cast & Creative Team

Lisa McCoy (Paige): (she/her) has showcased her talent regionally throughout Texas, Indiana, Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and now North Carolina. She’s excited to debut with Sihr Theater and is thoroughly enjoying the company of this exceptionally gifted cast. Some standout recent performances for her include roles in Mary Poppins (Mrs. Brill), Clue: The Musical (Mrs Peacock), White Christmas (Martha), Drowsy Chaperone (Drowsy), The Imaginary Invalid (Beline), Into the Woods (Jack’s Mother), The Wolves (Soccer Mom), Sugar (Sugar), She Loves Me (Amalia), Fiddler (Hodel), Annie (Grace and Lily St. Regis), Babette Beauty and the Beast (Babette), Shrek (Dragon/Narrator), and Anne of Green Gables (Mrs. Barry). Lisa is thrilled to be on stage this season, and she’s deeply thankful to the opportunity to expand her acting experiences to her new community of Wilmington, NC.

Luke Robbins (Isaac): (he/him) is an Atlanta based performer. As a UNCW alum, he's incredibly excited to be returning for his first show in Wilmington in almost 10 years! He has previously created, adapted, and performed in pieces with Duomuži, Make Trouble, Belle Esprit, and the Shakespeare Academy at Stratford. He's toured adaptations of Antony & Cleopatra and King Lear in Athens, London, and all across the United States.

Louie ‘Bug’ Johnson (Max): (he/they) is a trans playwright, actor, and drag artist based in NYC. Louie recently originated several roles Off-Broadway (Scotti in Spark, Ace in Pup Play, March in Deep Salmon) and is developing two full-length plays with The Actors Studio NY and The Playground Experiment. They were also recently featured in Joseph O'Malley's gallery presentation of: 'There Were Always Priests Around.' A UNCW alum, Louie is so grateful to the UNCW Theatre department, Pineapple Shaped Lamps, Sihr, and the Wilmington Theatre Community as a whole for the incredible mentorship and family they forged here. For remembering my many names, encouraging my oddities, and meeting me with acceptance and love.

https://lgbtqcapefear.org/resources/

Kevin Roberge (Arnold): (he/him) Kevin started his career as a performer at Walt Disney World, and has been a creative adventurer ever since. He sculpts giant sets and props, designs costumes and puppets, creates meaningful marketing campaigns, stars in short films, and even writes music for popular kids TV shows (look him up on IMDB). But his first love will always be live theatre. As an actor, Kevin has starred in over 50 musicals and 20 plays. Favorite roles involve playing characters with names like Harold Hill, Frank-N-Furter, Riff Raff, Rum Tum Tugger, J.Pierpont Finch, Prince Charming, Jesus, Judas, Don Pedro, Danny Zuko, Donny Dolce, Scarecrow, Snoopy and Snork. He was last seen onstage in the one man show “Balloonacy” at Raleigh Little Theatre.

He would like to thank his wonderful wife and two brilliant sons for their constant support, the extraordinary cast and crew of “HIR”, and you… the audience, for supporting live theatre.

Tony-Elias Choufani (Director): (he/him) Tony-Elias is a Lebanese-American actor, writer, and director. He has studied acting and theatre at UNC-Wilmington, the American Conservatory Theater, the National Michael Chekhov Association, the Make Trouble Academy, and privately with teachers such as Larry Moss and Patsy Rodenburg. He has acted in dozens of productions in the Wilmington theatre community, was a troupe member of local comedy group Pineapple-Shaped Lamps, and has directed “The Cake” by Bekah Brunstetter and the award-winning short film, “Class Dismissed”. As Artistic Director of Sihr, Tony-Elias hopes to bring his unique vision of ensemble-based theatre to Wilmington audiences while also uplifting the kind of Middle-Eastern representation that is sorely needed in American Theatre.

Brandi Simmons (Stage Manager/Sound/Props): (she/her) Brandi has never been arrested, can juggle in a mediocre manner, and has moderate to severe shoulder pain on a daily basis.

Ashley Flowers (Scenic Designer): (she/her) Ashley Flowers is a local actress, model and theatre technician. She is stoked to present her first set design and thanks Sihr for the opportunity. Flowers encourages everyone to settle in, as “HIR” is meant to challenge beliefs and take the audience on a journey of understanding trauma and the importance of growth and acceptance. She thanks the UNCW Theatre Shop and all of her lab students for their contributions in bringing her design to life!

Caroline Balan (Lighting Designer): (she/her) Caroline Balan is a lighting designer and electrician for the stage and screen, as well as a recent graduate of UNCW. She has previously worked as Lighting Designer for Dinner Party and Assistant Lighting Designer for The Importance of Being Earnest. She would like to extend her gratitude to Tony and Sihr Theatre for giving her this amazing opportunity and she thanks UNCW and Wilmington’s Theatrical Community for their guidance and encouragement!

Karyn Raynor (Costume Designer): (she/her) Karyn Raynor is a theatre artist local to the Wilmington area, having transplanted from Raleigh in 2021. In 2016, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in theatre from Meredith College, and designed for and worked on many shows in the Raleigh area throughout her post grad time there, including 3 seasons of the Women's Theatre Festival of Raleigh, Theatre in the Park's famous Christmas Carol tour, and more recently, Meredith Ensemble Theatre's own production of Marie Antoinette.

Arianna Tysinger (Fight Choreographer): (she/her) Arianna Tysinger worked alongside David McClutchey at Raleigh Little Theatre for over 5 years. David has an extensive background in stage combat training, including obtaining the Advanced Actor Combatant certification with the Society of American Fight Directors. Arianna learned from the best teacher and loves being able to gift his teachings to any and all theatrical performances. Thanks David!

sPECIAL THANKS TO THE UNCW DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE!