan. She recently appeared as the Multiple Woman in Stand Up, with The Edge Ensemble in Keene.

Mary Leighton got her first taste of the theatre when she was seven, when she participated as an extra in her school groups production of Oliver Twist. She absolutely loved it, and went on to play numerous rolls. A few of her highlights were Dogberry, in Much Ado About Nothing, the Troll William and the Great Goblin in The Hobbit, and Francis Flute in A Midsummer Nights Dream. Mary has also participated in numerous skits and monologues with her homeschool groups and other groups as well. When she's not on stage, she enjoys tinkering on the piano, singing, dancing, and working out.

Margaret Lynott is excited to be part of BRT's production of Twelve Angry Women. Last season she had the honor of portraying Aggie in the very first production of writer/director Carrie Kidd's play, Bingo , as well as appearances in BRT's Silver Jubilee and Acting on Impulse (the televised version of Improv Smackdown). She also appeared in Actors' Circle Theatre's production of Arsenic and Old Lace in Peterborough, NH. Other past BRT shows include The Octette Bridge Club, Love, Sex and the I.R.S., At the Punchbowl, American Dreams: Lost and Found, On Broadway, and Just Desserts X Encore. Other memorable roles include; Bloody Mary in the Keene Lions Club production of South Pacific, and Eulalie Shinn in The Music Man, as well as a chorus member in Oliver. When she is not acting up, you can find her at Shamrock Real Estate, Inc., a company she started with her late husband Jim in 1983. She is the proud mother of Michael and Bridget, and grandmother to Mick, Taylor and Jamison.

Sharon McHugh is a long-time member of BRT! With the exception of acting on stage, she has worked in every capacity, Producer, as  Props and Stage Managers, Set Construction, Refreshments, etc. and has been President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer of BRT. Sharon has directed numerous BRT shows such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Dracula, The Haunting of Hill House, Fractured Shakespeare and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. She marked her return to directing with When Shakespeare's Ladies Meet and 2006's The Octette Bridge Club. She acted as Producer for Wait Until Dark in 1985 and came full circle as the director the very same show in the fall of 2006. She currently serves as the Lighting Director for BRT and has worked lights for Vermont Theatre Company, AIDS Services Just Desserts, Actor's Circle Theater, Jeff Stout Concepts, Inspirational Improv and Small Pond Productions, to name just a few. She also directed Actors' Circle Theatre production of Arsenic and Old Lace in 2007 and just wrapped up directing the musical video of Small Pond's Amelia Rules! based on the characters created by award winning cartoonist Jimmy Gownley with music created by Fuzzy Logic's Michael Cohen. Look for her in 2009 when she'll be directing Jon Ripley O'Brien's Pendragon.

Mia Moravis, has performed various roles under her nom d'emprunt de théaatre, including Thais in The Eunuch, Antigone in Antigone, both Baroness Elsa Schraeder and Sister Margaretta in The Sound of Music, Jenny in The Threepenny Opera, and twirled a mighty baton in Babes in Arms. Mia received her professional training at The National Shakespeare Company in New York under the tutelage and mastery of Mario Siletti, Peter Lobdell and the late Phillip Meister. Mia appeared October 2007 in Sherman Morrison's one-act play, CUFFED! and April 2008 as a townsfolk in Nancy Preus's production of The Foreigner.

Heather A. H. Morrison has been walking the halls of the therapeutic theatre community her whole life. She grew up in a home where everything was a line from some play and where every piece of furniture in the house had been used on a set. She is an actor, director, and board member of Branch River Theatre since 1998, and yes, there were props on the stage from her house in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in which she directed last season. She is an adjudicator for the New Hampshire Theatre Awards. She enjoys the community support in Keene Lions Club productions, she has been honored to sing with the Raylynmor Opera, to perform with Actors Circle Theatre, Jeff Stout Concepts, and to be part of Just Desserts for AIDS Services. Favorite productions include directing Spoon River Anthology, playing Babe in Crimes of the Heart, and singing/dancing in Guys and Dolls and Life is a Cabaret. Last year, she began working with younger children as a teacher for The Moving Company's Cupcake Program, and adapted a musical version of Sleeping Beauty. She hopes that the other patients will have patience with her, including her quietly patient husband, Sherman, and amazingly patient director/daughter, Willow.

G. Sherman H. Morrison has performed, directed, and worked behind the scenes at BRT for nearly 11 years. Directing credits include American Dreams: Lost and Found by Studs Terkel, What I Did Last Summer by A.R. Gurney and Selections from Working by Studs Terkel. He has also directed shows for The Compass School (Alice in Wonderland and The Changing Faces of Agriculture) and the Front Porch Theatre (Voices of the Past: A Rockingham Anthology). Sherman is now deeply involved in the most important production of his like - being a father to his daughter, Willow! He lives in Keene with her and his wife, Heather.

