Our Country's Good Company Bios

Delores Ringer (Director and Scenic, Costume and Sound Designer) has been a member of the KU theatre design faculty since 1984. She holds degrees from Pennsylvania State University and Hanover College in Indiana. In addition to designing for The University Theatre, Delores has designed for the English Alternative Theatre, University Dance Company, and the Cohan Suzeau Duet Company at KU, and for the American Heartland Theatre in Kansas City and the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival in Omaha. Her most recent KU directing credits include the productions of Fen, The Gut Girls, Between Pancho Villa and a Naked Woman, and Variations on a Theme by Clara Schumann. As a designer, she has worked on the productions of The Royal Family, Iphigenia at Aulis, The Dying Gaul, Call of the Wild, Selkie, Machinal, Godspell, The Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Crimes of the Heart, and Die Fledermaus, to name just a few.

Nicholas C. Mosher (Lighting Designer), a 2001 Lawrence High School graduate, is a KU junior, completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre design. For the past two years, he has worked as the University Theatre’s Lighting Assistant; this year he is the Sound Production Assistant.  Earlier this season, he was lighting designer for Fefu and Her Friends. Nick has also designed the lighting for such productions as The Music Man, Bus Stop, and Best of Shakespeare, as well as band and choral concerts.

Paul Meier (Voice and Dialect Coach) is professor of theatre and film and has worked as the department’s voice, speech, and dialects specialist for over a decade. He has dialect-coached scores of productions at KU and elsewhere, including Ang Lee’s film Ride with the Devil, Tim Robbins’ Arlington Road, and Billy Baldwin’s Elmer Gantry. Meier was trained in his native London at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama.

Elisabeth Ahrens (Mary Brenham) is a junior theatre and film major from Topeka. This fall she appeared as Jessica in This is Our Youth. Previously she appeared in The 10-Minute Play Festival, Jungalbook, and Iphigenia at Aulis. Elisabeth, who has played many roles for Topeka Civic Theatre, is the recipient of the 2003-04 Adah Clarke Hagan Scholarship for Film and Theatre.

Katrina Alford (Duckling Smith) is a junior theatre and French major from Burlington. Her previous KU acting credits include The Magic Flute, Afternoon of the Elves, and South Pacific. Prior to coming to KU, she played the title role in Annie as well as Sandy in Grease, Liesl in The Sound of Music, and Sophie in Star Spangled Girl. Katrina, who holds the Dorothy and Benjamin Glick Scholarship, is also a member of the International Honor Society of Colgate Scholars. She has twice competed in the Miss Kansas Pageant.

Eric F. Avery (Judge David Collins and Black Caesar) is a sophomore theatre major from Olathe. This is his first KU acting role, but he was assistant director and assistant choreographer for Cabaret and assistant choreographer for The Magic Flute. A dance minor, Eric has performed off campus in Chicago, Kiss Me, Kate, and Cloud Nine.

Michael Bradley (2nd Lieutenant Ralph Clark) is a second-year graduate student in theatre from Concord, MI. This is his first KU acting role; this fall he directed This is Our Youth in the Inge Theatre. Prior to coming to KU, he worked on productions at the Howmet Playhouse and was an actor for Second City Detroit. Michael is a graduate teaching assistant for the Department of Theatre and Film.

Dale Buchheister (Robert Sideway and Governor Arthur Phillip) is a sophomore theatre and film major from Manhattan. He transferred to KU from Kansas State University, where he performed in Skin of Our Teeth.

Patrick C. Carriere (Midshipman Harry Brewer), a graduate of Carleton College and Bemidji State University in Minnesota, is currently completing a doctoral degree in theatre at KU. An actor, director and designer, Patrick directed the KU-TYP production of Dinosaurus, The Women of Trachis, and To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. He has been seen as an actor in The Suicide, The Birds, and as a designer for The Ugly Duckling and Call of the Wild. He did dramaturgical work for Hedda Gabler and Oklahoma! and was the assistant director for Gut Girls and the assistant director/stage manager for Three Tall Women. Patrick has also worked as a designer and technical director at Haskell's Thunderbird Theatre. He has received the Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year Award as well as a first-year Doctoral Fellowship, the Russian Theatre Fellowship, the Saricks Grant, and the Friends of the Theatre Award.

Dianne-Yvette Cook (Dabby Bryant) is a Lawrence junior, majoring in theatre and film. She appeared in The Waiting Room and So What’s New. Previously she appeared in the EAT production of Raisin in the Sun and the Seem-To-Be Players production of Amazing Grace.

Patrick Craft (Captain Jemmy Campbell) is a senior theatre major from Kansas City, MO. He last appeared in Lulu and was also seen in Iphigenia at Aulis and The 10-Minute Play Festival. Off-campus he has appeared in 28 Scenes of Halloween, Big Dildo Vaudeville Sho!, and Cloud Nine.

Jason Gibson (2nd Lieutenant William Faddy and John Arscott) is a sophomore theatre and voice major with a minor in saxophone performance. Jason is from Talmage, near Abilene. This is his first KU production. He has been seen in Grease, All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, and A Night at the Theatre. Jason is a member of Theta Chi Fraternity and is a Summerfield Scholar. He is also a member of the KU Marching Band.

Lawrence P. Henderson (Major Robbie Ross) is a freshman theatre major from Lansing. This is his first KU role. He appeared off campus in Guys and Dolls, Bells Are Ringing, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Kiss Me, Kate.

Leslie Long (Meg Long and Reverend Johnson) is a junior theatre major from Broken Arrow, OK. Earlier this season she was heard as Johnny’s Mom in Really Rosie, appeared in Fefu and Her Friends, and was assistant director for Lulu. Last spring she played various roles in The 10-Minute Play Festival. Leslie appeared in Tony and Tina’s Wedding at the Lawrence Community Theatre. She attended Tulsa Community College, where she appeared in productions of the female version of The Odd Couple and Nunsense and won the "Best Actress" Award for 2000.

Ian Stark (Lieutenant George Johnston and James “Ketch” Freeman) is a senior pharmacy major from Yates Center. This is his first major KU role; he previously appeared in several 309 and 609 directing projects.

Niccole Thurman (Liz Morden and Lieutenant Will Dawes) is a junior speech and theatre education major from Shawnee. This is her first KU role; she previously appeared in several 309 and 609 directing projects. A member of the International Thespian Society, Niccole previously attended Columbia College in Chicago, where she appeared in several productions. She was also a member of the chorus for the Lawrence Community Theatre’s production of Kiss Me, Kate.

Ryan Tucker (John Wisehammer and Captain Watkin Tench) is a freshman theatre and film major from Shawnee. This is his first University Theatre role. He has appeared in several productions at Hashinger Hall.