Cast

Core Cast:

Jennifer Erlichman has 20 years experience in the theater arts as both actor and musician, and has studied performance music since age five.  She has done costuming and makeup for theater, and focuses her current business on historical costume design. Jennifer has performed with Bella Donna since 2005.
Role: Lucrezia Boccherini (courtesan)

Cynthia Howell has a degree in technical theatre, loves historic dance, and has performed at Renaissance and Dickens fairs for over 15 years. Her love of theatre started at an early age, with her debut performance as Cinderella in a local community theatre production at the age of 13. Cynthia hasn't stopped singing, dancing, acting, or playing pretty pretty princess since that time. Her love of historic costuming eventually lead to step into the role of Secretary for the Greater Bay Area Costumers Guild. Cynthia has performed with Bella Donna since 2008.
Role: Olympia Solari (courtesan)

Joseph Schmitz, a local actor and teacher, is co-founder of Special Focus, a performing arts program for special education students. He is currently working with local schools researching drama and puppetry as a method for teaching children with autism. Besides studying at ACT, Voice One, and BATS, he also studied clowning at the Scuola Dimitri in Switzerland. He divides his time among teaching improv, acting, refreshing his Italian, and reading about arcane history.
Role: Giuseppe (courtier/itinerant actor)

Shawna Spiteri (Director) has a bachelor's degree in theatre arts from San Francisco State University, where she studied music formally as well. She has extensive dance training in classical ballet, tap, jazz, modern, folk and ballroom dance. Shawna has performed both classical and avant garde music with local groups such as Masterworks Chorale and The Enormous Ensemble, plus she has done professional voiceover work for David Lynch's Blue Velvet and Francis Coppola's Dracula. In 1994, Shawna followed her interest in Celtic and early music into harp studies with well-known instructor and composer Diana Stork. Since then, Shawna has become a teacher of Celtic-style harp herself, helps direct the Bay Area Youth Harp Ensemble and just finished her first CD with the trio Triskela. Shawna has performed with Bella Donna since 2004.
Role:  Rosetta Caravello (courtesan)

Kendra Van Cleave has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history, is an accomplished historical costumer, and has performed as an actor and dancer at a number of Renaissance and Dickens faires. She is the former President, and current Newsletter Editor, of the Greater Bay Area Costumers Guild. Kendra has performed with Bella Donna since 2005.
Role:  Caterina da Venzone, “La Tempesta” (courtesan)

Linda Wenzelburger has a background in singing, ballroom dance and ballet. She was schooled in fashion design and has worked with several Bay Area theatre groups as Costume Designer. She is the current Convention Liaison for the Greater Bay Area Costumers Guild. Linda has performed with Bella Donna since 2005.
Role:  Chiara Vespucci (courtesan)

Auxiliary Cast:

Darieum Pagani is an accomplished poet and costumer. He is a native Italian and fluent in the language.  Darieum has performed with Bella Donna since 2006.
Role:  Dario Pagani (household)

Dany Slone is an accomplished costumer who has won numerous awards for her projects. She has a musical background and has extensive experience with live action role playing and masquerade performances.  Dany has performed with Bella Donna since 2004.
Role:  Magdalena d’Iverno (household)

Jwlhyfer de Winter (Co-founder) majored in Performance Art at the San Francisco Art Institute. She wrote, directed and performed in Theosomorphia, Danse Vampyresque, Wolfbone, Winter’s Dream of White Roses, and sang inDweller at the Gates of Silent Memory among other pieces. She was a “special type” film extra for two years in Hollywood, California and worked in approximately 15 films and 3 music videos. She is the co-founder, former President and Vice President of the Greater Bay Area Costumer's Guild. She has been singing since she was six, and has sung English Renaissance and British Isles Folk Music for many years. Jwlhyfer has performed with Bella Donna since 2003.
Role:  Seresina Olivia d’Iverno (courtesan)