Jon Ripley O'Brien (accompanist)-the composer/librettist of the 2006 Branch River Theatre and Keene Lions Club production of Merlin is a life-long resident of Keene.  He is a graduate of Keene High School and an alumnus of Keene State College where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music composition.  He has accompanied and/or arranged music for the annual Keene Lions Club shows since 1978.  He did likewise for the Branch River Theatre's musical revue Back to Broadway in 2005 that was directed by Eric D. Walther.  Jon is the only person in Keene High School history to have had two original musical works staged there.  In 1974, he composed the music for the Keene High School Drama Club's production of Jonah!  that featured Keene Lion and Merlin music director JoJo Mead.  In 1981, he wrote the book, music, and lyrics for the school's presentation of Pendragon. In 1977, the Playwrights Theatre presented at the Marlborough Community House another one of his musicals called Poverello. It was based on the life of Saint Francis of Assisi and featured BRT member and local merchant Dean Eaton. In November, 2007, the United Church of Christ in Keene and BRT director Martha Hennum (Rumors) restaged Jonah! Current original musicals in the works written by Jon are Dracula (with a book by KHS Drama Club director Scot Tolman) to be staged by the KHS Drama Club this October, and a revival of Pendragon (the sequel to Merlin) to be produced by the Branch River Theatre in the summer of 2009.  Jon is an honorary member of the Keene Lions Club.  He is an accompanist for the St. Bernard's Church Contemporary Music Group.  He resides in Keene and is employed by TD Banknorth.

Jeff Repko has been on the board of Branch River Theatre for a number of years and has appeared in several productions, most recently in Wait Until Dark and in the hysterical, and highly successful production of Love, Sex and the I.R.S. Along with acting, over the years he has constructed many of the sets for BRT shows and been involved in numerous Keene Lions' Club productions.You may have seen him in the Monadnock Regions Aid Services production of Just Desserts in which he had co-directed with Debbie Pickering. He works for Océ in Keene, as a sales representative.

Susan Silver is very excited to be Juror Nine in Twelve Angry Women. Most recently she helped celebrate BRT's Silver Jubilee and prior to that participated in BRT's Improv Smackdown which was so successful that Cheshire TV picked up the option but changed the name to Acting on Impulse. Sue is a member of the Keene Lion's Club and you may have seen her in such Lion's Club productions (or heard in the chorus) of The Music Man and Oliver! and this year's Annie Get Your Gun where she debuted as Mrs. Schuyler Adams. Sue also appeared in BRT's productions of Back to Broadway, Just Desserts XI (Cotton Picking Finger Licking Chicken Plucker) and Merlin. Sue lives in Keene and by day she is Branch Manager and Commercial Loan Officer for a bank in Keene.

Marilyn Simons was last seen in June in BRT's Silver Jubilee Show, where she was a nun chasing men in their underwear, among other roles. She just appeared with the Peterborough Players in Our Town with James Whitmore. She also appeared with the Players in 2005's Inherit the Wind (also with Mr. Whitmore). Favorite BRT roles include the title role in Mary,Mary, Babe in Crimes of the Heart and Jackie in Hot L Baltimore. She has a BA in theatre from  Keene State College where she was Yente in Fiddler on the Roof and also appeared in Romeo and Juliet, Uncle Vanya, Camille and Measure for Measure. Marilyn also performs with the Hourglass Readers and has had roles in Antigone, The Merchant of Venice, The Merrie Wives of Windsor and will be in the upcoming School for Scandal. Marilyn lives and works in Jaffrey and is also a budding standup comedienne.

Eric Walther is seen in local venues around the center of the Universe - a.k.a. the Keene/Brattleboro area for the past 12 years. He has been in roles that made him: a Russian rebellious student who choked on cheese, a baseball player, a golden rock star that looks like Elvis - but his friends called him Birdie, a Shakespearean lover, a totty Englishman who was not Earnest, a boyfriend, a best friend, a gas meter reader, the Crest kid, the butler, a very hyper stage manager, a director of three Broadway revues with good food, the big bad wolf, a detective, a common law assistant, a challenged and hallucinating war veteran in a mental institution, a Shakespearean French loard, a waiter, a war hero names BUZZ, a person stuck in Los Angeles, and a politician named Mr. Cooper. He loves piña coladas and getting caught in the rain - he's not much into health food, but is into champagne!